Chapter 132: The Mysterious Fishing Village and the Salted Fish Merchant

System prompt: Trigger the adventure event [Guidance from the River God].

Mission description: You and your companion accidentally dropped an axe into the river while crossing it. Fortunately, with the guidance of the river god, she told you that you can find what you want in a small fishing village downstream. However, she was vague about the details, and you still don't know what is waiting for you there.

There is only one piece of advice from her that you should keep in mind: as long as you stick to honesty, you will get the reward you deserve.

Mission Objective: Go to the fishing village for further investigation.

Mission reward: ????

(Damn, I guess he won’t really give it to me.)
Xiao Jie looked at the river surface which was gradually returning to calm, and thought helplessly in his heart. Although he had thought of it a long time ago, he was still a little disappointed.

It seems that you have to complete the subsequent tasks to get the reward.

I just don't know if this beautiful river goddess is a real river goddess or a monster in disguise, just like the tree goddess, or some other special existence.

But it doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not. I can’t report to the village chief like I did in the past.

At this moment, he really missed the story missions in the online games he played in the past. He could just skip them and kill a few mission monsters at random. It was nothing like this game, where he had to rack his brains to come up with all kinds of strategies.

When encountering these highly intelligent NPCs, I actually felt like my IQ was suppressed.

The various behaviors of the riddle man are really annoying.

"Brother Feng, shall we go to the fishing village?"

"Go, you have to go. We finally encountered an adventure mission, but adventures must have rewards. Although the rewards are unknown, they must be very good. Moreover, we should have completed the first step of the test just now. This kind of thing can only be encountered by chance, how can we give up so easily.

This adventure is definitely not as simple as it is in the story. It is not just a matter of telling a few truths. However, I think that story is still worth referring to. Remember this key word - honesty. I think this point is very important for the final task to be completed. "

The two of them stopped fighting monsters. Fighting monsters and leveling up is not as exciting as encountering a fortuitous encounter. They just walked along the river beach towards the south. I wanted to become an immortal, but I lost my giant axe, so I had to pick up my old battle axe and use it first.

Sure enough, not long after they walked, a river fork appeared in front of the two men. The main river channel rushed down, and no one knew where it was going. However, there was a small fork on the side of the main river channel. The two men continued to move forward along the fork. The white river beach gradually disappeared, and was replaced by a dense reed marsh.

In order to ensure a clear view, the two had to make several circles and pass through a sparse woods. Suddenly, the river came to an end, and in front of them was a small lake. Around the lake were some thatched huts and bamboo fences. It really was a small fishing village.

But this fishing village doesn’t look normal, and it feels dilapidated.

There were tattered fishing nets drying on the wooden racks, and there were several fishing boats parked near the river bank, but they were all in a dilapidated state, and some were simply rotten.

Some of those huts have collapsed or their roofs are leaking, and they look completely uninhabited.

Only a thatched cottage at the deepest part of the village looked relatively intact, with some salted fish hanging on the shelf next to the door.

Xiao Jie has become accustomed to this style of painting. The world seems to be like this everywhere, decadent and dilapidated. Only in the Novice Village or Luoyang Town where players stay can one feel a sense of peace and tranquility.

The two of them walked around the lake and the village, but there was no one around.

Xiao Jie was very alert. Whether there were people around or not was secondary. The key was whether there were monsters.

I wanted to become an immortal but was always looking for his giant axe, my eyes looking into the lake from time to time.

But the lake was pitch black, and he definitely didn't dare to go into the water to look for it.

"What are you two looking for? Do you want to buy salted fish?"

The sound startled the two men. They turned around suddenly and saw an old woman sitting in front of the slightly intact hut, looking at them warily.

Granny Li (Salted Fish Merchant): Level 24, HP 710.

Xiao Jie thought, damn, a salted fish merchant is already level 24? What a joke, this Granny Li is definitely not simple.

He was afraid that becoming an immortal might cause trouble, so he spoke quickly.

“Old man, we are returnees who specialize in exorcising demons and punishing evildoers. We heard that there are often mermaids and water ghosts that harm people by the river, so we came to see if we can find a few to kill.

"I just happened to be here, please forgive me if I disturb you." "Returnees? I've heard of you, do you exorcise demons? Haha, that's a coincidence, there are really mermaids causing trouble here recently, I'm an old lady living here alone, helpless and frightened for some days, you came at the right time.

If you can help me get rid of this disaster, I will be very grateful to you, old lady."

Hey, are there really mermaids?

"Then I wonder how the reward is calculated? We, the returnees, have to spend money to exorcise demons. Repairs, potions, and meals all cost money, so you know..."

"Hahahaha, I understand, I understand. Although I don't have much property, I still have some money for my coffin. I will not let you work for nothing. I will give you 100 coins for killing a mermaid. I will give you as many as you kill."

[System prompt: Triggering the task [Hunting Mermaids], this task is a related task to the adventure event [Guidance of the River God], and may have an impact on the final outcome of the adventure. Players can choose whether to accept it.]

You have to accept it. There are no monsters to level up with. You can level up, make money, and advance the plot at the same time. Why not do it?

The two of them accepted the task decisively.

"Old lady, where do those mermaids usually appear? Please tell me."

"It's on the lake shore over there. It will come ashore from time to time to cause trouble. Judging from the time, it must be coming soon. You two should be prepared."

Xiao Jie looked in the direction the old woman pointed, and saw two strange mermaid corpses lying in the shallows of a lake.

The corpse looked like a fish in the lower half and a human in the upper half, but it did not have the beauty of a mermaid at all. The upper half was human, but it was only 70% similar. Its body was covered with fish scales, and its facial features were completely different from those of humans. It also had gills and fins behind its ears.

Mermaid Pearl Seeker (deceased), level 12, health 0/260.

It's only level 12, so it shouldn't be difficult to deal with.

Wait, who killed these two bodies?
He looked at the old woman and thought, could it be this aunt who did it? It should be.

Level 24 beats level 12, pure level crushing.

Xiao Jie became more and more confused about the old woman's identity.

Why did the river god guide them here?

Before the monsters were spawned, Xiao Jie simply started talking to Granny Li.

"Grandma Li, do you still sell salted fish here? Let me take a look."

"Haha, of course, it's not a good thing either."

A product list popped up in front of Xiao Jie, with only two items in it.

Salted fish (food)

Use: Restore 20 points of satiety and add a 'thirst' DEBUFF to you.

Item Description: Salted fish cured with a large amount of salt, can be preserved for a long time, and has a very strong taste. 】

【Mysterious fish jerky (food)
Use: Restores 30 satiety points and increases your swimming speed by 50%.

Item Description: Dried meat made from unknown fish meat, processed by secret methods, and very chewy to eat. 】

Hey, this mysterious fish jerky has a story.

Under normal circumstances, the introduction of food will not be vague, such as pork, lamb, venison, etc., it will be clear and concise.

But if it's mystery meat, then there must be something to it.

The same goes for this mysterious dried fish. Since it is written like this, it must not be common fish. Xiao Jie glanced at the mermaid corpse not far away - could it be mermaid meat?
It is no wonder that he made this association: the dilapidated fishing village, the dead mermaid, the mysterious old woman, and the inexplicable guidance of the river god, all led the story towards a strange and bizarre style.

Not to mention the dried mermaid meat, it wouldn't be surprising even if the old woman in the end was a black shop that killed people and made human meat buns.

(End of this chapter)

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