"Are our foreign friends about to leave? How are you finding tonight's entertainment?" the village chief asked weakly, managing a strained smile towards Haoyun and his companions.
"Ha-ha-ha! Not at all! The ceremony tonight is very solemn, and the performances afterward are quite diverse. It's just that we've been traveling non-stop for the past few days and suddenly feel a bit exhausted. So, we thought we'd go back to rest and prepare adequately for rescuing Little Tiger's family tomorrow," Dao Lao replied politely.
"Oh, I see. In that case, I won't keep you here to continue reveling," the village chief responded understandingly. Seeing that the chief didn't object to their departure, Haoyun and his companions didn't delay further. After bidding farewell to the village chief, they turned to leave.
"Oh, by the way, my friends, I forgot to mention something. If you could help me retrieve something during tomorrow's task, you'll be rewarded handsomely. Would you be interested in lending me a hand tomorrow?" Just as the trio had taken a few steps away, they heard the village chief's calm voice from behind.
Upon hearing this, they immediately stopped in their tracks and turned back. They realized that they had probably triggered a game questline, leading the village chief to suddenly assign them a task. They were all excited because this was the second time someone had asked for their help since encountering Little Tiger.
Dao Lao stroked his white beard and chuckled heartily, saying, "Ha-ha-ha! We are honored by your hospitality, and we are at a loss for how to repay it. Since you have a favor to ask, we will certainly lend a helping hand!"
The village chief nodded in satisfaction and then glanced slightly at one of his attendants. Immediately, one of them cleared his throat and said, "Here's the situation. As you may have noticed, our village chief's health is in a precarious state. Therefore, the entire village is trying to find a medicine to cure him. We call this medicine the 'Yin Pill.'"
Because the steward had previously mentioned the Yin Pill and the village chief's health, Haoyun and his companions didn't feel particularly surprised by this information. However, they didn't expect that the casual mention earlier would be related to the subsequent plot developments.
"It turns out that the forest Little Tiger and his family went to is called the Sparkling Forest, and they are the newly chosen ones!" Haoyun thought, asking, "So why don't you collect more medicinal ingredients each time? That way, you could prepare the Yin Pill for the chief in advance."
The attendant shook his head helplessly and said, "Alas! Do you think we haven't thought of this? Unfortunately, these ingredients only appear once every thirty years, coinciding perfectly with the chief's period of decline. So every thirty years, we must find the herbs for the Yin Pill before the chief's condition worsens. If we miss the best opportunity and endanger the chief's life, the village will face a crisis of losing the gods' blessings, and the lives of the villagers will be threatened."
"Life threatened? Does that mean that as long as your village can get the protection of those gods, the villagers here will live forever?" Haoyun asked curiously.
"It's not absolute immortality, but at least, unless there are unforeseen circumstances, we can all live for a very, very long time," the attendant replied.
After this explanation, Haoyun and his companions gained a deeper understanding of the villagers' request. Dao Lao then asked, "So, Chief, are you suggesting that we, as the new 'chosen ones,' help you search for the ingredients for the Yin Pill in the Sparkling Forest?"
At this point, the village chief, after a severe coughing fit, spoke up, "Cough, cough, cough! Exactly. In my opinion, your timely appearance during Little Tiger's family's accident and your assistance in safely returning them here is not a coincidence but an opportunity granted to us by the gods. Under their blessing, we have the chance to continue making the Yin Pill."
"So, we're asking for your help. While you assist our rescue team in rescuing Little Tiger's family, could you also help us find the medicinal ingredients for the Yin Pill? Then, safely bring the refined Yin Pill back to our village and hand it over to me."
"Are you saying, Chief, that not only do we need to help find those ingredients, but we also need to bring back the refined Yin Pill? Can't we just bring back the ingredients, and you can refine the medicine yourselves? Besides, we've never refined medicine before," Haoyun asked, furrowing his brow.
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"Don't worry, my friends. Once we find those medicinal herbs, the rescue team will assist you in refining the medicine," the steward gestured, reassuring Haoyun.
He further explained, "As for why we need to immediately refine the Yin Pill upon obtaining the ingredients, it's because the herbs for making the Yin Pill are extremely scarce and unique. Due to their very short shelf life, they will lose their medicinal properties completely within two days of being harvested. Moreover, there's no way you can return to the Village of Yinwood from the Sparkling Forest within just two days. Therefore, you must refine them as soon as possible to avoid missing the optimal refining time, lest all our efforts be in vain."
Haoyun and his companions nodded in understanding. Meanwhile, they also felt a twinge of regret. If they hadn't been restricted by the Fragrant Nebula's concealment, they would have had enough confidence to return from the Sparkling Forest with the herbs in one day. Even if that wasn't possible, they could have used the unique preservation ability of the Void Warehouse to ensure that the herbs wouldn't lose their efficacy on the way back.
However, despite their inability to use their special powers at the moment, Haoyun and his companions had no choice but to accept the village chief's task request. With the situation now clear, searching for the herbs to make the Yin Pill and delivering the refined Yin Pill to the village chief should be the main tasks they had to accomplish in this storyline.
After accepting the task from the village chief, Haoyun and his companions wanted to inquire further about the herbs they needed to find and the precautions to take during the refining process. However, the village chief only said that the rescue team accompanying them tomorrow to save Little Tiger's family would assist them in completing the task. As for other matters, they would find out once they reached the Sparkling Forest.
Seeing that the village chief was unwilling to explain in detail about gathering the herbs, Haoyun and his companions naturally harbored doubts about the true purpose of the task. They had reason to believe that the trip to the Sparkling Forest might be a trap. However, since they currently had no reason to refuse the task, they refrained from asking more about the details and instead inquired about the rewards after successfully completing the task.
"Um, if you three can bring back the Yin Pill for me, I'll give you a boat ticket," the village chief replied after some consideration.
"A boat ticket? Where to?" Dream Jia asked curiously.
"You can use this boat ticket to sail to the Island of Bliss," the village chief replied, pointing to the center of the mist-covered Bliss Lake. He further explained, "If you successfully retrieve the Yin Pill for me, you'll be saving the faithful guardians of the gods. You will naturally gain the favor of the gods for this good deed. Therefore, you will, like all the chosen ones who have successfully retrieved the medicine before, have the opportunity to visit the Island of Bliss and meet the gods. Those who are received by the gods will enter the realm of bliss and become faithful disciples of the gods."
Upon hearing this, Haoyun and his companions couldn't help but brighten up. Their first reaction was that the village chief's mention of entering the realm of bliss likely meant a way for them to leave. Thinking this, Haoyun suppressed the hope rising in his heart and, while shaking hands with the village chief to confirm the formal signing of the task agreement, confidently said, "Please rest assured, Chief. We will not disappoint your expectations and will bring back the Yin Pill for you."
After sealing the agreement with Haoyun's handshake, the village chief's demeanor seemed to improve somewhat. Then, with sudden enthusiasm, he continued to chat with Haoyun and his companions about various aspects of the Village of Yinwood. However, these discussions were nothing more than very official introductions, without any noteworthy information. Therefore, the trio simply dealt with the village chief's insubstantial topics and endured the stimulation from various circus performances for a while before finally finding an excuse to bid farewell and return to Little Tiger's home to rest.
Of course, after returning to Little Tiger's home, Haoyun and his companions didn't really rest. Instead, they sat down together and continued to analyze the various pieces of information they had gathered today, trying to find a breakthrough that would help them leave this place.
"Why do I feel that the village chief, played by Daddy Cat, is a bit strange? When we asked him about the details of finding the Yin Pill, his evasive behavior clearly indicates that he's hiding something. And do you think Daddy Cat's explanation about the Island of Bliss is credible?" Dream Jia said.
Haoyun shrugged and said, "Who knows! Whether it's credible or not, in my opinion, the task of going to the Sparkling Forest is definitely not going to be easy. There may be some special circumstances waiting for us there! As for the Island of Bliss, I think it's likely our way out of here. But we won't know the specifics until we get there."
"Dream Jia is right. We must prevent those rescue personnel from laying hands on us after we find the herbs," Haoyun said.
"Speaking of laying hands—do you think Little Tiger's family might have encountered this situation, leading to their mishap? Based on the current information, we have reason to speculate that Little Tiger's family is the so-called 'chosen ones.' So, could their accident be due to another cause? And do you all remember how the steward at the village chief's house reacted when he saw Little Tiger? He clearly showed a rather surprised and somewhat disappointed expression, as if he hadn't expected to see Little Tiger at that time," Haoyun pondered, rubbing his chin in response to Dream Jia's concern.