Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 49: A Strange Encounter

As soon as Jiang Yuan stepped out the door, he sneezed several times in a row.

He thought it was because the weeds at the entrance were too tall and thick, and planned to cut them all down once he returned from his busy day.

He never imagined himself, a thoroughly harmless person with no ambitions, who was kind to NPCs, would be turned into a tool of intimidation, maliciously twisted into a thousand-year-old monster that eats people.

"Mingchuan, do you know any places nearby where one can mine?"

The task of constructing the Melting Workshop isn’t particularly difficult, at least there are no special materials that need to be found in the Wilderness.

But besides large amounts of wood, planks, and stones, it also requires a hundred iron ores. The task details didn’t specify a mining location, so he could only ask his apprentice first.

If Wan Mingchuan, who grew up in Riverfront Village, doesn’t know, then he would have to explore outward with a map.

"Mining?" The other party was slightly surprised but nodded, "I know, but it’s been abandoned for many years now..."

Wan Mingchuan was about to mention the ancient mine cave being peculiar but thought that with his master’s unfathomable abilities, solving the haunting at Shuiyun Lake was a breeze, let alone an ancient mine cave?

"It’s not far from us either." He pointed casually, explaining, "Between Shuiyun Lake and Riverfront Village, there’s a hill named Cat Ridge. The ancient mine cave is on the southernmost part of Cat Ridge. It’s named ’Old Dragon Cave’ because Cat Ridge looks like a sleeping cat, and the cave is located between the cat’s face and paws.

When I was young, I heard my grandpa talk about many legends of the Old Dragon Cave. Some said the ancient mine was initially mined by people living at Shuiyun Lake, and they became wealthy from the gold and silver mined from it, raising the protection level of their village so high.

Others said the guardian of Shuiyun Lake was an old Dragon King residing in the Old Dragon Cave. So, people from Shuiyun Lake often went into the cave to make offerings, and the ores they brought out were rewards from the Dragon King.

The Old Dragon Cave used to be monopolized by people from Shuiyun Lake, leaving refugees envious. Later, when Shuiyun Lake became haunted and residents mysteriously vanished, the entrance of the Old Dragon Cave was smashed, allowing many refugees to go mining.

At first, it was fine, and some indeed mined plenty of ores. But soon enough, people claimed to hear terrifying sounds from inside the Old Dragon Cave, and many who went in never came out again. Later, when a large group went in to investigate, they found the cave filled with white bones!"

Recalling the fear he felt hearing his grandpa’s stories about the Old Dragon Cave at night, Wan Mingchuan lowered his voice, "Things got worse over time, nine out of ten who entered the Old Dragon Cave couldn’t make it back, and the ores mined were usually iron and copper. No one has ever seen gold or silver ores, betting with their lives didn’t earn much money, and gradually, no one went to the Old Dragon Cave for mining anymore."

After pausing for a moment, he added, "Oh yes, after the Old Dragon Cave got creepier, some even said the villagers of Shuiyun Lake angered the Dragon King, and that’s why they were all eaten, the terrifying noises were the Dragon King’s fury for not receiving offerings."

Jiang Yuan: ...

Could entering the ancient mine cave trigger a hidden quest?

Suddenly curious about the haunting incident at Shuiyun Lake, what exactly happened back then? Riverfront Village worships the Goddess Nüwa, does Shuiyun Lake actually worship something like a Dragon King?

"Is there a forest near the Old Dragon Cave?" After receiving a positive answer, Jiang Yuan instructed, "Today we’re going to the Old Dragon Cave, I’ll go inside and take a look while you cultivate outside, take some time to chop some wood and gather mushrooms, balancing work with rest."

Wan Mingchuan agreed and led his master through the forest towards the Old Dragon Cave.

After walking for over an hour and being able to see the cave entrance at the mountain foot clearly, Jiang Yuan, looking at the map location, suddenly realized, isn’t this near Swallow Valley, where Wilderness Ascension occurs at night?

"Master, there’s a house over there!" Wan Mingchuan was picking elm seeds atop the treetop and spotted a stone house hidden in the woods across from the Old Dragon Cave, not far from the river bank.

If the spring leaves weren’t so sparse, and if he hadn’t climbed high, it might not have been discovered.

"Where?" Jiang Yuan standing under the tree naturally couldn’t see it, thinking that those living in this secluded place must be refugees not accepted by Riverfront Village, perhaps he could inquire about hidden quest clues from them.

Immediately, he felt something was off. He had visited Swallow Valley on the Great Eagle last night but hadn’t noticed any traces of a house.

According to the rules of the Wilderness game, three situations occur after Wilderness Ascension: first, if protected by a Divine Statue, it would be hidden like his courtyard, with Blinding Technique blending it into the Wilderness, not being discovered;

Second, without protection like the exposed Riverfront Village seen last night, the whole village laid bare in view; the third and worst case, no protection and bad luck, directly flattened by descending mountains and objects.

Jiang Yuan was certain there were no exposed houses near Swallow Valley last night. If crushed unseen as the third case, it would only leave debris after Wilderness Ascension, impossible to have intact houses.

After eliminating incorrect answers, only one possibility remained—this house, like his courtyard, has a guardian!

Then the house’s occupants couldn’t be ordinary refugees, could they be other players?

"It’s hidden in the woods across the river." Wan Mingchuan climbed to a higher treetop, observed with a makeshift shelter for a moment, nimbly descended, and whispered, "Master, that house is quite strange, we should keep our distance."

Jiang Yuan, pondering whether it could be other players, was immediately intrigued by his apprentice’s eerie tone, "How strange?"

"It’s just..." He gestured with his hands attempting to describe the chilling feeling, "That stone house looks aged, definitely not built in recent years. From the tree, I could see the window half-open, with two figures standing motionless inside, feels... not like living people!"

In the secluded mountains near the infamous Old Dragon Cave, an old stone house covered in moss hidden in the forest, and figures standing unmoving by the window, as the sunshine and breeze touched his face, Wan Mingchuan felt a chill on his back, as if that house constantly emitted Yin Energy and exuded eeriness.

"People from our village are very wary of the Old Dragon Cave, even when grandpa took me hunting, we never came this way, claiming heavy Yin Energy from all the deaths in the ancient mine cave. I’ve never heard of any refugees living here either, normally refugees wouldn’t bother building a stone house, building one is costly and laborious, the fact there’s an old stone house in this remote forest is just eerie."

He thought briefly and added, "Besides, normal people would choose to build houses on the north bank away from the mountain for better sunlight, that house is built right by the mountain in perpetual shade. There’s no other household here, if there were better options, why choose the worst location? Is that normal?"

Listening to his analysis, Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but nod, definitely not normal!