Chapter 264: Wisdom Enlightenment Task, Fool Village Secret Realm
However, after I said this, I started to regret it.
Because I wasn’t planning to take on that secret realm task so quickly; I didn’t even know what type that secret realm was, and I had only received a slight recommendation from Teacher Ji.
The only thing I knew was that the task duration was quite long, and included keywords like “Wisdom Enlightenment.”
“Secret realm? Is it that Witch Secret Realm? Xiao Han, did you suddenly want to go there?” Bai Yu on the other end of the phone sounded confused. “Is it because you regretted not going to the secret realm exploration organized by the Secret Realm Club earlier?”
“No, it’s Teacher Ji who recommended it. It’s a task linked to that secret realm, apparently called Wisdom Enlightenment; have you heard of it, Sister Bai?”
“Teacher Ji… oh, Wisdom Enlightenment… I have some impression… but I might need to look it up. Do you know when it’s scheduled?”
“Um… it’s not set yet. Actually, I just learned about it today; it’s not urgent, mainly because I’ve heard that this task might take a lot of time. You probably don’t have that much time to accompany me, right, Sister Bai?”
“How could that be? Of course I have the time. At this stage, I can’t really rush things anymore; it’s better to accompany you to the secret realm for a look. Generally, secret realms are things that only upperclassmen get to experience. I wouldn’t feel comfortable letting you go alone.”
“Huh? You’re that worried? Don’t you know my ability, Sister Bai? Generally, secret realms aren’t dangerous for me.” I said confidently.
“Don’t speak too easily; danger never gives you a warning. How about we set a time to meet tomorrow, or should I come find you at the library?”
“Sure, but I just finished my library plans today. I probably won’t be spending as much time in the library as I did before. How about… that Witch Cat Café we went to last time?” I suggested.
“Alright, then it’s settled.”
After agreeing with Sister Bai to meet tomorrow morning, I ended the call.
After hanging up the phone, I inadvertently took a deep breath, feeling that I was a bit strange just now, especially during the conversation with Sister Bai; there was a stirring emotion I couldn’t quite describe in my mind.
It felt a bit like excitement—could it be that I hadn’t seen Sister Bai for too long?
That shouldn’t be the case. I slapped my face hard to wake myself up, then carried the alchemy tools to the empty room. After all, in such a large villa, only a few of us lived here, so I took over the room designated for alchemy purposes, and also put up a notice board outside.
Among this batch of tools, I also purchased a lot of alchemical materials for practice. It can be said that this set of tools and materials cost me quite a bit of money.
The next day.
After going through my planned daily meditation, I quickly took a shower, changed into a new outfit, and tidied up my appearance. This time passed quietly.
“Wait… how is it already this time?”
I finished organizing my clothes in front of the mirror, then clasped the leg strap around my thigh, accentuating my curves slightly. Finally, I took out my phone to check the time and realized I had spent so long just getting ready.
Fortunately, I had the habit of reserving some time beforehand, so I wouldn’t be late.
“Hmm? Xiao Han, you’re leaving so early again? I have class this morning, and you’re up earlier than me.” Hong Chanyi yawned and dragged her pink slippers out of her bedroom.
“You didn’t stay up again, did you? At this time, you look like you haven’t woken up.”
“A little late-night fun is fine; you get used to it. But… Xiao Han, you look so good today; are you going to meet someone? You didn’t also fall for someone, did you?”
“Shut up, go brush your teeth; why would I be meeting someone? I think you’re the one with thoughts like that.” I shot a glance at Hong Chanyi.
This girl really gives me the vibe of the guys back in the dormitory who wouldn’t get up until the last possible moment.
The key is that Hong Chanyi is wearing a hot guy pink outfit, which I bet Shi Huiyu bought for her.
“Ah, then I wish you everything goes smoothly today, Xiao Han.” Hong Chanyi yawned again and waved goodbye to me casually.
Last night, I browsed the internet for information on the Wisdom Enlightenment task.
This task is considered an ancient one; the popular information I found had been published over a hundred years ago. But even so, the fact that this information remains relevant today is worth noting.
This post severely criticized the Wisdom Enlightenment task, stating that it was an impossible task and resonated strongly in the comment section.
The name of the secret realm related to Wisdom Enlightenment is not called Wisdom Enlightenment Secret Realm but the “Fool Village” Secret Realm.
Inside this secret realm is a vast rainforest, and the village located within is Fool Village.
Inside live “indigenous people”; it’s not surprising that there are indigenous people in the secret realm, just like many secret realms have insects or ferocious beasts—they are also considered indigenous to the secret realm.
I hurriedly rode my broomstick directly toward the destination, and even with the protective shield, I could hear the whistling wind as I flew past.
Upon arriving at the Witch Cat Café, I quickly tidied my silver-white long hair and then walked straight in.
Once inside, I directly presented my Gold Cat Card and ordered a coffee, heading to the most prominent and best location.
Fortunately, Sister Bai hadn’t arrived first; since that was the case, I decided to wait.
At that moment, a few older sisters at the front desk started chatting.
“Hey, that white-haired cat petting guest presented a Gold Cat Card; I don’t recall seeing her before.”
“I’m not sure; I haven’t seen her much either, but her face looks somewhat familiar. She must be quite wealthy!”
“Right? How about we encourage a catgirl to go check her out?”
Just as I sat down, a little black cat walked towards me. Early in the morning, there were not many customers at the Witch Cat Café, so these little cats rarely got to see guests and came over to check things out.
When the black cat came close, it seemed to recognize me by smell. Seeing its approach, I picked up the little black cat. If I remembered correctly, this little black cat was called Little Black Cloud. Feeling its soft body and a slightly tense demeanor, I finally set it on my lap.
Today, I was wearing super short shorts that matched the leg strap, and feeling Little Black Cloud’s little pads on my thigh was a peculiar sensation.
Not long after, just as my coffee was served, a familiar figure walked in through the door of the Witch Cat Café.
The moment Sister Bai entered, she locked eyes with me, showing that sitting in such an obvious place did have its advantages.
However, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that, whether it was an illusion or not, Sister Bai seemed a bit different today.
How do I put it?
It felt like… Sister Bai was behaving more like an ordinary person than before. Although I had treated Sister Bai as an ordinary person in our previous interactions, today truly felt different.
Perhaps… this was the reason Sister Bai said her topic had reached a conclusion last night? This change was significant; for a moment, I was taken aback.
“Xiao Han? Xiao Han? What are you staring at so intently?”
“Um… uh? Bai, Sister Bai, cough… nothing.”
I cleared my throat awkwardly, indicating that I wasn’t doing anything.
Otherwise, I couldn’t just say I was captivated by her, could I?
“Um, Sister Bai seems a bit different today.”
“Really? You can tell?” Bai Yu didn’t seem too surprised by my statement.
“Yes… it feels like… Sister Bai has become more… like an ordinary person. Is it because of that so-called topic affecting you?”
“That should be the case.”
“Can you tell me what your topic is, Sister Bai?”
“I can’t go into specifics, but… I can tell you that the major topic I chose is… Soul. The rest is not suitable to discuss.” Bai Yu smiled, placing a finger on her lips as if signaling for silence.
“Soul? Hmm… then I won’t ask any more.” I nodded, not probing further, but I did remember the topic of soul.
However, I was curious—did this world really have the concept of the soul? I had never paid attention to it before.
“Xiao Han is really obedient. Well, I was a bit late today because I specifically printed out information and strategies about the Wisdom Enlightenment task you mentioned, that’s why I’m late.”
While speaking, Bai Yu took out a stack of printed papers and handed them to me. “This is the information I collected yesterday. But since you proposed this, you should have some understanding of it already, right? I gathered some relatively obscure information.”
“I only had a rough idea of the general information,” I replied, looking through the materials Sister Bai handed me. Many pieces of information were familiar, confirming that regardless of how many times it was presented, the conveyed meaning was approximately the same.
“Then Xiao Han, are you sure you want to go? I just want to ask you one last time. No matter what you choose, I’ll support you.”
“Of course I want to go; it’s just to relax a bit, plus doesn’t this description say there’s not much danger inside?” I nodded seriously.
“That’s true. In fact, my mentor has mentioned this secret realm before. I seem to have some impression of it. Unfortunately, I didn’t follow my mentor’s advice to go back then.”
“You didn’t go! Huh? Why not?” I raised my head curiously and asked.
I didn’t expect Sister Bai’s mentor had also recommended this to her… then this secret realm and that task must be taken seriously.
But unfortunately, the accompanying task description was vague, merely a non-mandatory requirement to explore Fool Village and discover the secrets buried within.
You could abandon it at any time without any penalties or compensations for failure, but malicious destruction of the Fool Village Secret Realm would result in penalties.
The rewards section was even more abstract, more so than the task content, the only understandable part being that one could receive praise from the Academy Head.
“Perhaps I was too young back then. I remember that entering this Witch Secret Realm requires signing a borrowing contract. Inside the secret realm, all your spellbooks will be swapped for one that seems to be called Meditation Technique. Once you exit the secret realm, the spellbooks will automatically revert, and the previous one will disappear. I’m not too clear, let’s just ask when we get there.”
“Borrowing contract? There are such restrictions?”
“Yes, indeed. I’ve heard from classmates who went that the borrowed spellbook is similar to the Witch Meditation Method. After meditating for about three or four days inside, they couldn’t stand it and had to come out,” Bai Yu recollected.
“Meditation Technique? Perhaps the key lies in that.”
“It definitely does, the hints or indications are quite clear, but no one has figured anything out from it. Even if the spellbook is destroyed, your own spellbooks will still come back after you exit.”
“Sister Bai, you’re amazing; how do you know so much?”
“N-no, I’ve just looked at the strategies compiled by senior sisters from previous years.” Bai Yu blushed a bit from my praise. “Let’s take a look now; since you feel that way, after seeing it, we can prepare some things. After dinner, we can go check out that secret realm.”
“That’s true, but do we still need to prepare some things?”
“Of course, you’ve said this is a long-term task; you must prepare clothes to change, food, and a place to sleep, right?” Bai Yu responded naturally. “Speaking of this, it reminds me of a friend of mine who went into a long-term secret realm and didn’t bring anything; she ended up sleeping in a tree. How pitiful.”
“Really?” I laughed at what Sister Bai said. Sleeping in a tree? Thankfully, I wasn’t that reckless back then.
Then, I began flipping through the printed information from Sister Bai, while she continued to search for various information related to this task and the Witch Secret Realm on her phone. After all, secret realms don’t connect to the outside world. If some information isn’t remembered, it won’t be accessible once inside.
I carefully recorded all this information in the Memory Shelf, and when I don’t need it, I can just remove it.
I must say, even though it was still morning, reading the materials while petting a cat and sipping coffee was indeed a pleasure. After Sister Bai arrived, she skillfully ordered a cup for herself as well and brought me a small dessert.
“Is this the indigenous people of Fool Village? They’re so cute…”
I pointed at a photo in the materials and exclaimed.
The indigenous people of the Fool Village Secret Realm refer to themselves as the Fool Dream Clan, resembling Q-version little people, not very tall overall. According to descriptions, they could probably punch you in the knee.
Instead of calling them the Fool Dream Clan, the seniors in the guide preferred to refer to them as Elemental Sprites; they truly live like innocent little sprites in this pure land.
However, upon seeing this, I realized a problem: the “language” issue. The guide mentioned that the Fool Dream Clan could communicate but overlooked a point—what they say, we can understand!
There’s definitely some issue there.
I just don’t know what the issue is yet; perhaps it’s something simple regarding a method the Academy Head used to teach us their language?
After all, this secret realm was provided by an Academy Head!
The methods of the Academy Head are not something we can speculate on.
“They are indeed so cute. I even want to raise one, but it’s a pity they can’t be taken out of this secret realm.” Bai Yu agreed with my view but ultimately shook her head regretfully.
After all, anyone would subconsciously want to possess something cute, even if just a little.
“Cannot take them out?”
I gently repeated this. Other secret realms, like the Cannibal Forest I visited for the first time, allowed for the collection of various plants.
“Yes, someone has tried to take them out secretly, but it didn’t succeed. Even if it did succeed, the Academy would probably make her return it… If everyone learned from that senior’s behavior, this secret realm might end up ruined. The indigenous peoples likely play a big role in the tasks within this secret realm.”
“That’s true.”
I couldn’t help but admire the wisdom of the senior sisters from the past. It seems that many clues I noticed had already been discovered or even practiced by seniors. I must say, the past seniors were really ruthless.
I just wanted to take a few of these little cuties; they actually went ahead and did it…
However, at this moment, I came across something even more interesting. Some people had seen that some of the Fool Dream cuties could brew potions, while others could cultivate Extraordinary Plants. If the plants were stolen, they would cry for help.
Some even reported that they had seen some Fool Dreams practicing Alchemy!
This certainly caught my attention. If I couldn’t obtain anything valuable after entering, then I could go find those who had special skills among the Fool Dreams and learn from them!
Whether it was potion brewing, alchemy, or anything else, even cultivation experience—once learned, I could teach Dongli Yiren afterward.
