Chapter 88 The Vanished Big Yellow, the Elf Race
Lei carefully examined the marks around the doghouse.
There were no signs of a struggle or bloodstains near the doghouse, only that the rope used to tether the dog had broken in the middle. The break was irregular, as if it had been ground off or bitten through.
Rye ruled out two possible options: someone stealing the dog or a wild animal breaking into the house. If it were either of those reasons, Big Yellow, as the watchdog, would have made some noise at night.
Lai had already cleared the snow from the yard and the road opposite the building, so it was impossible to find the missing Big Yellow by following its footprints.
Ray untied the remaining half of the rope, held it in his hand, and frowned deeply. He was utterly perplexed.
What exactly happened last night?
What's meant to happen will happen eventually.
Neil got up, got ready as usual, and had breakfast with Rye. He seemed to be in a good mood.
Ray carefully observed Neil's expression, not daring to tell him about it during dinner, fearing he wouldn't be able to eat if he found out.
"Ahem, Neil, I have something to tell you."
"What's wrong, brother?"
Neil looked up at Ray.
Ray placed the broken rope in front of Neil.
Neil's eyes widened, and he began to have some guesses in his mind.
"Brother, could it be...?"
Lei nodded.
"Big Yellow has run away."
"Did it really just get lost, or was it carried off by a wild animal?"
Neil's tone was anxious, and his gaze toward Ray held a hint of hope.
Ray didn't want to deceive Neil, so he carefully chose his words and spoke the truth.
"Hmm. There were no signs of a struggle at home, and Dahuang didn't bark in the middle of the night. I think it bit through the rope and ran away on its own, so it shouldn't be in any danger for now."
Neil was somewhat relieved, but still very sad.
Their home is near a forest, and further on are mountains. There's everything on the mountains, and if Big Yellow (the dog) gets mischievous and wanders too far, he might encounter some danger.
From when he was very young, Dahuang has been with him all this time, until he grew up to be this old.
He still remembers when he was five or six years old, the children in the village would bully him because his family had moved there later, and they wouldn't play with him. Back then, it was always Da Huang who accompanied him running around the village.
Once, he was chased all over the road by a wild rook that roamed freely in the village. Big Yellow rushed up and killed the crazed rook for him. Of course, afterwards, his parents used silver coins to appease the bird's owner who came to their door.
His parents didn't blame him; instead, they made a huge pot of bird soup with the bird, and he still remembers the taste of that meal.
The more Neil thought about it, the sadder he became, and tears began to well up in his eyes.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Ray immediately began to comfort Neil.
"Neil, don't cry. Put your clothes on. Let's go find Big Yellow now. It will be alright."
“Okay, brother, I won’t cry!” Neil wiped away the tears he couldn’t hold back with the back of his hand. “A real man doesn’t cry easily. I’m just a little sad.”
Neil awkwardly consoled himself with the words Ray had taught him, and quickly put on the clothes hanging on the hanger.
"Brother, let's go!"
After Ray and Neil went out, Tata jumped onto the windowsill from the chair by the window and looked out.
Every day at this time, that stupid dog would wag its tail and beg for food from humans, showing no awareness whatsoever of being a magical beast. Although its bloodline had become so diluted that it was almost imperceptible.
But it's quite amusing to see that silly dog entertaining itself every day, chatting with the other dogs in the village about all sorts of gossip through barking. At least it helps pass the time when it's stuck in the house and can't go out.
That stupid dog is so dumb and so old, no wild animal would choose to eat it, because eating it would make them dumb too!
Watching the two gradually walk away, Tata jumped back into her own basket and continued to sleep.
Sleep, sleep, it's not a big problem.
Ray and Neil searched the entire village, asking and looking everywhere, but they couldn't find any trace of Big Yellow. Ray then went home to get his weapons and took Neil into the woods.
As they walked along the forest path, they initially found no trace of anything. Later, as they ventured deeper into the forest and the path became less visible, they discovered several rows of paw prints in the snow.
The paw prints were blurry, making it impossible to accurately determine what animal left them, but Neil was absolutely certain they were the footprints of Big Yellow. So, Ray followed Neil's judgment and continued searching deeper along the footprints.
The snow reflected the morning sunlight, a vast expanse of white that dazzled the eyes. The crunching sound of footsteps echoed through the woods, carrying far and wide.
After searching for so long, Ray and Neil's shoes were already soaked and numb from the cold.
The main problem is that the snow here is too deep.
The shallow snow barely covered their ankles, which wasn't too bad; but in the deeper areas, it went right up to Neil's calves. With each step, snow seeped directly into both of their shoes, soaking their socks in no time.
As Neil walked further and further away, he became exhausted and began to feel tired. Only his obsession with finding Big Yellow kept him going.
Lei sighed softly.
“Neil, we’ve gone too far. Let’s stop here for today. Leave the rest to me. I’ll continue searching for Big Yellow.”
Neil lowered his head and remained silent. After thinking for a while, he seemed to have come to a realization.
"Brother, will Big Yellow get eaten?"
"No, we didn't see any blood when we followed the footprints. It just went to play with its friends."
Lai told a little lie; he didn't know how Big Yellow was doing either.
"Then let's go back, brother. You don't need to keep looking. Da Huang will come back on its own."
"good."
The two returned empty-handed, having found nothing, and it was already afternoon when they got home.
It was freezing cold inside his shoes, and Neil kept stamping his feet, but he didn't utter a single complaint. Ray saw all of this.
It was cold inside, so instead of immediately taking off his clothes, Lai went out to the warehouse and brought back a lot of wood. Only then did he take off his coat and wet shoes and socks and start a fire inside the house.
Neil remained silent, looking quite disappointed, but still obediently helped Lai add wood to boil water.
Are you hungry?
I'm a little hungry.
Neil's stomach rumbled at just the right moment.
"Wait a little longer, I'll cook some dumpling soup, and we can have lunch right away."
"Okay, brother."
For the next few days, Lai continued to search for Big Yellow, but it never appeared in the village, and no villager saw any trace of it.
A somber atmosphere permeated the house, and Neil always listlessly stared at the doghouse outside the window.
Although it was almost certain that Rhubarb was dead, Ray didn't give up and began expanding the search area in the forest. Rhys and Lamb also joined in. Ray even asked Iru for help, but they still hadn't made any new discoveries.
Timur acted quickly; in the few days that Lei was busy searching for Dahuang's whereabouts, the barbed wire was already prepared.
After receiving the goods, Lei gave Temuqi a jar of hot pot base as promised, and that same day he used it to enclose half of the courtyard wall.
Looking at the barbed wire spikes scattered across the stone wall, he felt much safer. This "new equipment" also received unanimous praise from Old Gug and Haig.
Because wild animals had entered the village, Barnett organized the entire village to take turns patrolling every night, with one or two people from each household contributing.
Barnett had initially made an exception for Ray, allowing him to skip the night shift, and most of the villagers didn't object. However, Ray joined in anyway, and now he has to work the night shift every seven or eight days. It's just a bit cold at night, but it doesn't really interfere with anything.
As time passed, apart from catching the Gulu Beast last time, no other wild animals were caught in the village. No one had reported losing livestock, and life seemed to have returned to its former tranquility.
As the year drew to a close, everyone brought out their best ingredients for a big meal. Even the poorest family in the village gritted their teeth and went to town to buy a few pounds of meat to treat their family to a delicious meal.
After this period, the temperature will begin to rise, and when the forsythia blooms, spring will truly have arrived.
Neil, who had been sullen all along, finally showed a slight smile today.
Following local tradition, Lai prepared several hearty dishes for lunch, including a braised pork knuckle and some wine, and specially invited the reclusive old Guge and Temuqi to his home for dinner.
All three had excellent personalities and had many topics to discuss. They got along very well and enjoyed the meal immensely.
Lai felt this was very similar to the Chinese New Year celebrations back home.
They would get up early to clean the house and put up Spring Festival couplets; at noon, they would cook a big feast and enjoy a good meal; in the evening, the whole family would watch the Spring Festival Gala on TV and then make dumplings together. Lai had never experienced this feeling of celebrating the New Year together as a family before, but the warmth his grandparents gave him was something he would remember for a lifetime.
The glass lamp was turned on that evening, and Ray chatted with Neil while teaching him how to make dumplings. Although it was just the two of them, the atmosphere was very warm. The moment the dumplings went into the pot and they ate them, the frustration that had been weighing on Neil's heart finally eased a little.
Little did he know, another big surprise awaited him.
——
On this day, in a kingdom of over ten thousand elves deep in the Eton Forest, the arrival of the new year was also being celebrated.
As the race closest to nature, they are always the first to perceive changes in plants.
The atmosphere within the clan had lost the tension of the previous period. The reason was simple: some of the elves who had been sent out to find the seeds had successfully brought them back.
After months of hard work, Western Europe finally succeeded in bringing back the Elf Mother Tree, the hardships and difficulties of which will not be described here.
In short, thanks to the abundant wood element within the elven territory and the meticulous care of the elves, the Elven Mother Tree is now growing exceptionally well.
They were closely monitored by the elders and protected in a place unknown to anyone, guarded from the inside out by layers of security, and protected by dozens of magic arrays and terrifying forbidden spells.
The elves are protecting it with all their might, as if the tree's existence is intertwined with the elves' existence, and the tree's demise is the elves' demise.
It was only because the Elf Mother Tree was found that the elves were able to leisurely and meticulously prepare such a sumptuous meal.
This event made Theo a prominent hero within his tribe once again, and the Elf King promised to grant him any wish. At this point, even if Theo proposed marrying the Elf Princess, the Elf King would agree without hesitation.
However, Western Europe does not do this. The unions of elves are very special, and they are all based on true love as the most basic premise.
In addition, as long as the relationship is approved by the Elf Mother Tree, they can become partners regardless of the opposition from others, regardless of gender, because love can transcend everything.
This once-a-year celebration was naturally a major event for the tribe. The elves all donned their finest clothes and revelled in the bright sunshine.
The place where the elves live has no winter, or rather, their winter is always sunny, which is largely due to the Elven Mother Tree.
I remember many years ago, Xi'ou was just an ordinary elf living in a remote little tribe. His tribe was located in a very remote area, but due to the climate and other reasons, it was able to grow fruits with very special flavors. Some of the fruits on the table now come from there.
Later, Xi'ou's exceptional talent for archery was discovered by chance, and the tribe chief sent him to a larger tribe to learn swordsmanship. Through his own efforts, he has reached where he is today.
It can be said that his path was exceptionally arduous, but he also received invaluable help from benefactors along the way. Opportunity, talent, and his own hard work—all three are indispensable.
"Uncle from Western Europe, what does snow look like?"
A clear, youthful voice broke through the scattered thoughts in Western Europe. The young elf boy, not yet an adult, possessed a delicate quality unique to his age.
Long silver hair, azure eyes, delicate eyebrows, flawless skin without a single pore, and a face so beautiful that even elves would be breathless at the sight of him. It seemed that the supreme god had bestowed all his favor upon this elven youth before him.
"Why is Your Highness here?"
The boy pouted.
"My father and mother are so boring, they won't let me leave the palace even for a moment!"
"The Elf King's most beloved youngest son, the most beautiful prince in the Elf race," Sepulia complained.
"Your Highness, His Majesty is doing this for your own good."
"Uncle Western Europe, let's stop talking about these things and tell me what the outside world is like now!"
When Sepullisa blinked his clear, bright eyes at others, no one could bear to refuse his requests. Even the usually impassive Theo was somewhat moved, though he didn't show it. Of course, the Elf King and Queen were exceptions, having become immune to all of Sepullisa's little tricks after more than a decade.
"Why is Your Highness so curious about the outside world? It's far less comfortable than the Elven realm, and it's full of unknown dangers."
"It's so boring in the tribe. There are all sorts of lessons that we can't finish every day. And it's always the same few kinds of food. I really want to see what other races look like. The book says that goblins are the ugliest creatures among the eight races. What do they actually look like? He received such a terrible evaluation."
Young people are always full of expectations and imaginations about the unknown. This is not the first time that Sepulia has pestered Western Europe with all sorts of questions about the outside world.
There are even rumors in Western Europe that the first thing this young prince plans to do after he comes of age is to travel alone to see the world outside of the Elven realm.
Of course, his unrealistic idea was vehemently rejected by the Elf King.
Although he was not the first in line to the throne, he was absolutely not allowed to act alone in the outside world.
Beautiful and innocent newly-adult elves are the easiest targets for greedy outsiders to deceive.
Despite increased efforts in education, every year a few young men and women from the Elven race are deceived and forced into marriage with other races when they go out to gain experience. This is a disgrace to the proud Elven race!
Regardless of the reason for their intermarriage with other races, elves eventually lose the right to set foot in the elven world again—they can no longer find their way home.
Xi'ou felt it was necessary to give the young prince a proper lesson so that he would understand the dangers of the outside world.
Western Europe put down its cutlery.
Do you really want to know what it's like outside?
Sepulcia nodded frantically.
"Okay, I will tell you everything I know, and I hope you won't be disappointed."
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