Mond (4) [Start with reverse V]
About a hundred years ago...
At the edge of the Monster Forest at the eastern foot of the Daqiusha Mountains, there is an ordinary doe.
With her bulging belly, she walked a distance into the forest and found a meadow of milkweed illuminated by the sun. She walked in calmly and munched on the grass.
But she didn't notice that some of the milkweed roots were clinging to almost invisible colored crystals as fine as sand.
But this will not have a big impact on the taste.
Three months later, the doe gave birth to a calf with great difficulty and closed her eyes quietly.
Since I was born, I have been different from ordinary deer.
When I was a kid, I tried to understand creatures that looked like me.
But I soon discovered how monotonous their thought processes were, and they were incapable of even a simple conversation.
Apart from eating, sleeping, mating and pooping, I don't think this is a bad thing. It's just that a deer should have higher ideals and pursuits in its life besides these instinctive reactions.
I gave up trying to communicate with them and came to the painful realization that I was a unique and different deer.
And being unique is destined to keep me company with loneliness.
I gave up associating with the deer and avoided the fate of being kept in captivity as an animal.
Humans are interesting by comparison.
When I was patrolling at the foot of the mountain, I saved a human child. He is my friend and also the teacher who taught me to speak Chune language.
I don't have a human voice structure. Due to a congenital defect, I cannot speak human language, but I can communicate with intelligent creatures like humans through my spirit.
Communicating with human cubs gave me my first enlightenment about the wisdom of deer life.
Xiaojie is a studious child. The biggest motivation for his studious nature is that he wants to teach me what he has learned in school.
Later I found that he was an immature teacher, but he was genuinely passionate enough.
For me, who had lived in the forest for more than 50 years and had no contact with intelligent creatures, everything he said was enough to bring about earth-shaking changes in my concepts and thoughts.
A friend who will become my master in the future once said that what one experiences in childhood will affect one's entire life. I can prove this from my own experience, and the same is true for deer.
I learned the seven tenses of verbs in Chuuni faster than he did, and took the trouble to correct his grammatical errors.
With my help, he became the smartest and most studious child in the town. After mastering the basic vocabulary, he took a fairy tale book and read it to me.
We both loved the book and read it over and over again. I can recite its contents by heart now. (Author's note: In order to simplify the text, I will not elaborate on it here.)
Fairy tale books at that time did not have illustrations, yet we were fascinated by them.
Later I found out that it was a legend of the heroic king written by a scholar in his spare time.
This is a story based on an emperor in the history of Qiu Nie, and is an artistic creation.
It tells the story of an unpopular prince who was exiled to the border, but after many adventures, he regained the throne, rode a white horse to the battlefield, unified the country, expanded the territory, and achieved hegemony.
Since then, I have had a dream.
I want to be the prince's most loyal companion described in the story—the white horse that the White Horse Knight rides.
Even though I am not a white horse, I can still serve as a mount.
In the story, the prince had many friends, but only the white horse accompanied him to the end. The white horse witnessed the prince's magnificent life. He accompanied the prince through life and death, sharing both suffering and happiness, and never left his side.
I was deeply moved by the spirit of Bai Ma.
Xiao Jie longs to be a great knight like the prince, even though he can't even lift a bamboo sword.
I want to be like Hakuba and have a great mount with a legendary hero as its master.
For the first time, a raging fire ignited in my silent chest.
For the first time, I felt the meaning of deer life, and this has not changed until now.
Xiaojie grew up. He is a smart child. When he was little, he never dragged me to the village to be watched by other humans because he knew that would only bring me a tragic ending.
His company makes my monotonous and boring life colorful.
So when he died, I shed the first tears in my life.
He also cried and told me that he was worried about who would accompany him after he left.
I told him not to worry. There are more and more people, and there will always be one or two stupid people who will not catch me with iron bars, but talk to me.
My friends taught me many things.
But the most important thing I learned from my first knight was about life and death.
I didn't encounter such a human being again in the next twenty years.
I console myself that this is to accumulate luck and meet better people.
I once again began to lead a boring and reclusive life with nothing to do, being chased by monsters with well-developed limbs but simple brains, being hunted by stupid humans, and having nothing to do.
In fact, I don't hate humans or monsters. It's normal for them to have more idiots and mentally retarded children. Not all deer can give birth to someone like me.
I still frequently come into contact with and learn about human culture, but the more I learn, the more determined I become about my ideal path.
I was sure that I would meet a destined knight and together we would change the world.
The goddess responded to my sincere prayer.
In 1891, she sent a rider on my back.
Everything is fate.
That day, I was patrolling my territory in the forest as usual, but I hadn't checked my calendar in a long time and remembered the wrong time.
Those days were the hunting party of the Lord of Mondstadt.
I realized this fact only when I was targeted by an arrow from a red knight.
I have escaped death many times in this cruel environment, not because of my beautiful face or the luck of being favored by the goddess, but all because of my own strength.
In order to become a legendary mount, my own qualities must be good, so I train every day towards my goal and never slack off.
While other captive deer were growing fat, the wolf king and I were playing a race of life and death.
My endurance and speed are much stronger than those of a knight's warhorse. It's impossible not to be strong because of my natural talent and hard work.
If another group of people hadn't appeared in front of me, I wouldn't have been surrounded by humans.
Although it was far from the moment of despair, I was in some trouble as I was surrounded by humans on all sides.
Just at that moment, a figure fell from the sky and landed on my back. I felt a shock all over my body. I turned my head and saw a dazzling golden light.
I didn't need any reason, I was sure that this was the destined knight I had been waiting for for a long time.
Everything is the best arrangement of fate.
The fighting posture he displayed afterwards and the way he broke the assassin's wrist so neatly were all so perfect.
To describe it with a word from a human book, it was probably love at first sight. I felt destiny.
I won't let go.
I can't let go. (It's the mouth)
Our chapter is about to begin.
At that time, my thoughts were very simple.
Now, looking back over the past decade, I do not regret my choice.
The journey was by no means all happiness, I also witnessed much of his sorrow.
But the bumpy scenery along the way is the best reward for my long life.
Human Ghostwriter
Memoirs of xx in June 1920 01
Author's note: There are more than one will. I hope this deer dies soon and is reborn.
At this moment, Inger couldn't help but wonder, when fate gives you a magical enough start, it will slap you in the face with an even more magical reality, telling you that what came before was just an appetizer.
Thousands of words can be summed up in one sentence: Fairy tales are not deceiving me, Disney documentary literature.
The white deer proudly told Alex about his lofty ideals. Without opening his mouth, the words went directly into Alex and Inger's minds: "My lifelong ideal is to embark on a journey with a great knight like you. Please do not refuse and name me!"
Alex was stunned for a moment, then he held up the deer's small cheeks and looked at Inger with wide eyes, "Ying! Did you hear that? This deer can speak human language! And it's Chune language!"
Inger said speechlessly: "I heard it..." Then he looked at the confused maids and knights and understood.
[It turns out this deer can also transmit in a directional manner? So advanced?]
Bai Lu stood up proudly, "Of course, I am a native Qiu Nilu!"
The grammar is correct, but the rhetoric is very new.
Inger waved his hand for the others to leave.
This is obviously an interesting episode.
Although the deer looked unreliable, he had a good eye.
Alex Cune was destined to become a great knight.
No, use past tense.
He already is.
Alex stroked the white deer curiously and couldn't let it go.
"Why can you speak? How did you learn Chune? How do you know I'm a knight?"
The white deer answered elegantly one by one: "I was born different from those mediocre deer. I can speak naturally, but I don't have a throat similar to that of humans. But I can communicate with you through mental transmission. I will only communicate with the humans I expect. The Chu Nie language was taught to me by a human. I knew you were a knight at first sight, and I am sure that you will become a great knight!"
Alex's smile faded slightly after hearing the last sentence. He looked at him seriously and said, "I'm not a great knight. I'm just a mediocre and even unsuccessful knight."
Inger was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then he realized that this was his true feelings and felt mixed emotions.
Bai Lu blinked his eyes, and the corners of his mouth seemed to curl up. "It doesn't matter what kind of knight you are. From now on, you are my knight. I will make you the greatest knight in the world! Change this world!"
Inger's heart trembled slightly. He was actually a little moved by such a childish and boastful declaration, but the one who said this was actually a deer, and his emotion was instantly suppressed.
艾利克斯半蹲下來，怔愣地看着他的眼眸，那雙晶瑩瞳眸中，充斥着很多人類不曾擁有堅定赤誠。
那份早已被他丢失情緒似乎再次回到了眼前。
艾利克斯突然低聲悶笑起來。
還沒等他說什麽，門再次被推開。
“請客……呃人去會客室見公爵大人。”
似乎傳話管家也被這場面震到了，頓了一下。
艾利克斯站起來，和英格爾走過去。
白鹿叫住了他們：“我的名字！”
誠然他曾經有過一個名字，但那個名字已經随着他第一任騎士的去世而埋葬，在傳奇故事中，改名和命名象征着新生。
艾利克斯回頭朝他笑道：“芳汀，你的名字叫芳汀。”
雄鹿很高興獲得了新的名字，他跺了兩下蹄子：“告訴我你的名字，我的騎士。”
“我叫艾利克斯。”艾利克斯揮了揮手，和英格爾一道出去。
英格爾看到了管家女仆們古怪的眼神。
【啊，這就是旁觀者的視角嗎？我尴尬症要犯了………】
在走廊上，英格爾問他：“……艾利克斯，你知道那是雄鹿嗎？”
艾利克斯慢了半拍：“………啊！你怎麽知道那是雄鹿的？”
“你是笨蛋嗎？公鹿有角啊。”
英格爾算是知道了，這家夥某些方面很博學，有些方面卻缺乏常識。
艾利克斯皺眉頭，認真思考片刻，确信道：“不，公鹿母鹿都有角啊……不過，确實，這只體型比較大，而且也沒哺乳器官，算了，誰規定這個名字一定是女名，我看他很喜歡就行了。”
英格爾：“………”
好吧，是他這個異世界人沒有常識。明明這個世界很多地方都和他原來的世界很相似，卻又在一些無關緊要的細節相異。
“公爵大人，夫人，兩位客人到了。”
“請進。”
艾利克斯小聲湊到英格爾耳邊問道：“說起來，今年公爵也有30歲了，為什麽沒有結婚呢？主事還是由他母親來。”
英格爾呵一聲不說話。
公爵大人坐在沙發主位，公爵夫人坐在他左手側，看着他們走進來彎起了眼眸。
“請坐。”公爵開口道。
“多謝公爵大人。”兩人都微微見禮，因為不是正式場合也沒那麽多規矩。
萊昂公爵面無表情，公事公辦地開口道：“首先，我想請你們說明一下到狩獵場的原由。”
兩人早就想好了借口。
英格爾道：“我們是乘坐新通東西的列車來游玩的，到達終點站有些興奮，我嘗試了一下我的傳送魔法，出了點岔子就很意外地出現在狩獵區了。”
這段話透露幾個信息：我們是游客，對此地規矩不熟悉。我們到那裏不是刻意闖，只是意外，魔法出岔子很正常。
當然他的話八成是真的。
萊昂點點頭：“我們不是要追究你們責任，狩獵區這個季節魔物躁動厲害，我們把那裏圈禁起來一個是清除多餘魔物以免下山禍害民衆，如果有好事者闖進去，他們生命會受到威脅，過去發生過不少例子，你們的實力很不錯，如果樂意參加狩獵，到城堡報個名就行，有賞金獎勵。”
【好人性化的處置方式啊……】
不是為了炫耀實力或者游玩享樂的狩獵，而是在周期性清怪。為了不破壞生态還可持續性清怪。
作為官方機構來說，蒙德家族做的是真不錯。
艾利克斯滿意的點點頭。
萊昂公爵接着道：“此次多謝你們救了我……母親。”
英格爾從中感受到了一絲牙酸。
丹姝夫人優雅地憋笑。
“咳，所以，魔石，金錢，榮譽，其他文藝寶物都可以，你們說一聲，然後和管家去倉庫取就成，其他我能幫的上的事情也可以說說看，我盡力而為。”
前面一句是常規，後面才是重頭戲。
能讓帝國最強大的公爵做出一份承諾可不容易。
艾利克斯和英格爾對視一眼。
英格爾斟酌語句，按照他們讨論的，先從最無關緊要的事情開局，“不算要求，我此行還有一個目标，是向公爵夫人提出的。”
“我？說說看？”丹姝夫人嫣然一笑。
“我在尋找生死木。”
萊昂公爵和丹姝夫人同時看向對方。
萊昂公爵沖着丹姝夫人點了點頭。
丹姝夫人轉頭道：“是做魔杖的材料吧？”
英格爾本以為他們會不太情願，如今看來似乎不是。
“嗯……這棵樹是前公爵大人為了前公爵夫人種下的，後來交給我照顧了，對我來說還有別的意義，知道那棵樹是生死木的人還真的不多，在你之前只有一位教廷的人來讨要過。”
“是維托大主教吧？”
“你知道啊，是他告訴你的嗎？”
“不我是從別人那裏知道的，那夫人最後給了嗎？”
丹姝夫人搖搖頭，“我同意不管用，生死木最後沒同意。”
英格爾：“……”
【讓我猜猜，這樹該不會也說話吧？】
丹姝笑道：“生死木屬于神奇生物中比較古老的一種，據說是從神話時代延續到如今的，擁有奇異的靈性，至于其能複活死人的傳言，也是真的。”
英格爾一驚。
萊昂公爵此刻打斷了她：“你還在說這話！”
丹姝聳了聳肩。
眼前兩個死而複生的實例卻覺得，這話很可能是真的。
“那……生死木……”英格爾試探地道。
丹姝夫人寬容地道：“如果只是帶你們去看看，也無妨，至于同意不同意就不是我說了算了。但如果生死木想交出自己的枝條，我不會阻攔。”
萊昂公爵摸着額角嘆了口氣。
艾利克斯問萊昂：“這應該不算您承諾的請求吧？”
萊昂公爵擡眼，“對，不算。”
艾利克斯接着道：“我們現在其實還沒有想好，我們希望，在領地住一段時間玩一圈，偶爾能入府參觀一下騎士演戲，當然我們絕不會打擾公務，我們停留時間也不會超過一個月，離開之前我們找您說出自己的請求，這樣如何？”
萊昂公爵深深看了他們一眼：“可以，這是每個公民都能做的事情，不需要特意征得許可，只不過，不能利用魔法随意進出。”
英格爾尴尬地點頭，“好。”
丹姝夫人起身道：“走吧，我帶你們去看生死木。”
等他們出去後，萊昂公爵才想起自己沒問他們名字，于是口問了一句管家。
管家回答：“公爵大人，我在客室聽到那位金發少年稱自己叫做艾利克斯，沒說姓氏。”
萊昂翻閱公文的手停了下。
他記得，重回皇室的第九子就叫艾利克斯。
這個名字很常見，但那雙金眸和金發并不常見，他沒見過本人，報紙上沒刊登他的人像，只是道聽途說，那孩子有一雙和母親極像的眼睛。即便這種事也不是所有人都清楚的，只有一些入首都的高級貴族才知道，因為其他人對皇室其他孩子多一個少一個根本不在乎。
他猶豫了一會兒，對管家吩咐道：“你去找情報官，讓他提一些有關皇室九王子的情報出來給我。”
“是。”
艾利克斯實際上并沒有想向萊昂公爵隐瞞自己身份的意思。因為只有這樣，之後他才能合理地向他提出戰事相關的事情，他需要向蒙德公爵确認一些事。
這一個月正是他了解這個領地，并讓蒙德公爵思考的緩沖期。
盡管前世曾經于一片戰場上并肩作戰，他還不夠了解這片領地和這個人，這是值得花時間的。
丹姝夫人領着他們來到了城堡貼着後山的一處花園。
一路上見到她的人都和她打招呼，她也熟稔地笑眯眯回應。
在花園中心，他們看見了一座小有規模的玻璃溫室。
“我很喜歡在樹下喝茶，本來說建個亭子就行，他怕我凍着，就修了個溫室。除了生死木，我還在裏面種了花。”
丹姝夫人打開溫室。
映入眼簾的是琳琅滿目的各色花朵。
溫室裏還有水霧缭繞，英格爾看到了加溫和造水霧的魔石挂在上面。
溫室裏側最大的花壇裏一棵巨木矗立。
這讓他想起了魔杖師的形容。
一半枯槁死絕，一半蒼盛繁花。
時值生死木開花的季節，那樹，若是單看一半，只不過是普通的樹木，可是合在一起就形成了奇異的景觀。
生的那一半，如同英格爾前世所見古老流蘇樹，枝葉繁茂，細小純潔的花朵堆累，充滿了質樸感。
死的那一半與尋常枯木一致無二，灰白的樹皮沒有一絲生機，一點綠意甚至一只蟲都瞧不見。
兩部分的銜接處沒有一樣，消去了界線，讓人分不清從哪裏開始是生，哪裏是死。
丹姝夫人指了指旁邊的石桌：“你們坐一下，我和它聊一會兒。”
這話很奇怪，但她說得理所當然。
艾利克斯和英格爾翹首以待。
丹姝夫人走進生死木，摘下絲綢手套，貼在了古老的樹皮上，溫室無風，枝葉悄然無聲。
丹姝夫人閉眼許久。
Alex and Inger drank their tea quietly, not daring to disturb them or whisper to each other.
About a minute (10 minutes) passed like this.
"I understand." As the soft whisper sounded, Mrs. Danshu put on gloves and sat back next to the two of them.
But she fell into an unusual silence. The gentle smile on her face disappeared.
Alex and Inger felt that something was wrong, but they did not dare to speak up.
But Madam Danshu didn't let them wait too long. She whispered, "Can you please cast a spell to soundproof it? I hope that only the three of us know about this."
Inger immediately drew out his wand. He knew that he had to start over again.
The three of them sat under a small transparent magic shield.
Mrs. Danshu had long, smooth black hair draped behind her. The black dress with red satin made her skin look even whiter. Her eyes were as red as ripe pomegranates, which reminded Inger of his mother, Kalena, in this life.
She took a deep breath, looked at the two of them, and smiled again: "First, let me tell you a story. I have never told this story to anyone else. You are the only audience members. I believe you will understand."
“But it’s not a very happy story.”