Chapter 200: Fate Intertwined

Qingmai Village Village was not big, and there were very few things worth mentioning about the lives of the villagers living here.

Eating, farming, sleeping;

Sprouting, heading, maturing.

The boring life was like the wheat in the field, day after day, year after year, repeating in cycles.

Therefore, for that squad suspected of having encountered a Beast-kin attack, even if a long time had passed, everyone in the village still had a deep impression.

"We are not too far from the Mist Forest, and adventurers like you gentlemen often pass by."

"But that time was a bit different."

"Under normal circumstances, adventurers coming out of the forest, even if they look... uh, untidy, whether it's the joy of surviving a disaster or the excitement of returning fully loaded, overall, the atmosphere won't be particularly bad."

"Even if the losses are heavy, and some people in the squad didn't even make it out of the forest, it's just silence and sadness."

"But that squad's situation, it was the first time I saw it."

Speaking of this, the village chief who was leading the way for everyone couldn't help but pause, as if recalling the scene at that time.

"It wasn't joy or excitement, nor was it anger or sadness."

"But... fear."

Although Qingmai Village Village was relatively close to the Mist Forest to some extent, compared to Hegu Town or Green Creek Village, it was undoubtedly much further away.

Because of this, the village lost the possibility of benefits brought by a large number of adventurers coming and going, it was remote and poor, and relatively, the frequency of magical beasts appearing was also less.

On weekdays, at most, there were only some small Goblin communities.

Adventurer teams capable of escaping from the Mist Forest and coming to this place basically wouldn't encounter any danger anymore.

Under these circumstances, if it was still as the village chief said, expressed as "lingering fear,"

then it could only prove that this group of people had encountered something extremely terrifying in the forest, something they still found difficult to shake off the psychological impact of even after leaving.

Xia Nan was pondering in his heart, but the squad following behind suddenly stopped.

Looking up, what appeared before everyone was a wooden house just as dilapidated as other buildings in the village.

"The one who received them that day was Kelly's family."

"She should know some specific details about that time."

The village chief introduced to several people and stepped forward to knock on the door.

Knock knock knock—

Accompanied by a burst of hurried footsteps, the wooden door was pulled open violently.

A simple-looking woman in her early thirties, with an ordinary appearance, looked at the several people at the door with surprise.

The village chief explained the purpose of the Sea Thorn Squad in a few words; facing such an adventurer squad, this woman had no intention and dared not have any intention of refusing.

With some panic and unease, she welcomed everyone into the house.

The furnishings inside were just as they looked from the outside.

An extremely simple "living space" that focused more on function than aesthetics.

A damp, uneven mud floor, with only some straw and wheat stalks spread in some areas; in the middle of the inner room against the wall, slightly lower than the ground, flames were rising, surrounded by stones, and an iron pot filled with traces of use was carefully placed on top.

Sweeping over the miscellaneous basket in the corner, a small string of onions on the wall, and that thing that could barely be called a "bed," constructed from a low wooden frame and a patched hemp blanket.

Xia Nan already had a first impression of this "Kelly's family."

"Where's your husband, still in the fields?" Kashi also sized up the surrounding environment and asked casually.

When several people arrived at Qingmai Village Village, the time had already reached the afternoon.

Right now, in the entire house, besides the woman, there was only a seven or eight-year-old boy—at this time, he was hiding behind his mother, grabbing her pants leg, poking his head out, and looking at everyone with curiosity and caution.

Before this woman named "Kelly," who appeared particularly constrained in front of several people, could answer.

The village chief, who was slightly behind, took the initiative to explain:

"Her man died two years ago; he encountered a small group of Goblins on the way home from the fields and left behind two."

Hearing this, Kashi nodded, but there was no obvious expression change on his face, just like listening to another adventurer bragging at the wine table.

Asked casually, and listened casually.

Didn't care at all.

"The village chief has already explained to you, tell us." He went straight to the topic. "The detailed scene that day, that adventurer squad."

"Okay, okay, sir."

A pair of hands covered in calluses pinched the corner of her clothes, the woman lowered her head and began to answer stumblingly.

"That day should have been, uh, morning, right, it was morning."

"I was carrying a wooden bucket, intending to go to the well in the village to fetch a few buckets of water, and before I walked two steps out of the door, I heard Little Jack shouting, 'Mom, adventurers, there are adventurers'."

"Looking back, several adventurers wearing leather armor were rushing toward the village along the road."

"Now looking back, it was indeed a bit strange."

Working in the fields under the sun for a long time, her dark brown skin looked exceptionally rough.

"In broad daylight, and it was a plain, standing in the village, one could see the sheep on the distant grassland clearly, but those few adventurers looked back from time to time, panting, as if something was chasing them from behind."

"And what was even stranger was that after they got closer, I suddenly discovered that these few adventurers not only didn't suffer any serious injuries, but even their leather armor had few obvious wounds."

Kelly carefully raised her head and lowered her voice:

"It didn't look like they had just fought with magical beasts."

For a time, the atmosphere in the room fell into silence.

After another few seconds, Kashi frowned and pursued:

"And then?"

Kelly hurried to answer.

"Because it was during the Hunt... Hunting Day, it should be called that, right? There were many more adventurers coming and going than usual, and the village also had experience in entertaining, so we found them a few empty houses to stay for one night, and they left as soon as dawn broke the next day."

"Because my cooking was quite good, I was called over to make dinner and got a few copper coins."

"Anything else? Any other possibly useful information?" Kashi's speaking speed gradually increased, giving people a feeling of being aggressive. "The identity of those few adventurers, what they encountered during the mission, and so on."

The hurried voice made Kelly subconsciously take two steps back, and Little Jack behind her almost fell.

"They didn't talk much, they all looked very tired, and they didn't mention what they encountered, but..."

"When I was stewing, I accidentally heard the conversation of those few adventurers; it seemed they weren't adventurers who stayed in Hegu Town for a long time, just came over to earn some extra money during the Hunting Day, and they all had their own jobs usually."

"Oh, there was one person inside, it seemed he came from Niumu."

Hearing this, Xia Nan's eyes, which were slightly distracted in thought, suddenly paused, as if remembering something, and a strange expression appeared on his face.

"There were only three adventurers in total?" He suddenly asked.

"Yes, sir." Kelly nodded affirmatively. "There were only three adventurers in total."

During the Hunting Day, an adventurer squad with only three people, suspected of having encountered a Beast-kin attack, one member came from Niumu... it wouldn't be that coincidental, right?

Xia Nan felt quite subtle in his heart.

"Do you know their names?"

"Uh..." Kelly tried her best to recall. "It seemed one was called something like 'Colander'? Sorry sir, I really can't remember clearly."

That was it.

"Colander" Da Ben,

and "Ba Ke" who temporarily left the squad during the Beast-kin attack and was infected with Beast-kin syndrome.

Xia Nan suddenly felt a wonderful sense of fate intertwined.

Thoughts flowed, and one fragmented event after another connected silently in his mind.

"Colander" Da Ben's squad was attacked by Beast-kin—Ba Ke was infected with Beast-kin syndrome because of this—the squad passed through Qingmai Village Village on the way back, leaving information—Ba Ke, who returned to Niumu alone, had symptoms, killed his family—he came to Niumu because of the promotion mission—at the same time, the Beast-kin investigation commission was also hung on the second floor's mission board.

Xia Nan didn't cover up the change in his own expression.

Therefore, at the same time, the several teammates in the room also realized that he had discovered something.

There was no need to hide, just deliberately omitting sensitive information that might involve his own secrets, such as "Golden-haired Elf" and "Mirror Secret Realm," Xia Nan told everyone about his previous encounter.

"In this way, the existence of the Beast-kin can indeed be confirmed."

With half of his face covered in wave-like tattoos, Kashi rubbed his stubble and summarized.

"After all, someone has indeed been infected with Beast-kin syndrome and transformed into a bear-like beast form."

"And, if Xia Nan didn't see it wrong in Niumu at that time, we can also be considered to have obtained partial identity information about the enemy."

"—It's a Bear-kin."

"Bear-kin?" Weiruisi, who had been listless since the beginning, raised her eyebrows.

"Don't these guys always act alone, rarely take the initiative to contact people, and their personalities are said to be not bad?"

To this, Kashi just shook his head.

"Just like you, Drow Elves don't necessarily stay in the Underdark; Bear-kin can't all have the good personalities in the rumors."

"Exceptions, there are always."

This investigation outside the mission had a pretty good harvest.

While confirming the existence of the Beast-kin, they also knew that the other party was a Bear-kin.

In this way, before truly entering the Mist Forest, the members of the Sea Thorn Squad could also flexibly adjust their tactical strategies in a targeted manner.

They wouldn't be completely in the dark, not even knowing who the enemy was before the battle came.

They couldn't get any other useful information from Kelly here, and staying here had no meaning.

However, the time was already late, and twilight appeared on the horizon.

Entering the forest at this time, even if it was just the outskirts, was too dangerous.

The Sea Thorn Squad planned to stay in the village for one night and set off tomorrow morning to go deep into the Mist Forest to find the traces of the Beast-kin.

It is worth mentioning that although Qingmai Village Village looked dilapidated, it was also often visited by adventurers, and they knew how to pick meat from the fingers of these "masters" who were generous with money.

The village was equipped with several empty houses and provided relevant services, lent to passing adventurers to stay, and the price was relatively low, completely within the range that everyone could accept.

Although camping in the nearby open space was completely fine, compared to the thin blanket spread on the ground where one could even feel the stones behind, a warm and soft big bed was definitely more comfortable, and there was no need to take turns keeping watch, or be disgusted by those bugs that crawled onto their faces in the middle of the night.

"By the way."

Before the squad left the house where Kelly was, Xia Nan, who was trailing at the end, suddenly remembered something.

He stopped and turned around, his gaze looking at Kelly who was standing in place and trembling in front of him.

"You just said, your cooking is good?"

"Sor, sorry sir, I just..."

Kelly was stunned for a moment before she reacted, explaining in a panic, while carefully watching Xia Nan's expression.

Before she finished speaking, a flash of silver light entered her eyes, making her pupils widen involuntarily.

A silver coin reflecting a dazzling luster under the sun was flipping and jumping between Xia Nan's fingers.

"There is a dish, I don't know if you can make it?"

"Ding."

The metal spoon stirred the soup and collided with the bowl wall, making a crisp sound.

Carrying the rich fragrance of food, the steaming heat was exceptionally thick in the middle of winter.

It was not the cream mushroom soup with parsley leaves, mellow and thick, emitting a rich milky flavor as imagined.

At this moment, in the dining bowl in Xia Nan's hand, although many chopped mushroom slices could still be seen, the milky fragrance in the soup had disappeared.

Instead, it was a complex food composed of beans, grains, wild vegetables, radishes, onions, and cured meat slices.

If one had to say, was it a mixed mushroom soup?

Qingmai Village Village was poor and remote, and Kelly's family was even less wealthy, so they couldn't always have the necessary materials for cream mushroom soup like cream, fine flour, pepper, etc.

Such a mushroom soup was already the limit of what she could do.

Of course, compared to the meal fee Xia Nan paid, she definitely didn't suffer.

Sitting alone in the empty house prepared for several people by the village chief of Qingmai Village Village, Xia Nan scooped a spoonful lightly and sent it into his mouth.

Feeling the fusion of multiple flavors on the tip of his tongue, complex yet without adding too many seasonings, only naturally exerting the taste of the ingredients themselves, that kind of simple, most basic deliciousness.

He narrowed his eyes and nodded with satisfaction.

Just as Kelly herself said, her cooking was indeed good.

Xia Nan didn't resist his identity and work as an adventurer, but the huge pressure during the mission and the threat from the enemy, even if there were no many injuries on his body, invisibly consumed his spirit severely.

Therefore, in the mission gap, he always used to rest for a short period of time, whether it was sitting in the White Tit Tavern drinking a bowl of cream mushroom soup, or going to the forest to clean up a few Goblin nests, it could give him comfort and quickly restore his state.

Compared to other adventurers' alcoholism and gambling, his behavior was undoubtedly much healthier.

But this trip, because the time was too hurried, just returned from Niumu, then followed the squad and left Hegu Town, and later it was a series of beast-clearing missions, there was no time to rest at all, making him feel some lingering regret in his heart.

Right now, having this opportunity, and the environmental conditions were all suitable, he naturally couldn't let it go.

Drinking the mushroom soup in small sips, Xia Nan's thoughts gradually emptied.

If the attribute panel could materialize his rationality value, he would definitely be able to see the numbers "+1," "+1" constantly jumping in the air around his body.

And just at this moment, a sudden scream broke the tranquility in the air.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 201 =====