Full of Honor, Return to the Manor

Things had progressed to a point where Ning Zheng couldn't bear to watch any longer.

He personally taught the novice Ning Jiaojiao how to fish, and only then did they manage to reel in the river demon after a great struggle. "The river demon's burst of strength only lasts for a short while, it gets tired quickly. Don't force it, slowly reel in the rod and tease it."

"So fishing really takes skill," Ning Jiaojiao mused, recalling the rhythm of reeling in the rod just now.

Beside them, Su Yu Niang, dripping wet, reattached her head.

"Any thoughts?" Ning Zheng asked.

She gasped for air, struggling to give a thumbs-up. "Hoo, hoo! Hoo! My thought is, twintails are the best thing in the world."

Ning Zheng fell silent for a moment.

Su Yu Niang also reacted, quickly twisting her head to confirm her joints were aligned, and said seriously, "It was very exciting, a wondrous feeling. Thank you for letting me experience the local customs."

A river demon with clear, foolish eyes was still hanging from her waist.

Su Yu Niang had never expected to experience the marvels of a Five Bodies Realm cultivator in this manner – losing one's head but not dying.

"As a traveler, one should experience the local customs and traditions; this is also a unique feature. You won't be able to experience it after leaving this village."

Ning Zheng brewed tea nearby, still eating spirit meat, playing the part of a hospitable young villager. "Want some?"

"Thank you." Su Yu Niang took the meat and found it to be very nourishing.

Ning Zheng just smiled; eating more would help grow spirit rice.

The meat fields were very small, but their yield was more than enough to supply three to five people.

Spirit rice from cultivators who had died was usually rich in death qi and looked good but was inedible.

However, Ning Zheng was of the Yin attribute, and the other party used his exclusive Shadow spirit rice, so Ning Zheng felt it might be edible.

If it could be eaten, it would be incredibly significant!

He would gain a large source of Shadow spirit rice from the mountain.

At this moment, Ning Jiaojiao walked over, preparing to stab the river demon to death, but Su Yu Niang quickly refused. "Can I buy it from you?"

"You want this thing?" Ning Jiaojiao said.

"Yes, I feel it's the first fish I've ever caught, it has great commemorative value." Su Yu Niang gave a perfunctory explanation and took out three magic coins. "Is this enough?"

"It's enough." Ning Jiaojiao readily accepted the money. She was already tired of eating river demon meat anyway; her main enjoyment came from the thrill of fishing.

Seeing how readily she agreed, Su Yu Niang wondered if she had given too much.

But then she thought, her expenses for coming down the mountain were all reimbursed by the manor.

This trip had been incredibly rewarding!

She had discovered a hidden wild monster map outside, then bought this fish from the two villagers downstairs to take back. Tomorrow, she would visit the annual market and buy some local specialties from the vendors to bring back. It was truly a bountiful harvest!

The exploration quest was a complete success.

"Where do I sleep?" Su Yu Niang asked contentedly, feeling that her adventure in the well had been thrilling and interesting.

"You can sleep wherever you want tonight, like down in the well, or in the empty house next door."

Ning Jiaojiao said with a hopeful expression, "You're a Money Boy, you have strong teeth, can you help me widen the small hole underground and move some furniture in? Then, where will you live?"

"I'll live underwater then." Seeing the other's pitiful and adorable gaze, Su Yu Niang felt her heart suddenly pierced and directly chose to live in the well, accepting the task.

If it were anyone else, they would have resented Ning Jiaojiao's foolish novice actions at such a critical moment.

But players were always magnanimous, focusing on being thick-skinned, with life and death being mere jokes.

After all, they were all veterans. Which game NPC's quest didn't involve some risk to life?

In some games, villagers would ask you to deliver a letter and give you a few copper coins, but you'd have to traverse through bandit dens and multiple towns, facing near-certain death.

Therefore, it was normal for a novice fishing tutorial to have some risk to life!

Next, she planned to stay in the well and build a small fortress at the front line of the underground labyrinth to observe for a while.

"Please help me tie up the river demon, thank you."

She hung up the iron chain and began to climb down into the well, preparing to go to the small underground cave to start gnawing at the earth.

After all, recently on the mountain, she had become quite adept at the act of sticking her rear end out and burying her head in the dirt to gnaw at the land.

"Oh, right, I might have to go out tomorrow to wander around the lively market here by myself. Please don't worry about me."

She planned to return to the manor tomorrow.

Leaving here was only temporary; she had many ideas for this wild monster map!

Watching Su Yu Niang descend, Ning Jiaojiao said emotionally, "Sister Su Yu Niang is so kind and generous. I can't even fish, and I almost got into trouble, but she doesn't blame me."

"This is the adult world," Ning Zheng chimed in.

The next day, at the crack of dawn.

Su Yu Niang went to the annual market alone and browsed the various stalls.

She bought some candied hawthorns, pancakes, and other snacks, finding them quite tasty.

It was just that her stomach felt empty and couldn't seem to be filled. The taste was a bit strange, and she couldn't figure out how they were made; it was a bit like eating dirt.

"Boss, how much for this beast bone? Is it a tiger bone?"

"Are these human bones? Why do you have so many human bones? You don't eat people, do you, hahaha, I'm just kidding. You can tell you're grave robbers just by looking at you."

"Wait, I want the human bones too."

"This beast hide is very good, it can be used for clothing production. It's just right for those Miracle Nikki Money Girls."

"Wow, boss, these beads you've ground are great, and the tassels are super well-made!"

Su Yu Niang, as if she had discovered a new continent, walked through every stall and found that the villagers here had accumulated quite a few demon beast materials.

As a result, instead of us setting up stalls to sell things to them, they were setting up stalls to sell things to us, earning our hard-earned money?

Damn it!

This is bullying us because our production line has just been established and our productivity is low!

Regardless, her shopping urge had kicked in, and she left with bags and bags, having spent all the 30 magic coins given as startup capital when she went down the mountain.

A great harvest!

But what Su Yu Niang didn't realize was that her flesh and blood were constantly decreasing as she bought and sold, through unintentional contact with others, gradually turning into an empty shell.

The meat was snatched away by other unconscious villagers, who were completely unaware.

Although conflicts generally don't occur between embers, plundering still happens.

As an empty shell, she began to instinctively fill her body with various things, stuffing in the bones, beads, and wood she had bought. From the perspective of the Spiritual Eye, she had become a bizarre, mixed creature.

"I'm back."

Su Yu Niang returned at noon to see Ning Jiaojiao, pulling a small cart laden with bags and bags. She also had the river demon propped up on the cart. "I'm going to take the river demon in the yard away. I'll go explore other places and then come back here to live."

"Remember to come back early." Ning Jiaojiao said with a hint of reluctance, waving goodbye.

Following the sunlight up the mountain, Su Yu Niang felt that the trip was worthwhile.

"The fellow villagers down the mountain are very nice."

She recalled, "And there were two enthusiastic young villagers who took me to enjoy a local specialty fishing experience. It was a tense and exciting adventure."

In reality, the fellow villagers also thought she was quite nice. A pile of broken bones and trinkets had taken all her magic coins and meat. After starving for so long, a big spender had finally arrived.

Fortunately, she wasn't a living person but one of their own kind, so they didn't attack her and trigger the killing mechanism. Otherwise, Su Yu Niang would have seen the truly terrifying ghost market beneath its superficial prosperity.

Stomp, stomp, stomp.

Soon, she returned to the mountain.

Su Yu Niang was quickly given a warm welcome.

"Wow, such a big fish."

"Is this a creature from another world? Its eyes look so vacant."

Everyone was extremely excited.

This was the delightful surprise of text-based idle games.

Every day, you send out adventure teams, and the materials they bring back have grades like D, C, B, and A. Every day brings a new experience.

Looking at these bones and beast hides, there were new materials again.

"Everyone, quiet down."

At this moment, the "Su Yu Niang" made everyone calm down. She stepped on the river demon's head, like a returning pirate captain, and introduced:

"When I went down the mountain this time, I experienced a super wonderful life adventure! This exploration was so much fun!"