n

n

nChapter 91: Soul Cage

nTranslator: Lonelytree

nDear teacher (teacher crossed out) Matthew:

nHow have you been?

nI’m sitting on a bench outside the Prancing Pony Inn on the Upper East Side of Jade Court, writing to you.

nIt had been half a month since I came to Jade Court. Before I set off, I had all sorts of unrealistic fantasies about the journey, but after leaving Rolling Stone Town, I realized that it was very different from what I had imagined. I guessed that it was because my knowledge was too poor.

nMany things happened on the road that caught me off guard, and I had no one to talk about them with.

nFrom the first day I came here, I often missed the people of Rolling Stone Town. I missed my father, mother, Sif, and you.

nPlease forgive me for my boldness that day. As you said, I actually don’t understand necromancers. I don’t know why I subconsciously felt fear. Perhaps I was held back by the fear of the secular world. Now that I think about it, I was more at a loss at that time.

nBut I guess you’ll forgive me, right?

nBecause you’re always so understanding.

nSo I still shamelessly wrote to you. I hope you really don’t mind.

nOur journey wasn’t peaceful. On the second day after we left Jiliu City, the convoy encountered a group of road bullies. At that time, their people blocked the front and back of the convoy. I was so nervous in the carriage that I almost vomited. The guard captain comforted me and said that they would take care of it.

nHe said that his judgment of bandits was very accurate. Those road bullies didn’t look like people who would fight to the death with others. Our convoy was also strong enough.

nAs he expected, the convoy leader and the road bullies discussed for a while. After collecting some money from each family, they dispersed.

nThe head guard told me that the boss of the envoy is most likely in cahoots with the road hooligans. Both sides are working together to cheat the passengers of their toll. People who are out rarely mind spending money to avoid disaster, so it’s very safe to do this.

nI didn’t quite believe it after hearing it. I felt that this was a story made up by the guard captain to show his knowledge.

nHowever, on the afternoon before we arrived at the elven territory, I accidentally bumped into the leader of the convoy negotiating with a man who didn’t belong to our convoy in the forest beside the camp. He took a heavy purse from the man.

nI recognize that man. He is one of the road bullies.

nThey found me, but the leader of the convoy just chased me away and warned me not to say anything.

nAfter returning to the carriage, I told the head guard about this. In the end, he didn’t allow me to leave the carriage for the next three days.

nI was very scared at that time, so of course, I wouldn’t go anywhere.

nI kept thinking about it in the carriage. I kept feeling that the boss of the team was going to silence me the next moment.

nI was so scared that I didn’t sleep well for a few days.

nHowever, nothing terrible happened even after we changed the leader of the convoy in the territory of the elves.

nWhen we were handing over the guide, I secretly lifted the curtain to look at the leader of the convoy from Jiliu City.

nHe was very calm from the beginning to the end. When he saw me, he even smiled at me.

nAt that time, I suddenly remembered the first time I saw him in Jiliu City. His wife came to see him off. He was sitting beside the carriage with his three or four-year-old daughter in his arms. He smiled warmly and talked to his wife, telling her not to worry.

nAt that moment.

nI finally understood the essence of this world.

nBack at Sifts house, she used to lecture me like an old woman. “Child, the world of adults is very complicated. A little lamb like you can easily be eaten alive.” I was always amused by her imitation of an adult’s tone.

nNow that I think about it, Sif has always been smarter than me, more mature than me, and realized the complexity of the world earlier than me.

nThe lord’s daughter was indeed more outstanding.

nWhat do you think?

nI thought that the convoy would have a smooth journey into the elf territory.

nBut who knew that the next day, we would encounter a giant dragon?

nIt happened so suddenly. When the dragon flew over our heads, I felt my heart stop beating for a few seconds while sitting in the carriage. All the horses were extremely uneasy and wailing.

nI saw a huge shadow on the ground through the window.

nThere was a faint hint of green in the sky.

nLater, I heard the half-elf guide mention that it was an adult green dragon that built its nest in the ” Court of Fallen Leaves.” Her name was Fattina. The Jadeite Court had clashed with her many times and tried to expel her, but Fattina was cunning and persistent. She always wandered around the northern part of the forest and would occasionally attack pedestrians or carriages that were left alone.

nWe were lucky that we weren’t targeted by Fattina, but her appearance in the south of the forest was very strange.

nI sensed a hint of worry from the half-elf guide’s attitude.

nThe Jade Court didn’t seem to be as powerful, sacred, and inviolable as I had imagined. The elves also had problems that they couldn’t solve. Later on, I met many elves who were like walking corpses outside the city.

nThe guide warned us not to get close to them, or we might lose our lives.

nThe locals called them the ” Heartless.”

nThis was a group of lunatics who had been abandoned and cursed by the forest.

nI asked the guide why the Jade Court didn’t expel them since they were so terrifying.

nThe guide only said that the elves couldn’t bear to abandon their compatriots but didn’t explain further.

nI was even more confused.

nAfter entering the city, I felt like I had stepped into a dream.

nJade Court was really beautiful.

nThere were countless trees here. They were tall, reliable, and warm. Their omnipresent branches and leaves covered every corner of the city..

n