Alan has been completely dumbfounded. He never dreamed that one day he would see with his own eyes the secrets of the gnomes that were not even recorded in the books.

The little Syphus just rolled over and didn't move when he came out, and lay on his side on the ground, curled up in a ball, wrapped in a pool of gray-green slime.

"Could it be ......" Allen's heart flashed a hint of ominousness, and he hurriedly took a closer look. However, it soon became clear that the little Seaphus, although wrapped in slime, was still breathing.

Alan squatted down, looked at it carefully for a while, and then looked up at old Seapheus, and saw that they looked almost identical, except that the one lying on the ground was much younger.

"It's ugly, isn't it?" said old Seapheus.

"Uh......" Alan wanted to say that it was indeed ugly, but he felt that it was a bit too much, and hesitated for a moment before he said, "It's not ugly, uh...... It's just not as beautiful as I imagined......"

Old Seaphus smiled, slowly came closer, and said, "You are not good at lying, so you don't have to say something against your will to comfort me...... Actually, I think he's ugly. ”

Alan was a little surprised, he didn't expect old Sieverus to be so frank.

"The word ugly is not new to us...... Because we've been with us since we were born. Old Seaphus said slowly, "I have seen in the memories of our ancestors, the man who brought us into this world, the short, fat woman with a swarthy face, and the first thing he said when he saw the ancestors was, 'Oh! what an ugly monster!'"

Alan only felt very uncomfortable when he heard this, but he didn't know what to say, so he had to listen carefully to every word that old Seapheus said.

"Maybe it's because it's so ugly that she doesn't hesitate to throw her ancestors off the cliff. ”

"Thrown off a cliff!?" Alan startled, "but ......"

But a branch on the edge of the cliff saved his life. Old Siphus guessed what Alan was trying to ask, and continued, "The branches are so thin that there is no place for him to stay, so he just hangs in the air, and below there is darkness with no end in sight...... The cliff was so slippery that he couldn't climb it, so he had to shout desperately, not daring to stop for a moment, for fear that he would miss every chance to survive...... But the witch seemed to be the only one in the place, and his pleas for help never received any response, only the witch would often come and throw away similar experiments, and mercilessly taunted: 'You're lucky you didn't fall straight down...... Then show me how long you can hold out'...... Almost every day, the ancestors could see creatures similar to themselves falling from their side, watching them fall off a cliff and never fall again...... What a despair it is to think that I will end up in the same situation soon......"

Old Seaphus paused, then continued, "But, perhaps, it was the old witch's magic at work, which gave us extraordinary tenacity and tenacious vitality, and the ancestors were able to sustain us for days with rain alone...... Finally, one day, he heard a crackling sound not far from the cliff, and then for the first time, he heard someone else talking. He was so excited that he started shouting for help again...... When he vaguely saw a light getting closer and closer to him, he thought it was a hallucination. But when he reached out and found that he could touch the slender light, he realized that there was indeed someone up there, and that it was saving him. Old Seaphus's waist seemed to straighten up considerably, and his tone became slower: "He will never forget that wonderful light...... The glaring, but white and flawless light...... It was as if something was holding his eyes tightly, making him unable to take his eyes off his eyes and reluctant to blink. Until he was rescued for a long time, he still held the light ...... tightly"

Old Seaphus looked as if he was watching the scene with his own eyes, and his expression was focused.

But the man who rescued him did not take him with him, and the light in his hand disappeared, leaving him with a sentence...... 'What a life, cherish it.' Old Seapheus came to his senses: "Since then, he, and we, have lost all resistance to what shines. ”

"I see...... The witch's unknown magic has changed your appearance and given you excellent memory...... And your ancestor was especially impressed by the glowing thing, so when you see something like it, it will bring back memories that once remained in his mind. Alan suddenly realized.

"Maybe so. Old Seaphus shook his head slightly, "But why doesn't it matter anymore...... Importantly, since then, there has been a belief that has been deeply embedded in the hearts of every little dwarf born later...... That is, 'Whatever happens, live well.'" ’”

Old Siphus paced a few steps slowly, and then said: "It is possible that every little Siphus has inherited a part of the memory, will, and even thoughts of the elder Sipheus, and this is the inheritance that is happening to us. ”

"That's awesome......" Alan whispered.

But old Seaphus raised his eyebrows, and his tone sounded strange: "Great?"

"Yes, because although the body is constantly changing, this memory has been passed down and passed on......" Alan did not hear his tone, and continued, "Well, in a sense, this is a kind of eternal life? This is something that many people dream of......"

"What do you think...... Or do you all think that eternal life is such a wonderful thing?" Old Seaphus suddenly took a step forward when he heard this, and his tone sounded like a question.

Alan was startled, wondering why his emotions suddenly became agitated.

Old Seapheus gritted his teeth, let out a long sigh, and regained his composure: "Actually, eternal life is hell. ”

Alan was a little shocked by this sentence and looked at him in surprise.

"Probably you've had good experiences in the past, but you don't know what we've been through. Old Seapheus's tone was unusually sad, "The reason why I became Elder Seapheus is because I can see almost all the experiences of my ancestors and my other ancestors...... In the days after he was rescued, he hid in Tibet all day long, living a life of stealing chickens and dogs under the dual threat of humans and wild beasts. For the most part, he would have to go to the garbage dump to find food, and occasionally he would be lucky enough to sneak into the kitchen, vegetable patch, or orchard with little Ssyphus to get some fresh food to fill his stomach...... And the price of getting these things is the invectives that are forever etched in our hearts: 'Ugly!', 'Thief!', and 'Get Out!'......' 'Sieverus', hence the name. ”

When Alan heard this, there was a sudden sadness in his heart, he could feel the mood of old Seapheus, but at the same time, there was also a sense of admiration. The sad thing is that the gnomes did not come to this world of their own will, but because of the fault of a human being, they have been living a life imposed on them by the outside world, and they have to bear the criticism and white eyes of humans. What I admire is that even though it was so difficult, they survived and had strong beliefs.

Alan was thinking about it, and old Siphus had already continued: "But there are two sides to everything. These days have brought us pain, but they have also allowed us to hone our unique skills and skills in the world, which is to find gold and silver deposits. Out of sensitivity and obsession with luminous objects, we are very good at finding these things that are precious in the eyes of human beings, but are difficult to obtain...... One day, a man who called himself Wender Stone discovered this ability and put an end to our miserable life. He signed a contract with us, and we were responsible for helping him find gold and silver treasures, providing him with information on these things, and he provided us with stable shelter, clothing, and food...... We all felt it was a fair deal. Gradually, his house grew bigger and bigger, and more and more people in his family came, and we finally didn't have to endure the wind and sun and wander around. ”

Hearing this, Alan keenly realized that this was actually the prototype of the master-servant relationship between humans and gnomes. I also understand that people always say that dwarfs are insatiable, and it is humans themselves who are really insatiable.

"We have very little food and clothing, and we don't demand much. The gold and silver were brought back by him and hid them wherever he pleased, and we only asked to be able to look at them when necessary, in order to remember the hope and warmth that the first light brings...... And he generously agreed. Old Seaphus continued: "Although we do not understand why human beings are always fond of fighting with each other, and we often wonder if it is not good to live in peace, but it has nothing to do with us, and our days are still peaceful: work, eating, reminiscing, remembering. Old Siphus looked reministent, "but it didn't last long for the great one-eyed monster to appear...... It destroyed it all. Many of the Stone family died, and we lost most of our members, and the rest of Sieverus fled here with the surviving Stone people, and we still have our memories with us......"

"It wasn't easy to escape so far in one go, but it was a peaceful life. Until that day, several people who claimed to be surnamed Winslow came to the castle......" At this old Siphus sighed, suddenly stopped, and fell silent.

Alan was curious for a while, but Old Seaphus, who was waiting left and right, still didn't speak.

"Excuse me, what happened after that?" asked Allen, unable to help himself.

"Sorry, that's not what you should know. Old Seaphus stared at Alan and said, "You promised me that this is something that cannot be asked again." ”

"Oh......" Alan was a little disappointed, but nodded and said that he would not ask any further.

"Then, as you know, here, and not far away in the city of Krivari, were taken over by the Winslow family, and the owner of 'Sypheus' became the head of the family. ”

"Well, you said ......" Alan nodded, and wanted to ask something else, but at this moment, Allen's peripheral vision saw that something seemed to be moving, and when he looked down, he realized that the little Seapheus lying on the ground did not know when he had woken up.

The little creature had disappeared from the mucus on his body, and he was sitting on the carpet in a daze, looking at old Seaphus for a moment, then at himself, and poking his fingers lightly at his body.

Old Siphus also seemed a little surprised: "I got up so quickly." ”

He walked briskly over to little Seaphus, looked at it for a while, and then looked down and thought for a long time before looking up and saying to Allen, "If you don't mind...... Please lend me your coins. ”