The Strange Village

"Talif Village... Witch of the Swamp, this time the monster is humanoid...?"

Realizing that this was a quest only available at level 15, Chen Zixuan became serious, memorizing the key information deeply.

If it was a one-on-one fight, that would be fine—it would hardly be any different from taking on a world-class boss. What he feared most was having to fight a whole group of level 15 monsters. If that really were the case, he might have to abandon this quest.

After sorting out his thoughts, the silver-haired girl bent down and gently spoke to the old man, "Grandpa, let me take you back to the village first. There are too many monsters here. I'll help you look for Sophina later."

Since the system had already said, "Ask other villagers for clues about the Witch of the Swamp,"

Chen Zixuan figured there was probably nothing more valuable to be learned from the old man.

He decided to escort the old man back to the village first, find out where Talif Village was, and then proceed with the next part of the quest.

However, the old man kept sitting in the mud, wailing bitterly and completely ignoring Chen Zixuan, as if he was the only person left in the world.

After half a minute, Chen Zixuan finally decided to give up.

It seemed the old man was no longer of any help to the quest's progression.

But since the old man wouldn't be persuaded to leave, Chen Zixuan had no choice but to leave him there and walk back in the direction he had come from.

He hoped the old man had come directly from Talif Village.

After walking for about ten minutes, passing through a small misty grove and following a winding dirt road forward, Chen Zixuan thought he was lost when suddenly, several rows of low thatched cottages appeared before him.

"System prompt: You have discovered a new location: [Talif Village]!"

The village was extremely small—dark, shabby, and as though it had been abandoned for over a decade. It had almost become one with the surrounding environment, making it hard to spot from a distance unless one was very observant.

At least, it had finally been found.

Just as Chen Zixuan was about to enter the village, a crooked noticeboard caught his attention.

Noticeboards themselves weren't unusual. As far as Chen Zixuan knew, there was one by the square in Crown Town, covered with merchant ads, recruitment notices, and similar flyers for players to read.

But for such a tiny village to have a noticeboard too—and for the paper on it to look surprisingly new—this piqued Chen Zixuan's curiosity.

Stepping closer for a careful look, Chen Zixuan found it was a warning document.

"Warning! There are rumors of a man-eating devil near Talif Village, who often appears as an elderly woman. Nearby residents are urged to take precaution. If you have reliable information, report immediately to Royal Capital Guards Office No. 128!"

Signed: Loren Royal Capital Guard Unit.

"The image of an elderly woman... that must be the Witch of the Swamp,"

Chen Zixuan murmured at the notice, finding the game even more interesting.

He only hoped this Witch of the Swamp was a loner—her being powerful was fine, as long as she didn't have help.

Passing the noticeboard, the silver-haired girl slowly walked into the village: "Anyone there?"

Every house had its doors and windows tightly shut. Not a single soul greeted her arrival.

It seemed the presence of the Witch of the Swamp had cast a heavy psychological shadow over these villagers.

Only after dozens of seconds did a house near the village center make a long creaking sound as its wooden door opened just a crack.

"Who are you?" came an aged, hoarse voice from behind the door, full of wariness.

Chen Zixuan didn't quite know how to respond. But earlier in the Mired Swamp, the old man had addressed her as an adventurer.

So, as she walked toward the house, she replied calmly, "Hello, I'm just a passing adventurer."

"Adventurer?"

There was a hint of surprise in the old voice within. "What are you doing in our village?"

As she drew closer, Chen Zixuan could just make out through the doorway an elderly man with white hair, a stooped back, and bloodshot eyes as if he hadn't slept in a long time.

Recalling the noticeboard's warning, Chen Zixuan tried to sound as friendly as possible and asked, "I saw the warning on the noticeboard at the village entrance about a monster. So I wanted to come help remove her for you."

"Remove her?"

The old man behind the door paused, scrutinized Chen Zixuan up and down, and immediately shut the door.

"If you go, it's a death wish. Come back another time."

"I'm being looked down upon by NPCs again...?"

Standing outside the door, Chen Zixuan was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

He tried knocking on the door a few more times, but the house remained silent.

Not wanting to give up, Chen Zixuan went and knocked on the doors of a few other houses, but received the same response.

At this point, the quest seemed to have hit a dead end.

"These NPCs are different from those in Crown Town. They seem smarter and their behavior is less predictable..."

The silver-haired girl narrowed her eyes, pondering what was odd about Talif Village.

"It's just a Witch of the Swamp. There's really no reason for them to be so terrified, refusing to open their doors even in broad daylight."

The insular nature of the village was strange—something about this just wasn't right...

No wonder this was a level 15 quest. Right from the start, there were no clues at all. Should he give up?

Just as Chen Zixuan was torn and indecisive, the system assistant suddenly popped up a new prompt.

"System prompt: Due to your level restriction, your current quest progress is now invalid. Please proceed to the home of villager Priss to investigate new leads!"

"Where there's a will, there's a way..."

Chen Zixuan let out a sigh of relief, shifted focus, and began to search around the village.

Priss was the old man Chen Zixuan had met in the Mired Swamp earlier. Even if his home wasn't inside the village, it had to be nearby.

Talif Village was small—barely a dozen households—so after a few minutes of circling, Chen Zixuan found a suspicious-looking place.

It was a low, drafty cottage, a bit remote from the village center and standing alone on a small slope.

And while everyone else's door was tightly shut, only this house's door was wide open—quite suspicious.

It seemed the old man and his granddaughter Sophina usually lived here.

Thinking this through, Chen Zixuan walked toward the cottage. As she passed a bush, she suddenly stopped.

In the air, a foul stench, familiar to her from the Mired Swamp's black mud, lingered faintly.

The silver-haired girl slowly turned her head—and sure enough, behind the bush, she found several muddy footprints.

He suddenly felt a chill and couldn't help but look around anxiously.

There was no doubt these footprints had been left by the Witch of the Swamp.

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