Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Mistaken for a Divine Envoy
To them, it was their ancestors who had committed the crime, yet their descendants were being punished for generations. What’s more, many of the people here were descendants of those who had landed on this island by mistake.
"Your village must have been set up by an expert. It looks like there’s a protective shield to keep you from being directly eroded by the curse’s power," Zephyr Sterling said after a careful inspection, simultaneously reminding Faye Yardley to be cautious.
"You have a sharp eye, young man. But we’re short on Energy Stones here, so the protective power of this array has weakened considerably. That’s the main reason we’ve had fewer and fewer newborns over the last twenty years."
Reggie didn’t deny it. After Faye Yardley had taken out the Exorcism Wind Chime, he even found himself hoping these outsiders could bring them some Energy Stones.
Of course, he knew it was a vain hope. He didn’t even know if they would take the Wind Chime with them when they left.
All he could do was hope that if he and the others showed a good attitude, it would stir the outsiders’ pity, and ideally, they would offer some help of their own accord.
After walking for about ten minutes, they passed through a transparent protective barrier. The air inside was slightly fresher than outside, but not by much.
Seeing strangers enter the village, those who weren’t busy would steal curious glances at them, with very few daring to look openly.
One child, however, who looked to be about five or six years old, ran right out. She looked up curiously at Faye Yardley and asked, "Miss, are you his new bride?"
Faye Yardley’s face was cold. "No."
"Fangfang, don’t talk nonsense! This is a Divine Envoy. Quickly, apologize to the Divine Envoy and ask for her forgiveness."
Hearing Reggie’s stern and nervous words, the little girl dropped to her knees with a thud. "I’m sorry, M-... Divine Envoy."
"It’s all right." Faye Yardley turned to Reggie, who was standing beside her. "How many other children are there around this age?"
"Only two others about the same age."
"Oh. Well, what I was getting at is, with so many of you, you must have some things you consider valuable. What do you need? If we have it, we could do some trading."
"Trading?" Reggie glanced at the other old man traveling with him, then nodded. "All right. We’re short on food, and I don’t know what you Divine Envoys might need. I’ll go and inform everyone."
Faye Yardley thought he would leave to notify everyone door-to-door. Instead, he just took two steps away, assumed a horse stance, gathered his energy, cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone, and began to broadcast: "Villagers at home, listen up! Divine Envoys have come to our island! Out of pity for our situation, the Divine Envoys are willing to help us by bartering. Anyone interested can bring anything from home you think might be useful to the village entrance."
True to the rule of three, Reggie shouted this announcement three times.
Then he told the young boy who had been with them from the start to go home. "You’re the only one in your family who can get around. Go back and ask your family if there’s anything you can bring to trade."
The boy looked at Faye Yardley with disbelief. He didn’t know if they had any good food on them. What if they didn’t?
Mustering his courage, he asked, "Can I see what food you have?"
Faye Yardley pulled a bamboo shoot and meat bun directly from her backpack. "A bamboo shoot and meat bun. Try it."
He had never seen such a plump, white bun that smelled so fragrant. He glanced at the two old men beside him and at little Fangfang, who was staring at the bun and drooling uncontrollably. Without hesitation, he took it and bit off a small piece. Instantly, his whole expression lit up.
Then, to the astonishment of Faye Yardley and her companions, he broke the bun into pieces and shared it with the other three villagers present.
Little Fangfang stuffed her piece into her mouth and swallowed it after barely two chews. The others ate their portions carefully, their expressions growing more complex.
’It’s delicious. Clean food, untouched by pollution or curses. It’s completely different from anything they had eaten their entire lives.’
The two old men had actually tasted food brought by lost travelers when they were young.
But after they, too, became villagers, not only did the clean food disappear, but the smiles gradually vanished from their faces as well.
Although many didn’t believe they could get much in return, they also had things lying around that they had no use for. So, the vast majority of villagers who had stayed home still came over, bringing items they considered useless.
When the villagers arrived and the first trade was made, all four members of Faye Yardley’s group felt the trip was already worth it, just for this exchange.
The four of them lined up, each trading for the items they wanted.
Faye Yardley traded rice balls and buns for a number of things—some she found interesting, and others that her system had flagged.
She even received a longsword blueprint that, due to being damaged, had been downgraded to Intermediate-grade.
’It’s a bit of a shame,’ she thought, ’but getting an Intermediate-grade one is still excellent. Plus, it’s a blueprint that can be loaded into an automated production workshop.’
’Looks like my brother will have to upgrade the automated production workshop on his raft.’
Fangfang came over, pulling an elderly woman with her. "Divine Envoy, can we trade with this? Grandma?"
The old woman carefully took a thin book from inside her clothes. Her eyes held a look of reluctance, but when she glanced at Fangfang, her gaze filled with love.
"Divine Envoy, please take a look."
As soon as Faye Yardley took it, she received a system notification: [Form-Intent Boxing Advancement Skill Book].
’A Skill Book that can upgrade my Form-Intent Boxing? And it just appeared like this?!’
"Yes," she said. "Besides food, is there anything else you’d like to trade for?"
"Just some food for my little granddaughter is enough."
Faye Yardley nodded, put the book away, and filled the old woman’s basket with ten rice balls, ten bamboo shoot and meat buns, ten shiitake mushroom and vegetable buns, and a head of lettuce.
She then took out a puppet doll she had gotten from a mini-game event and tucked it into Fangfang’s arms.
Fangfang was immediately captivated by the doll. "Grandma," she said happily, "the doll is smiling at me! She likes me."
’The puppet doll can actually ward off evil and protect its new owner.’ This was something Faye Yardley hadn’t expected.
The expression on the old woman’s face was no longer one of resignation but a happy and sincere smile. "Thank you, Divine Envoy. Thank you for your generosity."
All the villagers’ eyes fixed on the puppet doll in Fangfang’s arms, each one filled with unspeakable envy.
At the same time, they all began to wonder if they had anything at home that the Divine Envoy might want.
To be honest, every household had books like that at one point, but many had long been lost for one reason or another.
Kyle Lewis moved closer to Faye Yardley and asked, "Miss Yardley, is that puppet doll the one from the unboxing during the last event?"
"Yes. If you have one, you might want to trade it too. These things are useful for you," Faye Yardley said, showing Kyle Lewis the book she had just received.
"Whoa, it’s a Secret Martial Arts Manual!"
