Minna thought she heard something impossible. Grandpa is so strong, how could he be injured? He has been traveling alone on the mainland for so many years. Whether it is Dragon Island or the Demon Realm, he has come through it without incident. This time, he went to deal with the snowfield monsters with so many elves, and he was actually injured? ! Aren't those fire poison arrows the best weapon to deal with the snowfield monsters? Although the monster we saw that day was very powerful, it died quickly under the siege of the elves, right
But no matter how disbelieving she was, the expressions on Elf's and Joe's faces told her that it was true. The elf also told the situation at that time.
It turned out that Xiao Tianjian only had a hundred fire poison arrows, and because he had to prove the effect to the elves, he used a few of them, and there were not many left. In order to avoid waste, the elves selected four of the best archers, equipped with several good bows collected by the clan, plus gloves soaked in the juice of the elves' unique antidote grass, to serve as vanguards. It had been going smoothly, but because the number of monsters was greater than expected, after the elves used up the fire poison arrows, there were still a few monsters left.
Regarding these fish that have slipped through the net, the Elf Queen's plan is that there is still enough time to let Xiao Tianjian get some more fire and poison arrows, or slowly dig some traps to drag those monsters to death to avoid causing casualties to the clan members.
But Xiao Tianjian seemed a little impatient, thinking that after killing so many monsters, these few were nothing, not to mention the fire poison arrows were time-consuming to make, and it would take some time to solve the problem, so he went to the scene in person. He spent a whole day eradicating them, but in the end he was injured by a monster that pretended to be dead. Although he successfully killed the attacker, he broke two ribs, broke another leg, vomited a lot of blood, and is now bedridden and unable to move at all.
Lao Qiao said to Ming Na: "Xiao is now living in his old house. He will take care of you for several months and I can't send you home. He asked me to take care of you and told you to don't worry. He will be there as soon as he recovers." Send you back."
But Ming Na couldn't care about that at the moment. She thought of the bottle of fire poison juice that she had dropped and her request for her grandfather to come back as soon as possible, and she felt very regretful. Grandpa broke his ribs and leg. It must be very painful, right? How could I stay in the town with peace of mind? She looked at Old Qiao with tears in her eyes: "Uncle Qiao, I want to visit grandpa. I want to live with grandpa. I can take care of him."
Old Qiao was stunned: "This... Mingna, you are still young." But the elf did not object: "Xiao's house is only a few kilometers away from the royal city. We will have a group of people to clean up the royal city tomorrow. You can go with us. , but the road is not easy to walk." Mingna said hurriedly: "I'll go, I'll go, I'm not afraid of walking." She has experienced a lot along the way with her grandfather, so walking a little is nothing.
The elf was noncommittal, but moved his eyes behind Minna, and said to Ludlow, who was about to speak: "You can't go, this is the Queen's order." Minna then remembered her new uncle, and looked back, Ludlow blushed, bit his lip, turned around and ran away. The elf nodded to Joe and followed quickly.
Lao Qiao sighed, pulled the dazed Ming Na to sit at the long table, and gave her dinner. Minna looked at the soup and bread, and suddenly thought of Ludlow: "Xiao La hasn't eaten yet." She was about to stand up.
"Send it to him later." Old Qiao pulled her to sit down, "Xiao Mingna, tell me honestly, is Xiao your grandfather or uncle? What did you call him just now?"
Ming Na blinked and realized that she had let slip the truth again, and she couldn't help but become frustrated. This is not the first time for her, so she must pay attention to it in the future.
Seeing her like this, Lao Qiao understood in his heart: "What do you mean, Xiao Mingming has no brothers, so where did he get his niece? I originally thought you were his daughter, but you turned out to be his granddaughter. Wow, that kid is really..."
Ming Na didn't dare to say anything and hurriedly lowered her head to eat. Just thinking of her injured grandfather made her unable to eat. Upon seeing this, Lao Qiao comforted her and said, "Don't worry about Xiao. He is still alive and will be fine." Ming Na nodded, ate half a plate of soup and a piece of bread in a hurry, and then went back to the room to pack her things. .
Old Qiao looked at the few human mercenaries who had gathered together in the corner to talk quietly at some point. He lowered his head and stuffed tobacco leaves into his pipe while thinking.
Minna packed up all her clothes in the room, and tied up the magic textbooks and potion boxes with ropes... She had seen her grandfather do this before, and she would just take them with her on the road tomorrow. But there are so many things, can she carry them all by herself
While I was worried, there was a "pop" sound from the window, as if something was hitting it. Minna ran over and opened the window and saw Ludlow on the tree outside the house. She whispered: "Get out of the way!" She quickly got out of the way, only to see Ludlow jump into the room with a hiss and saw the He sneered at the boxes and packages: "Idiot, they are going to ride the Silver Wolf tomorrow, who will help you get these?"
"ah?"
"Ah, what the hell, just bring a few clothes. I'll get the other things after he recovers from his injuries. Although the elves will move back to the royal city without the magic beast, the half-elves will not leave."
Ming Na suddenly understood and quickly put the potion box and magic book back to their original places. She only put a few clothes into the small satchel. After thinking about it, she added two bottles of healing potion. Recalling what Ludlow said just now, she couldn't help but ask him: "Xiao La, you said that the half-elf will not leave, what will you do? Will your mother leave?"
When Ludlow heard her question, his heart warmed, but he still had the arrogant look on his face: "My mother is an elf princess. Of course she has to live in the Royal City, but I will also go back with them. Grandma said there are You can give me a house to live in."
Ming Na was very happy to hear this: "When will you go? I heard that grandpa's house is not far from the royal city, so won't we live very close? Grandpa must really want to see you."
"I told you not to tell him!" Ludlow said angrily, "Didn't you hear just now? Grandma told me not to go!"
Ming Na shrank her neck and did not dare to speak out. Ludlow regretted a little and glanced around. After a while, he took out a bottle and handed it to Ming Na: "Bring this potion to your grandpa to drink. Drink it and the injury will be healed."
Ming Na took the bottle curiously. She didn't know what material it was made of. It looked a bit like wood, but its surface was very smooth. The cap and the bottle body were almost connected together. At first glance, it looked like a bare branch. She reached out to open the bottle cap, eh? Somewhat tight.
Ludlow grabbed the bottle with his hand and glared at her: "Idiot! If you open it, the potion will flow out! This is the holy medicine of the elves, only the royal family has it, it is very precious!"
Ming Na blinked: "Very precious?"
Ludlow raised his chin: "Of course, this is made by mixing the sap of the mother tree and dozens of medicinal herbs. It takes one hundred years to produce one bottle, and there are only four bottles in the entire elves. This is a life-saving medicine. No matter how serious the injury is, it will heal after drinking it. This bottle belongs to my mother. She was worried that I would be in danger when I lived alone, so she gave it to me. So you must keep it well, do you hear me?!"
Ming Na heard that it was such a precious and useful thing, so she quickly took it and put it away carefully, and then wrapped the bottle tightly with her own clothes. Ludlow looked at it, barely satisfied, and waved his hand: "Then you put it away, and remember not to tell him that I gave it to him, and don't let him know who I am." After that, he jumped out of the window and left.
Ming Na originally had many things to say to him, but when she chased him to the window, he had already disappeared into the trees.
Early the next morning, Mingna was led by Lao Qiao to the edge of the elf station deep in the forest. The elves were ready to set off on the silver wolf. Ming Na looked up at the silver wolf just a few feet away. It was the first time she saw such a giant beast at such a close distance. She couldn't help but feel a little weak. She secretly cheered herself up: "It's not as scary as the Warcraft. It's not as scary as the Warcraft..."
But it was bigger than any monster she had ever seen...
Lucien was the leader of the trip. When he saw Ming Na, he frowned. The kind male elf said hurriedly: "Captain, Xiao Tianjian is injured. There is no half-elf there, and there is no one around him to take care of him." Lucien glanced at him, then commanded the silver wolf to turn around and set off, leaving only one sentence: "Take her with you." The elf quickly urged Minna to get on the wolf.
Mingna only said goodbye to Lao Qiao in a hurry, then grabbed the elf's arm and climbed onto the wolf's back. The silver wolf didn't have anything similar to a rein, and the elf didn't want to come into contact with humans. She didn't know how to fix her body, so she had to grab the hair on the back of the silver wolf's neck. Unlike the silvery and shiny appearance, the hair was a bit hard, and it hurt my little hands from being poked. Silver Wolf felt uncomfortable being caught by her and roared loudly, frightening her to the core.
The elf patted the silver wolf's head nonchalantly, and the silver wolf roared and galloped forward. Minna sat on its back, swaying around. She felt the wind roaring in her ears, and the branches in the forest were hitting her face. She couldn't avoid it, and after being hit several times, she had to lower her body. From the corner of her eye, she saw the elves she was traveling with sitting on the backs of wolves very gracefully, deftly avoiding the branches that stretched out along the way without being hit at all, and she was very impressed.
Silver Wolf was very fast, and after only half a day, they arrived at the Elf King City. At this time, Ming Na was so dizzy that her eyes were filled with stars. Before she had time to observe the appearance of the Elf King's City, she was taken to a few kilometers west of the King's City by the elf and picked up on the wolf's back. The elf also threw a bag of things to her and pointed forward: "Xiao Tianjian lives there, go find him." After that, he turned around and left.
Ming Na gasped and looked at the big tree with a thick trunk but no branches and leaves in front of her, wondering where her grandfather lived. The tree is indeed as big as a house, but is it a tree and not a house? But thinking of the tree house in Phantom Town, she still walked over, but she didn't find any wooden boards on the bare tree.
But after she walked half a circle around the tree, she discovered that it was indeed a tree house. It was different from Ludlow's house built in the tree. This was a house built by hollowing out the entire tree trunk, with doors and windows. The crown of the tree is the roof. Miraculously, the branches on the roof can actually grow leaves.
The door was open, and several coughs could be heard in the room. Minna ran over quickly, and sure enough she saw her grandfather half lying on the wooden bed with a pale face and a haggard look. Her nose felt sour, and she rushed over: "Grandpa!" Before she could reach him, someone grabbed her by the collar: "He's injured, don't touch him." It was a gentle female voice, and Ming Na turned around. Look, it’s Ludlow’s mother, the beauty in white, Fnoya.
She opened her mouth to scream, but remembered that Ludlow didn't want grandpa to know about him, so she shut her mouth. Fonaya smiled faintly and said to Xiao Tianjian: "Since someone is here to take care of you, I'll leave first." After that, she turned around and left.
Xiao Tianjian called her repeatedly, but couldn't call her back. He turned around and saw Ming Na with an innocent face, and said with a bitter smile: "Why is little Ming Na here? Didn't I tell you to stay in the town?"
Mingna lowered her head and asked in a low voice: "Grandpa, are you hurt because I used up the bottle of fire poison juice? Also, is it because I told you to come back quickly? That's why you..." She lowered her head: "I'm sorry, Grandpa."
Xiao Tianjian smiled and patted her head: "What does it have to do with you? It was grandpa's carelessness. You don't have to blame yourself. How did you get here? What is that in your hand?"
Ming Na felt better, so she opened the bag in her hand and showed him that it was wrapped in several large leaves, containing fruits and plant stems. Xiao Tianjian smiled bitterly: "It seems to be food, there is nothing else here..." He coughed a few times, then stretched out his hand to touch his throat, the look on his face seemed to be very painful.
Upon seeing this, Minna quickly found Ludlow's bottle of potion from her bag: "Grandpa, drink this quickly. This can heal the injury."
Xiao Tianjian's eyes started to shine almost as soon as he saw the bottle: "Who gave it to you?! Is it Fonaya?" Seeing Mingna shaking her head, she asked again: "Who is that? Tell grandpa quickly!"
Minna thought of Ludlow's words and shook her head again: "I can't say it. He said he couldn't tell you." When she saw her grandfather looking at her with a hair-raising look, she shuddered and urged him to drink it.
Xiao Tianjian temporarily suppressed the doubts in his heart and drank the potion. As a fragrant coldness flowed into his body, gradually, a warm current rose up in his belly and slowly extended to his limbs. He felt warm all over his body, so comfortable that he almost moaned. I don't know how long it took before the warmth gradually disappeared, the pain in my chest was greatly relieved, and even my right leg, which had been unable to move, began to itch.
He looked at the bottle in his hand, becoming more certain that it was exactly what he was thinking about. He looked up at his yawning granddaughter: "Who gave you this thing? Can't even grandpa tell you?"
Ming Na thought of the few secrets she had leaked in the past and shook her head firmly: "You can't say it. He said he couldn't tell you. You must do what you promised."
Xiao Tianjian pondered: "Did that person ask you not to say anything, or did you agree not to say anything?"
Minna tilted her head, as if Ludlow told her not to say anything. She didn't agree, but it was no different: "He is my friend, and he doesn't want you to know. Even if I didn't agree, I shouldn't." Said."
Xiao Tianjian coughed lightly and smiled: "Is it so mysterious? But this kind of medicine is only available to the Elf Royal Family. Where did that person come from? It can't be true, right? If it is poisonous, that would be bad!"
"It's not poisonous. His mother gave it to him. It's..." Mingna suddenly stopped and glanced at her grandfather, "I won't be fooled by you!"
Xiao Tianjian smiled even deeper: "His mother? So she is one of the two elf princesses? Aurora is not so kind. I know, it must be your little uncle. Tell me quickly, who is it? Is it Leif? ?" He always felt that the young man was suspicious.
"No, that's not the case. The eldest brother is already over 20 years old. He can't be your son."
"But he looks similar. There are no teenagers in town except him."
"Who said no?" Ming Na said proudly, "Elves grow up slowly. The teenage years are the same as the age of us humans, so..." She suddenly stopped. When she saw her grandfather's expression changed drastically, she knew that she had grown up again. He was so upset that he immediately said, "I won't say anything next time!"
Xiao Tianjian didn't know what it felt like. There was only Ludlow, a half-elf who looked several years old. He could see that boy almost every day, but he never doubted that he was his son. He reached out and touched his granddaughter's head, but his mind wandered to nowhere: "Then child, why didn't you tell me?"
After taking the potion, Xiao Tianjian's injury healed quickly and he was able to get out of bed the next day. He was about to go to the Elf King's City to ask about Funoa's son, but he received the Queen's summons first. After telling his granddaughter to light a fire and boil water, he headed towards the royal city.
Ming Na had boiled water once last night under the guidance of her grandfather. Although she was a little confused, she could still handle it. Everything about this tree house is great except that they can't have a fire inside, so they can only cook outside. A shallow stream flowed not far away. The water was cold but very clear. Mingna filled a pot with half water, hoisted it to the shelf, and carefully lit the fire.
It was almost September. If we were in Qedon, the weather would have just turned cooler, but in the elf forest in the north, the air was already filled with chill. Mingna put on all the clothes she brought, but she still felt that it was not warm enough. She had to go back to the house and get her grandfather's animal skin vest, and put her hand close to the fire before she felt warm.
When the water boiled, Ming Na stood up and took away the pot. Suddenly she heard a gust of wind behind her, and then the door opened with a bang. Looking back, it turned out that grandpa was back. She hurriedly ran over: "Grandpa, the water has been boiled. You..." Seeing the scene in front of her, she was stunned for a moment.
Xiao Tianjian sat beside the bed, holding his head in his hands, his face full of confusion. Seeing Ming Na come in, he raised his head and asked blankly: "Ming Na, do you think... is grandpa very selfish? Does he do whatever he wants, but never thinks about others?"
"grandfather…"
"When I wanted to marry Fnoya, I married her; when I wanted to leave, I left; I didn't want to live that boring life anymore, so I didn't come back for twenty years; when I heard about my son, I ran back to ask questions. I just wanted to I thought about recognizing my son, but I never thought about what I would do after recognizing him. Will I stay? No, then why should I recognize him..."
"grandfather…"
"Ludlow is different from other half-elves. He is almost an elf. In other words, he will live for at least several hundred years. If I recognize him, will I have such a long life? I would rather make my son sad. , I want to recognize him, even though I know that the elves don’t want to see me, I want to recognize him, am I being selfish?”
"grandfather…"
Xiao Tianjian hugged his granddaughter, his eyes were red: "I am not a good husband or a good father, right? I made your grandma and father suffer, and now I make Fonaya and Ludlow suffer. How can I still feel wronged? Fnoya scolded me well, scolded me hard enough, and finally woke me up. I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Mingna patted her grandfather's back gently, watching the hero cry softly like a child, but she still couldn't figure out why.
After Xiao Tianjian cried, he told his granddaughter to pack her things and prepare to go back to Phantom Town. This time, he planned to meet his son again. Since the child was willing to give him such a precious medicine, it showed that he still had his father in his heart. Yes, as long as we meet again and confirm the child's feelings, he will not be entangled in the future.
Early the next morning, when they were about to set off, Princess Fnoya came with the Lucien brothers and sisters and Old Qiao, who was supposed to stay in Phantom Town. They also brought shocking bad news.
Ludlow disappeared.
Also missing were two young elves under thirty years old and several human mercenaries. And Qiao found a strand of silver-white hair in the mercenary's room with green blood stains on it.
(It’s even later, for the sake of word count, please forgive me...)