Determining the Clearance Item

"Uh, since Alger had already gone to the hospital, it looked like he wouldn't be able to attend this gathering. So, let's start playing." Tina put down her phone and said with suppressed laughter.

Ming Shi Xiang nodded and pulled several flyers from the small bag she was carrying. "These are flyers for this Harvest Festival that I just got from the staff at the entrance. They have a map of the Harvest Festival grounds on them. I thought they might be useful, so I took a few. Everyone, take one."

As she spoke, Ming Shi Xiang handed the flyers out to everyone.

Liu Xing took one and examined it carefully.

The front of the flyer introduced the origins of the Harvest Festival, as well as details such as when it was held.

Since Liu Xing already knew all that, he flipped directly to the back.

The back contained a map of the Harvest Festival grounds. Using the entrance where Liu Xing and the others were standing as the reference point, the Commercial Districts on either side consisted of all kinds of stalls. However, it was worth noting that there would be a Harvest Festival performance in the Commercial District on the right. Liu Xing checked his phone; there were still ten minutes until it began.

Meanwhile, the map marked a Grape Arbor in the Commercial District on the left.

In a Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, there generally were no useless clues, so Liu Xing felt that this specifically marked Grape Arbor was definitely a location they had to explore.

Something else Liu Xing found worth noting was that there was a bamboo grove on each side of the mountainside path leading to the Immortal Crane Temple. Behind the temple's shrine stood several Peach Trees, and the map specifically noted that they had been planted by that Taoist priest back in the day. Therefore, the offerings used for every Harvest Festival included peaches picked from those Peach Trees.

Liu Xing nodded silently. It seemed he needed to find a way to get hold of a peach.

"Alright, everyone's probably finished looking, right? I think we should head to the Commercial District on the right and watch that Harvest Festival performance first. It looks pretty interesting." Tian Dao clapped his hands and smiled at everyone.

No one objected, and they began making their way toward the Commercial District on the right... However, because Li Ming had injured his leg, a journey that should have taken one minute took them a full five. There were simply too many NPCs at the Harvest Festival. If Li Ming had not been escorted by Liu Xing and the others, he truly would have struggled to take a single step...

"Uh, sorry, everyone. I wasted your time because of me." Li Ming awkwardly scratched his head.

"It's fine, it's fine. We're all friends." Tian Dao continued smiling as he patted Li Ming on the shoulder, sounding completely unconcerned.

Liu Xing also nodded with a smile. "Exactly. We're all friends now. How could we possibly abandon a friend and go have fun by ourselves?"

Still, Liu Xing quietly made a decision in his heart: when it was time to let go, he would let go. He really had no good way to help someone with mobility as poor as Li Ming's. Liu Xing's build and strength were not high, so he might not even be able to carry Li Ming on his back. And even if he could, Liu Xing felt that his agility would suffer a halved penalty.

The Mythical Creatures in a Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG were far faster than humans. If a chase occurred, Li Ming would probably be a lost cause. If Liu Xing tried to help him, he would likely end up the same way...

"Alright, the performance's starting." Tina looked toward the stage in the distance, which was already packed tight with people. The actors were all in position.

So, everyone stopped discussing matters and prepared to watch this Harvest Festival performance carefully, hoping to obtain information about the Harvest Festival from it.

The performance onstage reenacted how that Taoist priest had presided over the Harvest Festival back then, while Liu Xing naturally focused on the items on the offering table.

"KP, I want to determine what items are on the offering table. Do I need to make an Investigation Roll?" Liu Xing took the initiative to contact kpcao. After all, he was still quite far from the stage, so even with decent eyesight, he could not make out what was placed on the offering table.

After thinking for a moment, kpcao said, "Sure. Then all Players can make an Investigation Roll now to determine what's on the offering table."

Liu Xing, 33/40, success.

Tian Dao, 61/70, success.

Tina, 77/50, failure.

Ming Shi Xiang, 47/40, failure.

Li Ming, 56/55, failure.

The instant the Investigation Roll succeeded, Liu Xing felt his eyesight suddenly improve. He clearly saw peaches, grapes, and bamboo shoots on the offering table.

Liu Xing exchanged a glance with Tian Dao, who had also succeeded at the Investigation Roll. They both knew that the Clearance Items needed for this Harvest Festival were very likely these three things.

After the performance ended, Liu Xing smiled and said, "Did you see that? The things needed for the Harvest Festival weren't the traditional three sacrificial animals, but peaches, grapes, and bamboo shoots. It seems this Great Immortal has rather strange tastes."

Tian Dao picked up where Liu Xing left off. "I don't think the Great Immortal's tastes are strange. I think that Taoist priest simply used local ingredients. Didn't the map on the back of the flyer say there was a Grape Arbor, bamboo groves, and Peach Trees around the Immortal Crane Temple?"

Liu Xing chuckled. This Tian Dao really was a reliable teammate, and they worked together seamlessly.

"Yeah, I agree with Tian Dao too. Liu Xing, it's not good to make up stories about the Great Immortal." Tina said with a smile. Li Ming and Ming Shi Xiang said nothing, but both watched Liu Xing with amused expressions.

Liu Xing could only shrug helplessly and say, "Alright, alright, I said the wrong thing, okay? But the performance's over now. How about we go check out the Grape Arbor in the Commercial District on the left? We might even get to eat some fresh grapes there."

Everyone naturally understood what Liu Xing meant. Eating grapes was merely a pretext; getting grapes was the real goal. After all, grapes were one of the Clearance Items, and obtaining them now should not be difficult.

Just as Liu Xing was about to turn around and head for the Commercial District on the left, he spotted a cute little girl squatting by the roadside and crying. Yet the NPCs passing around her acted as though they did not see her.

Liu Xing knew that it was time to trigger the Main Quest of this module.