TTGOL CH84

Chapter 84: The Elven Forest (2)

Kelt fainted and slumped onto the table.

Only after taking him down did Tang Cuo realize he had forgotten to ask Kelt for the current Elven King’s name. If it was still Aemiya, the one who enchanted the Sword of Judgment, that would provide them an extra layer of security.

It was too late to ask now. The two hurried out to scout the situation.

Dusk was falling, and the mist in the forest grew thicker. Lights gradually flickered on along the cloud bridges, illuminating their surroundings. The lights had a cool tone; perhaps due to the mist, they appeared as hazy as moonlight.

The moon finally peeked through the mist as well, though it looked incredibly unreal. It was massive, the kind of moon one might only see in a dream, possessing a cold, stark beauty.

Looking up at a light hanging near a doorway, Tang Cuo realized it wasn’t an actual lamp, but rather pure white flowers—some in full bloom, others still budding. They resembled Epiphyllum flowers, blooming everywhere along the vines. The stamen acted as the wick, and every single petal radiated a moon-like fluorescence.

“It’s the aura of magic.” With the “completely useless magical stone” in his pocket boosting his elemental affinity, Tang Cuo’s perception had sharpened. These flowers didn’t seem to be magically enchanted; rather, they naturally emitted light by gathering dense magical elements.

Jin Cheng: “This forest is extraordinary. Even the ordinary plants and trees shouldn’t be underestimated. If we get into a fight, we must be careful.”

Ten minutes later, Jin Cheng openly and brazenly knocked on the door of a neighboring treehouse, asking with a smile, “Good evening. Apologies for the sudden intrusion.”

Inside lived human guests who didn’t wear the Greenvines Alliance emblem on their chests; they appeared to be independent adventurers. Recognizing Lancelot, their attitude was relatively friendly. “Oh, it’s Lancelot. Is there something you need?”

Jin Cheng held up his pen and paper, giving them a shake. “As you know, I am a bard. It’s rare to have the opportunity to visit the Elven Forest. How could I possibly not compose a beautiful melody? Therefore, I came to hear your thoughts. Everyone has their own unique insights, which will be very helpful for my creative process.”

This reasoning was perfectly sound. Moreover, an artist who treated ordinary adventurers with sincerity usually earned respect.

Jin Cheng successfully entered. While the two adventurers gathered around him to talk, Tang Cuo circled to the back of the treehouse. Skillfully evading the elven guards’ line of sight, he pried open the bedroom window and slipped inside.

His objective was clear: search the guest room for any items left behind by previous occupants, similar to the feather brooch. The bedroom wasn’t large, and he quickly turned it upside down. The living room outside was Jin Cheng’s responsibility. Under the guise of pacing in thought, he would discreetly complete the search.

As for why they split the tasks this way, it was entirely a matter of character roles.

Tang Cuo’s labels were too obvious. His identity as a member of the Greenvines Alliance brought convenience but also trouble, because others would inevitably suspect his motives. Furthermore, if he accidentally knocked on the door of someone from the Little Windmill branch, the situation would likely turn ugly.

In contrast, the identity of a bard was incredibly useful.

However, without Chi Yan, their luck reverted back to the Stone Age. They knocked on two doors in a row, finding only independent human adventurers. They couldn’t coax out any useful information, nor did they find any items.

A poor start.

The third door finally yielded a small harvest, because the person who opened it wasn’t a human adventurer, but a heavily bearded, drunken dwarf clutching a bottle of alcohol.

The second his gaze shifted downward, Jin Cheng rapidly switched modes. Staring brightly at the bottle, he said, “What fragrant wine. I have never smelled such a wonderful aroma.”

Successfully acquiring a drinking buddy, the dwarf grew excitedly tipsy and let slip some information.

“We dwarves and the elves have been neighbors for generations. They live in the Elven Forest, and we live in the North Wind Canyon. But those noble elves look down on us dwarves. If I hadn’t made a bet with someone, I wouldn’t have even taken this quest. I absolutely do not want to be looked down upon by some noble elf lord using the eyes on the top of his head. But who would have thought—hey, they actually let me in! And gave me such delicious wine to drink! When I get back, I can brag about this for the rest of my life!”

This dwarf, Hammurabi, was the only dwarf in the group. He dragged Jin Cheng into more drunken boasting before finally passing out in an alcohol-induced stupor. Jin Cheng pondered his words carefully. Looking up, his eyes met Tang Cuo’s as he emerged from the bedroom.

“Find anything?” he asked.

“No.” Tang Cuo shook his head. “But judging by what he said, there are definitely a lot of hidden catches in this trip to the Secret Lake. If the Secret Lake is truly that important, and the issue has remained unresolved for so long, why didn’t the elves directly seek help from a major figure like Roger Reeds? Instead, they seem to be accepting anyone who comes.”

“That is indeed a problem,” Jin Cheng agreed.

The two then left the dwarf’s house and knocked on the doors of elves using the same excuse. Elves weren’t as easy to talk to as other races. They were noble and proud, behaving with elegant courtesy, but their interactions always carried a faint sense of detachment.

However, this was no challenge for Jin Cheng. If necessary, he could act more like an ancient aristocrat than anyone else on this continent—

A noble aristocrat from an isolated, mysterious kingdom cloaked in yellow sands, possessing true ancient noble bloodlines, highly gifted in the arts, aiming to become the most popular bard on the Sicilite Continent, who genuinely admired the elves and planned to compose poetry in their praise.

With elegant manners, a handsome face, and humorous yet respectful conversation, he proved with absolute skill that he was worthy of becoming a friend to the elves.

“Lancelot, I look forward to your melody. Perhaps you have heard, we elves possess an innate love for music. The God of Nature gifted us with ears distinct from the rest, surely so that we may listen to the most beautiful sounds in this world.”

The male elf who spoke had a vibrant light in his eyes, though his movements remained reserved, merely nodding slightly.

Jin Cheng replied with aristocratic etiquette, completely at ease and without a hint of forcefulness. After bidding him farewell, Jin Cheng consecutively visited several more elves, but the feedback was largely the same.

The elves’ attitude toward him was indeed quite good, but they genuinely didn’t seem to know what had happened at the Secret Lake.

After half a day of visiting with meager results, Jin Cheng sat on a rock beneath a tree to rest. Tang Cuo quickly stepped out from behind the tree and said, “After you left just now, those two elves were muttering in the bedroom, complaining that the previous guests were too rude, leaving without even saying goodbye.”

Jin Cheng stroked his chin. “It seems more than one wave of people has indeed come to the Elven Forest, but the spread of this information is restricted to a certain scope. What do you make of the two elves saying the guests left without saying goodbye?”

Tang Cuo: “Most likely dead.”

Jin Cheng: “So the elven higher-ups concealed this news? Then it’s highly probable they also concealed the true situation at the Secret Lake, keeping even the majority of elves in the dark. As for us, who took the bounty quest and came here, our true mission might actually be—”

Tang Cuo: “A suicide mission.”

As the words fell, Jin Cheng suddenly shot him a meaningful look. Tang Cuo went on high alert, his peripheral vision sweeping over a passing elven patrol and a distant watchtower.

The elven guards were exactly as Kelt had described: overly serious and guarded.

Jin Cheng actually had a mind to tie one up and interrogate him, but they had already grasped the general situation, so there was no need to go out of their way. Furthermore, they were currently on the outskirts. The elven higher-ups, or the royal family, weren’t here, which meant the truth definitely wasn’t here either.

“The princess mentioned a term—the Elven Royal Court.”

“Is it further ahead?”

The two spoke with natural expressions. When the patrol walked past, Jin Cheng even smiled and nodded at them. There was no helping it; a noble simply had to be this confident and elegant.

The patrol stopped and returned the greeting. The leading elf said, “We depart early tomorrow morning. Please return early to rest. In a short while, my kin will bring you an evening meal. May you have a good night’s sleep after partaking in our Elven Forest’s dew wine.”

In just a few short sentences, Jin Cheng’s plan to investigate the Royal Court was shattered. Delivering dew wine was essentially a bed check. With Kelt still unconscious, one of them had to stay in the room.

After weighing their options, the two temporarily returned to the treehouse. Tang Cuo stayed behind to handle the situation, while Jin Cheng went out on a solo patrol.

Sure enough, the elf delivering the dew wine arrived shortly after. Tang Cuo settled Kelt in bed and used a prop to create the illusion that Jin Cheng had also fallen asleep, successfully fooling the elf.

But even when the moon hung high in the sky, Jin Cheng still hadn’t returned.

Did he trigger another side quest? Tang Cuo wondered.

The truth was exactly as he suspected.

Relying on his formidable strength, Jin Cheng successfully bypassed all the patrols and watchtowers, smoothly approaching the Royal Court. However, upon getting closer, he realized that between the pointed palaces and the treehouses guarding the perimeter lay a deep, massive chasm.

The chasm was circular, embracing the entire Royal Court like a moat. Standing at the edge of the cliff and looking across, it appeared close, but the distance was actually two to three hundred meters. Both sides of the chasm were exposed, hard rock where no grass grew. Thick mist billowed continuously from the bottom, making the entire Royal Court look like a city floating in the clouds.

The architectural style of the Royal Court was vastly different from the surrounding treehouses. The buildings were black, ancient, magnificent, and utterly solemn.

The only paths leading to the Royal Court were four cloud ladders, all heavily guarded.

Refusing to give up, Jin Cheng walked along the edge of the cliff for a long time, attempting to find another route. Not long after, he triggered a side quest.

With a Ding!, he knew he couldn’t have misheard. But after the “Ding,” nothing else happened. Suspicious, he changed his position and walked a circle around the spot he had just triggered, only then hearing the voice again.

“Ding!”

“Congratulations to the player for triggering the side quest: Despairing McKeown. Today is the seventh day since McKeown fell. For the past seven days, he has knelt on the ground every day, sincerely praying to the gods: Will anyone come to save him?”

Currently, Jin Cheng was standing on a protruding rock at the edge of the cliff; one wrong step and he would fall. Yet, judging by the system’s tone, it wanted him to jump down.

Hugging his small lap harp, he only wanted to recite a poem:

My dearest Cuocuo, Yong Ye City wishes to make you a widow.

To make matters worse, an elven patrol was heading his way, and there was no cover at the edge of the cliff.

As time ticked by, Tang Cuo, who was guarding the treehouse, furrowed his brow ever tighter. Waiting this long without Jin Cheng returning convinced Tang Cuo that he had definitely encountered something.

Tang Cuo didn’t rush out recklessly to find him. Between him and Jin Cheng, one of them absolutely had to execute the main quest of visiting the Secret Lake; that was their primary objective.

So Tang Cuo waited and waited, all the way until dawn broke the next day.

Staying awake for one night posed little burden to Tang Cuo’s current physique. Moreover, he was just sitting in the room, which counted as resting. However, with Jin Cheng’s situation unknown, no matter how much faith he had in him, his expression wasn’t going to be pleasant.

Kelt, accustomed to Theodore’s cold, aloof expression, didn’t suspect anything. He simply rubbed his head, muttering about how he had groggily fallen asleep last night.

At this time, dawn was just breaking, the morning light dispersing the thick mist slightly. Stepping outside the treehouse and taking a deep breath, the dense natural energy in the air was incredibly invigorating.

Kelt praised from the bottom of his heart, “Truly worthy of the Elven Forest.”

Just then, two members of the elven guard arrived beneath the treehouse and nodded politely. “Good day, esteemed guests. The elders are waiting ahead. It is time to depart.”

Kelt nodded. “Alright. Give us a moment to prepare, and we’ll be right there.”

The guards then left to notify the others.

Only then did Kelt realize Jin Cheng wasn’t there. He quickly asked, “Where is Lancelot?”

Whether to tell Kelt the truth was a dilemma.

Tang Cuo had actually already considered this question, so he only paused for a brief moment before replying: “He noticed some anomalies last night and confirmed that other guests had arrived here previously; the elves hid the truth from us. We split up to investigate, but he hasn’t returned yet.”

“Then what do we do?” Kelt frowned instantly, deep worry showing in his eyes. “No, we have to find him as soon as possible. The Elven Forest is too large, and we’re not familiar with it. It’s too dangerous for Lancelot to be alone.”

Tang Cuo, however, shook his head. “No. The group is about to depart; there’s no time. Kelt, remember my words: do not reveal the truth to the elves. You only need to tell them that we just discovered Lancelot missing this morning.”

Kelt caught on slightly. “You mean, push the blame onto the elves?”

Tang Cuo: “Exactly. Absolutely do not let them know that we have discovered anything.”

—

Author’s Note:

Jumping off a cliff leads to treasure; it’s an eternal law of the universe.

Support me on Ko-fi