### Chapter 195: 131. Hairpin
Fisher continued up the mountain and soon saw a faint firelight from a camp among the trees along the winding mountain path. The overall situation of the camp was basically the same as when Fisher left, and the only new items were a few game pieces hanging on a rack, currently drying.
Those game pieces had been gutted, most of the meat salted and dried, while the innards were eaten on-site. From a distance, Anna keenly caught a whiff of a rich meat aroma.
In Anna’s line of sight, she suddenly noticed a gigantic shadow passing beside the camp next to the firelight. Upon closer inspection, it resembled a massive horse-like monster.
Her face paled slightly as she instinctively grasped Fisher’s sleeve and whispered to him, “Do you have these monsters called ‘Ramagan’ in the Western Continent?”
“Ramagan? What is that?”
Before Fisher could finish his words, Anna felt her hand being gently slapped. Despite the lack of a loud sound, the back of her hand burned with pain.
She withdrew her hand in discomfort and turned to see Jasmine beside her, casually looking at the scenery of the surrounding woods.
Pouting, Jasmine seemed as if nothing had happened as she scanned the night. If it weren’t for her soulful big eyes glancing nervously at Anna, Anna wouldn’t have realized she was the one who struck.
This little girl can be jealous too?
It was just borrowing Fisher’s sleeve.
Anna, being from the Southern Continent, certainly wouldn’t look down on subhumans, but for humans from the Southern Continent, subhumans and humans generally maintained their distance, rarely seeing each other, not to mention the rare Ocean Subhumans.
She didn’t know what kind of subhuman Jasmine was, only that Blake was crazily looking for her. Now, she seemed nothing special, except for being extremely jealous.
“…Yeah, a monster that looks like a huge horse, it likes to eat the corpses of the dead and occasionally attacks the living.”
“What’s in front isn’t a monster; it’s just a centaur from your Southern Continent, a friend of ours.”
A friend, huh.
Anna glanced at Jasmine following Fisher before entering the camp, and it was indeed as expected to see a female centaur squatting on the ground, gazing at the stew of innards and leaves simmering over the fire.
Although she had already somewhat understood the strange traits of this man named Fisher Benavides, seeing the different races of subhumans surrounding him still left Anna rather shocked.
Could this be the reason her seduction didn’t work?
He actually doesn’t like humans but rather these peculiar subhumans?
But the issue is, he clearly also likes Princess Elizabeth.
Surveying the situation around the camp, the night wind swirled and Fisher spoke first.
“Xiatu, we need your help.”
“Ah! Why are you back again? Didn’t you have other things to do?”
Xiatu jumped up in surprise, her brown hair slightly raising, horse-like ears perking up. Halfway through her words, she suddenly caught sight of Anna standing next to Fisher, that stunning beauty in the darkness invoking an instinctual sense of danger in her.
Unable to articulate the specific feeling, it was as though a very dangerous thing was standing before her, triggering her instincts to flee.
But since Anna came with Fisher, Xiatu only cautiously glanced at Anna before subtly shifting a little distance towards Jasmine.
“There was a bit of a mishap with earlier matters; the explanation is somewhat complex. This is Anna, my partner. We now need to enter Nali Lake behind this mountain. I have a rough idea but need a little help from you.”
“Help, huh? No problem! By the way, have you eaten? Come over and have something to eat first.”
Originally, Xiatu didn’t want to add that last sentence. After all, the dinner in the pot was something she had prepared with great effort, but since Jasmine was staring at the food in the pot like a malfunctioning machine, her desire was quite evident, so Xiatu decided to let them eat something first.
Fisher also hadn’t eaten much all day, and when Xiatu mentioned it, he felt the hunger surge within him. Not wanting to seem pretentious, he sat down in front of the fire.
Xiatu handed out makeshift utensils made from twigs to Jasmine and Fisher. In the wild, she usually just used leaves as bowls; given the rough conditions, she had no alternative.
Anna didn’t eat; she just sat beside them, constantly scanning the surroundings, fearful that Blake would bring pursuers. It was apparent that she harbored deep fears regarding Blake.
Xiatu was still troubled, thinking of ways to help Fisher and the others enter Nali Lake. Truth be told, Fisher’s condition today was a bit lethargic, especially after a series of battles. Now, with a hot soup going down, his brain finally regained some energy, and his thoughts became clearer. He then shared his line of thought with Anna and Xiatu.
“Nali Lake appears to have no waterways connecting to the outside, but there is actually a very hidden underground waterway at the lake’s bottom supplying it. This waterway was discovered only in the past decade. Professor Cecil, a geologist at the Royal Academy, discerned the possibility of this underground river supplying water through the seasonal water level changes in Nali Lake and proposed the theory of underground river supply.”
As he spoke, Fisher noticed that all the ladies around him were looking at him with dazed expressions. He paused for a moment and simplified his explanation.
“In essence, beneath Nali Lake there is a concealed waterway. Its direction and precise entrance are unclear for now, but we can enter Nali Lake discreetly through that waterway. Based on my assumptions, there is a good chance this river leads to more northern rivers flowing into the ocean, but we still need to determine the specific location.”
Listening intently, Jasmine, holding an entire pot and sipping soup, suddenly put down her huge pot and, meeting Anna’s surprised gaze, revealed that she had already eaten all the stew inside.
“Fisher, if that waterway runs along the ocean, I can find it.”
“You can find it?”
Originally, Fisher’s discussion was directed towards Xiatu and Anna, hoping Xiatu could find a way to locate the waterway they sought.
Typically, Jasmine appeared preoccupied when she was present, as if she didn’t understand the conversation at hand, resembling a sort of mascot. But now, Fisher was taken aback to find out she actually had the ability to locate waterway passages.
Jasmine, how many surprises do you have that I don’t know about?
In front of him, the Whale Folk girl nodded, then reached back to grasp the hairpin on her head. With a gentle tug, streams of blue water began to flow out, forming a ring shape. After pressing it again, the water ring suddenly pointed toward Nali Lake’s direction.
Fisher remembered this hairpin was a relic given to her by her aunt. Its specific function was to indicate the direction towards the underwater trench, but now it pointed straight at Nali Lake.
Observing the streams of water flowing across Jasmine’s forehead, she began to explain, “When underwater, this relic points towards the trench, but on land, the ring will point to the nearest water flow leading to the ocean. If we follow around Nali Lake, once we reach the location of the underground river, the direction it points will change. As long as we find where its direction changes, we can trace it back to find the approximate location of the underground river!”
Watching the constantly swirling water ring on Jasmine’s forehead, Fisher didn’t expect this extra piece of information. But according to Jasmine’s explanation, it indeed seemed feasible. Anna’s eyes lit up, eagerly standing up and exclaiming, “Then let’s move along the perimeter of Nali Lake now; the sooner the better!”
Xiatu, sitting idly by without interjecting, glanced at the group that had inexplicably found a way into Nali Lake, then blinked in confusion before standing up with them.
Watching Fisher and Jasmine start packing to leave, she glanced back at her dinner bowl, now empty from the soup. Only then did she feel a sense of loss for what she had lost.
Wait, so you all came up here to find me just for a free meal and are leaving, huh?!
You are worse than those humans from the New Party!
Xiatu felt a bit flustered but hadn’t spoken when Jasmine had already walked up to her side.
“Thank you, Xiatu, you helped a lot.”
Beside her, Jasmine with her flushed cheeks looked gratefully at Xiatu. That adorable expression made Xiatu let out a small sigh, then she patted her little head.
Jasmine was just too cute; given how adorable she was, Xiatu couldn’t possibly fuss over a little bit of food, right?
“Xiatu, you better come with us or leave immediately back to the Protection Association. It’s likely that Blake or the Nali officials will come searching for us soon. If you are discovered, it could lead to accidents.”
Actually, Fisher had thought about this when arriving at the foot of Klein Mountain. Besides needing Xiatu’s help, he also wanted to keep her away from potential danger.
“Ah, then I’ll go with you. I might at least be able to help a bit; I’m quite sensitive to people nearby. During these days in the mountains, the royal patrol soldiers didn’t notice me; they thought Klein Mountain was haunted.”
As soon as Xiatu heard she might be caught by humans, she immediately began to pack her things, preparing to follow Fisher. Being a subhuman ignored by others, how could she dare to bet on what those humans might do if they found her?
Better to stick with Fisher and the others.
Xiatu grabbed her bow and dagger, but unfortunately, the jerky wasn’t ready yet, so she couldn’t take it with her. She slowly approached Jasmine, maintaining some distance from Anna. Anna completely ignored her, just walking up to Fisher.
As a result, Jasmine noticed Anna getting closer to Fisher, her inexplicable radar was activated, and she cautiously moved to be beside Fisher again. After wandering around, the exasperated Xiatu still ended up near Anna.
Come to think of it, could it be that the things she said to Jasmine during training gave her this territorial awareness?
Suffering the consequences of her own actions, Xiatu followed Fisher with a bitter face, feeling quite regretful now.
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(End of Chapter)
