I can finally change maps!
It hasn't been easy!
Nanzhi almost cried out loud.
Even though the initial map’s art style was exquisite—to the point where every frame was a screenshot—anyone would want to vomit after staring at such a tiny area for three days, right?
Stepping out of the room, she finally saw the full view of the small courtyard.
Three tiled houses stood side by side, their blue roof tiles forming a continuous stretch dotted with patches of moss. An apricot tree flourished in the center, its blossoms delicate and bright.
In the corner stood a stone mill with dried leaves spread across it for some unknown purpose.
Beside the mill, two long benches were stacked together. Bloodstains were deeply embedded in the wood, giving them a polished, dark sheen.
To the side was a thatched shed. Behind the stove was a neatly stacked pile of dry firewood, and Chen Jingui was currently sitting before the fire, preparing a meal.
The courtyard wasn't large, but it was kept in perfect order.
Chen Jingui thought it over and still felt uneasy, so she quickly stood up.
“No, I still can’t rest easy. Second Sister, you watch the fire. I’ll take Big Sister out for a stroll.”
“You’re still young and thin skinned. If you run into those idle gossips with their loose tongues, you’re bound to get bullied.”
Nan Ye naturally agreed. As for Nanzhi?
To her, as long as she could go out, it didn’t matter who she was with.
Nanzhi followed the cautious Chen Jingui out the door, and a wide alley that stretched from east to west came into view.
“Fruit for sale! Medicinal papaya! Orange melon slices! Chicken head sweets! Vinegar pickled melon slices! Sweet plum ginger here—five wen a bag! Delicious and cheap!”
“Travelers from the south and north, those looking for a place to rest or stay! Come inside and take a look! Our inn can help water your horses and feed your cattle!”
“Fine silk from Bianjing! My lady, would you like to come in and have a look?”
“Honey pastries for sale! Delicious and affordable honey pastries!”
“You lazy fellow! Go to the tavern up ahead and get some mixed wine! And weigh out a few side dishes to go with it, and bring some dried fruits and candied treats!”
Pedestrians led mules and horses, bare chested porters carried loads on poles through the alley, wandering monks carried bamboo baskets on their backs, peddlers hawked fruit from baskets, and women sat before their doors chatting and laughing...
At the end of the alley was the marketplace. Fortune tellers, tea houses, clinics, cloth shops, and eateries created a scene of bustling prosperity.
It was called a wide alley, but with the hustle and bustle of people coming and going, it was no different from a market district.
“Tang? Song? Or Ming? The scene construction is very realistic. They even captured the detail of a transmigrator not knowing the common tongue. The developers were really dedicated!”
Nanzhi stared at the pedestrians for a while and found that they would actually smile at her.
She followed Chen Jingui through the alley, taking in the prosperous sights.
There were even NPCs by the road responsible for gossiping about her!
“Is that the Nan family’s eldest daughter? She really looks like she was carved from the same mold as her father!”
“She looks different than before. There’s spirit in her eyes now.”
“But I heard she still can’t speak the common tongue. She can’t even call for her father or mother. Even if she’s better, I’m afraid she’s still a fool.”
“Shh, keep it down. If that tigress Chen Jingui hears you, there’ll be trouble.”
“What’s there to fear? We’re so far away, and she doesn’t have magic ears. How could she know what we’re saying?”
No, even without going over there, I can know what you’re saying.
After all, the dialogue bubbles floating over your heads are quite conspicuous.
Nanzhi remained perfectly calm.
Chen Jingui was delighted to see Nanzhi looking at the street.
Seeing her staring at a fruit peddler, she assumed Nanzhi wanted some and waved the peddler over.
“Qi Ge, come here. Pack me some plum ginger. Be careful, don’t try to fool me with anything sour or rotten.”
“Auntie Nan, who doesn’t know that my Big Brother Yi works at the yamen, and my Uncle Nan is a man of top notch ability? Ask anyone on this street, who would dare fool you with bad goods!”
The peddler looked only thirteen or fourteen, but his eyes were sharp and clever, and his mouth was full of free compliments.
“Oh, this must be your eldest daughter! She looks so spirited. She really has recovered.”
“Today’s plum ginger is freshly made. I also have some Sweet Pear Slices. They’re very sweet. Buy more to sweeten your palate!”
Hearing her daughter being praised, the wrinkles on Chen Jingui’s face smoothed out with joy. She indeed picked out several kinds of good fruit.
“Let me ask you, has there been any news on the streets these past few days? Tell me and my daughter about it.”
“Big Sister wants to hear some news? That’s easy. I walk these streets and alleys all day. I even know where the mouse holes are under everyone’s walls.”
Seeing that she was buying a lot, the smile on Qi Ge’s face became more sincere as he described things vividly to Nanzhi.
“Scholar Wang from the east side of town took a concubine as beautiful as a celestial a few days ago. They say she looks just like the goddess at the temple fair.”
“Then there’s the Xu family who sells tea. They say they dreamed of a thick snake coiled in their backyard. When they dug it up, they found a jar of shining silver ingots!”
“There’s an Old Man Niu outside the city. His grandson broke half the tail of a yellow weasel. The very next day, Old Man Niu became lame and couldn’t work the fields!”
Nanzhi listened with great interest, not finding it boring at all. When Qi Ge stopped, she even urged him to tell a few more strange tales.
Qi Ge usually talked too much and many people found him annoying, but seeing that the Nan family’s eldest daughter liked to listen, he couldn’t help but feel proud and told another.
“There’s another strange thing nearby. At the entrance of Lingbai Alley, there’s a family named Qiao.”
“They run a tofu grinding business. For the past half month, Lady Qiao has heard someone sighing under her window every night.”
“The next day, their tofu smells sour and rotten. They can’t sell any of it. Ha, Lady Qiao is so worried her hair is almost all gone.”
Rural ghost stories and folk mysteries.
Now this feels like a cultivation game!
Nanzhi listened with satisfaction and nodded repeatedly, taking the paper wrapped fruits and stuffing them into her inventory.
Beside her, Chen Jingui, fearing her daughter would be frightened, laughingly scolded him.
“You little monkey, talking about ghosts and gods all day. Be careful or the King of Hell will send a little ghost to take you away!”
“The King of Hell is very busy. He has no time to deal with someone like me—”
As soon as Qi Ge spoke, he suddenly noticed Nanzhi’s small movement and couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
Chen Jingui turned her head, and the smile on her face suddenly froze like a clump of solidified lard.
She saw the bags of fruit in Nanzhi’s hand disappear one by one, and then move from her left hand to her right, replaced by a few stalks of glowing green grass, like a magic trick.
【Candied Fruits * 3: Ordinary Candied Fruits. Increases Mood by 1 upon consumption.】
“So there’s even a Mood stat setting...”
Nanzhi stuffed the Hemostatic Grass into her inventory and looked up to meet two extremely shocked faces.
It was as if she had just done something heinous.
Nanzhi: “...”
What kind of broken game is this where NPCs react to the player using their inventory?
...
...
“I saw it with my own eyes! Big Sister picked up those three bags of fruit, and the paper packages just vanished!”
“Qi Ge the fruit seller saw it too. I gave him a small piece of silver and told him not to go around blabbering.”
As soon as Nan Dazhuang returned carrying a fat chicken, he saw his wife and second daughter waiting at the door, eagerly telling him about what happened today.
“Truly? Big Sister made those three bags of fruit disappear?”
Chen Jingui nodded like a chicken pecking rice, pointing at a pile of green wild grass on the table.
“I certainly didn’t see it wrong. Big Sister even pulled out a handful of glowing green grass from nowhere. When Second Sister asked for it, she gave it to her.”
Nan Dazhuang was somewhat skeptical. He turned to look at Nanzhi and coaxed her in a low voice.
“Big Sister, how did you do that trick? Can you show Father again?”
He was very burly, with a full beard, thick eyebrows, and large eyes. With his hawk nose and tiger mouth, he had a fierce look even when silent, enough to stop a child from crying at night.
At this moment, seeing such a tough man lowering his voice only felt incredibly jarring.
Again?!
Nanzhi felt a bit helpless, but she dutifully opened her inventory, took out the three bags of Candied Fruits, and with a wave of her hand, the three bags vanished again.
“Hiss—”
Nan Dazhuang’s face twitched, his expression filled with the same blank shock as his wife and daughter.
Rate on N.U.
