Lily forcefully placed the candy into Yun Ge’s hand and said, “Here, take it! You used to be more decisive! Besides, this bag of candy originally belonged to you. I found it on your bedside table when I returned home just now. You must have forgotten about it after your sudden amnesia.”
“I’ll keep these candies for you temporarily, so you don’t lose them again due to another sudden memory loss. You know, even though Candy Town has an abundant supply of candies, the amount that ordinary townsfolk like us can receive is extremely limited. We must cherish these candies!”
Hearing Lily say this, Yun Ge once again felt dissatisfied with the town chief’s candy distribution system. However, he then thought that the town chief was actually very kind and approachable, which made him question his own doubts. Perhaps there were some unknown difficulties behind the town chief’s decision to limit the distribution of candies?
After thinking about this possibility, Yun Ge shook his head and decided that he shouldn’t suspect a gentleman with a petty mind without knowing the real reason. So, he put aside this thought and said, “Then, I’ll trouble Lily to keep my candies for me temporarily!”
Lily then said with a playful expression, “Hey! Can’t you just call me Lily? Calling me Miss Lily makes our relationship seem so distant! You should call me Lily like before!”
Yun Ge scratched his head embarrassedly and replied, “Okay, okay, Lily! I understand!”
Then, Yun Ge asked worriedly, “By the way, the town chief mentioned before I left that I can come with you and Luke for blood tests in two days, and he’ll also conduct the first review of my condition. Why are you and Luke coming for blood tests the day after tomorrow? Are you guys sick too?”
“Of course not. But the day after tomorrow isn’t just Luke and I getting blood tests; all the residents of Candy Town will go to the designated location for blood tests,” Lily corrected.
“Why?” Yun Ge asked in confusion.
Lily sighed helplessly, “Sigh! It’s all because Candy Town is located in the Lost Woods! Although we’ve been living safely in the Lost Woods, the deep forest outside Candy Town is full of dangers and is surrounded by mysterious fog all year round. This fog at night is a deadly danger to us.”
Lily paused for a moment, then continued, “Of course, even the fog during the day won’t harm us, but it’s said that if we inhale too much fog during the day, it will still pose a serious threat to our physical and mental health. Fortunately, after the town chief’s relentless efforts, he finally developed a unique medicine that can neutralize the harm, and this medicine has also been incorporated into the candies we make, ensuring that we have the ability to resist the harm of the daytime fog.”
“In this way, as long as we keep taking the candies, we can maximize the offset of the fog’s harm to us. However, to be safe, the town chief still requires us to have regular blood tests. This is to ensure that he can discover any potential health problems in a timely manner and immediately provide targeted treatment when someone’s resistance to the fog decreases, thus avoiding the worsening of the patient’s condition and even threatening the patient’s life.”
Speaking here, Lily looked at Yun Ge seriously and said, “So, you must listen to the town chief’s words and have blood tests on time, understand?”
Yun Ge nodded and replied, “Understood! I’ve already caused everyone a lot of trouble. So, I will definitely try my best to cooperate with everyone’s work and not become a burden to everyone!”
Lily nodded satisfactorily, then raised her hand to Yun Ge and said, “Good to know! Let’s go! Since you’re fine now, I’ll take you around and tell you where the town’s borders are!”
Yun Ge naturally agreed to Lily’s invitation with pleasure because, after hearing about the dangers hidden in the forest, he felt it necessary to understand the surroundings well to avoid unnecessary risks. Besides, who would refuse the opportunity to tour around with a beauty like Lily?
“Then I’ll trouble Miss Lily!” Yun Ge said with a pretentious arch of his hand.
Lily’s corner of her mouth twitched, and she feigned anger, shaking her fist at Yun Ge, “Hey! We just agreed, and you actually still dare to call me Miss Lily? Tell me, was that intentional or just a slip of the tongue?”
“Miss, don’t be angry! I’m just afraid that if I suddenly have amnesia again, I won’t know how to address you, so I think you should get used to my way of calling you, in case you have that reaction again next time,” Yun Ge said with a grinning expression, deliberately not defending himself.
Of course, Yun Ge didn’t think of defending himself at all because he just wanted to joke with Lily to ease the slight awkwardness between them during their alone time.
After a round of bickering, the atmosphere between the two immediately became much more relaxed. So, the two strolled and chatted, letting their thoughts run free, wandering through every corner of the town. They walked out of the town along the main road paved with stones that ran through the center of the town.
Within dozens of meters outside the town, there was a relatively flat grassland. It was obvious that there were no towering trees in this area because the townspeople had leveled this woodland. Yun Ge understood this. After all, Candy Town was surrounded by dense forests. This open grassland allowed the town’s guards to have a good view when on duty, so they could promptly detect any dangerous creatures attempting to invade the town. However, Yun Ge felt that this approach was equivalent to completely exposing Candy Town to the forest, making it easier for Candy Town to become the target of attacks.
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“Hey! You’re really stupid! We’re not intellectually challenged, how could we not guard against creatures invading the town? Look at those wooden poles stuck in the grass over there,” Lily said, pointing to the nearest wooden pole not far from them.
Yun Ge had already noticed many wooden poles stuck in the surrounding grass, and he also saw that there was a round tray on top of each pole. So Yun Ge asked curiously, “I see them. What are those wooden poles for? Could they be your secret defense devices?”
Lily shook her head and answered, “No, no, no! Those wooden poles are just ordinary wooden poles, and they are also a kind of marker. Around those wooden poles, the grassland is filled with carefully designed hunting traps. Once dangerous creatures attempt to enter the village, they will inevitably be captured by those traps, which will scare off other companions who want to enter the town. So, you must never enter the grassland on your own. Otherwise, if you step on a hunting trap, it will be dangerous!”
“Then, what are the trays on the wooden poles for? Are they torches for night lighting?” Yun Ge asked again.
“Hehehe! You’ve only guessed half of it,” Lily said, showing a mischievous and cute expression to Yun Ge.
Then, Lily pointed to the tray on top of the wooden pole and explained, “Actually, those trays are specifically used to hold nectar. Because the nights in the Lost Woods are very dangerous, the town’s guards naturally won’t stand guard at night. So, in addition to relying on the hunting traps arranged around the town to deter wild beasts wandering around the town at night, the guards will also rush to place the sweet nectar collected that day into the trays on each wooden pole before nightfall. Then, when night falls, the fireflies in the forest will be attracted over.”
“Then the fireflies will gather around the trays all night, tasting the fresh nectar while forming light clusters on the wooden poles. Although the lighting effect of these firefly clusters is very limited, the light they emit can deter the wild beasts that come out at night, making them dare not approach the borders of the town.”
“Although the mist forest is the biggest threat to the town at night, scaring away the wild beasts that come out at night with fireflies can further ensure the safety of the town’s residents through the night.”
Yun Ge listened to Lily’s explanation carefully and found that she did not mention anything about ghosts and monsters, so he asked, “Then, how do we defend against those ghosts and monsters?”
Lily shook her head with some fear and said, “Phew—! Those ghosts and monsters come and go without a trace, and no one has seen their true faces.”
Then, Lily bitter smiled and said, “In fact, there are quite a few skeptics among the townspeople who question the existence of these legends. However, given that the townspeople who went out at night and disappeared never left any clues, most people still believe that they were taken away by the ghosts and monsters hidden in the mist.”
“Since we can’t stop the mist in the forest from drifting into the town with the night, we naturally can’t stop those ghosts and monsters from entering the town either. So no matter how tight our precautions are, avoiding going out at night is the best way to protect ourselves. Unless——”
“Unless what?” Yun Ge asked.
“Unless you have the ability to bear the witchcraft that the town chief casts to avoid the dangers of the night, you can completely avoid the harm of the hidden dangers in the forest at night,” Lily answered.
“Then, what do I need to do to have such ability?” Yun Ge pursued the question.
“Every three years, Candy Town holds a selection event. The town chief will personally select some talented young people, tailor-made growth plans for them, and continuously develop their potential. The town chief will continuously assess these candidates and cultivate those who meet the requirements into his personal attendants,” Lily answered.
Lily looked at Yun Ge, who was eager to try, and said, “Hey, I’m afraid you shouldn’t even think about it. Because you are an outsider survivor with brain damage, you are not qualified to participate in the selection event before you recover. Moreover, your condition today is so severe that the town chief is even less likely to choose you! Otherwise, what if you have another episode and forget the skills the town chief taught you? Wouldn’t the town chief’s efforts be in vain?”
Lily was right, so Yun Ge had to put down his waving fists and droop his head, sighing about his bad luck.
Lily comforted him, “Hey! Don’t think that being the town chief’s personal attendant is that easy. So far, apart from the attendants who followed the town chief to establish Candy Town back then, no one has been able to pass the town chief’s assessment and become his personal attendant.”
“Moreover, even the town chief’s personal attendants are not all capable of bearing the town chief’s witchcraft, responsible for economic and trade exchanges with the outside or patrolling the town at night. In short, even if you want to participate in the selection event, you must first cooperate with the town chief’s treatment and ensure that you no longer have amnesia episodes.”
The two continued their conversation as they walked along the path and soon entered the forest at the edge of the grassland. As soon as Yun Ge entered the forest, he was immediately overwhelmed by an indescribable freshness, causing him to stop talking and involuntarily inhale the sweet fragrance floating in the forest into his chest.
“Ah! It smells so good! This is the unique aroma emitted by fresh Sweetaurum flowers! How about it? Don’t you feel your mood has instantly improved after smelling this fresh fragrance?” Lily spread her arms and also took a big breath of the sweet air, then asked with a delighted look.
Yun Ge nodded and replied, “Wow! The air here is much sweeter than in the town! This smell is really magical! Gosh! It’s so blessed to work in such an environment every day, as if in a fairyland!”
The two followed the temporary road signs placed by the collection team and walked in the forest for a while, then vaguely saw a group of honey collectors in orange work clothes in the distance. Lily led Yun Ge through the busy collectors, introducing the process of honey collection to Yun Ge so that he could better collaborate with her in honey collection work when he resumed work tomorrow. After following the road signs and walking deeper into the forest for a while, they finally stopped in front of a horse-drawn carriage equipped with a honey collection box.
Then, Lily walked up to a staff member who was checking the quality of the honey just collected and said, “Uncle Shawn, I’ve brought Yun Ge back to report! Yun Ge, this is Uncle Shawn, the captain of our Thirty-sixth Collection Team. But you can call him Uncle Shawn like me. Come on, say hello!”
“Uncle Shawn, I’m Yun Ge, and I’m very glad to meet you!” Yun Ge hurriedly stood up straight and said to Uncle Shawn.