In the end, Ning Zheng really couldn't bear to watch.
He personally taught the novice Ning Jiaojiao how to fish, and only then did they manage, after countless difficulties, to haul this River Monster up. "The River Monster's explosive strength only lasts for a short while. It'll tire out soon. Don't use brute force. Slowly pull the rod and tease it."
"So fishing is actually all about technique." Ning Jiaojiao recalled the rhythm of pulling the rod just now.
Nearby, Su Yu Niang was drenched from head to toe as she reattached her head.
"What are your thoughts?" Ning Zheng asked.
She gasped heavily and laboriously raised a thumb. "Huff, huff! My thought is that twin-tails really are the best thing in the world."
Ning Zheng fell silent for a moment.
Su Yu Niang also realized what she had said. She hurriedly twisted her head to make sure the joints were aligned, then said solemnly, "It was thrilling, and the feeling was incredible. Thank you for letting me experience the local customs."
A River Monster with clear, foolish eyes was still hanging below her waist.
Su Yu Niang had never imagined that she would experience the wonders of a Five Bodies Realm cultivator—being decapitated without dying—in circumstances like these.
"As a traveler, you ought to experience the folk customs of every place. That's a feature too. Once you leave this village, you won't be able to experience it anymore."
Ning Zheng brewed tea nearby while continuing to eat Spirit Meat, playing the part of a hospitable young villager. "Want some?"
"Thank you." Su Yu Niang accepted the meat and discovered that it was highly nourishing.
Ning Zheng merely smiled. The more she ate, the more Spirit Rice she would grow.
The Meat Field was very small, but its yield was more than enough to supply three to five people.
Normally, when a Spirit Farmer died, their Spirit Rice became rich in deathly energy. It looked good on the outside but could not be eaten.
But Ning Zheng was of an Yin attribute to begin with, and the other party was using her own exclusive Shadow spirit rice, so Ning Zheng felt it might be edible.
If it could be eaten, then that would be tremendously significant!
She would be able to obtain a large source of Shadow spirit rice from the mountain.
At that moment, Ning Jiaojiao came over, preparing to stab the River Monster to death, but Su Yu Niang hurriedly stopped her. "Could you sell it to me?"
"You want this thing?" Ning Jiaojiao asked.
"Yes. I feel like it's the first fish I ever caught, so it has commemorative value." Su Yu Niang brushed her off and took out three Magic Coins. "Is that enough?"
"Enough." Ning Jiaojiao accepted the money readily. In any case, she was sick of eating River Demon Meat. What she mainly enjoyed was the fun of fishing.
Seeing how readily she agreed, Su Yu Niang wondered whether she had paid too much.
But then she thought about it. The Mountain Villa was reimbursing all her expenses for her trip down the mountain.
This trip had yielded an abundant harvest!
She had discovered a hidden wild-monster map outside, bought this fish from two villagers at the foot of the mountain to take back, and planned to browse the Yearly Market tomorrow and buy some local specialties from the vendors to bring home. It was practically a bumper harvest!
The exploration quest had been completed perfectly.
"Where am I sleeping?" Su Yu Niang asked contentedly, finding this adventure in the well both thrilling and interesting.
"You can sleep wherever you want tonight. For example, underground in the well, or in the empty house next door."
Ning Jiaojiao looked at her eagerly. "You're Money Boy, and you have good teeth. Could you help me widen the little tunnel underground, then move some furniture in? So, where will you stay?"
"Then I'll stay underwater." Seeing the other girl's pitifully adorable gaze, Su Yu Niang felt as if an arrow had shot straight through her heart. She immediately chose to stay in the well and accepted the quest.
If it had been anyone else, they would have held a grudge against Ning Jiaojiao for making such a foolish newbie move at this crucial moment.
But players were always magnanimous, big-hearted to the point of being scatterbrained. Life and death were no more than things to laugh and chat about.
After all, they were all seasoned veterans. Which game's NPC quest didn't come with a risk to one's life?
In some games, villagers would give you a few copper coins to deliver a letter, yet send you through bandit nests and across several towns, leaving you to survive nine deaths out of ten.
So a little danger to life during a beginner fishing tutorial was perfectly normal!
Next, she planned to settle down underground, build a small fortress at the front line of the underground maze, and observe the situation for a while.
"Please help me tie up the River Monster. Thank you."
She hung up the iron chain and began climbing down the well, preparing to gnaw into the earth and open up the little underground cavern.
After all, she had already become thoroughly familiar with sticking her butt in the air, twisting it from side to side, burying her head in the soil, and gnawing into the earth while up on the mountain.
"By the way, I might be going out tomorrow to stroll around the lively market here by myself, so please don't worry about me."
She was planning to return to the Mountain Villa tomorrow.
Leaving this place was only temporary. She had plenty of ideas for this wild-monster map!
Watching Su Yu Niang climb down into the water, Ning Jiaojiao said emotionally, "Big Sister Su Yu Niang is so gentle and generous. I don't even know how to fish, and I almost caused an accident, but she didn't blame me."
"This is the world of adults." Ning Zheng chimed in.
At the break of dawn the next day.
Su Yu Niang went alone to the Yearly Market and browsed the various stalls.
She bought some snacks such as candied hawthorn and fried pancakes, and discovered that they tasted pretty good.
It was just that her stomach was empty and they didn't seem to fill her up. The flavor was a little strange too. She had no idea how they were made, but eating them felt a bit like eating dirt.
"Boss, how much for this beast bone? Is it tiger bone?"
"This is human bone, isn't it? Why do you have so many human bones? You don't eat people, do you? Hahaha, I'm joking. Anyone can tell at a glance that you're tomb raiders."
"Wait, I'll take the human bones too."
"This hide is excellent. It could be made into clothes, just right for those Money Girls from Miracle Nikki."
"Wow, Boss, these beads you polished are great, and the tassels are fantastic too!"
Su Yu Niang walked from stall to stall as if she had discovered a new continent, only to find that the villagers here had actually accumulated quite a lot of monster materials.
In the end, they hadn't set up stalls to sell anything to these people. Instead, the villagers were setting up stalls to sell things to them and profit from their hard-earned money?
How infuriating!
They were bullying them because their production line had only just been established and their productivity was low!
In any case, her shopping urge had struck. She carried away bag after bag, spending all thirty Magic Coins of startup capital given to her for going down the mountain.
A bumper harvest!
But Su Yu Niang failed to notice that, as she bought and sold things and made inadvertent contact with the other party, the flesh on her body was continuously dwindling, gradually turning her into an empty bubble.
Her flesh had been taken away by the other unconscious villagers, yet she remained completely unaware.
Although Ashes generally did not come into conflict, plundering still occurred.
As an empty bubble, she began instinctively filling her body with various objects. The bones, beads, and wood she had purchased were stuffed inside her, and under the Spiritual Eye's vision, she became a bizarre mishmash.
"I'm back."
Su Yu Niang returned at noon to see Ning Jiaojiao. She pulled along a small cart loaded with bags and bundles, with the River Monster propped on top. "I'm taking the River Monster from the courtyard with me. I'll go stroll around some other places, then come back here to stay."
"Remember to come back soon." Ning Jiaojiao was a little reluctant and waved goodbye.
Following the sunlight all the way up the mountain, Su Yu Niang felt that this trip had been worthwhile.
"The folks down at the foot of the mountain were pretty nice."
She reminisced. "There were also two warmhearted young villagers who let me enjoy the local specialty of fishing. It was a tense and thrilling adventure."
In reality, the local folks also thought she was pretty good. A pile of broken bones and accessories had taken all her Magic Coins and flesh. After starving for so long, they had finally found a gullible sucker.
Fortunately, she wasn't a living person but one of their own kind, so they hadn't attacked her and triggered the killing mechanism. Otherwise, Su Yu Niang would have witnessed the true horror of the ghost market beneath its surface prosperity.
Clop, clop, clop.
She soon returned to the mountain.
Su Yu Niang was quickly given a warm welcome.
"Wow, what a huge fish!"
"Is this a creature from another world? Its eyes look so vacant."
Everyone was incredibly excited.
This was what made text-based idle games so delightfully surprising.
Every day, you sent out an adventure party, and the materials they brought back came in grades such as D, C, B, and A. Every day offered a new experience.
Look at these bones and hides—there were new materials again.
"Everyone, quiet down for a moment."
At that moment, "Su Yu Niang" told everyone to calm down. She planted one foot on the River Monster's head and, like a pirate captain returning home, began introducing herself:
"This time, I went down the mountain and experienced an incredibly wondrous adventure in life! This exploration was simply too much fun!"
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