met free Page 473
Page 473
“I used to joke that I would come to your place to retire when I had time. I don’t expect you to actually make me think about this even when I’m drunk, that would be hilarious.”
“It’s not impossible.” Mantis laughed and patted the drumhead of the instrument. “Then it would be a blessing to be able to continue discussing the brewing methods of various tribes with you when we are old.”
"Haha, I'm not going to brag to you anymore. I'm going to go and look around."
The Moth Warrior patted Mantis on the shoulder, then looked at Latis and smiled:
"Envoy, you and your team should rest here for a while. Mantis has a lot of new gadgets, you can talk to it. I'll go search my usual places first, hopefully the item is here."
"okay."
Latis nodded, watching the moth warrior's figure gradually disappear into the distance. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly looked at Mantis with a hint of curiosity and asked:
"Lord Mantis, I've been wanting to ask you this for a while now, what is that thing in your hand?"
"Oh, this one?"
Mantis patted the instrument in his hand, which resembled a sewing kit, and laughed:
"This was made by my companion based on descriptions of musical instruments from travelers from afar. It's called a 'bone harp,' covered with a membrane, and has more than eighty notes..."
"To be precise, including the harmonics that can be played, there are a total of one hundred and twenty-two notes." The spider monster that had been chatting nearby suddenly turned around and said with a serious expression:
"However, it is quite different from the bone zither described by those tourists. They said that the materials used to make the zither in their hometown are special, so it can play 144 notes."
"Once it got to this guy's area of expertise, it started talking non-stop."
Mantis smiled, pointed at the spider monster, pushed it back, and then stroked the tubular harp before continuing to speak to Latis:
“We often see tourists passing through here. Some are lost, some are wandering aimlessly, and some simply want to find a place to rest. We welcome all these guests and offer them wine, wine, and delicacies. All we ask is that they tell us the story of their hometown.”
"Stories of my hometown?"
Latis couldn't help but become curious.
"Yes. Actually, according to convention, I should also ask you what humanity's homeland is like, but I imagine the Moth Warrior will soon take you away, and I don't want the story to end halfway through. Those novelists who like to cut things off are really despicable."
"Cough cough cough..." Latis couldn't help but cough, and said with a smile, "That's true."
"Right?"
Mantis stood up, took a few fresh wine dumplings from the wine jar beside him, handed them to Latis, and said:
"Here, try the brewing techniques from the homeland of the Moth Warriors."
"Oh, okay." Latis reached out and took the wine-infused dumplings, keeping one for himself and handing the rest to his teammates, then looked at the wine-infused dumplings in his hand.
The golden-yellow liquor balls are similar in color to ale, and they feel cool to the touch, like they have a flexible film on them, so they won't spill onto the ground like normal liquids.
"That's strange."
The girls' murmurs came from beside him. Latis turned to look at the girls who were carefully holding the wine-filled dumplings and couldn't help but laugh. Although he was a little conflicted about whether or not to let them drink, it was only a small dumpling, so it probably wouldn't matter... right?
He picked up the wine-drunken dumpling, mimicking the monsters' posture, and took a sip. A slightly bitter, refreshing wine-drunken flavor immediately filled his mouth. After swallowing, the faint bitterness began to turn sweet, and soon it became as sweet as licorice.
Speaking of which, he had seen this wine-dew dumpling before in the Moth Prophet's dream. At the Radiance Festival, many moths had a dumpling of wine in their hands and drank it with great relish. He had been craving it back then, and now he unexpectedly got his wish.
"Hmm...it tastes good."
Latis sipped the wine in one gulp, then smiled and said, "Since entering the underground, this is the most palatable to humans."
"You can hardly find any humans underground."
Mantis shook his head with some regret and said:
"Besides the language barrier, the underground paths are intricate and very easy to get lost in. Luckily, you have a stag beetle with you... Speaking of which, it's been many years since I've seen a stag beetle. This is probably the last one underground, right? And that ray on its back, how come its stomach is so big? It looks a bit like the legendary Void Ray..."
"Oh? Do you know them?" Latis took a new clump of wine from Mantis's hand and asked, "I can't communicate with them even using language magic. Someone told me that this might be because they don't have a race, and therefore don't have their own language."
"That sounds like it."
Mantis sized up the antler worm and the void ray for a moment, then slowly withdrew his gaze and said helplessly:
"Even monsters rarely see creatures like them, so please forgive me for not being able to explain their origins to you."
“Alright,” Latis shrugged. “Let’s just chat… How did you guys meet the Moth Warriors?”
"Oh, that's a long story..."
Mantis held the wine-infused dumpling, took a sip, and a slow smile appeared on his face.
"Back then, it was still very immature..."
……
……
"It's not here either."
Disappointed, the moth warrior crawled out from under the bed, looked around the interior of the cabin, and sat down on a wooden chair with a sigh.
We searched the area around the basin and all the rooms, but we still couldn't find the flower. It seems it didn't fall here.
Sure enough, things that have been lost for a while are not so easy to find.
It shook its head, but wasn't discouraged. The phrase "planted at the end of the journey" that Latis had dug up from its dream had already reminded it. It still had several guesses, and it could just look them up one by one.
"In short, it's not here after all. Well, even though I keep saying I want to start retiring, there are still a lot of things I want to do."
The moth warrior stood up, looked around the room again, and suddenly noticed a framed photo on the table.
It stepped forward, opened the photo frame, and was surprised to find a "group photo" of itself with Mantis and others. The sharp, knife-like strokes were clearly carved by Mantis himself.
"Wow, is this a group photo taken in advance at the lakeside nursing home?"
The moth warrior couldn't help but mutter a complaint, then flipped the photo frame back onto the table, shook his head, and slowly revealed a smile.
It still remembered the first time they met. A group of monsters from different places were blown around in the howling underground turbulence. They were eventually rescued by the moth warriors who were skilled in the power of light. Although they were not a group, they were blown together by the turbulence, which was quite a coincidence. So they immediately decided to build a settlement together.
Fortunately, they quickly found the basin and planted a ring of trees around it, which effectively kept the underground turbulence out.
Of course, there are also downsides. In the past, the lake would rise every spring, and in some years the water level was so high that it flooded the basin, turning their habitat into a cesspool.
Overall, life is quite pleasant, as it is a residence intended for retirement, and everyone is in a relaxed state of mind.
However, whenever they ask tourists about stories of their hometown, they unconsciously start humming that song...
……
"I'm back, but I can't find it..."
The moth warrior walked back to the campfire with a helpless expression. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly noticed Latis carrying three dizzy girls in his arms. He was immediately taken aback and asked:
"What's going on?"
"As expected, minors should not drink alcohol..."
Latis reluctantly helped the three girls onto the seats of the stag beetle carriage, then turned around, sighed, and explained:
"We adults are fine, but we didn't expect these three kids to collapse so suddenly, without even finishing their drink."
“No, that’s not it,” Holnett turned around and corrected. “Gita drank three sips of the liquor, while the two kids were knocked out after just one sip.”
"..."
Latis stared at Holnet in silence for a moment, then couldn't help but shout out:
"What's with that arrogant tone of yours?! As a teacher, shouldn't you be properly disciplining your students?!"
"It's alright..." Holnet looked away, coughed lightly, and said, "Just consider it a taste of headaches, that way she'll really know what fear is."
"You guys..."
Latis took a deep breath and sighed:
"These kids have grown up to be quite well-rounded..."
"Haha, sir, there's no need to worry so much," Mantis said cheerfully from the side. "It's very safe here, it's okay to relax once in a while."
"That's what I said..."
Latis shook his head, looked at the moth warrior, and asked:
"Judging from your appearance, it seems you haven't found it?"
"Yes, but after reflecting on our past experiences, I'm actually in a pretty good mood."
The moth warrior crossed his arms and laughed heartily, saying:
"After careful consideration, I think there are a few more possible locations, but checking them one by one would be too time-consuming. Messenger, could you use the Dream Nail to see if there are any more clues in my next dream segment?"
"It's okay, it's okay..."
Latis glanced at the curious-looking Mantis, pondered for a moment, and said, "However, you also know that using the Dream Nail to enter your dream and reclaim the power of light..."
“I know,” the Moth Warrior said with a faint smile.
“I have traveled long enough. Now I just want to find my last unfinished task and then return home.”
"I see... I understand."
Latis nodded, and seeing that the Moth Warrior had already sat down by the tree trunk, he sighed softly and gripped the Dream Nail at his waist.
Then, he drew his dazzling longsword and swung it forward.
Ding!
Chapter 458 God of Love
"I knew I shouldn't have come here. Going out is such a torture..."
The moth warrior's muffled voice came from not far away:
"Sigh, I should have bought an automatic wheelchair when I passed by the Wood Ant Tribe. Damn it, I was too naive..."
Latis felt a tingling sensation on his face. He scratched his head and face, slowly opened his eyes, brushed away the grass blades hanging over his face, and looked around at his surroundings.
All around, lush green grass covered the ground, and dense shrubs covered the mounds on both sides of the road. The winding path led to the bright distance, and on the high slope in the distance, the sunlight hanging down from above made the broad tree canopies sparkle.
Not far in front of him stood a small wooden hut. There were no gathering tools or other supplies next to the hut, so it looked like a temporary place for guests. The voice of the moth warrior seemed to have come from inside.
"Is it the Moss Tribe?"
He stood up, supporting himself on his knees, and gazed into the distance for a moment. He quickly confirmed his judgment by observing the numerous mantis shrimps and crabs roaming around the hot lake in the distance.
"I don't even know what era we're in now. I don't know much about the history of the Moss Tribe... Was it when the Moth Warriors stayed in the Moss Tribe...?"