Chapter 73: Stirring Up Hostility

She needed to find something to distract herself, or else she might waste that last Dreamworld Instance Scroll. If she couldn’t defeat the Soul Corpse and clear the instance, such a precious scroll would have been squandered for nothing.

Just then, a system notification piqued Yun Qing’s interest:

“Xia Yu’s hatred toward you +10.”

Yun Qing opened the Hatred Value interface, where two names were listed:

“Xia Yu, hatred value 20, suspicion.”
“Ye Qiu Yue, hatred value 147, hatred.”

Wasn’t Xia Yu Ye Qiu Yue’s mother?

Currently, the hatred value for the Monster Siege on the Cave Mansion event was only 67, not even enough to unlock the lowest reward tier.

“Liu Liu, last time the Monster Siege ended, I received 600 combat experience points as a reward, didn’t I?”

Liu Liu checked the records and replied, “Yes.”

“I think I’ve found a way to break through to the Postnatal Stage.” She only needed 700 more experience points to level up; hopefully, the instance rewards and the experience from killing small monsters would be enough.

Raising favorability was difficult, but building hatred was much easier!

Yun Qing opened her door. Night had already fallen—just the right time for mischief.

“Xia Yu’s hatred toward you +1.”

On her way to Ye Qiu Yue’s home, Yun Qing received several prompts that Xia Yu’s hatred toward her was increasing.

Unlike Ye Ming Yu’s mother, who was forced to live at the relief station due to having no house, Xia Yu’s husband hadn’t mutated and died in their home. She still had a house—living alone was lonely, but she refused to move to the relief station.

Her daughter had gone missing, and the village’s discussions about her were all malicious. The gossipy women and old crones at the relief station were even worse.

That evening, Mrs. Xia had bolted her door early and lay in bed, unable to sleep. She wondered where Qiu Yue was and whether she could take her away from this place—there wasn’t a single good person in this village.

Even those who used to gather herbs with Qiu Yue bullied only her, giving high-quality medicines to Ye Qiao Qiao’s family but not to her. Even the village simpletons, Da Niu and Da Chun, received gifts—only she got nothing. They were bullying her because Qiu Yue and her husband were gone.

“Xia Yu’s hatred toward you +1.”

The hatred value was slowly rising. By the time Yun Qing reached Ye Qiu Yue’s house, it had only gone up by three points. She still needed to add fuel to the fire to reach 100.

Knock, knock, knock! Suddenly there was a rap at the door. The widowed Mrs. Xia, living alone, anxiously grabbed the axe she kept by her bedside, but her voice was steady as she asked, “Who is it?”

Yun Qing replied with a smile, “It’s Yun Qing. I used to be on the same herb-collecting team as Ye Qiu Yue.”

Instantly, Mrs. Xia’s interest was piqued. It wasn't that she hadn't received gifts; they had just arrived late.

She quickly approached the door with the axe raised. Through the crack, she saw only one silhouette outside—judging by the slender frame, it was indeed a young woman.

The visitor’s hands were empty, but rumor had it she had a storage pouch, so not carrying anything wasn’t unusual.

Mrs. Xia set the axe aside, opened the courtyard gate, and greeted her with a smile, “Miss Yun Qing, it’s you! Please come in.”

Yun Qing looked at the beaming woman before her—Xia Yu, level 21.

If she wanted to farm hatred value, she’d have to go inside. If an argument broke out, it would be a spectacle for the neighbors.

“Thank you, Aunt Qiu Yue.” Yun Qing stepped into the yard, following Mrs. Xia into the house.

“Miss Yun Qing, what brings you here so late?” Mrs. Xia looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to present the medicinal herbs.

Yun Qing had little experience provoking hatred. She didn’t want to say too much, whether true or false—lest Mrs. Xia spread rumors about her.

Yun Qing headed straight toward the bedroom. Mrs. Xia was puzzled—why not chat in the main hall? Why go to the bedroom?

Yun Qing pushed open the bedroom door, her smile dripping with mockery. “Aunt Qiu Yue, there’s no one else at home, is there?”

“Xia Yu’s hatred toward you +5.”

Tone and expression made all the difference. Had Yun Qing asked gently, Mrs. Xia would have thought she had something confidential to discuss. But with this expression and tone, the implication was clear: “I want to see if you’re hiding a man in your bedroom.”

Mrs. Xia’s face changed. Maybe this young lady didn’t understand the ways of the world and meant nothing by it. For the sake of the herbs, she dabbed at imaginary tears with her sleeve and replied, “Ever since Qiu Yue’s father passed and Qiu Yue disappeared, there’s been no one else at home.”

Mrs. Xia had just gotten out of bed, and the covers were still messy. Yun Qing lifted the quilt with her hand, feigning sudden realization with an “Oh,” then shook her head, clicking her tongue in mock disapproval.

“Xia Yu’s hatred toward you +20.”

Mrs. Xia could no longer maintain her fake smile or tears. Qiu Yue’s father had only recently passed; she was just over thirty, but she was above reproach, and no one in the village gossiped about her in that way.

Yun Qing was simply too rude—entering her bedroom, rifling through her bed, and making such noises.

Forget about the herbs—Mrs. Xia said coldly, “If there’s nothing else, you should leave!”

The hatred value hadn’t hit 100 yet—she couldn’t leave now.

With a thought, Yun Qing took out a few common wild grasses and held them out to Mrs. Xia. “I picked some herbs today and thought I’d drop by to bring you some. Here, please accept them.”

She hadn’t brought anything contaminated; if Mrs. Xia accepted it, that would be a waste.

“Xia Yu’s hatred toward you +20.”

Mrs. Xia knew the difference between medicinal herbs and plain weeds. Seeing the wild grass thrust before her, she boiled with anger—Yun Qing had come here just to humiliate her.

She was so furious she was nearly gasping for breath. If the axe hadn’t been left in the courtyard, she might have used it to drive Yun Qing out.

But even without the axe, she could see her out.

“Get out! Take your weeds with you. You’re not welcome here.”

The hatred value had finally hit 100—her goal was achieved. Yun Qing had no intention of fanning the flames further.

She put the weeds away with a thought and headed for the door.

Standing by the gate, Yun Qing noticed Mrs. Xia hadn’t left. Seeing that Yun Qing still lingered, Mrs. Xia picked up the axe from the ground, ready to intimidate her into leaving.

With a thought, Yun Qing pulled several purified Qi-Ginseng roots from her system inventory and called out loudly, “Aunt Qiu Yue, I came to bring you herbs, not weeds. You were mistaken—look closely, these are truly excellent Qi-Ginseng.”

Of course, Mrs. Xia could tell that these weren’t weeds. But she was even more certain Yun Qing wasn’t here to give her herbs.

She shouted angrily, “Leave! Get out of my house!”

Yun Qing had no choice but to step out of the courtyard, keeping the Qi-Ginseng in her hand.

Their raised voices drew the attention of the villagers. Some saw Mrs. Xia waving the axe and Yun Qing leaving, disappointed, with the Qi-Ginseng still in hand.

Later arrivals only heard fragments of their heated conversation and saw Yun Qing’s retreating figure and Mrs. Xia slamming the gate shut.

From behind Yun Qing came the villagers’ hushed whispers:

“What happened?”
“It looked like Miss Yun Qing brought Qi-Ginseng to Aunt Qiu Yue, but Aunt Qiu Yue drove her away.”
“Do they have some quarrel?”
“Not sure. Ever since Qiu Yue disappeared and her father died, Mrs. Xia has been a bit off.”
“Best not to talk about it. She looked downright scary just now, waving that axe.”
...

“Xia Yu’s hatred toward you +1.”