Chapter 165 Learning Elven Script on Reed Paper

The paper mill was put into use immediately after it was built.

The process of making paper from reeds is not complicated, so the workbenches in the paper mill are not very complicated. The initial work only requires picking reeds during their growth period, cleaning them, sun-drying them until they are completely dry, removing the leaves and bark from the reed stalks, and then sending the fibrous stems into the paper mill.

Once inside the workshop, the reeds will be placed in the soaking pool and immersed in the magical Sun Spring water until they become slightly transparent. Then they can be transferred to the second workbench, the crushing pool.

Under the influence of the magic circle in the pulverizing pool, the water-soaked reed stalks will be evenly pulverized into a pulp.

Finally, transfer the reed pulp to a drying platform, add magic powder and stir well. Spread it out thinly into a layer and let it dry completely to make reed paper.

Reed paper appears light green with a calm luster. It is not only soft to the touch but also highly translucent and quite tough; Shu Xin couldn't tear it by hand.

"Is this a new magical material?" Pompon touched the reed paper on the table with some curiosity. "It feels like a very good magical carrier, Your Highness!"

Nonori, however, had a different idea: "Is this meant to replace the grass-fruit glass, or the velvety flower glass?"

Shu Xin hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh, "It can be considered a magical material, right? As for whether it can be used as a carrier of magic, I don't know. Peng Peng An, I think you can try it out. Although this isn't glass, it's velvety paper, but I think it can still be used as window paper. It's definitely much more breathable than cardamom glass."

“I see that the flower fairies use the leaves of the Tree of Life to record and transmit information. I think it’s fine for us to use it, but I don’t think it’s very safe to give the leaves of the Tree of Life to other races. In the future, everyone can use fluffy paper instead of the leaves of the Tree of Life,” Shu Xin said.

The flower fairy merchants fully agreed with the Flower Fairy's concerns, and each took a large sheet of reed paper back to cut it as needed.

The flower fairies and commoners also loved the reed paper. After taking it home, some used it to make beds, some to spread on the floor, and some to stick on windows. Shuxin used the reed paper to stick on the windows, and all the wooden windows of the Flower Castle were covered with a layer of light green window paper.

However, the most important function of reed paper is, of course, writing. River elves have a unique elven script. Thanks to the existence of the Tree of Life, the language and script of the river elves have been preserved, but most commoners can only speak it and cannot write it.

Shu Xin had actually considered whether to take this opportunity to teach the flower fairies Chinese characters as well, since the riverside fairies' writing didn't seem much simpler than Chinese characters. However, after some consideration, she decided to temporarily abandon the idea.

Elvish not only carries the culture and heritage of the river elves, but when infused with magic, it can also be used as a magical rune. In the past, every river elf was a born magician. When they cast spells, they did not need to use magic robes or wands. Their language itself was the bridge to communicate with magic.

Unfortunately, the square characters from another world didn't have this effect. Shu Xin had already tried it. She used the sap of the ground-attached grass fruit to make herself a small booklet from reed paper. Then she sharpened a branch of the Tree of Life to use as a pen and wrote the ancient poem "Crossing the River to Pick Lotus Flowers" on the paper. She poured her magic into each Chinese character on the page, but nothing happened.

However, the word "wind" written in Elvish script, when infused with magic, would summon a gentle breeze; the word "water" would condense into droplets of water; and the word "fire" would instantly burst into flames. Shu Xin thought that for now, it would be better to teach the flower fairies to write Elvish script. Once they could cast spells more easily, they would definitely be able to do more work.

After obtaining a comprehensive list of commonly used Elvish scripts from the Tree of Life, Shu Xin put the task of literacy on the agenda. She herself relied entirely on Shu Shu Xin's memory to barely read and write Elvish scripts—or rather, draw them. These Elvish scripts looked fancy and convoluted, beautiful but also quite complicated.

Shu Xin then led the servants of Flower Castle to begin learning Elvish script. They were all commoners and did not know how to write. Shu Xin planned to teach them how to write, and then have them organize the flower fairy commoners to learn Elvish script.

After she started learning, Shu Xin felt like there were elven characters flying around her before she went to sleep. When Xi asked about the ancient poems in the reed paper book, she took a while to respond and said, "What's wrong? You should know that those are the characters from my original world."

Xi nodded: "I want to know what these words mean."

He still remembered the poem about the moon and his hometown that Shu Xin recited after getting drunk. He could understand the meaning of the poem through the contract, but he could also feel that the beauty and charm of the poem could not be fully revealed through the contract.

Shu Xin leaned against the reed pillow in silence for a while, then took the light and small booklet from the blond-haired boy-like devil's hand, turned to the page with the ancient poem, read it carefully, and then explained it to him word by word.

Shu Xin suddenly spoke up: "Once the servants can write Elvish, I'll teach the demons to learn Chinese characters. They're just idling around anyway."

After the harvest month, even with the magic-suppressing bracelets on, the demons still fought quite a bit. Now, many of them spend their days sleeping soundly in caves. After all, many of them rely purely on physical strength, with magic only serving as a supplementary means of attack. Even with magic suppressed, they've only gone from being extremely powerful to just as powerful...

Shu Xin felt that the river elves had their own culture, and it was not appropriate to teach them Chinese characters, as the demons did not.

All the knowledge these hybrids possess comes from their incredibly mixed bloodline heritage. Pure-blooded demons have their own culture and writing system, but even if the hybrids wanted to learn it, let alone whether they could learn it or learn it all, they probably wouldn't even be able to determine which one they should learn.

Since the demons don't use language to cast spells, wouldn't it be perfect to teach them Chinese characters?

Looking at the incredibly complex square text on the pages with awe, Xi snapped the booklet shut and readily agreed.

He could sense that Shu Xin harbored a deep and intense longing and yearning for her hometown, but he did not want Shu Xin to leave this world. Of course, he knew that the demons would not want to learn such a complex script that would make one dizzy at first glance, but their wishes did not matter. As long as he thought that Shu Xin would feel joy and happiness because the demons could speak and write the language of her hometown, he would feel the same joy and happiness.

He didn't want to experience that bitter emotion a second time.

Xi's response made Shu Xin very happy, but before teaching the demons to learn Chinese characters, she still needed to do a good job of literacy education for the river elves.

Shu Xin had certainly considered using magic to directly implant knowledge into the flower fairies' minds, but the Tree of Life gave a negative answer—

Such magical means certainly exist, but they can only help the flower fairies remember the words better, not enable them to write them fluently. After all, magic must also follow the laws of the world. Just as the Tree of Life can turn its leaves into cloaks, but cannot turn them into flower fairies, magical items and magical life are two completely different things. Similarly, possessing knowledge and mastering knowledge are two completely different states.

That's certainly true. Shu Xin possesses all of Shu Shu Xin's memories, which means she also possesses all of Shu Shu Xin's knowledge. However, when she's writing Elven characters, she still spends a long time drawing each character, and countless times she's discovered she's made a mistake after finishing...

Shu Xin had no choice but to obediently continue to lead the elves in diligent study and practice. They worked in the morning and studied in the afternoon, making their days incredibly fulfilling. Before, Shu Xin would do some work on her days off, but now she just wanted to lie down and clear her mind, not thinking about anything or doing anything. It was monotonous but peaceful, boring but pleasant.

During this time, the caravan continued to purchase flower fairy slaves for the Land of Sin, and Shu Xin once again spurred the growth of several color-changing wind chime vines, adding a few more small "flowering" life trees to the Land of Sin. The newly arrived flower fairy slaves, as usual, received production-type magic wands and began to make grass fruit glass furniture for themselves.

Because the flower fairy slaves are small in size and there are enough wind chime huts, their housing problem is easy to solve, but the housing problem of the flower fairy commoners is not so easy to solve.

In addition to the flower fairy commoners who were relocated to the Land of Sin, Shu Xin also promised that as long as the flower fairy slaves worked for the Land of Sin for three months, they would be granted freedom and their commoner status would be restored. The subsequent condition was that after becoming commoners, they would continue to work for the Land of Sin for three more years. None of the flower fairy slaves in the Land of Sin disagreed, and Shu Xin naturally did not break her promise, but this caused the number of commoners in the Land of Sin to surge.

It's possible to let the Tree of Life continue to grow treehouses, but Shu Xin felt that the number of civilians in the Land of Sin would only increase. It's not feasible to let the treehouses fill the entire Land of Sin before continuing to grow outwards. You know, a small Tree of Life takes up quite a lot of space, and to ensure good lighting, the Tree of Life will also distribute two treehouses in a staggered manner, which takes up even more space...

Or perhaps you'd suggest that the Tree of Life grow into a large tree with many treehouses, like the Flower Castle!

Shu Xin did indeed inquire with the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Life could indeed do it, provided that it consumed a massive amount of magic power. The treehouse plan that Shu Xin previously thought was not feasible would also require consuming a massive amount of magic power to provide a treehouse for all the civilians in the territory.

Because the magical conditions in the Land of Sin have greatly improved, the flower fairies, who are affected by the magical environment, have also seen a significant increase in the maximum amount of magical energy they can absorb and store. Shu Xin not only added snow dragon fruit to the bread shop, but also distributed snow dragon fruit pulp to every household every day. With the continuous consumption of three meals a day, a lot of the snow dragon fruit previously provided by the Snow Clan has been used up.

Once the magic power within the Snow Dragon Fruit is exhausted, the Tree of Life will need to consume the magic power in the air to grow the treehouse. At that time, although the magic power situation in the Land of Sin will not return to the extremely barren state it was at the beginning, it will be greatly reduced.

"The law of conservation of energy, right?" Shu Xin thought with some frustration.

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Author's Note: "Picking Lotus Flowers by the River"

Anonymous, Han Dynasty

I wade across the river to pick lotus blossoms, and find many fragrant herbs in the orchid-filled marshland.

For whom shall I gather these herbs? My thoughts are with someone far away.

I still look back at my old hometown, the long road stretches endlessly ahead.

Though we share the same heart, we live apart, and we will grow old in sorrow.