Secrets

The next morning, just as the sun rose above the treetops, the hunched old village chief was “friendly” invited by Xia De to a secluded spot.

As for why he was so certain the village chief was hiding something?

The chief's overly defensive attitude was full of suspicious points.

And as the saying goes, ordinary worlds have ordinary solutions, while extraordinary worlds have extraordinary solutions; one couldn't apply the logic of an ordinary world to this one.

Thus, he decided to have a “friendly” chat with the village chief.

Of course, his trusty accomplice by his side was still Hilia. After a night of rest, she had already returned to her usual self.

Xia De brought her along because he feared the old village chief might still keep secrets. He planned to have Hilia play the bad cop while he played the good cop, working together to pry the information they wanted from the chief's mouth.

Normally, he should have followed the typical storyline—helping out with chores to raise the chief's favorability before finally obtaining the hidden intel. But that was a loser's way of thinking!

This was just a quest. Xia De never considered himself a good person in this world. He had always maintained a clear self-awareness: in a situation where no one could threaten him, he himself was the greatest threat.

He felt absolutely no psychological burden about using slightly extreme measures.

Throwing the chief onto the ground, his cane rolling to the side, Hilia stood with a frosty expression, staring down at him with an unfriendly gaze. With her back to the light, her emerald-green eyes shimmered with a cold light in the shadows.

“Oh, ow... Lady Hinaya, I don't know how... how I have offended you. Please forgive my sins!”

The old village chief scrambled up from the ground in a panic, bowing repeatedly to Hilia, his voice dripping with terror.

“Alright, alright, Hilia, don't be angry. I'm sure the chief has his reasons.”

Xia De stepped out from behind Hilia with a beaming smile. He placed his hands on her shoulders, gently massaging and patting her back in an attempt to calm the elven girl down.

“Hmph! Why don't you ask him yourself what those 'reasons' are! He hid clues and let us wander around, making us waste so much time. And to think I actually believed he sincerely wanted to solve the village's crisis!”

“Yes, yes, yes. Calm down, I'll ask him. Just calm down, calm down.”

Xia De soothed Hilia in a gentle tone. Seeing her emotions gradually settle, he finally turned his gaze back to the still-bowing village chief and said with a smile:

“Old village chief, you haven't been very honest with us. We came here in good faith to help you solve your problem, yet you actually hid key clues from us.”

The old chief stopped bowing, looking up with a face full of grievance. “Lord Xia De, you misunderstand! I am truly grateful that you've come to help us! May I ask what key clues you are referring to?”

“Sigh, stop pretending. We already know about the legend passed down in the village.”

Hearing Xia De's words, a look of realization dawned on the old chief, and his tone became even more humble. “Lord Xia De, Lady Hinaya, you've misunderstood. That is merely a legend!”

Hilia's expression grew even colder, her pale golden hair swaying gently even without a breeze.

“See? The old geezer is full of lies. If you ask me, we should just beat him up or beat his grandson to teach him a lesson!”

Hilia's threat had an immediate effect. Upon hearing it, the old chief instantly fell to his knees and began repeatedly kowtowing to them, his hunched body bending even lower, his voice filled with deep desperation:

“Lady Hinaya, Lord Xia De, I beg of you, please do not take your anger out on Lop! He is a good boy! Please, spare him!”

An old man well past his prime was kneeling and repeatedly kowtowing to them, his voice choked with tears. Even though Hilia thought she was firm enough, she could barely hold up her act. Out of the old chief's line of sight, her face showed a trace of pity.

Then, she pouted, staring at Xia De with teary, resentful eyes, as if saying:

Xia De felt a bit uncomfortable under Hilia's gaze, feeling as if he had been caught doing something shameful. He quickly helped the old man up and comforted him:

“Village chief, there's no need for this. We aren't bad people. You just need to tell me what you've been hiding. You definitely have extra information regarding that legend.”

“I... I...”

Helped up by Xia De, the chief's expression was complex. He opened his mouth to speak but made no sound. Seeing that the chief's resolve seemed to be wavering, Xia De struck while the iron was hot, pushing further:

“Look, keeping this secret does none of us any good. Leaving aside whether it's useful to us, the mere fact that you're guarding it means you don't trust us! Besides, the village is currently facing a matter of life and death! If you speak up, we might actually be able to help you get through this crisis.

“If you don't tell us, the worst that happens to us is a failed quest, and we'll just return to the Adventurer's Guild to take on the next one. But you all will literally lose your lives. Do you really want to take this secret to your grave?

“Even if you don't care about yourself, you have to think about your grandson, don't you? He's still so young, only five years old. Do you really want him to be buried with you at such a tender age? All for some inexplicable secret?!”

Xia De's words conjured up the image of his grandson's tender face in the old chief's mind. He recalled that afternoon, and the resolute expression that had flashed across the boy's young face: “Grandpa, when I grow up, I will definitely take good care of you so you don't have to work so hard anymore!”

His grandson's youthful yet firm voice echoed in his mind for a long time. The old man sighed deeply, and then, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders, a look of relief washed over his face.

Xia De and Hilia exchanged a glance, their eyes lighting up simultaneously.

They had succeeded!

Then, the old man's raspy, aging voice rang out. His tone was deep, like an aging hero slowly recounting the glory days of his youth. “Lord Xia De, Lady Hinaya, do you know why, despite our village not having a single extraordinary, the surrounding magical beasts dare not approach?”

Xia De and Hilia both frowned. Indeed, they had harbored this doubt ever since they first arrived in Riri Village, and they still had no clue about it.

Hilia's confusion deepened as she hoped the old chief would provide an answer, but Xia De's train of thought was a bit more practical.

Are you kidding me? Forcing me to sit through lore during a quest? Didn't they know this quest's storyline was already too long for him? He had been doing story quests for three whole days! And now this!

“Stop right there, old village chief. Please just get straight to the point and keep it brief. This isn't a Q&A session.”

A Q&A session?

A question mark popped up in the old chief's mind. He didn't know what Xia De meant, but seeing Xia De's unfriendly and somewhat impatient gaze, as if he might get beaten up the next second, he silently swallowed the long story he had prepared and got straight to the point.

“Actually, that legendary adventurer did not kill the terrifying dragon. Instead, he used his sword to seal it within an underground space, and sought out guardians to watch over the seal.

“That underground space lies directly beneath our village. We are the descendants of those original seal guardians. Even deep within the earth, the dragon's aura instinctively deters magical beasts from approaching, which is why we have been able to live here in peace.

“However, as time passed, the seal gradually loosened. My son and daughter-in-law—Lop's parents—chose to become adventurers and travel around in order to find a way to repair the seal.”

Some of his questions were answered, but even more arose. Xia De asked, “Then why doesn't your village have any extraordinaries? And why don't you just move away?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, smack! Xia De slapped his own handsome face, realizing he had asked a stupid question.

Why don't they move? I mean, if the guardians move away, are they even guardians anymore?

Sure enough, the old chief spoke, though his tone carried a hint of self-mockery and irony:

“Why can't we produce extraordinaries? The legendary adventurer bound our bloodline to the seal. The seal drains the power from our bloodline at every waking moment, making it incredibly difficult for any of us to become extraordinaries. Furthermore, because the seal is bound to our bloodline, if we were to all leave, the seal would become as flimsy as paper and shatter instantly. The evil dragon would then bring disaster upon the world once more.

“That is why we cannot leave!”

“Don't you hate him? That legendary adventurer.”

This time, the question came from Hilia. She felt pity for the people living in this village. Just because of an ancestral mission, they had to live in this remote corner generation after generation, like birds locked in a cage.

If it were her, she could sacrifice herself to save others. She understood it, and she admired it, but she would always harbor a sliver of resentment.

Hearing Hilia's question, the chief was taken aback for a moment. Then, he smiled faintly, his voice filled with helplessness.

“Resentment? I suppose there is some. When I was young, I also wanted to go out and adventure, but my parents stopped me and told me of our mission. I resented it back then.

“But as I grew older, just seeing those vibrant, youthful faces made me realize that even if only for their sake, I must remain in this village and prevent that evil dragon from breaking free.

“Later, my child wanted to go out and make a name for himself. He was highly talented, even managing to break through to Tier One despite the seal's influence. He wanted to find a way to repair the seal, so he decided to become an adventurer to search for a solution.

“I didn't know if it was feasible, but looking at his face, which was the spitting image of my own when I was young, I couldn't bear to make him walk the same path as me. So, I let him go.”