CHAPTER 199
🙞❤︎🙜
“Do you need help?” yelled the guard who was staying with us.
“No! Stay there with the lady!” shouted a guard from the area beneath us.
Below us, the commotion continued, but the clan member’s tone of voice gradually became less alarmed.
“Don’t hurt it!”
“Try to push it away.”
“It’s not trying to eat you; it wants to lick your face.”
“Ugh, its breath stinks!”
“I think it's the Ten Thousand Scaled Nine-Headed Divine Immortal Serpent King!”
“What? The Ten Thousand Scaled Nine-Headed Divine Immortal Serpent King?”
“But it doesn’t have nine heads.”
“Look at it. It must be a descendant of the immortal beast.”
After a few more minutes, we got the go-ahead to descend. At the bottom of the stairs, we found the clan members chilling with a three-headed hydra.
“Oh, what a cutie!” I patted its soft, scaly heads which made all three heads hiss in a pleased manner.
The hydra, which was a three-headed snake, was around seven feet long. Standing on four stubby legs, it was roughly four feet tall, with soft brown scales that shaded to black at its feet and pinkish on its head. Its brown eyes were large and round, which gave it a very innocent appearance.
“Yes, this is a sacred mythical beast,” said Prince Muyang. “My lady, please stay here while we explore the rest of the valley.”
“Sure, no problem!” I said.
The prince left one guard behind while the rest scattered in all directions. My apprentices carefully approached the hydra and started petting it. I looked around while scratching the hydra’s necks.
To my surprise, the valley seemed quite ordinary. The trees, plants, and even the insects looked exactly the same as the ones in the tropical jungle outside. A small waterfall was in the west and a stream burbled merrily beneath it. Except for the hydra, nothing looked unusual.
[Finding the Fertile Fields Enchanted Enclave:
Craft a Thunderbolt Scepter and Bell and get it appraised. - done
Sell it to the Black Tortoise clan. - done
Ask the Duke of the North for permission to explore the Snowcrest Mountains. - done
Locate the fabled lost secret garden of the Black Tortoise clan. - done
Plant 12 different Frost Flowers in the garden.
Reward: Farming Exp]
One of the hydra heads started licking Lari’s face, which made him try to get away, but it pursued him while the rest of us watched in amusement.
“It’s a pity we’re not allowed to Fish or Forage here,” said Kharli.
“This is holy ground for them. It’s enough that we can Farm and Fish on the islands,” I said.
Mo eventually rescued Lari by giving the hydra a tiger plush toy from the [Wondrous Whimsical Wonder Workshop] to chew on. This started a fight with the three heads, who all wanted the toy, so we had to give them more. I contributed a rabbit toy, while Kharli gave them a reindeer one.
Kharli gave the sacred beast a thoughtful look. “I wonder what the hydra eats.”
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“Snakes eat mice and small animals, I think.” Since it seemed we were going to have to wait for a long time, I took out some chairs and a small table. “Let’s have a snack. It’s almost lunchtime and I’m hungry.”
We settled ourselves comfortably and had tea and cookies. When the clan members didn’t return at noon, we ate the sandwiches that the staff had packed for us. It was mid-afternoon by the time the clan members returned. They looked like they were in great spirits, with big smiles on their faces and their eyes sparkling with joy.
“Lady Violet, I can take you to the place with the flowers you wanted to go to,” said Prince Muyang.
“Did you find anything interesting?” I asked.
“There is a small herd of sacred beasts, which is a great blessing for my clan. Legend says that the Serpent King only appears during the reign of a heroic ruler.”
“Where do they live? What do they eat?”
“There is a glen downstream.” The prince gestured at the stream north of us. “After we finish dealing with the troubles in the Southernlands, I’ll bring scholars here to study how they live and what they eat. I also want to collect their discarded skin. They could be used for many things…”
“They shed their skins like snakes?”
“I saw a few snakeskins! Let’s go to the place you’re looking for while we talk.” Prince Muyang led the way, and we chatted while we walked, with the clan members surrounding us to keep watch on the environment, even though nothing really seemed dangerous.
The three-headed hydra followed beside us playing with my apprentices by tossing the soft toys back and forth between the three heads and my three farmhands.
Soon we arrived at a small clearing which had black and green marble altar at its center that had a lovely statue of the Black Tortoise on it. The altar and statue had both been covered in moss and dirt when they discovered it, but the clan members had cleaned it up as best as they could. Dozens of pretty lily-like white flowers were blooming around the altar.
“These should be the flowers that you described, Lady Violet,” said the Prince.
[Frost Flower:
A sacred flower indigenous to the Snowcrest Mountains that blooms all year round. Its scent is described as reminiscent of freshly fallen snow, hence its name. Planting one of its seeds is said to grant a person a year of good luck. Honey made from its nectar has strong wound-healing properties.]
I rubbed my hands together in delight. The HP-recovery food and medicine recipes were almost within my grasp! “Yes, this is it! Kids, look around for seeds.”
The clan members stood guard over us as we searched the ground for seeds. Once we gathered enough, I went up to each clan member and gave them one. “Plant one for good luck.”
Since this was not a farm, we didn’t need to plow the land. Instead, we simply poked holes in the ground with a stick and placed the seeds inside and then covered them with soil before watering them. When twelve seeds were planted, I got the expected System message.
[Finding the Fertile Fields Enchanted Enclave: Quest Complete
Reward: Farming Exp]
[Congratulations, you just advanced a Farming level!]
[Your Farming level is now 29.]
Awesome! I was very close to level 30, too.
Wiping the dirt off my hands with a handkerchief, I looked around and noted the location of the waterfall. It was cliche, but the Adventure Incarnate developers were the traditional type who always loved to hide something behind every cascade of falling water. I vaguely remembered some sort of minor quest in this area.
“Is there a legend of a hidden treasure here?” I asked the clan members.
“There are tons,” said the youngest, a dashing-looking man with thick eyebrows and an aquiline nose. “I can’t wait to explore every nook and cranny.”
“I have a feeling there could be something behind that waterfall.” I pointed at it. “Can we take a look?”
Prince Muyang looked up at the sky. “It’s noon. Do you want to eat your midday meal first?”
“We already had a snack,” I said. “I’d like to check it out first.”
“It would be faster if we flew you there.”
I put a hand on my chest and sighed, knowing he was right.
Flying was the worst!
The prince picked me up and flew off. I kept my eyes tightly shut while we flew to the waterfall, trying to take deep breaths and stay calm. Thankfully, it wasn’t far.
While we were still in the air, the clan members stopped and floated near enough to the water that I could feel the moist spray on my face. Prince Muyang ordered one of his men to scout ahead, and when he returned with news that there was indeed a space behind the waterfall that had a door carved into the side of the mountain, they flew us there.
We got awfully wet, of course, and I took out a lot of fluffy towels which we used to dry off. The door, made of plain black wood, opened easily, and I let the clan members go inside first before the kids and I entered.
The System notification chime sounded as soon as I went through the door.
[Quest Available: The War Scroll]
I read the System’s description before accepting the quest.
[The War Scroll:
Open the nine doors by solving all the puzzles. Discover the ancient War Scroll.
Reward: Farming Exp and ???]