Volume 10 - CH 7

Chapter 7: The Holy Land

Location: Nymph  Time: 5:17 PM

So, is it time for aquatic mutant animal class now?

I really wanted to pretend I didn’t see a kappa, but that green, drowned frog-like thing that was enlarged to the size of a person was very much alive as it stood in front of me. That plate that only came up to my chest was so shiny, it made me want to break it with a punch.

“Hey~~Two friends who came from afar, may I ask where you want this gracious and cute me to guide you to? The Water Fairy Clan is a good location, with beautiful scenery and good atmosphere. Whether it’s a family vacation, barbecue or a celebration, it’s very suitable to come here. Speaking of coming here for a celebration, you absolutely cannot forget Himela’s shop in the Water Clan. It’s guaranteed to make you unable to forget it with just a bite…”

Are kappas supposed to be so talkative? In my impression, shouldn’t kappas be those extra-dimensional creatures that immediately run as soon as they see a human?

“If you two friends don’t have anywhere you need to go, then allow me to—“

With a “pa” sound, the kappa who didn’t finish speaking yet was kicked back into the seaweed by Senior.

Uh…Isn’t that our guide…?

I looked at the plate disappearing within the seaweed and actually broke into a cold sweat. This place really is the Water Fairy Clan, right…?

Could it be that the Water Fairy Clan is filled with these sort of mysterious extra-dimensional creatures?

“That was a salesperson who specializes in promoting and guiding tours of the Water Fairy Clan’s attractions.” Senior disgustedly rubbed his feet on the ground. That kind of feeling was like he’d stepped on something called a cockroach or dog poop, “He’s not the one bringing us to the holy land. He popped out so suddenly, I thought he was the guide.”

Sales, salesperson?

I was stunned. I never thought that I would actually still be able to hear such a familiar and nostalgic term in this kind of place, “But he didn’t ask us for money?” I watched as the flash of that plate gradually disappeared in the seaweed, and I knew that the kappa had already gone away.

“When he really does ask for money…hehe…”

A hair-raising feeling swept through my whole body. I instantly knew what was going to happen, please don’t say it.

Wait a minute, if a kappa is a salesperson, then what’s the guide that’s going to bring us there?

Please don’t let a thorn tail snake or zashiki-warashi come out…

[T/N: They’re spirits that play tricks on a house’s residents and bring fortune to those who see them.]

“There’s no such things here.” Senior rolled his eyes and then said this.

“There’s even a kappa, so there might be those other things too.” I directly opened my mouth without even thinking. Anyway, it’d still be heard whether or not I say it; there’s no difference at all.

“That’s different…” Senior seemed like he wanted to say something, but just when he opened his mouth, he immediately stopped and then turned his head to the other end.

A shadow suddenly appeared in front of us.

It was a most familiar person, “Ah ah, sorry I’m late. Just now I made a detour to move some water rocks and got held up.” Unexpectedly, appearing in front of us was actually Leido, whom we haven’t seen in a while, “I originally wanted to ask the guide to bring you guys over first, but after thinking about it, I felt that personally coming would be better. Prince Icy Flame, Yang Yang, sorry to keep you two waiting.”

I looked at Senior. He shook his head, “We just arrived not long ago.”

“Oh, then that’s great.” Leido grinned like usual as he slapped his palms together. Then he suddenly turned his head to look at me, “Yang Yang, welcome to the Water Fairy Clan; today you must have fun!”

“Okay.” I hurriedly nodded.

“Then let’s head out.” Leido’s words directly jumped up three notches. He snapped his fingers, and a big blue array immediately appeared on the ground, “You can only enter the holy land like this. Very interesting, right?”

I looked at the array. It was different from typical teleportation arrays; it felt like instead of calling it an array, you might as well say that it looks more like a door totem.

“A space jump, is it?” Senior looked at the totem on the ground and curved into a faint smile.

“Heh, that’s right.” Leido nodded, “And only Yado, Yido and me can open it. It won’t work for anyone else; the guide can only bring you guys to the holy land’s entrance at most, and it would still require Yado or me to come out and bring you in.”

I looked at Leido. It felt like he said those words with some other intention.

No one else is able to enter?

Then there’s only the three of them in the holy land?

Feels rather lonely.

Senior glanced at me, not saying anything. Then he turned to Leido, “Let’s go. We’ve wasted too much time already.”

Leido nodded.

In the end, it really was a door.

Less than two seconds after we stepped into the totem, the scene in front of us immediately disintegrated and was instantly replaced by another scenery—a white stone valley, emerald-green grass and trees, little pink flowers that swayed with the wind, and thick white mist that covered half of the scenery. The air was incomparably fresh, even the mountain air at our world wasn’t this clean. It felt like the whole air was…transparent to the extreme.

“Otherwise, did you think air has color?” Senior scoffed, and used the kind of tone like he was talking to an idiot to tell me.

Of course…I was only making an analogy! I can’t even make an analogy!?

Senior turned his head, not wanting to bother with me.

“Welcome to our holy land.” Leading the way in front of us, Leido spread his hands, and that most behind us began to lightly disperse. What appeared before us was a large lake. When I listened carefully, I could hear the sound of a waterfall not far away. The cool air blew on my face, and countless drops of water immediately floated up in the surroundings, glowing faintly.

We walked ahead for a small distance, and after turning past the side of a white rock mountain, sure enough, what appeared in front of us were three branches of water that converged into a huge waterfall. Unlike the fine sounds that I heard just now, the tremendous booming noise shook the entire valley. It echoed endlessly, and the sprays of water set off waves of ripples on the deep lake.

Causing one to gasp in amazement.

Although I have seen waterfalls in that world, I’ve never seen such a spectacular one before. This was the kind that you’d only be able to see in magazines or the National Geographic channel. I wouldn’t dare think of seeing one even in my dreams. The ground thunderously shook with the sound, and my eardrums rang with the tremendous noise. There was a hot-blooded feeling of rising up together with the waterfall that filled my entire chest.

“This is the center of the holy land.” Leido, who was acting as the guide, stood in front of the waterfall and raised his voice to tell us this, “Just now was the courtyard. Usually if someone in the clan is looking for us, he would stay over there. This is the shrine; after entering the waterfall, inside is the water mirror’s shrine. Ordinary people are not allowed to go in.”

The water mirror’s shrine?

“Yido’s in the shrine?” I looked at the huge waterfall. Who knows how you’re supposed to go past that thing. I suspect that as soon as I go in, I’ll directly be “ahhhh” washed off to the end of the world by the waterfall.

That waterfall’s pressure looked super strong. With just a look, it felt a lot like the kind of place a special effects movie could go to shoot scenery.

Leido shook his head, “No, he’s not in the shrine. Continue going backwards and you’ll get to the place where we usually live and rest. Right now the shrine only has the water mirror’s body that’s in the middle of repair. Yido is resting at home.”

At home? They just directly live in the holy land?

“I received your text message. Yido is looking for Chu, so I brought the person here ahead of time. You can bring the person over.” Senior suddenly pushed me from behind, and I almost fell forward on the ground.

“Nn.” Leido nodded.

Wait a minute, Yido is looking for me?

I immediately turned my head and looked at Senior with a questioning expression. The latter didn’t even bother to deny it.

“Yado’s at the shrine?” Senior directly asked about another person whom I still haven’t seen up till now.

Leido nodded, “He’s supervising the progress of the water mirror’s repair, but he’ll show up later too.” He winked at me. That later sentence was obviously meant for me.

“I found the thing he wanted last night. I’ll bring it to him now.” Senior waved at us, “Then, Chu, you can go ahead with Leido first. See you later.”

“Uh, see you later.” I reflectively waved back at him.

Half a second later, I immediately realized that something was wrong. What do you mean “see you later”!? Are you guys secretly doing human exchanges!? Why didn’t you say anything to me first?

I suddenly had a feeling that I might be sold off one day without even knowing it.

Senior didn’t even take a second to disappear in front of me.

Wait a minute, wasn’t he going to pass through the huge waterfall?

I originally wanted to see how you could cross that waterfall; how disappointing.

“Let’s go, Yang Yang.” Leido suddenly patted my shoulder, and I immediately recovered my senses, “Yido is still waiting for us.”

Yido…

I nodded, “Okay.”

After following the guide past the layers of white stone, and through several green forests, quickly appearing before us was a building, like the kind of large-scale buildings that would only appear in the Middle Ages.

In fact, this is the shrine, right? I looked at the large white stone building that resembled some sort of ancient ruins. If I were to really describe its appearance, this building gave me the feeling of a medieval castle, but the scale wasn’t as big, and it was relatively smaller.

At the same time that I was blankly staring at the white stone building, a person’s shadow suddenly slowly came out of the building.

A certain very familiar person.

“Chu kiddo.”

The person who walked out directly waved straightforwardly in greeting, “I heard that tonight you guys are coming here to barbecue and eat hot pot.” The glasses-wearing black cactus, who I met before at Lake Town, revealed a strange smile to me.

Why would a cactus appear in this kind of place!?

“Uh, that’s right. Do you want to come barbecue together?” I looked at the guy who was said to be the five-colored rooster head’s third brother, and carefully replied. You should know that the five-colored rooster head is weird, and the one in front of me is even weirder. I still don’t want to be suddenly made into a specimen by him one day.

The glasses-wearing black cactus shrugged, “No, I still have work to do later. The competition just ended, and the medical team’s headquarters is very busy; so you guys have fun on your own.” Then he turned his head to look at Leido (Because his eyes were covered by his hair, I determined this from the direction of his glasses), “Today’s diagnosis and treatment are over. His condition can still be considered stable. If he’s going to barbecue and eat hot pot tonight, remember to not let him go overboard.”

Leido nodded, “We know, thank you.”

For some reason, although they didn’t mention the name, I intuitively knew that the two of them were talking about Yido.

“The medical team still has work. I’ll be going first. Tyre will be coming over here at night.” The glasses-wearing black cactus waved, and very straightforwardly disappeared in front of us in a second.

He came to diagnose and treat Yido?

Wait a minute! He came to diagnose and treat Yido?

“Isn’t Julian Dage* part of the analysis department?” I turned my head in surprise, and without thinking, I directly asked. Actually, I wanted to ask why he would appear here if his expertise is making specimens of corpses.

[T/N: It means big brother but it’s also a respectful way to refer to someone around your age. I’m leaving it in pinyin because it sounds weird in English]

“Oh, that’s right.” Leido nodded, and continued to lead me into the castle while answering my question, “But he’s also one of the best in the medical team, and the right hand man beside the head of the Phoenix Clan. So, in terms of analysis and treatment, he’s quite good at them. This time, Yido’s treatment and recovery was mainly due to Lyncinaya, Tyre and Julian’s collective responsibility.”

Turns out the glasses-wearing black cactus was actually so strong. No wonder he stepped in to help during that time with the resurrection array. If I didn’t hear him say this or actually saw him, I really would’ve thought that he was in the department that specializes in making human specimens.

But speaking of that, I suddenly thought of another issue; someone told me before that the medical team was made up of the Phoenix Clan members, but no matter how I look at him, the five-colored rooster head doesn’t seem like a Phoenix, right?

At best, he’s just a five-colored rooster. No matter what, he’s still unable to enter the standards of a Phoenix. Then logically speaking, the glasses-wearing black cactus should only be a black rooster as well. At most, if he’s of a higher grade, he’d just be a Silkie*. Why would he be part of the treatment team?

[T/N: A really fluffy chicken]

I can’t understand it. Could it be that the five-colored rooster head’s family is actually the Phoenix Clan and it was me who always thought of it as the pheasant clan?

Just when I wanted to ask Leido, he suddenly stopped, and stood in front of a large door, “This is Yido’s room. You can go in.”

I swallowed my question back into my stomach, and looked at the carved white stone doors before me. Then I reached out my hands, lightly pushed, and the doors immediately opened.

I suddenly remembered the first time I received an invitation card from Yido and the others to go to Alis Academy; it was also very similar to this scene.

Leido didn’t follow me in. I walked a few steps into the room, and the door behind me immediately closed on its own.

There was a cold scent inside the whole room. It felt sort of like incense and also a bit like the smell of medicinal powder. The room was very big. The first thing I saw were some exotic decorations. Above was a large glass chandelier and the left and right walls were carved with many mythological drawings that I can’t understand.

Not far away was a set of table and chairs. Unlike the tables and chairs that we generally use, all of them were medieval, the type that you would only be able to see in the movies. I raised my head, and saw a white gauze curtain that was directly connected to the ceiling at the end of the room. I couldn’t see what was behind it clearly. The gauze curtain was substantially embroidered with silvery blue totems, mainly snakes; I couldn’t make out the ones on the side.

“Yang Yang?”

A very soft voice drifted over from behind the curtain. It was still so gentle, but a bit weak, “Don’t stand there, come over here.”

In that instant, I felt my nose becoming a little sour.

“Don’t keep standing there, please come over here.”

The second gentle urging sound finally caused me to snap back to attention. After I gingerly bypassed the curtain, what appeared before me was a large bed. Yido was half sitting half lying on the bed. That bed was so big it made him suddenly look small, as if he was just a little decoration on it.

His face looked very pale. It felt as if all the blood in his body had been drawn out, without a bit of rosiness at all. His hair also seemed a little longer compared to my impression, and he was a lot thinner.

I looked at Yido, and suddenly felt so awkward that I didn’t know what to say. Although he was wearing a smile just as usual, it made me unable to smile back instead.

“Come over here. The bed is still big enough for you to sit.” The first one to break the silence was Yido. He patted the empty spot beside him on the bed, saying that politely just as usual.

Basically that bed really is big. It wouldn’t be a problem even if five or six people were to sleep there. They could even roll around on it, and there’d still be more than enough room left.

I walked over, and did as he said as I sat beside him on the bed, nervously watching him.

“That…Are you alright?” I thought in my heart and racked my brains for a long time, and only managed to think of this sentence. Then after I said it out loud, I instantly wanted to bang my head against the wall.

Yido was still smiling, “I’m almost fully recovered. I’ve troubled Lyncinaya and them a lot this time. It won’t do if I don’t get better soon.”

“Oh.” I secretly glanced at Yido. Indeed, other than his face being very pale, he seemed a lot better, at least better than the last time I saw him.

Just when I completely didn’t know what I should say, a cool spray of water suddenly splashed out of the air and brushed past my face. Then it plunged toward Yido’s hand.

Carefully looking, that wasn’t some spray of water, but a little dragon made of water that looked transparent.

That transparent little dragon playfully circled Yido’s palm a few times. After it let out a small-animal-like sound, it turned around, and fixedly looked at me with water-blue eyes, “This is the Foretelling Mirror’s spiritual body.” Yido scratched the little dragon’s neck, and as if it was very comfortable, the latter narrowed its eyes slightly and raised its head. Then it curled itself up and rested on Yido’s palm, “The spiritual body that was released when the water mirror was being repaired currently has very weak power, and is unable to do any divination.”

I looked at that lizard-like little dragon, “Then how long will it take for its power to be restored…?”

Yido smiled slightly, “I don’t know. After the water mirror broke, all the spiritual power inside scattered. Right now Prince Icy Flame and Mr. Gasai are already helping us search for water crystals with strong spiritual power to repair the Foretelling Mirror. It will all have to depend on luck.”

Which means that it’s also very likely it will never be restored?

I looked at that little dragon, and my shoulders fell.

“Don’t worry, the water mirror was born in the holy land, and it was also raised up in the holy land. It’s just unable to be restored at the moment, but after thousands of years, a new one will be born.” Yido reached out his hand, and lightly patted me on my shoulder.

The little dragon followed with a cry as if it was in agreement.

I saw him close his hand, wrapping the little dragon within his palm as he closed his eyes halfway; he used a language that I shouldn’t be able to understand and yet understood to sing:

All the things in the world have a day when they disappear,

After loss, it’s rebirth,

After rebirth, it’s the beautiful blooming,

The cycle of rebirth will not stop because of destruction,

So to the people who pray for me,

Don’t be sad because of loss,

That place is only to let us temporarily rest and sleep,

After a long, long time,

Rebirth will once again recall everything back.

The soft voice stopped in the air. Everything felt so natural, and just like that, the voice returned to the air.

Yido opened his hand, and the little dragon let out another small sound. Then they simultaneously turned to look at me, “Everything will be fine, so, don’t worry.”

“Nn.” I nodded, silently praying that the water mirror can be quickly restored to its original state.

After playing for a while above Yido’s hand, the little dragon rolled a few rounds and immediately ran off, disappearing in a corner of the room, to who knows where.

Looking at the wall clock beside the bed, Yido turned his head back to me, “It’s almost time. The others should have arrived now. Do you want to go and meet up with them?”

I looked at my watch. It’s almost six o’clock.

Without knowing it, it’s already so late?

“Oh, that’s right.” I hurriedly stood up from the bed, “Yido, are you guys also coming to barbecue tonight?” Although I felt that it’d better if Yido doesn’t go since he still looks very weak, I also wanted him to go with us.

Yido nodded, “We’ll go a bit later. You guys must have fun oh.”

“Nn.”

Then, I slowly walked out. When I was about to reach out my hand to lift the curtain, behind me, Yido suddenly called me again, “Yang Yang.” He paused, and revealed a smile, “Soon, you will encounter challenges. You must remember to believe everyone around you who worries about you. Don’t let the black fog obscure your sight. Even if you are lost, your mind won’t be lost. Believe in what you choose, do you understand?”

I didn’t understand why he would say this. I nodded without fully understanding, and recorded these words firmly in my heart.

Reaching out my hand and lifting the gauze curtain, the door outside had already automatically opened.

Leaving Yido’s room, Leido was waiting for me outside. It looks like he didn’t leave.

“Yang Yang, how did the chat go?” He saw me come out, and grinned as he directly asked.

How did the chat go…

I tilted my head and thought back to just now. In fact, we pretty much didn’t say anything, but after seeing Yido, I felt like a large stone in my heart was put down, and I became a lot relaxed, “Nn.” I didn’t know how to answer Leido, so I just nodded.

Leido smiled, then reached out his hand and rubbed my head hard, “Now, you’re not worried, right!”

“Uh?”

By the time I wanted to ask him what his words meant, Leido had already stepped forward and started walking outside. I could only hurry to keep up with him.

After walking out of the small castle’s door, Senior and Yado, whom I didn’t see before, were already standing by the door for who knows how long, and were talking. As soon as they saw us come out, both of them ended their conversation and turned toward us.

“Chu, you’ve finished talking?” Senior glanced at me, and asked.

I hurriedly nodded.

“Nn, then that’s good.”

Yado nodded at me in greeting, then looked at the others, and said:

“The others have already arrived. Let’s go.”