Chapter 343 Unknown Journey and Distant Hope

Xia Nan could kill tangible monsters, but he was powerless against the invisible monsters in the villagers' hearts.

Faced with the death of the old village chief and the permanent end of the sacrificial ritual as declared by Aspen, the villagers' reactions were completely unexpected.

They were neither angry over their leader's death, nor joyous at being freed from the shackles of the "sacrificial ritual."

Time seemed to freeze.

The dense crowd huddled together like a flock of frightened sheep. They stared dumbfounded at the elderly man who had been their village chief for decades, now twitching in a pool of his own blood, and then at the experienced hunting captain standing with his longbow, a man of equal prestige in the village.

The first sound to break the silence was a sharp gasp.

Once the dead silence broke, it was replaced by a more suffocating panic, as thick and sticky as mud.

Xia Nan could feel the villagers' confusion and helplessness.

He also clearly noticed their almost instinctive reactions once they fully processed the scene before them:

An old woman suddenly yanked her ignorant granddaughter behind her, as if this could completely isolate the girl from the people in the clearing. A lean, middle-aged man tightened his grip on the farming tool he held as a makeshift weapon, his eyes wary, taking a slight step back as if to draw a line between himself and Xia Nan's group—

Mutters and whispers quietly spread through the crowd:

"They... killed the chief..."

"The ritual wasn't completed. Will the disaster..."

"Outsiders... they shouldn't have..."

There were no cheers, nor was there any gratitude.

Rooted in fear, their deep-seated, almost instinctive understanding of the sacrificial ritual had been passed down for generations. It couldn't be easily uprooted by a single dead body or a few words from an impulsive youth.

To some extent, this couldn't even be called ignorance or evil.

Indoctrinated since childhood, the residents of Fog Lamp Village had long linked the "risk of the sacrificial ritual failing—disaster descending" with the "price of sacrifice—the death of an individual."

Even if Dongshu tried his best to explain that the so-called great entity in the Canyon had already been completely slain by a passing adventurer, and that the sacrificial ritual was a lie fabricated by the chief to maintain his rule...

The villagers still couldn't just completely believe it.

Fear of the uncompleted sacrificial ritual, panic over the chief dying to Aspen's arrow, and bewilderment about their future lives in the face of this massive upheaval—these were the true reflections of their current emotions.

Perhaps only as time passed, when they tremblingly stopped sending young girls into the Canyon, gradually replaced the sacrifices with livestock, and found that no "disaster" actually descended, would they finally abandon those foolish traditions soaked in blood and tears.

And it probably wouldn't be until then that the villagers would truly realize the significance of everything that had happened before their eyes today.

Xia Nan quietly watched the scene, his expression calm and devoid of emotion.

His heart was similarly undisturbed.

He was willing to help kill the Fog Lamp Monster and the druid behind it partly because of the Association's quest requirements, which necessitated entering the Canyon to harvest fog lamp grass;

On the other hand, he was also just following his own conscience.

From the very beginning, he hadn't expected to gain anyone's approval or gratitude; he simply did it for his own peace of mind.

Yet, seeing this scene still stirred an indescribable melancholy deep within him.

A sword's edge was sharp enough to cleave boulders, but it couldn't sever the shackles in people's hearts.

Often, it seemed that simply eliminating the source of a problem would put an end to all the tragedies born from it.

But reality was often far crueler. The tainted soil, the twisted beliefs and ideologies, the deep-seated fears...

...were far more stubborn and difficult to eradicate than the "problem" itself.

Xia Nan was just an ordinary person, a transmigrator raised in modern society with normal values, a passing adventurer who found joy in slaughtering goblins.

He had no right to lecture the villagers on what was correct, nor did he have any obligation to free them from their ignorance.

Killing the druid, eliminating the root of all this, and revealing the truth to everyone was already the absolute limit of what he could do out of the goodness of his heart.

As for how things developed from here—that would be entirely up to the villagers themselves.

At the front of the crowd.

Aspen's trembling fingers gently stroked the grip of his bow. His faintly bloodshot eyes stared at those few crooked words, his lips moving as if he were muttering something.

It wasn't until the restless murmurs from the crowd behind him grew increasingly harsh that his mind finally returned to reality.

In silence, he slung his bow back over his shoulder and slowly raised his head.

As the second-in-command, whose status in the village was second only to the chief's, the death of that wrinkled old man by his own arrow meant this weathered, middle-aged man had tacitly become the new leader of Fog Lamp Village.

He didn't speak, but the mere act of putting away his bow was enough to quiet the stir in the crowd.

Then, under their watchful eyes...

Aspen stepped forward. As he handed the druid's diary back to Xia Nan, he bowed solemnly with unprecedented seriousness:

"Thank you for your help to Fog Lamp Village, Mr. Xia Nan!"

"No matter what you need, as long as it is within our power—we will never refuse!"

Faced with such a solemn and earnest display, Xia Nan naturally wouldn't ignore the man's sincerity.

However, to him, Fog Lamp Village was merely the most unremarkable of the countless human settlements he had passed through and would pass through in the future. Now that he had finished harvesting the fog lamp grass, there was no reason to stay or interact any further.

As for rewards—when the entire village combined probably wasn't even worth as much as his equipment, it didn't seem to hold much meaning anyway.

He simply nodded slightly to acknowledge the man's gratitude, then changed the subject, asking Aspen:

"So you plan to take over as the village chief and stay in Fog Lamp Village?"

Hearing this, the quiet, resolute middle-aged man nodded.

"The sacrificial ritual has long been exposed as a lie, so there's no need to hold it anymore, but they..."

Aspen's gaze subconsciously drifted toward the villagers, who were quietly watching them.

"Without a firm leader to guide them, it would be difficult to break the inertia of traditions that have lasted all these years."

"I will lead Fog Lamp Village out of the mud."

Aspen's daughter had died in the sacrificial ritual. Upon learning the truth, his emotions were incredibly complex.

But just as he had painfully chosen the "continuation of the village" over the "life of a loved one" under the chief's intense pressure back then, Aspen also possessed the deepest affection for this village and the land that had raised him.

Despite his regret and remorse, he simply couldn't bring himself to leave alone during this critical moment that would decide the village's future.

Xia Nan offered no opinion on the middle-aged man's choice, instead turning to look at Dongshu and Lillie beside him.

"What about you two?"

"We're leaving," Dongshu said, his expression resolute despite the dust clinging to his clothes. "Lillie and I have already discussed it—we're going to Rivervale Town!"

The young woman beside him nodded silently. They must have discussed it while waiting at the Canyon gates.

"Rivervale Town?" Xia Nan raised an eyebrow, looking at the young man who had just gone through such a massive upheaval. "What do you plan to do there?"

Dongshu raised his head, his eyes flashing with a mix of pain and hope. He opened his mouth and uttered the word Xia Nan had expected:

"Adventurers."

Xia Nan sighed helplessly in his heart. As a seasoned adventurer himself, he deeply understood the absurdly high mortality rate of the profession and the various hardships involved.

To some extent, Xia Nan quite admired this reckless yet brave young man, and he respected his choice. But he didn't want to hear about his death one day through the idle chatter of tavern patrons, nor did he want to see the boy passed out drunk outside a casino late at night, having fallen into depravity.

However, looking at it from their perspective, given the current situation in Fog Lamp Village, even with Aspen looking out for them, things would be difficult for Dongshu and Lillie, who had escaped the sacrificial ritual and supposedly angered the Spirit of the Canyon.

Until the villagers completely broke free from their deeply entrenched, ignorant customs, their attitudes toward the pair would be terrible.

Staying in the village would only invite rejection and apathy. Considering all this, and believing that becoming an adventurer wasn't exactly a great way out, Xia Nan pondered for a moment before offering a word of warning.

"Are you sure?"

"This path—it's not an easy one to walk."

"I know." Dongshu nodded heavily. "I've heard about the risks of being an adventurer, and I know the hardships we might face."

"Don't worry, I won't bite off more than I can chew."

"Once we get to Rivervale Town, we plan to find odd jobs to support ourselves first. We'll also use the opportunity to gather information about adventurers. Once we have a detailed understanding of the industry, I'll decide whether to join or look for another way out."

With so little time, the two young people naturally couldn't have come up with an overly detailed plan.

But seeing that Dongshu wasn't blindly jumping in out of envy for an adventurer's strength and wealth, and that he actually had his own plans, Xia Nan felt slightly relieved.

Come to think of it, if they just wanted to make a living, Rivervale Town—frequented year-round by wealthy adventurers and merchants—was indeed a solid choice in the surrounding region.

Traveling to an unfamiliar town might be dangerous for two people with nothing to their names, but it was also a path that put their destinies in their own hands.

Truth be told, compared to Abi—who had come from a similar rural background with zero combat training—Dongshu had at least apprenticed under Aspen as a hunter for a few years. He trained hard and possessed a decent foundation.

If he could find a good party, gain some experience, and stick to simple goblin nest-clearing quests, as long as he didn't pick up any bad habits, it would be enough for him and Lillie to live a relatively decent life in Rivervale Town.

It was a viable way out.

He didn't say anything more, only giving a slight nod:

"It's good that you have a plan."

Aspen seemed to have anticipated their decision.

He clapped his thick hand heavily on the young man's shoulder, his tone solemn yet filled with emotion:

"Be careful out there, and don't try to be a hero!"

"If things get too hard, come back. With me here—no matter what, the others won't dare give you a hard time to my face."

Dongshu nodded heavily. He didn't reply, his body trembling slightly as he seemingly fought to suppress his emotions.

"Don't rush off just yet. Come back with me for a bit."

"After all these years, you've reached the point where you can graduate from your apprenticeship. I have a few things to give you when we get back."

Standing to the side, Xia Nan listened as they went over their future arrangements.

Knowing that the wrap-up work for this short adventure was mostly handled, he figured it was time to say goodbye.

Xia Nan tightened the straps of the backpack holding the fog lamp grass, preparing to take his leave.

However, he noticed Dongshu suddenly acting hesitant and fidgety, as if holding back words he was too afraid to speak.

After being prompted, the freckle-cheeked young man finally made his request, looking extremely embarrassed:

"Mr. Xia Nan, as you know—it's quite a long journey from Fog Lamp Village to Rivervale Town, and we might have to pass through the outer edges of the Misty Forest."

"Of course, it's definitely not a problem for you, but for Lillie and me, the road would be much more dangerous."

"So I was wondering—if you could—take us with you on your way back—"

"Please rest assured, we promise to listen and not cause you any trouble!"

"And we'll definitely pay you for your trouble!"

At this point, his voice, which had grown slightly louder with his guarantee, suddenly weakened, leaving him sounding completely devoid of confidence.

"Though we might need to owe you for a little while... Once we make some money in town, we'll pay you back."

Thinking it was something urgent, Xia Nan waved his hand casually upon hearing Dongshu's words, signaling the young man not to overthink it.

He directly agreed to the request.

Although he had been delayed in Fog Lamp Village for two days because of the sacrificial ritual, he had already saved a lot of time on the journey here. Altogether, he was still far from the quest deadline, leaving him with plenty of time.

He was planning to head back anyway. Bringing two extra people along wasn't a difficult task for the current Xia Nan; it was merely a matter of convenience.

Even if they ran into some trouble on the way, he had more than enough leeway to handle it.

"Then let's head back to your village first. I need to restock my supplies a bit anyway."

"We'll set off together tomorrow morning."

Hearing this, Dongshu and Lillie both revealed expressions of pleasant surprise. That vigorous vitality unique to youths and their beautiful expectations for the future were things the two had never shown while in the Canyon.

The horizon was bathed in the rosy hues of sunset, casting the group's long shadows across the ground in the opposite direction of the village.

Behind them were the dilapidated wooden cabins faintly visible in the dim hollow, the lost and silent villagers, and the nightmares of the past;

ahead were shrub branches swaying in the wind, the brilliant and radiant sunset glow, an unknown journey, and a distant hope.