Zhiye sat silently in the lobby and watched as Qiao Xiu brought the three high elf inspectors to the depths of Hearthstone Tavern.
She opened her mouth and wanted to say something on the way, but it was too late when she came back to her senses, so branches and leaves waited uneasily for a few minutes, and Qiao Xiu finally returned to the lobby again.
"Where did you… take them?"
Zhiye finally summoned up the courage to ask Joshua aloud. She is a smart girl, and she knew that if Joshua was angry, it might be a serious problem to return to the high elves' residence tonight.
Moreover, the Chaos Demon in front of him has not shown any hostility at present.
"A safe place, looks like you still have a lot of questions to ask me."
Joshua found a chair and sat opposite Al and Zhiye, looking at the two high elves.
Branch Ye really wanted to ask Qiao Xiu a lot of questions, but Al next to him raised his hand for the first time.
"That... can we still have dinner here!" Al's voice was full of anticipation.
"Of course this pub is open 24 hours a day."
"Then... Is there a food take-out service? I heard that Nolan seems to be able to let owls deliver food recently. I'll go back to the contemplation hall later."
Al seems to remember that he was in a state of "closed confinement".
"sure."
Joshua's answer made the high elf girl excitedly look at the menu again. During this period, Zhiye finally had time to talk to Joshua.
"Can you let Aurelian and the others go? They are just a little bit repulsive to humans, and have no ill intentions."
Zhiye directly expressed his inner thoughts.
During the time she was eating at Hearthstone Tavern, Zhiye thought a lot. When she left Nolan, she knew that the Holy Tree had invited Joshua to visit Arthur Crowe, so Joshua should be a guest rather than an intruder now.
But the acceptance of Joshua by the Holy Tree does not mean that other high elves can accept...
"I also thought about letting them all go, but your World Tree doesn't agree." Joshua shrugged and said that he was helpless too.
"Holy tree?"
As soon as Zhiye looked up, he saw a white bird standing on Joshua's shoulder.
Seeing the moment when the consciousness of the holy tree materialized, Zhiye immediately stood up and performed the ritual of a high elf towards it.
"Great Arthur Crowe, if you want to punish Aurelian and the others, lock them in the Hall of Contemplation."
Zhiye is not at ease to hand over the fate of his clan to Qiao Xiu.
"Your World Tree said this punishment is considered a light one."
Joshua tried to scratch the head of the white bird subconsciously with his hand, but the white bird tilted his head slightly and snatched Joshua's attack.
"In short, the energy of your world tree is weakening over time. I came to Arthur Crowe to solve this problem, and your council of elders stopped me." Josh said casually, "So the world tree is in Consider reducing the population of high elves to… save as much energy as possible."
When Zhiye heard the words "reduce the population", her whole body became tense, and she instantly thought of the hunger she felt before.
"I have to tell the Council of Elders."
Zhiye stood up and wanted to leave Hearthstone Tavern, but the wall of frost spread out in front of her, which forced Zhiye to turn around and face Joshua again.
"Sit down." Qiao Xiu made a gesture. In this case, Zhi Ye could only sit back to his place obediently.
"Telling this to the Council of Elders will only make things worse." Joshua stared at the restless high elf girl and said, "The conflict will escalate further, and the worst case scenario is that your Council of Elders will do everything possible to do so. To drive me away and develop to that point is a bloody war."
"It is impossible for the elders of the will of the holy tree..." Zhiye fell into silence again when she said this.
"Your Elder Sindonar is already on my side."
This paragraph was seen by Zhiye in the text message, and Joshua had considered that there was a high elf who was unknown to the enemy behind him.
Zhiye is also smart enough, even though she was surprised, she still tried her best not to call out that name.
After a moment of silence, she finally made a decision.
"What should I do?" Zhiye asked.
"Don't you really want to rescue your three high elf friends?" Joshua threw a bunch of keys to Zhiye.
This building has been renovated by Qiao Xiu from the inside to the outside. Although the decoration of the rooms is not as luxurious as the lobby, they can still be used for people.
"Rescue means..." Zhiye glanced at the key in his hand.
"Then go rescue, of course, provided you can't escape this tavern." Joshua said, "But at least this will relieve the tension of your clan, right? A hero has come or something."
The high elf girl quickly understood what Joshua meant. After thanking Joshua, she quickly ran towards the depths of the tavern with the key.
"You're too kind to those high elves." Seeing that Joshua's conversation was over, Ciri suddenly said, "Free food and lodging, and now I've found a tour guide..."
"Miss Ciri, I seem to have treated you like this before," Joshua said.
After Joshua mentioned it like this, Ciri came back to the situation after he and Joshua met... Very similar to these high elves, Joshua also personally served as a tour guide.
"I... I'll pay off my work later." Ciri said, blushing at this moment.
…
Aurelian's eyes were blindfolded by rags and led all the way to an unknown place.
Despite losing her vision, she tried to use her ears to capture everything around her.
The magic in her body was completely useless at this moment, and Aurelian didn't know what was going on.
But luckily... According to what she heard, the group of people who escorted her took her to a room and left.
"Are you guys OK?"
After confirming that there was no one around, Aurelian asked the other team members aloud.
"Except for some weakness, everything else is fine."
The other team members quickly got a good answer, Aurelian didn't expect the other party to be so careless and locked all of them together.
Aurelian moved her body tentatively. She was sitting on the ground, her arms were completely restrained and unable to move.
But judging from the touch from her legs, she was not locked in a place like a water prison.
Aurelian moved from side to side, trying to break free from the restraints on her body, and this attempt lasted for nearly ten minutes...
"Sister Aurelian, someone is here!"
A member of the team suddenly said that Aurelian also heard the footsteps of someone approaching here, and then Aurelian heard the sound of the key being inserted into the door hole and then opening the door.
Is torture and torture finally coming
The darkness where she couldn't see anything made a strange fear creep into her heart, but Aurelian clenched her fists, reminding herself that she must never give in in front of this group of humans.
But in the next second, the rags on her eyes were torn apart by the visitor, and the dim light around took Aurelian a moment to adjust, and then she could see the person in front of her clearly.
"You are Zhiye?" Aurelian recognized the identity of the other party, a high elf... A high elf who often stayed with Al, so she was also a betrayal
"If I were you I'd be quiet right now."
Branch and Leaf whispered to Aurelian, when Branch and Leaf used the dagger to untie the rope that bound Aurelian.
Aurelian's hostility disappeared in an instant, replaced by a kind of joy that he was finally saved.
After Branch and Leaf used the dagger to untie Aurelian, he also loosened the bondage of the other two high elves.
"Thank you for your help."
Aurelian hesitated for a while but thanked Zhiye.
"You are not out of danger yet."
Zhiye's heart is very complicated. She sincerely wants to save her own clan, but the ruler of the Hearthstone Tavern, Joshua, gave Zhiye the key to open the door. She is not sure whether she can get from a... Escape from the hands of the ice dragon.
But at least try it.