Chapter 256: Lunar Sky Prison (1)
After Greenwood spoke, Cai’Er floated in, and called out, “Dad!”. Afterwards, a small, skinny elderly woman with a walking stick walked in with Ying Xue’s help.
This elderly woman looked about 90 years old, and even though the atmosphere in the Fairy Realm could make one look younger, she still looked incredibly ancient. Her face looked like a leaf from a tree that had existed for thousands of years, but she walked very steadily, and her eyes radiated power that made it difficult to look at her directly in the eyes... when Ling Chen looked at her, even he instinctively wanted to look away.
Her gaze was incredibly sharp, like that of an eagle’s... it was surprising that such an old person could have such terrifying eyes. Seeing the aura around this woman, Ling Chen guessed that she was Fairy Chief Greenwood’s mother. This elderly woman looked ancient, whereas Greenwood still looked middle-aged. It seemed that Fairies tended to give birth quite late.
“Mother!” Greenwood quickly ran over to support her. Behind the elderly woman, there were ten other Fairies- seven males and three females- the youngest of whom looked about the same age as Greenwood. The auras from each of these ten Fairies were incredibly powerful, causing Ling Chen’s heart to slightly tremble. These ten Fairies were probably the ten Elders that Ying Xue mentioned. To become Elders of the Fairy Clan, they must all have monstrous power.
What sort of ceremony was it that Greenwood had mentioned?
“Please sit, Elders.” After helping the elderly woman to sit down in the central seat, Greenwood looked at the ten Elders and sat down next to the elderly woman.
The ten Elders sat in two rows, one on each side of the room. Only Ling Chen and Ying Xue were standing... as well as Cai’Er who was floating around, looking very interested. Everyone suddenly became silent, and stared at Ling Chen, causing Ling Chen to feel quite awkward. This was especially so for the elderly woman staring at him- her piercing gaze made him feel as if his entire body was being stabbed over and over again.
“Mother, this is the human from the outside world. Through a turn of fate, he received Ying Xue’s First Wings.” Greenwood gestured to Ling Chen as he spoke to the elderly woman beside him.
The elderly woman continued to gaze at Ling Chen, and nodded her head. She slightly smiled, “Very good. The humans are just like the legends say- very similar to us with the exception of not having wings. This human has good eyes and a mysterious air around him, and doesn’t seem to be evil or immoral. I suppose he wouldn’t be too bad for Ying Xue. As such, I am satisfied. Young human, what is your name?”
Ling Chen politely replied, “My name is Ling Tian. How should I address senior?”
“Haha,” The elderly woman warmly smiled, “You can call me Granny Witherwood, but in future, you can call me grandmother or granny like Ying Xue.”
Greenwood and the ten Elders all began to heartily smile. The Elder sitting at the far right smiled, “Ying Xue is a treasure that the heavens has gifted to our Fairy Clan. Long ago, we said that Ying Xue’s marriage should be decided by the heavens, and this human who descended from the heavens, by chance, obtained Ying Xue’s First Wings! Is this not a marriage ordained by the heavens? Hahaha, wonderful!”
“It’s not just that this little brother is the first human who has ever come to our Fairy Realm- perhaps he is a variable; a variable that the heavens have sent to change our Fairy Clan’s fate. What do you all say?” Another Elder smilingly said.
All the other Elders nodded in agreement. If what these Elders had said had come out of a human’s mouth, everyone would have taken it to be a joke. However, seeing that these Elders were acting so seriously and sincerely, it was unlikely that these pure and righteous Fairies were lying or being sarcastic.
It seemed that Fairies were more different mentally than physically to humans.
“Alright, enough with the small talk. Child, Greenwood has already told me the situation with you and my Clan. Since you have come here, there is no way for you to leave. Perhaps this is something that the heavens decided. In future, you can stay here and let this become your new home. Moreover, Ying Xue’s not that young anymore, and this old granny has been waiting for her to have a family for a long time. I hope that you two can get married within ten days. What are your thoughts?” Granny Witherwood said warmly as she looked at Ling Chen.
Hearing this, almost stumbled backwards. This Granny Witherwood had an incredibly high status in the Fairy Clan, and all of the ten Elders, as well as the Fairy Chief were present in this little room. It seemed that in order to pressure him, the Fairy Clan had gathered together all of their important and powerful figures.
However, Ling Chen would not change his mind.
Against the pressure from these twelve Fairies, Ling Chen deeply breathed in, and calmly said, “Granny Witherwood, Fairy Chief Greenwood, as well as the ten Elders, I am unable to accept the marriage between Ying Xue and myself.”
As soon as Ling Chen had said this, the entire room fell silent. The peaceful and warm atmosphere within the room became icy cold.
The smiles on Greenwood and the ten Elders’ faces froze, whereas Ying Xue’s lips slightly trembled. Cai’Er’s look of excitement turned into one of agitation, with one hand covering her mouth and the other one furiously making gestures to Ling Chen.
This change in atmosphere was completely within Ling Chen’s expectations. He continued to speak, “In our human world, marriage isn’t decided by an object. Rather, two people take time to develop their feelings for each other, and when their feelings reach a certain level, they decide to get married and spend the rest of their lives together. I have known Ying Xue for less than a day, and we have no feelings for each other. Although the Fairy Clan’s rules stipulate that because I have Ying Xue’s First Wings, she must marry me, but after all, I am a human and cannot accept this. Moreover, as a human, the maximum I can live is 100 years. If I really did marry Ying Xue, then after a few decades, I would grow old and die, whereas Ying Xue would still look young and beautiful. Wouldn’t this be the same as her spending the rest of her life alone? Fairy Chief Greenwood, Granny Witherwood, I’m sure that you wouldn’t want this to happen to Ying Xue.”
After Ling Chen finished talking, he looked at Granny Witherwood in the eyes. After all, Granny Witherwood had the most decision-making power in this little wooden room.
Fairy Chief Greenwood sighed and said, “Mother, please don’t become angry. He is, after all, an outsider, so he doesn’t completely understand our traditions. It’s understandable that he would say such things.”
Granny Witherwood nodded, and her voice continued to be warm, “Child, although I have never been to the outside world, but I believe that in the outside world, it’s impossible to find a girl as pretty as Ying Xue. Our ancestors said that it is within a human’s nature to be lustful and immoral, and there are countless humans who are willing to do unimaginable things for beauties. However, what you have said has proven that you are not one of those people. Moreover, your rejection has shown that to be able to reject our offer, you are not weakling or a coward, but are rather rational and logical. Haha, this old granny truly glad that Ying Xue can be with someone like you. However, child, there’s something that you’re wrong about- in our Fairy Clan, we do value Fairies having feelings for each other. Only after a female Fairy falls in love with a male will she give her most important possession, her First Wings, to that male. And only if the male also loves her will he accept her First Wings. However, Ying Xue did not you give you her wings, but you somehow received them- in my clan, this is something we call a match made by heaven. It is the most admirable type of union, as we believe that this sort of marriage is granted by Nature itself.”
Greenwood followed on, “Us Fairies are all birthed by Nature, and believe that our fate is determined by Nature itself, including marriage. Your marriage with Ying Xue is something that was arranged by Nature, so we will do our best to fulfil it. If you two are not united in marriage, that would be tantamount to disrespect and rebellion to Nature, and our clan will receive punishments from Nature. Although you are a human, now that you are within our clan, you also need to follow our clan’s rules and traditions.”
Ling Chen: #$%............. (What sort of stupid logic is this?!)
“As for your second point, there’s no need worrying about that,” Granny Witherwood said as she stretched out her withered hand, and a small wooden bottle about as big as her thumb appeared, “Come, child, drink this bottle of Fairy Water. Afterwards, your body, soul and energy will all become purified, and you will have the blood, energy and lifespan of a Fairy. If you also become a Fairy, then you won’t have to worry about dying early and leaving Ying Xue by herself.”
Body, soul and energy being purified and having a Fairy’s blood... becoming a true Fairy!
Ling Chen’s heart jumped, and he rapidly shook his head, “I’m a human, so how could I become a Fairy! Moreover, I can’t stay here forever- my friends are all in the human world, so I will definitely find a way back!”
“Indeed, you are a human, and although your body is here, your heart is not. This is even more of a reason for you to drink this Fairy Water. Furthermore, you have come into our Fairy Realm twice, so you evidently know the method for activating the transportation channels in the Bewildering Formation. If you left, and told other people, perhaps a true disaster would befall our Fairy Clan. As such, no matter what, you must drink this Fairy Water. Not only will this Fairy Water let you become a true Fairy, but it will also cleanse your memories, and make you forget about everything unrelated to Fairies. That way, you will be able to stay here without worrying about leaving. This will benefit you greatly, so quickly drink it down.” Although Granny Witherwood spoke slowly, each of her words boomed against Ling Chen’s ears, attacking his ears and heart.
Ling Chen: “!!!!!!” (Cleansing memories??)
Within his mind, he suddenly remembered the mental attack he had suffered from the Lunar Scourge. That sort of sensation was incredibly realistic, and should not have existed in normal games. He believed that if his spirit was not incredibly strong, his mind would have collapsed, and become the Lunar Scourge’s puppet. From that moment, he had sensed that there was something strange and different about Mystic Moon. It was as if things within Mystic Moon could affect one’s mind and spirit in the real world.
In that case, if he really drank this Fairy Water, maybe his memories really would be erased.
With the precedent from the Lunar Scourge, Ling Chen definitely did not want to risk losing his memories. Suddenly, Ling Yue’s voice sounded out in his mind, “Little master! Don’t drink the Fairy Water under any circumstances! From memory, the Fairy Water is used to purify creatures, and can purify their body, energy and memories. The highest quality of Fairy Water can directly turn humans into Fairies, so don’t drink it, otherwise you’ll really lose all of your memories!”
Ling Chen quickly stepped back, and resolutely replied, “No! I am a human, and I refuse to become a Fairy! As for the Bewildering Formation, I swear that I won’t tell anyone!”
All of the Fairies fell silent, and Granny Witherwood sighed, “Usually, our Fairy Clan is unwilling to use force, but we’re even more unwilling to displease Nature. Even if you don’t want to, we’ll have to help you drink it down.”
“Little master, quickly leave!!” Qi Yue yelled out.