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Join the ServerIt was already morning, and the sun was slowly rising.
‘So, I ended up sleeping in a tree again last night.’ Felicia fell from a thick, sturdy tree, then patted the dust from her clothes.
Traveling at night was too perilous, and Felicia couldn’t locate any inhabited areas quickly. Thus, she had simply found a tree and spent the night there.
Sleeping in a tree was far from comfortable; one could easily tumble down with a moment’s carelessness.
As for how Felicia knew this?
Did they see the small indentations at the base of the tree? Indeed, those were the marks left by Felicia when she had fallen.
In essence, Felicia had only managed to sleep for half the night.
‘If I have any say in it, I hope I never have to sleep in a tree again,’ Felicia declared.
****
Having traversed through layers of forest, Felicia finally emerged. Before her lay a small stream, its waters so clear one could see straight to the bottom.
She reached out, scooping a handful of the icy water. The cool splash against her face helped to somewhat invigorate her spirits.
Felicia crossed the stream and continued for some distance. Gradually, she began to spot a cluster of houses, indicating this was likely a small village.
‘Finally, a place with people! Let me go check it out,’ Felicia exclaimed, quickening her pace as she swiftly approached the village.
Seated by a stone at the village entrance was an old woman. Sensing Felicia’s arrival, the old woman opened her eyes.
‘Young maiden, from where do you hail?’
‘Over there.’ Felicia pointed towards the nearby forest behind her.
‘Are you another traveler lost within the forest?’
‘Something like that,’ Felicia replied.
‘…’ The old woman said nothing more. She merely closed her eyes, appearing to have drifted off to sleep.
Felicia found the old woman’s ability to fall asleep quite remarkable, dozing off so readily without another word. She quietly departed.
This village was tiny, and Felicia explored it completely in short order.
‘One hundred and eighteen houses, which I’ll count as one hundred and eighteen households. That means there might not even be five hundred people here. What a truly small village,’ Felicia mused.
Would such a small village even have an inn?
No, was the answer.
Felicia had previously acquired over three hundred crystals from a hunter, but now, despite having money, she had no use for it.
‘However, if I offer these villagers money, they should allow me to stay, right? I just wonder how much it will cost.’
Deciding to act immediately, Felicia walked to a random door and knocked.
Opening the door was a woman who appeared to be in her late forties or fifties. Upon seeing Felicia, she paused for a moment before recovering and speaking.
‘Who are you?’
‘I am a lost traveler, seeking a place to stay for the night. I can pay, I was wondering—’
Before Felicia could finish, the woman abruptly closed the door. Felicia vaguely sensed the fear and disgust that had flickered in the woman’s eyes.
‘…I expected to be rejected, but not so decisively,’ Felicia shrugged. Though somewhat disappointed, she couldn’t argue.
‘Sigh, I suppose I’ll just find another tree to sleep in. The one from last night seemed quite good.’
Felicia muttered to herself as she walked, completely oblivious to the fact that she was about to collide with someone.
By the time she realized it, it was too late. The other person was sent flying directly by her impact.
Perhaps because Felicia’s true form was that of a dragon, despite appearing as a delicate young girl, she consistently sent people flying. It had happened before.
The gray-haired girl was thrown backward, her woven basket flying with her, scattering the herbs it contained across the ground.
‘Are you alright?!’ Felicia rushed to check on the person lying on the ground.
It was a gray-haired girl, appearing to be seventeen or eighteen, with shoulder-length gray hair. Her clothes looked tattered and worn, the kind no one would buy even at a street stall.
Speaking of clothes, Felicia suddenly glanced down at her own dress, a garment taken from Seraphina’s home, its quality naturally beyond reproach.
She felt this dress would fetch at least several thousand crystals, possibly more, if sold outside.
‘Hmm… she seems to be departing peacefully,’ Felicia crouched down, assessing the gray-haired girl’s condition.
‘I… I’m… not… dead…’ The gray-haired girl spoke in an incredibly faint voice. Felicia, possessing acute hearing, naturally caught every word.
‘That’s good then,’ Felicia stood up.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help the gray-haired girl, but she possessed neither first-aid knowledge nor healing spells. Even if she wished to help, she was powerless.
‘Hope they’re okay,’ Felicia said.
The gray-haired girl: …
If not for the intense pain, she would surely have retorted to Felicia: ‘I might not be human, but you are truly a menace.’
However, the gray-haired girl was only in severe pain, not seriously injured. She merely lay on the ground to recover for a few minutes before getting up.
‘My herbs!’ The gray-haired girl noticed her herbs scattered everywhere. Disregarding her pain, she quickly picked up her basket and bent down to gather the scattered herbs, tossing them inside.
Feeling a pang of guilt, Felicia also began to help the gray-haired girl collect the herbs.
There weren’t many herbs in the basket, and the two of them finished collecting them in no time.
The gray-haired girl looked up, staring intently at Felicia.
‘Is there something on my face?’ Felicia felt a little uncomfortable under the gray-haired girl’s gaze.
‘…Nothing,’ the gray-haired girl finally replied after a moment. ‘You’re an outsider, aren’t you?’
‘Yes,’ Felicia admitted without hesitation.
‘Then you’re quite unlucky. This village stopped welcoming outsiders about half a year ago,’ the gray-haired girl said.
‘Oh, by the way, my name is Yun Que. I don’t know yours yet.’
‘My name is Felicia,’ Felicia replied. ‘Did something happen half a year ago?’
‘Nothing major, really. Just an outsider came half a year ago, went insane, and killed a few villagers. Since then, the villagers haven’t been very welcoming to outsiders.’
Yun Que spoke these words with an unsettling calm.
‘That’s not major news?’ Felicia was somewhat astonished. ‘Several people died!’
‘Just dead people. It’s not like I died, so what does it matter?’ Yun Que answered indifferently. ‘You didn’t come here to debate this with me, did you?’
‘Indeed. I originally intended to rest here for a while and resupply. But I didn’t expect this village to be so unwelcoming, so I may have to leave earlier than planned.’
‘Then you’re quite lucky.’
‘What do you mean?’ Felicia looked at Yun Que, puzzled.
‘I’ve been a bit short on money lately. If you give me this amount each day, you can temporarily stay at my house.’ Yun Que extended four fingers.
‘Four crystals a day?’
‘How could it be?’ Yun Que rolled her eyes. ‘Four crystals is practically freeloading. Forty crystals a day, or no deal.’
‘Forty crystals, huh…’
Felicia’s entire fortune amounted to only three hundred and twenty-seven crystals. At Yun Que’s quoted price, she could stay for eight days.
Even accounting for some expenses for supplies, it would be sufficient.
‘At least let me stay here for one night first.’ Felicia retrieved forty crystals from her spatial storage and handed them to Yun Que.
‘Of course.’ Yun Que took the money, a smile gracing her lips.
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