Chapter 17: Everything concerning the Tree of Life is the River Spirits' own business…
Shu Xin unceremoniously pressed all her weight onto Xi, who rolled her eyes but still carefully helped her down.
After regaining her balance, Shu Xin smiled and said thank you.
As soon as the carriage landed, a flower fairy attendant with brown hair and eyes, wearing a colorful robe, came to greet them. He watched as the Pegasus slowly folded its wings, his expression extremely respectful.
Noticing his expression, Shu Xin also glanced at Pegasus.
Pegasus slowly folded its two large wings that had spread out behind it. The snow-white feathers ran along its spine from its back to its belly, fitting together so perfectly that at first glance they looked like beautiful feather patterns.
Bathed in the bright sunlight, the Pegasus, with its single horn on its head and pure white body, appeared incredibly holy.
Judging from the appearance, this kind of Pegasus must be reserved for royalty, otherwise the waiter from Maiji would not be so respectful.
When the waiter saw Shu Xin step down from the carriage, his expression became even more respectful, bordering on piety. Upon hearing that Shu Xin and her party were coming to the wheat market to buy wheat seeds, he quickly led the way.
"Sir, please come this way with me. The shepherd of Golden Crispy Wheat has just returned with wheat seeds. I guarantee you can buy the best quality Golden Crispy Wheat!"
She heard an unfamiliar term again: "wheat herder". Shu Xin searched her memory and found it to be completely blank. However, judging from the name, "wheat herder" should be "a messenger who herds wheat".
The waiter at the wheat market also said that they were to be taken to see the "Shepherd of Golden Crispy Wheat," presumably because a shepherd is only responsible for one type of wheat.
As she walked down the street, Shu Xin glanced down at her clothes.
She couldn't tell the difference between her civil servant uniform and Peng Peng'an's tax official uniform, apart from the difference in gender and the embroidered rank on the chest. However, the waiter at Maiji clearly distinguished her from Peng Peng'an and placed her first from the beginning.
Although in the political system of the Kingdom of Ganar, the political officials are indeed superior to the administrative officials such as the Maiji waiters, Pengpengan is a tax official. The tax official, who has the power to collect magic taxes, is considered to be on the same level as the political officials.
"The patterns on your clothes are different." Xi's voice suddenly rang in Shu Xin's mind.
Shu Xin was startled by the voice that rang directly in her mind. She glared at Xi, but received a sweet smile in return—it was so endearing that she couldn't stay angry at all.
Shu Xin thought for a moment, then tried to communicate with Xi in her mind: "You mean patterns? What patterns?"
Under Xi's guidance, Shu Xin noticed that the uniforms she and Peng Peng'an wore were decorated with delicate and exquisite dark patterns at the edges.
However, the pattern on Peng Peng'an's uniform was a fan-shaped leaf of the Tree of Life, while the pattern on her uniform was a complete Tree of Life shape, which made the dark patterns on her uniform look more intricate and gorgeous.
Shu Xin knew very well that the difference in the hidden patterns on their uniforms was because she and Peng Peng'an possessed different levels of magical power. If Peng Peng'an had the same amount of magical power as her, the Tree of Life would certainly have added more and larger patterns to his clothes as well, but to the unsuspecting flower fairy, the difference in their levels seemed exceptionally obvious.
Considering the riverside elves' extremely strict hierarchical system, Shu Xin was speechless.
The Tree of Life's behavior can easily lead to misunderstandings!
Shepherd Mai is a flower fairy with golden hair and golden eyes. She is much taller and stronger than Maiji Waiter. She is several sizes bigger than Maiji Waiter and is half a head taller than Shuxin who used shrinking magic!
In addition, with her incredibly radiant golden hair and bright golden eyes, Mu Mai made the entire flower fairy look agile and radiant.
Shu Xin paid special attention to the long robe worn by the wheat herder—
The robes worn by the waiters of the Makji were the same style, the loose-fitting robes of ancient Rome, with the flowing fabric elegantly layered into folds, and both had a variety of colorful patterns. However, upon closer inspection, it was quickly discovered that the Makji's robe had more and brighter colors, and the patterns decorated at the cuffs and hem were more intricate and complex.
...The difference is indeed obvious!
Upon seeing Shu Xin, the shepherd of wheat showed even more respect than the waiters at the wheat market, personally bringing Shu Xin seeds of golden crisp wheat.
It was only then that Shu Xin realized that the platform formed by magical vines growing in the air, with its towering, cup-shaped flowers, was actually a warehouse for storing wheat seeds.
The Wheat Herder flew above the unfolding petals, summoning a gust of wind. Guided by the wind, countless golden grains of wheat swirled out from the depths of the flower, like glittering golden ribbons, fluttering to the highest point before scattering and falling down.
The Wheat Herder landed along with the golden ribbon-like wheat seeds. Once she was on her feet, she took a leaf from the Tree of Life from her bosom, gently bent it into a cone shape, and held it high above her head. The golden ribbon-like wheat grains then coiled and gathered together, all falling into the cone-shaped leaf.
Seeing that the wheat seeds had been collected, Peng Peng'an also skillfully took out the Life Tree leaf, which was also folded into a cone shape, from his sleeve—the leaf was filled with glittering golden leaf coins.
Next, the money was exchanged for the goods.
Looking at this scene before her, Shu Xin thought: The Tree of Life, truly the omnipotent Tree of Life!
All she knew was that Pengpeng'an and the flower fairy servants had picked enough leaf coins, but she actually thought that Pengpeng'an had put those leaf coins on the carriage. On the way here, she was wondering where all those coins had been put on the carriage, and why she hadn't seen them anywhere.
Who would have thought that the leaves of the Tree of Life could be used not only as blankets, tablecloths, lighters, and money, but also as personal storage space!
The Almighty Tree of Life!
As for the River Elves' overly strict hierarchy, that has nothing to do with the Tree of Life; it's the River Elves' own problem!
"Am I right? Elves really are a race favored by the gods." Xi's sour voice echoed in his mind again.
Shu Xin couldn't help but laugh: "I think you're absolutely right!"
After buying the Golden Crispy Wheat, Shu Xin and her group wanted to buy Brown Crispy Wheat as well. Shu Xin also wanted to buy some Golden Honey Wheat. The Wheat Herder called another Wheat Market waiter to lead the way for them. However, before leaving, Shu Xin was stopped by the Wheat Herder alone.
After checking her physical condition and finding that her breathing was relatively smooth, Shu Xin asked Peng Peng An to take Xi Xian and the waiter from Maiji to buy brown crispy wheat and golden honey wheat, while she stayed behind.
“My lord, you’ve come from the royal city, haven’t you?” Mu Mai asked somewhat nervously, rubbing her cuffs. Her golden eyes were filled with apprehension. “I don’t quite understand why you were able to leave the royal city. I… I just wanted to ask, did you see my mother in the royal city?”
She added urgently, "My mother was a pharmacist. I can smell the magical potions she concocted on you. She loved to use golden stalks to adjust the taste of her potions. Sir, how is my mother? I haven't seen her for over fifty years. Is she still alive?"
Shu Xin was startled. Almost immediately, she thought of the court physician who had rushed to her aid. The only magic potions she had recently consumed were the three bottles given to her by that court physician.
Looking back now, the very serious-looking court physician did indeed have blonde hair and golden eyes, but her overly solemn expression made it difficult to notice her bright and beautiful hair and eye colors at first glance. The magic potion that Shu Xin drank did indeed taste sweet but not cloying, and had a very refreshing taste.
Could it be that this flower fairy became the shepherd of Golden Crispy Wheat because her mother liked to use Golden Crispy Wheat leaves in medicine?
But judging from her words, does that mean the royal city is only for entering, but not for leaving?
After thinking for a moment, Shu Xin cautiously replied, "If you are referring to the court physician who gave me the magic potion, I only met her once. She seemed very busy, but also very healthy."
The shepherd was overjoyed: "That's good, that's good! It's good that she's healthy! She really can't stay idle! Thank you so much, sir! Please don't hesitate to ask if there's anything I can do to help you!"
Having been courteously escorted all the way by the shepherd, Shu Xin saw Peng Peng'an and the others in the distance. Turning around to say goodbye to the shepherd, her gaze sharpened, and she casually asked:
"What kind of plant is growing over there? Is it also a crop?"
A note from the author:
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