Chapter 157: Falm, Disguised as a Cub.

Shu Li released his innate power and enlarged his body. After an enormous amount of effort, he finally restored the damaged mountainside to its original state. Reattaching all those broken trees was a massive undertaking. Fortunately, his wood magic was well-honed, and with the wood spirit helping him, the work took half the effort for twice the result.

By the time he and the Elven King returned to Crystal Castle, they had missed lunch completely. Fortunately, the Elves on dining-hall duty had saved them some food, so Shu Li did not have to go hungry.

After lunch, he headed toward the young Elves’ courtyard, carrying a little magical beast that was hugging a piece of fruit.

Whenever an Elf they passed curiously asked where the cub had come from, Shu Li gave the same answer: he had found it on Mount Amitai.

Indeed, to conceal Falm’s origins, he had no choice but to tell a harmless lie and deceive everyone. On his way to Mount Amitai to find the king, he had encountered a magical-beast cub abandoned by its mother. Taking pity on it, he had brought it home.

Falm cooperatively put on a pitiful expression.

As a tenth-rank magical beast, it was a superb actor. Even the Elves were deceived.

“Sperien, you’re finally back!”

The moment he entered the courtyard, his three friends wrapped him in a tight embrace.

That morning, they had all gone to see the enormous new fruit growing on the Mother Tree. For some reason, the Elves had become wildly excited and snatched them up, cuddling and petting them without restraint.

The cubs were tiny and had been passed back and forth so much that they were nearly petted bald. When they finally escaped, they were astonished to discover that Sperien had disappeared.

At first, they assumed he had hidden somewhere to avoid the Elves. However, after searching everywhere, they found no trace of him. It was not until they encountered Sayah that she told them Sperien had gone to find the Elven King.

Find the Elven King?

The three Little Fairies exchanged glances.

Sperien had a history of claiming he was going to find the Elven King, only to secretly slip inside the Mother Tree’s trunk and travel to Dark Elf territory to carry out purification work.

But it was morning now, so Sperien could not possibly have gone to Vanaku.

Morning in the Elven Kingdom was nighttime in Vanaku, when the Dark Elves were at their most active.

Therefore, Sperien had probably gone to find the Elven King for real.

The three Little Fairies had gone together to see Danlov first and congratulate him on becoming a Mage Sovereign. Afterward, they returned to the young Elves’ courtyard and waited for Sperien.

They ended up waiting until the afternoon.

“Awooo...”

Nearly crushed flat by the Little Fairies’ enthusiastic embrace, Falm released a disgruntled cry.

“Huh? What’s this?” Budno looked curiously at the little red magical beast, which resembled a round ball of flesh.

Disio and Angel released Shu Li and lowered their heads to examine the creature. They pinched its pointed horns, stroked its tail, tugged its wings, and poked its round belly.

“Wow, it looks like a magical-beast cub!” Unable to resist, Disio kneaded its belly. “It’s so soft and chubby!”

Angel stroked the scales along its back and exclaimed admiringly, “Its scales are so fine and smooth, and it’s as red as a ball of fire. How beautiful.”

“It’s so little that I could hold it in one hand.” Budno looked at Shu Li with shining eyes. “Sperien, where did you find this cub?”

Shu Li looked sympathetically at the little magical beast, whose eyes were rolling back from his three friends’ “torment,” and grinned. “I found it on Mount Amitai.”

“Mount Amitai!” his three friends exclaimed in unison.

Angel leaned closer and sniffed Shu Li like a puppy. “Did you soak in the hot spring?”

Shu Li nodded frankly. “Yes.”

Disio cried, “You went without inviting us!”

Soaking in the hot spring felt wonderful. All the Little Fairies loved it.

For once, Budno sided with Disio and nodded repeatedly.

Shu Li blinked innocently. “I went to Mount Amitai because I had something to ask His Majesty. He happened to be soaking in the hot spring, so I joined him.”

His three friends nodded in realization. “Oh...”

In that case, it truly would not have been appropriate to bring them along.

Shu Li rescued Falm from his friends and patted its springy belly. “I found it abandoned by its mother in the grass. It looked so pitiful that I brought it back with me.”

Upon hearing that the round little magical beast was an abandoned cub, the three Little Fairies immediately looked at it with sympathy.

“A newly weaned cub can easily die if it isn’t cared for properly.” Angel took a Kuku fruit from his storage ring and held it to the little beast’s mouth.

Falm, who had been listless until then, immediately perked up when it smelled the fruit’s sweet fragrance. It shamelessly seized the fruit and began chomping away.

Not bad, not bad. Pretending to be a little cub even earned it delicious fruit. This was wonderful!

“Wow, it eats so quickly!” Budno exclaimed.

“Poor thing. It must have been starving.” Angel handed the little magical beast another Kuku fruit. “Does it have a name?”

Silently despising Falm for its shamelessness, Shu Li replied, “Its name is Falm. It’s a fire dragon lizard cub.”

Disio also took out a Kuku fruit and gave it to the little magical beast. Puzzled, he asked, “Don’t fire dragon lizards prefer living in deserts? Why would one come to Mount Amitai?”

Shu Li blinked and answered without the slightest change in expression, “I’m not sure either. His Majesty said it was a fire dragon lizard, so it must be one. As for why it was on Mount Amitai... perhaps high-ranking magical beasts simply enjoy wandering around.”

The Faerie Forest and the Elven Kingdom were closed to outsiders, but high-ranking magical beasts could pass through the mist and enter or leave freely.

Mr. Serpent, for example, occasionally went out to roam. Every time he returned, he sent Shu Li a pile of treasures. The three-headed water monster used a hidden passage at the bottom of the lake to swim into the waters of Danaga and collect cargo from shipwrecks.

Shu Li’s explanation quickly convinced his friends.

Lying was wrong, but explaining Falm’s origins would be far too complicated. It involved numerous matters and might eventually force him to reveal that he was the master of the soul vessels.

That burden was far too heavy.

Just as the Elven King wanted him to grow up happily, Shu Li did not want these fifteen-year-old Little Fairies to learn about the world’s darker side too soon.

Having gained the Little Fairies’ acceptance, Falm could not have been happier. Fruit piled up all around it, and it ate with tremendous delight.

Inside the room, Shu Li took the Blazing Sun Crystals from his storage ring.

“Disio, these are for you.”

A heap of “red crystals” radiating scorching heat suddenly appeared on the floor, startling his three friends into stepping back.

“Sperien, are these crystal ores?” Disio sensed the intense aura of fire within the pile of “red crystals,” and his heart leaped with excitement.

“They’re Blazing Sun Crystals.” Shu Li beamed. “I heard these crystals were formed from the Fire God’s solidified blood. They’re the finest material for crafting fire magic artifacts, and they can also raise a fire mage’s magical rank.”

“The Fire God’s blood!”

The three Little Fairies stared in speechless astonishment.

Perched on the table, Falm stopped gnawing on its fruit and looked at them in boredom.

What an ignorant bunch of Little Fairies!

Budno clicked his tongue in wonder and circled the Blazing Sun Crystals again and again. “Sperien, you’re incredible! You actually managed to obtain the Fire God’s blood!”

Angel asked doubtfully, “Did you trade with that... Dark Elf named Effit to get them?”

Sperien had not possessed any Blazing Sun Crystals before today. Then he had traveled to Vanaku through the Mother Tree’s roots last night, and now he suddenly had them.

Aside from exchanging herbs with the Dark Elves, Angel could not imagine where Sperien might have obtained so many rare crystals.

Disio clicked his tongue. “You’re giving all of them to me?”

Shu Li nodded. “Yes. They’re all yours.”

Trading herbs with Effit was actually an excellent explanation.

“There are too many! I can’t accept them—” Disio waved his hands. Sperien had risked his safety to trade with the Dark Elves for these rare crystals. How could Disio accept them with a clear conscience?

Shu Li had not expected him to refuse. “You often help me gather herbs. It’s only right that I give you half.”

Disio still hesitated.

Angel urged him, “Accept them. They’ll be extremely helpful in raising your magical rank.”

Budno patted him on the shoulder. “We’re all brothers. Whenever any of us gets something good, we should share!”

Shu Li smiled with narrowed eyes. “Budno is right! Good brothers share fortune and face hardship together!”

After hearing them say that, Disio accepted the Blazing Sun Crystals. Gratefully, he wrapped Shu Li in a hug and rubbed against him vigorously.

“Thank you!”

The rubbing made Shu Li itch, and he patted Disio on the back.

That afternoon, the Little Fairies received word that Danlov, who had advanced to Mage Sovereign, was preparing to leave the Elven Kingdom and return to the Human World.

They immediately hurried over to see him off.

Before the towering city gates, the Elven King led a host of Elves in a grand farewell for Danlov.

Danlov was profoundly flattered.

When he first arrived, the Elves had treated this human who had left the Elven Kingdom a thousand years ago with cool indifference. After spending several days together, their attitude toward him had gradually changed. Once he broke through his bottleneck and became a Mage Sovereign, he finally earned their recognition.

Danlov was deeply grateful to them, especially the four Little Fairies.

He looked at Sperien, who stood beside the Elven King, and said regretfully, “I cannot leave the affairs of the Central Court unattended, so I have no choice but to depart early. I’m sorry I won’t be able to continue teaching you.”