Chapter 261: Mysterious and Unpredictable.

Sometimes, the closer you get to the truth, the harder it is to believe.

People instinctively assume that the truth couldn't possibly be so easy to uncover. That was why Shu Li had dismissed his own suspicions time and again.

But now, through his sense of touch, he had stumbled upon an important clue.

An Elf's embrace and a human's could feel astonishingly similar!

The width of their chests, the curve of their arms, even the way they held someone—it was all exactly the same.

The only difference was their scent.

The Elven King's scent was faint, as pure and delicate as moonlight grass. You had to be close to notice it. It was soothing and peaceful, the kind of fragrance that made you want to lose yourself in it.

Ace, on the other hand, had a much stronger scent. He wore a distinctive incense made from blazing flame flowers, its fragrance warm, inviting, and romantic.

It was precisely because their scents were so different that Shu Li had never been able to connect the two.

"Are you all right?"

The Elven King's heavenly voice sounded beside his ear.

Shu Li struggled to clear his drowsy head.

Right. Their voices were noticeably different, too. The quality, pitch, and intonation were nothing alike.

And beyond their blond hair and green eyes, their facial features and apparent ages were completely different.

However, Ilio had once explained to him that advanced disguises could even change a person's sex, let alone their age, height, and appearance.

Still, a similar sensation when being held wasn't enough to convince Shu Li.

He needed more evidence before he could be certain of his suspicions.

Forcing himself to calm down, Shu Li steadied his feet and stepped out of the Elven King's embrace.

"I'm fine... Just sleepy."

He couldn't help yawning.

Sayah approached and said with concern, "It's already ten at night in the Central Court. Little ones really should be in bed by now. Going back and forth is such a bother. Why don't you stay here and get a proper night's sleep? I'll wake you when it's time."

"Well..." Shu Li's eyelashes fluttered as he hesitated.

Suddenly, a commotion at the entrance to the hall drew everyone's attention.

"Welcome, Your Highness Hamon."

The Elves near the doors politely greeted a tall, powerfully built, handsome man.

"Hahaha! What a lively gathering! Looks like I picked the perfect day to visit."

Dragon King Hamon strode energetically into the hall. He approached the Elven King and bowed respectfully.

"Teacher, forgive the intrusion."

The Elven King smiled. "Not at all."

After paying his respects, Hamon turned toward the Little Fairy, who was yawning repeatedly. Surprise flashed through his silver eyes.

"Sperien? You're back? Where's Amanda?"

He looked around but couldn't find his foolish younger brother anywhere.

Rubbing his tired eyes, Shu Li replied, "I'm the only one who came back. Amanda's still at the magic academy."

Hamon raised one of his sharply arched eyebrows.

He guessed that Shu Li must have some convenient shortcut for returning. After all, the Elven King possessed extraordinary powers. Surely he had magical artifacts capable of crossing vast distances.

"When are you going back to the magic academy?" he asked.

"Mm, in a little while."

After considering it, Shu Li decided to return to the academy to sleep.

"That's perfect."

Hamon took an exquisitely crafted storage pouch from his storage ring and handed it to Shu Li.

"I've caught some new sea beasts. Would you mind taking them to Amanda for me?"

"Of course."

Shu Li accepted the storage pouch, feeling rather touched.

Hamon really was a thoughtful older brother, always making sure his little brother had a fresh supply of seafood.

Amanda was in for a treat!

After putting the storage pouch away, Shu Li said goodbye to the Elven King, exchanged affectionate nuzzles with the Little Fairies, and promised the young Elf that they would see each other tomorrow.

Then, still yawning, he hurried out of the hall.

"Oh, oh! Wait for me!"

Falm, whose little belly was round and swollen from eating, noticed that Shu Li was leaving. He instantly transformed into a streak of red light and slipped into the Fire God's Mark.

Once Shu Li had gone, the Elven King glanced at Sayah.

Understanding his meaning, Sayah clapped her hands.

"All right, my little darlings! Time to head to the wheat fields and get to work!"

The Little Fairies finally remembered why they had come to the Elven Kingdom in the first place.

They had played, eaten, and listened to stories. They couldn't keep slacking off.

The eleven Little Fairies and five Fairy cubs obediently followed Sayah toward the wheat fields.

The young Elf trailed along at the very back, looking as though he wanted to join them.

But Haileni caught him by the back of his collar.

"Islar, it's time for our lessons."

"Ahhh... Oh!"

Islar puffed out his cheeks and drooped dejectedly.

Haileni stroked his hair and said gently, "Once you've learned magic, you'll be able to play with the Little Fairies."

Indeed, as far as Elves were concerned, the Little Fairies weren't going to the wheat fields to work.

They were going there to play.

The Elven Kingdom's wheat fields stretched across vast plains. Even an Elf at the level of a Mage Sovereign would need two days to harvest them.

The Little Fairies would be doing well if they managed to harvest ten mu in a single day.

Once the children and cubs had left the hall, the Elven King returned to his throne.

His expression turned solemn.

The other Elves gathered before the throne, their faces grim and their eyes filled with a fierce, murderous resolve.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly grew oppressive.

Hamon was utterly bewildered.

"What's happened?"

Daigmon looked at the confused Dragon King and spoke in a low voice.

"The prophecy of darkness truly consuming the continent... is coming to pass ahead of time."

The Dragon King was stunned.

The prophecy?

Tens of thousands of years ago, Ronos Klock, the Heavenly God who governed time and space, had foretold that darkness would sweep across the entire Austin Continent.

The Heavenly Gods would fall, light would vanish, and every living creature would become a slave to the Dark God.

The War of the Gods ten thousand years ago had merely marked the beginning of that prophecy.

The true age of darkness had yet to arrive.

Now, sensing the solemn atmosphere in the hall, Hamon's heart grew heavy.

Last time, with the Heavenly Gods' assistance, they had barely managed to seal the Dark God away.

This time, with only the various races of the continent to rely on, how could they possibly withstand him?

Shu Li emerged from a branch of the Mother Tree, flapped his wings, and flew unsteadily into his room.

He couldn't even be bothered to wash up.

Instead, he threw himself straight onto his bed.

"Mmmm~~"

He buried himself in the soft blankets.

Ahhh, bliss! So comfortable!

He yawned, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes, and closed them contentedly.

But after a moment, he forced his eyes open again.

Releasing his perception, he quietly extended it toward the bedroom opposite his own.

He knew it was wrong to spy on someone, but he wanted to check whether Ace was there.

If Ace really was the Elven King, then he definitely wouldn't have returned yet.

Hamon rarely visited, and as a matter of courtesy, the Elven King would have to entertain his guest.

Therefore, if the bedroom was empty, his suspicions would be confirmed.

Shu Li clenched his fists and nervously expanded his perception.

It passed through the living room, penetrated the wall, and entered Ace's bedroom.

The first place he checked was the bed.

Huh? Huh? HUH?

Someone was in the bed!

There was actually someone in the bed!

The blankets were mounded around a figure lying on their side, facing the window. Their breathing was steady and even, and they appeared to be fast asleep.

Shu Li immediately withdrew his perception.

He pressed his palms together apologetically, his sleepiness fading by a good twenty percent.

Ace wasn't the Elven King!

Shu Li could travel rapidly between the Elven Kingdom and the magic academy only because he used the spatial passageways within the Mother Tree's roots.

The journey took a mere thirty seconds.

Teleportation magic, however, had its limitations.

The greater the distance, the longer teleportation took. Even with the Elven King's extraordinary mastery of teleportation, he couldn't possibly be faster than the Mother Tree's spatial passageways.

Shu Li clutched his thoroughly confused head and rolled around beneath the blankets.

After rolling for quite a while, he finally collapsed facedown, panting.

Forget it.

He was giving up.

Such complicated questions were no business of a Little Fairy!

The most important thing right now was getting some sleep!

He had to wake up early tomorrow to purify the Mother Tree's branches and fruits!

The Demon Lord's appearance had given him a sense of urgency.

Previously, he had believed there was plenty of time and had been content to proceed step by step.

Now, however, everything felt desperately urgent.

He had to move the fruits as quickly as possible.

As for whether Ace was the Elven King...

There was no point agonizing over it.

The truth would remain the truth, and a lie would remain a lie.

Just as the Elven King had said, follow your heart, act according to your wishes, and let things take their natural course.

Once Shu Li had worked that out, sleepiness swept over him.

The Sandman claimed him almost instantly.

In the bedroom opposite his, the person in the bed stirred, threw back the blankets, and stretched.

A moment later, a faint light illuminated the room.

Ilio climbed out of bed and removed the golden wig from his head.

His far more advanced perception swept through the Little Fairy's bedroom several times.

A sly smile spread across his face.

The little fellow's investigative abilities still needed work!

He hadn't even bothered to verify what he'd sensed before retreating as though fleeing for his life.

So innocent. So adorable.

The King really was contradictory.

If he wasn't deliberately concealing himself, why didn't he want the Little Fairy to discover his identity just yet?

He had even gone out of his way to contact Ilio through telepathic magic and ask him for a small favor.

As his teacher's disciple, Ilio naturally couldn't refuse such a request.

He only hoped the Little Fairy wouldn't blame him when he eventually learned the truth.

Ilio straightened the bedding, sat cross-legged on the floor, and began meditating.

Half an hour later, he sensed the magical fluctuations of a teleportation array and teleported away.

Shu Li slept soundly until a little after five in the morning.

He woke groggily to the sound of the Mother Tree's branches tapping against his window.

Lying in his warm, cozy bed, he couldn't bear to get up.

He rubbed himself against the blankets, listening to the rhythmic tapping, and nearly drifted back to sleep.

Then he jolted awake.

Crawling out of bed, he yawned as he flew toward the bathroom.

After washing up, he felt considerably more alert.

He patted his freshly washed, soft, pale cheeks, fluttered his gauzy wings, and flew to the window.

Good morning, Eonomisis.

He greeted the Mother Tree in his mind.

"Good morning, Sperien."

Shu Li looked out at the sky, where only the faintest glimmer of dawn was visible, and gave himself a little pep talk.

Perseverance was the key to victory!

He absolutely had to finish purifying the Mother Tree and relocate every last fruit before the Dark God broke free of his seal, bringing an end to the Dark Elves' continued propagation.

A race that had betrayed the Elven King should never have become the Dark God's lackeys and turned around to threaten him.

Shu Li slipped into the Mother Tree's trunk and swiftly made his way to Vanaku.

Although it was only a little after eight in the morning there, the sun was already blazing.

Its rays felt scorching against his skin.

Shu Li expertly ducked beneath the leaves, gripped his high-ranking magic staff, and swiftly recited the incantation for a silent purification spell in his mind.

While he was purifying the fruits, two figures appeared at the courtyard entrance.

Shu Li immediately stopped casting.

He flattened himself against a branch, suppressed his presence, and peered down.

It was Efit and a young Dark Elf.

Efit had returned to Kuvana already!

Curious, Shu Li poked his little head out to examine the cub accompanying Efit.

It wasn't Lanno or Luka, but another child of the same age.

Shu Li knew him.

The young Dark Elf was named Yagri. He was eleven years old, calm and composed by nature, and always wore a solemn expression on his childish face.

He had the air of a little old man.

Efit occasionally brought him beneath the Mother Tree to count its fruits.

With a notebook in hand, Yagri recorded everything meticulously, never once finding the task tedious.

Recently, because Efit had been busy searching for Lanno and Luka, the responsibility of counting the fruits had fallen to Yagri.

Shu Li had observed him for a week and was thoroughly impressed by his abilities.

The boy seemed to know that certain fruits weren't supposed to be included in the records.

He hadn't made a single mistake.

And those excluded fruits were precisely the ones Shu Li was purifying.

Efit raised his head toward the uppermost branches.

Unsurprisingly, he spotted the Little Fairy waving at him.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

"Efit?"

Yagri looked up in confusion, sensing a change in the older Dark Elf's demeanor.

Had the Mother Tree grown new fruits?

Efit immediately suppressed his smile and said sternly, "You've done very well. Your records are exceptionally accurate."

Even a child as mature as Yagri couldn't help feeling delighted by praise.

"I... I'll keep working hard," he promised earnestly.

"Good."

Efit patted his head.

"Let's start counting."

"Okay!"

Yagri took out his notebook and began counting the fruits alongside Efit.

Shu Li propped his chin on one hand and held a wind chime in the other, lying along a branch beneath the cover of the leaves as he waited.

With a young Dark Elf present, he couldn't continue his work.

A little over ten minutes later, the two Dark Elves finished counting the fruits and recording their findings.

"Yagri, you can head back first," Efit told the child.

"Yes."

Yagri didn't ask any questions. He put away his notebook and obediently left the courtyard.

Efit waited until the boy had gone some distance before lightly touching the ornament on the rim of his ear.

"Be careful. A necromancer and an unidentified demonic creature are heading toward the Woba Grand Canyon."

Efit's voice emerged from the wind chime.

Shu Li was astonished.

"A demonic creature?"

There were demonic creatures involved, too?

"Yes."

Efit recalled the terrifying man he had encountered two nights earlier and frowned slightly.

Only a demonic creature could possess such an overwhelming concentration of dark power!