Chapter 300: Did We Still Not Catch Up?
“Oh, right. It seems there was someone like that, the outsider son-in-law?” Other village elders recalled, “Yes, he was an educated person, and even helped us with our documents.”
Sebastian and I exchanged a glance, suddenly realizing what we had misunderstood. We had been asking about the Shirley family, but hadn’t considered that the villagers might not necessarily identify them as the “Shirley family.”
“Was that person named Pierce?” Sebastian asked.
“Ah, yes! He was indeed named Pierce, Old Oliver’s son-in-law. It’s said they used to live in the city and were quite well-off, but later something happened, their daughter went missing, and Ester became mentally unstable. She could only come to the countryside for recuperation. How pathetic!”
These village elders were quite old and had witnessed many events in the village. Even twenty years ago, they were generally the backbone of the village. Although it was a long time ago, it wasn’t difficult to recall.
Our mistake in questioning was about the Shirley family, but in the villagers’ eyes, they were the Oliver family. Ester was Madam Shirley, and her maiden name was Ester Oliver before she married. Oliver was her maiden surname, and this was her maternal home.
It seemed that after Pierce lost his source of income, and Madam Shirley had spent a lot of money searching for her daughter, they couldn’t afford to stay in the city and thus came to her parents’ home in the countryside to stay.
Next, Sebastian continued to drink and asked, “What does that Pierce do in the village?”
“He doesn’t do much, really. He just helps families read documents, write letters, and sometimes assists with pricing or notarizing during transactions. Usually, he has to take care of his mentally unstable wife and his elderly father-in-law and mother-in-law. It’s quite pitiful, considering he’s such a talented young man,” one of the elders said.
To my surprise, Pierce seemed to be quite well-liked in the village. Most people had a good impression of him. One reason might be that he was one of the few intellectuals, capable of helping villagers with many cultural matters.
Secondly, he was helpful. Although he couldn’t do much farm work, he never refused when people asked for help with reading or writing.
The problem was that the villagers repeatedly emphasized that his wife had mental issues, which was why he had to take care of her and stayed at home. It was indeed possible that Madam Shirley was mentally affected after her daughter went missing, but I had met Madam Shirley once and felt she was quite normal, though a little eerie.
Since their identities were confirmed, Sebastian changed his attitude. He smiled and said, “I’m a friend of Pierce’s. We haven’t seen each other for a long time. I came to find him. Is Pierce still here?”
“No, he’s not. After his wife and his parents-in-law passed away, he sold his property and left the village. We haven’t seen him since,” one of the village elders said.
Alas, we were a step too late. Pierce wasn’t here either. Why must we always follow his trail, catching only a faint glimpse of his shadow, yet never his true self?
However, Pierce wasn’t my main objective. Hearing the villagers say this, I asked again, “You mentioned his wife had already passed away?”
“Yes, Ester died of illness. We even helped him with the burial. Pierce cried so sadly then,” the elder said.
“Ah, Madam Shirley has already passed away? I had no idea. She helped me a lot back in the day,” Sebastian immediately put on a very sad expression, even forcing out a few tears.
We stopped pretending. Jayad and I, along with Claire, looked no older than fifteen, and it was unlikely we knew Madam Shirley. However, I stopped eating to avoid disrupting the atmosphere and Sebastian’s performance. We just silently admired his acting.
“Alas, Ester was the joy of our village since she was a child. She was obedient and lovable. We wished her happiness when she married and moved to the city, but we never expected her to return in this state,” the elder said sadly.
Actually, with the poor sanitary conditions of this era and no doctors in the countryside, dying of illness was a perfectly normal occurrence. It could even be considered a natural death after a long life. They didn’t pay too much attention to it initially.
It was just that Sebastian’s performance was too realistic, creating such a sorrowful atmosphere that it evoked emotions in them. They thought of their own old age and the possibility of their lives being taken by illness at any moment, and sadness also welled up.
Sebastian wiped the tears from his eyes with a handkerchief. “I came this time intending to invite the Shirleys to the city for a reunion. I never expected our last parting to be a final farewell. I can only go to the grave of an old friend to lay some flowers.”
His performance had been flawless so far, and the atmosphere seemed just right, but when he said this, hesitation appeared on the faces of the village elders and villagers.
“What’s wrong? Is there any difficulty?” Sebastian was skilled at reading people’s expressions and quickly noticed the unusual atmosphere.
“Well, normally our villagers are buried on the small mountain to the south, but some inauspicious things have happened there. No one dares to go there now,” one villager said.
“Inauspicious? What kind of inauspiciousness?” Sebastian asked.
“Well, graves have been dug up, and it sounds like something was moving inside the graves at night. They all say the dead have come back to life.” Another villager said fearfully.
“Don’t talk nonsense!” one of the village elders reprimanded. “Monsters have been active frequently lately. Perhaps some scavengers are disturbing the graves at night and eating the remains.”
His explanation was less terrifying, but the outcome was the same. Whether it was the Undead or Monsters, the villagers couldn’t defeat them, so no one dared to go to the cemetery anymore.
Sebastian and I exchanged a glance. Recent investigation results indicated that the Erosion around Cando City was mixed with many types, including Undead Erosion. It was quite normal for the vicinity of the village to have Undead.
With so many disasters around, it was no wonder the village needed to form its own militia for protection. But relying solely on their wooden walls, archers, poorly equipped militia, and low-level Adventurers, what could they do when real danger descended?
“Since that’s the case, I won’t trouble you all. But Madam Shirley is an old friend of mine, and I must pay my respects. You only need to tell me where the grave is, and I’ll go by myself,” Sebastian said righteously.
“It’s on the south mountain, on the right side of the slope. The grave is quite beautifully made, larger than the surrounding ones, and paved with stone slabs. It’s inscribed as ‘Oliver Family Tomb’,” a villager said.
“Alright, then do you know where Pierce went? I still need to find him,” Sebastian asked again.
“We don’t know. He didn’t tell anyone, and no one has seen him since,” the villagers shook their heads.
