Chapter 79 Entrance Examination ② Entrance Examination Part Two, ...
"After leaving here, there are two paths: one leads to the Spring of Elves, and the other to the Song of Lamentation. Fia, which one do you think we should take?"
Tim unfolded the map and sketched out the routes, highlighting the two most prominent ones before looking at Enid. Enid gazed at the two roads, and the words of Grandma Mora from earlier that day came to mind: the west is divine grace, the east is death, and the south is hope. Grandma Mora had blessed them to reach hope, which meant going south.
None of the patterns and town names drawn on the map were related to them. Enid's slender, pale fingers gently traced something on the map. Looking at the direction the Fairy Spring flowed, she suddenly thought of the country's original starting point. Using that starting point as a coordinate, the Fairy Spring was located in the south, and the Lamentation Song in the west. They were in the east.
"Let's go to the Spring of Spirits."
Looking at the Fairy Spring, Enid felt a sudden surge of sorrow for some reason. In this vast secret realm, only animals truly lived. Those she could see were all people who had once lived and were placed here after their deaths, thus creating this enormous legend.
Enid was a little scared, because she didn't want this fairy spring to be the story of some legend she knew. Barbara keenly sensed her emotional fluctuation and moved closer.
"What's wrong, Fia?"
"Hmm... I once heard a legend that if you drink the water of the Fairy Spring, drink the blood of the fairies, dance a dance in the flames as an offering to the gods, and awaken the sleeping trees with hymns, you can see the path to hope, where you can encounter countless treasures and beauties, and even immortality..."
Everything in the legend fits into their purpose, something she hadn't initially considered, but now she was beginning to have doubts. This wasn't a good story, because the legend wasn't just that… Enid had intended to swallow the rest of the story, but after a moment's hesitation, she spoke it anyway.
The second half of the story is about how the brothers who were searching for treasure got lost on the way, and John was killed by his own brother. After finding the treasure, the brother realized that the story was false. He begged the witch for a potion to resurrect him, but the witch only told him to go to the Land of Divine Grace, where he could find true hope.
John hadn't actually died; he was rescued. However, as the price of his resurrection, he could never leave and was forced to remain there. His repentant brother finally met the living John in the Land of Grace and begged for forgiveness. He then voluntarily imprisoned himself in the Land of Grace for life as atonement, and John was thus released.
Twenty years later, God finally forgave the younger brother's actions, and he was released.
Having heard this story, Tim probably understood why Enid had hesitated earlier, but he also clearly knew something: they hadn't replaced their brother's role.
Is this the only version of the story?
"No... there's another version: the younger brother never went to see John, and John was trapped inside for the rest of his life."
"Does this story explain how John was able to get out?" Barbara asked after a moment's thought.
Sure enough, just as Tim had suspected, they weren't in the first version of the story, because this wasn't entirely a fairy tale. But Tim thought the legend might not offer the answer. And he was right again; Enid shook her head regretfully—that was the ending of the legend.
"We're the second story, right?"
“Yes,” Tim readily replied this time, “but perhaps we will know the answer.”
Just as Enid was getting curious, she remembered what Grandma Mora had said earlier that day. Perhaps their letter was the key to breaking the deadlock! Thinking of this, Enid suddenly became happy. However, being an elf, she tilted her head, and the pointed ears in her hair became particularly noticeable. She pointed to the tips of her ears.
"That elven blood, I almost forgot...maybe I am one of them?"
White-haired elves are the most common creatures in this world; there are many in their school, so it's not unusual. Enid was just troubled by this; she didn't want to hurt a strange elf. But things took a turn for the better, and it wouldn't matter if it were her.
“No,” Tim refused, frowning. “We’ll talk about it when we get there tomorrow.”
"Yes, I don't think drinking blood is the only way. Don't worry, little Fia, trust us."
Tim and Barbara weren't too keen on this, but they now understood why Enid had been hesitant earlier. Rejected by Tim and Barbara, Enid had no choice but to nod.
After resting for a while and packing up, they left the hotel. When they checked out, the red-haired girl at the front desk quietly handed them a small flower. It was white with light blue stamens and had a faint, sweet fragrance.
"I hope you find your destination soon! And thank you for the apples; perhaps next time you come, you'll see the city full of apple trees again."
"It definitely will!"
Enid smiled and accepted the flower, tucking it into her hair, as beautiful as her smile. Having walked quite a distance from town, Enid could clearly feel her strength still holding up. She reached out and gently stroked the white hair around the petals, unable to suppress a smile.
"It looks like a white flower that could solve our immediate problem?"
“Yes,” Enid couldn’t help but laugh at Barbara’s teasing smile, “It can continuously restore stamina during the blooming period. Now we can go to the Fairy Spring tonight!”
Thanks to Xiao Hua's blessing, their trip, which was originally scheduled to continue until tomorrow, ended before nightfall. They arrived at the outskirts of the Fairy Spring. This place didn't quite resemble a town; it was more like the Poison Ivy's garden. Vines and trees covered most of the gaps, with only small sections revealing glimpses of golden or wooden framework structures.
Because of the little moonlight combined with their excellent night vision, they were able to see the stained glass window not far away. This was the only place where the vines avoided, and even the walls outside the window had only a few scattered flowers.
"Outsider... huh?" A head suddenly popped out from the vines, angrily shouting, but then froze when he saw Enid's ears. Elven pointed ears were impossible to imitate in this world, unlike red hair dye; it was like a unique rule. So the young man put away his bow and arrow. "Strange, an elf I've never seen before. Wait a minute!"
Soon, some of the vines receded, revealing a beautiful gate. The young man landed silently on the ground, looked at Enid's pointed ears, and spoke in a friendly manner.
“It’s rare to see unfamiliar elves. You’re here to participate in the awakening ceremony of the Mother Tree, right? Unfortunately, we don’t have enough materials this year, so the Mother Tree probably won’t be able to awaken. I’m sorry to have made you come all this way for nothing. But please come in and rest. It’s getting late… Well, for your sake, these two humans may also come in.”
Welcomed by the elven boy, they entered the Elven Spring. Completely different from the outside, it was much more lively inside, but some sorrowful emotions could still be seen on the faces of a few. Besides Tim and Barbara, there seemed to be a few other humans present.
"It seems other humans can come in too?" Tim asked casually after chatting with the boy.
"Yes, all you need to do is submit the ticket materials. It's a pity we don't have enough materials this year. It would be great if we had more sunflowers."
The elven boy frankly revealed his predicament, and Enid suddenly realized that perhaps this challenge was about helping to find sunflowers? She thought about the environment of this place; the sunflowers in this world were different from those on Earth, growing on cliffs where flying was prohibited.
Enid glanced at Tim and Barbara, who nodded, seemingly agreeing with her plan.
"Do you need our help?"
"Is that possible?" the boy asked happily. "If it's possible, that would be great. We just need to find 10 more sunflowers. Unfortunately, all the climbing elves are injured, and the caravan won't sell us any sunflowers."
The caravan doesn't sell them? Tim and Enid were pretending to shop around when they saw the price of sunflowers. They were quite expensive, but apart from elves, nobody usually bought them. So, in town, there were usually only two or three sunflowers for elves to buy.
“It’s alright, we’d be happy to help,” Tim said softly.
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