Chapter 47: Chapter 4: Great Elf 2
At this moment.
Su Ziyu really felt like he had stepped into a fairy-tale story.
He saw a village that resembled a paradise. He encountered a group of hospitable but long-winded Great Elves who prepared an unusually sumptuous feast for him. There were also a few comical big-nosed goblins playing strange instruments, producing crisp and pleasant sounds.
That Rebellious Pick sat on his right side, chattering away and asking all sorts of strange questions.
Most of them were about a place called the ’Chessboard Realm.’
There, it’s the kingdom of humans, with an exceptionally beautiful White Queen, a white-bearded Bishop, a majestic Knight, and valiant elite soldiers. Su Ziyu only nodded or shook his head occasionally and didn’t respond much to Pick, but he kept babbling, as if to prove to the other Great Elves that he had indeed visited that place.
Their food was very sumptuous and delicious.
Most of the food had a mushroom-like taste, and various mushrooms seemed to be their staple food. In return, Su Ziyu took out half of his compressed biscuits and two-thirds of his chocolate bars to share with these Great Elves. They liked the novelty of these foods very much, and some children even fought over the chocolate bars.
Male Great Elves had slightly older-looking faces and most liked to keep beards, while female Great Elves had softer faces but were more talkative and loved gathering together to whisper.
Their mead tasted like sweet rice wine, with a fruity scent and very low alcohol content.
However, these Great Elves were poor drinkers.
After just a few sips, their faces turned rosy, and their big noses became very red. Some got into a scuffle over a few words, ending up covered in dust, but others didn’t mind or try to stop them, instead, they watched and laughed along.
They seemed like a group of children who never grew up, but they weren’t dangerous at all.
Time passed slowly.
As the feast came to an end, the other Great Elves returned to their homes. The elder arranged a large room for Su Ziyu, but the bed was a bit small for him, so he simply made a floor bed and lay down.
"It’s best not to go out at night."
In the dim candlelight, the elder elf’s gaze was somewhat wandering, and with a slightly hoarse voice, he said: "A temperamental Witch lives in this forest. Sometimes she appears at night, and it can be very dangerous to encounter her."
A Witch?
Since this world had magical creatures like Great Elves, it was no surprise there were Witches as well.
Upon hearing this, Su Ziyu couldn’t help but slightly squint his eyes and nodded to the elf elder to show he understood. Soon, the lights outside went out one by one, and the entire village grew quiet, forming a stark contrast to the earlier lively hustle and bustle.
All around was silent.
At some point, a thin mist rose outside, and faint rustling sounds could be heard, as if rats were stirring in the night.
Su Ziyu, who was originally lying on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes.
He slowly stood up, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, and quietly removed the safety from his handgun.
After experiencing so many worlds, he certainly wouldn’t really believe he’d arrived in a fairy-tale world. The woman who claimed to be from Atlantis had told him that whether he wanted to or not, the Hourglass of Time would take him to search for indescribable terrors.
The seemingly beautiful fairytale-like reality seen during the day surely concealed unknown darkness.
Creak.
Su Ziyu’s door was gently opened, followed by faint footsteps slowly approaching the room.
As the sneaky figure just stepped into the room, a cold short blade was abruptly placed against the intruder’s neck, followed by Su Ziyu’s deep voice: "Why did you sneak into my room at night?"
In the dim light, Su Ziyu could make out that the intruder was a Great Elf.
"You are indeed more formidable than I imagined," a slightly hoarse voice spoke.
The Great Elf’s head eerily twisted 180 degrees, the cloudy yellow-brown eyes staring at him as he slowly said: "A human? Why have you come to the Dream Forest?"
"The Witches guarding this place have gone mad."
"They can’t help you."
Fear.
The Great Elf suddenly twisted his head 180 degrees, startling Su Ziyu’s heart to skip a beat. And when he got a good look at the Great Elf in front of him, a chill ran down his spine, even breaking out in a cold sweat on his back.
"Pick?" Su Ziyu asked with a puzzled tone, his gaze fixed on the unusually aged face before him.
The Great Elf had a face that looked like it belonged to someone over a hundred years old, covered with countless wrinkles, but his appearance was extremely similar to Pick he’d seen earlier in the day, looking just like another extremely old Pick.
"Kekeke." The old Pick let out a hoarse and unpleasant laugh.
Like an old man about to die of thirst, he opened his mouth, revealing a row of sharp, pointed teeth. His cracked lips licked with a long tongue as he said: "I’m not that idiot, you can call me Jack."
"Human."
"I know you have many questions. Perhaps we can sit down and talk."
This self-proclaimed Jack was wearing Pick’s daytime clothes. After Su Ziyu withdrew his blade, he sat directly on the small table nearby.
He looked at Su Ziyu with cloudy yellow-brown eyes and slowly said: "Are you here for the Witches?"
"Hmm." Su Ziyu paused for a moment and nodded lightly.
Even though he didn’t know who the Witch the other person mentioned was, it didn’t prevent him from using their words to gather more information.
"It’s useless." Jack chuckled manically, his face full of wrinkles trembling as he said: "The Witches have all gone mad. Some are dead, some have disappeared, only the youngest Witch occasionally appears."
"Believe me."
"You definitely don’t want to meet her."
Su Ziyu hesitated for a moment, as if organizing his words, before slowly saying: "What happened here?"
Unlike the comical and cute Great Elves during the day, Jack now looked like a menacing monster. His exposed arms were emaciated, with sharp black nails on his pale fingers tapping lightly on the table as he murmured in a deep voice: "This place is cursed."
"We have all been tainted by nightmares. Everything you saw during the day was just an illusion."
"Follow me. Quietly."
Jack gently stood up, gestured for silence, and signaled for Su Ziyu to quietly follow him after opening the door.
Outside, there was a faint mist.
Su Ziyu hesitated for a moment, but followed with his weapon at the ready. Jack led him outside a wooden house, pointing through the window: "See for yourself."
"This is the true reality!"
Standing outside the window, looking inside, Su Ziyu immediately felt a chill; there lay two Great Elves, their faces as aged and wrinkled as Pick’s, with many sharp teeth visible and black sharp nails on their emaciated chests heaving slightly, as if still in sleep.
They seemed to be dreaming about something, their sharp teeth occasionally making gnawing motions.
"Before the nightmare swallows everything, daytime is still very safe."
Jack’s figure gradually disappeared into the mist, speaking in a low, hoarse voice, "Human, leave here by tomorrow."
"We can’t help you."
"Because we can’t even save ourselves!..."
.........