Asa's impression of elves originally came from dwarves. After staying for a few days, he realized that the strengths of the dwarves were not only machinery and forging, but also probably some accomplishments in literature, at least those ridicule and ridicule described the elves' personalities vividly. It is indeed conformist and lifeless.

Elves are proud of who they are and their culture. The divine brilliance of tens of thousands of years of long history is too heavy for them to be cautious in any of their actions, not daring to offend it in the slightest. The daily prayers and rituals alone take a lot of their time. Although Elder Crane had said that he would do his best to find a way to draw the power out of his body, even in the very little time left of the day, when someone came up with a new idea or idea, he had to hold a discussion meeting to see if there was any offense to their glorious traditions and any rebellion against the teachings of the gods. This kind of progress does have a tendency to keep him here for the rest of his life.

But it didn't matter, Asa knew what he was supposed to do.

At first, I was worried that the elves would somehow imprison themselves. But unexpectedly, he still let him move at will, probably thinking that he would be flattered and willing to be manipulated by a human being in this great place and plan, probably because Asa didn't dare to come nonsense. But the most important reason is that they have adopted a restraint that is said to be unique to the elven culture for tens of thousands of years, making him swear in the name of the gods he believes in.

When Asa replied that he didn't have any gods of faith, the elves expressed great shock. Many elves lamented in their ears that humanity had really fallen into chaos.

Later, several high-ranking elves came forward to say that because of the complexity of the living environment, human beings have begun to believe in the concepts summarized in their own lives, such as belief in justice, fairness, money, technology, hard work, and so on. The elves sighed with emotion, and agreed with Asa to swear by what he believed in and what he believed in his heart. Elder Crane also said to him solemnly: "Swear by what you believe in and by which you live by it, so that you will keep your promise for fear of being forsaken by it." Violence is despised by our noble race, and we will never use it unless we have to. God teaches us that 'it is better to bind the flesh than to bind the mind.'" So we use such a civilized and effective method of bondage. ”

Asa originally wanted to perfunctory with a casual promise, but when he saw the elves so serious, he felt a little embarrassed, and furrowed his eyebrows and searched his mind for what he believed in.

Seeing his hard look, Elder Crane encouraged him and said, "Think hard. It is the thing you yourself believe in the most, the most important and trusted truth in your life, the belief in your life. ”

Asa did think hard about it, and finally came to the conclusion: "I believe that if you don't have anything to eat, you will be hungry, and if you are hungry, you will die." This is indeed his most convicted belief.

The elves were in a commotion when they heard this, but after a heated discussion for a while, they agreed with him, after all, this is also a belief. So Assa, under the guidance of the elves, made a very strange oath with their ritual: "I swear in the name of food, I will not flee from here, nor will I ....." and all the elves agreed together that this human had been bound.

Asa doesn't like to deceive, and he has a habit of putting things in the way and sometimes even going on a rampage. However, he will never die on the tip of the bull's horns, and it doesn't hurt if he can't solve the problem head-on, and it doesn't hurt to outflank him in a small roundabout.

The elves had never given him the same eye, let alone trust. He could clearly feel that the elves looked at him as if humans were animals, and unabashedly thought that he was a lower grade creature. Of course, they did not show any hostility because of what they considered to be elegant status, and their tones were always gentle, and their countenances never changed. The kind of indifference that never moves the fireworks can express the contempt from the bones.

Asa wasn't too angry at such contempt, but it made his voice more sonorous when he swore that oath.

For the past few days he has lived quietly in the elves' dwellings, as they had hoped, as a mere container.

Quite unlike the dead silence you felt on the outskirts of the Whispering Forest, the interior of the forest was bustling with business. All kinds of strange insects and flowers, handsome unicorns crisscross the area, and occasionally some butterflies can be seen flying in and out of the flowers and plants. There is not a single trace of artificiality to be seen here, the treehouses where the elves live are purely made of the branches growing on their own, and the various living utensils are also cleverly made of insect shells and plant parts.

In the eyes of some people, this may be a fairyland that blends with nature. But Assaba could have achieved his goal and left the place a day earlier.

A month ago, I was still rubbing shoulders with people in the busy traffic of the royal capital. After coming here, he first encountered zombies, then giant tree people, and then was involved in inexplicable rituals, which were associated with some light and dark responsibility, as if he had been thrown from real life into a headless mythical story. My eyes were wide open, but more often than not, I wanted to return to my own life.

Compared to the rigidity of the other elves, only the girl Lua still showed some signs of vitality. She seems to be curious about the outside world, and often comes to Asa to ask strange questions about human habits and society. Every time she listened to what Asa said, her eyes always widened and she looked horrified, and she couldn't believe that humans would kill animals just to put them on their skins, that they would kill each other, that they would make cows and horses to feed other people who had nothing to do with her, and so on. After being surprised, she usually looked at Asa and shook her head, and dropped a sentence in disgust: "Barbaric, inferior." It was as if Asa had done all of this by himself.

Although she had been talking to Asa with some disdain, it was the only expression of emotion in this sluggish environment, much cuter than the gentle but rigid attitude of the other elves.

At first, Asa asked him directly about the Sunwell and the leaves of the World Tree, but she immediately said warily, "You humans can't know this. "Probably Elder Crane told her. But Asa can ask almost anything he wants, as long as he uses a few side knocks. The relationship between the elves seems to be very simple, and they never play these tricks, so that even though she has lived for nearly a hundred years, she has not had the slightest scheming. Thanks to her, Asa didn't have to go around scouting at all, and knew everything he needed to know without a trace.

Now that the information has been clarified, the next step is action.

The weather was nice and there was not a single cloud in the sky. Today is the full moon, and even if the branches of the old trees are very dense, the forest should be very bright by the moonlight. It's a good opportunity.

Asa stood tall in a treehouse and watched the afterglow of the setting sun fade over the top of the forest and the full moon slowly rose from the other side. Under the treehouse, the elves have returned, and this is the last time they go to the sunwell three times a day to pray, and then they will rest in their own treehouse. They don't cut down trees, they don't know how to make other fuels, and the sunset means the end of the day, so they just wait for the next day in their treehouse.

The unicorns in the forest also walked towards their lair, these very spiritual animals were not raised by the elves, but were the same as the elves who have guarded the forest since ancient times. Like the elves, they are never in the habit of being active at night.

Asa walked into the treehouse, sat cross-legged and began to meditate.

It was the first time he had meditated since he entered the Whispering Forest. He had to adjust his physical and mental state to the peak, elves and unicorns would sleep, but the deadwood guards would not. From Lua's mouth, she knew that even in addition to the one killed by the red-robed man that day, there were at least a few hundred of such big trees in the entire forest.

Closing his eyes, Asa quickly entered the usual meditative state of fugue. He couldn't feel anything in the outside world, he lost all thoughts in his mind, all his spirit was concentrated in his body, and his senses became extremely sharp. Every organ can feel it pulsating and cooperating with each other. Blood is pressed out of the heart, carrying energy into every tiniest place.

Suddenly, there was a feeling that I had never felt before. An incomparably fiery but not scorching force was born from every bone, every muscle, and every drop of blood. With blood in the body

The cycle is continuous, penetrating every part of the body with heat. The original delicate sense of clarity in the body was overwhelmed by this chaotic and powerful force, and all the body parts seemed to dissolve into a whole.

He closed his eyes, but he could see that there was already a dazzling golden light in his body, as if the sun was in his body.

The feeling slowly returned to calm and faded away. Asa opened his eyes and let out a long sigh. The body was filled with unprecedented strength, like a smooth river, not turbulent, but still majestically flowing through the limbs.

Was this a strange sensation that had never been felt before, could it be the effect of meditation practiced to a certain extent, or was it the reason for the sunwell? Didn't Elder Crane say that with his 'filthy human body' he could not use this power?

But there is no time to explore this kind of problem now, and it is undoubtedly a good thing that it comes at the right time, and provides more guarantees for the success of the next operation. Asa crept out of the treehouse, the moonlit forest empty, with only the chirping of insects.

Carefully touch the ground and quietly walk in the direction of the sunwell. Asa had never felt the sound of his footsteps so loud that it seemed to shake the entire forest.