Chapter 130: Earth Marrow
Professor Fisher did not let Meg speak first about the secrets of the Ocean Subhumans, after all, there were too many people on the street.
He decided to take this rebellious child back to Gina’s wholesale store first, along the way helping to alleviate the seemingly difficult family conflicts they had at home.
When they returned to the wholesale store, the mother and daughter exchanged a glance, and then Meg awkwardly looked away, of course, there couldn’t be any normal communication.
Gina looked like she wanted to scold her disobedient daughter, but since there were two outsiders, Fisher and Jasmine, she didn’t unleash her anger immediately. Instead, she shot a glare at Meg, who was keeping her head down, and then went out to tend to her magical chickens.
“Now let’s talk about the information regarding the so-called Ocean Subhumans.”
As he watched the shop quiet down, Fisher turned to Meg, who was hugging a cushion on the sofa, and said this.
Jasmine placed the magic materials on the table and curiously looked at Meg, waiting for her to speak.
“Um, it was probably this week. Sometimes I go out to play with my boyfriend and his friends at night. On Monday night, they bought several bottles of wine and took me to the Coco River to stargaze.”
“We got a bit drunk, and a friend from Karen Street named Karik mentioned something interesting to us.”
“Interesting thing?”
“Um.” Meg recalled that night and said, “He said there is a little elf that grows in the water at the central pond of Park Park next to the end of the Coco River, who loves to trade with humans.”
“As long as you leave a valuable item by the edge of the pond at night and say three times to the Mother God Statue in the center of the pond, ‘Offering the treasure, quickly trade'”
“Then by the next morning, the item left by the pond will be taken away and replaced with some magical items, like magic materials and coral.”
“But that little elf only accepts more valuable items, like jewelry and gems. Karik said he once left a beer bottle there, and that little elf confiscated it.”
Jasmine listened intently, feeling it sounded like the tales of the ten ghosts of Saint Nali that Milica once told at night. She felt a little chilled and subtly inched closer to Fisher while very focused on listening to Meg, eager for the next part of the story.
Fisher stroked his chin, looking thoughtful, and remained silent.
“Then that night, my boyfriend was a bit drunk and hyper, and they planned to take us to Park Park to trade with the little elf,”
“But they didn’t really want to trade items; they wanted to catch that little elf! They were going to hide in the bushes of Park Park after placing the items and wait to catch the elf when it appeared.”
“My boyfriend placed a pocket watch he brought from home by the pond, and then we all crouched in the nearby bushes, waiting for that little elf to show up.”
“But by the time we crouched down, it was already around two or three in the morning. Everyone was so tired from drinking that my boyfriend and Karik quickly fell asleep, and I couldn’t hold out either and dozed off for a bit.”
“But my sleep was shallow, and any sound would wake me. I fell asleep and then heard water sounds by the pond, along with some other strange noises, which woke me up.”
“I didn’t know what time it was; anyway, it wasn’t dawn yet, maybe five or six o’clock? I got up groggy and saw the little elf that Karik had mentioned! It wasn’t an elf at all, but a living creature!”
“I saw a head come up from the pond in Park Park, reaching out to touch the pocket watch we left at the pond’s edge, even lifted it up to look at it. There was a pipe connected to the drainage of Coco River beneath the pond in the center of Park Park, and that creature took the pocket watch we left and left a black sea shell in its place! The same one I showed to my mom; have you seen it?”
Fisher nodded, indicating he had seen it, while also mentally absorbing all the information he had just received. He was about to ask something when Jasmine, nervously gripping her skirt, like an eager audience to a story, gasped and asked hurriedly,
“What happened next? You only saw a head? Was that a Sea Ghost? Did it notice you?”
Fisher glanced at Jasmine, noticing her originally rosy complexion had turned a bit pale, looking fearful yet very curious, eager to know what happened next that night.
“No. My awareness at that time wasn’t too clear; I only saw a head floating up from the water, and I didn’t see its face. I was so scared; I thought it was a ghost or some monster that sucks blood. In my impression, an elf wouldn’t have such a large head.”
“But after I came back holding the sea shell and thought about it carefully, the ghostly thing is too ethereal. However, something that could swim through a long pipe from the water can’t possibly be human; it could be… a subhuman. Of course, it’s also possible that it’s some other kind of monster, so I said I wasn’t sure if it was really true.”
Meg concluded her account, pressed her lips together, and looked at the thoughtful Fisher.
Fisher thought for a moment; if what Meg saw at that time was real, then it was indeed highly likely to be a subhuman from the ocean.
Moreover, he had just observed the sea shell, which didn’t seem like something from shallow or coastal waters. Saint Nali was a coastal city, and Fisher had seen many fishermen pull things out of the sea since he was a child, but he had never encountered that kind of sea shell before.
So, is it possible that it is indeed a subhuman from the ocean and related to this whale folk girl beside him?
Fisher secretly observed Jasmine next to him, who was slightly parted lips, seemingly still immersed in the story Meg described, probably still imagining what kind of monster that thing was.
If it has something to do with Jasmine, would she react this way?
Or was she performing, similar to Renee, unwilling to expose any possible connections to Ocean Subhumans?
Or was that ocean subhuman unrelated to Jasmine, just another race from the ocean that came up from the water to the land?
Without concrete answers, Fisher could only put his thoughts on pause, nodded, and stood up.
“I understand; I will go to Park Park later to check it out. I still have other things to prepare today, so I will leave first. By the way.”
Fisher gestured for Jasmine to take the magic materials beside her and then slowly walked to the door, turning back to Meg and said,
“Remember to apologize to your mother and don’t go hanging out with those guys anymore. You won’t gain anything but waste precious time and youth.”
Meg opened her mouth and finally lowered her head and agreed.
Fisher pushed the door open and saw Gina squatting on the ground torturing the magical chickens. She turned to look at Fisher and Jasmine coming out and said,
“Are you done asking and ready to leave?”
“Yes, I got some interesting news from Meg. I’ve already scolded her; I hope she behaves better afterward.”
“Hmph, as long as she doesn’t die outside, I’ll be grateful to the heavens.”
Gina glanced in the direction of the shop and said this.
Fisher smiled and did not respond, putting on his gentleman’s hat and continued on with Jasmine towards the magic market. He had other things to purchase.
“Professor Fisher, do you think Miss Meg encountered a ghost? Like… something from the sea, or other places where resentment gathers, coming ashore or underwater to catch living beings.”
“Where did you hear all this?”
“Milica told me. She said when she was little, ghosts often entered her room wanting to eat her, but she said ghosts couldn’t attack people hidden under the covers, and that’s how she escaped.”
Hearing Jasmine’s words, Fisher couldn’t help but chuckle and said,
“She’s lying to you.”
“Huh?”
“She was never attacked by ghosts when she was younger. Besides, her father is one of the three main bishops of Nali. Even if a soul went, it would probably be sent to serve the Mother God by now, so she said that just to scare you.”
“Scare me? Why?”
Fisher turned to look at Jasmine, who was hiding her head behind the bag of magical materials, her face slightly flushed, revealing just one sparkling eye looking at Fisher, making her seem very adorable, like a fresh apple enticing to be tasted.
That’s because you look cute when you’re scared.
The correct answer was this, but Fisher didn’t say it out loud, so as not to make himself appear as a perverted Nali gentleman professor harassing his students.
He turned his head to survey the surrounding shops, responding,
“That’s because you have a good relationship with them, so they would share such interesting stories with you. When you’re attracted by the content, she has achieved her goal.”
“Is that so?”
Jasmine seemed to come to a realization, lifting her head from behind the bag, and then she thought of Milica’s mischievous smile. She felt what Professor Fisher said made sense; Milica just liked to tell those scary things, making her both afraid and eager to listen.
Thanks to Milica, Jasmine initially thought that all the strange monsters were on land since she hadn’t seen any while in the sea for so long. Now she realized that just like the ocean floor, there were no terrifying monsters visible on land!
As time went on, Fisher bought several items for crafting advanced magic.
While browsing, Fisher remembered those two curved knives Eil had, and he felt a bit like buying a suitable cold weapon for himself. This was because the battle method Eil gifted him included using cold weapons, and practicing with a real weapon might yield better results.
However, after some time, he didn’t see any shops selling cold weapons. Nowadays, it was rare to find traditional knight swords for sale in Saint Nali. If he wanted one, he would have to go to a specialized blacksmith shop and have one customized, which would cost a lot of time and money.
Having gathered nearly all the items, it was afternoon, and Fisher prepared to take Jasmine away. But just before leaving, he happened to see a stall by a dirty-faced hunter with a hunting rifle, who had a glowing stone on display.
The stone appeared to be made of numerous squares combined, continuously flickering with faint colorful lights from its center, almost as if it were alive.
Fisher squatted down in front of the stall, intrigued by this stone.
He recognized it; it was a magic material called “Earth Marrow,” but it wasn’t often used in magic engraving. It could enhance magical vitality when placed in a seal, but it was hard to find and had many cheaper substitutes, so unless a sorcerer was lacking in sense, they generally wouldn’t use it.
However, this one looked incredibly beautiful, with various colors and shapes of “Earth Marrow” from different places. The one in front of him was actually colorful, and it was Fisher’s first time seeing something like this.
Jasmine’s gaze also shifted to the colorful stone on the stall, and she asked,
“Professor Fisher, what is this?”
“This is Earth Marrow, a very pretty but not very useful magic material. However, this color is the first time I’ve seen it; how much does it cost?”
The hunter glanced at Fisher and replied,
“2000 Nali.”
“1000 Nali, and include a bag for me. Where did you dig this up?”
The hunter glared at the gentleman, who immediately cut the price in half while dressed in fine clothes, just like those old ladies from Karen Street who bartered.
It was the first time he had seen such a calculating sorcerer.
“1500 Nali, can’t go any lower. I found this while hunting in the mountains; they say this color of Earth Marrow has never been seen before.”
“1350 Nali, and a bag.”
Fisher had already taken out his wallet, calmly revealing the contents to show how little he had left, making it clear, I don’t have that much money, if you don’t sell it to me, I’ll leave.
This made the hunter quite annoyed, but this item was indeed hard to sell. It was a bit too redundant for sorcerers, and if regarded as a decorative item, the difficulty in processing was too high. This thing was very hard; ordinary sorcerers used a magical blade to grind it down for a while just to get a bit of powder for use.
“Fine, you can take it for 1350 Nali, but I don’t have a bag left, so you have to manage that yourself.”
Fisher paid the money, silently took the item, and placed it in Jasmine’s bag, filled with magical materials.
He intended to use this as a small decorative piece, and if that didn’t work, it would also look nice just displayed in his room.
Then, with his staff in hand, Fisher and Jasmine, who was holding a bag full of magical materials, returned to the entrance of the magic market, ready to take a carriage back to Saint Nali University.
On the way back, Jasmine admired the scenery outside while also feeling she learned a lot of interesting knowledge and secrets from Professor Fisher throughout the day.
Moreover, she had heard such an interesting story about the “Park Park elf.”
Fisher was resting his eyes, while Jasmine leaned against the window of the carriage, giggling. But then she suddenly remembered that it seemed Xianghun had previously mentioned that some underwater race would send her some things, and she hadn’t contacted Xianghun in a while.
Could it be that the Ocean Subhumans from the Coco River were looking for her?!
Jasmine suddenly realized something, instinctively wanting to return to the back of the carriage. But when she raised her head, she forgot that her head was sticking out of the window, and as she lifted it, she bumped into the window frame above.
“Bang!”
“Ouch!”
She held her head in pain, returning to the carriage, and happened to see Fisher opening his eyes due to her movement.
She felt embarrassed and flushed, looking a little shy.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m, I’m fine!”
Fortunately, Fisher, as always, did not mention anything that would make her feel embarrassed.
Jasmine shook her head, sat back in her place. Seeing that she was fine, Fisher smiled and returned his gaze to rest.
So he did not notice Jasmine sneaking a glance at him, quickly averting her eyes and biting her lip.
The atmosphere in the carriage quieted down, yet it felt as sweltering as other places in Saint Nali.
At least it was much warmer than in the Deep Sea.
Jasmine thought to herself.
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(End of Chapter)
