Chapter 141 Illusions and Dreamscapes - Renting a Treehouse
After the Flower Fairy asked, all the elves shook their heads, except for Ananka, who was the captain of the Golden Cloak Caravan.
Ananka nodded, but his expression was hesitant, as if he was uncertain: "Lady Flower Fairy, as you know, my innate magic is refinement magic, not mental magic, so I am the one who is most vulnerable to mental attacks."
“I think I was the first one affected,” he said.
Flower fairies with a talent for mental magic naturally have higher resistance. They can withstand mental attacks for longer, but this also means that the mental attacks they suffer will be more severe. As the only flower fairy without a talent for mental magic, Ananka can now recall the scene and situation at that time, while the other flower fairies have no memory of it.
Ananka recounted their experiences after they went out in detail.
The goods carried by the Golden Cloak Caravan were no different from those of other caravans, mainly acorn wine with a small amount of dried golden cherries as a gift. However, since the Golden Cloak Caravan was a newly formed caravan, they still needed to establish their own fixed trade route.
After passing through several villages that caravans had already visited, the Golden Cloak Caravan discussed their options and decided to venture further. So they crossed the river, passed through a forest of red leaves, and finally entered a rather prosperous town.
After listening to Ananka's account of the experience, one of the caravan members thoughtfully remarked, "I don't remember us crossing the river."
Shu Xin turned her head and recognized her as the elf lying face down in the moss.
The other two elves sitting in the moss also recalled some things, saying they remembered crossing the river, but they did not see the red-leaf forest; the two elves chatting with the demons by the underground lake remembered crossing the river and seeing the red-leaf forest, but they had no recollection of the bustling town.
From Ananka's perspective, after entering the great city, they discovered that no caravans from the Land of Sin had ever been there. This delighted the caravan members, who immediately began trading acorn wine with the locals. The acorn wine, with effects comparable to high-grade magical potions, was very popular, and the Golden Cloak Caravan quickly sold all of its goods.
As the Golden Cloak caravan was preparing to leave, a sudden gust of wind blew in, and the great city was unfortunately attacked by a monster from another continent that had escaped. The caravan ran right into the monster, suffering heavy casualties, and Ananka, who was seriously injured, quickly lost consciousness.
When he awoke, he found himself back in the Land of Sin, not only with his limbs intact and no wounds on his body, but also as tall as the Flower Fairy. Ananka checked the space stone he carried, only to find it filled with acorn wine, not the goods he remembered trading.
This made Ananka realize immediately that his memories were unreliable and that what he had experienced was probably all an illusion!
The two elves who were sitting with Ananka around the stove said after listening that they did remember the caravan entering a large town and doing business with the residents, but they had no memory of anything after that.
Therefore, it seems that the river crossing, the red maple forest, the big city, and even the business dealings and attacks were all hallucinations created by the flower fairies under mental attacks. Among these caravan members, the flower fairy who initially didn't even remember crossing the river was indeed the one with the highest talent in mental magic.
While listening to Ananka describe the attack, Shuxin felt a sense of familiarity, as if she had heard of a similar experience somewhere before. After thinking carefully, Shuxin remembered: "Ananka, have you heard about Pepete's attack?"
After completing the transaction, just as they were about to leave, they unfortunately encountered a strong wind and a group of alien monsters that appeared with the wind and attacked the flower fairy. The experience was exactly the same!
Ananka paused, then his eyes widened as he thought back. "I did hear Pepper talk about being attacked. After hearing it, I wondered what I would do if I were in that situation. I don't have the talent for illusion magic, so I thought I would definitely die..."
The elves also realized something—
"...If that's the case, I was actually thinking we could go to the other side of the river and take a look..."
"Ah...didn't we pass by an oak forest? Those oak trees were red oaks; their leaves turn red when the fruit ripens. I was thinking that if that oak forest turned red, we could pick acorns and bring them back..."
"I was thinking it would be great if we could find a bigger town..."
After discussing it, the elves became increasingly certain that it was a mental attack.
“But when were we attacked?” Ananka asked, somewhat bewildered. “I don’t feel like I was attacked at all.”
"Before I lost consciousness, I saw a flock of gray birds. There was something very wrong with those gray birds," the elf with the highest talent in mental magic suddenly said.
Ananka exclaimed, "Grey birds! I saw grey birds in that big city too! So many grey birds! The flower fairies outside the Land of Sin clearly don't know how to raise grey birds!"
Shu Xin quickly asked the other elves, and after careful recollection, they were utterly astonished to discover that they too had seen the Gray Bird in their hallucinations—
Whether it's a gray bird swimming in the distance while crossing the river, a gray bird preening its feathers on the treetop of a red-leafed tree, or a gray bird walking along the city wall, it's easy to overlook them if you don't think about them carefully. However, once you recall them, you can clearly feel that something is wrong!
Grey-grey birds can't swim, and they can't fly to the treetops that high. They're also very timid, so they would never approach a town and strut around on the street like that!
So the human magician used the gray birds he controlled to create illusions and manipulate perceptions to attack the flower fairies who were out on business.
Thinking of the flock of gray birds that Cocona had lured with the Dizziness Fruit and sent to the Land of Sin, Shu Xin felt a little heavy-hearted. If Cocona hadn't noticed the unusual behavior of those gray birds, they would definitely have remained hidden...
If human mages have been secretly spying on the Kingdom of Garnar all along, have they been targeting the Flower Fairy Caravan all along, or is this an attack they only recently launched?
Shu Xin couldn't be sure, but considering that flower fairies would be prepared to not return when they went out to do business, Shu Xin guessed that it was probably the former. After all, most flower fairy merchants went out alone, and even if an accident happened, it would be difficult to be discovered in time.
Wait a minute, the patrols have been patrolling the territory of Ganar for a long time, could it be that they are here to deal with these things?
Shu Xin sighed and said to the Golden Cloak Caravan, "You were discovered by the Gray Feather Caravan. I'll ask them about the situation in detail after they return. For now, you should rest well. There are many things in the territory that need your help."
After leaving the dungeon, Shu Xin asked Xi if he had found any more information. He bluntly replied, "That An Anka is not suitable to be your merchant. If that blue-haired, red-eyed guy had been the captain, they would definitely have been able to avoid this trap."
The elf with long, azure hair and purplish-red eyes was the one with the highest talent in mental magic within the Golden Cloak Caravan. Shu Xin did not refute Xi's statement, after all, this elf was indeed the first to discover the anomaly. If she had led the caravan, she would have changed the route immediately after noticing the strangeness, and the Golden Cloak Caravan would not have fallen into the trap.
Shu Xin simply said, "Then we wouldn't have discovered this problem."
To be honest, Shu Xin now has some doubts. The reason why flower fairies with spiritual magic talents are suitable to be merchants might be because only flower fairies with spiritual magic talents have the highest survival rate after becoming merchants, which has gradually become a convention.
Back at Flower Castle, Shu Xin summoned Nonori and Peng Peng'an to the meeting room and shared the information she had received from the Golden Cloak Caravan with her two subordinates. After some discussion, Shu Xin ultimately decided to recall the Gray Feather Caravan back to the Land of Sin, while the other caravans would continue their normal business activities. However, she reminded all caravans outside to be vigilant against the Gray Feather Birds in the wild and to evade them immediately if any unusual activity was detected.
Afterwards, Shu Xin explored the treehouses in the Land of Sin and confirmed that every flower fairy, whether commoner or slave, noble or royal, was provided with a treehouse by the Tree of Life—yes, Shu Xin, Nonoli, and Pengpengan were also assigned a treehouse.
A magical cat sleeps in Shuxin's treehouse, while Nuonuo's treehouse contains a civil servant's uniform, and Pengpeng'an's treehouse naturally contains a tax officer's uniform. The Tree of Life probably got its inspiration from the golden cloaks of the Golden Cloak Caravan, as both of these new uniforms come with an extra cape.
The two officers changed into their new uniforms the next day. As they flew, their capes fluttered wildly, making them look quite handsome and dashing. Then Xi went to the Tree of Life to ask for his own uniform. The Tree of Life actually gave him a set of guard uniforms, but without a cape, which made Xi grumble for several days.
In the past few days, Shu Xin has also discussed the treehouse matter with her two subordinates.
Although the Tree of Life was distributed according to the number of people, it was unlikely that all the flower fairies could be restored to normal elves in a short time. Slaves and commoners would still have to live in their own little houses, leaving the treehouses vacant.
After discussing with Xi and consulting with the servants, Shu Xin finally decided to rent out part of the treehouses to the demons, with the consent of the flower fairies.
The demons who wanted to live on the ground and the flower fairies who were willing to rent out their treehouses met under Shu Xin's organization. Both races are quite straightforward and don't deliberately hide their preferences, so they quickly began to choose each other. In the end, all the flower fairies who were willing to rent out their treehouses found like-minded tenants, which was a happy ending for everyone.
Shu Xin naturally laid down three rules for the demons: they were not allowed to release magic at will, and they were forbidden from using poisonous magic. Of course, they also had to pay rent on time—which could be paid through the production of the dungeon or by providing labor. As long as both parties agreed, Shu Xin would not interfere.
Not long after the demons happily moved into the treehouse, the recalled Grey Feather caravan also returned to the Land of Sin.
However, a snow elephant also entered the Land of Sin along with the flower fairy merchant.
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