Chapter 508: The Matter of the Ancestral Land (3k)
“She is…”
Head of the Heber Family’s gaze blankly stared at the somewhat familiar face before him. After a moment, as if remembering something, an incredibly shocked expression suddenly appeared on his face.
“The young lady from earlier?”
He had only contacted her not long ago and hadn’t expected her to appear before him now. Moreover, she had actually instantly killed the Demigod-level Blue Crane!
Even if it was a sneak attack to kill it, it was obvious that she must also possess Demigod-level combat power.
“I’m not too late, am I?”
A crisp female voice filled with a hint of laughter approached. The maiden’s figure slowly walked towards them along the track. It was Su Jiu, who had directly killed the Blue Crane with [Moonlit Dream] in mid-air.
Looking at Su Jiu’s young appearance, the people dared not show any disrespect, their faces filled with awe. The Elder Minister stepped forward first, placed his hands flat on his chest, and spoke with aristocratic politeness, expressing his gratitude:
“Thank you, young lady from the Eastern Kingdom, for your intervention. If you are agreeable, I would like to invite you to Lovergral City to receive some merits and rewards.”
Seeing the former’s enthusiastic attitude, Su Jiu showed a hint of helplessness, waved her hand, and said softly:
“Old Sir, let’s put the rewards aside for now. There are a large number of monsters about to attack this great western capital city. We need to find the Grand Duke to resist them…”
Then, her gaze landed on the stunned Head of the Heber Family. She took two steps forward, pondered for a moment, and then asked softly, “Mr. Herbert… you’re an councilor, right? Can you let me see the monster egg?”
“A large number of monsters are attacking?!”
“That shouldn’t be the case! After we collectively left the city, the scouts on the defense line reported no movement.”
“However, it is correct to return to the city for defense now. There is a large-scale defensive formation within the city, and it’s too unsafe outside.”
Upon hearing the information from Su Jiu, a commotion quickly arose among the crowd. These people held important positions in the city or were subordinates of nobles. Discussions erupted among them, but due to their lack of strength, they did not voice their opinions.
Su Jiu smiled faintly at their reactions and didn’t mind. After all, she was only speaking, and it was normal for them not to believe her.
“Miss, you seem to be interested in the egg as well? May I ask why?”
Upon hearing Su Jiu’s words, the Head of the Heber Family also returned to his senses. His eyes under his glasses showed a trace of hesitation. Why was she also interested in the egg? That Blue Crane… and the deceased exploration personnel had all shown great importance to it.
Even though she had saved them, her interest seemed too strange.
“Uncle, you can just show it to Doctor Su Jiu.”
Just as Su Jiu was about to explain, another figure approached, it was Catherine, who had leaped down from the Butterfly Cloud. She walked over with a serious expression.
“This is Young Lady Winick…”
Everyone’s attention was drawn to them. Upon realizing that the newcomer was the Duke’s daughter, their hearts gave a jolt. Almost everyone inwardly considered Su Jiu to be a helper invited by the Duke, and they believed Su Jiu’s words about the monster attack on the city a bit more.
“Doctor Su Jiu? Are you a Priest??”
Hearing this, the Head of the Heber Family was slightly stunned. He looked at the Giant Scythe in Su Jiu’s hand with some disbelief. However, since the Duke’s daughter had also appeared, he went to find the monster egg very promptly.
“Yes, I occasionally moonlight as a Warrior for frontline combat,” Su Jiu said with a casual smile.
“Warrior…”
Listening to Su Jiu’s words, the Head of the Heber Family’s mouth twitched. It should be an assassin, right?
“Sigh, I don’t understand what can be gained by sending an unhatched egg to an uncertain location, the [Ancestral Land]. Both Duke and the monsters chasing us attach importance to it.”
Sighing helplessly, the Head of the Heber Family took out the palm-sized egg from his pocket. Besides intricate inscriptions carved on it, there was nothing special about the egg. It seemed like a very ordinary high-level monster egg.
He paused and added, “We can only understand that there are many fire-element inscriptions carved on it, and it is inherently fire-element. It probably has little to do with the Ice Phoenix, respected Sir.”
Su Jiu looked at the egg with a frown. The egg contained no ice element at all, which was indeed very strange…
She suddenly recalled the photo she had seen in the Heber Family’s residence. This peculiar phenomenon did not seem to have appeared out of nowhere and was likely related to that situation.
Su Jiu suddenly wanted to verify something. She felt that she should be able to see the same scene as the Head of the Heber Family, and Catherine beside her should also be able to see it.
“But this feather, haven’t you seen it before? Why do you want to see it again…”
Soon, the Head of the Heber Family continued speaking as he took out the feather from his storage bag. Using his external qi, like a spring, the feather floated on his palm, still appearing as ice crystals in the light.
Looking at the feather that still appeared as ice crystals, Su Jiu took the feather and felt the warmth emanating from it. She narrowed her eyes. Could her guess be wrong?
Does it not decide whether people can see it based on their character?
“This… why is the feather on fire?!”
Just as Su Jiu was about to use her mental power to look, Catherine’s voice suddenly rang out. Her face showed an expression of astonishment, her eyes widened as she looked at the feather. It was clearly ice crystals that she had seen in the video before…
Under everyone’s puzzled gaze, she looked up at Su Jiu again, pulled on Su Jiu’s sleeve, pointed at the feather in her palm with great excitement, and asked in surprise:
“It’s completely different from before! That fierce fire burning your palm, don’t you feel hot?”
“Uh… it’s not hot.”
Su Jiu’s mouth twitched. She shook her head slightly. I’m so sorry, but I can’t see it without my cheat…
Thinking about it, she was always acting for her own benefit and had never done anything without self-interest. It was normal not to be acknowledged.
However, Catherine being able to see the flames from the feather also confirmed her guess. The Ice Phoenix was indeed the Fen Shuangluan, the most powerful and mysterious monster in this region.
And this egg with special fire-elemental runes likely had a great connection with the Fen Shuangluan, perhaps it was the Fen Shuangluan itself transformed, otherwise so many people wouldn’t attach so much importance to it!
So, there was still a chance to obtain the feathers from it!
As Su Jiu was contemplating, a thin crimson line lit up on the feather from its base, extending all the way to the tip, and then slowly creeping towards the smaller branches around it, sparks appearing…
“I want to keep this feather for now, it might be useful later.”
Suppressing her thoughts slightly, Su Jiu didn’t pay attention to the feather’s strange changes and then put the feather away. She then turned to the Head of the Heber Family and said softly, “I want to take this egg and go find the ancestral land, is that okay?”
The egg had to be delivered by her personally. Only then would she have a chance to obtain the feathers.
“This…”
The Head of the Heber Family showed a look of difficulty. He glanced at Catherine, anticipating her opinion. Although Su Jiu had saved them, she was still an outsider after all.
“It’s okay, Uncle. Trust her.”
Seeing his hesitant expression, Catherine simply smiled. Su Jiu gave her a sense of security.
“It’s not a matter of not trusting her, but rather, do you know where the ancestral land is? If it’s just the ancestral land, I can list no less than five or six such places.”
Since it had come to this, the Head of the Heber Family handed the egg in his hand to Su Jiu, full of helplessness. With the word “ancestral land,” who could possibly know where it was?
Su Jiu took the egg, holding it with both hands, feeling the warmth transmitted from it. It was like a fire in winter, very gentle, making one reluctant to let it go.
“No, to be precise, there are only three places,” Catherine suddenly spoke. She reached out and gently touched the egg in Su Jiu’s hand and said rather abruptly.
Everyone’s gazes were drawn to them, seemingly wanting to hear her explanation. Catherine met their gazes and smiled, then continued, “The first is where our ancestors migrated to, which is a place hundreds of kilometers away.”
“It can’t be here. We considered it before, and it’s too far away.”
The Elder Minister, who had been silent for a long time, interrupted. His words carried a tone of certainty.
“The Elder Minister is right, and it’s about what I guessed. It’s so far away, and it doesn’t fit the migration patterns of monsters. Monster eggs wouldn’t appear here either.”
Catherine glanced at the Elder Minister and also smiled, continuing, “The second, and what I believe is more likely, is the ancestral hall within the city’s Duke’s Mansion. Our great-grandfather once met the Ice Phoenix there, and its incense is still offered there.”
“This is possible. This egg should also have a certain connection with the Ice Phoenix.”
The Head of the Heber Family adjusted his glasses and said, and the Elder Minister also nodded slightly, showing a smile, seemingly quite approving of the guess.
“Then what about the last one? Isn’t it a legendary location…”
Just as a few people were agreeing with this viewpoint, Su Jiu suddenly spoke. She felt that this seemed a bit strange. It was about meeting the Ice Phoenix, not the Fen Shuangluan. Logically speaking…
In the beginning, the Catherine Family received favor from Catherine the First. She should have been the one to see the true Fen Shuangluan, and that place should have been called the ancestral land!
“Doctor Su Jiu, how do you know that?”
Catherine gave Su Jiu a surprised glance. Seeing her expectant expression, she no longer kept them in suspense and continued,
“The last location is precisely the mountain where the ancestors are said to have obtained their power, and it is within this mountain range’s vast area.”
“According to the description, the water in the mountains there never freezes, and the grass and flowers always remain in spring. However, over the years, no one has found the exact location.”
Listening to this description, Su Jiu’s face immediately turned somewhat gloomy. Once again, she was in a state of headless chickens…
“I’ll hand the egg over to you. Since the matter of the monster attack is truly happening, we nobles must return to the city as soon as possible, otherwise, the ordinary residents will surely be unable to resist.”
Glancing at Su Jiu’s expression, the Head of the Heber Family shook his head, then turned to call his team members. They then used their external qi, floating slightly, appearing as if they were about to fly towards the city.
The egg was important, but practical action was more important to him.
The others also followed suit, taking off and preparing to rush towards the city…
“Take care, Miss.”
The Elder Minister gave Su Jiu a deep look and also appeared ready to leave.
“Can I know the source of the water in the mountains now?”
Just as he turned to leave, a soft, sweet voice came from Su Jiu’s direction, seeming to carry an air of confidence.
Hearing this voice, Su Jiu suddenly turned her head to look at the scythe in her hand, then as if she had thought of something, her eyes widened slightly, followed by a surge of excitement in her heart.
That’s right, she could play it this way!
