There's a big problem with dreams in this world.

A rhythmic knocking sound came from outside the door, but you had no idea who was knocking. Even the wolf spirit couldn't hear or smell anything before the knocking started.

"Well........."

Lu Qing woke up from her sleep and immediately saw the information on the notice board in her mind.

Just as the notice board said, after waking up from her sleep, she felt inexplicably relieved, as if the burden she had been carrying had been burned away.

As for the knocking, she did hear it when she first woke up, but for some reason there was no follow-up.

"Wolf Spirit, could you please go check outside the door...?"

With a cautious attitude, Lu Qing decided to send Wolf Spirit out to test the waters.

Wolf Spirit naturally had no objection to this. She passed through the wall of the room and came to the door.

About ten seconds later, she flew back, carrying a slightly yellowed piece of paper in her mouth.

P.S.: I stared at the interface of the word processing software, my mind completely blank. Sometimes, clearing your mind is indeed a relaxing thing.

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Chapter 383: The Three

"what is this?"

Taking the paper from the wolf spirit's hand, Lu Qing discovered that it was actually a letter, but it seemed to have been stored for too long, causing the cover to turn yellow.

Unfold the letter; inside is a pink cardboard sheet with several stick figures drawn on it, their faces beaming with smiles as they hold hands and look at Lu Qing.

In the upper right corner of this piece of paper is a huge, earthy yellow sun, with eyes and a half-open mouth drawn on it in black graffiti.

It's just a few patterns that look like a child's random scribbles, but there's something strangely eerie about them.

We cordially invite you to the wedding, which will be held behind the cornfield to the west.

The crooked writing on the piece of paper, judging from its content, seems to be a wedding invitation.

"Is this the last secondary objective?"

Lu Qing frowned, then looked at the wolf spirit and asked, "Are there any creatures outside the door?"

Wolf Spirit shook his head and remained silent.

"If there are no living beings here, how did this card end up at the room's door...?"

Lu Qing touched her chin, feeling that something was amiss. The wolf spirit's hearing and sense of smell were extremely keen, yet the person who placed the invitation at the door had not been detected by the wolf spirit at all.

This means that either the other party has some means of blocking smells and sounds, or there are no smells or sounds at all!

If we rule out the first possibility, what kind of creature has neither sound nor smell?

Lu Qing glanced subconsciously at Diana, who was floating in the air and fast asleep, and began to make some guesses.

"Perhaps what placed the invitation on the door wasn't a living being, but a ghost?"

Thinking about it this way, the parts that didn't make sense now seemed to make sense. Lu Qing looked at the invitation and wondered whether she should go or not.

This is the last [secondary objective] in this dream. Participating will definitely involve danger, but you can also get a good reward.

If she had only accomplished one or two secondary goals, she might not have considered participating in the Ghost Marriage. But now that she had accomplished all the other secondary goals and only this one remained, how could she possibly be willing to give it up?

"I'll go take a look once I've settled down here."

With that thought in mind, Lu Qing put the invitation into her pocket.

After all, the invitation didn't specify a particular time for the wedding, so it's probably fine for her to assume that she could go anytime.

"........"

Nothing happened that night. Lu Qing closed her eyes and quietly waited for the day to arrive.

.......

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Light footsteps came from outside the door. Lu Qing, who was resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them and looked at Lang Ling.

Wolf Spirit did indeed notice the other party, and silently nodded after Lu Qing looked at her.

The footsteps were actually quite far away from them. The reason Lu Qing was able to hear the footsteps was entirely due to the powerful hearing granted to her by the Listener skill.

Well, the main problem is that the sound they made while walking was quite loud. They seemed to be carrying something very heavy, and with puddles everywhere on the ground, it was impossible not to make noise.

Lu Qing stood up from inside the room, opened the door, and went out.

It was not yet fully light; the sun in the distance had only just peeked out and could not provide much light to the forest.

Lu Qing hid in the shadows and waited for a while before seeing three figures emerge from the shadows of the distant forest.

They wore somewhat dirty pale yellow robes, masks with tree patterns painted on their faces, and on their heads were a pair of headdresses that looked to be made of the antlers of mutated giant deer.

The one walking in the middle of the three appeared to be in charge of leading the group. The two people behind him were carrying heavy cloth bags, which looked like they contained something.

Seeing them head towards the wooden house, Lu Qing thought for a moment and decided not to hide any longer.

Although she didn't know what these people's purpose was, it was still best not to let them get close to the house. After all, neither the scientist nor the old woman had any fighting ability, and she couldn't let an unknown threat get too close to the house.

As for rushing up and launching a sneak attack, she had considered it, but felt it was inappropriate and dismissed the idea.

She wouldn't act rashly unless she could immediately identify someone as an enemy; it was a matter of principle.

"Who are you, and what brings you here?"

Emerging from the corner where they had been hiding, Lu Qing blocked the path of the three.

"........"

Without speaking, the three looked at each other. Finally, the leader stepped forward, took out a wooden board from his pocket, and handed it to Lu Qing.

"Why does this feel so familiar...?"

Lu Qing mentally complained for a moment, but after thinking about it, she still accepted the wooden board that the other party handed her.

On the wooden board, various goods and their prices were written in a jet-black dye, along with a detailed description of the currency required to purchase them.

Reputation is what you need to buy items from them. You can gain reputation by selling them items or by helping them with tasks. Completing these tasks will also grant you a certain amount of reputation.

Besides these two methods, there is another special way: those who possess the Hunter's Medal can directly gain 1,000 reputation points, and will gain 50 reputation points every day.

"Did you come here specifically to find me?" After reading the contents of the wooden board, Lu Qing looked at the man in front of her and asked.

The man nodded, then slowly began, "The three of us are the leaders of the savages; you may call us the Triumvirate."

The man's voice sounded somewhat deep, giving him a mysterious air.

"Why did you come looking for me, and how did you find my location?" Lu Qing frowned, her first thought being the [Hunter's Medal]. Could it be that they found her using the [Hunter's Medal]?

Although she doesn't seem to have any malicious intent at the moment, she really dislikes the feeling of having her location exposed!

The man seemed oblivious to Lu Qing's displeasure. He waved his hand slightly and said in a calm, unhurried voice:

"Your location was provided by a lady who is one of our major customers and frequently buys items from us."

"She has spent all her savings to make a deal with us."

"Please rest assured, these are all things she said we could say. We usually don't disclose our clients' information."

"Oh, right, and she told us that if you ask who she is, we'll tell you she's your sister."

“Sisters…” Lu Qing murmured the word softly.

She already knew who had given her her location. In this forest, who else could it be but the merchant, possessing the ability to move freely and calling her sister?

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Chapter 384: Going with the Current

PS: Thank you to reader "Da Dao Wu Jiang" for the 1000 Qidian Coins!

"I understand." Lu Qing nodded, her face showing no unusual expression.

She looked down at the wooden board in her hand, which clearly listed the items the trio sold and their prices, but the quantities were not indicated.

It makes sense. Although wood is not a scarce material in the dark forest, collecting and processing wood is a very labor-intensive task. If the contents of the planks are changed frequently, they will probably have to be replaced every few days.

"Processed planks, nails, hammer, saw, and..."

Lu Qing stared at the goods on the wooden board and suddenly froze for a moment.

She looked at the product names on the wooden board, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly said, "Half a box of instant noodles... and this, a diesel generator set."

When they arrived at the outer area, Lu Qing didn't have much food in her backpack. If the three of them ate together, they would probably run out of food by the end of the day.

So when Lu Qing saw that the three of them had instant noodles for sale on the wooden board they handed her, she was quite happy, as this would solve some of her food problem.

There is meat available for purchase, but she has been eating so much meat these past few days that she feels like she's about to throw up.

In comparison, she was actually looking forward to instant noodles, which she hadn't touched for several months.

Actually, instant noodles taste pretty good. However, before Lu Qing transmigrated, her predecessor had already been eating instant noodles for a month.

To be honest, instant noodles may taste delicious when you eat them again after a long time, but if you eat them for two or three meals in a row, you'll develop a strong aversion to them in less than a week.

As for why I hesitated a bit when buying instant noodles, well...

It's just that I think it's a bit expensive; it's not that I inexplicably feel like I'm giving up.

As for what I mentioned before, about not eating and then not eating, that happened so long ago. Back then, when I said I wouldn't eat, I didn't eat!

Anyway, after Lu Qing explained in detail the quantity she wanted to buy, the leader of the trio also stated the reputation required to purchase these items.

"A total of 850 reputation points. Do you have something to sell us?" The leader of the trio asked, taking the wooden plank from Lu Qing.

"They really didn't know I had the Hunter's Medal." Seeing the other party's reaction, Lu Qing thought to herself.

This was actually a small test for her. As for whether the other party knew she had the Hunter's Medal and was just putting on an act in front of her, she decided to ignore that possibility.

Although she did think about it, such things are impossible to confirm, aren't they?

Lu Qing thought it best not to waste too much mental energy on uncertain things.

So she took out the Hunter's Medal, showed it to the other person, and said, "The person who possesses this can directly gain 1,000 reputation points, and will gain 50 reputation points every day, right?"

"........."