Chapter 155: Nothing But Mountains
Chapter 155: Chapter 155: Nothing But Mountains
「The next day.」
Disguised as tourists, Henry Stark and his group drove directly into Yarrowdale Village.
The arrival of outsiders immediately put the villagers on alert.
When the village chief heard about it, he hurried over to the village entrance.
Renee Jennings stood by the car and saw a middle-aged man with graying hair and a potbelly walking toward them.
The chief approached the group and said with a friendly laugh, "Hello, everyone. I’m the chief of Yarrowdale Village, and my name’s Lowe. May I ask what brings you folks to our village?"
"Nothing in particular," Henry Stark said calmly. "We’re just tourists."
"That’s right," Kyle Morgan said with a smile. "We heard the stars are incredible out here, so we made a special trip just to see the sights."
"Is that so!" Chief Lowe said, surprised. "We see them every day, and I can’t say I ever noticed anything special about them."
Zachary Conway raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I guess you don’t know how good you have it."
"Haha." Chief Lowe’s gaze shifted to Sawyer, a hint of scrutiny in his eyes. "Where are you all from?"
"We’re from Lynfell," Kyle Morgan said, draping an arm over Sawyer’s shoulder. "This is my girlfriend."
He leaned in close to Chief Lowe’s ear and whispered, "I’m planning to propose to her under the stars in the next couple of days."
Chief Lowe’s face broke into a smile of sudden understanding. "Oh, so that’s what this is about! Best of luck to you!"
"Thanks." Kyle Morgan gave him a wink. "Keep it quiet, it’s a secret."
"I get it, I get it." Chief Lowe nodded, his gaze falling on Renee Jennings. "And this lady is...?"
Henry Stark said, "She’s my girlfriend."
Zachary Conway added, "And my sister. Chief, do you think we look alike?"
Chief Lowe looked from him to Renee Jennings, then commented, "Now that you mention it, you two do look quite alike."
"Oh, by the way, Chief," Kyle Morgan said, casually slinging an arm around Chief Lowe’s shoulder. "Are there any hotels nearby? We drove around a bit and didn’t see any."
"You’d have to go into town for a hotel," Chief Lowe said. "We rarely get outsiders here. In fact, you’re the first tourists I’ve ever seen."
"How far is the town from here?" Zachary Conway asked.
Chief Lowe said, "Forty or fifty miles, I’d say."
Renee Jennings frowned and complained, "That far? I told you I didn’t want to travel this far out, but you all insisted. Now what are we going to do?"
Chief Lowe shot her a subtle, calculating glance and said with a chuckle, "Well, if you folks don’t mind, I have an empty house you could stay in."
"Mind? Of course we wouldn’t mind!" Kyle Morgan’s face lit up with surprise. "That would be amazing! We’ll pay you hotel rates, of course."
"As long as you’re okay with it." Hearing he’d be getting hotel rates made Chief Lowe even happier. "Let me take you to see the house."
"That’s fantastic. Thank you so much," Zachary Conway said gratefully.
"Let’s head over then." Chief Lowe had arrived on a motorcycle. He glanced at their car. "You can just follow me."
The mountain road was bumpy, and the car swayed and jolted along until it reached Chief Lowe’s empty house.
The village was full of old, dilapidated houses with traditional tile roofs, but the building before them was a modern, two-story house faced with ceramic tiles.
"Chief Lowe, is this your place?" Kyle Morgan asked, looking at him in amazement. "Your family must be loaded!"
Chief Lowe was bursting with pride, but he put on a humble expression. "Oh, we’re not rich. My son earned some money from his business out of town."
"Wow, your son must be really impressive," Zachary Conway praised. "So young and successful."
Hearing someone praise his son made Chief Lowe’s face glow with pride. "He’s done alright," he said. "Of all the young people who’ve left the village, he’s certainly one of the most successful."
He took out a key, unlocked the door, and turned to wave them in. "Come on, have a look. If you like it, I’ll have my wife bring over some bedding later."
After entering, the group went upstairs for a quick tour and decided to take the house.
Kyle Morgan pulled out his phone and put an arm around Chief Lowe’s shoulders. "Chief, this house is like a little villa! We’ll take it for two nights. Let me pay you for both nights now. Can I scan a QR code to pay?"
"Yes, of course." Chief Lowe nodded immediately and pulled out his own phone.
Kyle Morgan transferred four thousand over.
Chief Lowe’s eyes lit up. "Alright then. I’ll leave you to it. My wife will be over with the bedding shortly."
After Chief Lowe left, Henry Stark and the others closed the door and went up to the second floor.
Chief Lowe’s house was set some distance apart from the densely packed, tile-roofed homes of the main village.
They stood on the balcony, surveying the entire village.
"Boss, I’ve sent the file on Chief Lowe’s son to the group chat," Sawyer said softly.
At her words, everyone took out their phones.
Chief Lowe’s son was twenty-eight, an interior designer with a monthly salary of eight thousand. He had been married for two years and had bought a home in Zenvia, paid for in full, before the wedding.
On that salary, he would have a hard enough time just renting an apartment in Zenvia, let alone buying one outright.
"What a load of crap," Kyle Morgan grumbled. "Claiming his son’s money built this house."
"Tell me about it," Zachary Conway said, shaking his head. "Absolutely shameless."
"Buying a house in Zenvia outright," Levi Hollis said with a frown. "How much money would that take? How could a chief from a small mountain village come up with that kind of cash?"
Renee Jennings gripped her phone, her knuckles turning white. "To get that much money," she said in a low, tight voice, "how many girls did they have to trick?"
Sawyer added grimly, "And that’s the money they had to split between several people."
"Those monsters," Kyle Morgan said through gritted teeth. "They’re worse than animals!"
A moment later, they heard the sound of a door opening downstairs.
Zachary Conway hurried downstairs and saw an old woman walking in, carrying quilts balanced on a shoulder pole.
"Are you Chief Lowe’s wife?"
"Yes." Chief Lowe’s wife nodded. "My husband sent me over with the bedding."
"Thank you," Zachary Conway said. "You can just put it over there."
Chief Lowe’s wife smiled. "Let me make the beds for you. My husband said you’ve already paid."
"Alright," Zachary Conway nodded.
While Chief Lowe’s wife made the beds, the group took the opportunity to ask her a few questions.
"Ma’am, are there any restaurants nearby?"
Chief Lowe’s wife laughed as if she’d heard a hilarious joke, doubling over. "Oh, heavens no! A restaurant out here would go out of business in less than three days."
"What about any attractions in the village? Anything worth seeing?"
"Nope, not a thing." Chief Lowe’s wife shook her head. "We’re out in the sticks. There’s nothing but mountains and more mountains. Nothing to see here."
"Oh, no!" Sawyer said, looking worried. "Does that mean we came to the wrong place? I was hoping to take some pictures for my social media!"
"This is all your fault!" Renee Jennings added, giving Henry Stark a playful punch in frustration. "I knew we shouldn’t have come!"
"Now, now, ladies, don’t get upset," Kyle Morgan said, quickly trying to soothe them. "We can go for a walk later. Who knows, we might find the perfect photo op!"
As Chief Lowe’s wife listened to their conversation, her eyes darted around thoughtfully.