Chapter 97: Can Only Pin Hope on Wet Dreams

“What did you think I wanted to do with you?” Wen Chu asked in confusion.

Xiu promptly noticed the issue with the mental connection, and the last two words were silenced.

“Nothing.” Xiu’s earlobes turned red as he retracted his tail with a “swish.”

Wen Chu’s hands were suddenly empty.

Wen Chu had only asked casually because he hadn’t heard clearly, but Xiu’s reaction actually piqued his curiosity.

He pressed, “What was it exactly? I wanted to cook with you? Sleep? Leave?”

“Didn’t you want to talk about the Tree of Life?” Xiu turned a deaf ear, intent on changing the subject. “You said you sensed demonic energy on the Tree of Life. What’s that about?”

Speaking of serious business, Wen Chu snapped back to reality. He said, “I sensed a magical aura similar to Louis and myself. This aura only exists in the contaminated lower half of the Tree of Life.”

“Also, when I got close to it, I felt the power of its uncontaminated part. This power also felt very familiar to me. Just by getting close, my lifespan increased by one hour.”

Wen Chu described in detail the many strange things he felt when approaching the Tree of Life.

“I wanted to tell Lance and the others just now, but I’m also a demon. I didn’t know if saying it would affect you, so I thought I’d come back to the room first and ask you if I could say it.”

Xiu’s brows furrowed slightly. “There’s something about demons too?”

Wen Chu hesitated. “I’m not sure either. After all, I’m not very familiar with magic. But we can have Lance and the others catch a demon to ask.”

“Like Louis. He seems to be some kind of city lord; he should know a bit about the inside story,” Wen Chu added, holding a grudge.

Mentioning Louis, Xiu narrowed his beastly pupils slightly, recalling the brief encounter he had with the Dragon Slaying Squad.

“The number of demons in the Dragon Slaying Squad… was indeed surprisingly high.”

Human soldiers made up half, while demons accounted for a full third. The rest were just a few scattered dwarves and liches.

It was said to be a gathering of warriors from various races, but the team was almost entirely demons.

“This matter is too suspicious. Let’s tell Lance and the others tonight,” Xiu quickly decided. “You’ve been a huge help with this. They won’t make things difficult for you because of your race. We need to discuss how to act quickly; this matter cannot be delayed.”

Wen Chu was surprised. “Is it that serious?”

Xiu lowered his eyes. “If it really has something to do with the demons, then the humans are probably playing a very big game of chess.”

Wen Chu paused, then understood.

The contamination of the Tree of Life and the extinction of the Dragon Race didn’t happen overnight but were a layout that started from the Dragon Slaying War a hundred years ago.

First, swallow the Dragon Race and drug the last dragon while simultaneously contaminating the Elf Race. After the fall of the two strongest races on the Continent of Light besides humans, as long as a resource blockade was imposed on the Dwarf Race, the entire continent could be easily controlled.

Even unite with the demons to expand outward.

Wen Chu sighed. “War is so annoying.”

Xiu gave a “hmm” of agreement.

After finishing talking with Wen Chu, Xiu removed the soundproofing spell and opened the curtains again.

Wen Chu sat on the fragrant wooden bed, watching Xiu’s movements.

Their room was arranged next to the Tree of Life. From the window, they could see the lush branches of the Tree of Life and the ominous blackness below.

Wen Chu didn’t forget his original question. “So what did you think I wanted to do with you just now?”

Xiu’s tail stiffened. “Shut up.”

Wen Chu: qwq?

Still being fierce to him?

Xiu was unreasonable.

Wen Chu decided to ignore Xiu for three seconds.

Xiu opened the curtains and turned back, only to see Wen Chu looking at him with a mournful face. He guiltily moved a few steps to the side.

“…Want to taste some elven delicacies?”

Wen Chu didn’t hesitate. “Okay!”

Three seconds had passed; he and Xiu were reconciled now.

---

Lance and Alice also had matters to discuss and didn’t stop Wen Chu and Xiu from going out.

The number of newborn elves had decreased in recent years, but it had only reached zero in the last few decades. The overall population base was much larger than the Dragon Race. Although not comparable to humans, the area near the palace was still quite prosperous.

Wen Chu gnawed on candied berries while strolling through magic potion shops with Xiu.

It was rare for Xiu to go deep into elven territory, so he bought a lot of magic potions and various raw materials in one go.

He didn’t bring a spatial stone, so Wen Chu paid for everything. Most of the gold coins Lance had just sent over were spent immediately.

Wen Chu didn’t feel much heartache; he even happily wagged his tail.

Xiu always paid the bill. Finally, he had a rare opportunity to pay for Xiu.

While paying, he suddenly remembered something and looked at Xiu. “The dwarves are coming to renovate, so what about the things in our home?”

Xiu was put in an extremely good mood by Wen Chu’s phrase “our home” and wagged his tail happily. “It doesn’t matter. I left a magic array there. Besides, they’re only renovating the exterior. The dwarves wouldn’t dare touch a dragon’s treasure.”

The Dragon Race, the pettiest and most vengeful race. Unless they were looking for death, few dared to touch a dragon’s collection.

Thinking this, Xiu looked at Wen Chu again. The white-haired boy was focused on eating candied berries.

Because he was eating sweets, his azure eyes curved, overflowing with some pleasure, and his cheeks bulged slightly from the fruit.

Xiu chuckled softly.

Moreover, he had already brought the most precious little gem with him.

A skewer of candied berries was over forty centimeters long. Wen Chu ate half and got sick of it. After coming out of the magic potion shop with Xiu, he bought a bottle of flower tea.

Buying a pack of flower tea came with a box of flower cakes. Wen Chu remembered the flower cakes tasted pretty good earlier, so he simply bought a pack.

Xiu looked amusingly at his disheveled appearance—holding candied berries in one hand, cakes in the other, and clutching a bottle of water under his arm—and reached out his hand. “Are you still eating the berries? If not, give them to me.”

Wen Chu thought Xiu was going to throw them away and obediently handed over the bamboo skewer.

Unexpectedly, Xiu didn’t throw it away after taking it. Instead, he sized up the skewer of sweets he absolutely wouldn’t touch normally, turned his head, and took a bite.

His medium-length golden hair cascaded down. Wen Chu hadn’t expected Xiu to eat it. He had gnawed on it messily, and there were even his teeth marks on the fruit Xiu bit.

The tip of a bright red tongue flashed past, and a layer of glistening sugar frosting stuck to Xiu’s thin lips.

Wen Chu froze in place, staring blankly at Xiu, his whole body starting to burn.

“What?” Xiu raised his eyes to look at him.

Wen Chu quickly looked away and drank water. “N-nothing…”

Why seduce people randomly in broad daylight…

Wen Chu whispered, “Watch your influence.”

Xiu raised an eyebrow, asking knowingly, “What influence? It’s not like I’m eating you.”

Wen Chu: ?!?

What nonsense on the street!

He almost jumped up to cover Xiu’s mouth. “Stop talking.”

Xiu withdrew his gaze with satisfaction and finished the remaining fruit in a few bites.

Even if Wen Chu was a fool, he clearly had feelings for him.

He had enough patience. Next, he just had to wait for time to weave a dense net.

In a gentle, calm manner completely unlike a dragon, he would thoroughly ensnare his little gem.

Never to escape again.

---

Elves were vegetarians, but in the resource-rich Moonlight Forest, even vegetarian food was made in many varieties.

Wen Chu and Xiu strolled and ate all the way. By nightfall, they were already half full.

Xiu carried bags of various snacks. “Save some room. There’s a banquet tonight.”

Wen Chu was content. “Okay.”

As they spoke, the melodious sounds of accordions and flutes rang out beside them.

Wen Chu looked towards the sound. It turned out to be a few elves who had packed up their stalls. They were leaping lightly onto tree branches, taking out instruments, and singing to the rising moon and the Tree of Life.

“When twilight smooths the forest’s folds
The last returning bird fades into mountain clouds
I carry my harp, stepping over dew-stained mossy stones
Under the moon and the Tree of Life
To keep an appointment with the night
…”

The elves’ voices were ethereal, weaving through the emerald green thickets.

Night gradually fell. Under the bright moonlight, fireflies twinkled, and the whispers of katydids came from the grass.

Pure, natural. Just listening like this felt exceptionally soothing.

Wen Chu and Xiu appreciated it for a while but didn’t stay because they had to rush to the banquet.

The singing faded behind them, and Wen Chu muttered a little.

Why was this lyrical style so familiar?

“Hey, you guys are here too?” A female voice suddenly popped up behind them.

Wen Chu’s thoughts were interrupted, and he looked back with a start.

Alice had changed into light black combat attire, her brownish curly hair tied up high, looking at them smilingly.

“Why are you here?” Wen Chu asked first.

Alice gave him a resentful look: 【Finding information on the Dragon Race for you.】

She told Wen Chu this via mental communication, but on the surface, she said, “Came out to stretch my muscles—how’s Overend’s ballad?”

The topic jumped too fast. It took Wen Chu a few seconds to realize what Alice was saying. “Those elves just now were singing Overend’s poems?”

“Yeah.” Alice hummed a few completely out-of-tune lyrics. “After all, he’s the most famous bard on the Continent of Light. Any poem he writes for any race will be widely sung.”

Thinking of Xiu’s room full of poetry books, Wen Chu suddenly felt that Xiu’s exaggerated collection behavior wasn’t incomprehensible.

After all, the Dragon Race only had him left. For books specifically recording the Dragon Race, it was excusable for Xiu to like them… Wait?

Wen Chu finally grasped the key point.

Why did Overend know the Dragon Race so well? Know Xiu so well?

Even initially, many sources of his information about Xiu came from that Overend poetry collection in the carriage.

What was their relationship?

To have Xiu cooperate with an interview when his mental state was so poor—were they close friends?

Wen Chu tried hard to recall Overend’s appearance but could only remember the pitch-black robes and the deep voice.

He curled his lip, and his mood, happy from shopping, instantly plummeted to rock bottom.

He tightened his grip on Xiu’s hand. “…It was just average.”

Wen Chu muttered insincere words.

Alice was surprised for a moment, but there was no need for her to say much about such personal aesthetic issues.

Seeing Wen Chu and Xiu looking like they had just returned from a shopping spree with bags big and small, she reminded them in passing, “The banquet starts in over an hour. It’s just a small banquet for us, but remember not to be late.”

Wen Chu nodded.

After speaking, Alice jumped onto a tree branch and skillfully climbed over the wall into the palace.

The helpless expression of the elf guarding the city gate showed that this wasn’t the first time this guy had done this.

Wen Chu continued walking into the palace with Xiu.

Since “Overend” was mentioned just now, Xiu’s expression had been exceptionally pale.

“You dislike him that much?” Xiu asked softly.

Remembering how he said last time that if he didn’t like someone, Xiu would go kill them, Wen Chu hurriedly tried to make amends. “No, no, it’s just…”

It’s just that he didn’t like people so close to Xiu.

Saying this seemed too selfish.

This was, before he came here, the only bard who praised the Dragon Race.

Regardless of what Overend was really like, he was probably an extremely precious existence to Xiu, which was why a whole storage room was specially set aside for his books.

Moreover, Overend hadn’t treated him badly.

Wen Chu opened his mouth but couldn’t speak for a long time. Finally, he lowered his head dejectedly. “It’s my problem. I’ll adjust as soon as possible.”

Xiu didn’t speak. Staring at Wen Chu for a while, he made up his mind.

The identity of Overend must disappear.

It must have been his rash behavior back then that left a bad impression on Wen Chu.

With their own thoughts, the two returned to the bedroom to put down their purchases and headed to the banquet hall.

---

In the banquet hall.

Lance and Alice had already arrived.

To ensure privacy, the dishes were served all at once. There was a small magic array under each plate to keep the dishes at the optimal serving temperature at all times.

Wen Chu and Xiu took their seats.

Lance raised his cup in a gesture. “Welcome.”

Wen Chu imitated Xiu, raising his teacup to drink.

Elves didn’t drink alcohol; what was on the table was also flower and herbal tea. But compared to what he drank today, the magic power in this tea was exceptionally abundant. As Wen Chu drank, he could even see the lifespan panel beside him ticking up minute by minute.

Lance took the initiative to introduce, “This tea is brewed from stir-fried new leaves of the Tree of Life.”

Wen Chu held the teacup and asked softly, “Is there more? Can I take some?”

Lance smiled bitterly. “Of course, but the Tree of Life hasn’t had new leaves for a long time. This is also previous stock; I don’t have much left here.”

Wen Chu nodded.

He didn’t really want to drink it; he mainly wanted to explore what exactly his relationship with the Tree of Life was and why approaching it had such an effect.

They chatted briefly for a few sentences, then Xiu got straight to the point. “I have an important piece of information I want to share.”

Lance and Alice looked at Xiu seriously.

Xiu said, “At noon today, Wen Chu told me he sensed demonic energy on the Tree of Life.”

Lance and Alice’s expressions both changed. Obviously, they quickly realized what demonic energy on the Tree of Life implied.

“Good, that old thing.” As the representative most closely connected with humans, Alice was the first to state her attitude.

She clenched her fists. “Colluding with outsiders is one thing, but finding the demons with the least moral baseline—how is this different from asking a tiger for its skin?”

Lance’s expression was also grim. He looked at Xiu. “By telling us this information, presumably you don’t intend to stand by and watch either?”

Xiu nodded slightly. “Of course. This is already a matter concerning the survival of all races. If you die, I won’t have it easy in the wasteland either.”

His words were direct, but they were reassuring.

Alice also hurriedly said, “Me too. Unlike my father, I advocate common development. You’ve been with me for so long; you know me.”

Wen Chu, the only demon present: …

Wen Chu silently forked a berry tart and listened to them talk.

He’d better just eat. He couldn’t represent the demons; the reason he could sit here was only because he could revive the Tree of Life.

He felt like he had stumbled into a high-end meeting.

Wen Chu listened to everyone’s discussion while chewing.

The three tacitly ignored the fact that he was also a demon and decisively divided tasks and benefit distribution.

Alice obviously had a plan long ago:

“Xiu, you’re responsible for catching a demon to confirm. I remember there’s a demon city lord in the Dragon Slaying Squad. Lance handles logistics, and I handle troop deployment to attack the city. I’ll personally lead the troops to the capital, with Lance assisting.”

“Only, after reaching the capital, for the sake of legitimacy, I want to borrow your power.”

Xiu was serving mushroom soup to Wen Chu. Hearing this, he looked up. “Borrow how?”

Alice looked at their interaction, her mouth twitching, but still said seriously, “When attacking the capital city gate, I want you to appear, personally break the gate, and express your hatred for the king. Then I will appear as the one who stops the war, sign a new contract with you, and prevent you from occupying the capital.”

Wen Chu spoke quickly: “Doesn’t that mean Xiu takes the blame?”

Alice: “…Don’t put it so harshly.”

Xiu pondered for a moment and didn’t refuse. “What about the distribution of benefits?”

Alice was bold. “Besides the things I sent you today, I’m willing to return all the dragon territories and guarantee that as long as there is one dragon left, there will never be any conflict with the Dragon Race. I’m willing to sign a life-and-death contract.”

Xiu sneered but finally agreed. “Fine.”

Alice spoke nicely, but the Dragon Race only had him left. After he died, wouldn’t these territories still belong to humans?

Xiu certainly knew the twists and turns within, but the continuation of the Dragon Race wasn’t something he could influence. Alice’s words at least guaranteed that he and Wen Chu wouldn’t be disturbed in the future, so Xiu didn’t care.

Anyway, he didn’t put in much effort.

Sipping mushroom soup, Wen Chu also understood a beat slower.

He was no longer the Wen Chu who couldn’t speak clearly back then.

Wen Chu thought about it. Alice’s words were too perfect; he couldn’t think of a reason to fight for more. So he asked, “What about me?”

For a moment, everyone at the table turned their eyes to this little Nightmare who had been eating since just now.

Wen Chu’s ability was special, but everyone present had either a race or a country behind them. Even Xiu represented the entire Dragon Race. In comparison, Wen Chu’s status was insignificant.

Moreover, healing the Tree of Life didn’t absolutely require him. Catching a demon or the king directly to ask might also yield the answer.

It just involved bearing an extra unresolved risk.

So, looking at it from another angle, before Alice and Lance conquered the human capital, healing the Tree of Life absolutely required him.

Wen Chu clarified the current situation, put down his spoon, and asked seriously, “What about me? I help you heal the Tree of Life; what can you give me?”

The banquet hall was quiet for a few seconds.

Lance said gently, “What do you want?”

Wen Chu didn’t hold back. “I need one-fourth of the by-products produced by the Tree of Life annually, ownership of the wasteland next to the Moonlight Forest, and for your Elf Race to also promise never to disturb Xiu and me.”

He didn’t know what exactly the Tree of Life was, but it must be good stuff.

As for the wasteland—although it was originally part of the Moonlight Forest, it had been barren for so long. He worked hard to restore it, and Xiu built a castle. No matter how he thought about it, it shouldn’t be returned.

Wen Chu’s thoughts were simple, but Lance’s expression froze for a moment.

If the Tree of Life recovered, the growth of the Elf Race was inevitable. Wen Chu was directly cutting off half of the Elf Race’s development space.

As for the Tree of Life’s output, that was even more—

Lance wanted to refuse, but under Xiu’s death glare, he struggled unwillingly, “Does the Tree of Life’s output include the elves brought by the Tree of Life?”

Wen Chu was stunned; he had forgotten about this. “That’s not necessary.”

He thought about it and added, “But if the Tree of Life gives birth to dragons, then we want them.”

Lance: …

This wasn’t a baby-delivering goddess who gave whatever was asked.

“Agreed.” He breathed a sigh of relief.

He almost thought Wen Chu wanted to enslave elves. Since he didn’t want elves, the remaining conditions didn’t seem so exaggerated.

After all, whether Wen Chu revived the Tree of Life first or he found a solution first was a question. Lance had no need to offend Wen Chu and Xiu at this critical juncture.

Wen Chu also breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.”

He almost thought the negotiation would fail.

The banquet hall had a small open-air balcony from which the Tree of Life could be seen outside. Wen Chu looked at the charred trunk and couldn’t help sighing.

If only he could increase magic power faster.

What Lance thought, Wen Chu also thought of.

Now Xiu certainly wasn’t willing for him to give up most of his lifespan to save the Tree of Life. But if he saved up slowly and delayed, if Alice really extracted the solution from the demons, then his efforts would be in vain.

Now he could only hope that Xiu would dream every night.

Mm… wet dreams.

Just felt like Xiu would die from exhaustion.

Wen Chu’s thoughts ran wild, completely failing to notice that with his thoughts, the branches of the Tree of Life outside the window, which barely maintained vital signs relying on Juliana, actually began to grow slowly.

Inside the banquet hall, the result this time could be considered a joy for both hosts and guests. The sounds of knives and forks colliding with plates rang out.

A branch climbed onto the windowsill.

Wen Chu was still communicating with Alice via mental power.

Alice: 【When are you free? I’ve found all the information you wanted. It’s very comprehensive. When can I give it to you?】

Wen Chu thought for a moment: 【Tonight, wait until Xiu is fast asleep.】

Alice: 【Then I’ll leave it at your door. You come out and get it yourself.】

Wen Chu: 【Okay.】

Goal achieved, Alice happily served herself another bowl of rice.

It was very obvious tonight that she and Lance each had their own plans, while Wen Chu was a community of interests completely bound to Xiu.

Although watching the fun was interesting, out of consideration for her own interests, Alice still sincerely hoped Wen Chu and Xiu would drift apart.

She had found countless real and detailed cases of Dragon Race imprisonment, coercion, captivity, etc. It would definitely make Wen Chu recoil in fear.

Dessert after the meal was steamed rice cakes and berry cups. Unaware of Alice’s thoughts, Wen Chu wagged his tail expectantly and focused on eating rice cakes.

He still cared about what Xiu hadn’t finished saying today.

Since the information Alice found was particularly comprehensive, if he played fill-in-the-blanks with Xiu one by one, he would guess right eventually, wouldn’t he?

“Clatter—”

The sound of a bottle rolling was heard.

Wen Chu looked up. The bottle containing berries had been knocked over by a tree branch.

Nothing serious. Just as he was about to withdraw his gaze, he paused.

Wait, why was the tree branch moving?

Everyone at the table also noticed something was wrong. Xiu reacted first, standing up and pulling Wen Chu up to protect him behind his back.

“Careful!”

This shout was like a signal to charge. Seeing it was discovered, the tree branch that had been sneaking in suddenly grew rapidly, heading straight for Wen Chu.

Alice raised her sword to chop but was stopped by Lance. “Wait! This is a branch of the Tree of Life!”

Alice was blocked for half a second and couldn’t chop the branch in time. The branch bypassed Xiu’s sharp claws with lightning speed and went straight for Wen Chu’s shoulder.

“Clang!”

The dragon’s claws tore at the branch, leaving only a shallow mark.

The branch shook its leaves in pain but persisted in rubbing affectionately against Wen Chu’s cheek.

Only then did Wen Chu realize that the leaves on it were small and yellow—exactly the small branch he had revived this morning.

Seeing Wen Chu look over, the small leaf fell off directly, and a bit of transparent liquid oozed from the branch.

The bean-sized liquid, the moment it gushed out, erupted with extremely astonishing magic fluctuations, forcing everyone present except Wen Chu back a few steps.

The beautiful Nightmare was surrounded by the branches of the Tree of Life just like that.

“Wen Chu!” Xiu’s eyes split with rage. He tried to step forward several times but was repelled by the magic fluctuations on the branches. He had now grabbed Lance by the neck. “What did you do?!?”

“Cough cough… cough… calm down, the Tree of Life shouldn’t have malicious intent…”

Lance coughed with difficulty, his eyes full of confusion, obviously baffled by the current situation.

Wen Chu lowered his eyes to look at the liquid eagerly sent to his mouth by the Tree of Life’s branch.

“You mean… for me to eat?” Wen Chu asked uncertainly.

The bare branch shook happily.

Wen Chu didn’t hesitate and opened his mouth to eat this bit of liquid.

Almost instantly, magic power lingered from his mouth to his limbs and bones. The originally indestructible branch of the Tree of Life, after Wen Chu ate the liquid, actually began to wither and shatter without being attacked.

【Lifespan +8760h】
【Lifespan +8760h】
…

The lifespan panel seemed broken, constantly popping up, stacking up year by year at a terrifying speed.

Wen Chu’s ears roared, and in this instant, countless images flashed before his eyes.

The pure white laboratory, doctors coming and going, and him locked inside a glass cover.

Words he couldn’t understand back then began to loop in his mind again.

“…Subject, Artificial Angel Project… Experiment 18301.”

“Cure… Rebirth…”

“Unknown error… Gene editing…”

And some broken screams.

“Monster! He’s a monster! We personally opened Pandora’s box and let him out!”

“We can create gods! We can control gods! We will eventually override the gods!”

“Crash—”

The glass cover over him shattered, and a golden figure seemed to be walking towards him.

The images in Wen Chu’s mind turned into snowy static like a TV that lost signal.

At the last moment before fainting, Wen Chu thought:

He wasn’t a monster. Xiu said he was human.

He could shed tears and felt pain.

He also had the human emotion named “love.”

And…

Fainting again, Xiu would be worried.

If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have eaten it.