Chapter 260 Golden Barley Tea: I'll Take the Key to Life
Shu Xin was completely unaware of the presence of these two little flower fairies!
She soon noticed that the two little flower fairies were actually covered with blankets—thin blankets made from the transparent membranes of the large round fruit, which were also transparent and difficult to notice at first glance.
When the little flower fairies were awakened and sat up listlessly after lifting the transparent blanket, Shu Xin finally sensed the presence of the two little flower fairies. Although it was very weak, it was still alive, which made Shu Xin breathe a sigh of relief. She had thought that the two children were gone, and her heart and lungs had almost stopped!
It seems that this transparent fruit membrane has the property of isolating perception. Shu Xin secretly noted this point. Perhaps she could purchase a batch as a magical material from the Land of Sin and hand it over to the alchemy workshop to study and see if it could be developed into a new magical armor.
However, the two little flower fairies were also in bad shape. Their magical energy fluctuations were not only weak but also somewhat disordered, and they looked like they had caught a fever.
A fever caused solely by a lack of magic power is difficult to cure even with healing magic, because frankly, this fever is caused by starvation. A high-level healing spell is not as effective as a low-level magic power recovery potion.
Drinking a few more bowls of sweet soup made with magically potent dried fruit should help; after all, flower fairies have incredibly strong vitality...
Seeing the father and daughter feeding the sick little flower fairy sweet soup, Shu Xin stopped lingering. She drew her magic wand and teleported directly to the Tree of Life in Bobomo City.
The Pegasus caravan was already waiting under the shade of the trees, and the city lord and his deputy of Bobomo City were also waiting on the side. Shu Xin calmly revealed herself in front of a large group of flower fairies and smiled at the city lord—as long as she wasn't embarrassed, it was others who were embarrassed!
The city lord was an elderly woman with wrinkles around her eyes. She wore the uniform of a governor, her long gray-blue hair was tied back, and her gray-green eyes were calm and gentle. She was not surprised to see Shu Xin suddenly appear in the air, but smiled and bowed: "Greetings, Your Highness."
Shu Xin returned the greeting without hesitation. She had no intention of pretending to be a flower fairy in front of the city lord. Before coming, she had told her servants that if the city lord of Pomomo City asked, they could just tell the truth.
Even though Shu Shuxin is a flower fairy exiled to the land of sin by the king, she is still a member of the royal family with the highest privileges in the current hierarchical system of the Kingdom of Ganar, and she might as well make the most of these privileges.
Led by the city lord, Shu Xin flew into the canopy of the Tree of Life and saw the gate of the Flower Castle on the tree trunk. The style of this wooden gate was exactly the same as the gate of the Flower Castle in the Land of Sin, except that it was a miniature version and the patterns were much simpler, far less elaborate and gorgeous than those in the Land of Sin.
The interior of the Flower Castle is quite different. Although it is much larger and more spacious than the round, lantern-shaped houses in Bobomo City, for Shuxin, who is used to living in a large house the size of a real castle, this can only be considered a small house for dwarves—perhaps even the houses of dwarves are taller and bigger than this Flower Castle.
When the two teams of attendants brought by Shu Xin also entered the Flower Castle, the already small space seemed even smaller.
Upon entering, you'll find yourself in the living room. The wooden tables and chairs on the floor are also grown by the Flower Castle itself. Using the large leaves of the Tree of Life as tablecloths is probably a tradition of the Flower Castle. The woven cushions on the wooden chairs are likely the castle lord's own aesthetic choice. The flower fairy with cool-toned long hair and eyes has chosen a bright red cushion, instantly brightening up the otherwise dark and somber interior.
As soon as Shu Xin took her seat, the castle servants quickly served her hot tea.
The only person sitting down was the city lord of Bobomo City. The servants naturally served her tea as well. However, the tea in front of Shu Xin was a clear, light golden color and had a rich, slightly sweet wheat aroma. The tea in front of the city lord was just a cup of water with a slight wheat aroma.
Shu Xin fell silent for a moment, which reminded her of the first meal she ate in the Land of Sin. It was a bowl of bitter wheat porridge that tasted like cement. Although it was thick and bitter, it was a large bowl full. At that time, what was placed in front of others was only a small bowl of clear bitter wheat soup.
Clearly, because she is a noble flower fairy, she was given such a cup of strong, brewed golden barley tea.
When the city lord of Bobomo City tactfully inquired about the purpose of the Fairy Flower's visit, Shuxin picked up the barley tea and took a sip. To be honest, it was quite delicious, with a light aroma of roasted grains and a sweet aftertaste. The taste was mild and refreshing. If it were a bit stronger, it would taste even more mellow as a hot drink in winter, and it would also be very refreshing as a cold drink in summer.
Slowly swallowing her barley tea, Shu Xin looked up at the city lord and said directly, "I've come to retrieve the Key to Life of Bobomo City."
The city lord was taken aback.
The Key of Life is a special leaf formed from the Tree of Life. It has the texture of jade and can be said to be the embodiment of power. Possessing this leaf means having a certain degree of control over the Tree of Life, which also means having the right to rule the land protected by this Tree of Life. When the Flower Fairy said she was asking her for the Key of Life, she was actually asking her for the city of Popomo!
“Your Highness,” the city lord replied bluntly to the outspoken flower fairy, “the entire Bobomo territory belongs to Prince Bobomo. I have no right to hand over the Key of Life.”
After hesitating for a moment, the older flower fairy lowered her eyes: "I have heard of the prosperity and wealth of the Land of Sin, and I have always hoped that the people of Bobomo City could live such a rich and happy life. I am not young anymore, and I can already vaguely smell the scent of decay and death. Your Highness, perhaps you could stay in Bobomo City for a few days."
Shu Xin took another sip of golden barley tea, and let out a long breath, but she still felt a tightness in her chest.
What withering and death? The flower fairy, who is the governor of Popomore City, clearly has stable and powerful magical energy fluctuations. Now that the rune chains are gone, the city lord can live for at least several hundred more years! And you still want her to play around in Popomore City for a few days? What kind of talk is that!
With a clatter, Shu Xin put down her teacup. She couldn't drink another drop of the barley tea. She said expressionlessly, "Don't worry, Bobomo can't leave the royal city. Whether you have the right to hand over the Key of Life is not important. What's important is whether I have the right to obtain the Key of Life."
The flower fairy tilted her head slightly, as if introducing the city lord: "This flower fairy is my personal physician, the current construction officer of the Land of Sin, and also the former city lord of Lotte City. Nana Jia, you should know the city lord of Popomo City?"
As fellow governors within the territory of Popomo, Nanaja naturally knew the city lord of Popomo.
When the harvest was bad, Nana Jia often went to Bobomo City. After all, Lotte City was a small city with a limited population. No matter how hard the flower fairies worked, they couldn't cultivate much land, so they couldn't grow much wheat.
Big cities like Popomore are different. They have a large population and wheat fields that stretch as far as the eye can see. If you were to rank the cities in all of Ganar that still have enough food after paying the magic tax, Popomore would definitely be on the list. If more food could be bought from Popomore, fewer flower fairies in Lotte City would starve to death.
The elf, who had been quietly mingling among the servants, calmly flew out and nodded to her old acquaintance: "Good evening, Mimi Lan, it's been a long time."
Even though the flower fairy hadn't shown the slightest surprise when the city lord's position was demanded by the flower fairy to her face, the flower fairy was now filled with astonishment: "Nana Jia! You're still alive?!"
There were three squads of flower fairy warriors guarding the Pegasus carriage, and two squads of flower fairy attendants circling the carriage. Mimi Lan didn't even notice that there was a former colleague hiding among this group of flower fairies!
Nanaja is not only alive, but she is clearly living very well. Her complexion is rosy and her hair is shiny. Her magical power is full and strong. However, the Flower Fairy just said that Nanaja is the current Construction Officer. Isn't Nanaja a senior pharmacist?
...That's right, the Flower Fairy said Nana was the attending physician. Mimi Lan quickly calmed down and immediately asked:
“The news I received is that Lotte City perished in the great drought, and not a single civilian survived. The warriors I sent there did indeed find an empty city, but you are clearly still alive, Nanaja, what is going on! You are different from other flower fairies... Did you really abandon the city and run away? But I believe you wouldn't do that!”
Nanaja retorted irritably, "Of course I wouldn't do that!"
As the lord of a city, the most noble governor under the Flower Fairy, and an extremely skilled high-level apothecary, she frequently traveled to the city of Popomo, using all her skills to sell her homemade potions to local nobles, commoners, and even slaves in exchange for food to take back to Lotte City. This behavior was not well-regarded by the other governors. It was not a problem for them to associate with nobles or interact with commoners, but she actually went to do business with lowly and guilty slaves. They felt that she was unbecoming and had violated the Flower Goddess's will.
Nana didn't care about any of that. So what if they were slaves? Even slaves in Popomo City could save up a dozen grains of wheat. As long as she could use magic potions to exchange more grains of wheat with a few more slaves, she could cook a few more bowls of wheat soup for the commoners of Lotte City. Can status put food on the table? No!
Besides, weren't the slaves once commoners too? When did the Goddess of Flowers ever say that commoners were guilty? If innocent commoners are burdened with guilt simply because they suffer disaster and become slaves, then the one who should be guilty is the natural disaster!
“However, it’s not entirely wrong to say I abandoned the city and fled. I directly moved the entire population of Lotte to the Land of Sin. Of course, when you sent your warriors there, you would only find an empty city, because everyone has moved away!” Nana raised an eyebrow and turned to the Flower Fairy with great satisfaction. “Princess, I am extremely grateful for your protection. I am willing to offer you the Key of Life of Lotte. It is only a pity that my magic power is weak and I cannot voluntarily hand over the Key of Life. But if possible, please take the Key of Life from within me!”
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