The aftermath of the attack was a somber affair. The air, once thick with the stench of ozone and blood, now carried the heavier scent of grief and burnt timber. One villager hadn't been as lucky as Kaelen. The Grimfang's initial rampage had been swift and deadly.
I stayed in my room, claiming exhaustion. It wasn't entirely a lie. The adrenaline crash had left me feeling hollowed out and shaky. My mother brought me a bowl of stew, her eyes red-rimmed but filled with a new, quiet respect when she looked at me.
"The boy… Kaelen," she said softly, placing the bowl on my bedside. "He will keep his arm because of you."
I just nodded, unable to meet her gaze. I hadn't done it for praise. I'd done it to avoid a 'catastrophic system failure.' The gratitude felt unearned, a byproduct of my own selfish survival instinct.
Once she left, I pulled up my system screen. The 25 PDP glowed with a satisfying warmth. Total: 25. I was no longer broke. I was… marginally solvent.
The comment section had moved on, as internet comment sections do. The debate was now about the nutritional value of monster cores versus their use in alchemy. Standard nerd-bait.
But the memory of HistoryBuff01's comment nagged at me. They'd noticed my modern first aid. What else would they notice? My next move had to be smarter. More discreet.
I needed a plan. A way out of this village before the next plot bomb dropped. Staying here was like waiting for the other shoe to drop, and in a xianxia world, that shoe was usually a mountain-shattering stomp from a hidden expert.
I focused on the store and the 'Minor Spoiler Token'. It cost 5 PDP. A relatively small investment for potentially game-changing intel. I willed the purchase.
A new, shimmering token appeared in my inventory—a simple copper coin with a question mark etched onto it.
[Acquired: Minor Spoiler Token x1]
[PDP: 20]
Now, for the question. I had to be specific. The system seemed to literal-minded.
I took a deep breath, holding the imaginary token in my mind. "How do I, Elara, safely get away from this village and far away from the main plot?"
I mentally 'spent' the token.
The comment section flickered and dissolved, reforming into a single, focused thread. It was as if I'd used a search function.
Query: "Exit Strategy - Village"
SpoilerKing77:>>Merchant caravan comes through in two days. Headed for the capital. Usually gets ambushed by bandits at the Red River Pass. Total wipeout. No survivors. Bad luck.<<
DragonFan42:Oh! But the merchant's daughter, Linnea, is so sweet! She gives Kaelen a healing potion in Chapter 22 when he passes through the capital later! It's a cute moment!
xXShadowBladeXx:The ambush is weak. Kaelen could've taken them if he'd been there. Plot convenience.
HistoryBuff01:The caravan is led by Merchant Rolan, a shrewd but fair man who specializes in rare herbs. His loss is a minor footnote in the economic history of the region.
The information hit me like a physical blow. An opportunity and a death sentence, wrapped together.
A caravan. A direct ticket to the capital, the heart of the world and, more importantly, far from Kaelen's rustic origin story. But it was destined for a "total wipeout."
A new quest notification appeared, tailored to the spoiler.
[New Quest: 'The Great Escape']
[Objective: Secure passage to the capital on Merchant Rolan's caravan. Ensure your own survival and the survival of the caravan through the Red River Pass.]
[Reward: 100 PDP, 'Merchant's Favor,' 'Map of the Capital (Detailed)']
[Failure: Death (probably).]
One hundred PDP. A small fortune. And a map. That was… incredibly tempting. But 'ensure the survival of the caravan'? That sounded like I had to stop the ambush. How was I, a village girl with first-aid knowledge and a sarcastic inner monologue, supposed to do that?
I couldn't fight bandits. I had no combat skills. My 'Kendo Basics' were still 25 PDP out of reach.
I needed help. I needed someone who could fight. Or at least someone who could be a deterrent.
My eyes scanned the comments again. "Total wipeout. No survivors." Except… that was the original plot. The plot where Kaelen was injured and grieving, not bandaged and suspicious. The plot where I was dead.
A crazy idea began to form. It was risky. It involved leveraging the one thing I had that no one else did: knowledge of the original script.
I minimized the system screen and got out of bed. The shock had worn off, replaced by a sharp, focused energy. I had two days.
I found my mother mending clothes by the hearth. "Mama," I said, trying to sound casual. "Do you know if Old Man Hemlock is alright after the attack?"
Old Man Hemlock. A name never mentioned in the novel. A true background character. He was the village's part-time trapper and full-time drunk. In the original story, he'd been one of the first killed by the Grimfang.
My mother looked up, surprised. "Hemlock? Yes, the stubborn old goat is fine. Hid in his root cellar, he did. Why do you ask?"
A wave of relief washed over me. Another change. Another tiny deviation.
"No reason," I said with a smile. "I just remembered he used to tell the best stories about the forest trails. I think I'll go visit him. I need some air."
My mother looked like she wanted to argue, but after the events of the night before, she seemed reluctant to question me. "Don't be long," was all she said.
I stepped outside, the morning sun feeling new and full of possibility. The village was battered but alive. And I had a mission.
I wasn't just going to get on that caravan. I was going to save it. Not because I was a hero, but because it was my bus out of here.
And to do that, I needed to recruit a doomed extra and convince the male lead to take a detour.
The comment section would have a field day.
[Overall Plot Deviation: 4.1%]
The number ticked up as I walked. The story was bending. And I was just getting started.