Eileenburg (13)
“Miss is a long-lived species, so she needs a longer growth period than ordinary people. Miss’s parents passed away prematurely, and only I accompanied her as she grew up. But my life is also finite. Miss Mi wants to understand long-lived species, and no one understands long-lived species better than our Miss.” Xiao Weiyi finished speaking with a burst of courage.
"Ailian is a long-lived species?" Mi sat up straight, staring intently at Xiao Wei. The middle-aged housekeeper's face was calm; she wasn't lying. No wonder Ailian had promised to introduce her to a long-lived species when she heard she wanted to meet one. Mi thought of Ailian's metaphorical words—so she had been living next to a long-lived species for over a year?
“Yes, Miss has been telling me not to tell you.” Xiao Wei straightened up. “But I’ve come to this point, and I think you should know.”
"What do you know?" Mi found everything absurd. Longevity plants weren't born naturally; they were born just like ordinary people. What kind of longevity clock was this?
"Long-lived species have a very devoted characteristic; they are willing to give up anything for the one they love."
"You mean the longevity seed? I don't need this." Mi felt utterly deceived; she felt betrayed by Ai Lian and her servant. Mi interrupted her. "Xiao Wei, I'm not a longevity seed, and I don't want to—"
“I know, I know, Miss Mi, you don’t need to worry. In fact, I would like to ask Miss Mi to forgive my selfishness.” Xiao Wei smiled bitterly. “Long-lived individuals only reach adulthood at thirty, and then have a long lifespan to continue developing. However, according to the laws of the Flower Kingdom, long-lived individuals who inherit a title must marry before the age of forty. Ten years is simply not enough for Miss to find a suitable long-lived individual as a marriage partner. Whether you choose a member of the royal family or a noble family, these families are all eyeing Miss’s long-lived seed. Moreover, Miss has another long-lived seed, left by Miss’s father. Although fewer people know about this, once something in this world is known to a second person, it is no longer a secret.”
"What is another seed of longevity?"
“The kind of miraculous elixir that can save a person’s life—the longevity seed—our young lady has two of them,” Xiao Wei continued. “The young lady doesn’t understand her fate yet. It’s all my fault; I couldn’t bear to see her worry about all this so early. If I hadn’t met Miss Mi, I would have gradually told the young lady some information about this over the past two years.”
Xiao Wei was a little flustered. She stopped, raised her hand to straighten her clothes, and continued, "Miss has insisted on inviting you to Love Lotus Castle ever since the first time she met you. Miss Mi may not understand that although long-lived people develop slowly, they have amazing sharpness and intuition. They can find the right person by instinct even before they understand it themselves."
"Am I the destined one? But the Flower Kingdom doesn't support same-sex marriage." Mi couldn't help but bite her tongue. What nonsense was she talking about?
“This is precisely where I need to ask Miss Mi for forgiveness,” Xiao Wei stood up.
"Oh, no need, you don't have to be like that." Mi vaguely knew what Xiao Wei was thinking. Xiao Wei only considered her young mistress's feelings and wouldn't pay too much attention to an outsider's thoughts. "Sit down and continue." Mi leaned back in her chair and began to seriously consider this relationship.
"If Miss Mi hadn't been so incredibly tolerant and doting on Miss, I wouldn't have dared to offer such a suggestion," Xiao Wei said, staring at Mi's face in the candlelight. Mi gave a helpless smile. *I should thank you?*
“Miss is already thirty-six, and in three years at most she will have to consider marriage,” Xiaowei continued. “I don’t want Miss to enter into a marriage that will trap her. Of course, if Miss decides to give up her title and be with Miss Mi, I will fully agree. Although I am old, I can still do my best to send you and Miss out of the Flower Kingdom. Or Miss Mi is willing to take our Miss on an adventure.”
"You trust me that much?" Mi was a little curious, after all, she had always maintained the persona of an ordinary person.
“I’m not worried about Miss Mi’s ability to survive since she was able to come out of the Misty Forest,” Xiao Wei said with a smile. “Miss also has a longevity seed, so I don’t need to worry at all that you will abandon either of you.” Mi rested her head on her hand, thinking, “Looks like you’ve investigated me thoroughly.”
“Xiaowei, I don’t want a long life,” Mi carefully chose her words. She was determined to go back. The happiness that Ailian brought her wouldn’t hold her back. She couldn’t accompany Ailian across another boundary: “I don’t expect eternal life. Birth, aging, sickness, and death are all life processes that I need to experience.” Mi felt ashamed, lying came easily to her.
“It’s alright, Miss Mi,” Xiao Wei said softly, also feeling confused. “Miss may not be willing to give up her title, and it’s not so easy for her to leave, especially without leaving behind a long-lived seed. I just want Miss to enjoy a few years before she has to enter into marriage, and Miss Mi’s companionship can make her less regretful.”
“I will not stay to accompany Miss Lian,” Mi said seriously. “I will leave before Miss Lian is engaged.”
"Of course, of course." Xiao Wei agreed with a smile, stood up and said, "It's getting late, Miss Mi, please get some rest." With that, she moved the chair back to the wall, opened the door and went out.
"Goodnight, Miss Mi." Xiao Wei bowed at the door and closed it. Mi heard Xiao Wei's footsteps fading into the distance and was unsure what to do. Xiao Wei, walking quietly down the second-floor corridor, thought to herself, "No one can refuse my young lady, not even you, Miss Mi."
Mi sat on the bed with a book, the lamp and candlelight bright, but she couldn't concentrate on a single word. Before entering Sun City, Mi thought she fully understood this magical country. This country had long-lived races, each born with a longevity seed, granting them near-eternal life. If they didn't retrieve the seed themselves, no one could obtain it. However, this near-eternal life didn't bring the long-lived races divine treatment, but rather covetousness and danger.
The Long-lived race once suffered severe hunting and slaughter until King Derek I enacted a law to protect them two hundred years ago: Long-lived individuals were granted noble titles and protectors from birth. Other restrictions included mandatory marriage before the age of forty, and the requirement that their families contribute to the nation in times of crisis, such as offering a Long-lived seed to save a hero who could turn the tide. This decree was kept secret within the Adventurers' Guild, unknown to ordinary people, but known to the royal family and adventurers. Mi sat on the bed, lost in thought. The innkeeper, Sheila, was also a middle-aged woman, unmarried, as was Anna. This led Mi to believe that women in Sun City could freely decide whether to marry, which was why she hadn't taken Ailian's unmarried status in her thirties seriously; she had always assumed nobles enjoyed more privileges than ordinary people. During her year-long stay in Ailian Castle, Ailian had told her many stories about the Long-lived race, but at that time, Mi only assumed Ailian was a noble, hence her knowledge of information unknown to ordinary people.
Mi never imagined she would provoke a long-lived being, especially a female long-lived being. But now she felt like she was being hunted in reverse, a strange but somehow pleasant feeling. Mi felt she couldn't bring herself to seduce someone who had just reached adulthood, even though long-lived beings are already thirty. Mi had a feeling she would follow in Allen's footsteps; witches have no emotions and can only obtain them from others.
Mi was certain that Ailian was naive; she couldn't possibly be an eye sent in by the observers. According to the history of the Flower Kingdom, the Long-lived Race were the original inhabitants of this world. What kind of world could harbor a group of immortal beings? No one knew how long the Long-lived Race had existed before the arrival of outsiders. Was this a real world? But who sent outsiders in to disrupt this peaceful life?
Mi imagined Blue Star, a barren world where only a single cell could be placed, watching it cycle and evolve. But why was the Flower Kingdom, such a peaceful world, disrupted? Where did the outsiders come from? The large ship east of Sun City has a vague shape, but the ship that brought the outsiders to the Flower Kingdom has long since disappeared. Were those ordinary ships or interstellar spaceships?
After a moment of blankness, Mi took out the witch's headband. The headband hadn't moved since Mi entered Redstone Town. Looking at the light gray headband quietly wrapped around her arm, Mi didn't know how long she would have to stay in this world before returning to Blue Star, nor how to trigger the guiding star to start working. Mi picked up the headband and poked one end of the guiding star with her finger. The guiding star returned to pointing upwards. No matter how Mi adjusted the direction of the headband, she couldn't get it to work. She laid the headband flat on the bed, watching the guiding star slowly transform into a round little ball, with a tiny point in the middle staring back at her. Reluctantly, Mi put the headband away. Some problems could only be left to time.
Mi swatted out the candle and lay down. Suddenly, she heard a rustling sound outside the window. She propped herself up on her arms, listening intently. At this hour, only a thief would dare to try and break through a window. Mi sat up. This was a noble's castle, a place where even a glimpse of a thief would be met with expulsion. Who could be coming? Remembering what Xiao Wei had said tonight, could someone be trying to sneak into Ai Lian's room? Whether it was forcing herself on her or taking advantage of her, this kind of intrusion into her boudoir was something Mi didn't want to see. She drew her dagger and swiftly vanished into the room in a puff of smoke.
Ailian's window was wide open, the room was dark, and it was impossible to tell how many people were inside. A rope hung from the hook of a rain curtain above the window, and the courtyard was deserted. Mi was anxiously about to go into the room when she saw a nimble figure climb out. She wrapped the rope around her left arm several times and grabbed it, then pushed her feet up the window frame, leaned out, and held onto the window frame with her right hand. She was lying on the balcony, half of her body hanging out of the window. The balconies of Ailian's room and Mi's room were less than two meters apart. Mi recognized Ailian as the person climbing out of the window. She stared intently as Ailian gripped the balcony railing with both hands, her legs dangling in mid-air as she reached towards Mi's balcony.
"Ailian, what are you doing?" Mi almost shouted, but realizing she was now invisible, she quickly returned to her room to recover and opened the window to stop Ailian, who was making such a dangerous move for no apparent reason. Although long-lived beings live long lives, they can still die from injuries. Even if they used a longevity seed, their remaining lifespan would be no different from that of an ordinary person. If Ailian lost her longevity seed before her marriage, what awaited her was not a marriage alliance but the stripping of her title.
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