Chapter 448: 65. Chuan
In the flow of people coming and going, Fisher’s gaze was fixated on a woman in the crowd with long black hair, tightly clutching the lingering scent she left behind.
As he followed her during this period, Fisher became increasingly certain that she was real and resembled that sorceress very much, which made him begin to doubt the information he had previously received.
In this era, the moon in the sky was still dim, and magic had yet to appear, which basically meant that the Mother had not yet manifested in reality or even been born in the Spirit Realm. Then, who was this woman in front of him who looked almost identical to Renee?
The more he thought about it, the stronger his desire to uncover her true identity became.
Looking at the figure slowly walking along the street ahead, the distance between Fisher, who was running at full speed, and her quickly shortened, until at a corner of the street, in a place where woods and buildings intertwined, Fisher finally came within two persons’ breadth of her and was able to see all the details of the woman clearly.
She seemed to be wearing a sky-blue waist-length skirt unique to the Tree Continent, but she had no hair bun atop her head, allowing her long, waterfall-like black hair to cascade down her slender waist.
The more Fisher looked, the more he felt that this woman was exactly like Renee in height, build, and aura, and he could no longer control his urge to explore further.
So, he slowly reached out his hand toward the woman in front of him.
However, unexpectedly, the next moment, the woman seemed to sense something as she abruptly turned her head to look at Fisher. Her right hand shot out like the wind, firmly pressing against Fisher’s outstretched wrist, locking down his next movement like a pair of shackles.
As the woman turned back to meet Fisher’s gaze, an extreme and terrifying pressure surged from their contact at his wrist, causing beads of cold sweat to break out all over Fisher’s body.
The woman before him had a very high rank!
But that terrifying pressure only existed for a moment. It seemed that this woman consciously reined in her presence, trying to maintain a low profile, as if she would not have revealed herself at all if it weren’t for Fisher.
Yet, Fisher’s attention did not temporarily focus on the woman’s rank; he was just narrowing his pupils as he looked at her. To his astonishment, he found that this woman looked almost exactly like Renee, except her pupils were not the deep purple of Renee’s, but rather a faded golden color that scattered like light.
“Renee?”
Fisher stood frozen in place, incredulity spilling out as he uttered the name of the woman, as he simply could not understand why Renee would appear here.
Could it be that the Mother has descended into this world now?
Hearing the male voice calling her name, the woman, who looked exactly like Renee, raised an eyebrow, first displaying an obvious expression of confusion, followed by a vague sense of tension.
However, sensing the slowly approaching gazes around her, the woman immediately reacted.
She suddenly twisted Fisher’s wrist, and then he felt himself being forcefully dragged into a narrow alley between the adjacent buildings.
Fisher’s close-to-Fourteenth Rank physique was completely inadequate before this woman; before he could even react, they had already arrived deep in the alley, and then the woman let go of his wrist, allowing him to stagger back a few steps against the wall of the building.
“You—”
Fisher, who had been thrown aside, quickly followed her with his gaze, afraid she would leave.
Fortunately, the woman did not leave, which allowed Fisher to see something that startled him again.
He saw the woman pat her hands, then glance back towards the entrance of the alley. After confirming that no one was watching, her face gradually turned back to Fisher, during which two elongated ears, hidden beneath her black hair, emerged, adorned with several circular earrings. They were fewer in number than the earrings on Duke Chuan’s ears, yet their style was quite similar.
All these signs indicated the identity of the woman before him.
She was an elf!
“Who is Renee?”
Looking at Fisher, the elf suddenly threw out a question that caught him off guard; her voice was exactly like Renee’s, which further astonished Fisher about her identity.
He suddenly felt that even if she wasn’t Renee, she was somehow intricately connected to the future Renee.
“Aren’t you going to ask who I am first?”
Hearing Fisher’s words, the elf was slightly taken aback, then it seemed like she remembered something. She coughed softly and asked gently,
“Aren’t you an official of the royal capital? Did you come to summon me back because I left the palace without permission and violated the courtesy?”
“…”
This elf was here to serve the Elf King in the royal capital?
And she had run away from the designated residence, violating the decorum?
“No, I am not an official of the royal capital, and I wasn’t aware that you were an elf.”
Fisher wanted to quickly rationalize himself since the other party was not Renee and was an elf; he should be fully alert and prepare for work ahead.
But looking at the elf’s face, which looked exactly like Renee’s, even Fisher felt momentarily disoriented.
He touched the symbol that Renee had left on his chest, but that symbol did not react with the elf before him, and if this woman was the Mother of this era, she should recognize the sign left on his heart.
“I just feel that you resemble someone I know very much.”
In the chaos of thoughts swirling in his mind, Fisher could not find a correct answer. He even unintentionally exposed his true intentions of seeking the elf to find her.
The elf before him was slightly taken aback, then rubbed her chin, as if she was deep in thought, but it was unclear whether she found an answer because soon her expression became lively again.
She smiled wryly, without any arrogance typical of other elves, and shook her head regretfully, saying,
“Unfortunately, I am not the person you know. My name is [Chuan], and I am an elf here for the offerings. Is that person important to you?”
The elf leaned against the wall. Although her aura had been terrifying for just that brief moment when she moved, she was at least much more terrifying than that guy Hela but not as much as Duke of Peach, so Fisher guessed her rank should be around Eighteenth Rank.
Listening to her voice, which was almost identical to Renee’s but used a different tone, Fisher felt a bit dazed. He nodded as he mulled over the name she revealed.
“Yeah.”
“I see.”
The elf exuded a gentle aura, looking quite different from Renee, except in appearance.
Chuan scrutinized Fisher’s expression closely, then hesitated for a moment before looking out at the scenery beyond the alley and voiced her concern,
“But because you suddenly attacked me earlier, I was compelled to expose a bit of my aura. I don’t know if the officials of the royal capital noticed. As compensation, could you do me a small favor and take me to a certain place? If you help me, I can treat you to some food when we get there.”
“A small favor… Where do you want me to take you?”
Perhaps because the elf’s resemblance to Renee was too captivating, Fisher remained silent for a moment without rejecting her offer. Instead, he accepted her gentle invitation.
Seeing this gentleman, who seemed anxious, agreeing to her request, Chuan perked up her long ears and playfully pointed in a direction while saying with a mischievous smile,
“Have you ever heard of a place called ‘Goulaw House’?”
“What did you say?”
This “Goulaw House” that Chuan mentioned was actually a type of entertainment venue serving residents in the Tree Continent, showcasing stories through singing and dancing performed by various subhumans or humans on stage, presenting splendid performances for the guests.
Of course, based on Fisher’s experience, such places generally provided other services, such as food, drinks, and…
At first, Fisher had no idea what this was, but since this gentle-natured elf who looked just like Renee was asking, he wasn’t sure if it was due to the guilt from his recent indiscretions or a longing for her. In any case, he did not refuse and safely led her to Goulaw House.
After all, Fisher had originally planned to stay out until the evening before returning. Even if he didn’t come here with her, he would still wander around the city to eliminate any suspicion.
Moreover, Fisher was also curious about her origins; he felt that this woman might have some potential connection to Renee.
“Please take a seat.”
With Chuan footing the bill, Fisher temporarily rented a small private room on the second floor of Goulaw House with his status. It was private enough and offered a clear view of the performances on the first floor. Chuan seemed quite pleased with this place; she had made many preparations to avoid being discovered by the royal capital’s officials.
Along the way, Chuan concealed her rank to a level nearly indistinguishable from that of an ordinary person, then covered her signature long ears under her black hair, just like she had appeared before Fisher.
By the time they finally settled down, Fisher regrettably confirmed that the woman before him was not only not Renee but seemed to have no connection to her at all.
She was a pure elf.
This was not merely Fisher’s subjective assumption, but a conclusion he came to after verifying it with the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans—he was astonished to find that the presence within Duke of Peach’s barrier could actually be indicated as a bindable entry in the handbook, and it was this familiar entry that confirmed her identity.
[Chuan, adult female elf]
[Contributor’s Tip: Researching higher-ranked sub-humans can bring about higher risks and rewards; please choose wisely.]
Yes, this was basically the same prompt he received when he bound Eil back at Nali.
Now Fisher roughly understood that this prompt appeared only when binding entities with mythical ranks.
Looking at the illusory text before him, Fisher finally accepted the fact that she was not Renee. He had to set aside his chaotic thoughts and looked complexly at Chuan, who was eagerly watching the performance below, and couldn’t help but ask,
“Lady Chuan, is it really alright for you to be here alone? And you didn’t even ask me who I am before asking for my help, you don’t even know my name, aren’t you afraid I might tell the officials of the royal capital about your departure from your residence for offerings?”
Without turning her head, Chuan smiled and replied gently to Fisher,
“Because a moment ago, your expression looked so pitiful. It seemed like the person you said resembles me is very important to you, and you miss her so much; you looked like you didn’t want to leave. So I brought you along; after all, I also wanted to sneak out to have some fun. Besides, even if you meant to do something bad, it wouldn’t succeed. The crime of leaving without permission isn’t too serious, even if you report me, it’s not a big deal, while you would be severely punished by me, which wouldn’t be worth it.”
“And my not asking your name is actually a form of protection for you. This way, you don’t have to worry about me secretly getting rid of you, the informant.”
That made sense; for an Eighteenth Rank elf, anything below the mythical rank was just an ant to them, and they naturally wouldn’t take it to heart. Moreover, Chuan was different from other elves; she was very gentle and understanding.
Fisher sighed, but his gaze unconsciously fixated on her profile. If not for her speech and behavior being so different from Renee’s, he would genuinely think the person before him was not Chuan but the future Renee.
He did not understand how it could be that such a coincidence existed in the world, that there could be an elf who looked exactly like the future Mother. Fisher would rather believe that this was a warning sent by the future Renee after discovering his indiscretions from this era than believe that Chuan purely resembled Renee just by coincidence.
However, while he was lost in thought, Fisher suddenly recalled two significant memories.
He remembered that before Fisher had entered the Parasol Tree with Valentina in the Northern Region, they had received a painting titled “Gift to the Moon Princess” from Baemon, which, according to the troll elder Daliwu, was painted by Baemon, depicting an elf who had once helped the Moon Princess when she was young; he was also her mentor.
At that time, when Fisher saw the back of the figure in the painting, he felt it was very similar to Renee, even mistaking the person in the painting for Renee until Daliwu later corrected him.
So, was it possible that the elf who had saved the young Moon Princess in the Northern Region was the Chuan before him?
If it was indeed Chuan, after the Phoenix clan escaped from the Tree Continent while the roots of the World Tree were stolen by Feima Baharon, why would Chuan appear there at that time?
Moreover, Fisher suddenly realized another question.
According to Gouwen and the angels’ intel, the World Tree among the three demi-gods born from Ramastia was the only entity bearing the divine gift “Weaving Loom,” thus possessing unmatched power and authority among the three demi-gods. Even now, Feima Baharon only dared to quarrel with the World Tree, each keeping their distance from one another.
Previously, the murals on the Phoenix Bridge in Sema Snow Mountain in the Northern Region also indicated that Feima Baharon could not defeat the World Tree, yet he later mysteriously bit off its roots. Wasn’t that contradictory?
“Yeah, although I was very excited when I arrived, after watching for a while, I found it quite dull. But experiencing how others find entertainment can still be a nice experience.”
The Chuan before him seemed to be here for the first time; after a short time of watching, she appeared a bit bored but didn’t intend to leave just yet, merely expressing her opinions verbally.
Chuan appeared to be unlike other elves; if one had to say, she might be akin to Duke Chuan in that she was not haughty to people of other races but rather gentle.
Her sudden words interrupted Fisher’s thoughts. He didn’t receive the answers he sought, but perhaps he could gather more information from Chuan about both the future and the theft of the World Tree’s tears from Jianmu Palace.
However, given that Chuan was an Eighteenth Rank existence, he needed to be a little more cautious when dealing with her.
Fisher refrained from rashly speaking and decided to play it safe by opening the illusory binding panel of the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans in his mind.
That’s right, he wanted to bind the Chuan before him.
In fact, Fisher had planned to bind Duke of Peach previously, but that was sabotaged by Hela. Now, having finally encountered another female elf, he decided he would bind Chuan to achieve the tag of “Gift of Fate.”
Watching Chuan eagerly engrossed in the performance, Fisher decisively made a move and selected the “Bind” option in his mind.
With a familiar golden light bursting forth before him, the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans in his arms started to warm up, and Fisher knew that he had successfully bound the elf before him.
But just at the moment of successful binding, a sudden change occurred.
Chuan, who had been intently watching the performance, suddenly froze, as if she had sensed Fisher’s act of binding her.
Her aura began to rise slowly, seemingly checking for any anomalies in her body, and soon she noticed something was wrong.
Chuan quickly looked down at herself in surprise, then whirled around to look at Fisher, questioning him with confusion,
“What did you do to me?”
This question nearly caused Fisher to stop breathing.
In that instant, he suddenly realized what the “high risk” displayed by the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans had been.
It turned out that binding high-ranked sub-humans with the Handbook could be detected by them!
(End of Chapter)
