Chapter 55: Crisis of the Mother Tree Elf Clan, A Boring Winter Routine...
The elf named Theo sat politely in a chair. Guge found two large bowls, heated up the mutton soup, and served it in the two bowls, placing them on the table.
"Come and try Ray's cooking; his dishes are always delicious."
"Thanks."
After traveling for a long time, they finally arrived at the small mountain village. Xi'ou was indeed a bit hungry, so he didn't refuse Guge and picked up his fork to eat.
There was also a baguette-like bread on the table, its crust already somewhat hardened.
The two soaked their bread in the mutton soup and ate all the food on the table. Dinner was thus simply resolved.
"Western Europe, decades have passed, and you are still so young. But I am so old that I am about to die."
Guge looked sad as he gazed at the largely unchanged face of Xi'ou, as if everything had happened just yesterday.
"Don't be so sad, Guge. Think of the happy times we had. This is just returning to the embrace of the mother tree."
Western Europe offered words of comfort to Guge.
"You are the only human I have ever seen who has been acknowledged by the Mother Tree. Next time, it will give you an elven body."
Hearing Xi'ou's clumsy words of comfort, Guge, who had just been looking worried, suddenly laughed.
“Old friend, you’re still as serious as ever. I’ve had a smooth and comfortable life for most of the time, and I have no regrets except for my daughter. I’ve been much luckier than most people, and I’m very content with what I have now and what I’ve experienced in the past.”
Guge poured hawthorn tea for himself and Xi'ou, made with dried hawthorns sent by Laiyi, as well as dried dates from his own home and sugar.
"You've rarely left the forest this time, has something happened?"
Gu Ge took a sip of hawthorn water; the temperature was just right.
Western Europe sighed, his brow furrowed. After much hesitation, he explained the situation to Guge in detail.
“The mother tree withered a hundred years prematurely, and none of the seeds in the clan received its inheritance. We had no choice but to come out and search for those seeds that were sent away.”
Guge had stayed with the elves for a while and naturally knew the seriousness of the matter.
There is only one Elf Mother Tree on the entire continent, but it will naturally wither and enter the next cycle after a thousand years.
He will not die, but will pass on his legacy in another form.
Each time it withers, a spark that inherits all of its power will randomly emerge from its seeds, becoming a new generation of "Elf Mother Tree".
There are countless seeds, but only the few that stay near the mother tree the longest have the highest chance of inheriting the tree's essence. Therefore, the elves will give the other seeds to important guests.
Guge happened to have just one of these.
"So, you came out this time to find those seeds?"
"Yes, nearly a hundred seeds have been sent out over the past nine hundred years. Even after accounting for those that have already been planted, there must be at least a hundred. The king is always frowning."
This is a difficult matter to comment on.
The Elf Mother Tree is extremely demanding in its growth environment, but once it survives the first five years, everything changes dramatically. Nothing can stop its natural growth.
What caused her to wither prematurely, and why the seeds were not immediately passed on?
Gug found his seed, which was wrapped in a soft lace handkerchief and stored carefully in a delicate little box.
Guge opened the box, peeled back the layers of cloth, revealing a pale golden seed the size of a baby's fist.
"This seed was given to me by Elder McKee three hundred years ago. I don't know if it's the one you're looking for."
Xi'ou took out the seed and examined it carefully. Its seed coat was intact, and there was no sign of germination at all. Unfortunately, this seed was not a germination seed.
Western Europe shook his head and put it back in the box.
"Plant it in the spring, and the newborn mother tree will bring blessings to her brothers."
"OK."
Having achieved their purpose, they decided not to linger in Western Europe any longer.
He donned a cloak, slung a silver bow and arrows over his shoulder, discreetly hung a small pouch around Jenny's neck, and turned to leave, heading towards his next destination—the Eton City Lord's Mansion.
Gug said goodbye to his old friend, went back inside to clean up the dishes, and quietly looked at the small box. Jenny came over and licked the back of Gug's drooping hand.
“Jenny, what a good girl. We have to think of something, we have to think of something.”
As Guge was speaking, he noticed the thing hanging around Jenny's neck. He opened it and found a pure silver eggshell and some gold leaves inside.
Guge knew that this must have been left to him by Western Europe.
This guy is really...
Lei returned home.
Very well, the tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks have all been cleared away. Lamb and Neil, the two children, one big and one small, stood on either side of Tata, watching him do his work.
"He should take a shower, he smells a bit."
"Lamb asked."
“I don’t know.” Neil shook his head. “My brother said An’an is still sick and can’t take a bath.”
"Okay. So what does he usually eat?"
"Have some bread."
Neil answered uncertainly.
Tata was speechless.
What kind of bread? Its parents fed it the freshest meat.
The meat from the cow is freshly cut and has a bouncy texture; you just have to tear it apart and eat it yourself.
"What are you doing?"
"Ray asked."
"We just want to see what he's doing."
Lamb answered.
"Not fierce anymore?"
"Not fierce, but also doesn't talk to anyone and just lies there."
Lai glanced at the furry ball lying obediently in the basket with its eyes closed, and said nothing more.
He had a feeling that the little guy wouldn't be so well-behaved.
Because they ate early in the afternoon, Lai didn't cook any more dishes for dinner.
He baked two whole-wheat breads stuffed with pine nuts, walnuts, and raisins, and some small cookies.
Keep them for the night shift and for breakfast tomorrow; the cookies can also be taken to school by Neil.
In winter, it gets dark early, and the burning firewood casts a dim light into the house.
Lai and Neil sat in front of the fireplace eating bread and drinking hawthorn juice. Seeing that no one was disturbing it, the fluffy little Tata lazily stretched.
Running away... or maybe we should rest for the night first...
The fluffy little dumpling drifted off to sleep, dreaming of its mother's warm belly and its father's thick mane.
"Brother, An'an is asleep~"
"Neil said in a low voice. The two of them looked at the little guy who was curled up in a ball."
"So cute!"
"It's very cute."
Lei looked at the little furball with a smile.
"Are you full? Would you like some roasted sweet potato?"
"want!"
Lai found two long, thin sweet potatoes and placed them by the firewood.
Neil likes the kind that's roasted until it's a little charred. It's a bit hard to peel, but once you get past the outermost layer of the sweet potato skin, you can eat the slightly hard, charred crust. It's very sweet and delicious.
After eating roasted sweet potatoes, the two washed their feet with hot water, rinsed off quickly, and went back to their room to sleep.
In the morning, the firewood had long since died down, and the house became chilly.
Lai woke up early, but it was too cold in the room. He lay in his warm bed, unwilling to move, and just wanted to go back to sleep.
He raised his hand and pulled the curtain open a little to see the sky outside. A gust of cold wind slipped into his clothes through his sleeve, making him clench his fist.
Ray's bed was next to the window, and even with the thick curtains drawn, it was still chilly when the wind blew at night. In addition to the thick quilt, he and Neil each had an extra blanket.
It's not even deep winter yet; by then, we'll probably need two layers of blankets.
As dawn broke, and with the light of day barely enough to make out the various things in the yard, Lei finally got up.
He got dressed and folded the blankets. First, he went to the living room to clean the ashes from the fireplace before lighting the firewood and boiling water. After quite a while, the living room finally started to feel warm.
After boiling the water, Lai went outside to feed the livestock, and sure enough, a thin layer of snow had covered the ground again. It seemed there was work to be done this morning.
After feeding him and returning to the room, Neil was already awake.
He washed his face with the hot water that Lai had left, and then helped add firewood to the fireplace.
Are you going to school today?
"Yes, I went."
Neil yawned widely.
"I eat oil tea noodles and nut bread for breakfast."
"good."
Neil found the jar containing the tea oil powder and placed it on the table.
The oil tea noodles were stir-fried by Lai himself.
This is very easy to make. The only tricky part is frying the flour until it turns a light yellow color, making sure to control the time so it doesn't burn.
After frying, add sesame seeds, melon seeds, sugar, and some crushed dried fruit, then mix well with hot oil. Let it cool before storing in a jar.
When eating, brew it with hot water. If you like it sweet, you can add sugar.
After breakfast, Neil took the cookies to school. Tata was still asleep; even the loud noise of Ray's incestuous affair didn't wake him.
It was a bright, sunny day outside. Lai tidied the living room and grabbed a large broom to start shoveling snow. It took him two hours to clear the front yard and the path leading to the shed and backyard.
It's best not to have snow piled up in the yard, otherwise it will become very muddy when it thaws.
After a short rest, with nothing else to do, Lai took his axe and went to the woods to chop down a tree. He spent the entire afternoon chopping wood and cutting firewood.
Staying here isn't a solution, so Lai decided to go to town tomorrow to see if there were any ways to make money.
The temperature is low, so the lamb won't spoil if left outside. After freezing overnight, the meat is almost completely frozen.
Lai took some of the meat inside, sliced it into thin pieces, and saved it for hot pot later.
The meat slices are hand-sliced, so the thickness is quite uneven, but it's all for my family, so it doesn't matter if they're thin or thick. In the end, they'll all end up in my stomach anyway.
Not long after slicing the lamb, Neil returned, and Lai began preparing dinner again.
"Brother, did An'an wake up during the day?"
"No."
"Oh? Won't that cause problems?"
Neil kneaded Tata's paws, trying to wake it up, but the little furball remained fast asleep.
"I'll go to town tomorrow and take him to see Dr. Blake again."
"good!"
The vegetables planted indoors grew rapidly thanks to the magic. In just a few days, they had already sprouted leaves from seedlings. Lei casually used "Goddess's Blessing" twice more.
At this rate, he and Neil won't have to wait long to eat fresh vegetables.
Lai also hoped to buy some beef on this trip to town, some to slice and some for cooking. He also needed to stock up on some lard at home.
"Neil, is there anything you want? I'll buy it all tomorrow."
"I don't want anything. Ah! Let's buy some towels, An'an doesn't have a suitable cloth to dry herself after bathing."
"good."
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A note from the author:
(Continued from last time)
All elementalists possess inherited memories.
His last appearance was several hundred years ago, when the continent did not yet use a unified common language. Different languages were used in different parts of the continent.
The little guy speaks Ancient Elven language. The chieftain, having learned many things due to boredom, happens to understand it.
"I want to eat!"
This was the first sentence spoken by the newly born elementalist.
The chieftain gave Him a piece of elemental stone, which He happily ate.
After seeing the little creature settled by the clan leader, the dragon turned and left. All he wanted was to return to his cave and sleep soundly under the golden pillow. He wouldn't have flown to the volcano to check on things if the situation hadn't been so dire.
"Montelle, don't go yet."
The clan chief called him back.
"The nascent elements possess a strong imprinting quality. Therefore..."
Before the clan leader could finish speaking, he spread his wings and flew back to the cave, completely unaware of the fire elementalist flying behind him.
The chieftain's last words drifted away in the air, completely unheard by the dragon. It wasn't until he had been a caretaker for a month that he learned the rest of the sentence.
What the patriarch was saying was, "You will have to take care of Him for a long time."
Dry!
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