Chương 4: Chapter 4
It was awesome beyond belief, and then that was it.
The feeling of beating his wings and soaring in the sky was beautiful, but as someone who'd never flown before and suddenly grew wings, he'd be dreaming if he thought flying was that easy.
Xiao He looked at the cute, graceful young elf in front of him, and then thought about his own ugly posture, that was something between the dog paddle and the breaststroke, and his face suddenly grew hot.
Growing wings didn't mean you could become an angel. New Orleans roast duck had fat wings too!
Xiao He waved his fat wings...bah, they were thin wings, eked out a precarious balance, and finally managed to fly like a proper elf.
It was a good thing his little elf friend didn't bother about him. He did ignore him a little, but he didn't leave him behind.
"I've already told you many times that you have to fly more and walk less. Now look at you, you're clearly a pureblooded elf, but you've actually regressed to the point where you almost don't know how to use your wings!"
There were a lot of things that Xiao He didn't understand, so he chose to not make a sound for the time being.
The young elf was a talkative one. "Xiao He, you can't go on like this. In five more days it'll be the king's banquet, and we said we were going to attend the Brilliance Ball. The way you are now, how could you be chosen!"
What was the king's banquet? What was the Brilliance Ball?
Xiao He, a proper Earthling, really didn't understand this world's setting!
What's more, he'd clearly crossed over into this mental world, so how come it seemed he'd lived here for many years?
It was too strange!
Forget it...now wasn't the time to look into this. Xiao He displayed the most eloquence he'd shown in his life, and fished everything he wanted to know out of the young elf.
The boy's name was Cowen, and he was a childhood friend of his. The two of them were tree-born elves, so they had no father or mother, and they had so many siblings in the same generation that they couldn't be counted as siblings anymore.
Don't look at how they seemed only seventeen or eighteen, they were already a whole one hundred and seventy years old. Of course, in the nation of the elves, one hundred and seventy years was the same as seventeen years for a human, so they were still inexperienced.
Cowen said that the king's banquet was a grand feast that the elves only had once every century. It was held in the royal capital, where all the citizens partied to celebrate the birthday of their only god—King Ayr.
And the Brilliance Ball was the highlight of the king's banquet, that any elf above the fourth rank could attend.
As for how the elves were divided into ranks, Xiao He didn't ask in detail. He only knew that he and Cowen were pitiful elves of the seventh rank.
According to reason, these two paupers couldn't think of attending the ball even if they were beaten to death.
But even when the path seemed to end, there was always a way.
These two little elves who wanted to go see society as if their lives depended it had their ways, and they worked hard enough that they were really able to attend.
Fourth-rank elves couldn't bring dance partners, but elves from the third rank and above could bring dance partners as they wished. What's more, the ball held no requirements for the dance partner's rank. As long as the attending elf was willing, even if they brought an elf from the bottom ninth rank, no one would stop them.
The only thing was, would a noble third-rank elf put a ninth-rank elf in their sights?
Xiao He thought that would be saying too much!
For the same reason, for pitiful little seventh-rank elves like them to approach someone important was a matter of the utmost difficulty.
But he had just said that there was no such thing as an impassable road.
So there really was a way.
Elves of the third rank and above were the crème de la crème, but even if they were the most respectable of people, there would always be a few eccentric members among them.
Out of the noble first-rank elves in the capital, there was one who had exotic tastes.
His name was Lance, and he was the Minister of War, in charge of military affairs and adjudication. He was the official the elven king trusted the most.
But this respected elf didn't take the ordinary path. Every king's banquet, his dance partners were pre-selected.
He never invited elves of the fourth rank or above. Three days before the king's banquet, on the day of his birthday, he chose two lucky little elves from the ones who'd previously registered their names, and led them to the Brilliance Ball.
Because of this preference of his, there were those among the upper layers of the elven clan who despised him, resented him or looked down on him, but due to the political power he wielded, no one provoked him.
And to the lower-rank elves, it was an enormous good deed.
Xiao He was a little puzzled. It was only a ball, did they need to be so desperate? He only showed a little bit of negligence, and the little elf Cowen exploded. "Little He! You can't slack off anymore. If we attend the Brilliance Ball, we'll be able to bathe in the sacred light, and when the time comes we'll advance easily. Then we'll be able to apply to study at the Divine Martial Academy!"
He shouted at him until Xiao He's ears hurt. He finally understood a bit. It turned out it had to do with their future prospects, that was understandable. But even if he understood, Xiao He still didn't feel much interest. This was just a mental world, everything was virtual. He wasn't in the mood to strive hard. All he had to do was find Fan Shen, and solve...ah no, cure him, and then take the money and beat it.
When he thought of this, his mind turned, and he asked straightforwardly, "Cowen, do you know anyone by the name of Fan Shen?"
"Fan Shen?" The young elf shook his head, perplexed. "I haven't heard of him, is he your friend?"
Seeing his expression, Xiao He was disappointed. It looked like Fan Shen wasn't someone famous in this world. In that case, finding him wouldn't be an easy matter.
Xiao He couldn't really figure it out. According to reason, this was Fan Shen's mental world, and he could control it however he wanted. There was no need to make himself a nobody.
But now he had learned about two important people. One was the elven king Ayr, and the other was the Minister of War, Lance. Neither were Fan Shen.
Xiao He thought it over. Could it be that Fan Shen had changed his name? Surely there was no need, why would he not use his own name in his own world?
There was one doubtful point after another. He could only take it one step at a time, and adapt to any changes.
He and Cowen managed to make it back to the city before dark in the end. When they entered the city, Xiao He was shocked once more.
The kingdom of the elves was truly beautiful beyond imagination.
Exquisite, ornate buildings in the rococo style, wide, pale green streets, tall towers sculpted with delicate gems…not to mention the elves flying in mid-air, dressed in gorgeous clothes, each one more good-looking than the other!
It really was the world of your dreams. Xiao He gave a heartfelt sigh.
He and Cowen were low-status elves of the seventh rank, so they didn't have their own residences. They just lived in treehouses in the park.
This park wasn't like the parks on Earth. It was the common residence of all tree-born elves. After they were born from the mother tree, they were settled here. After they grew up, they could go out and find a new place to live.
He said it was a treehouse, but it was very unique and beautiful.
Xiao He looked at them one by one, and was very satisfied with this small dwelling.
His most basic requirements of a residence were that it be clean, tidy and practical.
When they returned to their treehouse, they didn't rest right away. Cowen put down his backpack, took a bunch of shiny little things out of it, and started counting them seriously.
Xiao He followed suit. His backpack was packed full of the glittering things as well.
After Cowen finished counting, he smiled happily. "Forty-eight moongloss fruits, that's great. Tomorrow we can exchange them for starcoins, and then we'll have enough to make up the registration fee!"
Xiao He paused while counting the glittering fruit, and couldn't help but mock them inside: so it turned out they were putting together the registration fee! They were really desperate enough!
Cowen started planning excitedly. "Tomorrow afternoon, we can go to Starmist Castle. As long as Lance likes us, we can attend the Brilliance Ball. When the time comes…"
The little elf was imagining a beautiful future, but Xiao He couldn't help but frown. As long as Lance likes us? How come it feels a little weird? This Lance wouldn't be a lady, right? Or why would he choose boys for dance partners?
After he thought it over for a while, Xiao He's hair stood up. A female elf who could be esteemed as a Minister of War was absolutely someone he couldn't offend!
Forget it. Out of everything in life, Xiao He feared the big-sister-type the most. He was even more afraid of valiant, battle-ready, amazing big-sister types who could keep boy toys at home, so he turned tail from the bottom of his heart.
He didn't want to attend that whatever ball anyway, so he might as well go out and look for his patient tomorrow!
On the second day, Cowen woke him up early in the morning, and they went to Maple Avenue together to exchange the moongloss fruit for starcoins.
The whole way there, Xiao He gaped like a tourist. Either the buildings were too gorgeous, or the elves were too beautiful. As an Earthling, when he saw so many fine things at once, he really felt like he was about to be dazzled blind.
It was a good thing he had mentally prepared himself yesterday, so he didn't drool over the palm-size, multicolored gemstones on the side of the road today.
The process of exchanging the moongloss fruit was very simple, and after they'd gotten their starcoins, Cowen dragged him to Starmist Castle at top speed.
However, Xiao He wasn't planning to go, so he was just getting ready to find an excuse to leave when he suddenly heard a sharp inhale.
Cowen held his hand and started shaking nonstop. "L-l-little He, th-that's…"
Xiao He turned, and then his eyes abruptly widened.
F-fuck! Was that the legendary pegasus?
Xiao He, who had never seen the world, forgot to blink.
In the clear, boundless sky, there were four completely snow-white flying horses. They had vigorous figures and graceful builds, and their fur was as spotlessly white as the first snow of winter. They were pure white, dazzling white, so white they seemed to be rushing out of the world of fairytales.
And behind them was something even more dazzling. It was a carriage carved out of one huge gemstone, more than three meters wide, in the shape of a perfect semicircle. Under the sunlight, it shone a sparkling, translucent azure, like the clear and crystalline waves of the ocean in spring, or the twinkling stars on a summer night. It didn't have many carved decorations, but it was magnificent enough to make someone willing to trade in their life savings to own it for a moment.
The carriage door opened lightly on its own, and a tall figure walked slowly out.
Xiao He looked up at him, and felt that his golden hair was like the morning sun, and his serene, deep blue eyes were like a winter lake. When he looked down slightly, his face was handsome enough to outshine the heavens.
At that moment, Cowen had already half-kneeled down on the ground. His voice was full of a trembling, insuppressible excitement. "L-lord Lance!"
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