Chapter 272: Solidified Fairyland
Sherlock stopped and pressed his forehead with a headache.
Aiwass, who was walking in front of him, immediately sensed all this. He also stopped and turned around: "Is everything okay, Sherlock?"
"I'm fine."
Sherlock said in a cold voice, "I think it's because this body is too short... You can walk the same distance at a brisk pace, but I have to jog to keep up. I'm a little tired... I can feel the veins in my forehead throbbing."
Aiwass smiled when he heard this.
But he didn't say anything caring like "Then I'll walk slower." He just said casually, "Maybe he's thirsty. After all, we haven't had much water all afternoon."
After that, he took out a kettle from his arms and threw it to Sherlock.
Sherlock, dressed as a newsboy, took the kettle and poured it into his mouth without hesitation.
Then he just gushed out.
"…Are you sick?"
As Aiwass laughed heartily at his successful prank, Sherlock angrily screwed the lid of the "kettle" back on. "I'm only thirteen or fourteen years old now, and you're giving me alcohol?"
And it's strong liquor.
Sherlock could tell from just one sip that this was a Theocracy whiskey with an alcohol content of over 40%.
The amber-colored liquor has a unique and rich burnt aroma, like roasted wheat, and a subtle sweet fruity aroma, leaving a lingering fragrance on your lips and teeth.
But Sherlock's alcohol tolerance is relatively poor, and he usually has to add some water before he can drink it - or he can add some lemon juice and honey water.
Aiwass simply took the bottle away slowly and handed Sherlock another almost identical kettle: "I didn't tell you there was water in it."
"I trusted you!"
"Don't give me that. You're just lax because you're surrounded by people you know."
Aiwass said bluntly, "If someone turned into me and fed you poison, would you drink it without hesitation? Perhaps if you stopped for a second or two, you would feel something was wrong. But you were too quick and did it directly - do you think I would be happy about your death? 'Oh, my friend Sherlock died because he trusted me, I am so happy'... Do you like this tune?"
“…Tsk.”
Sherlock smacked his lips, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Although I was upset, rationally speaking, I felt that what Aiwass said did make sense. I couldn't refute it, which made me even more upset.
He could only drink the water obediently and accept Aiwass's lesson.
“But it’s really strange.”
Seeing Sherlock's unhappy face, Aiwass, who had already mastered Sherlock's instruction manual, said directly: "We rode the griffin around twice, but still couldn't find Eagle Point Village."
They had followed Haina's instructions and headed south from Bagpipe Town... but they ended up flying to Alder Town and still couldn't find Eagle Point Village.
Aiwass did not give up, so he asked the two griffin aunts to fly back to the ground - but still couldn't find it.
Finally, they landed in Bagpipe Town and asked around, only to find out that Eagle Point Village was indeed nearby. With the enthusiastic guidance of a local resident, they finally found the forest path.
"Two possibilities. Either it's some kind of large barrier that obscures existence... or it's a fairy forest."
Sherlock was indeed distracted by Aiwass's words.
He looked at the path in the dense forest and said seriously, "Do you know the Fairy Forest?"
Aiwass nodded, while Lily and the Griffin Lizzie looked over curiously.
Sherlock ignored Aiwass and stared at the two women, explaining seriously, "Whether it's Avalon, Star Antimony, or Iris, there's a common legend circulating in those densely forested countrysides: children are prone to disappearing in the forest. That legend refers to the 'Fairywood'.
"In those dense jungles where you can't see the bottom at a glance and there's no way to climb up and see far, if a harmonious path suddenly appears, but there was clearly nothing there before... then this is most likely a fairy forest. Some fairies live here.
"Only those invited by the fairies can enter the Fairy Forest—usually innocent, lively, and healthy children, or simple and enthusiastic young people. One of the necessary conditions is good looks, and another is the ability to sing or dance.
"After entering the Fairy Forest, these people would play with the fairies. During this time, they would often lose track of time and remain ageless... Whenever they tried to leave, the fairies would teach them something and keep them for a while. When they finally left, they would find that an indefinite amount of time had passed outside."
“…Isn’t that great?”
Lily was a little confused: "Isn't this a disguised way of extending life?"
Sherlock said seriously, "These are some good-tempered goblins. There is another kind of bad goblins. They will directly force the children to stay here and turn them into new goblins. In order to 'gain friends', they will even take the initiative to attack and kidnap or steal children.
"Stolen children like this, even if rescued before they turn into fairies, often can no longer speak human language. Therefore, the Fairy Forest is extremely dangerous—regardless of whether the fairies living there are good or bad.
"The easiest way to identify a fairy forest is by the light source. If the sun is bright, but there's no light at all deep in the forest, and no animals are coming out, then this path might lead to a fairy forest."
Sherlock said, pointing his finger forward: "For example, here - look."
I saw the straight path disappearing into the distance.
The surrounding trees seemed to have moved aside on their own accord, leaving behind a clean dirt road.
"It's mid-December now. Fallen leaves and branches should be everywhere, but the dirt road is spotless. The fallen leaves are neatly scattered on both sides of the road, as if someone has swept them."
Sherlock narrowed his eyes and analyzed calmly: "Just one look and you know something is definitely wrong here, right?"
Lily lowered her head in shame.
She was clearly a transcendental being attuned to the Dao, and her highest spiritual intuition was the perception of danger. Yet, standing here, she only vaguely sensed a slight discomfort, not even the slightest sense of danger.
But she was a little confused.
Miss Haena, is this... living in the fairyland?
But fairies are creatures of the path of beauty.
If this is really the land of fairies, how come Haena, who was born here, has no adaptability to the path of beauty?
"Anyway, we have to prepare to see the goblins."
Aiwass narrowed his eyes, gazing at the dark, unknown space deep within the forest path. He shared with the two some rather unpopular and rare knowledge: "Actually, 'fairy' is a rather unfriendly term for fairies. It's a derogatory term. Just like calling 'Son of the Moon' Si Cuige a vampire, simply calling fairies 'fairies' will provoke their hostility."
"Compared to the Moon Child, fairies have simpler minds. This means they speak their mind and act on what they say. Even the smallest dissatisfaction isn't suppressed, but expressed directly.
"The correct name is 'our kind neighbors' or 'joyful creatures'... remember this."
"But," Lily was still a little confused, "Eagle Point Village isn't necessarily the land of fairies..."
Little Sherlock sighed.
"Don't you understand yet, Miss Lily?"
He said in a serious, childish voice, "What Aiwass meant was... he would rather a goblin lived in here."
As they spoke, they stepped completely into the darkness and crossed the mountain.
After a brief silence, a ray of light pierced the darkness, and a bustling noise came through the shadows.
The brilliant golden sunset hung in the sky, illuminating the entire village and casting long shadows. People came and went, laughing and talking happily.
——Eagle Cape Village at dusk looks like a frozen painting.
It seems as if this place has been so beautiful for a long time, and as if this moment can last like this for a long, long time to come.
(End of this chapter)
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