Chapter 164: Saying Goodbye to Erphet.

Shu Li arrived in Vanaku, slipped expertly out through the mother tree’s trunk, and raced up it like a bolt of lightning. Once hidden beneath the leaves, he immediately began purifying the mother tree and her fruits.

He had been doing this for thirteen years and had long since mastered it.

As his rank rose, both the frequency and quality of his purification increased. The mother tree’s condition improved steadily until she became capable of storing light elements, clearing the pathways through her own branches and leaves, and supplying the fruits with light elements. Sustaining them for a month or two was no longer a problem.

Over the past few days, Shu Li had been purifying the mother tree whenever he had the chance, allowing her to accumulate as many light elements as possible.

It was a considerable distance from the Faerie Forest to the Central Court. The journey not only crossed mountains and valleys but also passed through several countries. Without using magic, it would take at least two months to reach the Central Court.

Of course, they could simply ride flying magical beasts and drastically shorten the journey, but that would defeat the purpose of the expedition.

Today, Shu Li spent a little longer than usual purifying the mother tree’s offshoot before moving on to purify each fruit in turn.

Ever since the mother tree had gained the ability to accumulate light elements a year ago, the offshoot had begun producing fruit much more slowly. It had borne only ten fruits this year, twenty or thirty fewer than in previous years.

This was tremendously encouraging news.

As the purification progressed, the offshoot might eventually stop producing fruit altogether. That would effectively curb the growth of the Dark Elf population.

Meanwhile, with Shu Li working from the outside and Efit helping from within, they would continue stealing the fruits. Sooner or later, they would remove all two hundred or so fruits still growing on the offshoot.

If the mother tree’s offshoot stopped producing new fruit, however, the Dark Elven King was bound to notice.

If an investigation began, Efit would probably be the first suspect. He was the Elf responsible for counting the fruits and delivering the cubs. If anything changed with the mother tree, he would be held accountable.

Shu Li had once asked Efit what he would do when that happened. Efit had calmly replied that he had ways to deal with it. If those failed, he would face death without fear.

That answer had filled Shu Li with profound respect.

Apart from his blue-gray skin, Efit was no different from a white Elf.

Perhaps he should have been born in the Elven Kingdom rather than Vanaku.

Shu Li cast purification spells on the ten fruits he had selected, then hid beneath the leaves and waited for Efit.

The sun in Vanaku was as fierce as ever, and the midday sunlight was especially merciless. Half an hour beneath it was enough to peel a layer of skin from one’s body.

Shu Li was wearing his sunstone set and had nothing to fear from either the heat or the blazing sun. Sitting in the shade beneath the leaves, he was perfectly comfortable.

He quietly extended his perception and surveyed the entire courtyard.

As expected, Dark Elves disliked going out at noon. There was not a soul in sight. Efit was the odd one among them, deliberately choosing midday to come and count the fruits.

Perhaps it had something to do with his personality.

After years of interaction and observation, Shu Li had discovered that Efit was an unsociable Dark Elf who always kept to himself. Whenever another Dark Elf happened to pass through the mother tree’s courtyard and saw him, they would invariably throw a few bitter, mocking remarks his way.

From their envious words, it was clear that the Dark Elven King valued Efit highly and had granted him considerable authority.

For example, all Dark Elf cubs born during the past three years had been placed under Efit’s care. The Dark Elven King had assigned four assistants to follow his orders, and once the cubs reached a year old, they were trained along different paths according to their talents.

Under Efit’s care, the Dark Elf cubs’ living conditions had undergone a complete transformation. Only a handful of cubs had died during those three years.

Seeing those changes, Shu Li admired him from the bottom of his heart.

Standing up amid adversity, enduring immense pressure and countless difficulties, remaining true to his convictions, advocating reform, and then actually achieving results—such a feat was extraordinarily rare.

If Shu Li were in Efit’s position, he doubted he could do the same.

Competition among the Dark Elves was far too brutal. One careless step, and a person would become someone else’s stepping-stone.

As he pondered this, he sensed someone entering the courtyard.

It was Efit.

His entire body was concealed beneath a gray hooded cloak. Walking at an unhurried pace, he stopped beneath the mother tree’s offshoot, meticulously took out a notebook and pen, then raised his head and counted the fruits.

Shu Li never disturbed him while he was counting. He waited patiently until Efit had finished, then took an exquisite little object from his storage ring.

The object was the size of a pearl and made entirely of metal. It consisted of more than a hundred tiny, intricate components, with a small button in the center. Pressing it activated the magic array built inside.

The little device emitted a soft rustling sound. Shu Li held it beside his ear and quietly said, “Hello?”

Efit, who had just closed his notebook, paused. Raising one hand, he pinched the metal ornament fastened to his ear.

The ornament was identical to the little device Shu Li was holding. It shimmered with a faint light, and a tiny voice came from within.

Seeing Efit’s reaction below, Shu Li knew that his “wireless call” had gone through.

Yes, he had named this little device a “wind chime.”

Though it was certainly not the ordinary kind of wind chime.

Ever since he had begun studying forging and magic arrays, he frequently came up with unusual ideas, recreating the convenient objects from his former world through forging and magic arrays.

The wind chime was one of his more satisfying “inventions.”

It contained a wind-element magic stone engraved with a voice-transmission magic array. Sound traveled through the air and was delivered to another receiver.

It was essentially a wireless telephone.

Unfortunately, his technical abilities were limited, and its transmission range was only fifty meters. Beyond fifty meters, it ceased to work.

Of course, adult Fairies had little interest in his invention. Once they reached the rank of Saint Mage, telepathic magic was far more impressive than any “wireless telephone.” Not only did it work across great distances, but it could also pinpoint someone’s location. Add a layer of advanced privacy magic, and no one could intercept the communication halfway.

Compared with such powerful telepathy, Shu Li’s wind chime amounted to little more than a toy that adolescent Fairies might enjoy.

Still, even if others regarded it as a toy, Shu Li had found a practical use for it. He had given Efit one of the “wind chimes” to make it easier for them to communicate.

After all, having Efit climb the tree every time they needed to talk would make it far too easy for them to be discovered.

“Efit, Efit, can you hear me?” he whispered.

“Yes.”

Efit’s calm voice came through the wind chime.

“Well... I wanted to tell you that I’ll be leaving to travel across the continent in a few days. I might not be able to come here and purify the mother tree for a month or two,” Shu Li explained truthfully.

Efit froze upon hearing this.

The Little Fairy was leaving the Faerie Forest to travel across the continent?

He was only eighteen, still eighty-two years away from reaching adulthood at a hundred. Why was he in such a hurry to leave the protection of the adult Fairies?

“The continent is dangerous,” Efit said.

Underage Fairies were far too innocent. Even if Shu Li had reached the rank of Intermediate Grand Mage, his lack of worldly experience still made him vulnerable to deception.

How could the Elven King have agreed to the Little Fairy’s request?

“I know.” Shu Li heard a trace of concern beneath Efit’s cool voice, and warmth spread through his heart. “I won’t be going alone. Four companions will be coming with me. We’re traveling together to study at Saint Velia Academy of Magic in the Central Court.”

Efit’s tone softened. “No matter what happens, you must be careful.”

Shu Li smiled. “Thank you. I will.”

Efit might appear indifferent on the surface, but deep down, he was a gentle Dark Elf.

“It also means I won’t be able to bring you herbs while I’m away.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Efit said. “I still have plenty in reserve. Enough to last six months.”

“That’s good!” Shu Li breathed a sigh of relief. “But don’t worry. The mother tree has already purified the roots leading to the Central Court. Once I’ve settled into life at the academy, I’ll be able to keep coming here to purify the tree and gather herbs for you.”

Efit was silent for a moment before answering, “All right.”

He looked up into the branches, searching for the Little Fairy among the dense foliage, but found nothing after scanning the canopy.

The Little Fairy’s presence merged completely with the mother tree and could not be detected through perception. He habitually hid beneath the leaves, and with more than twenty meters between them, Efit could not make out his location at all.

“Oh, right! I have good news for you.”

The adolescent Fairy’s excited voice came from the wind chime disguised as an ornament on Efit’s ear.

Efit returned to his senses and asked mildly, “What good news?”

“Fruit Number Three was born!” Shu Li exclaimed in a hushed but excited voice. “He was born this morning, and he’s a beautiful, adorable white Elf cub! The King named him Islar. Doesn’t it sound lovely?”

He chattered on at length about the Elven cub. Efit listened attentively without showing the slightest impatience. In fact, he wished Shu Li would tell him even more.

Fruit Number Three... The fruit that had been nurtured here for more than forty years had been purified by the Little Fairy, transferred to the mother tree’s main trunk, and finally been born today?

How wonderful.

As a white Elf cub, he would receive the love and care of the adult Elves and grow up healthy and strong.

Listening to the Little Fairy describe the cub, Efit was filled with complicated emotions—a mixture of loss and relief.

Ten minutes later, Shu Li finished telling him everything he had wanted to say. He politely bid Efit farewell, slipped into the mother tree’s trunk, and returned to the Elven Kingdom.

When he returned to his room, he found Falm lying on his back, his round belly exposed and all four legs in the air, nestled into the soft bedding as he slept soundly.

Perhaps sensing Shu Li’s presence, Falm moved his short, chubby limbs, cracked open one eyelid to glance at him, then rolled over and went back to sleep.

The corner of Shu Li’s mouth twitched at the sight.

After washing up in the bathroom, he threw himself into bed, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

The next morning, Shu Li rose early, assumed his larger form, and changed into formal ceremonial attire. He adorned himself with exquisite jewelry, while his little flower crown transformed into a silver circlet and imperiously claimed its place on his head.

Today was the first day of the Midsummer Festival. Fairies and Elves would gather in the great hall to feast, play instruments, sing, dance, and enjoy the festivities together. ℴ

Greedy Falm had been thinking about all the delicious food and adamantly refused to enter the Seal of the Fire God. Instead, he perched on Shu Li’s shoulder like a little pet and left the room with him.

“Good morning, Sperien.”

The adolescent Fairies greeted him energetically in the corridor.

“Good morning, Lois,” Shu Li replied with a radiant smile.

Lois spotted Falm on his shoulder, and her gaze softened. She reached out and stroked the scales along his back. “Good morning, Falm.”

“Awooo—”

Disguised as a small magical beast, the fire dragon lizard let out a spoiled little cry from deep in his throat.

“You must be hungry. Here’s something to tide you over.” Lois took a kuku fruit—the Fairies’ favorite—from her storage ring and tucked it into Falm’s arms.

Delighted to be fed first thing in the morning, Falm wagged his tail, hugged the fruit tightly, and began gnawing away.

Shu Li could only marvel at his shamelessness.

“Sperien!”

Eight-year-old Misina and his friends flew over on beating wings and hovered in front of Shu Li, calling out with impressive vigor, “Good morning!”

“Good morning, Misina. Good morning, Lanlor...” Shu Li extended a finger and stroked each of their little heads in turn.

Misina blinked his blue eyes and asked, “Sperien, can I pet Falm?”

Falm stopped gnawing. The tip of his tail tapped Shu Li’s back, signaling for him to refuse.

Shu Li ignored the hint. Smiling brightly, he lifted Falm from his shoulder and pushed him toward Misina. “You can all look after him today!”

“Yay!” Misina exclaimed happily as he finally got his hands on the little magical beast. He promptly clung to Falm’s round belly and began kneading it.

“Let me pet him too! Let me pet him too!”

The other seven Little Fairies swarmed forward, each reaching out with tiny claws to “torment” Falm’s belly.

Falm tried to struggle, but the Little Fairies had completely surrounded him. One petted him, then another, and all of them were having the time of their lives.

Shu Li felt no sympathy whatsoever. Spotting quiet, studious Kumandi, he strode over and greeted him enthusiastically.

“Good morning, Kumandi.”

“Good morning.” Kumandi nodded gently to him.

Angel, Disio, and Budno emerged from their rooms one after another. Once they had exchanged greetings, the group of adolescent Fairies made their cheerful way toward the great hall.

Breakfast would be served there today.

Inside the vast hall, the adult Elves and Fairies were busy setting out food. When they saw the Little Fairies arrive, they smiled and directed them toward the area where breakfast had already been arranged.

Shu Li looked around, searching for the Elven cub.

Huh?

He had yet to spot the cub, but instead noticed a familiar visitor.

“Harmon!” he cried in delight. “What are you doing here?!”