Stepping through the transfer gate, Yue Yang found himself standing in the middle of an estate.

A hundred flowers in bloom, their fragrance drifting on the air.

A broad white-stone road led straight toward a castle atop a gentle hill, with an exquisitely beautiful crystal fountain at its center — a crystal maiden holding a vase, from whose jade shoulders and tilted vessel a gentle stream trickled, as if the goddess of the earth were bestowing the waters of life upon the land. Within the surrounding walls, the castle atop the hill was not particularly large, but it was designed with such singular artistry that one look brought only admiration for the master’s hand behind it.

The castle had several tall spires, three of which rose from the center of the main keep in a triangular arrangement.

The tallest and most distinctive stood at the very center.

At its peak, something that appeared to be an enormous diamond caught the sunlight and scattered it in brilliant flashes, like a star.

Perhaps detecting Yue Yang’s arrival, two middle-aged women in fine clothes appeared from either side, each leading a queue of over twenty sturdy female servants, approaching with measured steps and bowing in greeting.

The woman on the left had silver hair, a graceful bearing, and wore men’s formal attire, with a butterfly cravat at the collar and a monocle perched decoratively on one eye — the very image of a head steward who managed all the affairs of a noble estate.

She gave Yue Yang a proper gentleman’s bow and announced, “Welcome, Young Master, to Star Diamond Castle. I am Duli, the steward awaiting your arrival on the master’s instructions.”

The woman on the right had a well-rounded, plump figure, though not ungainly — she simply radiated an air of comfortable good fortune.

Before she spoke, she was already smiling.

Her face brimmed with warm sweetness, projecting an approachability that was impossible to put precisely into words. Rather than the formal, upright manner of the woman on the left, the round-faced woman simply stepped forward, wrapped Yue Yang in a hug, and patted him gently on the head. “I’m Sushan, your cook. Everything to do with daily life is in my hands — from now on I’ll take care of you the same way I took care of your mother, and fatten you up into a fine, plump young master.”

Yue Yang broke into a cold sweat. “Fine and plump” was how you described a well-fed piglet.

This Sushan woman was enormously warm — a ball of pure fire, the complete opposite of the cool, collected Duli. Fortunately, while she shared the name, she looked nothing like the internationally famous singer of the same name, otherwise things would have gotten awkward.

Behind the two stewards, twenty-some sturdy women stood at a respectful distance — presumably the servants who helped maintain the castle. Their rank was lower, and none of them spoke up. They simply followed the two stewards in paying their respects to the new young master, Yue Yang.

There were no guards in the castle, and no men at all — every task was carried out by women, including the stable hands and the gardeners who worked the estate grounds.

The silver-haired, men’s-attired steward Duli handed Yue Yang a meticulously detailed account book, listing all the income and expenditure for the castle, estate, and its subordinate townships, timber estate, and mine. Yue Yang noted that the last signature of ownership in the account book was dated ten years ago — meaning his nominal mother, Fourth Sister’s elder sister, had left Human Valley at least a decade prior. Even more interesting was this: throughout those ten years of recorded entries, however income and expenses had fluctuated, the books always balanced perfectly.

Yue Yang didn’t ask Steward Duli how that was managed.

In his mind, Steward Duli and Cook Sushan were essentially NPCs — equivalent to the village chief in a beginner’s village.

In the typical online game, when a player entered the starter village, the village chief would always hand out quests — rescue his grandson who’d been dragged off by wolves, and every one of thousands of players would charge out enthusiastically, kill the wolf king, and come back with the village chief’s grandson. Nobody ever thought too hard about how the village chief could possibly have that many grandsons for the wolf king to keep dragging away, or why the wolf king, no matter when a player arrived, was always conveniently in the middle of preparing to eat said grandson rather than having finished already.

Games were games. Some things didn’t bear close examination — just like Yue Yang wasn’t going to examine why the Star Diamond Castle had maintained perfect financial balance for ten years and would presumably continue doing so until he arrived to disrupt it.

He simply accepted that if he stayed away for a hundred years, Steward Duli and Cook Sushan would go right on waiting. And the account book would go right on balancing.

“The castle needs renovation, the timber estate needs new workers recruited, the mine needs new smelting points established, and the two townships need their roads connected to increase commercial traffic — is that right?” One look at the account book told Yue Yang exactly what his starter quests were. He didn’t ask Steward Duli why none of this had been done before, for the same reason a player never asks the village chief how many grandsons he has.

“Young Master, the horses in the stable and the clothing for outings both need replacing. As a noble, appearances must be kept. There are also the various courses appropriate for a noble education that will require considerable investment.” Steward Duli added this without any hesitation.

“Necessary expenses aren’t worth skimping on. What’s the total outlay looking like?” Yue Yang set the account book down and asked directly.

“This year’s expenses will be higher than usual. The castle alone requires at minimum five thousand to start, with around three thousand per year thereafter.” Steward Duli answered.

“Very well.” Yue Yang smiled his approval, while internally breaking into a cold sweat.

The account book showed annual income of barely a thousand Heaven Crystals — sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, never varying much. How was it that the moment he arrived at this previously balanced Star Diamond Castle, he was looking at expenditures three to five times what it brought in?

He’d just been imagining what it would feel like to be wealthy for a few days. Apparently that wasn’t happening.

With twelve thousand five hundred Heaven Crystals to his name, Yue Yang produced his fate card and transferred five thousand directly to Steward Duli. He’d gone from comfortable wealth to a lighter wallet in less than half a day. Cook Sushan, fortunately, was not as expensive as Steward Duli — she only needed five hundred. Yue Yang knew this expense couldn’t be avoided either, and transferred it out with a sigh carefully concealed behind a smile.

After all that — not counting his own choice of horse for riding out, not counting the presentable noble attire he’d inevitably need, not counting the eventual tuition fees when he enrolled at the noble academy — Yue Yang had exactly seven thousand Heaven Crystals remaining.

Once all the remaining expenses cleared, he’d probably be flat broke in short order.

The only consolation was that he now at least had a home base — unlike Ren Tiange and Hauge, who had no idea what their next steps were.

Being a noble came with costs. If it didn’t, everyone would be a noble.

The castle’s day-to-day matters he left in the hands of Steward Duli and Cook Sushan.

What Yue Yang needed to focus on now was making money.

Earning more, as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, the endless stream of hands reaching out for payment would bleed him dry.

Relying solely on tax revenue from the two townships, the income from the timber estate and the mine, was not going to sustain the operation — not unless Yue Yang was prepared to forgo eating, drinking, sleeping, or doing anything at all, sitting in his castle like a decorative statue. He had no intention of making life miserable for himself. Being a noble meant living with some degree of comfort. Otherwise what was the point of being a noble at all?

Yue Yang had barely sat down to lunch when visitors arrived at the gate.

Representatives of both township mayors, the mining site guard captain, and the timber estate garrison captain all requested an audience.

These NPCs — in Yue Yang’s estimation — reported that the coastal settlement called White Sand Town was being terrorized by a fearsome sea monster. The fishermen were terrified and refusing to go out, and for White Sand Town, which depended on fishing and maritime trade, this was a crippling blow. They hoped the young master could devise a solution to relieve his subjects. The second township, Black Rock Town, had no sea monster, but reportedly a band of brigands had gathered in the mountains and was regularly raiding merchant caravans into town. Merchants were threatening that if the bandit problem wasn’t resolved within a month, they’d pull out of Black Rock Town entirely and abandon the territory’s business.

The timber estate garrison captain reported that a wolf pack had appeared in the forest, injuring several woodcutters, and urgently needed more guards — preferably with the pack cleared out entirely.

The mine captain’s news was comparatively mild: the current tunnels were nearing exhaustion, and without new geological surveys to find and open fresh veins, the mine’s dozens of workers faced unemployment.

Yue Yang nearly toppled over.

Being a noble was apparently not easy at all.

If combat weren’t forbidden, Yue Yang’s to-do list would have been simple: head to White Sand Town, kill the sea monster; head to Black Rock Town, wipe out the brigands; drop by the timber estate on the way back, eliminate the wolf pack. Effortless. Glorious. He’d probably shake his magnificence at the assembled NPCs until they stared in awestruck wonder and called him “my liege.”

But this was not the Sky Tower. It was not the Heavenly Realm.

This was Human Valley.

Here, even a freak genius like Yue Yang could only function as an “ordinary person,” and had to solve problems the way ordinary people solved them.

“Right. Understood.” Yue Yang made no effort to invite the NPCs to sit and share a meal, made no effort to win their hearts, made no effort to push their loyalty meters to maximum. He simply waved one hand, like a proper young master, and dismissed the lot of them, too lazy to spare them another glance. What was this, dumping every problem at once? Who was supposed to be in charge here? If there was a sea monster, brigands, and a wolf pack, couldn’t they handle commissioning a mercenary company themselves?

“In that case, we shall return and await good news from the young master.” The mayors and garrison captains departed in visible disappointment. This new young master was deeply unusual — he’d neither lost his temper nor offered any reassurance, and his expression was impossible to read. Even finding an angle to flatter him had proven hopeless.

Yue Yang continued his lunch as though nothing of any consequence had happened.

“Young Master, your bearing was entirely fitting of a noble. Please continue in this manner.” Steward Duli offered the rare compliment.

“These lower-class people always like to fancy themselves clever.” Cook Sushan, setting down a beautiful plate of sweets for Yue Yang, was equally dismissive of the mayors and garrison captains. She said little more than that, but from what she’d offered, Yue Yang could clearly tell that both Duli and Sushan occupied a considerably higher social standing than mere mayors and garrison captains. Human Valley’s original inhabitants apparently had an extremely rigid social hierarchy and an equally rigid sense of in-group circles.

“So you see, Young Master — there is much still to be done.” Steward Duli added this calmly.

“So there is.” Yue Yang was now fairly certain of one thing: the people of Star Diamond Castle could be trusted — and Steward Duli and Cook Sushan in particular were absolutely trustworthy, as both had been left behind by Fourth Sister’s elder sister specifically for him. Everyone else would need closer observation. The workings of Human Valley were clearly more complex than a starter-village quest board.

A carriage driven by a female servant whose arms were noticeably more muscular than most men’s conveyed Yue Yang and Steward Duli toward Silver Maple City.

There, Yue Yang could make contact with other genuine reincarnators.

And make his first real entry into noble society.

This, it seemed, would be the starting point from which Yue Yang would take his first steps toward success in Human Valley.

(End of Chapter)