novelraw Chapter 422: Gold
Chapter 422: Gold
Hearing Gou Wen's description, Asuka Karasawa uncontrollably swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Of course, it wasn't that she wanted to taste what the fruit formed by the flesh and blood of living creatures tasted like. This seemed to be her habitual action when thinking and shocked, very similar to her habit of pursing her lips.
Lu Ming beside her also looked at the Whale-kin sitting in the carriage with some surprise, seemingly completely unexpected that this guest from afar knew so much about everything on the Tree Continent. But this also saved her the trouble of reluctantly introducing things to everyone.
"Everyone, we are about to enter the city. Please allow me to first take everyone to pay respects to the Upper Minister, and have him notify the Tsubaki Earl."
Lu An, behind Lu Ming, stepped forward and said this to Fisher's group. Gou Wen additionally cupped his hands in greeting, thanking Lu An,
"Sorry for the trouble."
Asuka Karasawa watched Lu Ming follow her father into the distance, her eyes constantly fixed on the four deer hooves beneath the other party, seemingly harboring some interest in her non-human anatomy.
They very swiftly approached the city sheltered beneath the giant tree transformed from the Tsubaki Earl's Previous Incarnation. Distinct from the houses in Naris or the Northern Border, most houses here were spacious, hollow structures built of wood, with quite a few even built directly upon giant trees. Mid-air didn't lack numerous wooden bridges and ladders. All sorts of Demi-human Races wearing different attire walked and conversed within.
The language and 'Li' they used were extremely similar, among which didn't lack a few armored individuals holding a bizarre wooden weapon. It seemed that dots of purple fluorescence still flickered upon that wood.
Helaire looked at that fluorescence and playfully narrowed her eyes, looking at those pieces of wood and saying,
"Yi, those weapons aren't ordinary weapons, but rather made from the wood of a Tsubaki tree..."Gou Wen also saw the weapons held by those soldiers. Rubbing his chin, he muttered,
"This is indeed somewhat strange..."
"Eh, why... The wood of the Tsubaki Earl wouldn't have been chopped off from his body, right, that's why..." Asuka Karasawa asked in confusion from the side.
Gou Wen shook his head, explaining,
"No, differing from Angels who rely on sunlight to drive their energy, the Elves' power originates from plants. They possess the world's most advanced cultivation methods. If you understand the Tree Continent language, you'd roughly know that the names of all Elves are actually a type of tree. And Elves with corresponding names can drive miraculous power through the power of that tree, depending on the type of tree they use."
"But the key lies in the fact that, because trees are inextricably linked to noble Elves, these trees are a symbol of status in 'Li' and cannot be casually used by others, otherwise it constitutes [Overstepping]. Yet here, ordinary patrolling soldiers surprisingly all possess weapons made from Tsubaki branches; this is extremely unusual..."
"Furthermore, there's another point that's relatively strange. This fiefdom seems a little small. I calculated carefully; the place we landed is the border of this fiefdom, and the capital of Elves is generally at the center of the fiefdom... which means, we precisely walked from the border to the capital in less than an hour's carriage ride. Logically speaking, the Elves' fiefdoms shouldn't be this small."
Right as Gou Wen expressed his confusion, the carriage abruptly halted. They stopped in front of a not-so-spacious wooden house by the street. The curtain was lifted, revealing Lu An outside. He seemingly heard Gou Wen's confusion just now, thereby explaining,
"Mr. Gou Wen seemingly understands our Tree Continent very well ah. You're right, the land of our Tsubaki Fiefdom indeed wasn't this small in the past. Our Tsubaki Earl is truly benevolent ah. He disliked the methods Elven Lords used to treat other living beings, thus announcing that the land of the Tsubaki Fiefdom would henceforth possess no more slaves. Although 'Li' hasn't been completely abolished yet, it must be said, our lives are considerably better than the living beings of other fiefdoms."
"Therefore, from very early on, slaves from other fiefdoms have continuously crossed the borders fleeing over, wanting to join the Tsubaki Fiefdom. The majority are slaves of the [Hiiragi Earl]. The Tsubaki Earl couldn't bear to return the fleeing slaves, hence expending treasures and fief territory to exchange slaves with the Hiiragi Earl. Only then were a massive amount of fleeing slaves retained. My ancestors fled over from the Hiiragi Fiefdom. I've heard many people are like this."
"Fortunately, the [Hiiragi Earl] Reincarnated a few years ago. Four years passed in between without a sovereign. Now, the new Hiiragi Earl is born and still very young. I heard the new Hiiragi Earl is considerably kinder, therefore very few slaves have fled over these past few years... let's not speak of this, we've already arrived at the Upper Minister's Estate. Everyone please alight from the carriage first, allow me to report this matter to the Upper Minister."
Gou Wen expressed thanks once more, stating he had troubled the other party. But after Lu An left, he was still somewhat confused, speaking to Fisher beside him,
"But how could fief territory be traded? This is land enfeoffed by the Elf King. Logically speaking, not an inch of land ought to be alterable..."
"Because the Elf King is also about to Reincarnate. He has already lived for eleven thousand years, living longer than many of your Elves. But no matter what, death will catch up to him. During his birthday celebration the previous cycle of sixty years, his condition was already very poor. His departure will estimateably be within these ten years. Therefore, initially when the Jianmu Palace closed, Lord Sariel additionally suspected whether it was because of the Elf King's passing rather than the Teardrop being stolen..."
Helaire smilingly picked up on Gou Wen's confusion, immediately yawning. Bored to Death, she hopped off the carriage, continuing,
"Li was established by the Elf King. Currently, most Elves have reincarnated once. After he Reincarnates, the Tree Continent's Li might have even more changes, right?"
Asuka Karasawa alighted from the carriage half-understanding. Mikhail still maintained that same old appearance. It wasn't until Fisher and Gou Wen finally alighted that the surrounding scenery fully imprinted itself into Fisher's eyes.
The entire city was like it was completely built within the forest, seemingly blending into one with the forest. Insects chirped and birds sang everywhere, making even Fisher feel somewhat novel. Helaire seemingly had completely given up on teasing him, stretching her waist and approaching the Tsubaki Fiefdom's Upper Minister's Estate a step ahead.
Asuka Karasawa's gaze invariably followed that little deer Lu Ming. The other party seemingly felt her faint line of sight, glancing back and instantly frightened into bouncing and running deep into the estate.
"Mhm, but the environment here indeed is considerably better than other fiefdoms. I've been to the royal capital beneath the World Tree before. Many races there don't live happily... Yi, what's wrong with you? Seemingly from the moment you boarded the carriage just now, your expression has been exceptionally solemn."
"...Nothing much, just have some matters I want to ask you about."
Hearing Gou Wen's words, Fisher queried thus.
"Mhm, you say, I will certainly be Saying Everything One Knows. I'm practically quite familiar with the Tree Continent, after all, I've been here many times before."
"No, I wanted to ask, do you know a Whale-kin named 'Xuan Can'?"
Gou Wen stared blankly slightly, imperceptibly sizing up the Fisher before his eyes. Subsequently stroking his chin, he furrowed his brows and began pondering,
"Um..."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm just recalling the name you mentioned. You should know, many of our kin are extremely lazy, the type who refuse to budge for several decades. Even though my wife and I led them to migrate their residence previously, there are still many kin whose names I don't know... but honestly speaking, this name is quite unfamiliar, I probably don't know her. What's wrong, is this the Whale-man you mentioned previously?"
Xuan Can hasn't been born yet?
Then what was the deal with her crown?
Perhaps this thing was truly passed down by her ancestors? Or rather, the "ancient" spoken of by the Demi-Human Completion Handbook was actually a relatively broad timeframe. It's possible Xuan Can hadn't been born yet, but she was indeed born within this "ancient" era?
"Then 'God of Destruction', have you heard this noun?"
Gou Wen opened his mouth, shaking his head with a bizarre expression, abruptly chuckling softly,
"What noun is this, it sounds so silly ah... Let alone the several Demigods, even the Chief God doesn't have such a silly title, hahaha. But seriously speaking, is it a matter related to that Whale-man girl you mentioned previously? If you want, you can tell me a bit more, I can help you ask around when I return to the Ocean Trench later."
Fisher shot a glance at him, replying,
"Didn't you forbid me from telling you matters regarding the future?"
"...That's true as well, but after all, it's a matter concerning my kin, saying I completely don't care is impossible. But I didn't expect you, a human, to surprisingly know so many Whale-men. Aren't my kin all incredibly lazy? Could their nature have changed in the future?"
"No, actually I only know these two Whale-men as well. The Xuan Can I'm speaking of is the mother of that Whale-man girl I mentioned previously..."
"Is that so, then I genuinely don't know."
"It's fine, it's not important, just suddenly thought of it."
Fisher hadn't taken it to heart to begin with; not receiving an answer was additionally reasonable...
Hmm?
Wait.
Mentioning mother, Fisher suddenly recalled a noteworthy matter.
Based on Gou Wen's previous science popularization, he already knew that Mythical Species obtaining progeny was basically an impossible matter. And Xuan Can evidently already reached the Twentieth-Tier during the Mythical War period three or four thousand years ago, representing the peak of peaks within the Mythic Rank.
Then the problem arose: Jasmine was fully calculated to be a mere hundred and sixty years old this year, meaning two years old for a Whale-kin. How did she break through the reproductive blockade of Mythical Creatures to be born?
Relying on the Authority of Life?
But evidently, Ramastia solely bestowed the Authority of Life upon His three progenies; Xuan Can logically shouldn't possess such an ability. It was additionally highly unlikely for Ramastia to personally intervene in the world to create a progeny for Xuan Can who faced Him...
Could it rely on natural propagation?
But a difficult puzzle that even the Chain of Heaven couldn't solve, how did Xuan Can solve it?
Or perhaps, Jasmine was adopted?
Failing to receive an answer, Fisher conversely plunged into another puzzle. But presently, it was nearly ten thousand years in the past. Probing subsequent matters possessed no meaning whatsoever. He chiefly generally arrived at the conclusion that "Xuan Can wasn't born in this era," subsequently identically stepping into the Upper Minister's Estate.
The Gou Wen following behind him sported an exceptionally relaxed expression. With his hands clasped behind his back, he Following Every Move walked into the estate...
Merely, in an imperceptible location, Gou Wen smiled gazing at the sky, except his gaze seemingly harbored ambiguous meaning.
Behind his back, his hands seemingly toyed with something. Looking carefully, it was surprisingly an extremely short, extremely short golden dagger, roughly only the length of two index fingers. The blade body adopted a curved shape, extremely thin, seemingly liable to snap with a light fold. Compared to a combat weapon, it actually resembled a surgical scalpel used for medical purposes...
Amidst his familiar toying, that golden dagger melted and deformed bit by bit, until it transformed into the appearance of a ring he had never worn before...
That seemingly was a Wedding Ring. Inside the ring, written using Whale-kin script lay two names,
"Gou Wen Xuan Can"
(End of this chapter)