Chapter 45: Setting Out

Zhai Guangyi wanted to climb onto the Storm Holy Wolf’s back himself, but it was still a bit too high. Qiqi walked over, picked Zhai Guangyi up, and together they sat on the Storm Holy Wolf’s back.

“I’ll take you with me, little Elf.”

Qiqi gently pinched Zhai Guangyi’s cheek from behind, her soft voice reaching his ears. Zhai Guangyi, who had been trying to act tough, gave up decisively and leaned comfortably against Qiqi.

“Huh? Qiqi, I want to come too.”

Xiong Er rode over on a magical wolf beside Zhai Guangyi and the others, her face full of envy.

“Get lost.”

Normally, Qiqi didn’t dislike cute girls, but she just felt that Xiong Er was a bit disgusting. Before, Xiong Er would chase after her, constantly calling her “little Cat Girl.” Qiqi thought Xiong Er’s preferences were a bit terrifying and instinctively wanted to keep her distance.

Watching Zhai Guangyi comfortably preparing to take a nap, Xiong Er felt that the world was perhaps a bit too unfair.

Everyone mounted the Storm Holy Wolves, leaving one riderless Storm Holy Wolf to carry the luggage—some dry rations, food, and a large quantity of Divine Tree fruits, just in case.

Although Zhai Guangyi could temporarily use Fruit-bearing, it wasn’t as convenient as having ready-made fruits that could be used directly. Even if they were forcibly separated, they could rely on these fruits to get by temporarily.

He handed the two prepared Magic Mirrors to Xiong Batian and Qiqi respectively, explaining their usage. These were emergency communication tools in the wild; if they encountered danger, they could contact the Lord Divine Tree for help.

Upon hearing that these were tools prepared for them by the Lord Divine Tree, they all expressed their gratitude to the Lord Divine Tree.

After completing all the preparations, everyone was ready to depart.

Zhai Guangyi and the others planned to first head to the territory of the Black Bear Clan to see if they could persuade and win them over. As for the Troll Clan, Zhai Guangyi felt that a battle was unavoidable, so they needed to be fully prepared.

It seemed that Xiong Batian had been expelled from the Black Bear Clan in the past. Xiong Er wanted to ask her about it, but she refused to say anything, remaining completely tight-lipped.

However, since she didn’t want to talk about it, Zhai Guangyi and the others didn’t press further. During this journey, if Xiong Batian was willing to speak, she would eventually do so.

In this area, with the strength of this team, they were much stronger than the Adventurers brought by Banwang City before. Even if they couldn’t win a fight, escaping shouldn’t be a problem.

This was only a small part of the Mesopotamia Forest, still close to the range of Human City-States. The closer they got to the center of the Forest, the more dangerous it became. Especially the area beyond the northern mountains, which was the core of the Forest.

The Storm Holy Wolves were fast, carrying everyone as they galloped westward. Although it wasn’t far, Zhai Guangyi and the others still hadn’t reached their destination by nightfall.

Xiong Batian had been clearing the way ahead, and they didn’t encounter any powerful Magical Beasts along the way. Those reckless Magical Beasts that suddenly leaped out were mostly flattened by Xiong Batian with a single swing of her staff.

Dinner was once again prepared by our hardworking Xiong Batian. As expected of Xiong Er’s mother, she was very skilled at cooking wild game. It was unclear where she got the goat from, but it ended up fragrant and delicious in Zhai Guangyi’s hands.

“This is the first time I’ve seen an Elf who loves eating meat so much.”

Qiqi watched as Zhai Guangyi held a leg of lamb, eating with his mouth full, completely disregarding any sense of decorum.

“Maybe other Elves haven’t tried it, but if they did, they’d definitely find it delicious too.”

Eating the fragrant roasted meat while gazing at the starry night sky was nothing short of a blissful life for Zhai Guangyi, a modern person. No longer having to face university graduation theses or endure the oppression of capital on workers, he could completely relax under this sky and enjoy the most primitive World.

“My great-grandfather was a Forest Elf—he would vomit whenever he ate meat.”

“Huh? So Elves really don’t eat meat!”

Zhai Guangyi hadn’t expected Qiqi to be a descendant of Elves; this truly surprised him, especially since Qiqi showed no Elven characteristics at all.

“Well, I really envy Elves and wish I could become one. They have long lives, powerful strength, and beautiful appearances.”

Although Zhai Guangyi was currently small in stature, his face was plump and soft, looking very pleasant to touch. His appearance leaned somewhat feminine; if not for knowing his gender, one might easily mistake him for a girl.

It could be said that the entire Elven Race was like this—their appearances were rather androgynous, often leaning more toward femininity, and they were mostly handsome men and beautiful women. Even when they reached old age, their appearances remained as they were in their youth, as if they would never age.

“I envy you all too. You can run incredibly fast, and your physical strength is immense. With my body’s durability, I’d probably be done for if you gave me a single slap.”

Zhai Guangyi chewed a mouthful of meat as he leisurely chatted with Qiqi.

“I wouldn’t dare slap you!”

Qiqi patted Zhai Guangyi’s head, stood up, and swayed her long tail while her two furry ears atop her head twitched. She vigilantly scanned the surroundings, not wanting this adorable Elf to actually get slapped to death as he had described.

“Hehe, thank you, Sister Qiqi. You don’t need to be so alert. I summoned a Fire Spirit to patrol the sky and keep watch nearby. If any Magical Beasts approach, I’ll notify everyone immediately.”

Zhai Guangyi pointed to the Fire Spirit hovering in the sky. Its flames were very faint, even paler than moonlight, and only a faint blue flame could be vaguely seen drifting through the air.

“Don’t you want to know about my great-grandfather?”

Qiqi squatted right in front of Zhai Guangyi, quietly gazing at this little gluttonous Elf.

“If you want to share it with me, I’ll listen carefully. If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t press you.”

For a modern person like Zhai Guangyi, he had heard plenty of bizarre stories—one more tale about an Elf and a Beastkin’s love story wouldn’t make a difference. Besides, after several generations, the Elf Bloodline had become very diluted; at least, Zhai Guangyi couldn’t sense any Elven aura from Qiqi.

“I want to know! I want to know!”

Xiong Er, who had been watching the two of them from the side, suddenly popped up, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Zhai Guangyi was startled, nearly dropping the lamb leg in his hand. In his flustered state, it was Qiqi’s quick reflexes that caught it, and she handed it back to him with a face full of affection.

“Thank you.”

“I don’t feel like talking anymore.”

Qiqi immediately stood up, looking somewhat displeased at Xiong Er. Xiong Er, feeling awkward under her gaze, quickly tugged at Zhai Guangyi’s arm, hinting for him to help her out of the situation.

Zhai Guangyi looked at Xiong Er’s pitiful expression and then at Qiqi’s demeanor, nodding helplessly as he said:

“Qiqi, I’m also a bit curious now. Why don’t you tell us about it?”