The brownish-red bark is rough, with countless layers of texture, and it's impossible to tell how many seasons it has witnessed. A vigorous vitality flows clearly within its vast, overlapping outline, circulating along its branching branches in all directions, leaving only a faint trace.
Everywhere was peaceful, with no trace of anything unusual or suspicious.
Looking up again, I gazed in the other direction. Young birds spread their golden-red wings and fluttered gracefully. Occasionally, their silhouettes would disappear from sight, but I could hear a few clear bird calls coming from deep within the shade of the trees, as if they were singing joyfully.
"Feifei!"
I instinctively called out loudly, and after a brief moment of waiting, a small, light red head suddenly popped up and chirped excitedly. It flapped its wings like a fiery red flame and rushed towards me, but just before it hit me, it quietly slowed down and stopped perfectly on my arm.
"Good boy, good boy."
"Big brother, when did you choose this name?"
As I stroked the little guy's nape and fed him with the flames I conjured, Sheng curiously peeked over, then exclaimed in surprise, "Wait, is it just my imagination? Has this child grown a bit since before?"
I shrugged and focused on concentrating on creating another ball of flame.
Indeed, compared to when it first peeked out from the cracks in my pocket and started causing trouble, the cub now standing in my hand has grown quite a bit thanks to the several feedings I've given it along the way.
Although I don't know how it appeared, since it's a phoenix cub like Fifi, it must have absorbed magic power from fire and grown rapidly. The only problem is that I don't know when it will return on its own, and I don't have anything to store it in right now, so I can only let it roam freely outside.
"But does this child have any fighting ability? Can he protect himself?" Sheng asked worriedly. "Danger could appear anywhere. Although being able to fly is an advantage, he's too conspicuous. Isn't that ultimately unsafe?"
After examining the little guy for a while, I shook my head: "...I don't know."
This is also one of my concerns.
The only saving grace is that, perhaps due to an ability developed during its growth, the little guy is always surrounded by a thin layer of flames, like a delicate shield. Not only does it not cause any problems under normal circumstances, but it also keeps the environment around him in a very mild state. In the event of a sudden attack, it will suddenly appear and melt away and incinerate the approaching danger.
Thinking about it this way, at least in situations where the danger level is not high, the little guy can handle it all by himself.
Sheng tilted his head and thought for a moment, then quickly nodded and made a decision on his own: "Okay! I'll try to have a match with the little guy when I get the chance, at least to give it some sense of crisis so it can better protect itself!"
"Won't your hair get burned?" I asked doubtfully.
"Hey bro, this isn't real hair. Besides, instead of worrying about whether the plants I'm controlling will get burned, shouldn't you worry about the little guy? I can promise not to go too hard, but I can't completely guarantee he won't get hurt!"
"Since you are confident, I also trust you."
"...Big brother, this is the first time I've heard you say that. I'm so touched, I almost cried..."
Amidst laughter and conversation, we traversed the smooth, muddy ground with its shallow pools, and finally, following the elf elder who had been leading the way, we completed the last leg of our journey.
After gradually moving away from the back, their initial surprise and respect turned into astonishment. Passing through the triple-closed doors, what was revealed was not an interior space enclosed by layers of walls, but a vast forest covered with countless branches, resembling an ancient ruin.
"This site has likely existed for a very long time."
Touching the pillars that were faintly visible amidst the entwined green vines, I tried to combine some fragments of information I had previously asked Sheng to trace the history of this site and make an analysis.
Bound by vines, the towering pillars still stand in their original positions, seemingly silently depicting the history of this place as a grand hall once built for giants. But as time passed, the once magnificent dome crumbled and collapsed, scattered haphazardly across the foundation pieced together from massive, equal-sized stones. The ruins of this once-glorious hall, now a silent mourning, are eroded layer by layer by wind and rain, yet still retain traces of its former glory.
Then, from the cracks in the broken crevices, seeds carried by passing birds or animals sprouted, tenaciously growing and covering the remnants of the past. The blooming flowers and adorning green leaves knew nothing of the past, yet they quietly conveyed the rhythm of life to the surroundings, attracting more visitors to frolic.
Then, perhaps by a lucky coincidence, or perhaps by a twist of fate, the elves discovered this place and established their settlement.
"The items that were stolen this time must have originally been placed deep within these ruins, right?"
Faced with my question, the elven elder looked at me in surprise, then nodded gently: "To be honest, this ruin has existed for much longer than we have been here. It was only because we happened to discover it, and were surprised to find that there was a sacred disc deep within it that could continuously produce clear water, that we finally decided to settle here."
He seemed somewhat wistful. After verifying his identity with the guards at the entrance and exit, he quietly explained a few things before leading us into the depths of the remaining ruins, much to the guards' surprise.
"The surrounding plants also told me this."
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