Sadness

Outside, the night was deep. Nord lay quietly on the bed, thinking about what came next. Ryman's promotion had been resolved, and the others would gradually grow stronger as well. The stronger his guard became, the safer he would be in this world. Come to think of it, he should be leveling up too.

Daily Quest: Explore the Mountain Forest — Completed. Rewards being distributed.

Name: Nord Isaac

Class: Lord LV3 (0/2000)

Today really was a good day. Even he had leveled up. Nord did not hesitate and decisively spent his attribute and skill points. His subordinates were growing stronger, so he could not fall behind. Strength 9 → Strength 10. Iron Bones LV2 → Iron Bones LV3. Running LV1 → Running LV2.

The familiar warm current swept through him once more. Having prepared himself, Nord was not as bedraggled as before. When it ended, he felt his body brimming with strength. Just as he was about to get up and stretch his limbs, he suddenly remembered that there was still a special item today.

He opened his inventory and, sure enough, found something new. But it was not the map he had imagined. Instead, one of the inventory slots held a crystal-clear orb, as though it contained an entire world.

When he took the crystal ball from his inventory, it did not appear in his hand as Nord had expected. Instead, it transformed directly into a beam of golden light and entered the system. What appeared before Nord was a massive map. Most of it was shrouded in fog, with only a small point at the very top marked as Tami Village.

The map moved with Nord's thoughts and immediately zoomed in on Tami Village. The surrounding mountain forests became clearly visible, looking somewhat like the game interface of Mount & Blade. Soon, Nord found the location of Wild Boar Cave on the map. It was not hard to spot. The map seemed to have revealed only the areas around Tami Village and Wild Boar Cave; everything else remained pitch-black.

Just as Nord was about to continue studying the map, Abel came upstairs to inform him that dinner was ready.

When he came downstairs, Colin's entire family was waiting for Nord. Nord did not stand on ceremony and simply invited them to sit down and eat.

The food on the table looked incredibly tempting. There was a large basin filled with pork stewed with yams. The pork had been simmered over high heat until it fell apart, and combined with the fragrance of the yams, it made one's appetite surge. Beside it were several golden-brown roasted yams. They were probably Reed's request, and they had turned out better than at noon, with no charred surfaces.

Nord signaled everyone to start eating. He planned to discuss digging up and planting yams with Colin after Colin had tasted them, but when he heard their conversation, Nord nearly laughed out loud.

Art and Lysa, who had been waiting at the side for a long time, became excited when they heard that dinner was ready. Lysa pointed at the roasted yams in front of her and asked Molly.

"Mom, what is this?"

"Roasted yam."

"Mom, I want roasted yam."

"Eat up. Have a big one. Are two enough?"

"Two are enough. Thank you, Mom. You're the best."

After eating his fill, Nord could not help wondering whether Abel really had hidden culinary talent, or whether he had simply been so thoroughly tormented by Dark Cuisine that it had created an illusion. Otherwise, why would it taste so good? Seeing Colin's family wolfing down the food as well, Nord stopped dwelling on the question. As long as it tasted good, the reason did not matter.

Nord turned to Colin.

"Village Chief Colin, do you know yams? Oh, right, Old Mor said this thing is called Mountain Lump."

"I don't remember it very well. Mountain Lump? I probably haven't eaten it before, or I wouldn't have forgotten it."

"Whether you've eaten it is not important. What matters is that Old Mor said there should be plenty of it in the mountains, and I believe its yield is extremely high. It could solve the villagers' food shortage."

"Really? Lord Nord, there are lots of them in the mountains? That's wonderful! How did we never discover them before? If we had known sooner, people would not have starved to death."

Colin was extremely excited, especially after hearing that there were plenty in the mountains. For a moment, he waved his arms around with such enthusiasm that he looked rather comical. But when he thought of those who had starved to death because of the food shortage, his expression turned remorseful again.

"It's true. The few of us dug up hundreds of pounds in no time. And I believe the yield is high enough that we can plant them on the hillsides around the village."

"Tomorrow, I'll organize the women of the village to dig them up. Sigh! They were unlucky, Lord Nord. It would have been wonderful if you had come earlier."

Seeing the sorrow in Colin's expression, Nord could not help but comfort him.

"Village Chief Colin, this is good news. Your immediate priority is to organize the villagers to dig up and plant yams. Make sure this never happens again, rather than sitting here blaming yourself."

Colin's body shook, and his eyes grew resolute. With a bitter smile, he said, "Thank you for the reminder, Lord Nord. I'm old, so I get sentimental. Ryman's mother starved to death back then. Don't worry. You've brought us hope now. I will never let such a tragedy happen again."

Watching Village Chief Colin regain his spirits, Nord nodded. Nord had never doubted Colin's feelings for the village. Now that he knew why Colin was grieving, Nord still believed that Colin would handle this matter well—and would care about it even more than Nord himself.

"Oh, right, Village Chief Colin. Be sure to tell everyone to cook them before eating them. Eating them raw can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Old Mor once thought yams were poisonous, which was why he never tried eating them."

"So that's how it is. That's just our fate. Understood, Lord Nord. I'll make sure to warn the villagers carefully. You can rest assured."

Colin suddenly understood. No wonder they had never discovered it before. Mountain folk avoided poisonous things like the plague. How could they have imagined that they could be eaten after being roasted?

After settling the matter, Nord went upstairs to rest. Colin, however, could not calm down for a long time. Today's news had been too overwhelming for him, and his mind could not process it all at once. If Nord had not snapped him out of it, Colin might still have been sitting there in sorrow.

Seeing his father's expression, Ryman somewhat understood how he felt. That year, the village had suffered a severe food shortage. Ryman, his father, and the others had gone into the mountains to hunt, searching for a way to survive. Reed had still been young then, and Molly had been pregnant, leaving only Ryman's mother to look after the family.

Ryman remembered that when they entered the mountains, his father had said they would not return without prey. They spent a full four days before finally catching something. By the time his father happily returned home, Ryman's mother had already starved into unconsciousness. According to the neighbors, in order to care for little Reed and her pregnant daughter-in-law, Ryman's mother had risen early and worked late, searching the nearby forests for food.

Nearly everything edible had been picked clean by the villagers. She gave every bit of her daily harvest to her daughter-in-law and younger son, without eating a single bite herself. Before long, she fell unconscious. The day after Ryman returned home, his mother died. From that day onward, Colin never entered the mountains again.

Looking at his father sitting in the chair, lost in thought, Ryman could not help speaking.

"Father, don't be sad. I understand how you feel. Mother, she..."

"That's enough, Ryman. I know what you want to say. Lord Nord is right. I should pull myself together. I'm fine. Go get some rest first. We still have to gather in front of the square tomorrow. Let me be alone for a while."

After Ryman left, Colin sat alone at the dining table, staring into the darkness beyond the door. Like a statue, he did not move. No one knew how long he remained there alone that night.

First: Thanks to wildream and Mr. Cheng Who Makes Money for their donations.

Second: I have some good news for everyone. I received a notification about a Qidian recommendation. The big shots in the group said it was a trial recommendation, but it's still better than nothing. I hope everyone will bookmark and vote more. I would be deeply grateful.

Third: Quite a few readers have previously raised many issues with me. I'll try my best to fix whatever can be fixed. The most common feedback was that the characters' dialogue and behavior did not fit that era. Recently, I'll read more of how the great authors write and study it carefully. I'll gradually improve in the future. If you have any suggestions, feel free to post them in the comments so we can discuss them together.