Qing Mu

Translator/Editor: Mr Voltaire

The Fairy Forest was very vast, and it would be almost impossible for Ling Chen to find the Fairy Forest again by himself. However, with Xiao Hui leading the way, Ling Chen followed a route that was even shorter than the one they took the previous time, and arrived at the Fairy Realm (or, more accurately, the Bewildering Formation) very quickly. Ling Chen stopped, and said to Cai'Er, "Cai'Er, in front of us is your Fairy Clan's Bewildering Formation. I'm sure you know how to get past it, right?"

Cai'Er looked ahead, "I know about the Bewildering Formation. Granny said that people who are trying to enter our Fairy Realm will always be transported to a different place if they don't know exactly how to get past the Bewildering Formation. However… even I don't know how to get past it."

Cai'Er had never left the Fairy Realm before, so it wasn't strange that she did not know how to get past the Bewildering Formation. Originally, Ling Chen had believed that the Bewildering Formation didn't affect Fairies.

"Alright, I'll have to take you in then. Come, follow me. Remember to always hold on to me, and don't let go."

After being taken out from the Fairy Realm, Cai'Er had pretty much forgotten all of the strict rules that Fairies were required to observe. Cai'Er, who had been adamantly opposed to coming into contact with Ling Chen, now tightly held on to Ling Chen's clothes.

Xiao Hui led the way, repeating the motions that they had done the first time they had entered the Fairy Realm. Not too long after, they pa.s.sed through the Bewildering Formation. The system announcement telling them that they had entered the Fairy Realm sounded out, and they appeared in the sea of flowers and gra.s.ses.

"Alright, you can go home now." Seeing the beautiful scene, Ling Chen couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Cai'Er was amazed and in awe of the human world, and Ling Chen was even more amazed and in awe of the Fairy Realm. He patted Cai'Er's small head, "You should go home now- I'm sure that your family's very worried about you. I should also quickly leave, otherwise I'll be in trouble if your dad or big sister find me here again."

Cai'Er did not resist being patted by him. She looked up, and her eyes began to become misty, "Big bro… even though you forcefully took me out, but today… today I had so much fun. It was the most fun I've ever had in my entire life. Thank you so much big bro. Because of you, I found out that humans and the human world aren't that scary, and I… I'll definitely miss you and all the big sisters."

As she spoke, Cai'Er began to sniffle. It seemed that she was really quite reluctant to part with him.

"Haha," Ling Chen laughed, "Don't cry, otherwise if your family saw, they'd think I bullied you." He paused, and softly said, "Cai'Er, I'm going now. Maybe in future I'll come to play with you again."

"Really?" Cai'Er's teary eyes shone with excitement. She stretched out her pinky, "Promise?"

Ling Chen was slightly shocked, and also stretched out his pinky, making a pinky promise with Cai'Er, "En, I promise. Maybe next time I come I'll also bring those big sisters."

"En!" Cai'Er happily nodded, "You definitely have to come- I'll be here waiting for you all!"

"Alright I'm going now." Ling Chen took out a Cloud River Town teleport scroll, and gently shattered it.

"Ding… you cannot use teleport scrolls in sealed maps."

Ling Chen: "……"

"Big brother, what's wrong?" Seeing that he was still standing there motionless, Cai'Er quietly asked what going on.

"The teleport scroll I bought isn't working here, so I can only exit through the Bewildering Formation. Goodbye Cai'Er. Remember to say hi to your family and friends for me." Ling Chen waved, and walked back the way he came. After walking through the sea of flowers and gra.s.ses, he would once again reach the forest, and pa.s.s through the Bewildering Formation.

"Ah! Be careful, big bro!"

"Awoo!!"

After he took a few steps forwards, Cai'Er called out to him, and Xiao Hui also stopped and let out a bark of warning. Ling Chen slowed down, but his body still crashed into something solid. He stumbled back, and rubbed his head, his eyes wide as he looked ahead of him.

Although he had clearly b.u.mped into something, there was definitely nothing there! He shook his head, and carefully walked forwards, his hand stretched out in front of him. Soon, his hand felt something incredibly solid.

This was… an invisible barrier!?

He walked around, but no matter where he tried, the invisible barrier seemed to encompa.s.s the entire Fairy Realm.

"What's going on? What is this?" Ling Chen turned to ask Cai'Er.

Cai'Er looked at him for a while, her expression downcast, "I… I actually forgot, around the Fairy Realm, there is a barrier that only lets you enter, but does not let you exit… within this barrier, unless it's through Nature's Ring, there's no other way of getting out…"

Ling Chen: "……"

Nature's Ring- wasn't that the skill that Ying Xue used to teleport him 500 kilometres away?

With no way to walk out, and the teleport scroll unusable inside this sealed map, Ling Chen could only helplessly say, "Looks like we'll have to call your sister to get her to use Nature's Ring to send me out."

Before, she had forcefully sent him out upon seeing him. Surely she'd be willing to do it again at his request.

"But… but…" Cai'Er looked as if she wanted to cry, "Only big sis can use Nature's Ring, and… it can only be used once every 100 years…"

Ling Chen: "……"

Ling Chen and Cai'Er stared at each other in silence, before Ling Chen spluttered, "W-what!?"

Once… every 100 years!!

It was just used this afternoon, so the next time will be after another 100 years!?

G.o.dd.a.m.nit [email protected]#$%…..

Is this some kind of joke?!

Seeing Ling Chen's face tighten, Cai'Er knew that she had made a ma.s.sive mistake. She hurriedly said, "Big bro, don't worry. I'll find granny and dad and see if they can do something about it. Granny and dad are really powerful, so I'm sure they'll know what to do."

Ling Chen was starting to feel desperate. He took out different teleport scrolls and tried them all one by one. Of course, not a single one of them worked. It seemed that this barrier prevented one from exiting through any means. Ling Chen could only give in, "Alright, let's go find your granny and dad."

The Fairy houses were completely different to human houses. The Fairy houses were all fairly small, and made entirely of wood. Some were made simply by turning parts of trees into houses, making the house part of the tree. Although the houses were all built in different places on different trees, they didn't give an impression of being disorganised or disorderly. Rather, looking at the houses was like looking at a piece of art. Moreover, the air and atmosphere here was clean and fresh, without a single bit of pollution.

"Granny, dad, big sis… I'm back!!"

In the residential area, Cai'Er loudly called out. Because of how peaceful it was, Cai'Er's voice travelled very far. Beside her, Ling Chen silently considered the different possibilities of what might happen. Immediately, a white glow appeared in front of them. Ying Xue appeared, and seeing Cai'Er, her face burst into a smile, "Cai'Er…" However, she saw Ling Chen next to her, and her expression changed.

At this moment, a green glow also appeared, and a vigorous-looking middle-aged man appeared next to Ying Xue. He looked at Cai'Er, and became very emotional, "Cai'Er, you… you're finally back! This is great! We were so worried the entire day, thinking about how to bring- eh?"

The middle-aged man stopped talking halfway through his sentence and looked at Ling Chen, weighing him up. He calmly said, "You're the human that took Cai'Er away?"

"Dad!" Cai'Er hurriedly flew in front of Ling Chen, "Big bro isn't a bad person. Even though he took me out, but… but he was very nice to me. He took me to play at a really fun place, and we ate so much yummy food, then brought me back. Dad, please don't be angry at him. Big bro's really not a bad person."

Seeing Cai'Er's actions, the middle-aged man warmly laughed, "Haha, Cai'Er, when did I say that I was angry at him. It was obvious that he brought you back- just from this, dad wouldn't be angry at him. Haha, h.e.l.lo, otherworlder guest, welcome to the Fairy Realm. I heard about the impolite way my daughter Ying Xue treated you before; I hope you don't take offence. Thank you for taking care of Cai'Er and bringing her back. My name is Greenwood, and I am the current Chief of the Fairy Clan. You can call me Greenwood."

Although the middle-aged man looked at him very warmly, Ling Chen felt as if the Fairy Chief could see through every single bit of him. Just this proved that this middle-aged man was terrifyingly powerful. At least, he was much more terrifying than the Heaven's End grade Ying Xue. Hearing that he was the Fairy Chief, Ling Chen slightly relaxed. Although he was still a bit shocked about how warm and cordial this person was, he politely responded, "Fairy Chief, you are too polite. I was in the wrong in entering the Fairy Realm and taking away Cai'Er. The Fairy Chief's kindness and congeniality makes me feel ashamed of my actions."

"Hahaha," Greenwood nodded in a satisfied manner, "Cai'Er is not only safe, but is so happy. It seems that our worries from before were unnecessary. Distinguished guest, you don't need to blame yourself. You can treat this place like your own home."

Immediately, a hundred question marks appeared in Ling Chen's head. Weren't all Fairies afraid of and hostile towards humans? The first time he had come, Cai'Er had been scared out of her mind, and had taken out her weapon to attack him to chase him away. Ying Xue wordlessly decided to send him far, far away.

And yet, the Chief of the Fairy Clan was so incredibly welcoming and warm towards him.