Chapter 921: Act 94 – The Adventure of the Three Mischievous Kids II
The underground water trickled rhythmically, and a long passage extended into the darkness, with some collapsed sections allowing specks of light to filter through, forming two or three dazzling beams in the dark. Roman pushed against the stacked stones, but they did not budge at all. She could only let out a tuneless sigh and said to QiYala next to her, “It seems this way doesn’t work either.”
“So I told you, we should just walk down this secret passage and meet up with that guy at the downstream of the Flowing Galaxy,” QiYala replied. “Didn’t your familiar go to deliver a message to him? I say, the underground is much safer than the surface right now.”
Her scholar’s hat was lost, and her glasses had fallen off. Without the thick lenses, a charmingly delicate face peeked out from beneath her curly hair, unexpectedly cute.
“But it’s dark and cold down here, reminding me of the times I hid with Freya in those caves in Buche. I don’t like those places at all,” Roman answered. “Besides, I’ve never seen such a big dragon.”
“I haven’t seen one either,” QiYala replied, clearly frustrated.
For a moment, both girls felt a little downcast.
They had fallen underground along with a collapsing building during the earlier shock, and by the time they realized it, they were already in this dark passage.
According to QiYala’s analysis, the building where they had hidden was likely situated right above a secret passage built by the knights of the inner court, meaning they had fallen directly into that passage. This analysis seemed to be the only reliable explanation, so Roman first transformed White Mist into a hamster to find a way to the surface through the gaps in the fallen stones and went to inform Brendel alone. Then the two continued onward through the dark underground passage, trying to locate the exit to the downstream of the Flowing Galaxy mentioned by Brendel.
The journey wasn’t easy; the secret passage was buried shallow beneath Gravel Town, and it had been built many years ago. Years of neglect and the impact of battles between dragons on the surface caused many sections to collapse, nearly burying them several times. Additionally, since many areas were sealed off by sand and stones, they had to spend a significant amount of time searching for usable underground tunnels. Fortunately, the passage was interconnected, and they had not been trapped entirely in any one place.
A few times, the Merchant Miss had sudden ideas and attempted to use magic to move the stones, almost triggering a larger collapse, scaring QiYala into forbidding her from using any spells.
At this moment, they were paused in a recently collapsed section of the passage; after the last tremor on the surface, the walls and ceiling had crashed down, blocking their way and creating a dead end.
“Let’s change direction,” QiYala finally said.
“QiYala, did you hear something?” Roman then asked.
QiYala paused, listened closely, and in the silence of the darkness, she could hear a pin drop.
“What noise?”
“Really, it’s right under the stones.”
QiYala looked at Roman, skeptical, and leaned down to the stones. If it were anyone else, she wouldn’t have been so patient, but Roman’s hearing was exceptional, so she listened carefully for a moment. Indeed, faint conversation sounds emerged from beneath the stones, as if two people were complaining to each other.
“Xainne, you idiot!”
“If you hadn’t pulled my tail, I wouldn’t have messed up the incantation!”
“But if I hadn’t reminded you, you would have been discovered by that guard!”
“Shut up! He’s just an ordinary human soldier; he probably doesn’t even recognize our noble pseudo-dragon clan. How could he tell that I was casting a spell, you complete fool!”
“What do we do now, Xainne? It’s so dark down here, and I’m hungry.”
“All you think about is eating. Well, then, just wait to die!”
“Waah, Xainne, I don’t want to die! Please save the sprite!”
Roman’s eyes widened in curiosity as she listened to the fragmented dialogue, utterly unable to comprehend why there were people inside the stones. Unable to resist, she shouted, “Are you sprites inside the stones?”
The voices inside the stones suddenly stopped.
After a moment, a tentative voice asked, “I… I’m a sprite. Who’s out there?”
“I’m Roman.”
QiYala frowned and didn’t reply.
“Who is Roman?” the sprite asked again.
That was a rather good question, and even Roman raised her eyebrows, not knowing how to answer: “Roman is just Roman, but how did you end up inside the stones? Are you really sprites inside the stones? My aunt says there are sprites inside the stones that like to hide gems and ores beneath them as gifts for the diligent. Are you here to give Roman treasures?”
“Not at all!” the sprite firmly replied.
QiYala could no longer keep silent and asked, “Who are you really? Are you residents of Gravel Town? You sound like a sprite; are you a wind sprite or a wild sprite?”
“I’m a wild sprite,” the sprite answered.
“Is that so?”
“No, Xainne is a dragon.”
“Dragon!” Roman and QiYala exclaimed in unison.
“No, no, no, not the kind of dragon you imagine. Xainne is a pseudo-dragon!” the sprite quickly explained, recounting that in her limited experiences, dragons were bad, while Xainne was the good kind of dragon.
“Pseudo-dragon! Oh my, it’s a pseudo-dragon!” QiYala excitedly raised her eyebrows and loudly asked, “So, did you encounter trouble and need us to rescue you?”
“You… you aren’t bad people, are you?” the sprite was startled by her tone.
“Of course not!”
Half an hour later—
Roman and QiYala worked hard to rescue the sprite and Xainne. At first, they tried to dig through the sand and stones. The moment they moved the stones below, more stones above would roll down, causing all four of them—inside and outside the stones—to scream. After the fright, the two had to seek an alternative method, relying on the power of magic. After trying out several spells, it was QiYala who caught a few mice, and Roman used the ‘King’s Transport’ from witchcraft to switch out the sprite and Xainne.
The sprite, buried beneath the sand and stones, felt a sudden emptiness before appearing in a dark tunnel. When she was in the secret passage beneath Rowse’s compass, she thought these human passages were long, dark, and cramped, not fun at all, but now she felt the darkness down here was incredibly spacious. Then with a thud, Xainne was also switched out, landing heavily on her head.
“Ah!” the sprite cried out. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a few squeaking mice staring at her with bright little eyes. She exclaimed, “Y-You’re mice!”
“You’re the mouse!” Roman was still keenly observing the sprite, while QiYala stepped forward and grabbed her pointed ears, lifting her off the ground. “Short-sighted creature!”
“It hurts, it hurts! Let go of the sprite!” the sprite cried out. “You really are bad people!”
“Shut up, or I’ll kill you!” QiYala threatened harshly.
The sprite flinched in surprise, immediately closing her mouth and looking at the girl of similar height with red-rimmed eyes.
“Where’s your pseudo-dragon?” QiYala asked, her eyes suddenly brightening in the darkness as she spotted Xainne perched on the sprite’s head. Instinctively reaching out to hug, she quickly pulled back. “Though pseudo-dragons often accompany humans, they have a strong sense of pride, which won’t do. I’ve heard they are intelligent beings. You must be polite, QiYala.”
She cleared her throat, completely ignoring the sprite, and directed her question at Xainne. “Esteemed pseudo-dragon lady, may I ask your name? Can we be friends?”
“Don’t! Xainne is my friend!” the sprite hugged Xainne tightly, eyeing QiYala warily as if afraid of being taken away.
“Did you not hear what she said, foolish sprite? I have my dignity. If you keep hugging me like a candy jar, I won’t ever speak to you again!” Xainne said irritably, struggling.
“What… what should I do?” the sprite panicked.
“Put me in your bag.” Xainne instructed proudly, and after the sprite complied, she settled comfortably in the sprite’s waist pouch and popped her head out, saying to QiYala, “Hello there, human. My name is Xainne. What are you doing here?”
“We’re looking for a way out, Miss Xainne,” before QiYala could speak, Roman had already answered.
“Out, as in back to the surface?” Xainne quickly shook her head vigorously, like a rattle: “Don’t go there; the surface is full of bad people.”
“Not that. We’re looking for the path to the downstream of the Flowing Galaxy. This is a very long secret passage, do you know?” the Merchant Miss replied.
“The exit to the downstream of the Flowing Galaxy,” the sprite abruptly chimed in, “I know it!”
All eyes shifted to her.
“How do you know?” Xainne asked, annoyed. “What else do you know that I don’t?”
“This used to be the old passage, Xainne. I stole their entire map, and it’s in my pouch!”
“In your pouch?” Xainne stuck her head into the waist pouch, rummaging around. Inside were heaps of candy wrappers and some glass beads, but no map: “Is there such a thing in here?”
“Did you forget? The paper from a few days ago when we made a fire. I even folded it into a paper dragon!” the sprite answered.
“Damn it!” Xainne shouted in frustration. “Did you really use the map like that?”
The sprite looked smug. “It’s okay; I remember roughly what was on that map.”
“Roughly?” QiYala frowned, staring at her.
—
When sunlight spread across the mountains and forest downstream of the Flowing Galaxy, a clump of wild pomegranate bushes suddenly stirred, for in the forest, many uninvited guests liked to hide beneath these dense shrubs, like badgers, bobcats, or armadillos. But this time, what emerged from the wild pomegranate bushes were a pair of round, glistening eyes. Roman looked around, confirming there was no danger before ducking down and calling out, “Looks like we made it!”
“Then hurry up! I can barely hold on…” QiYala, who was trapped beneath, said despondently.
Roman quickly hiked up her skirt, using hands and feet to climb up. She seemed skilled at it, moving as nimbly as a monkey. After effortlessly climbing up, she then pulled QiYala up, followed by Xainne and the sprite. QiYala couldn’t help but marvel at this Merchant Miss—this was not a skill a noble lady should possess.
“What’s so great about it?” the Merchant Miss responded nonchalantly. “I’ve climbed onto Brendel’s roof before.”
The two little ladies suddenly looked at her with admiration.
However, the sprite, with an eye for danger, suddenly took off running when she saw there was no risk nearby. But she hadn’t gotten far before a shadow lunged heavily at her, causing her to scream and lose her balance, only to twist around and find QiYala with gritted teeth. “What are you doing? Let go of me!” the sprite shouted angrily and anxiously.
“Serves you right for running!” QiYala, although dressed like a scholar, surprisingly had great strength and easily pinned the sprite to the ground. She declared proudly, “As my captive, you’re not allowed to move an inch without my permission!”
Naturally, the sprite rebelled, shouting for Xainne while grappling with QiYala. The two little girls rolled around in the underbrush, soon getting their hair and clothing covered in dry leaves and dirt, losing their previous appearance entirely, resembling refugees or beggars from the North. Xainne had long floated out from the sprite’s pouch to avoid collateral damage, landing on Roman’s shoulder and watching the two with an expression of bemusement.
The Merchant Miss was quite interested in watching their scuffle, having been entertained for a while. Otherwise, she would have continued watching this absurd fight if she hadn’t suddenly realized something.
Roman’s ears twitched; she looked up and walked over to the other end of the forest, grabbing both little girls and shaking the dried leaves and dirt from their clothes. “Quit messing around. Someone is coming over there.”
QiYala spat out two mouthfuls of mud, her previously demure face now resembling a little flower cat. She glared at the sprite in frustration and asked, “Who is it? Is it the embassy?”
The sprite’s hair was a mess like a bird’s nest, and her eyes red and swollen, as if she’d just cried. She looked fearfully at QiYala, then chattered to Roman, “It must be those bad people coming! We need to run; they’re terrible!”
“There are only a few of them, and their footsteps are light,” Roman shook her head. “They don’t sound like them; they sound more like little short ones like you.”
“Those are the troglodytes,” QiYala recalled the troglodytes she had barely missed: “Great! When they come by, let’s try to catch them!”
“Why would you want to catch them?” the sprite asked in confusion.
But QiYala couldn’t be bothered to explain, threatening, “None of your business! You just hide well, or if you’re discovered, you’re doomed.”
The sprite, fearless as she was, could not match QiYala in a fight; the saying “A hero does not suffer losses in the face of immediate danger” meant she could only keep quiet.
The three quickly found a place to hide, and sure enough, not long after, a rustling of footsteps came from the forest. The three ladies, hiding among the wild pomegranate bushes, saw several tangles of honeysuckle suddenly part, revealing a few green-faced, fanged faces behind them. The sprite nearly screamed upon seeing their faces but was silenced by QiYala covering her mouth.
They were goblins.
Roman and QiYala recognized them immediately.
With QiYala covering the sprite’s nose, the sprite’s face turned red as she glared at QiYala, trying to catch her attention. Finally, when QiYala let her breathe a little, she couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Aren’t we going to catch them?”
“It’s me, not you,” QiYala answered crossly. “Besides, who wants to catch these stinky guys? They’re just a bunch of goblins—what a bore—huh?”
She suddenly gasped lightly.
Because behind those goblins, a dwarf emerged from the bushes again, which puzzled her immensely. It was well-known that dwarves and goblins were enemies, but this dwarf was wearing a wet alchemist’s robe and didn’t seem to be a captive of the former. Although his appearance was quite disheveled, he seemed to move freely. The goblins around him looked more like his guards.
“Sprite, it’s that short and chubby one!” Xainne whispered.
“The one that fell asleep!” the sprite clearly recognized him too.
QiYala nearly developed murderous intent towards these two and quickly yanked them back. Sure enough, several long spears whizzed by, and one simple wooden spear barely flew past Roman’s hair and lodged into a nameless tree behind her. The goblins had clearly noticed someone behind the bushes, screeching and throwing their spears, then unsheathing their rusty curved blades, charging forward.
And behind those goblins, two tall figures emerged from the trees.
“Ogres!”
QiYala grabbed the sprite’s pointed ear angrily. “It’s all your fault! We’re about to become ogre lunch because of you, you idiot!”
“Ah! That hurts!” Before the goblins could charge into the woods, the two little girls were already entangled in a scuffle.
