Within the Elven Kingdom, nestled among myriad "immortal dwellings" formed by colossal treants, Xu Mu and Qiong Qi were arranged to rest.
Here, everything was transmuted from the most primal immortal herbs and wood. Qiong Qi, like a playful kitten, leaped back and forth across the ground carpeted with enormous leaves.
These leaves possessed remarkable elasticity, launching Qiong Qi high with every bounce. He would then collide with the leaves forming the ceiling, only to be propelled down again, creating a blur of motion that was the only trace of his presence in the room.
"Brother… help… me… I can't… stop…"
Xu Mu sat on a soft bed materialized from unknown verdant flora, his eyes closed in repose. Hearing Qiong Qi's plea, he reluctantly sat up. After observing the bouncing pattern for a few seconds with narrowed eyes, he made his move.
*Swish!*
"Gotcha." Xu Mu clasped its forelimbs, catching it in his hands.
Qiong Qi, at this moment, had vacant eyes, a dizzy expression, and was spitting pebbles with a decidedly pale, upturned gaze.
"Stop faking," Xu Mu scoffed, tossing it casually onto the ground. The creature immediately sprang up in fright, then meekly curled up in a corner.
Xu Mu said nothing, only re-settling himself onto the springy bed with a slight frown.
"Brother, don't ever try it like I did. You really can't stop," Qiong Qi said, still shaken. Those leaves were too bouncy!
"I wouldn't dream of it. I'm not an idiot," Xu Mu stated calmly.
"Good, then," Qiong Qi nodded, then suddenly tilted his head back, feigning fierceness as he asked, "What did you just say?"
Xu Mu turned his wrist, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I said, the wind spirits who accompanied us on the journey, their gazes towards us were quite strange. Didn't you notice?"
"One person and one beast, no, a divine beast, appearing suddenly in the elven territory, brought by their king. Of course, they'd look at us strangely. They're definitely guessing our identities," Qiong Qi said nonchalantly.
"I'm not talking about others, but the elves who traveled with us, including their king, Sylph. His gaze towards us, since we entered this place, has also felt a bit off."
Xu Mu pondered with a furrowed brow. He had studied psychology under Charles for a while and understood the meanings behind micro-expressions and subtle body language.
The meanings he gleaned from Sylph and the other elves left him utterly perplexed. Why were they looking at him as if he were a monster? Was it simply because he and Qiong Qi had taken a simple bath in immortal dew in public?
Unable to find any peculiarity, Xu Mu shook his head in resignation.
Little did he know, that immortal dew was an extremely precious substance, and he and Qiong Qi had used it for bathing. It was already a considerable courtesy that the elves had restrained themselves from shouting insults…
"Never mind, the main matter is important." Xu Mu shook his head and then took out the book provided for learning Elvish from the room, studying it intently.
"Elves, most of them speak human languages. Why are you learning this?" Qiong Qi asked, somewhat confused.
"That Nona, remember her? From the Dark Elf tribe," Xu Mu asked, annotating the book with the pen he carried.
"I remember. What about it?" Qiong Qi asked, bewildered, then his eyes widened abruptly. "Brother, you're not… you're not smitten with her, are you? And you're learning Elvish specifically to woo her!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Xu Mu glared at Qiong Qi, then pointed to his head. "When she made eye contact with me, she left a piece of text in my sea of consciousness that I couldn't understand. And that text was in Elvish."
As he spoke, Xu Mu's hands continued to work, flipping through the Elvish book. After marking it, he translated Nona's words into a short passage.
Xu Mu's expression clearly faltered upon seeing the content. Qiong Qi, noticing this, immediately hopped onto the bed in curiosity and read it aloud with confusion: "Be careful of Sylph. What does that mean? Trying to sow discord?"
"I don't know." Xu Mu shook his head slightly. He suddenly recalled that the moment he made eye contact with Nona, although she had invaded his sea of consciousness, she hadn't attempted to cause any harm. It seemed her objective was merely to leave this message, warning him to be wary of the Wind Elf King. But why?
"In any case, let's remain vigilant." Xu Mu shook his head. Until the truth emerged, he trusted no one but himself.
*Poof!*
A spark ignited, instantly turning the Elvish book to ash. Xu Mu, startled, said, "You… you…"
"Destroying evidence. Brother, did I do well?" Qiong Qi asked with a smile, retracting his claws.
"Yes, you did well, but… we might be in trouble." Xu Mu stared helplessly at the entrance of the tree dwelling. The moment Qiong Qi ignited the fire, he could feel the dwelling, formed from a tree spirit, tremble noticeably.
Outside, hurried footsteps could already be heard.
*Thump-thump-thump!*
With three dull knocks, an elven voice called from the door: "Guests inside, please open the door. We are conducting a routine inspection."
Xu Mu glared at Qiong Qi in exasperation, then extended a finger and touched the door's restriction array. It opened with a click.
Standing outside were a line of handsome but stern-faced elves, led by one adorned with a bow and arrow. He entered the room, asking in a deep voice, "Were you just starting a fire in here?"
"Uh… a little bit," Xu Mu said sheepishly, licking his lips.
The elf looked at the pile of ashes before him and glared at Xu Mu. "Esteemed human guest, even a little bit is not allowed."
"Didn't you notice the plants everywhere around here? And this room you're staying in is made of immortal wood. What if you burned it and injured it? Who would be responsible for the losses?"
"I apologize. We won't start fires here in the future," Xu Mu stated.
"Responsible? I'll be responsible," Qiong Qi said, speaking human words. It was somewhat displeased with the elf's attitude, but since they were at fault, it couldn't truly lash out. It could only say in a deep voice, "How much is it? I'll compensate you… for the emotional damages."
"Easy for you to say. If you haven't caused major trouble, you can certainly take responsibility. But if you had actually set this tree dwelling ablaze, and the immortal tree panicked and reverted to its true form, causing tens of thousands of tree dwellings to disappear… all the guests residing here are dignitaries of the elven race. Do you know what impact that would have on our Immortal Tree Dwelling if they were ejected?"
The elven guard roared angrily. Qiong Qi bared its teeth impatiently, about to erupt, but was ultimately stopped by Xu Mu, who frowned.
"I am truly sorry. I promise you, we absolutely will not start fires from now on," Xu Mu said calmly, looking at the elf.
He was actually a bit confused. This elf seemed to harbor an inexplicable dissatisfaction towards him. This anger seemed to stem from more than just the act of starting a fire.
But he had just arrived here. Whom had he offended?
"I really don't understand why the King always wants to trust you humans. A species that doesn't follow rules. *Pah!*"
The elven guard snorted coldly, turned his back, and led his men away, muttering such words.
Hearing this, Xu Mu suddenly understood. These guards were the war faction within the elves, or rather, the faction that did not favor the re-emergence of the elven kingdom. They disliked humans, which was why they treated him this way.
"Wait a moment." Xu Mu's gaze was calm. He stopped the elven guard who was about to leave the room. "You are criticizing me for starting a fire without rules. Even if your attitude is poor, I will tolerate it, as it is your duty as guards."
"But can you explain what you meant by those words later, especially the last sound, 'Pah'? What does it mean?"
The elven guard stopped, his expression darkening as he turned back. "What? My throat is uncomfortable. Do you also control it if I spit?"
"And I didn't even spit it out. Your room, or rather, my jurisdiction, is still clean. Legally and morally, you have no right to interfere!"
The elf looked at Xu Mu, feeling a pang of unease. He knew that this person had been brought here and settled by the King's confidant, and was one of the few humans to have visited this place in the past hundred years. His status was undoubtedly extremely noble, and he couldn't afford to offend him.
But even if he couldn't afford to offend him, he couldn't lose face, because his family almost universally disliked humans!
"I can't control your spitting, but the problem is, the words you spoke disturbed my ears." Xu Mu's expression was placid. He looked at the elf before him. "I don't need your compensation. I only require an apology, just as I did earlier."
"An apology?" The elven guard repeated incredulously, then laughed in anger. "You want me, an elf, to apologize to you, a human?"
"This is such a simple logical problem. If you need me to repeat it before you understand, then I can only assume you have a problem with your intelligence," Xu Mu said calmly, sitting on the bed with his legs crossed, Qiong Qi in his arms.
"You!" The elf became angry. A distinct redness appeared on his fair skin. He tightly gripped his bow and arrow, staring at Xu Mu ferociously, as if considering whether to attack.
Xu Mu, meanwhile, merely looked at him with calm eyes, showing no sign of anger.
But Qiong Qi knew that this state of Xu Mu's was when he was truly angered, as the elf had almost insulted the entire human race.
If this elf truly drew his bow, the consequence awaiting him would likely be singular.
Xu Mu's calm eyes held a hint of mockery, making the elven guard's face flicker between green and white. But in the end, he did not choose to attack.
"I apologize," the elf said in an extremely faint voice, then turned to leave.
"Louder. I can't hear you. And you must include your name. Be sincere," Xu Mu said mildly, narrowing his eyes. "Don't force me to find your supervisor, or to speak directly with Sylph."
Upon hearing the King's name, the elf's face turned even paler. Veins bulged on his arm as he gritted his teeth and uttered, "I, Murdock, should not have insulted humans. I apologize!"
"Is that enough!" he asked, his eyes trembling as he looked at Xu Mu, appearing as though he might erupt at any moment.
"Barely acceptable." Xu Mu nodded, and then Murdock quickly turned and exited the room, not wanting to stay there for another second.
"Wait." Just then, Xu Mu called out to him again.
"What now? Are you done yet!" Murdock turned back angrily, his bow and arrow instantly channeling energy, ready for him to draw and fire.
"Close the door," Xu Mu said indifferently, causing the other's movements to freeze. He could only endure his anger and close the door.
But in that instant, Xu Mu spoke again. His light voice passed through the gap in the door to the outside: "How strange. Do elves never close doors when they walk?"
"Who knows," Qiong Qi also mumbled.
*Poof!*
Murdock's face turned the color of liver. Then, unable to help himself, he spat out a mouthful of blood in anger.
His companion beside him was shocked and moved to support him, but he pushed him aside and left without looking back.
"Let's go."
"Revenge is best served cold. I refuse to believe I, in my own territory, can be bullied by a human!"
Xu Mu heard his words and merely shook his head, then clasped his hands and lay down, closing his eyes to rest.
"Another one looking to die."
The youth muttered.