Jiang Yuan reconsidered that while he could exit the game to eat and drink, he couldn't bring the food over, and there was nothing to eat here. He couldn't possibly let his disciple go hungry.
But Lin Chunxi's family was also struggling, and wild vegetable cakes were precious food—a pitiable thought.
"Take this rabbit back with you." He sighed inwardly. Although he wasn't wealthy himself, he couldn't bear to see others suffer.
Fortunately, soon he would be able to earn more by selling big cherries, so Jiang Yuan took out the fat rabbit he had just killed from the Storage Bag and handed over three hundred Gold Coins, "Be sure to hide the Gold Coins well so others don't discover them. Money belonging to orphans and widows can easily attract covetous eyes.
"After you go back, those villagers who fled will definitely exaggerate and fabricate stories. Just say you were scared and ran off. Answer other questions with 'I don't know,' and don't get yourselves involved."
[Disciple Wan Mingchuan favorability +20]
Jiang Yuan was taken aback again. Previously, earning favorability was understandable because he cared about his disciple's health. Now that he had given Gold Coins and a rabbit to Lin Chunxi's siblings, and these kids hadn't even raised their favorability yet, why did it automatically go up for Wan Mingchuan?
It was getting late; he glanced at the time and saw it was already half past four in the afternoon, with only an hour and a half left before the Wilderness descended. He then urged the siblings to go back quickly.
Wan Mingchuan didn't take all the wild vegetable cakes, leaving half as he repackaged them and escorted them to Cat Ridge.
Upon returning, he saw his master chopping trees with an axe, and he hurried forward to take over, "Master, please rest, let me do it!"
"You have injuries; quickly apply medicine and rest well." Jiang Yuan wiped off the sweat, took neatly cut wood from the Storage Bag, and cast Heaven-Burning Flame to make a bonfire by the roadside, advising, "I don't have any pots or pans, so make do by baking a few cakes to eat. Later, I'll see if I can catch another rabbit for roasting."
[Disciple Wan Mingchuan favorability +30]
This immediately upgraded to four hearts plus more. Am I really that good?
He didn't intend to rack up favorability; he genuinely worried that his recently taken disciple lacked medicine and immunity, potentially dying unintentionally. The system's reminder made him a bit embarrassed.
Luckily, there were still a few Jade Fish in the Storage Bag, so he took one out and handed it over, "Find a stick to skewer and roast it. Eat more to gain sufficient resistance."
[Disciple Wan Mingchuan favorability +20]
Jiang Yuan: ...
Wan Mingchuan was stunned.
He knew his master must be a mysterious cultivator, but seeing his master chop down a tree and watch it disappear upon landing, then pull out a fish as long as his forearm from thin air—he was both excited and curious, quickly thanked him, and cautiously asked, "Master, is this the means of fetching items from afar?"
Stories of Immortals ascending had naturally been passed down, but all these years Wan Mingchuan had only listened to them as mere tales, never daring to think he would ever encounter a real cultivator, let alone be taken as a disciple!
"Actually, it's a Storage Bag. If you have the opportunity in the future, you can use it too." Jiang Yuan spoke while recalling the Storage Bag from the Flame Rat leader, wondering whether to sell it or keep it for his disciple.
Without needing to hide anything, Wan Mingchuan found some Mugwort, crushed it, and asked his master to apply it to his wound. Then he ran to the lakeside, cleaned the fish, skewer it on tree branches, and let it roast slowly on the fire, raising the favorability a bit more.
"Mingchuan, I have two questions for you." Jiang Yuan asked while chopping trees, "The stranger who damaged your village's Guardian God's Divine Statue, how was he disposed of after he died? Do you remember what he looked like specifically?"
Wan Mingchuan flipped the fish, thought carefully, and replied, "His appearance... was unfamiliar. Our village, though strict, occasionally accepts some refugees for marriage and exchanges goods with them, so the interaction is quite close. I'm certain I've never seen him."
He stood up and gestured at his shoulder, "He was a head shorter than me, down to here. Very thin, with skin darker than mine, and seemed to be in his twenties. Small eyes, thin lips, a high nose bridge but with a scar, and something shiny and round on his lower lip—don't know what it was.
When he entered the village, I happened to be airing yellow hemp stalks in the square. As he passed, he spoke almost like the village chief said, acting deranged and yelling for the Yellow Flower Maiden to sleep with him. Then he fought and got beaten to death by sticks and thrown in the river.
But I heard my grandfather say he was kind of strange when he followed to see that refugee. Entering the village, he had many Gold Coins, and while fighting, carried an axe. But after he died, neither the axe nor the Gold Coins could be found!
My grandfather said that actually, the guy flaunting so much money caught someone's eyes upon entering the village, and they provoked him intentionally; the purpose was to beat him up and steal the money, leading to an altercation.
Unexpectedly, the refugee wasn't easy prey. Later, when he died, the Gold Coins and axe were gone, so they hastily threw him into the river to avoid trouble for the village."
Jiang Yuan memorized the characteristics of the possible player, and compared the height.
His clean height is 182, slightly shorter than Wan Mingchuan. He should be around 185, with the height to his shoulder being about 165. The shiny thing on the lower lip might be a lip stud, making him quite identifiable.
After exiting the game, he should pay extra attention to some news. Accidental findings would be best; it's better than not actively understanding anything.
"Is there anyone in your village who is about my height, wearing an Ironwood Ring on his left ring finger, and has gone missing recently in the Wilderness?" Jiang Yuan had to hurry to finish the side quest and find the nameless corpse's family early to ensure a proper burial, completing a good deed from start to finish.
"Missing?" Wan Mingchuan could already faintly smell the fragrance of fish meat, swallowing his saliva and shaking his head, "There are no missing people in our village, no matter who's been caught by the rat spirit and died, eaten, or accidentally killed while fleeing; we counted all the numbers today and they all matched.
Moreover... in Riverfront Village, except for the stewards and young masters of those big clans, ordinary people never wear rings on their hands. Wearing them while working is inconvenient. Master, are you looking for someone?"
No need to hide it, Jiang Yuan nodded and replied, "I found a corpse in the Wilderness and want to find his family to notify them of the death, and also bring the body back for a burial."
Sure enough, Master had great abilities, daring to walk in the Wilderness!
[Disciple Wan Mingchuan favorability +10]
Jiang Yuan: ...
Just chatting can raise favorability. What on earth has this kid automatically imagined?
While roasting the fish, Wan Mingchuan recalled how many refugees and villagers were caught by the rat spirit, beaten, cursed, and forced to labor; they tried all ways but couldn't escape. However, once his master appeared, a few words easily rescued so many people and guided everyone during a crisis.
Being able to be accepted under his master's tutelage—what an honor!
[Disciple Wan Mingchuan favorability +10]
[...+5]
[...+1]
...…
He secretly vowed to cultivate diligently, not to betray his master's compassionate heart, and do everything possible to help his master more!
Already numb and automatically ignoring the constant +1, Jiang Yuan continued chopping trees to gather wood, but his mind was pondering.
The first side quest he encountered was this troublesome? The deceased wasn't from the only decent village nearby, meaning he could only be an outsider or refugee. Moreover, what Wan Mingchuan said was very true: given their living conditions with a Guardian God's Divine Statue and farming, life was still tough; generally, who would wear a ring?
Recalling the state of that corpse, he thought the other person's physique was worth studying.