Chapter 161 Everything Will Be Fine

The relationship between Nym and Rivervale Town was highly unique.

The latter bordered the Misty Forest. As a major adventuring hub housing the Adventurers' Association, it contributed massive tax revenues to the province and the kingdom every year while producing countless monster materials.

Because the town attracted large numbers of adventurers wielding Transcendent power year-round, its related industries were incredibly developed, far exceeding what a settlement of its size should naturally support.

The former, meanwhile, was the largest city in the region. A prime geographical location and official development strategies tailored to its characteristics made it a commercial powerhouse, absorbing a massive population of commoners and high-ranking nobles alike.

Rivervale Town supplied Nym with a series of specialties from the Misty Forest, including monster pelts and timber. In return, relying on its sheer scale, Nym continuously provided Rivervale Town with human resources, steel, food supplies, and other necessities.

To some extent, a large portion of the adventurers who died in the forest during Hunting Day—becoming nothing more than nutrients for the soil—hailed from the Slums of Nym City.

"Adventurer" was a high-risk profession where danger and reward were directly proportional. More often than not, it was the final choice for miserable souls whose real lives had become too tragic to endure.

Under these circumstances, the massive influx of people from neighboring Nym also influenced the fashion and trends in Rivervale Town.

The street peddlers who made a living reselling goods were particularly sensitive to this.

So much so that a goose-down cloak that had only just gained fame at a noble banquet last month would already be sitting on the shelves of a Rivervale Town clothing store this month.

One had to remember that the journey between the two alone took nearly twenty days.

Farlio, the shopkeeper of Fey Wind, hadn't lied to Xia Nan. Recently, the [Sheep-Deer Figurine] truly was highly popular in the noble circles of Nym City.

And it was far more popular than Farlio had initially described.

The vast distance between the two cities meant that information lost its timeliness as it spread.

It was like a cockroach suddenly popping up in a house. When you crushed it underfoot and thought it was just the one, the filthy, shadow-shrouded corners of your home were likely already crawling with its brethren.

By the time the [Sheep-Deer Figurine] endured over twenty days of transit from Nym to Rivervale Town—placed on the shelves as a "trendy new novelty from the big city"—

—its influence in Nym City had long since expanded beyond the original noble circles. Even the commoners had heard of it.

"What's wrong?"

Jamie adjusted the glasses on his nose, looking puzzled.

The guest before him, dressed as an adventurer, was the benefactor who had saved his father's life. His good upbringing meant he wouldn't dare show any neglect.

Bending over under Xia Nan's watchful gaze, he casually used one hand to pick up the [Sheep-Deer Figurine] that had fallen to the floor.

He pointed the front of the wood carving toward Xia Nan and explained, "Recently, I happen to be participating in a historical project regarding the 'evolution of the Servia Kingdom's carving styles.'"

"My mentor asked me to bring this wood carving back as a reference for my assignment."

"Is there... something wrong with it?"

"Don't! Put it down first. Don't point it at me!" Xia Nan blurted out.

Seeing Jamie just casually holding the wood carving with the front facing him, Xia Nan instinctively recalled the bizarre experience in the general store. He unconsciously averted his gaze and told Jamie to put the carving back in the bag.

Across the dining table, Jeff, an experienced man who had driven caravans for many years, faintly caught on to something from their conversation and behavior.

The relaxed expression on his face instantly sank. He ordered sternly, "Jamie, do as Mr. Xia Nan says!"

Clearly, he carried quite a bit of authority in the household.

The moment he spoke, Jamie—who had been blankly standing there after being stopped by Xia Nan on his way upstairs—didn't utter a single word of nonsense. He swiftly stuffed the wood carving back into the cloth bag, tied it tight, placed it on the floor, and sat back down at the dining table on his own.

Feeling the sudden tension in the room and sensing the doubtful, uneasy gazes from Jeff and the others, Xia Nan remained silent. He pondered carefully in his mind.

The first thing he could confirm was this.

The statue currently lying quietly on the floor inside the cloth bag in front of him was not the [Sheep-Deer Figurine] he had originally seen at Fey Wind.

This was a sensation born from his body's instincts.

Secondly, although it had only been a fleeting glance just now...

He had indeed locked eyes with the wood carving.

Yet, he hadn't experienced that terrifying sensation of his mind being captured and his consciousness sinking, as he had in the general store.

Perhaps... there were differences between the statues.

Or was it that some action of his back then had produced a catalytic, activating effect on that particular wood carving?

As his thoughts raced, he organized his words and asked, "So, this wood carving belongs to your mentor?"

Jamie, who was sitting by the table with his back straight and hands resting nervously on his knees as if awaiting trial, hurriedly nodded at the question. "Yes. Wood carvings of this style have been very popular among the academy professors lately. Even my mentor had to pull some strings to buy it from a noble who was in desperate need of money."

"He only lent it to me for one night because I needed to finish my assignment. I have to return it tomorrow morning."

"So what you're saying is, there aren't many of these wood carvings in the city?" Xia Nan pressed, catching the hidden implication in the boy's words.

"That's right. They're mostly circulating in the hands of nobles and wealthy merchants. Ordinary people like us usually never even see them."

"I heard someone say that the statues came from a certain master carver," Xia Nan said, recalling the information Farlio had given him earlier. "From the sound of it, this master's production volume isn't very high?"

At this, Jamie only scratched his head, looking even more perplexed.

"A master... probably not."

"At least, right now, no one knows who makes these wood carvings."

"A while back, during a lecture, my mentor complained to us about it. He said there were too few statues, and that back when they were cheap, they cost about as much as a meal, but now the prices are being hyped up to the sky."

Hearing this, Xia Nan was momentarily taken aback.

He pondered it for a moment before realizing what was going on.

He realized that Farlio's original claims had been half-true and half-false.

It was a fact that the wood carvings were popular in Nym, but the claim that they "came from a certain master carver" was likely a lie fabricated to embellish the items and make them easier to sell.

Suddenly, he thought of something else.

His brows knitted tightly together, his expression growing more solemn.

As if to confirm a suspicion in his heart, he asked Jamie, "Since no one knows the exact origin of the statues, could we also assume..."

"That the wood carvings simply appeared in Nym City out of thin air?"

Unsure why the gentleman in front of him was asking this, Jamie simply followed the line of thought, combined it with the information he knew, and pondered for a moment.

Then, he slowly nodded.

"Yes."

Tch.

Hearing the boy's answer, Xia Nan's heart tightened. He felt that things were developing in a direction completely out of his control.

What surfaced in his mind was the Attribute Panel that had snapped him back to reality from his trance that day.

Recalling the information on the panel at the time, fragmented clues vaguely began stringing together in his head.

"Unknown origin," "appearing out of thin air," "vastly different style"...

It gave him a remarkably familiar sense of déjà vu.

It was just like that [Gravity Core] that had helped him obtain a Class Level, just like the Dark Snake Cavern that had given him [Bronze Sinews and Iron Bones].

He remembered that back when he was venturing deep into the forest with the half-elf and the others, he had encountered many classical Eastern-style buildings that also seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

Even if those "buildings" were replaced by "wood carvings" right now, their method of appearance was fundamentally identical.

'Could it be...'

Xia Nan suddenly turned his head. Looking at Jeff, who had been listening intently to their conversation the whole time, he asked, "Has anything strange happened recently in Nym City or the surrounding areas?"

"For example... strange buildings suddenly erecting overnight, or corpses of unknown monsters appearing out of thin air."

Jeff thought back seriously, sifting through everything in his mind, including the rumors he had heard in the taverns, before slowly shaking his head. "Strange things happening around here... if I had to say, the explosion in Kalanfor should count as one. But you were probably in Rivervale Town back then, so you definitely know about it."

"Other than that, there's only the 'tainted water' incident from last year."

At that time, Jeff hadn't retired yet and was out making money with the caravan, so he didn't know the detailed process of the incident.

Speaking up to here, he paused slightly.

His wife Daisy, sitting beside him, understood instantly and picked up the topic.

"I remember that back then, the water sources of several streets in the Lower District were contaminated. Many people died, and the streets were swarming with guards coming and going."

"Even though it didn't really affect us here, just to be safe, I took all the water we used at home to the Church in advance and asked the Cleric to purify it."

"This went on for many days before the situation slowly improved."

"In the end, I heard from others that it was an evil druid doing some kind of experiment in the Lower District that caused the water contamination."

"I don't even know if they've caught him yet."

Hearing this, Xia Nan gave a slight nod.

He wouldn't call it disappointment, but he didn't feel much else, either.

The explosion in Kalanfor was the aftermath of the Barbarian Forgan fighting his enemies.

The tainted water incident in Nym had also long since been posted on the Adventurers' Association's bounty board; it was the work of that druid from the Circle of Spores.

There was no obvious connection to the signs of a "secret realm" appearing as he had imagined.

His frowning silence as he fell into deep thought clearly made the parents of the two children sitting in front of him somewhat anxious.

Daisy glanced at the fidgeting Jamie beside her and asked with a worried expression, "Mr. Xia Nan, is there something wrong with this wood carving? Will it have a bad influence on Jamie?"

In response, Xia Nan merely stared at Jamie in front of him, his expression serious. "When you first saw this statue, and when you touched it, did you feel anything strange?"

"Spacing out, getting goosebumps, feeling drawn to it... anything at all. Did you?"

"No, sir," Jamie replied, shaking his head. Under everyone's gazes, a few drops of cold sweat had already seeped out on his forehead.

"Has your mentor's personality changed noticeably recently, or has he done anything strange?" Xia Nan asked.

"No to that either, Mr. Xia Nan."

Looking at it this way, the wood carving's influence might only target him specifically, or perhaps it only came from the one inside Fey Wind.

As for the ones currently circulating in Nym City, at least for now, they didn't possess any actual ability to affect the human body.

Of course, he couldn't rule out the possibility of an incubation period.

Perhaps they were just waiting for a certain catalyst in the future to completely erupt, dragging the bearer into the abyss.

After some thought, Xia Nan recounted his encounter in Rivervale Town to Jeff's family, only hiding the information regarding the Attribute Panel.

"At least for now, Jamie is safe."

"The statue itself might not be as sinister as I made it sound, either."

"But..."

Tap—

His fingertip lightly tapped the tabletop.

Above the dinner plate, the iron spoon—still stained with thick soup—leisurely floated up about the distance of a fist, hovered in the air for half a second, and then naturally dropped back down.

"My personal advice is that it's best to have as little contact with this wood carving as possible."

"Screech!"

The legs of the chair scraped against the floor, letting out an ear-piercing sound.

Jeff moved very fast.

He was already on his feet before his wife, Daisy, beside him even had time to react.

He took off his coat and tightly wrapped it around the cloth bag containing the statue.

"Jamie, your mentor's address?"

Jamie was momentarily stunned, only replying subconsciously, "35 Eagle Emblem Avenue."

Jeff nodded without offering much explanation. As he strode toward the front door, he instructed Daisy in a rapid-fire cadence, "Daisy, take the children to the Moon Goddess Church. I'll be there right away."

Having driven caravans for years, this experienced middle-aged man had formulated an emergency evasion plan in just a few short seconds.

If it was truly as Xia Nan said, and just making visual contact could cause an effect, then everyone here just now—including himself—had already seen the wood carving with their own eyes.

Whether it was purification or exorcism, heading to the Church to seek help was the only option they had as ordinary people.

And if the wood carving actually turned out to be just an ordinary statue—and just as Xia Nan guessed, only the one in Rivervale Town had been cursed—

—then returning it personally would ensure that the mentor, who Jamie claimed had gone through a lot of trouble to acquire it, wouldn't take his anger over losing the statue out on his child.

He could, of course, destroy the wood carving on the spot or take it to the Church.

But who knew what kind of changes this "evil object" might produce after being stimulated by the outside world?

Back when he used to travel with the caravans, he had heard of more than a few similar, tragic accidents.

Out of selfishness, he didn't want to let this ticking time bomb stay around his family for even a single second longer.

When it came to the safety of his loved ones, Jeff wouldn't be as kindhearted as he normally was. The most he would do was give that mentor a few words of warning when returning the statue.

His footsteps were rushed.

He walked straight to the front door and grabbed the handle.

Only then did Jeff seem to think of something else. He turned around and looked toward the black-haired youth in the dining room.

"Mr. Xia Nan, we will all be fine..."

"Right?"