Chapter 37 Courtyard

“This is it!”

Larry’s breathing had finally evened out, and excitement was written all over his face.

The party had ventured a little farther into the forest.

As the strange buildings among the roadside grass grew more frequent, they had finally reached their destination.

“That adventurer found the wooden plaque here?”

Hai’an held his longbow at the ready, his silver-gray eyes moving carefully over the scene before him.

Curiosity filled his expression.

A vast courtyard estate stood ahead.

Unlike the broken walls and ruined structures they had encountered along the way, this place was remarkably intact. Most of the buildings still retained their original shape.

For Xia Nan, that meant he could finally compare what he was seeing with the knowledge from his previous life in much greater detail.

The entire estate followed a central axis beginning at the main gate, with the buildings on either side arranged symmetrically.

Everything was neat, orderly, and aesthetically balanced.

Black tiles.

White walls.

Roof corners curved upward with the lightness of birds about to take flight.

The beams and pillars were coated in black lacquer and carved with delicate cloud patterns. Most of the doors and windows used intricate openwork designs, though the paper that had once covered the windows had long since torn away, leaving only a few scraps clinging to the corners.

[They’re practically identical.]

Xia Nan stared at the architecture.

Then his gaze stopped.

Something was wrong.

In his memory, the grand estates of ancient officials and wealthy dignitaries often had ponds somewhere on the grounds, large or small.

Lotus ponds were especially common.

Whenever people passed nearby, schools of ornamental carp would swim over, gathering at the edge in hopes of being fed.

This courtyard seemed to have been designed the same way.

There was a high arched bridge, winding covered walkways, and even a classical stone pavilion connected to what should have been the middle of a lake.

Everything looked normal.

As long as one ignored the dense shrubs and tall grass growing beneath all of it.

There was no lake.

No pond.

There was not even a puddle anywhere in the entire estate.

The courtyard had supposedly appeared only a few months ago, yet there were no watermarks beneath the bridges or pavilion.

Nothing suggested water had ever existed there.

It was as if every bridge, walkway, and pavilion had been built directly over open grassland from the beginning.

Seeing that, Xia Nan became even more certain of his earlier conclusion.

These buildings absolutely did not belong to this world.

“Huh?”

Larry’s puzzled voice came from nearby.

Xia Nan turned.

Larry was standing in front of an artificial rock formation, his chubby face full of confusion.

Xia Nan followed his gaze.

His own expression immediately became strange.

[Did it clip through?]

At the upper left side of the rock formation, pale jagged stones had somehow fused directly into the branches of a nearby oak tree.

Rough gray rock passed through green branches and leaves.

The two completely different objects overlapped, intertwined, and yet somehow fit together so naturally that they looked as though they had always been that way.

It reminded Xia Nan of the cheap games from his previous life, where two poorly placed models would clip into each other because of some visual bug.

Except this was reality.

And somehow, that made it look even more natural.

As though something from another world had simply been shoved sideways into this space without the slightest concern for whatever already occupied it.

Meanwhile, Hai’an and Wood were paying no attention to the bizarre overlap.

They were focused on making one final determination about the purpose of their mission.

“Young Master…”

Wood finally pulled his eyes away from the decorative details he had already compared countless times.

He slowly shook his head at Hai’an.

“I’ve confirmed it. This isn’t the style of Madam’s tribe.”

Elven clans differed greatly depending on their environment, subspecies, customs, and way of life.

But there was one trait that remained almost universal among them.

Harmony with nature.

Whether they used living vines and thorns or glowing algae, fungi, and mushrooms, Elven buildings were typically integrated closely with the natural environment around them.

The houses before them certainly showed extraordinary craftsmanship with wood, brick, and tile.

But in style and philosophy, they were fundamentally different from Elven architecture.

Disappointment briefly appeared on Hai’an’s face.

That was all.

He had already prepared himself for this possibility.

Now that Wood had confirmed it, the Half-Elf seemed to finally put down a burden he had been carrying for some time.

He exhaled softly.

Then he called Xia Nan, Larry, Doris, and the others over.

“The mission is over.”

“I have the answer I needed.”

“We’ve been in this forest for quite a few days. If no one has any objections, we can start heading back now.”

Larry and Doris had both grown up in town.

They had not exactly been spoiled, but neither of them had ever endured much hardship.

After spending this many days in the Misty Forest, seeing adventurers and encountering magical beasts, the two of them had already gotten more than enough excitement out of the trip.

Naturally, neither had any reason to object to turning back.

Xia Nan was the only one who did not answer immediately.

Hesitation crossed his face.

The reward Hai’an had offered was only part of the reason Xia Nan had joined this party.

More importantly, he had wanted to discover where the Half-Elf’s wooden plaque had come from.

Now, after traveling this far and seeing more and more familiar buildings, the truth felt close enough to touch.

And they were turning back now?

Hai’an noticed Xia Nan’s hesitation.

Apparently assuming that Xia Nan was worried about his pay, he quickly added, “Don’t worry. The result isn’t what I expected before we set out, but you’ll still get every one of those one hundred gold coins.”

Larry immediately thumped his chest.

“I’ll pay him!”

“If you hadn’t been there yesterday, those Rust Monsters probably would’ve killed me.”

“What’s one hundred gold? I’d pay five hundred!”

Xia Nan could hardly explain the real reason.

After all, it involved the greatest secret he possessed: the fact that he had transmigrated into this world.

His gaze drifted beyond the courtyard, toward the deeper forest.

[We’re still technically in the outer region of the Misty Forest, but we’re already near its boundary.]

[If we keep going deeper, even having a class holder in the party probably won’t guarantee our safety.]

[And judging by the way these buildings have been appearing, I’ll have to go much farther into the Misty Forest if I really want to trace that wooden plaque to its source.]

[With my current strength, that’s too dangerous.]

His thoughts settled.

[Maybe I’ll come back later.]

The decision took only a moment.

Faced with everyone’s enthusiasm, Xia Nan stopped hesitating and nodded to Hai’an, Larry, and the others.

He agreed to return.

In his previous life, tourists visiting scenic areas often bought souvenirs even if they were not particularly interested in the attractions.

If nothing else, they would at least take a few photographs to prove they had been there.

For Larry and Doris, this might be their one and only trip into the Misty Forest.

Naturally, neither wanted to return empty-handed.

Once the decision to leave was settled, both of them began searching the area for something small enough to bring back as a souvenir.

“Hey! This stone statue is pretty good. It’s more detailed than anything the artisans in the city could make!”

Larry’s face lit up as he dug a stone carving of a venomous snake out of some obscure corner.

It was about as thick as a man’s arm.

Every scale had been carved with startling precision. Its body was coiled tightly, its venomous fangs slightly exposed, as though it might strike at any second.

It looked almost alive.

Xia Nan frowned.

This statue did not resemble the Eastern artistic style he remembered.

“Hey! Everyone, come over here!”

Larry’s voice rang out again.

“There’s a Rust Monster statue too! It looks exactly like the ones we fought yesterday!”

Wood’s expression changed.

It was only for an instant.

Then his face darkened.

His figure blurred.

By the time anyone could react, he had already moved in front of Hai’an.

“On guard!”