"Ah, this is a disease that commonly occurs in Jade Cangting. Its specific manifestations include nausea and vomiting, dizziness and headache, nervousness, repeated insomnia, etc."
"These symptoms actually have nothing to do with physiology, but a very peculiar psychological phenomenon."
"Most of the patients are humans from the east coast. Before they came here, they generally had unrealistic fantasies about the city of elves. In their minds, the Emerald Cangting Garden is a perfect and sacred place, and the elves are also supreme.
A holy race, but the reality is definitely not like this.”
"When they actually came into contact with the real Jade Cangting and the elves, their dreams were shattered. Under the impact of this huge gap, many people would go insane. Banging their heads against the city wall is nothing new..."
Matthew clicked his tongue a little after hearing this:
"Is it that exaggerated?"
Beanna said unsurprisingly:
"I couldn't believe it when I first heard it. It wasn't until I witnessed more and more suicides that I gradually began to believe it."
"But I can understand their feelings. Even I, when I first came to this city, was full of psychological gaps and discomfort."
"Forget everything else, the feces and urine along the street are really disappointing. You must have seen it just now, right?"
"This road is the main road and is often cleaned, but there are still stinky feces on both sides of the road from time to time. This is the excrement left by the old elves who have not changed their habits. They think this is a sign of respecting nature.
"
"I...I feel disgusting!"
Beanna showed a disgusted expression.
Matthew nodded slightly:
"I thought it was animal excrement at first..."
"They are all left by the elves!"
Biananna took Matthew along the city wall for sightseeing, and said as they walked:
"Do you know why I brought you to the city wall?"
"Because the terrain here is high and the air is good, I'm worried about you getting smoked down there."
"Most of the time, I live in the tallest tree house so I'm not affected by disgusting things."
Matthew was puzzled and said:
"Don't elves have toilets?"
Beanna replied:
"Not for a long time!"
"Because the elven cities are closely connected to the woods, they really think that open defecation in the city is a way to get close to nature."
"However, several plagues occurred later, and the Elf Royal Family and the Council of Elders forced the implementation of dry toilets in the city."
"The situation you are seeing now is still the result of the effective policy of promoting dry toilets. It may have been worse a few decades ago."
Matthew couldn't help but exclaimed:
"You're saying that wood elves only recently started using dry toilets?"
Beanna shook her head:
"That's not true. It's just that their policy has been implemented for nearly sixty years, and it has only slowly produced some effects in the past two years."
"In the elven community, it is very difficult to implement a new policy."
"Among the Immortals, the elderly have a poor ability to accept new things. When you explain to them the advantages of dry toilets, they will tell you that they have been doing this since they were children..."
"It just so happens that this group of people has the most say!"
"Even if it is determined that a certain policy must be implemented, it will take an extremely long time to implement it smoothly."
"In the history of the elves, it often happened that policies were indeed implemented, but because the delay was too long, the situation changed and the original policy was no longer appropriate. But at this time, it would be extremely difficult to implement new policies.
"
"As time goes by, the elves are no longer willing to mess with new things."
The two of them walked along the phoenix flowers to the east of the city wall.
This section of the city wall is connected to a raised mountain. The mountain is densely planted with bamboos, and the sound of music can be faintly heard in the bamboo forest.
Matthew followed Biana up the hill.
"These bamboos are not bad."
Matthew can feel the huge vitality contained in the bamboo forest. Although the elves have various shortcomings, the plants in the Jade Cangting are indeed extremely energetic.
This is a characteristic that Matthew cannot obtain through short-term afforestation.
Beanna squinted her eyes and said:
"I also like these bamboos very much. It is said that these bamboos, like the phoenix flower, are also gifts left to the elves by the divine phoenix."
"But this place is not as popular as the Phoenix Flower, because these bamboos caused a relatively bad trend in the history of the elves."
Matthew looked interested.
Beanna asked as she walked:
"Do you know about the Bamboo Stick Party incident?"
Matthew shook his head:
"I don't know much about Jade Cangting."
Beanna happily replied:
"I didn't know anything about it before I came here. Later I did a lot of research and learned a lot of things that were shocking and even unbelievable. The Bamboo Stick Party incident was one of them."
"You know, wood elves uphold order and advocate respecting the elderly and caring for the young."
"This was originally a good thing, but after years of evolution, this trend has become very extreme. Compared with the younger people, the older people have a greater say."
"If a young wood elf wants to obtain a desired position in society, he must either accept marginalization - that is, go to the border with humans to find a job, or he can only be a slave to the elders.
Wait until the latter abdicates or dies of old age, then he will have a chance to stand out."
"Many service providers in Windward Valley were initially told to work in Jade Cangting, but they never imagined that the job content would actually be to provide such services to those elves who are either rich or noble."
"In short, it would be fine if the Bamboo Stick Party's disturbance only broke out in civilian areas, but the attack near Windward Valley stimulated the nerves of the elven nobles, and the incident was quickly suppressed. Except for a few parties involved,
Many latecomers have no idea that this happened."
During the conversation.
The two arrived at the top of the mountain.
The hillside ahead is full of winter jasmine flowers.
The treehouses and stone houses of the elves in the distance are lined up on the ground.
The morning fog is blown away by the spring breeze.
The sun shines from the east.
A scene of revival of all things.
"That's Windward Valley."
Beanna pointed to an area to the east of the Emerald Cangting that was surrounded by giant trees and said.
"I didn't expect there was a brothel in Jade Cangting."
Matthew glanced at the giant tree over there with emotion.
Those giant trees are green all year round and have lush branches and leaves, giving people an airtight and oppressive feeling.
Beanna said with a smile:
"I was surprised when I found this information. Later, I pretended to go near Windward Valley accidentally, but I still didn't dare to go in and check it out. The elf guards there were scary and very unfriendly to humans. I was worried that they would
I caught him, so I didn’t dare to get close.”
“Later I learned that the first batch of brothels in the human cities on the east coast were probably run by elves——
After the destruction of the Troll Empire, the elves gained the most inheritance, including the evil spirits from the Troll Empire.
Do you know why elves have such a transcendent status in human hearts?"
She looked at Matthew with bright eyes, looking eager to continue talking.
Matthew cooperated with a curious expression:
"Why?"
Beanna said with satisfaction:
"This is actually related to the legacy left by the Troll Empire!"
"After the destruction of the Troll Empire, it was followed by the rise of the ancient gods of nature and the gods of elves. In addition, the areas where the wood elves and night elves moved were closest to the capital of the Troll Empire, so they gained the most wealth.
"
"Afterwards, this continent ushered in the era of elves. The first batch of elves did a good job. With the help of the gods, they re-divided the continent's territory and established a new order."
"To celebrate this, the wood elves who were still in the Garden of Fallen Leaves and the night elves in the Eversong Forest jointly held the original poetry contest in Silver Night City."
"They gathered all the bards from all over the world to sing praises to the elves."
"They spent a lot of wealth and beauty to reward the bard who flattered the loudest."
"The early poetry contest was held every year, and its generous rewards attracted a large number of bards to participate. Over time, various cultural works about elves were widely spread into human society."
"The poets have received hospitality and benefits from the elves, so after going to other places, they will sing the poems of the elves from time to time."
"The power of inertia is very scary. When a habit has been formed, unless the new cognition has subversive power, it will be difficult to change the old concept."
"In this way, a false image of racial perfection becomes ingrained in people's minds."
"Because the vast majority of human beings will never reach Jade Cangting or Silver Night City in their lifetime. They can only come into contact with the elven cities in cultural works. Therefore, a small number of them will firmly believe that the environment around them is terrible.
, and the elf city I imagined must be perfect."
"These people are potential patients with Jade Cangting Syndrome. I dare say that if they all came to this city, the city wall just now might be knocked down..."
Not long after.
The two of them went down the mountain along the green leaf cableway on the north side of the hillside.
When arriving on the ground.
As expected, Matthew smelled a faint peculiar smell.
He glanced at Biana.
The latter smiled knowingly:
"Follow me. This is downwind. Go to the Prancing Horse Hotel. I'll treat you to a barbecue."
She took Matthew to a path made of single logs.
Beanna is so agile that she can walk on the single-track road effortlessly.
Matthew also has the gymnastics ability given by the balance field, so he can naturally maintain balance.
Along the way, Beanna introduced him to some of the customs and customs of Jade Cangting.
After hearing this, Matthew shook his head repeatedly:
“Isn’t there something good about this city?”
Beanna smiled sheepishly:
"There are still some."
"If you can tolerate the slight odor, the scenery is beautiful most of the time."
"And living in this city, the pace is slow and free. You can sleep alone in a tree house for three whole days without anyone coming to disturb you."
"Elves sleep an average of 10 to 12 hours a day. Not only do they like sleeping, they also create a sleep competition. The second place record in this competition is seven months and fifteen days!"
Matthew couldn't help but ask:
"What about first place?"
Biananna pursed her lips:
"The first place fell asleep and died."
"It wasn't until his body was inspired by the Light Pool that other elves discovered this..."
Matthew was silent for several seconds before sighing:
"Sounds like a good place to sleep."
Cross the single log trail.
They climbed a few more wooden stairs and, with the help of an enthusiastic half-elf, boarded the Thunderbird Express in the city.
Seven or eight minutes later.
The two of them arrived at the vestibule of the Prancing Pony Hotel.
"It's noon now, the elves are all taking a nap, and the elf shops are often closed."
"This hotel is run by humans, but their barbecue techniques and seasoning ratios were learned from elves. The taste is very authentic..."
Beanna led Matthew into the hotel.
Matthew looked around and found that most of the guests in the hotel were elves, and several tables among them were eating barbecue.
The eating movements of these elves are not as elegant as the legends say.
on the contrary.
Their movements when tearing food with their teeth are quite rough.
It is also in this process.
Only then did Matthew notice that the wood elf actually had eight tiger teeth.
This means that the proportion of meat in their diet may be much higher than that of humans!
"You order it, I can do it."
After sitting down.
Matthew motioned to the other party to order.
Beanna didn't refuse. After ordering several kinds of barbecue in one breath, she whispered to Matthew:
"Elves are very good at eating meat. They have mastered large-scale breeding technology a long time ago. In the middle and north of the forest, they have large grazing lands to meet their meat needs."
"But the meat here is very expensive, and ordinary elves can't afford it."
"Some elves would even poach human children in order to satisfy their carnal desires - but that must have been a long time ago. Today's wood elves probably wouldn't dare to do such a thing."
Matthew suppressed his disgust and nodded.
Although he was mentally prepared for the virtues of the wood elves before he came.
But after learning so much from Beanna's mouth that was very different from conventional knowledge, he still felt like his views were severely impacted.
It seemed that he was aware of what Matthew was thinking.
Beanna also concluded with emotion:
"Of course there are good people among elves, and the proportion is not low."
"But in the self-deprecating words of one of my elf friends - they were originally a group of monkeys jumping on the trees. They were burdened with the curse of the immortal seed without knowing it. After losing their faith, they were completely lost in the abyss.
superior……"
Matthew didn't comment too much on this.
He smiled:
"friend?"
"Is it Terrani?"
Beanna didn't hide anything and nodded generously.
Matthew suddenly asked:
"How's it going with you and her?"
Biananna immediately explained:
"nothing."
"My relationship with her is very good and normal. We didn't go beyond the boundaries of friends in the past, and we won't do that in the future."
Matthew asked curiously:
"Why?"
"Is it just because of gender?"
Beanna was stunned for a moment.
Perhaps she didn't expect Matthew to be so interested in this topic.
Then she thought about it and replied:
"Gender is just one aspect."
"The more important point is that I think immortality has no love."
"How can I see it?"
Matthew asked.
Beanna answered simply:
"observe."
"In the year since I came to Jade Cangting, I have learned a lot of knowledge through observation."
"I found that most of the older elves are single, or live in a group of people. Only a handful of elves are monogamous and live together until old age."
"Later, my observation was confirmed by Terrani - most elven couples will gradually drift apart after middle age. Those rare cases are because they are the lowest among elves and cannot afford to separate from each other.
…”
"Actually, I have thought about this question for a long time, and the final answer I came to is that long-lived species have no love, because their lives are too long, and many precious things in the eyes of short-lived species are just daily life for them.
adjust."
"Although they look no different from us, because of the length of our lives, we are creatures from two different worlds."
"The same goes for Terrani."
"Although she showed her love for me, she will fall in love with someone else a hundred years from now - even without waiting for that day. In that case, why should I be with her?"
"What's more, I don't like her in a romantic sense at all."
"She is just a good friend or benefactor to me, nothing more."
After saying this, Beanna's face turned red.
Matthew nodded.
Immortal species do have a different way of thinking than ordinary people.
Beanna can sense this.
This shows that this girl's mind is indeed precocious, and she must have experienced a lot in the past year.
"Do you know about Vesni's past?"
Beanna asked and answered herself:
"That is the most classic stage play in Jade Cangting."
"This story is very popular among the elves and is re-arranged almost every year and performed in theaters everywhere."
"The heroine of the story is a female elf named Vesni, and the main storyline is about the heroine fighting side by side with a young, strong, reckless and brave human adventurer."
"In various versions of Vesni's past, the male and female protagonists will be forced to act together due to various misunderstandings. After embarking on the journey, they will challenge the devil in purgatory, defeat evil monsters, pass through many obstacles, and finally obtain treasures.
save the world."
"Of course, there will definitely be scenes where the male protagonist defeats his love rival and wins the beauty back."
"But no matter which version of Vesni's past, in the last scene, the male protagonist will definitely know the final truth, that is, the female protagonist he has fallen deeply in love with is actually his ancestor——
She gave birth to a child with the hero's ancestor three hundred years ago, and the bloodline continues to this day. The descendants met and fell in love with her under the inspiration of the unknown..."
"The story often ends with the male protagonist overcoming his psychological barriers and living happily with our elf heroine."
"The content of the stage play usually ends here."
"But I can't help but wonder, fifty or sixty years after the story ends, after the hero dies, will the heroine Vesni have a love story again?"
"The subject of the story is still a descendant of one of my own generations?"
"This situation is really unacceptable."
"But for elves, this is the most romantic love story."
"Telanie's explanation is that because there is no way to share her entire life with a human being, choosing to share it with him and his descendants is also a kind of romance..."
"To be honest, I just felt more disgusted after listening to it."
"Perhaps this is the tragedy of short-lived species."
Beanna smiled bitterly.
Matthew also showed a ridiculous expression.
Just at this time.
Perhaps it was because Beanna had unknowingly raised her voice when speaking just now, and her comments about Vesni's past were heard by the three wood elves at the next table.
Two of the men showed restraint and just cursed a few times on the table.
The female elf stood up directly.
She cursed vehemently:
"Where did the short-lived species come from?"
“I don’t understand classics or romance, so how dare I speak nonsense?”
"Get out of Jade Cangting!"
"I feel sick when I see your rotten face written all over it..."
Matthew frowned slightly.
But the next second.
An even more unexpected scene happened to him.
But when Beanna slammed the table, she yelled and pushed it back:
"Shut up, Bichi!"
"Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop?"
"Do I have to slap you twice to know not to cause trouble when you go out?"
As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves.
He grabbed the female elf's hair with a fierce look on her face.
The female elf screamed after being caught.
However, Biana did not let go at all. The two pushed and pushed for a long time before the female elf finally begged for mercy.
Only then did Biana push her away.
Then he cursed a series of curse words, both in Elvish and human common languages.
Matthew glanced at the female elf.
She looked frightened, and although she was a little angry, she did not continue to cause trouble.
The two male elves seemed to want to intervene at first.
But they soon saw Biana's armband, and finally chose to remain silent.
"Wind Chaser's armband is quite useful."
Watching the three elves leave, Matthew couldn't help but joked:
"To be honest, I didn't expect you to become so..."
He couldn't find an adjective for a while.
In Matthew's perception, Beanna is still the ignorant, quiet and reserved girl.
"shrew?"
Beanna smiled and sat down. Her sitting posture was still very upright and elegant, and there was nothing wrong with it from the perspective of etiquette:
"There is nothing I can do. Most of the people here bully the weak and fear the strong. I can only survive better if I act tougher."
"There is an unwritten rule in Jade Cangting. In fights between the same sex, the opposite sex cannot participate. So here I just need to ensure that I am stronger than most of the same sex."
"The female elf just now is nothing at all. Those classmates who learned sword chanting with me are really difficult to deal with..."
Beanna talked calmly about the difficulties she encountered in class.
She seems to be able to deal with those things calmly now.
But after Matthew listened.
Still couldn't help but said softly:
"It's still very hard, right?"
Beanna was stunned for a moment, then turned her head and wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.
There was silence at the dinner table.
Fortunately, the owner of the restaurant personally served the dinner plate at this time.
Facing the dazzling array of barbecued meats and all kinds of strange seasonings, the two of them couldn't help but move their index fingers.
Beanna wasn't exaggerating.
Elf BBQ is indeed a masterpiece.
Matthew's mouth was full of oil after eating this meal, and he praised him repeatedly:
“It’s really great.”
Beanna's eyes turned into crescents when she smiled.
After eating, the two rested for a while.
Beanna lowered her head and thought for a long time, then suddenly asked:
"So what's going on with you and Sif now?"
Matthew said frankly:
"Rhaeja wants me to be with her. Well, I'm not sure about Sif's thoughts for the time being, and I'm also considering it myself."
"I'm not sure whether I will like Sif. If it were before, the answer would most likely be no, but she seems to be a little different now..."
After hearing this, Beanna showed a thoughtful expression:
"She's more attractive now than ever, right?"
"So this is the type you like..."
Matthew stretched:
"Maybe, I don't know."
"There are more important things to me right now."
Said.
He cast his gaze out the window.
Just between the gaps between the green trees, you can vaguely see an ugly gray-brown color.
That is.
Traces of the Dead!
…
dusk.
Seven kilometers away from the south wall of Jade Cangting.
A trace of the dead like a gray-brown lake is formed here.
If you look down from a high altitude.
This lake is like the pupil of an eye, and the traces of the dead winding on both sides are the other parts of the eye.
Matthew stood nearby, quietly sensing the changes in the elements within the Scar of the Dead.
The evening breeze blows.
A few sparks flew out from the scars of the dead.
suddenly.
His confused eyes became focused:
"What are you doing?"
Matthew turned around.
At some point, a tall and straight figure was standing less than twenty meters away from him.
It was a wood elf with a somewhat old face.
He was holding a bamboo stick in his arms. He looked old and lazy, but his eyes were extremely sharp.
"Mr. Terraste."
"I don't look very old, right?"
Matthew glanced at the bamboo stick in the other person's hand and whispered.
Tyrast spoke calmly:
"I heard that Nila's bow is in your hands."
"Can you lend it to me for a look..."
…
"Tip: You encountered the Apocalypse Sword Master "Tarast" (LV28/Hero Template)!"
