Chapter 194 In Which the Single Dad Experiences Hardship

Old Village Chief was stunned by Vivian's question. He stroked his beard and recalled, "We've had quite a few outsiders lately, all sorts of appearances. Now that you mention it, I really can't quite remember..."

Hao Ren thought for a moment. "Was there a woman who told you she came from another world and was trying to find a way home? She probably didn't speak the local language."

The Old Village Chief's eyes lit up. "Oh, there was someone like that. She passed through here a couple of days ago and stayed overnight. I remember her particularly well because at first, no one could understand what she was saying. It wasn't like any known language. Later, somehow, she suddenly started speaking the Mountain People's dialect. That girl seemed pretty anxious, kept saying she wanted to go home or something... but she didn't mention another world? How did that get mixed up with what those mumbo-jumbo-spouting mages say?"

Hao Ren figured the woman was being cautious by not telling these Mountain People that she was from another world. She probably told the truth to the wolves because they were just a bunch of beasts, and even if they were intelligent, they wouldn't be as treacherous as humans. Seeing the Old Village Chief looking at him curiously, Hao Ren waved his hand. "Never mind the other world stuff. We're looking for that woman. Do you know which route she took?"

"Oh, I know that," Old Village Chief nodded. "She asked us for the shortcut to Lake Bein, and I told her about the route the mercenaries often take. Wait a moment, I'll go get the map."

Normally, the Old Village Chief wouldn't casually reveal someone's whereabouts to a group of strangers, but he was giving Becky face this time and didn't suspect Hao Ren and the others. Becky often stayed in this small village when she was on missions near the grasslands, and she had helped the Mountain People here with many troubles, so she was one of the locals these sentimental Mountain People trusted the most.

The Mountain People's cylindrical houses were simple structures, and the inside was usually divided into several rooms with grass-woven partitions (which could be taken apart when moving). The place where the village chief invited everyone to eat was the "living room" near the door. Now he went around the partition and rummaged through the living room, pulling out a rather old-looking sheepskin with a rough map of the southern grasslands and western part of the kingdom.

"Go from here, along the grasslands for a while, then go directly through the ancient path in the middle of the mountains. Mercenaries have mostly been taking this route recently..." The village chief pointed at the map. Hao Ren found that this route basically matched the route Becky had set, with only slight differences in the ancient mountain path. Finally, the village chief added, "Also, she bought a horse from the village, but she didn't have any money. She traded it for a kind of ointment. That ointment is as miraculous as healing magic for treating external injuries."

The village chief also brought out some of the ointment he had gotten from the mysterious woman. It was contained in a small wooden carved box and smelled like fruit, but of course, Hao Ren and the others didn't recognize it, and it was impossible to tell where the woman came from based on that.

"Then let's take this route," Hao Ren said, looking up at the others to discuss it. "Looks like it's a little closer."

Lili was lowering her head and tearing apart the Mountain People's special hard flatbread made with herbs and flour. The sound was like a starving dog snatching food. Hearing this, she looked up confusedly and agreed, "Okay, okay."

"What did you hear to say 'okay'?" Vivian glanced at Lili and turned to Becky. "Is this route okay?"

Becky nodded. "This route is fine too, no difference. But you guys really care about this, huh?"

Hao Ren and the others started grinning foolishly in unison. Nangong Wuyue lied casually, "Hehe, research habit, research habit..."

Becky didn't delve into it and just gave Hao Ren's kettle a strange look. "You're really dedicated... you even keep that thing by your side when you eat. What kind of alchemical tool is that?"

Before Hao Ren could say anything, he heard a clanging sound and a series of splashes from the kettle. Doudou was excitedly rummaging through the data terminal again. The latter's protesting voice echoed in Hao Ren's mind: "Hao Ren! Control your brat! Change her water, she's angry now and using me to grind her teeth!"

Becky looked at the kettle in surprise as it made strange noises. "It really is an alchemical tool! Is it operating on its own?"

Cold sweat ran down Hao Ren's back. He quickly picked up the kettle and walked out the door, carrying it in his arms. "Hehe... yeah, it's operating on its own. I'll go check it out, check it out..."

Nangong Wuyue looked at Hao Ren's retreating figure with sympathy and muttered to Vivian, "Having children before marriage is really not a good thing. Look how difficult it is for this single dad, he even has to change his daughter's water."

Vivian was stunned for a moment before realizing, "He's the only one in the world who needs to change water for his daughter!"

Lili looked up at the table and reached for the flatbread in front of Vivian. "You're not going to eat it, are you? Then I'll eat it."

"Great dog, you dare!" "I'm hungry." "Put the bread down!" "I'm hungry." "Don't touch my roast meat!" "I'm hungry."

The village chief watched this lively group of strangers with amusement. It was a great honor for the Mountain People to have guests snatching their food. "Don't panic, don't panic, there's more in the back."

At this time, Hao Ren had already come to the stream outside the village with the kettle. The sun had completely set, and there were no artificial light sources on the prairie. Only the starry sky and the bright two moons cast their glow, preventing the outside from being too dark. The Mountain People's village was quiet at this moment, surrounded by a primitive and leisurely atmosphere. Hao Ren found that there was no one by the stream, so he opened the kettle with confidence and called out to the little mermaid, "Doudou, Doudou, come out, I'm changing your water."

The little thing peeked out, looking at the situation outside. She was a little afraid of the surrounding darkness, and the vast and unfamiliar world made the little mermaid feel lost. But she still listened to Hao Ren, and after hesitating for a long time, she jumped out of the pot with a plop.

The data terminal, which had been soaked in water all day and rummaged through countless times by the little mermaid, floated out with a bitter expression. It splashed Hao Ren in the face with water. "Serving you two is the worst luck I've had in eight lifetimes! Look at the teeth marks on me... alas, it's just that I'm too sturdy, so I didn't even leave any evidence of the crime."

Doudou looked up at her "magic lantern" and started grinding her small teeth in the dark again. The data terminal shivered and fell silent.

Hao Ren changed the kettle with clean water and took out a small piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Doudou. "Are you hungry?"

This piece of paper was still from the pile of rune cards. Nangong Sanba had really made an indelible contribution to saving Hao Ren's daughter's milk powder money. A large pile of rune cards had been eaten until now, and there was still more than half left.

Doudou happily hugged the card and started tearing it apart. The sound of chewing the hard cardboard was particularly clear in the quiet night, crunching, crunching, crunching like a mouse... The analogy wasn't very good, but it was really accurate. Hao Ren sighed and put the kettle aside to rest, while thinking about Lake Bein and the mysterious woman, until he heard a plop beside him.

Then Doudou disappeared.

"Your daughter jumped into the river!" the data terminal flew up and shouted. "Washed away!"

It turned out that after Doudou was full, she began to curiously stroll around. Then she saw the stream nearby. This was the first time the little mermaid had seen so much water in her life. As an aquatic creature, her excitement was uncontrollable. Without thinking, she jumped in!

Hao Ren only heard a sound of splashing water in the river, as well as Doudou's panicked cries. He exclaimed and jumped in without thinking. Just as he was about to ride the waves downstream to save his daughter, he realized that Doudou was paddling in place right next to his waist: the little one's swimming speed was basically the same as the water flow speed. After exerting all her strength, she just stayed in place.

Hao Ren put the kettle horizontally in the water, the mouth of the kettle facing Doudou, scooped it up, and caught the little thing. Then he turned to the data terminal in exasperation. "Didn't you say she was washed away?! You scared me!"

The data terminal floated in the air, unconcerned. "She was washed away, at a speed of zero point five centimeters per second, just a slow wash. Letting you two mess with me, even PDAs have tempers!"

"Go soak!" Hao Ren grabbed the data terminal and threw it back into the kettle, but just as he was about to go ashore, he noticed a beam of light coming from somewhere, shining on the river in front of him.

After searching, he found that the light came from the white stone building across the river.