Chapter 419
36. Deerfolk
“Wake up. Hey, wake up, little Tang Zeming.”
“Ugh, father, I’m so tired. Wake me up later, there’s still time to go to school.”
“…”
In a daze, Tang Zeming Asuka flipped over, wanting to go back to sleep, but after just a second, she suddenly realized something, and her mind promptly cleared up a good deal. She abruptly sat up and looked beside her, where a rather helpless-looking Whale Folk named Gouwen was squatting. Startled, she took a step back and said,
“Ah! Sorry, I was half asleep, Mr. Gouwen.”
“It’s okay, here, take this and eat it. You might need it later. We’ve already arrived at the Tree Continent, but it’s not dawn yet, so you can rest a little longer.”
“Oh, okay.”
Tang Zeming Asuka took the language gel that Gouwen handed her and, following his instructions, absorbed the transparent gel into her body. As crystalline patterns gradually emerged on her head, her language could now be understood by others, and she could also comprehend the words of other races.
In fact, just like the Brain Demon Race, as long as one person present consumes it, the entire team’s communication would be smooth. But to avoid someone getting separated or special accidents occurring, Hela had prepared such items for everyone. After all, Michael the Angel likely had no shortage of these things.
Tang Zeming Asuka felt as though she had swallowed a bundle of mint, chilling her from her chest to her brain, and she took a few breaths of hot air to regain her composure.
After giving her the item, Gouwen went to the other side. At this moment, Tang Zeming Asuka finally had the chance to observe her surroundings. They seemed to have landed in a dense, primitive jungle. The nearby trees were tall and sturdy, easily reaching twenty to thirty meters in height. Only through the thick, lush green leaves could she see the faint light outside, just before dawn, as well as the massive World Tree, transforming from translucent to golden.
This striking scene instantaneously pulled Tang Zeming Asuka out of her ordinary life as a human for the past seventeen years, making the differences between the two worlds fully apparent the moment she touched the ground.
Dazed, she rubbed her eyes and sat up from the ground. In this quiet and peaceful jungle, Mikhail was sitting on the ground studying a map of the Tree Continent, roughly confirming their current position. Meanwhile, Hela was nowhere to be found; it seemed that Mikhail was more like the leader of this “birthday celebration” group.
“Mr. Mikhail, good morning.”
“Mm, good morning.”
Mikhail was boiling water in a cup he brought and answered her without looking up, while Gouwen was crouching by the riverbank, examining the river’s direction. After confirming that this river led to the ocean, he took out an envelope from his arms and placed it in the water.
“Mr. Gouwen, are you sending a letter to your family? Will it return by itself if you just drop it in the water? How does that work?”
Tang Zeming Asuka squatted by the riverbank, watching the envelope sink into the water without getting crumpled by the flowing currents. Instead, it emitted a faint blue glow, then was carried downstream.
“I added some unique marks that our Whale Folk can use. We Whale Folk can hear many sounds that other creatures can’t, allowing us to even communicate with most non-intelligent beings in the ocean.”
Gouwen stood up, clapped his hands, and smiled as he explained to Tang Zeming Asuka,
“A long time ago, my ancestors trained these creatures to make our lives very convenient. For example, I often train a creature called a sea green crab as a mount; it’s a large and friendly crab. If there’s a chance later, I can send you one. Riding it would be very impressive!”
“…”
Tang Zeming Asuka’s expression was somewhat forced. Even for her, riding a large crab felt a bit too strange; perhaps only someone with a unique mindset like Mr. Gouwen would enjoy such things.
She chuckled, shook her head, and declined,
“That’s… right. By the way, Mr. Gouwen, where is Mr. Fisher? I haven’t seen him.”
“Eh, my wife also doesn’t like those crabs, but let’s not talk about that. As for Fisher, he seems to be over there alone, doing something. He just said he has some things to take care of. You can go check.”
“Okay.”
Tang Zeming Asuka stood up and slowly walked towards the direction Gouwen pointed out. Finally, she spotted Fisher’s body hidden deep in a shaded corner by a large tree. Of course, she could see that Fisher’s limbs were lit with distinctly visible magical circuits; he seemed to be engraving something on a leaf?
As Tang Zeming Asuka observed, she saw that Fisher’s carving knife was delicately and accurately falling onto every inch of the extremely thin and brittle leaf, leaving a mark that wasn’t bright but emitted a strange fluctuation.
“Thud, thud, thud.”
“Is there something?”
For some reason, the sound that resonated in Tang Zeming Asuka’s ears was reminiscent of her father’s wooden fish from Thousand-Hand Temple, yet the next second, she was interrupted by Fisher’s words. She hastily stood up, and Fisher had already stopped carving magic, intentionally blocking the leave with his large hand.
Tang Zeming Asuka read the concealment in his body language and lost her composure, feeling that her silent observation had offended Fisher for not greeting him first, so she immediately apologized,
“Sorry. I just saw the. soul? glowing on Mr. Fisher.”
Noticing her cautious demeanor, Fisher realized that his previous concealment might have come off as a bit awkward and unapproachable. So, he placed the leaf in his pocket, glanced at the fading magical circuits on his arm, and nodded,
“That’s right, you have it as well; you saw it that night.”
“Um, didn’t Mr. Fisher say that night that my soul is no different from this world’s humans? But why do Mr. Fisher’s magical circuits look so strange?”
“…”
Fisher didn’t expect her to notice this discrepancy, as she should be considered an outsider completely unfamiliar with this aspect. He was surprised by her delicate observation, and after hesitating for a moment, Fisher didn’t provide further explanation. He simply said,
“I’m a bit different from other humans; otherwise, I wouldn’t be so much stronger than them. But the magical circuits of humans other than myself are all the same as yours, while each race’s magical circuits are different, symbolizing the differences in their souls.”
“I see.”
Tang Zeming Asuka was clearly still confused, but Fisher didn’t seem inclined to elaborate.
It wasn’t that he was too stingy with knowledge; otherwise, he wouldn’t have freely taught Raphael and Jasmine magic before. What he truly worried about was a problem concerning the Trans.
Whispers.
He had previously known that Trans had been lured by whispers from beyond the world, gaining the forbidden knowledge recorded in the Soul Supplement Handbook. He couldn’t be sure of the specific process by which these whispers targeted Trans, but his instincts told him it was definitely not as simple as hallucinations appearing in one’s ears when the Soul Supplement Handbook went out of control. That was the result of him absorbing forbidden knowledge, leading to a decrease in rationality, not the whispers that granted forbidden knowledge themselves.
Before he clarified the principles behind this matter, he intended to maintain a polite distance from Tang Zeming Asuka. After all, the nature of fate was simply too mysterious, leaving room for interpretation no matter how one explained it.
From a direct perspective, it was possible that his appearance brought forth magic that didn’t exist in this era, giving rise to the birth of the “Magic Lord,” thus forming a temporal loop. Conversely, was this also an opportunity, a chance for him to correct the circumstances that led to numerous disasters in future generations?
In any case, both Renee and he knew very little about this intricate fate rule. At least for now, the fewer actions taken, the better.
Tang Zeming Asuka was unaware of his current thoughts. The still immature young girl was still tangled in whether her earlier hasty actions had been intrusive. Her innate sensitivity made her feel the extremely faint hint of distance from Fisher, but she didn’t know the specific reasons for it, nor could she find the words to alleviate that feeling.
She sneakily glanced at Fisher, her thoughts of the wooden fish sound echoing in her ears like a hallucination as her heart raced, and just as she was about to say something, a very pleasant sound suddenly came from the tree behind her,
“Ah, I must say, the air on the Tree Continent is indeed refreshing. The sun here is much prettier than in the Holy Realm, not bad at all.”
“Eh?”
Upon hearing this, Tang Zeming Asuka looked up to see Hela, barefoot and with her hands behind her back, slowly floating down. It turned out she had been up there the whole time, which is why Tang Zeming Asuka had not seen her.
Fisher also stood up, shot a glance at Hela, and retorted,
“Aren’t angels not supposed to need to breathe? How can you appreciate the freshness of the air?”
“Of course I can. Or rather, only angels like me who love life and aren’t focused solely on forging can. Other angels are too deeply attracted by the rules they were created under. While some like Michael might have a bit of personal interests, it’s still not enough. You must wholeheartedly enjoy life and everything it entails.”
“…So, can we set off?”
“Of course, but we still need a little preparation, like a water source. Young lady, could you please help me fetch some water from the river? Don’t worry, the water here is very clean.”
If it were Gouwen making this request, Fisher would definitely not move, but unfortunately, Tang Zeming Asuka, with a “no problem” expression, patted her chest and took the four buckets that Hela handed over, running off to the river to fetch water, looking as though she was dutifully obliged. Meanwhile, Fisher looked around the jungle and asked,
“We should pass through many elven domains from here to the World Tree, right? I can’t believe those realms will allow us to pass freely. After all, you mentioned that the elves adhere to ‘etiquette’; they should really dislike people like you who don’t follow the rules.”
“Well, yes, so it might not be a good idea for me to get on their bad side. Moreover, I can’t act recklessly along the way; I represent the Holy Realm. Acting on the Tree Continent could have serious consequences, so I’ll have to rely on all of you Trans to showcase your abilities along the way.”
“Hehe.”
Working with an angel like Hela certainly couldn’t be considered a blessing; at least, that’s how Fisher felt. Hela’s every action brought nothing but fun and raised blood pressure, making him very troubled.
Just like now, she squatted by the river, watching the fish swimming restlessly, playfully poking the tail of one fish, pushing it toward the den of other predators. Then, as the predator thought food was being delivered, Hela would catch that innocent little fish and drag a larger predator out onto the shore.
“In my view, your lack of action is just to enjoy this journey more purely; you are here on vacation.”
Fisher sighed, holding a pessimistic attitude about this trip. Upon hearing his sigh, Hela immediately turned her cheerful face toward him and said,
“You guessed right, but there’s no reward. However, I’m not entirely idle; we are going to Chuan’s palace to meet him, and he’ll announce our arrival to the Elf King, giving us the necessary documentation. Furthermore, we’re likely to have elven messengers come to receive us.”
She lifted the predatory fish she had dragged onto the shore and, watching it struggle in mid-air, couldn’t help but chuckle,
“Moreover, being my bodyguard isn’t entirely without pay. I’m not an angel who just talks big; of course, I’ll offer some actual rewards.”
“For example, I could help you advance to the Mythical Rank?”
Fisher opened his mouth slightly, momentarily speechless. As he turned his head, the fish in Hela’s hand swayed, and with a flick, she released it back into the water, causing ripples to form.
Meanwhile, Tang Zeming Asuka, now at a higher spot in the river, opened the lid of a water bucket and directed it toward the flowing river, waiting for it to fill automatically.
The surrounding plants were broad, reaching about half a person’s height, obscuring the view of their resting place in the distance. Tang Zeming Asuka put her hand in the water, feeling the coolness brush against her hand. A few seconds later, she noticed several translucent, round creatures that seemed to resemble the essence of the river popping their heads out of the water, staring at her and blinking continuously.
Initially, Tang Zeming Asuka thought these creatures were some kind of bugs, which startled her. She quickly pulled her bucket back, but those rotund little things in the water showed no signs of surprise; instead, they continued looking at her, seemingly embedded into the flowing water, their round bellies filling with bubbles that would pop up and spit back out.
These creatures seemed almost like water itself, very fascinating.
“What are you?”
Tentatively, Tang Zeming Asuka reached out her hand toward the small creatures before her. The group of chubby little beings glanced at her finger before slowly resting their heads on it, feeling cold and slippery, like inflatable water balloons, providing a relaxing squeeze.
“Goo!”
They called out cutely, prompting Tang Zeming Asuka to pet their heads.
“They’re water spirits; haven’t you seen them before?”
“No, we don’t have them where I come from.”
Suddenly, a gentle female voice with an odd tone sounded in her ears. Tang Zeming Asuka instinctively replied but quickly realized something was off. She looked up to see a peculiar-looking being standing on the opposite bank of the small river.
It was a somewhat short, humanoid female creature with obvious female features, standing roughly between 1.6 to 1.7 meters tall. Except for her face, her whole body was covered with a layer of light brown fur. Her lower body had four hooves like a small deer, shyly staring at Tang Zeming Asuka.
She wore a long robe made of linen on her upper body and held a long wooden stick in her hand, at the end of which was a basket seemingly filled with something. Her face was youthful, looking younger than Tang Zeming Asuka, with a pair of long, fuzzy ears on either side of her cheeks. She had no horns, and her black hair was styled in a neat formation.
Tang Zeming Asuka had never seen such a being before; not even in her world were such non-human creations popular. This startled her so much that she plopped down on the ground and shouted,
“Ah! Don’t come near me!”
“Goo!”
The innocent water spirits in her hands were sent flying by her sudden action, their chubby bodies spinning a few times in the air before landing back in the water, swimming away with “goo goo” sounds.
At the same time, the startled Tang Zeming Asuka subconsciously recalled the state when Fisher had helped her activate her magical circuits that night. Her magical circuits began to light up as well, causing the deer-like girl before her to think she had encountered a ghost, and she flipped over her hooves and screamed,
“Ah! A ghost!”
The others not far away immediately rushed over, only to find Tang Zeming Asuka and the creature that was half-human, half-deer lying on either side of the river, both scared out of their wits.
Hela chuckled as she watched the half-human, half-deer girl flail around in a panic and said with a grin,
“That’s right, we are all ghosts, here to eat you!”
“Ah! Father!”
Gouwen sighed and quickly turned to Hela, saying,
“Stop messing around, Angel Hela. This is a Deerfolk, a subhuman race on the Tree Continent. Generally, they are servants of elves because the elves believe Deerfolk are symbols of good luck. This little Deerfolk wouldn’t be out alone.”
Fisher remained silent, merely staring at the poor little deer person hunched over and whimpering on the ground, as if he had seen something interesting, and couldn’t tear his gaze away.
It seemed that there were many differences compared to the Centaur Race, such as the fur and so on?
Meanwhile, the quiet Mikhail’s aura flickered; his expression changed, and he whispered,
“There are many people nearby.”
Fisher slowly shifted his gaze away from the little deer girl, looked back at Tang Zeming Asuka, then scanned the dense forest around them. Facing the gradually brightening sky, he clearly saw the indistinct figures standing among the trees, drawing closer.
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(The chapter ends)
