Chapter 60: Upper River Village, a Peculiar Village

Upper River Village.

More than ten li up the river from Wuyou County sat a village named Upper River.

Upper River Village possessed an advantageous geographical location. Fertile farmland lined the riverbanks, and ferocious beasts were nowhere to be found in the surrounding area. Neat and orderly houses stood amidst fields where men farmed and women wove, resembling the pristine Utopia depicted in storybooks.

This was Upper River Village.

It was also the hometown of Lu Yuan, the head constable of Wuyou County.

Quiet Night had lingered in Wuyou County for several months, scouring through all kinds of documents and records, yet she still had not obtained the answers she desired.

Information regarding Lu Yuan was simply too scarce.

The records passed down and documented were always the exact same routine.

Things like how he slew a tiger at a certain age, became a constable at another, and wiped out some mountain stronghold or martial arts sect at yet another.

Though it seemingly contained a vast amount of information, it actually amounted to nothing more than what could be summarized in a few literal words.

This was not the information she was looking for.

What she wanted was something far more detailed and intimate.

Eventually, from the lips of a small-time peddler, she managed to glean alternative pieces of information.

Lu Yuan's hometown was Upper River Village.

Lu Yuan was an adopted child.

When Blacksmith Lu was passing through Upper River Village, he happened to cross paths with Lu Yuan, who had been abandoned in the wilderness by the villagers.

Legend had it that when Lu Yuan was born, ghosts wept and wolves howled, leading the people of Upper River Village to believe this was an ominous portent, prompting them to cast him away.

No one knew who Lu Yuan's biological parents were.

She had questioned every NPC in Wuyou County, but yielded no answers.

In search of the truth, she had come to Upper River Village.

She hoped to extract the answers she sought from this very place, providing more data for analyzing the character of Lu Yuan.

...

"The scenery in this village is truly wonderful."

"When I retire, I must definitely settle down and live right here."

"What a lovely prospect that would be."

Dudu opened her arms wide and revealed a smile.

"Keep dreaming."

"The people of this Upper River Village are fiercely xenophobic and hostile toward outsiders."

"Especially players like us; who knows how many times we've been driven out."

"Wanting to settle down here is going to be a bit difficult, oh."

Quiet Night ruthlessly shattered Dudu's delusions.

Before coming here, she had already done her research on this village.

Upper River Village consisted of over three hundred households, all bearing the Dragon surname and belonging to the same ancestral bloodline.

The village had a poor reputation in the surrounding region due to its xenophobia.

Whether it was passing NPCs or players, once they set foot in the village, the favorability ratings of these neutral villagers toward them would steadily plummet.

If one stayed just a little too long, the villagers would even shift into a hostile faction and violently expel the intruders.

Ever since the game servers launched, numerous nearby players had complained that the NPCs in this village were out of their minds.

Players whose spawn points were located here found it completely impossible to play the game normally and were forced to migrate to other villages.

This village was truly bizarre.

"Xenophobic? Then what do we do?"

Dudu rubbed her head, looking somewhat puzzled.

"What else can we do? The old rules, of course."

Quiet Night waved her hand indifferently, then strode toward the village.

"The old rules?"

"What old rules?"

"Money."

"Money makes the mare go."

"I refuse to believe that no matter how xenophobic this village is, they can also xenophobic against silver taels?"

"There is nothing in this world that cannot be solved with money. If there is, it just means you haven't thrown enough money at it."

"I lack many things, but silver is the one thing I have in abundance."

"Oh, sister me, I really am just too wealthy."

Quiet Night flashed a confident smile.

Her entire being radiated the scent of money.

"Ah, these damned wealthy people."

"So this is the joy of being a sugar mommy?"

"Wuwuwu, wealthy mommy, I'm hungry, I want food, please adopt me."

Dudu excitedly rushed forward and hugged Quiet Night's thigh.

Only to be kicked away by a swift leg swing from Quiet Night.

"Adopt you? Candles, whips, and steel wire balls—take your pick from these three."

"Whoa, wealthy mommy, you play so rough? Forget it then, my bones are too brittle to endure such things."

"Then stop yapping and let's get down to business."

The moment Quiet Night and her companion stepped within the borders of Upper River Village, their system notifications began to ring incessantly, warning them of dropping favorability with nearby NPCs.

[Ding! Dragon Big Bull's favorability toward you has decreased.]

[Ding! Dragon Big Shrimp's favorability toward you has decreased.]

[Ding...]

Just as expected.

The two ignored these prompts, and Quiet Night quickened her pace, walking straight up to an elderly man.

The older they were, the more things they tended to know.

"Outsiders, get out of Upper River Village."

"Upper River Village does not welcome you."

Gazing at the two figures before him, the old man immediately stood up, his tone exceptionally hostile.

"Old timer, we harbor no malicious intent."

"We came to Upper River Village simply to ask about some information. Once we get our answers, we'll leave."

Quiet Night suppressed her irritation, forcing herself to appear as friendly as possible.

"Upper River Village does not have the information you seek."

"Get lost."

The old man refused to buy into it, pointing toward the outer perimeter as he shouted.

Hearing the commotion over here, the young men of Upper River Village all grabbed hoes, pitchforks, and wooden clubs, marching aggressively toward the two women.

"This old man has a truly foul temper."

"The psycho old lady living downstairs from me doesn't even match a tenth of him."

Dudu muttered under her breath.

"Answer me one question, one silver tael."

Without wasting any more breath, Quiet Night fished a silver tael from her pouch and placed it directly in front of the old man.

"One silver tael?"

"Really?"

"This outsider is so wealthy."

Before the old man could speak, the young men gathered around could no longer restrain themselves.

This was a whole silver tael!

Based on modern purchasing power, a single silver tael was equivalent to two or three thousand yuan. To get two or three thousand yuan just for answering a single question—who could possibly resist such temptation?

Yet, the old man before them refused.

His gaze remained hostile as he pointed firmly toward the village entrance.

"Take your silver and get out."

"I'll say it one more time: Upper River Village does not have the information you're looking for."

The old man's stubbornness exceeded Quiet Night's expectations.

However, she was not discouraged. Unflustered, she retrieved another silver tael from her robes.

"One question, two silver taels."

"Everyone, your annual harvest probably amounts to about two silver taels anyway. Just one question, and you get two silver taels right now."

Quiet Night raised her voice significantly, ensuring it carried as far as possible into the ears of the surrounding crowd.

Just because this old man could resist the temptation of silver didn't mean others would be able to do the same.

"Me, me, me! Ask me, I know everything!"

From within the crowd stepped forward a young boy. The look the youth cast toward Quiet Night carried no hostility whatsoever, and was even somewhat friendly.

As expected, money truly was omnipotent.

No one could escape the law of yielding to true temptation.

"Dragon Goutou, have you forgotten the ancestral rules?"

The old man let out a furious bellow, startling the young men nearby with similar thoughts and making them recoil several steps.

"Second Great-Uncle, I remember the ancestral rules, but I need money—I need a lot of money! I need money to buy medicine for Grandma's illness! I'm begging you, Second Great-Uncle, Grandma is the only family I have left."

Dragon Goutou fell to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly.

"You..."

"Ahhhhh!"

"I won't care about you anymore."

"Do as you see fit."

The old man shouted in exasperation, then turned on his heel and strode away without lingering for even a fraction of a second.

Ancestral rules were important, but the life of a fellow clansman was equally vital.

Unwilling to make a choice, he could only pretend he hadn't seen anything.

"Thank you, Second Great-Uncle."

"Sigh."

"Do as you must, Goutou."

The surrounding villagers patted the boy on the shoulder before departing.

Only Dragon Goutou and the two women remained.

"Ask whatever questions you have."

"If there's anything I don't know, I can go ask Grandma."

"My grandma is the oldest person in the village; she knows everything."