Su Yao was still a step too late; by the time she returned, Du Wei was already nowhere to be seen.

"Are we still setting up the stall?" Ya asked.

Su Yao nodded, "Set it up."

Making money had become an urgent matter; she had to seize every opportunity to earn.

Su Yao, accompanied by a pet and a spirit, quickly made her way through the night market.

This night market consists of two streets, with the most stalls selling potions, followed by some seafood and food stalls. Su Yao observed carefully; although there were many food stalls, there were also many people buying food. Given that the food Su Yao sold was both delicious and rare, she was sure to make a profit.

Then it was about figuring out how to set up the stall.

Su Yao specifically found a few people on the street to inquire. They had probably seen many travelers like Su Yao, and their attitudes were very consistent, as were their prices—three gold coins per person to answer questions.

To set up a stall, you first need to go to the management office of this night market.

"Let's go back."

The location of the management bureau was near the place where they had just entered.

"Perfect, take the pizza with you when you go back."

The pizza was served, and Ya got a piece the size of Su Yao's thumb, while Su Yao and the little snake each took a sixth.

While eating and walking, the pizza was finished, and Su Yao also turned towards the management bureau.

"May I ask what business you need to handle... Boss, it's you!"

Su Yao had just entered the door when a familiar voice reached her ears.

The boy who came to buy cola today but kept staring at Yakan.

"Hello, may I ask where the staff is?"

"Hello, I am the staff member here. My name is Oliver." Oliver showed Su Yao the card in front of him, which had a magical mark proving that he was indeed the staff member here.

"Excuse me, are you setting up a stall here?"

Oliver could guess why Su Yao came here; he even specially swapped shifts with a colleague just to wait for the chance to see her again.

Heaven does not disappoint the diligent; it really made him wait!

"Yes. I want to rent a stall to sell food and drinks."

Su Yao took out three kinds of buns and a boxed meal with a mix of meat and vegetables, plus all the drinks.

This is the normal review process of the management bureau; everything sold needs to be inspected and tested by the staff, including food.

Oliver first followed the procedure to conduct the tests. After confirming that everything was in order, he issued a permit to Su Yao. The permit was free of charge, but correspondingly, the items Su Yao provided for testing could not be returned. These items served as payment for the permit.

"Running a stall at the night market is different from setting up at the beach. All transactions here are regulated by the management bureau. Please, sir, be mindful of your words and actions, and do not engage in dishonest business."

As he spoke, Oliver handed Su Yao a piece of paper. It was the rules for setting up a stall at the night market. "Take a look at it when you have time, and don't break any laws."

"No problem!" Su Yao quickly skimmed through the rules. They were all standard regulations that she could adhere to.

"There's no particularly good spot left now. Come with me to take a look first, and if you think it's suitable, then we can rent it."

Oliver called out the colleague who was slacking off at the back to stand guard, while he brought Su Yao outside.

The two walked towards the night market. Seeing that there was no one around, Oliver finally couldn't help but speak. Su Yao had also finally waited for Oliver to dispel her doubts.

"Is she really an elf?"

"She is an elf. But... do you like elves a lot? I see you pay a lot of attention to them."

Oliver opened his mouth, as if unsure of what to say, hesitated for a long time before continuing, "I do really like elves, because I, we also have an elf at home. And I want to ask the boss for a favor for our elf."

"Your family has elves too?" Su Yao didn't speak, but Ya was the first to exclaim in surprise, "Elves haven't been allowed out of the valley for hundreds of years. How could your family have elves!"

"It's not something recent; our family's spirit has been around for five hundred years."

"Five hundred years ago? That's even more impossible! Apart from me, our clan has long lost contact with humans. Moreover, to ensure that any lost elves can return home, we perform a summoning ritual every hundred years. Now... except for those who are dead or imprisoned by humans, none are wandering outside!"

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

At this point, both Ya and Su Yao already sensed that something was amiss, and an infuriating thought surged in their minds.

The elves are beautiful and adorable, with petite figures, more sensible than cats and dogs, and are considered the best pets in the eyes of humans. Hundreds of years ago, when the elves and humans lived together, many people would specifically capture and imprison elves as pets. It wasn't until the elves could no longer tolerate this situation and moved their entire tribe into the deep valleys, never to emerge again, that this practice ceased.

Could it be that the Oliver family is in this kind of situation?

"No, we haven't imprisoned anyone." Oliver stammered for a long time without making himself clear, finally sighing, "You'll understand when you come to my house."

"Today, I'm not going to set up the stall. I'll go to your place and have a look."

Su Yao sensed Ya's emotions, and she no longer felt like setting up her stall. Plans couldn't keep up with changes; it was better to go and take a look.

"That's great, thank you so much! Our family can compensate the boss for tonight's loss. We really appreciate your help."

Oliver's attitude was very good, but his words were quite strange.

Su Yao and Ya exchanged a glance, their hearts filled with growing doubts.

The group changed their route and headed to Oliver's house.

Su Yao remained vigilant, silently memorizing the route along the way, while Ya was contemplating her family members.

Five hundred years ago, Ya was still young and unaware of the situation with her elders. If she had to guess a spirit, Ya could only think of her aunt.

Her aunt was the elf that the family had never managed to find.

Soon, Oliver led Su Yao and Ya to the residential area. Entering through the main gate of the residential area and taking two turns, they arrived at Oliver's home.

From the outside, this house looked very new, taller and more luxurious than the surrounding houses. It was filled with many plants, and its style perfectly matched the aesthetics of the Elven race.

"This is my home, please come in."

Oliver opened the door, and the people inside the room also heard the sound of the door opening.

"Who’s here?" the man asked, walking out with a lantern.

"Father, it's me, Oliver," Oliver responded.

"Why did you suddenly come back?" Oliver's father asked in surprise, and a woman's voice from inside the house also inquired about the situation.

"This is my father and mother," Oliver said, turning to introduce them to Su Yao and Ya.

At this moment, the people inside the house came out.

Judging by appearance alone, one could immediately recognize the relationship between Oliver and the man. Oliver was practically a replica of him, both with thick eyebrows, large eyes, sturdy builds, and identical facial features.

Oliver's mother followed behind his father. Her body was somewhat frail, and she appeared even more petite and delicate in contrast to the father and son. She seemed to be somewhat melancholic, with traces of worry visible in her eyes and brows.

Su Yao and Ya saw Oliver's parents at the same time that they saw Su Yao and Ya.

"Elves!" Oliver's father hurriedly ran up to them with a lantern, "They really are elves!"

He was very excited.

Oliver felt it was rather presumptuous and nudged his father, "Don't do that, let's go inside first and talk inside."

Oliver's parents are not wizards, so there's no need to worry about safety.

Hearing the system's words, Su Yao then led Ya into the house.

"It's really an elf!" Oliver's mother coughed excitedly a few times and quickly invited them to sit down.

"Don't sit down, just say what you need to. I heard from Oliver that your family has an elf, and it's sick. What's going on?"

Oliver nudged his father again, "Go on. They probably aren't bad people. And they might have misunderstood our family."

"Oh, okay." This sentence served to explain to Oliver's father where Su Yao and Ya's unfriendly attitude came from.

"Go inside and bring out the box," Oliver instructed Oliver, "I'll explain."

"Miss, please sit down. The elf is not our prisoner. Our family is a faction of peace."

Peace faction?

Su Yao didn't know, so Ya quietly explained to her, "The Peace Faction opposes the idea of elves as pets and has saved quite a few elves."

"Yes, yes, we have a medal at home. Oliver will bring it out in a moment to prove it."

As he spoke, Oliver had already come out, holding the box that contained the medal.

When Ya saw the medal, tears immediately welled up in her eyes, "It's really the Peace Faction!"

The magical world always has its own unique way of proving things. Ya could feel the authenticity of this medal; tears were the way to prove it.

Oliver smiled, "Does that explain it clearly?"

Oliver's mother also smiled gently and brought over a few cups of tea. "Have some tea," she said.

Tea from the Longyin Continent is a luxury item for the nobility. Their family serving tea to guests was also a sign of respect for Su Yao and Ya.

Ya couldn't control herself and cried for quite a while before stopping. She touched the medal and, with a choked voice, asked Oliver's father, "So, could you please tell me what exactly happened?"

"Our family having a spirit isn't actually complicated to explain, but it is somewhat embarrassing."

Oliver's father, just like Oliver had been a moment ago, suddenly started to stammer. It took several muttered sentences before Su Yao and Ya could understand him.

"We... are descendants of the Elven race."

"Descendant? What do you mean?"

"That elf is my grandmother."

Su Yao: ???

Ya: ???

"Even more confused."

Oliver's mother couldn't stand it any longer and urged, "Speak properly."

Oliver's father sighed and explained clearly this time: "My grandfather fell in love with an elf, and they had my father. Then, generation after generation, we all inherited elven blood."

After speaking, Oliver's father picked up the fruit knife and cut his finger.

Blood gushed from the wound, and a breath of nature hit her face. This feeling was the same as when Su Yao first met Ya.

Ya was completely petrified, "Do you really have elven blood in you?"

What's going on?

A thousand and one nights! Absurd!

Oliver added, "Although I look very young, I am actually over a hundred years old."

Elves are long-lived, and it is normal for those with elven blood to live for several hundred years.

But what was abnormal was—

"Elves are so tiny, how could they possibly mate with humans and produce someone this big?!"

Su Yao stood by, watching Ya's shocked questioning, not daring to say a word.

Has the world gone mad to this extent? It truly is magic..

Oliver's father felt very awkward. Despite his age, every time he thought about this issue, he would be in a daze for a while.

"The specifics are matters of our ancestors; we, the younger generation, don't know what happened back then. From my generation onwards, everything in the family has been normal."

"That can't be right either!" Ya was going crazy; her worldview was collapsing!

Several "elves" spoke one after another, growing more and more excited with each sentence.

Su Yao took a deep breath and called out to stop, "Let's not discuss having children for now. Let's talk about the elf's illness first. What did Oliver mean when he said he wanted our help to cure it?"

"Yes, it's to ask for your help in treating an illness."

"Then meet that elf?"

"You can meet, but I still hope you both remain calm. We mentioned this in advance to help you calm down, because my ancestor here is very sensitive. Her illness is also related to this sensitivity."

"What kind of illness is this?" Ya frowned, her worldview shaken once again.

Su Yao was also full of questions. It wasn't until she actually saw the elf that she finally understood the meaning of "there's no most outrageous, only more outrageous!"