Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun and Yuta strolled along a forest path, as if entering a fairy tale world.

There was a strong sense of layered greenery before their eyes, with shades of new green, light green, dark green...

The flowers and plants in the forest, when observed with the All-Seeing Eye, revealed many that were rare outside, even extinct, only documented in alchemical texts.

Su Lun found everything very novel, and Yuta enthusiastically introduced it all along the way.

They followed a cobblestone path deeper into the forest and, after walking a few kilometers, their view suddenly opened up.

It was only then that Su Lun realized they had left the forest and were standing on a gentle slope covered with grass.

The scene was a verdant green, dotted with charming little flowers of purple and red. A gentle breeze caressed their faces, carrying a faint, refreshing fragrance that relaxed every pore. Below the slope, a meandering stream flowed past, astonishingly reflecting the sunlight in scintillating, multicolored glimmers.

Giant trees lined the riverbank, each with triangular-roofed cabins nestled in their branches, reminiscent of dwarven homes from fairy tales.

Children from the Dalu clan were playing on the grass by the river, their laughter reaching their ears.

A scene of tranquility.

As if all the world's beauty was within sight.

Su Lun's gaze became fixed for a moment.

Looking at all this familiarity, Yuta's crystalline eyes revealed a happy smile, "Mr. Su Lun, we have arrived."

Su Lun nodded, the beautiful scenery seemed to cleanse the filth from his soul, calming even the restless emotions at the bottom of his heart.

He attentively felt that fleeting sensation and whispered to himself, "Is this 'The Law of Nature'..."

Contemplating this, Su Lun removed the clown mask from his face.

The breeze touched his face.

....

The news of Yuta and another entering the holy land had already been sent to the central tribe by the patrolling sentinels.

They had just stepped out of the forest when a group of Dalu children, not yet fully grown, came running from afar. There were those from the wolf, bear, and leopard clans, among others. They shouted loudly, "Sister Yuta!"

Yuta seemed to be very well-liked in the tribe, many people knew her.

She waved happily at the group of youngsters.

Lowering her hand, she explained to Su Lun with a smile in her eyes, "To become a qualified Druid, one must receive long teachings from the elders in the central tribe. I've lived here since I was very young and only left two years ago."

After a pause, she pointed to the youngsters and said, "They are all apprentice Druids sent from various tribes to learn in the Holy Land."

Su Lun realized then why the souls of these children seemed so strong. Most were at the second or even third rank, a significant step above the average of the Ayr clan members he had met in the White Deer tribe.

In a blink, the group of youngsters had rushed to them with the wind.

In their enthusiastic welcome to Yuta, they also cast cautious and wary glances at Su Lun, the human.

Su Lun was aware but didn't mind, his face wearing a friendly smile.

Yuta knew that her tribespeople weren't very welcoming to humans, and she introduced him seriously, "This is Mr. Su Lun, my savior and also the savior of the White Deer tribe."

At her words, the glare in the children's eyes softened a bit.

But before she could finish, the leading wolf clan boy noticed the wolf clan amulet hanging around Su Lun's neck. His eyes sharpened with disbelief as he asked, "Sister, you gave your life wolf claw to this human?"

Yuta blushed slightly as if recalling something, and responded with a gentle smile, uttering, "%&...%&*."

Their conversation was in the Dalu language, which Su Lun didn't understand.

But in that moment, he definitely felt the gazes that had eased becoming hot and angry.

Su Lun felt puzzled. What had Yuta said to make these kids suddenly become hostile?

Yuta didn't translate what she had just said; she just smiled and introduced the wolf clan boy who seemed the most hostile toward Su Lun, "Mr. Su Lun, this is my brother Arcu."

Su Lun asked curiously, "Your real brother?"

"Yes."

Yuta wore an indulgent expression, "He's just a mischievous little rascal, don't mind him."

Hearing this, Su Lun took a closer look.

The sister is pretty, and this young wolf tribesman is also quite handsome, just with a trace of youthful naivety on his face.

Feeling slighted by his sister's words, Arcu retorted with defiance, "Human, do you dare to fight with me?!"

At those words, the energetic young tiger and leopard demihumans behind him were also eager to try shouting out loud one after another.

The druids of the Dalu clan all learned the human common language. Though these apprentice druids might not be too fluent, their emotions were clearly expressed.

Su Lun understood as well, were these guys looking to beat him up?

He found it somewhat baffling and didn't know why he had attracted the ire of these young druids.

Before Su Lun had a chance to ask, Yuta interjected, scolding the group of brats with annoyance, "Arcu, Gael... quit it. Mr. Su Lun is very powerful, even if you all teamed up, you couldn't beat him."

Su Lun glanced at her, could this way of breaking up a fight be adding fuel to the fire?

Sure enough, a spark lit in the eyes of the boys, who clamored for a duel on the spot.

Arcu, not to be outdone, said arrogantly, "Humph, how is that possible! I am the future number one warrior of the white wolf clan! I must make this human understand my strength!"

Yuta gave him an exasperated look, using her disdainful older sister's voice to mock, "You can't even beat me, and you want to fight Mr. Su Lun?"

These sentences were all said in the common language, and Su Lun understood clearly.

He stole a glance at Yuta and felt that there was something off about the way she was breaking up the fight.

Yuta, however, seemed unperturbed as if it were a customary affair in the Dalu clan, laughing, "Don't mind them, just a bunch of brats. Sometimes a good thrashing is all they need to behave."

"..."

Listening to this, Su Lun was somewhat exasperated and didn't really intend on physically disciplining the impish youth.

Pausing for a moment, she blinked meaningfully and added, "In our Dalu clan, Arcu is the king of the kids. Giving him a thrashing could save you, Mr. Su Lun, a lot of trouble~"

"..."

Hearing this, Su Lun didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

How much did this sister actually want her brother to get beaten up?

....

With Yuta, the elder sister intervening, the challenge never came to pass.

Nonetheless, the number of Dalu tribespeople who came to watch this human, Su Lun, continued to grow.

And there were even more young ones who wanted to duel with him.

Su Lun also realized that it might be because of the wolf claw amulet Yuta had given him?

Yuta didn't seem to mind, and naturally, neither did he.

Meanwhile, from the village beside the riverbank, a familiar face approached Su Lun, calling out from a distance, "Mr. Su Lun, long time no see."

Su Lun recognized him instantly, "Elder Pasu!"

This man was none other than the bear clan elder who had purchased the slaves at the auction in Gadronte Harbor previously.

Previously, he had been concerned about some mishap that had befallen the returning Dalu tribespeople from across the sea. Now seeing the person in question, he inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

Pasu greeted him warmly, "I didn't expect to see you again."

With that, he said to the Dalu tribespeople gathered around, "This is the human warrior who saved me and our people before, Mr. Su Lun."

It was only after this that Su Lun felt the gaze of those in the crowd soften.
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Many of the older Dalu tribespeople even smiled kindly at him, and Su Lun responded politely.

After introducing him, Pasu added, "Mr. Su Lun, we'll catch up later. The Clan Leader and elders have been informed of your arrival and are waiting for you."

Su Lun nodded, "Hmm."

He indeed needed to take care of some official business first, to deliver a message to Mr. Jing and to inquire about the Clan Leader's mental aberrations.

A group of people walked toward the village.

Crossing the colorful little river over the shallow stone shoal, they entered a forest of Sulin, primarily comprising elm and ash trees. Although not dense, the trees were massive. Dozens of people could wrap their arms around a single tree, and nestled in those giants were little treehouses, colorful like mushrooms.

Su Lun saw heads popping out of the houses, peering curiously at him, a human being.

The people of the Emerald Holy Land's Dalu tribe had almost never seen a human in their lifetimes.

Oh, that was until before yesterday.

Now he was the second.

Su Lun had also been wondering who the warrior in the Dalu tribe's prophecy might be.

To his surprise, as he walked, he actually encountered them.

There were not many man-made structures in the treehouse village, just a few stone paths laid out.

But in the center of the village stood several conspicuous large black steles.

Each of these steles was the size of more than a dozen blackboards.

Due to the long passage of time, the steles were covered with moss and vines.

And at this moment, a person in a red cloak was standing in front of the steles, carefully examining the inscriptions.

Even from behind, Su Lun recognized in an instant that this was a human being.

Because the Dalu dressed in animal pelts, while a red cloak was a fine textile from the human world.

However, even more coincidentally, Su Lun knew this person in the red cloak!

....

The crowd walked past, and the noise caused the cloaked person scrutinizing the stele to turn their head.

It was a young girl with flaxen pigtails and freckles on her face.

"Katya?"

Su Lun had been wondering all along about who could be the "prophesied person" of the Dalu tribe. He had never imagined it would be the noble young lady who had returned a ring and given him a "Star Amulet."

Katya also saw Su Lun, and it seemed she was surprised to see another human.

After sizing him up for a moment, she seemed to recognize something.

Although Su Lun was not wearing a mask, the aura he emitted and the amulet at his waist made her feel familiar, so she ventured, "Mr. Nicholas?"

Seeing that she had recognized him, Su Lun didn't pretend not to know her, responding, "Miss Katya, what are you doing here?"

Hearing his response, Katya's eyes immediately lit up with excitement, as if she had encountered an old acquaintance in a foreign land, "Ah, it really is you!"

She trotted over joyfully, chattering like a magpie, "I was with my family's guards, searching for meteorites in the forest. By chance, we ran into a Dalu tribe slave-catching squad. Coincidentally, I was able to help out a bit. Then, they invited me to be a guest here..."

Su Lun, suddenly understanding, nodded to himself. So that was what happened.

He was well aware that the girl had come to the Ice Plains to find meteorites. Encounters with slave hunters in the forest were not unusual.

Seeing a familiar face, Katya was thrilled, but her expression suddenly paused.

As if remembering something embarrassing, her fair neck tinged with red and she asked timidly, "Last time I got drunk, you had to take me home, Mr. Nicholas. I didn't... do anything too rude, did I?"

Su Lun smiled and shook his head, offering reassurance.

Seeing the two recognized each other, Yuta and Pasu, as well as the Dalu tribespeople, were all taken aback.

So the two "warriors" knew each other?

Yuta, who was well acquainted with Su Lun, asked directly, "Mr. Su Lun, you know each other?"

Su Lun nodded, "Yes, we met twice before in Blizzard City."

Yuta: "Oh."

Katyusha blinked at the appellation, seemingly curious about the name "Su Lun."

Su Lun didn't elaborate much and just gave a dry laugh.

Having too many enemies, he had gotten used to using aliases.

He then said, "The Clan Leader is waiting for me to visit; we'll talk more later."

Katyusha nodded politely, "Okay."

....

After walking a few steps, Katyusha returned to the stele, apparently planning to continue studying the text on it.

Su Lun took another look; those peculiar symbols were Dalu script.

Katyusha could understand Dalu script?

And she seemed to be enjoying it?

Perhaps sensing his gaze, Katyusha wanted to share her joy, her face full of excitement as she introduced, "Mr. Nicholas, this is 'The Poems of Eyang'! Eyang was once one of the greatest wandering poets of the Dalu and even the entire continent, who had traveled in the world of humans and left behind many exquisite poems. My family is also fortunate to have some fragments... I didn't expect to find complete poems here!"

As she spoke, like an enthusiastic fan, she generously bestowed her praise, "Oh, these poems are simply wonderful. Mr. Nicholas, when you're less busy, let me read you these marvelous verses... It will definitely be the most delightful experience in the world."

"Hmm."

Su Lun nodded.

It was only then that he realized the stele was inscribed with poetry.

On his way there, Su Lun had also learned a lot About Dalu customs through Yuta.

A distinctive trait of the Dalu was that although they had a written language, their heritage, especially spells, had no written record.

In their words, interpretation of predecessors' text can indeed enable successors to rapidly understand abstract concepts, but it also limits perspective and solidifies certain trains of thought.

Each person's insights are different, and the world they perceive is not the same; even when looking at the same text, the understanding is different.

The Dalu people believe that everything they have is a gift from the gods, and anything recorded in writing is bound to be misinterpreted; not relying on written text is the only way to come closer to the divine will.

This was also the most crucial reason why after the "Battle of Cursed Valley," high-ranking Druid warriors could no longer commune with the deities, and the lineage ended abruptly.

It sounds unbelievable, even a bit "superstitious." But since many top-tier Dalu warriors existed, this method of heritage must be "reasonable" to some extent.

Su Lun speculated that "divine decree" might be something akin to enlightenment, which can be intuited but not verbally transmitted.

But there was one exception – poetry.

Poetry was not just some marginal literary skill but one of the actual rules that could encapsulate divine nature.

The natural deity worshipped by the Dalu is said to be a higher deity that embodies nature, poetry, and peace.

Su Lun didn't yet understand the differences between these deities, but from Yuta's description, the natural deity seemed to rank much higher than the fallen angel once in Dawn City.

Because of this belief, historically, the Dalu tribe was known to produce many wandering poets – a wise race.

The top warriors of the Dalu were almost all great poets!

....

Though Su Lun was not knowledgeable about poetry, he knew from texts that the poems created by these top-tier wandering poets were no different in essence from the "arcane secrets" of the field of alchemy, containing certain special rules and spells.

He had also heard Mr. Jing mention "The Poems of Eyang"; in some areas, their value might even rival "Isaac's Alchemy Notes."

The Dalu steles before him were indeed priceless treasures.

Some things in the Dalu holy land didn't surprise Su Lun; what he wondered more about was why Katyusha understood Dalu script?

Although he had met this young girl more than once and had a fairly good impression of her.

The reasons for her presence were crystal clear.

But all causes and effects were as perfectly crafted as a story.

This noble young lady gave Su Lun a feeling that was not only unclear but became even more blurred and mysterious.