"Ah... as for those wild boars you mentioned, there's really nothing we can do about them. After all, our young people have all left, and with only us old folks and children left in the village, we simply don't have the means to clear them out. So we just let them be and let them eat."
Granny Ruoxin wore a helpless expression. "They can't eat that much anyway; they just love wasting food. With these old bones of ours, we're no match for them either."
"This... why don't you post a commission at the Adventurers' Guild and let adventurers handle it?"
"It's too far away. Some kind young people have done that before, but adventurers eventually leave, while wild boars don't. Still, it's different now."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because now an adventurer has come to settle in our village."
Granny Ruoxin looked at Fengluo with a face full of smiles, her eyes holding a hint of encouragement and anticipation.
"Keep it up, young man! As the village chief of Qingce Village, I'm really looking forward to what you can do!"
"Um... actually, I'm just a half-baked adventurer."
Fengluo said with some embarrassment.
And he wasn't just being modest...
During his year working part-time at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, as well as working as an adventurer and taking on commissions from the Adventurers' Guild, Fengluo had basically never encountered any combat missions.
Even he had no idea what his current strength was.
He used to be full of confidence.
But ever since Hu Tao beat him to a pulp, that confidence had never quite been pieced back together.
Although Hu Tao had taught him the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor Secret Spear Art, he had never actually used it in real combat.
So Fengluo felt somewhat lacking in confidence when facing wild boars.
"It's fine, Fengluo. If you need help, the children in the village can also lend a hand. They once teamed up and successfully drove them off once, though the wild boars managed to escape. If you're willing to take them with you, they should be able to help."
Granny Ruoxin suggested from the side.
What kind of help could kids possibly be?
Hearing her say this, Fengluo immediately wore a troubled expression.
"It's alright, Granny Ruoxin. I can just go by myself. Having children around would only make it easier for them to fall into danger."
Fengluo politely declined.
"Hehe... Young man, you shouldn't look down on the children of Qingce Village. They might be young, but they're quite capable!"
Granny Ruoxin chuckled.
"Just saying it like this might be hard for you to understand. How about I take you to meet them?"
"Alright."
Fengluo thought to himself: Heroes emerge from a young age since ancient times. Who knows, there might actually be a few formidable kids right here in Qingce Village!
However, upon meeting the first child, Fengluo's pleasant thoughts shattered.
It was a boy who looked at most eleven years old, dressed in a traditional top and shorts, with a spirited mop of tousled hair and a small bamboo basket strapped to his back.
Though he looked energetic and quite capable, those skinny little arms and legs had zero persuasiveness!
"Hello, Granny Ruoxin, and hello to this big brother."
The child greeted them very politely.
"Ayi, this big brother is Fengluo. He'll be living in our village for a while."
Granny Ruoxin enthusiastically introduced the two of them.
"This is Ayi, the boldest child in Qingce Village. He always loves pestering Old Ghost into telling him ghost stories."
"Eh?!"
Ayi's eyes widened in surprise. "Big Brother Fengluo, did you run into some serious trouble? Why on earth would you want to come to our village?"
"Uh..."
The smile on Fengluo's face froze solid.
"What are you saying!"
Granny Ruoxin laughed playfully and gave Ayi's little head a light slap.
"What's in this basket of yours?"
"Some Jueyun Chili. They're super spicy! I heard they're really popular in Liyue Harbor, so I'm planning to dry them tomorrow and take them to sell."
Ayi replied.
"Jueyun Chili?"
Fengluo had heard of the name.
In Chihu Rock of Liyue Harbor, there was a very famous restaurant called Wanmin Restaurant.
The young chef there, Xiangling, loved using Jueyun Chili in her cooking!
"Yeah, Big brother, do you want to try some?"
An enthusiastic Ayi pulled out a fresh Jueyun Chili and offered it to Fengluo.
"Uh... No thanks, I'm not very good with spicy food."
Fengluo waved his hands repeatedly in refusal.
"Hehe~ Alright then."
"Say, Ayi, are you afraid of wild boars?"
"Of course not! I'm not even afraid of ghosts, so why would I be afraid of wild boars?"
Ayi puffed out his chest.
"The way you say that makes it sound like you've actually seen a ghost."
"Of course I've seen one!"
"Eh?"
Now it was Fengluo's turn to be surprised.
"Where did you see it?"
"Right over there at Wuwang Hill."
Ayi pointed to a hillside covered in dense woods southeast of Qingce Village.
Even in broad daylight, it was shrouded in dark mountain fog.
Looking at it from afar gave off a deeply ominous feeling.
"You actually dared to go to a place like that?"
Before Fengluo could speak, Granny Ruoxin got angry first.
"Don't you know that if kids go to a place like that, they might never come back!"
She casually picked up a nearby tree branch.
"Hands out!"
"Ow! I won't dare do it again..."
Ayi reluctantly held out his hands with a pitiful expression.
Slap! Slap!
Granny Ruoxin didn't hold back at all. Those two strikes left Ayi's hands as red as if they'd been rubbed with Jueyun Chili!
"It drives me crazy! If something happened to any of you, how could I face your parents?"
Granny Ruoxin took heavy, deep breaths, looking like her blood pressure had just spiked.
"Ah, well, Granny Ruoxin, why don't you go back and rest first? I'll keep an eye on things here."
Seeing this, Fengluo quickly shared some of the water from his bamboo tube with Granny Ruoxin.
After she drank some water, she started to look much better.
"Alright, I've made a fool of myself in front of you, Fengluo."
Granny Ruoxin sighed. "These kids are endlessly mischievous, and I can't keep them under control anymore. If they ever tick you off, don't hold it against them. Just tell me directly, and I'll discipline them."
"I understand, don't worry, Granny Ruoxin."
Fengluo replied repeatedly.
With that, Granny Ruoxin turned back, glancing back every few steps.
"Big Brother Fengluo, are you going to deal with those wild boars in the fields?!"
Ayi rubbed his red, stinging hands and asked with bright eyes.
"Yeah, got any suggestions?"
"Let's bring Xiaoliu along!"
"Who's Xiaoliu?"
"Xiaoliu is my little friend. Her dad is in the Millelith, and she has some retired Millelith weapons at home. If we can bring those along, they'll definitely be way more useful than wooden sticks!"
"Why didn't you say so earlier? Let's move!"
So, led by Ayi, Fengluo walked toward a small house.
Thump, thump, thump!
Ayi stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"Xiaoliu! Open up, Xiaoliu! It's your Big Brother Ayi!"
"What's all the racket?!"
The door was opened by a dark brown-haired little girl.
Her long hair was draped over her shoulders as she rubbed her eyes, looking like she hadn't gotten enough sleep.
"Xiaoliu, can you lend us your family's spear? This big brother and I are going to hunt wild boars!"
"Just the two of you?"
Xiaoliu furrowed her brow, looked at Ayi, then looked at Fengluo, and turned right back inside.
Leaving the two of them staring blankly at each other.
"Did it fail?"
Fengluo asked.
"N—no worries. Let's go find Dongdong. His dad works as a sailor for The Crux Fleet, so his family should have a big saber or something."
Ayi felt a bit awkward and quickly offered a new suggestion.
You guys actually have quite a lot of talent in this village, it's just that too many of them have left.
Fengluo muttered inwardly.