Siblings, Night Fishing for Su Yu Niang

"Can I keep her in the well?"

Ning Jiaojiao looked at the adorable Money Girl, Su Yu Niang, her eyes immediately filling with affection.

Ning Zheng was silent for a moment: "Wouldn't that be a bit... not good?"

Ning Jiaojiao liked living in water.

She appeared to be amphibious.

Sometimes she slept in her bed at night, sometimes in the cellar, and sometimes in the well.

It was just that the well wasn't very safe, with occasional river demon disturbances, which was why she often slept indoors.

When she entered the water, she would sprout a merfolk tail.

Even if she didn't go into the water often, she would frequently wash her tail with water to keep it moist.

Ning Zheng guessed that she was a ghoul now and didn't need water at all, but she still maintained the habits and routines from her living days.

But you, Ning Jiaojiao, are half-human, half-fish. You can live happily in well water. For you, the water is a paradise. But the Money Boy...

It seems like he can too?

He even has the additional identity of a ghoul, so he can't drown because he's already dead.

"There's a small corner at the bottom of the well where people can live."

Ning Jiaojiao recognized the Money Boy and said earnestly, "The soil there is very tasty, and the earth's energy is very strong. It would be very beneficial for her, more comfortable than living on the surface. It's the best place to entertain guests."

Ning Zheng realized he had misunderstood her.

This Ning Jiaojiao girl was actually quite kind, hospitable, and prepared the most comfortable environment for her guests.

Although from a human perspective, the aesthetic was a bit too bizarre, for demon beasts, inviting guests to stay in a water cave was perfectly appropriate.

"There's a whole hidden world down in the well, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Ning Zheng said.

"You didn't ask," Ning Jiaojiao said, a little wronged. "Actually, it's just a small cave at the bottom of the well, just big enough for one person. I wanted her to help me dig it out a bit and move in some furniture."

Ning Zheng felt her plan was too clever. The Money Boy was an expert at digging and construction, and she had spotted him immediately.

Ning Zheng pondered. The Crow Calamity group had been dealt with. The river demon group was an unknown. After all, the underground water system was complex and right on his doorstep. Perhaps he needed to find a way to resolve that as well.

Fishing for river demons was indeed imperative.

It had to be said that Su Yu Niang was truly a social butterfly.

Before Ning Jiaojiao could even go over to strike up a conversation and trick her into coming home, the other party had already walked over proactively.

Su Yu Niang looked like a young lady from a prominent family, offering a gentle and dignified smile:

"Hello! I'm a traveler passing through this mountain village and saw that there's a lively festival going on."

"Could you help me find an inn to stay? I'd like to look around here and experience the local customs. Are there any good scenic spots nearby?"

Seeing how enthusiastic the other party was and that she had come over without any prompting, Ning Jiaojiao became even happier:

"We don't have any inns in our village, but Old Du's family can accommodate travelers passing through. However, you can also come to our house! We have an empty room! I guarantee you'll have a very comfortable stay! I'll prepare a very, very good room for you!"

"That would be truly wonderful. Thank you." Su Yu Niang offered a polite smile. Her initial targets were these two people.

Compared to the other villagers, these two clearly came from wealthy families.

Their skin was fair, and their appearances were extraordinary; they didn't look like they worked in the fields.

They looked like high-level NPCs, the kind with stories to tell!

Su Yu Niang, as a high-level player, thought to herself:

"The village at the foot of this Sword Forging Manor is clearly a new map, and one of the most important maps at that."

"Because our first stop after leaving is here, there's no way around it!"

Therefore, she chose to try and integrate.

Even becoming a resident of the village. These two people in front of her were excellent entry points.

In fact, Su Yu Niang's judgment was correct.

The two of them were indeed wealthy families in the village. Setting Ning Zheng aside, Ning Jiaojiao was fair-skinned and beautiful.

After all, she was a merfolk hybrid, and her appearance was indeed excellent.

Furthermore, Ning Jiaojiao's family in her previous life a hundred years ago must have been quite well-off.

She lived in a luxurious mansion with a well. Almost no other household in the entire village could match that level.

From another perspective:

Could someone who could afford "merfolk" be poor?

Whether it was playing with merfolk snakes, merfolk fish, or some other kind of merfolk, they were definitely gentry in the village!

"We're going to the bookshop, we'll come home later."

Ning Jiaojiao said, "There aren't any good tourist sights in the village. Our place is very ordinary. You might be disappointed."

Su Yu Niang had intended to strike up a conversation anyway and decided to go along with it: "Can I also visit the bookshop? I'll stay at your place later. Don't worry, I'll pay."

Su Yu Niang was a chatterbox.

She quickly struck up a friendly conversation with Ning Jiaojiao, a naive country girl who grew up in the village, and they chatted as they walked.

Su Yu Niang thought she was the hunter, but she didn't realize she was the prey.

Ning Jiaojiao grew happier the more she looked at her. "Yu Niang, your name is lovely and fitting! Open your mouth, let me see."

"See what?" Su Yu Niang was a bit confused, but she opened her mouth wide anyway.

"Hmm, not bad, very good." Ning Jiaojiao became even happier. "Very neat teeth, a very pretty tongue."

Su Yu Niang: "."

Why did she feel a sense of unease!

Not long after.

They arrived at the "Bamboo Bookshop."

Inside, a handsome, mature-looking middle-aged scholar was copying books.

Most of the books in this world were handwritten copies, and the bookshop owner added to his inventory daily.

Under Ning Zheng's Spiritual Eye, the man appeared as an exquisite book puppet made entirely of books, a puppet that couldn't eat meat.

"Uncle Bamboo," Ning Zheng said as he entered the shop.

"What are you doing here again?"

The middle-aged man looked up at Ning Zheng, waved his hand, and said with disdain, "You've read all the books I have here. There's nothing else."

How could there be nothing?

The books on the owner himself were likely the rare editions that weren't for sale.

Unlike the cloth puppets at the tailor shop or the bamboo puppets at the bamboo shop, this book puppet's true value lay in the books on its body.

When they had no meat to eat and needed to fill themselves, they would instinctively fill the "empty spaces" with the things they held most precious and were most fixated on.

Unfortunately.

This bookshop owner had no idea that there were books on his person.

Ning Zheng had tried to probe indirectly, almost angering the bookshop owner, who thought he wanted to undress him and do something indecent, nearly calling for help.

He nearly ruined Ning Zheng's reputation among the neighbors.

And using force was out of the question.

This man was one of the known Great Fiends, terrifying Ning Jiaojiao by a large margin.

And this was without a physical body, with his entire being composed of books. If he had a physical form, it was unimaginable!

At this moment, Ning Zheng dared not act rashly and merely browsed the books nearby.

His original intention was to buy some books as gifts for the blacksmiths on the mountain, but with Su Yu Niang here now, he naturally wouldn't do that.

Su Yu Niang, on the other hand, looked at the books with curiosity, her eyes sparkling as if she had discovered treasure!

"So many, many books," Su Yu Niang felt like she had discovered a new world.

"There aren't many books here," Ning Jiaojiao countered.

None of the three triggered the bookshop owner's killing intent.

Because in his eyes, none of them were truly alive.

Ning Jiaojiao and Su Yu Niang were indeed not truly alive. Most ghouls coexisted peacefully, with only a few special individuals actively attacking their own kind.

And Ning Zheng, a living person, possessed a Shadow spiritual root, surrounded by Yin energy. The ghouls mistook him for a companion.

Back then, he had requested a spiritual root that suited him best, and thus he got this Yin attribute, which allowed him to befriend the Great Fiends in the spirit manor, who thought he was one of them.

Ning Zheng watched for a few minutes, his eyes eventually lingering enviously on the books on the bookshop owner's body, but in the end, he didn't make a move.

He browsed for a bit and bought a few miscellaneous essays. Su Yu Niang also took out a magic coin, asked the price, and bought two primers for children.

They started back down the mountain path towards the village.

Soon, they arrived in front of the courtyard and opened the door.

"I'm going to cook," Ning Jiaojiao ran to the cellar to get meat.

Su Yu Niang quickly said, "I'll go too, my cooking is decent."

"No need. Don't go into the cellar casually. You can just gather firewood," Ning Zheng instructed.

Soon, the pot was heated, and the meat began to cook.

The aroma was incredibly delicious.

The spirit meat made Su Yu Niang's tongue practically hang out: This game is truly a gourmet manor!

"Don't rush, eat more," Ning Zheng glanced at her hair, telling her to eat more to replenish her energy so she could grow more spirit rice.

"Mhm, mhm," Su Yu Niang felt that these two were so kind.

After eating and cleaning up the dishes, Ning Jiaojiao was about to start their usual post-meal fishing activity. "Sister, could you do me a favor?"

"What do you need my help with?" Su Yu Niang asked curiously.

There's a hidden quest.

I, Su Yu Niang, can never refuse a hidden quest in this lifetime!

Bring it on, I'm a pro player passed down through generations!

"Fishing," Ning Jiaojiao said, taking out a large iron hook baited with pork.

"I'm good at this, I never come back empty-handed." Su Yu Niang declared she was a professional. She just wondered what kind of creature such a thick, large hook was meant to catch, given its size.

"Bite down, hurry over to the well opening, I'll lower you in."

Ning Jiaojiao was overjoyed. She never imagined she'd have a leisurely moment like this, drinking tea by the well opening and fishing for a big catch with her brother.

Huh? Huh? Huh?

Su Yu Niang's mouth fell open in shock.

"You're so smart! Just like that, open your mouth."

Ning Jiaojiao happily shoved the fishhook into her mouth, yanked hard, and snagged it right through her chin.

Before Su Yu Niang could even react, Ning Jiaojiao scooped her up in a princess carry and tossed her straight into the well with a splash.