Chapter 48: It Is Truly Wonderful to Know You!

"Don’t panic. In any case, let’s find a time machine first." Wang Chen sat down at the table, his leg bouncing nervously. "Can humans and fairies even get married? Won’t the old patriarch shake his beard and jump out, declaring it's against the ancestors’ decrees?"

He lingered indecisively by the table for a long while before suddenly standing up.

"I can’t just sit here hiding from this. I should go find Na’er and ask her what she thinks. She must be very weak right now—I should buy some brown sugar. Is brown sugar helpful? Maybe I should make chicken soup... Never mind, I’ll figure it out later!"

With a rush, Wang Chen stormed out of the house.

No sooner had he left the courtyard than he nearly collided with the young fairy man he had met at the village entrance the night before, who was carrying an armful of miscellaneous items.

Upon seeing Wang Chen, the young man greeted him, "Hero, where are you hurrying off to?"

Wang Chen quickly grabbed his arm and asked, "Do you know where Na’er went?"

The young man replied, "The elder? She left the village early this morning. I thought she had told you."

"Did she say where she was going?"

"Probably to the New Homeland. To be honest, I’m not sure."

Wang Chen frowned. "New Homeland? You’re moving?"

The young man nodded. "We’re relocating to a place called the Dark Plateau. The elder said the restriction forbidding fairies from entering has been lifted."

He lifted his bundles as if to explain, "I’m in the middle of moving luggage, but there’s a lot—I’ll have to make several trips."

Wang Chen looked at all the bags and packages. "How are you getting there?"

"There’s a teleportation array near the square."

Wang Chen swept the items into his ring. "I’ll help you move. Take me to the teleportation array—we’ll go to the Dark Plateau together."

The young man nodded. "You don’t have to help me carry things—I can take you anyway." He immediately led the way.

Noticing Wang Chen’s anxious expression, the young man couldn’t help but ask, "Hero, did something happen between you and the elder? You seem pretty worried."

Wang Chen could only brush him off awkwardly, "Children shouldn’t pry into adults’ business."

"Oh."

The young man pouted, thinking the hero was just like the elder and the patriarch, always treating him like a child.

Soon, they arrived at the teleportation array not far from the square. Passing through a gentle glow of warm white light, they arrived in an instant at the Dark Plateau.

As soon as Wang Chen stepped out of the teleportation array, he looked around and saw he was in the very temple where he had fought the priest of the Dark Tide and reclaimed the Fountain of Vitality.

Many fairies, under the guidance of the elders, were clearing away the rubble, seemingly intent on rebuilding the temple from the ruins.

Wang Chen returned the man’s belongings, scanning the area for a familiar figure, but she was nowhere to be seen.

However, he spotted the patriarch and made his way over.

"Patriarch, have you seen Na’er?" Wang Chen asked.

The old man stroked his beard and smiled. "When a butterfly wishes to fly away, do not try to hold it—it will only suffocate."

Tch, riddles again!

Wang Chen restrained his urge to strike the old man.

"Patriarch, I’ll listen to your wisdom another day. Please, just tell me where Na’er went—it’s very important to me." Wang Chen said sincerely.

The old man shook his head. "I don’t know either."

"You don’t know? How is that possible? Aren’t you the patriarch? Wouldn’t she at least tell you where she’s going?" Wang Chen was incredulous.

"That’s precisely why I said Na’er is special," the patriarch sighed, and began to explain.

"She wasn’t originally a fairy of our village. One day, she simply appeared here. Seeing our village had lost the Fountain of Vitality and was in dire straits, she offered us much help and decided to stay."

"After I told her the prophecy about the hero, she volunteered to wait for you at the prophesied place—and waited for several years, I believe."

He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Or was it more than ten years? Forgive me, I’m old and not so keen on time anymore."

"So you made her an elder because she helped you?" Wang Chen found it all the more baffling.

"No, her title of elder isn’t mine to grant. Her status comes from her..." The patriarch hesitated, searching for the right words.

"Bloodline!" After a long moment, the word finally left his lips.

But this only deepened Wang Chen’s confusion.

Bloodline? What bloodline? Did Na’er have some nocturnal fairy heritage—would she transform into a wolf-fairy under the moonlight?

With his mind full of questions, Wang Chen watched as the patriarch produced a letter from his sleeve.

"This is... Na’er asked me to give this to you," the patriarch said after a pause.

"You—my dear patriarch, if you had a letter, why didn’t you give it to me earlier?" Wang Chen grumbled, snatching the envelope.

"You didn’t ask. You only asked where she went. I truly don’t know," the patriarch replied, looking innocent.

"Fine, fine, you’re always right." Wang Chen opened the letter. "By the way, you don’t have to call her Na’er with me anymore. I know her real name is Firmina."

On the page, elegant handwriting flowed:

"Wang Chen, I’m sorry for leaving without saying goodbye.

But there are matters I must attend to. Once I resolve them, I will return to your side. Very soon, I promise.

Of course, don’t worry, my ‘soon’ is in the human sense, not the fairy kind. After so many years in human society, I’ve learned much and won’t make such a mistake.

I’ve learned to see through the double-speak of humans, to know what they truly mean; I no longer expect them to respect the faith of fairies.

I’ve learned not to take human promises at face value, nor to open my heart to them.

The human world is not so complicated—once you see through it, you find it boring and unpleasant, and very easy to grasp. Or so I thought.

Until one day, I met someone who showed me how shallow I was.

This person’s actions matched his words; he strove for the justice he believed in and bravely fought to change a fate already written. He wore his determination openly for all to see.

He respected beliefs he didn’t understand, as one would respect a friend’s habits. In his eyes, I saw true acceptance.

He valued his promises and endured hardship to keep his word, never mentioning the bruises beneath his clothes, masking a wounded face with a simple bandage. When he spoke of those dangers, his tone was light, as if recounting someone else’s adventures.

He genuinely cared for the fate of other races, pondering the path we should take, rather than just paying lip service.

So, it turns out, there are such interesting and endearing people among humans.

And so, after all these years among humans, I learned something new: how to love a human.

In falling for him, I discovered the brilliance within humanity; in loving him, I realized I too had once judged humans as outsiders; in loving him, I found the world beautiful.

To have fallen in love with him—what a wonderful thing."