The dense fog dissipated, and the once-silent small town became lively again.
Residents who had been hiding indoors came out, carrying buckets to fetch water nearby, searching for food at the town’s edges, or meeting their lovers for a long-awaited embrace…
As they passed by the group of players sprawled on the ground, utterly exhausted, the townsfolk couldn’t help but sigh.
Despite their initial apprehension, the townspeople were grateful to these adventurers. Whatever their reasons for entering the town, the adventurers had been trapped there like everyone else and even helped gather the elusive Mistgrass in exchange for food.
The adventurers, however, did not enjoy special privileges in Ella Town. They couldn’t forcibly take over the townspeople’s homes or bully the locals. Their status as adventurers gave them no advantage here.
Because the residents had not suffered at the hands of these adventurers, they held more gratitude than resentment toward them.
A few children, around ten years old, timidly approached with water jugs. Using makeshift cups made from fruit shells, they offered water to the adventurers.
“P-please have some water,” one of them stammered nervously, afraid of being turned away.
Gu Jiu accepted a cup of water from a boy and said a soft “thank you.” The boy’s cheeks flushed red as he stammered, “Y-you’re welcome,” before clutching his water jug and running off quickly.
Other players half-heartedly accepted the children’s goodwill, their thoughts indifferent.
Even though they knew this game world was a real, living world and the NPCs were sentient beings, players were mere passersby on their quest missions. With little connection to the townsfolk, it was difficult for players to form any emotional resonance with the NPCs.
As long as the NPCs didn’t interfere with their tasks, the players’ attitudes toward them remained indifferent. Their goodwill or malice held no real significance to the players.
Once they had rested enough, the players went their separate ways.
Gu Jiu and Lu Ji headed to Little Ella’s house.
Though the town wasn’t small, it would take over three hours to cross it on foot. Fortunately, the players moved swiftly and made good time.
Little Ella was leaning against the window, looking out.
When she spotted Gu Jiu and Lu Ji approaching, her eyes lit up. She pushed open the door and ran outside.
“Adventurer sister!” Little Ella said excitedly. “My grandmother is feeling much better now. The medicine you gave us worked so well. Thank you!”
She had waited here deliberately to express her gratitude to Gu Jiu and the others.
Gu Jiu patted the girl’s head and noticed that she had dressed up for the occasion. Her loose black hair had been tied into two braids that hung over her chest. Her small, fair face glowed, and she wore a slightly old but meticulously cleaned dress, making her look particularly adorable.
Smiling, Gu Jiu said, “Is that so? Let me go in and see how your grandmother is doing.”
Little Ella eagerly nodded and led them inside.
Ella’s grandmother was sitting on the bed, her eyes glinting faintly in the dim light.
Gu Jiu lit the oil lamp on the table.
This lamp was one she had brought over yesterday. It was something she had casually purchased in the game world for moments like this. Little Ella’s family was short on resources and didn’t have any oil lamps left, but Gu Jiu didn’t mind sharing hers.
It was clear, though, that the grandmother and granddaughter had been reluctant to use the lamp.
“Grandma, are you feeling better today?” Gu Jiu asked warmly, her voice carrying a deep sense of care.
The old woman replied, “Much better today, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. It seems we were fated to meet Little Ella,” Gu Jiu said as she gently pinched Little Ella’s thin cheeks, making the girl’s eyes sparkle with joy. She clearly loved this affectionate gesture.
The old woman silently observed the scene without saying a word.
After chatting with the grandmother and granddaughter for a while, Gu Jiu left some food and got ready to leave.
Blushing, Little Ella said reluctantly, “Adventurer sister, will you come again tomorrow? I’ll go find some food later and cook for you tomorrow.”
“Sure,” Gu Jiu replied with a cheerful smile, not pretending to decline. “We’ll come by to visit again tomorrow.”
Little Ella nodded enthusiastically, visibly thrilled.
As they left Little Ella’s home, Gu Jiu and her companion headed toward the mayor’s house.
When they arrived, they saw Odinson and a few other Western players stepping out of the mayor’s house. It was evident they had also come to inquire about information.
Seeing Gu Jiu and her companion, Odinson wasn’t surprised. He gave them a slight nod in acknowledgment.
The mayor, on the other hand, greeted them with a wide smile. “What brings you here? Come in, have a seat,” he said, ushering them inside and asking his wife to pour water for them.
The Western players, standing at the doorstep, watched the scene with their mouths agape.
Wasn’t this a little too enthusiastic?
Both groups were adventurers, yet when they entered earlier, the mayor had been polite but didn’t even offer them a sip of water.
Before they could make sense of it, the door shut firmly behind Gu Jiu and her companion.
Perplexed, the Western players walked away, muttering among themselves. “What exactly did those two Eastern players do to earn such hospitality from the mayor?”
“Maybe they gave the mayor a lot of Mistgrass?” one speculated.
“But we also collected Mistgrass—at least a hundred stalks and gave it to the mayor.”
Understanding the importance of Mistgrass, the players had been gathering it to exchange for information from the townsfolk. Logically, everyone’s efforts should have been on par, and the mayor’s attitude should have been consistent.
Inside the house, Gu Jiu drank the water offered to her and began to ask the mayor for information.
“You’re asking about the Ella grandmother and granddaughter at No. 58 Lisle Street?” the mayor confirmed.
“Yes,” Gu Jiu nodded.
The mayor seemed puzzled. “Why are you suddenly inquiring about them? Did something happen to them…?”
Gu Jiu briefly explained her chance encounter with Little Ella and her efforts to treat Old Ella’s illness. As expected, this earned her even more goodwill from the mayor, who then spoke openly about his knowledge.
“Old Ella is over sixty years old now, and she’s had a hard life. She was born and raised here in the town. In her youth, she was a beautiful girl with many admirers in town, but she fell in love with a young man from a traveling merchant caravan that passed through. The young man was handsome and treated her well. Who would’ve thought that once he left with the caravan, he’d never return? Old Ella was pregnant with his child, but even after the child was born, she never saw him again.”
Old Ella raised the child on her own, struggling all the way.
Her son eventually married a girl from the town and had a daughter. Unfortunately, shortly after the granddaughter was born, Old Ella’s son and daughter-in-law fell ill and passed away, leaving the grandmother and granddaughter to depend on each other.
“What kind of illness did they have?” Gu Jiu asked.
“It wasn’t anything severe, just a fever,” the mayor replied.
In the past, “fever sickness” referred to common illnesses like colds and fevers. In an era of underdeveloped medical systems, even a minor illness could be fatal. The healthcare system in Ella Town was similar to the level of Western medieval times in the real world.
After learning about Old Ella and her granddaughter, Gu Jiu asked the mayor about the owner of the Witch’s Tavern.
“Old Joseph is also a pitiful man,” the mayor said with a sympathetic expression.
The owner of the Witch’s Tavern was named Joseph, though those familiar with him usually called him Old Joseph.
The Witch’s Tavern was a property passed down to Joseph from his father. After his father passed away, Joseph took over the business.
Old Joseph never married or had children. To the townsfolk, he was considered an eccentric man. He guarded the dilapidated tavern all by himself and rarely interacted with his neighbors. If it weren’t for the tavern’s prime location and the fact that it opened for business every day, people might have forgotten it existed altogether.
“In truth, the tavern’s business hasn’t been good,” the mayor recalled. “Old Joseph has managed to keep it running, which is no small feat. I heard it’s because his prices are outrageously high. The wine he sells isn’t particularly good, yet he charges one silver coin per glass. The lodging fees are even more absurd—one gold coin per night. He spends the money he earns on all sorts of strange things…”
Gu Jiu nodded occasionally as the mayor spoke.
What the mayor described matched what they already knew about the tavern and its owner.
“Mayor, the Witch’s Tavern has been here since the town was established, hasn’t it? Didn’t it receive the magical protection of the Witch Ella back then?” Gu Jiu asked.
The mayor shook his head. “Definitely not. If it had, the Witch’s Tavern wouldn’t be in such a shabby state. However, I’ve heard that the Witch Ella did stay in the tavern once when it was first built, but she left afterward…”
Suddenly, the mayor seemed to recall something. “I remember now. My elders mentioned that Old Ella and Old Joseph knew each other when they were younger. One was beautiful, and the other was handsome. Everyone thought they would end up together, but who would have guessed that Old Ella fell in love with the young merchant from the caravan instead? And Old Joseph… well, he never married for the rest of his life.”
The mayor sighed deeply, feeling pity for the two individuals who had missed out on so much of their lives and were now both lonely in their old age.
“I see,” Gu Jiu replied, nodding thoughtfully.
After asking a few more questions, Gu Jiu and Lu Ji got up to leave.
“Ah Jiu, do you think there’s something unusual about Old Ella?” Lu Ji asked.
Gu Jiu shook her head. “I’m not sure. It just feels like everything is a little too coincidental.”
“You mean Little Ella and her grandmother?”
Gu Jiu nodded at first but then shook her head again with a smile. “Maybe I’m overthinking it. They’re probably just ordinary residents of the town.”
It was merely Little Ella’s timely appearance that had drawn her attention to the pair. However, learning that Old Ella and the tavern owner were acquainted was an unexpected gain.
“Should we go back to see them?” Lu Ji suggested.
“No!” Gu Jiu tugged him forward. “Old Ella doesn’t seem to like interacting with outsiders. Even if we went, we wouldn’t get much out of her.”
The two spent the remainder of the day asking nearby residents about Old Ella and Old Joseph, using Mistgrass as a barter item.
The younger townsfolk mostly knew little about the pair, but the older residents, like the mayor, were aware of the events from their youth. After recounting the story, they all wore the same wistful expressions.
By 3 PM, as the dense fog began to rise, Gu Jiu and Lu Ji returned to the Witch’s Tavern.
Upon entering, they saw the tavern owner standing behind the counter, fiddling with his usual assortment of odd objects.
After two days in the tavern, the players had roughly figured out Joseph’s routine. He typically appeared in the tavern during the afternoon, while at other times he was said to rest in the back courtyard on the ground floor.
The players trickled back into the tavern one by one.
By the time the dense fog had fully enshrouded the town and the monsters reappeared, there was still no sign of the two Western players, Gut and Tok.
They had vanished.
At this point, everyone was certain of their disappearance.
The players instinctively cast their gazes toward the tavern owner behind the counter, their expressions unreadable.
“It seems we shouldn’t mess with this old man,” Chai Yingying remarked with relief. “Thankfully, we’re all civilized people and didn’t provoke him.”
“Nor should we mess with the tavern itself,” Jiang Ze added.
It wasn’t clear if the two Western players had disappeared because they damaged something in the tavern or because they had tried to intimidate the owner.
Regardless, their disappearance made the remaining players increasingly cautious, refraining from any rash actions toward Old Joseph.
Just as the players decided to tread carefully and observe, they saw Gu Jiu walking toward the counter.
Lu Ji naturally followed her.
Gu Jiu called out to the tavern owner, “Old Joseph.”
Anyone who had inquired about the Witch’s Tavern knew the owner’s name, so it wasn’t surprising to hear Gu Jiu address him directly.
Old Joseph glanced at her indifferently, his face as aloof as ever. He continued to tinker with the peculiar items on the counter.
Gu Jiu’s gaze shifted to those items, and she said with a smile, “These things look quite strange. I heard from Little Ella that they’re used for making magical objects, is that right?”
Initially uninterested, Old Joseph suddenly lifted his head, his sharp eyes locking onto Gu Jiu.
“Which Ella?” he asked.
There were many girls named Ella in the town. Without a specific address, it would be easy to confuse them.
Gu Jiu replied, “The Little Ella who lives at No. 58 Lisle Street. She has a grandmother also named Ella.”
Old Joseph’s hands froze mid-action. His eyes darkened as he stared at Gu Jiu. In the dim light, his aged face appeared increasingly eerie, an unsettling aura emanating from him that made the players tense up.
The room seemed to grow quieter as the players held their breath, unsure what would happen next.