Chapter 452: 69. Crying
“Isn’t that Ch here among the visiting elves?”
Upon hearing Mikhail’s words, Fisher was momentarily stunned, but Mikhail honestly nodded and relayed all the information he had just received to Fisher.
“Ah, I checked carefully. There are a total of twenty-seven elves coming here to pay tribute, plus Lord Bai, who is treating the Elf King, making it twenty-eight in total. None of them are named ‘Ch.'”
Fisher pondered for a moment, feeling somewhat uncertain. He thought of several possibilities and planned to verify them one by one.
He first looked at Gouwen and questioned him, “Is the Elf King male or female? Are there any other elves in Jianmu Palace?”
“Male. His honorific title is ‘G,’ the first elf created by the World Tree.”
Seeing that no one was around, Gouwen approached without reservation, stroking his chin as he looked at Fisher and asked, “There shouldn’t be any other elves living in Jianmu Palace; that would be very against protocol. Moreover, the mythical rank doesn’t usually have reproductive needs, and the Elf King doesn’t have consorts or anything like that. What’s up? Why do you suddenly ask this?”
“…”
This was strange. If there was no trace of her in the shadow of fate, where did that elf who resembled Renee come from?
Fisher seemed to realize something and quickly ran outside Lord Bai’s palace. There, the flying subhuman race responsible for transporting them had not left yet, and the leader was a female subhuman.
“My lady, do you have any instructions?”
The unfamiliar subhuman with dark feathered wings looked at Fisher, but he did not respond to her. Instead, a series of illusory golden subtitles began to spread in his eyes.
However, after waiting for a long time, the golden subtitles still did not form, failing to provide any binding target, as if the female subhuman in front of him did not exist at all.
“Nothing, pardon me.”
The subhumans took off in succession, leaving Fisher standing there.
Realizing that his inner speculation had been validated, Fisher’s heart did not calm down.
This meant that the shadow of fate within the Duke of Peach’s barrier could not be bound. However, the Ch he had previously bound was undeniably real, which indicated that Ch truly existed and was not just a shadow of fate.
The question arose: which elf could come and go freely within the Duke of Peach’s barrier?
Fisher believed that other than the nominal ruler of the Tree Continent, the Elf King, and the World Tree, no one could have such privilege to enter the barrier of the Nineteen Rank Duke of Peach.
Or perhaps, Ch was actually the Mother Goddess of this era?
But Fisher thought that the Mother Goddess should not have descended in this era yet.
Firstly, the nights in this era were much darker than in Fisher’s time. He had seen the extraordinarily large and bright moon countless times in the sky and dreamt about it many times, realizing that it was the projection of the Mother Goddess in the real world.
Secondly, if Renee had indeed descended into the Spirit Realm, in an era when those three demigods were still present and guarding their duties, they would certainly have noticed, unless Renee was so adept at hiding that she could evade the eyes and ears of the three demigods and even the true gods of Ramastia.
Then, what exactly was that Ch he encountered?
Could it be that he had encountered a ghost?
Or perhaps Renee really discovered the misdeeds he committed and went a great distance to warn him?
The more Fisher thought, the less certain he felt. He returned to Lord Bai’s residence with a serious expression, where he found that Mikhail and Gouwen were also looking at him with concern.
“What do you think about that Ch?” Fisher asked.
Fisher shook his head, regretfully saying, “I don’t know, but I can be sure that what I encountered might be a real person, not a false shadow of fate. But given the status and power of the Duke of Peach, I don’t know who could enter the Duke’s barrier so freely, or maybe I’ve just encountered a ghost.”
“Well, let’s not rush. I’ll ask Lord Bai later. The elves know their kin well and are sure to have information. The key now is whether the elf you encountered has any ill intentions towards us or if she is actually monitoring us for the Duke of Peach?”
Gouwen was still reliable, quickly providing relevant thoughts after a brief contemplation. Hearing this, Fisher recalled his encounter with the female elf that day and felt more and more that it seemed like a hook specifically targeting him. Otherwise, Ch would not have appeared in Renee’s guise to lure him.
But what was the purpose?
Ch did not inquire about anything particularly special after their encounter; instead, she made him aware that he could not casually bind beings of mythical rank.
“She probably means no harm, but I can’t be sure. Wait until you subtly inquire with Lord Bai. By the way, where is Tang Zeming Asuka? Why haven’t I seen her around?”
Fisher thought about it and could only pin his hopes on Lord Bai. After all, the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans had already bound Ch’s name, and her unique appearance made Fisher inexplicably want to explore her true origins.
As he thought, he scanned the surroundings but did not see his newly recruited magic apprentice, and immediately voiced his doubts.
Gouwen and the others also looked around in confusion, searching for Tang Zeming Asuka.
“No way? She was just here. Could she have gone into the palace?”
The three of them turned towards the empty interior of the palace and no longer hesitated to head inside.
Tang Zeming Asuka indeed entered the depths of the palace alone because, while Fisher and the others were talking earlier, she seemed to have seen a shadow moving inside the palace. Out of curiosity, she took a few steps towards the palace without going too far from Fisher and the others.
The inner chamber was spacious, filled with numerous beautifully crafted elven items, most of which were exquisite and complete, along with a lot of food presumably meant for those living here, which seemed to be some kind of fruit. Behind the table, a row of neatly arranged screens blocked the way to other rooms.
Tang Zeming Asuka lingered in the inner chamber for a moment, looking at several fruit platters on the table; most platters contained four round fruits, but one platter only had three, as if one had been taken away.
Originally preparing to return and sync up with Fisher and the others, Tang Zeming Asuka stopped again upon seeing this scene. She turned her head in confusion to look at the fruits on the table and then approached for a closer inspection. Just as she moved closer, a shadow behind one of the screens suddenly stirred.
Tang Zeming Asuka was startled but did not make a sound; instead, she held her breath, bravely pulling out the wind magic she had previously inscribed and positioned it in front of her, aiming at the location of the screen.
“Who’s there?!”
“Chirp!”
The moment Tang Zeming Asuka spoke, the shadow behind the screen moved slightly, and after several seconds, a thin, trembling female subhuman emerged.
The female subhuman had a pair of almost semicircular prominent ears on her head, her gray-green long hair casually tied into a braid at the back, and she looked emaciated, resembling a severely malnourished rat.
This subhuman was wearing the same clothes as the flying subhumans who had pulled their sedan chairs up here, seemingly from the same workplace, but judging by her condition, this one clearly had a harder life compared to the group outside.
“What are you doing here?”
Tang Zeming Asuka stared at the mouse-like subhuman with her head down. What surprised her the most was that in the arms of this female subhuman, there was a small subhuman tightly clinging to her, with one hand grasping a round fruit while the little one’s face was buried in the mother’s embrace, too afraid to lift its head.
This was a pair of subhuman mother and child.
“My lady, please do not let this matter be known to the elven lords who reside here!”
The mouse-woman, who had originally prepared for the worst with a pale face, saw that the person speaking was not an elven lord or an official from the royal capital but merely an unfamiliar human girl. She quickly seized the slim hope and knelt on the ground, holding her child and crying out to Tang Zeming Asuka, “I’m just a servant cleaning here; my husband used to work for the officials in the royal capital, and he hasn’t come out since he entered Jianmu Palace months ago. My child is too young; I can’t leave him behind, nor can I abandon my work, so I brought him here secretly. However, the rations provided on客木 are insufficient, and the grown-ups are cutting back, so we… please spare our lives, my lady!”
Tang Zeming Asuka had never seen such a scene before; she was momentarily stunned, looking at the subhuman with her head pressed firmly to the ground.
The mouse mother, thinking that Tang Zeming Asuka had not forgiven them, quickly realized something and reached out to snatch the fruit from the child’s hand. However, that child gripped it tightly, as if starved and unwilling to part with the strangely aromatic fruit.
The mother bit her teeth and forcibly snatched the fruit, but the child began to whine unwillingly, only to be silenced by the mother’s hand clamped tightly over its mouth.
So, the mother knelt there, reaching out with her other hand holding the fruit, hopefully offering it to the now gloomy Tang Zeming Asuka, bowing her head and saying, “I deserve to die a thousand deaths, I beg your ladyship, spare us this once… spare our lives.”
“No, um…”
Tang Zeming Asuka opened her mouth, unsure of what to think, and suddenly panicked. She waved her hands, not daring to take the fruit being offered, wanting to let the pair keep the food, but she couldn’t even express a coherent thought.
For some reason, seeing the mother tightly hugging her child, Tang Zeming Asuka felt like her throat was filled with concrete, rendered utterly speechless.
“Little Tang Zeming? Are you here? You…”
Fortunately, just then, Fisher and Gouwen entered from outside the hall. Fisher, seeing the situation, inquired, “What’s wrong?”
“Teacher Fisher, I… I just… her…”
Tang Zeming Asuka’s words were muddled, and without question, Gouwen immediately recognized the situation at hand. Without asking, he seemed to know what had happened. He looked at the kneeling subhuman and, after a moment’s hesitation, smiled to Fisher, explaining, “This is a place where visiting elves are hosted, known as 客木. Several attendants are left behind, and they are mostly not slaves; the treatment varies. The one in front of us should be a ‘Mouse Servant’ responsible for daily cleaning, which is one of the lowest ranks. But still, they shouldn’t be bringing children here, so she must have brought her child to care for due to some family crisis. It’s all right; don’t panic. Just take the fruit with you; we won’t mention it to anyone else.”
“Really?”
The mouse servant held her child in disbelief but slowly withdrew her hand holding the fruit upon seeing Gouwen’s determined gaze.
Because indeed, her child needed that fruit.
“Thank you… thank you, my lords.”
Even so, she repeatedly bowed her head to express her gratitude in this way to the few of them before her.
Gouwen forced a smile and silently avoided the action.
Because as someone who had experienced it, he knew that in reality, while he was returning to Lord Bai after treating the Elf King, he had seen this mouse woman caught stealing food for her child and subsequently discovered and executed by other officials.
But at least in this fleeting illusion, she survived thanks to Tang Zeming Asuka’s discovery.
Gouwen shook his head and said, “It’s fine; just tell Lord Bai that I took it. No one else will hold it against you. You should leave quickly; Lord Bai will be back soon, and it will be harder to explain. Remember, be careful when you eat; don’t let your colleagues find out.”
“Yes, yes, my lord.”
She bowed repeatedly and then swiftly left the palace, clutching her child and the fruit, disappearing from sight in no time.
Perhaps aside from Gouwen, who knew the fate of the mouse mother and child in reality, what transpired at this moment was merely a small interlude, something that no one paid much attention to?
Gouwen sighed, preparing to find a place to rest while waiting for Lord Bai to return, and the next day, he would lead the group into Jianmu Palace to uncover the truth about that Trans and the elf who conspired to steal the tears of the World Tree.
Fisher initially intended to sit and rest for a while, but just as he was about to leave, he noticed that Tang Zeming Asuka remained rooted in place, utterly still.
“Tang Zeming?”
He felt puzzled and called out to her while walking over.
As he drew closer, he suddenly realized that the girl’s shoulders were trembling uncontrollably.
Hearing Fisher’s call, Tang Zeming Asuka slowly turned her head, and upon closer inspection, he saw that her fair face had turned red, covered in tear droplets that resembled pearls, making her whole face appear fragile and adorable.
“Teacher Fisher, woo woo woo.”
Her tearful appearance broke down the moment she saw Fisher, as if his call had opened the floodgates of her tears, and once they started flowing, there was no stopping them.
She looked up, tears streaming down her face, bewildering Fisher as he stood still.
In that brief moment of shock, Tang Zeming Asuka couldn’t help but cover her face with her hands and buried her head in Fisher’s chest, crying even harder.
“Woo woo woo.”
Fisher was taken aback and instinctively patted Tang Zeming Asuka’s back. Mikhail, still standing nearby, tilted his head in confusion, while Gouwen, who had just sat down, looked speechless at the entirely innocent Fisher, seemingly beginning to doubt the purity of Fisher’s motives as a magic teacher.
“…”
Being leaned upon by Tang Zeming Asuka, Fisher was naturally at a loss for words, and could only helplessly rest his hand on her soft body to offer her some comfort.
(End of Chapter)
