Chapter 208 Heading to the Land of Sin: She Chooses to Believe
Manmanli caught her breath and stepped into the shade cast by the dry trees. Her cloak was burning hot from the sun. She wiped the sweat from her brow and looked down at her daughter, who was less than a year old, in her arms: "Cecily? Cecily? Are you asleep?"
The young flower fairy, her eyes half-closed and her long orange hair flowing freely, heard her mother's call in her dazed state. She opened her eyes, revealing a pair of emerald green pupils exactly like her mother's: "Mama... I'm awake... I wasn't asleep..."
Touching her daughter's cheek, the intense heat emanating from her fingertips made Manmanli's heart sink, yet a gentle smile appeared on her face:
"Mommy heard you, Cecilia, hang in there a little longer, we're almost there. Remember the really big treehouse Daddy talked about? Shall we sleep in the treehouse?"
"Okay... Mom..."
After carefully feeding her daughter some water, Manmanli licked her chapped lips and was about to put away the space stone when she saw a group of flower fairy slaves trailing far behind. She sighed and called out, "Come and have some water too!"
Every time she said goodbye to Sissis, Manmanli was mentally prepared that she would never see him again. But when that day actually came, she was still struck by immense grief. She had already lost too many relatives and friends because of this unprecedented drought. Goddess of Flowers, is there no end to this disaster?
When Sissis returned the last time, he excitedly told her about the wonders of the Land of Sin, hoping she would bring her family to live there. She was naturally willing, but the nuts and cookies he brought back weren't enough to convince them—
Because of his identity, they have left their hometown and are living in remote and backward villages, almost in hiding. Even if the land of sin is as good as Sissis described, wouldn't the flower fairies living there hate the patrolman and his family?
Before they could even make up their minds, a terrible natural disaster struck. By the time Manmanli finally decided to go to the Land of Sin, no flower fairy would object anymore.
They are all dead.
They died from the beast tide and from the fever.
They also died of hunger and thirst.
Even though Manmanli desperately squeezed out her magic power and relentlessly released her innate magic, she still couldn't save the lives of her family and friends. Healing magic could only heal wounds; it couldn't provide enough food for the whole family, nor could it conjure up enough water to quench the thirst of all her friends. Large swathes of wheat in the fields withered and died, while the magical beasts from the outer continent continued to appear tirelessly time and time again, and those vibrant lives withered away like the wheat in the fields.
When her young daughter also fell ill with a fever, Manmanli couldn't even shed a tear. So when the bright red uniform appeared before her eyes, all she wanted to do was shout angrily through her parched throat, "Damn Sissis, does he have to be this patrolman?!"
However, beneath that blood-red, wide-brimmed hat, what was revealed was not Sissis's familiar, ever-smiling face—
The visitor was an unfamiliar patrolman who had come to deliver news of a death.
The patrolman brought over Sissis's belongings, along with a whole space of water. Manmanli couldn't help but wonder if more of the flower fairies in the village could have survived if he had arrived earlier. Yet, she also couldn't help but wish she had never met the patrolman, as if Sissis could have continued to live happily somewhere without his presence.
Accompanying the patrol envoy was a government official from the royal city. The nobleman told everyone that there was a clean, drinkable water source deep underground. As the frightened villagers calmed down and began digging into the underground lake, Manmanli left the village with her daughter and embarked on a journey to the land of sin.
Manmanli, who was focused on getting on her way, only noticed the group of slaves who were timidly following behind her after being reminded by her daughter.
These poor fellows, who barely cast shadows in the sunlight, must have been miners who had escaped from underground mines. Their hair and skin, stained with mineral fragments from long hours of labor, had taken on a rather strange grayish-blue hue.
Seeing the grateful faces of the slaves, Manmanli looked away. She gave them very little water, but their small size made her seem very generous.
After a brief rest and casting a healing spell on her daughter, Manmanli continued on her journey. The Harvest Month was approaching, and she had to reach the Land of Sin before it arrived. If she encountered a lone alien beast, she might be able to escape with her daughter, but if they encountered the beast tide of the Harvest Month, they would surely die!
The group of miners who stubbornly followed her were unfortunate. Even as slaves kept falling off the group, she never shared her food. Later on, she wouldn't even give out water.
But they were also lucky. After being exposed to the sun for a long time, the slaves' hair and skin color returned to normal. As long as they could enter the land of sin alive, they could gain a freedom that they had never even dreamed of.
Manmanli believed Sisis's description. She believed that the lord of the Land of Sin was a compassionate, benevolent, dignified, and just flower fairy. Even though the flower fairy, who was of royal lineage, only appeared in legends, she still chose to believe, just as she believed Sisis's claim that she became a patrolman for the sake of the entire Kingdom of Ganar and for a better future for all the flower fairies.
He chose to join the patrol team to protect his family and friends. Every scar on his body is proof of his determination and belief. How could she not believe in his determination and belief to become a patrolman?
She couldn't help but wonder what kind of wonderful future it would take for so many brave and powerful flower fairies to burn their lives to achieve it.
Just like she couldn't help but wonder, what kind of rich place could it be that made Sissis, as a patrol officer, so full of longing and respect?
The coordinates given by Sissis told Manmanli that the Land of Sin was in the north, but she did not expect that this beautiful, dreamlike "north" would be so far away, so far that the water in the space stone gradually dried up, so far that Sissis began to fall into a deep sleep, so far that she even developed a fever.
When the endless white walls appeared in her blurred vision, Manmanli thought she had arrived in a divine kingdom. She managed to stay awake until she saw flower fairies in light green patrol uniforms flying towards her in the distance, and only then did she lose consciousness.
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Author's Note: I'm really sorry for the long hiatus... I originally planned to use the Lunar New Year holiday to push the plot forward, but plans can't always keep up with changes—
Sigh, I'm childless by choice. After going back to my hometown, I got into a fight with my parents because of their pressure to get married and have children. My dad slapped me across the face, and I kicked him in the chest, but because of my size and strength, I lost the fight. TvT
However, I ran away. I'm truly grateful for the convenient transportation these days. I drove back to the city from the village overnight. It's just that being beaten for the first time in my life, especially by family members, is still very traumatic. Facing the reality that "my parents don't love me that much," I can no longer deceive myself. It's truly painful. Because I couldn't eat or sleep, I lost five pounds. It was so difficult to get back to over ninety pounds. [Tears rolled down my cheeks like Lanzhou noodles.gif]
I'm not saying this to play the victim. I'm financially independent, mentally stable, and have reliable family and friends and two adorable cats. I just want to explain that the plot of this book isn't very lighthearted right now, and my experiences during the Lunar New Year were quite detrimental, so I put it aside for a while and went to revise another story. That story is now finished, and I've adjusted my mindset. I'll work hard to advance the plot from here on out!
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