Pillar of Yita

”Who are you?”

Fang Hong stood up from the corpse of the Grey Treant, looked around, and the questioning voice echoed twice in the Mind World.

”Can you hear my call, young human...?”

”My name is Moenyalit.”

”Young one, please come to my side...”

”The Heart of Chongshan... needs your help.”

The owner of the voice sounded somewhat weak.

”The Heart of Chongshan?”

”Where are you?”

”Here, underground.”

”Deep underground, young human, time is running out...”

The voice gradually weakened.

Thin strands of cold wind swept over the snowflakes on the rocks, eventually drowning out other sounds. Below the chasm, aside from the wind, there was near silence.

The voice disappeared.

Everyone saw Fang Hong standing alone among the scattered corpses of the Grey Treants, looking dazed. Tang Xin looked at him with some concern and asked, ”...Pigeon, what happened to you?”

Fang Hong jolted out of his daze and looked at the others with some confusion, ”Didn’t you hear that?”

”Hear what?” Beiji and the others underground were puzzled.

”The wind,” answered the Big Catfolk, ”It seems to have brought some hostility from deep underground.”

”Mr. Big Cat, you heard it?”

”It’s Lion, little one,” he shook his head, rooting his sword in the snow and watching the surroundings warily with grey eyes, ”I mean the uninvited guests from below.”

Fang Hong looked at the others and confirmed that indeed none of them heard the voice from before.

Hilveld approached him, looking at him with deep blue eyes, mouthing silently:

”Miss Tata?”

But Miss Tata was not here, and Fang Hong instantly understood her meaning. He had the ability for mind communication with Miss Tata, which Hilveld knew.

On one hand, he was surprised by Miss Ship’s Officer’s keenness, on the other hand, he nodded.

”There was a voice, it said it was called Moenyalit, inviting us to come to its side...”

”That sounds like a special task,” Tianlan perked up, beginning her own chattering, ”I know many such things, there’s always a generous reward at the end!”

”But it could also be a trap.”

”Mr. Big Cat!”

”It’s Lion, Fuli.”

”Help me,” Parker, carrying a crossbow, bounced with short legs, waving his hands under the rocks, ”Help me up!”

The Lion Paladin bent down and lifted him up.

Parker scrambled up the rocks with all fours, catching his breath, ”Seriously, I think Tianlan might be right!”

”You wouldn’t think so without a reward.”

That made the Papalarian ponder, seemingly in agreement.

Fang Hong gazed at the towering fissure, the environment around him leaving only the howling wind.

At this moment, Miss Natural Historian moved her lips slightly.

Fang Hong noticed this detail, ”Gita, do you know something?”

”...Moenyalit, sounds like the name of a Treant, Brother Ade,” Gita blinked her thick lashes, under which lay eyes filled with star-like knowledge, ”...Yali is a title meaning sage. This implies it could be an Elder or even a Heart of Tree.”

”Heart of Tree?” Fang Hong recalled something, ”Have you heard of the Heart of Chongshan?”

”Heart of Tree is a special title among the Tree People, referring to those who dedicate their lives to the Holy White Tree, guiding their tribe with special wisdom,” Gita said, shaking her head, ”But I’ve never heard of the Heart of Chongshan, Brother Ade.”

Fang Hong also guessed that the voice’s owner might be a Treant, but what they spoke of was rather mysterious.

Interacting with intelligent creatures in the wild, by helping them solve problems, often results in some valuable feedback.

But deception and traps are also common.

”No matter what it is, we should go down there first,” he pondered, ”Let’s prioritize finding the Earth Origin Crystal, then look for this Treant sage.”

The Big Catfolk chuckled, ”I don’t oppose that.”

”That’s not fair,” Parker said, fiddling with the Big Catfolk’s paw holding his collar, ”And please put me down.”

”Because he’s the Captain.” Reed laughed and finally let go of his paw.

”This damned rank system, because he’s the Captain, he gets to decide, so the Papalarians get locked in a small dark room, I’ll run away from home one day!” Parker dusted off the snowflakes on his cloak, grumbling endlessly.

Tianlan just nodded her head vigorously like a pecking chicken, extremely curious about this.

Fang Hong then looked at Beiji and the others underground, ”Originally, I planned for you and Miss Beiji to stay outside, but under the current circumstances, it might not be safer outside than below.”

”We’ll go with you, Captain Ade.” Beiji immediately replied.

Fang Hong nodded, ”But you must understand, the threats underground are real, and I must ensure everyone follows orders.”

Beiji quickly said, ”I understand, we’ve actually participated in Guild activities, we know what to do.”

Zaozi and the others nodded.

Only Beiji seemed a bit hesitant, but Fang Hong didn’t pay too much attention to her opinion, and Beiji’s group would take care of her.

Fang Hong finally breathed a sigh of relief, talking with smart people is simple.

In unknown environments, the fewer unstable elements in a group, the better, so he had to set the terms with them in advance.