I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom

The little squirrel stared innocently at the Fairy cub wielding a ”weapon” with its large, bright, watery eyes. It did not understand what he was shouting, either.

”Chirp, chirp, chirp?” The little squirrel flicked its fluffy, bushy tail and edged half an inch closer.

Seeing that it had not only failed to retreat but had actually moved closer, Shu Li tensed as though facing a mortal enemy and shouted again, ”Back, back, back—”

The little squirrel withdrew its paw and rubbed its cheeks. It chirped twice, gazing innocently at the Fairy cub.

Shu Li froze for a moment, then suddenly remembered that he had been speaking Chinese, not Elven. No wonder the little squirrel could not understand him.

When people were nervous or frightened, they instinctively reverted to their native language.

Shu Li was thoroughly embarrassed.

Swallowing hard, he quickly switched languages in his head and said to the little squirrel in Elven, ”Please... please... step back... Don’t come any closer...”

Hopefully, the animals in the Faerie Forest could understand Elven.

Perhaps his prayer worked. The little squirrel backed away several steps, leaving a safe distance between them.

Shu Li did not dare relax. He tightened his grip on the dagger.

Still, he knew perfectly well that the dagger was far too small. It was barely large enough to cut through fruit stems. Against a squirrel more than ten times his size?

What a joke.

The blade probably could not even pierce its thick fur.

”Chirp, chirp, chirp~” The little squirrel picked up the fruit it had not finished eating and nodded at Shu Li, motioning for him to continue.

Such a delicious fruit would be wasted if he did not finish it.

Eat, eat. Hurry, or another animal might steal it.

Chew, chew...

Watching the little squirrel’s bulging cheeks, Shu Li gradually calmed down.

The enormous flying beast had probably frightened him so badly that he was now panicking at the sight of any animal.

In truth, the little squirrel showed no hostility toward him at all. Its eyes were innocent, its expression friendly, and the way it clutched the fruit and gnawed so earnestly was actually rather cute.

After hesitating, Shu Li put away the dagger.

Perhaps Siet had been right. The animals in the Faerie Forest were all friends of the Fairies. Even that enormous flying beast had not harmed him while he was unconscious.

Maybe it had realized that it had accidentally ”stolen” a Fairy cub, panicked, dropped both him and the fruit, and fled for its life.

Shu Li surveyed the lush trees around him and clenched his tiny fists in frustration.

That stupid bird had gotten away without a care, leaving him stranded and helpless in this unfamiliar place.

The adult Fairies must be frantic now that he had gone missing. They were probably searching everywhere for him, but who knew when they would find him?

At present, Shu Li had two choices.

The first was to stay where he was and wait for rescue.

The second was to find a way to fly back to the divine tree on his own.

One was passive, the other active. Shu Li chose the latter.

Waiting in place was certainly less risky, but it would be easy to sink into anxiety and develop fear and other negative emotions. That would be bad for both his physical and mental health, and in severe cases, he might even become depressed.

Trying to fly back to the divine tree by himself might expose him to unknown dangers along the way, but at least he would retain the initiative.

After sorting out his thoughts and mentally preparing himself, Shu Li hugged the fruit and took a fierce bite.

Whatever happened, he needed to fill his stomach first. Only then would he have the strength to deal with everything else.

The little squirrel finished its fruit with great satisfaction, stuffed the pit into its cheek pouch, and planned to take it home for its babies to gnaw on.

It stretched its head forward, intending to ask the Fairy cub for his leftover pit.

However, the Fairy cub seemed to have a very small appetite. He had only eaten half the fruit before he could not manage another bite.

”Burp—”

Shu Li let out a huge burp. Rubbing his round little belly, he looked troubled.

This pear-shaped fruit was delicious, but it was simply too large to finish in one sitting.

”Chirp~” The little squirrel called softly, drawing Shu Li’s attention.

When Shu Li saw it approach, he did not threaten it with the dagger again. Instead, he apologized politely. ”I’m sorry about earlier. I was too scared... so I °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° asked you to back away.”

”Chirp, chirp, chirp.” The little squirrel shook its head to show that it did not mind, then stretched out a paw and pointed at Shu Li’s fruit.

Shu Li had no idea what to do with the remaining half anyway. Since the little squirrel wanted it, he might as well give it to her.

Assuming she did not mind.

The little squirrel did not mind at all. To an animal, food was food. As long as it tasted good, that was enough. She happily took the half-eaten fruit, finished it in a few bites, and stuffed the pit into her cheek pouch.

Shu Li spread his wings and flew up to inspect the fruit-laden branch the stupid bird had brought.

The branch appeared to be three or four meters long, with several fruits hanging from it. Counting the ones he and the little squirrel had eaten, there were ten left.

This was ready-made food.

If he intended to rely on his own strength to fly back to the divine tree, he would need to bring some fruit as emergency provisions.

But there was one major problem.

With his tiny body, how was he supposed to carry fruit larger than himself?

Unless...

Shu Li lowered his gaze to the silver ring on his finger.

This was the storage ring the Elven King had given him. He had originally planned to return it untouched, but now that he had run into trouble, he had no choice but to use it.

He was truly sorry.

After apologizing inwardly to the Elven King, Shu Li drew the dagger from his belt pouch.

The moment the little squirrel saw the Fairy cub pull out the dagger again, she wisely retreated.

Seeing her overreaction, Shu Li said awkwardly, ”Um... I only want to pick the fruit.”

The little squirrel reacted even more strongly when she heard that. She immediately wrapped her paws around the fruit beside her and looked pitifully at Shu Li.

She knew these fresh, juicy fruits might have come from a Fairy orchard, but... but she wanted to take a few home for her babies!

Shu Li hovered in midair with the dagger raised, his face full of embarrassment.

Why did this make him look as though he were bullying the little squirrel?

Which of them was actually more dangerous? If the little squirrel acted a little more aggressively and claimed all the fruit for herself, there would be nothing he could do about it.

”Chirp, chirp, chirp—” the little squirrel pleaded.

Shu Li rubbed his forehead and asked in a negotiating tone, ”Half for you, half for me?”

”Chirp!” The little squirrel nodded happily.

And so, one Fairy cub and one squirrel cheerfully divided the ten fruits between them.

Shu Li used the dagger to cut through a fruit stem, then lightly touched the fruit with the storage ring. Chanting store, store, store in his heart, he watched as the fruit vanished into the ring in an instant.

Amazing!

His first time using a storage ring went perfectly smoothly.

Shu Li repeated the process and stored five fruits in succession.

He had a storage ring, but how was the little squirrel going to transport hers? The fruits were quite large. Surely they would not fit inside her cheek pouches.

Just as he was wondering, several chirps rang out beside him. He looked up and saw four baby squirrels rapidly scrambling onto the branch.

The baby squirrels excitedly surrounded the little squirrel—or rather, the mother squirrel.

The mother squirrel was very authoritative. At a single command from her, the four babies scattered, each hugging a fruit and opening its mouth to gnaw through the stem. Before long, all four stems snapped.

Clutching their fruits tightly, the baby squirrels bounded away.

Shu Li: ”...”

How efficient.

The mother squirrel chirped twice in gratitude to the Fairy cub, picked up the final fruit, and nimbly leaped down from the branch.

Shu Li did not dare delay. He spread his wings and flew upward.

He needed to act before nightfall.

First, he had to determine which direction the divine tree lay in.

The divine tree was the tallest tree in the entire Faerie Forest. Even from thousands of miles away, it should still be visible.

So how could he locate it?

Obviously, he needed to fly upward, rise above the forest canopy, and look into the distance from a high vantage point.

Shu Li tilted his head back to look at the tree he was currently on. His neck grew sore before he even caught sight of the crown.

This tree had to be at least a hundred meters tall!

Fine. He would fly up first and worry about the rest later!

Although he was afraid of heights, flying along the trunk was different from being suspended high in the open sky.

If he grew tired in the former situation, he could stop and rest on a branch. In the latter, there would be nothing to support him. If he ran out of strength, he could only plummet helplessly.

Shu Li beat his wings and flew upward as fast as he could.

Charge—

He had to reach the top before sunset.

A thumb-sized Fairy cub was no different from an insect. Even flapping his wings with all his strength, he could not hope to match a bird’s speed.

Shu Li exerted every ounce of strength he had. His wings vibrated at high frequency, but after an unknown length of time, exhaustion set in. He found a branch and stopped to rest.

After landing, he wiped away his sweat and leaned over to see how high he had flown.

Shu Li: ⊙_⊙

All that frantic effort, only to discover he was moving at a snail’s pace.

He could still see the fruit branch below, which meant he had probably climbed no more than thirty meters.

What else could Shu Li do?

Keep flying, of course.

This time, he lasted longer. He shot upward for more than a hundred meters, flying until his wings nearly cramped. When he could go no farther, he found the nearest place to land.

Panting heavily, he glared up at the tree trunk.

He had seriously underestimated the height of this tree. He had flown almost two hundred meters, yet he had only reached halfway up.

Did the trees in the Faerie Forest really have to be this outrageous?

Were they all trying to emulate the divine tree and grow a thousand meters tall?

Then again, the Faerie Forest had existed for tens of thousands of years. Any random tree here might be ten thousand years old. Trees only a few hundred meters tall were probably considered youngsters.

Shu Li decided to rest a little longer, then make one final push to the crown.

He took a notebook from his belt pouch and studied while he rested.

”Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss—”

An eerie sound rang out. The temperature around him suddenly plummeted.

Shu Li instinctively looked up and found himself staring directly at an enormous—

An enormous snake’s head.

”Hissssssss—” The giant snake flicked out its red tongue, brushing past Shu Li’s arm.

A chill ran through Shu Li’s entire body. His pupils widened, and he went rigid, unable to move.

A snake!

A huge, huge, huge snake!

Compared to it, he was as tiny as a mosquito.

Shu Li clutched the notebook tightly. Sweat poured down his face as terror crawled up his spine, nearly sending his soul out of his body.

What should he do? What should he do? What should he do?

Was he going to die inside a snake’s stomach today?

Ah... great gods, save him. Save him. Save him...

Shu Li’s mind went completely blank. He had already forgotten the true names of every god in existence.

The magical serpent’s cold, bestial eyes examined the solitary Fairy cub. The tiny creature was as fragile as an insect, his little face deathly pale and his body trembling like a fallen leaf.

Poor little thing. Had it frightened him that badly?

The magical serpent slowly drew back, giving the Fairy cub some room to breathe.

Sure enough, as it retreated, the dazed Fairy cub gradually began to respond. His eyes became lively again, and his tiny mouth parted. He spoke haltingly in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

The magical serpent had excellent hearing and clearly caught the Fairy cub’s words.

”...H-Hello, M-Mr. Snake. It’s... nice to meet you... My name is Sperien... I’m a Fairy... blessed by the Elven King...”

Although he was so frightened he looked ready to faint, the little cub still greeted it politely.

A Fairy blessed by the Elven King?

The magical serpent’s eyes narrowed into vertical slits as it stared at the green flower crown atop the cub’s head.

As a sixth-rank magical beast, it was highly sensitive to magic. That tiny flower crown did indeed radiate an immense and formidable power.

Wary now, the magical serpent retreated another short distance.

Shu Li hugged the notebook tightly and finished his halting introduction. He waited without much hope, but when he saw the magical serpent retreat, the heart lodged in his throat finally dropped back into place.

Wonderful. His gamble had paid off!

The moment he had seen the giant snake, he had nearly scared himself senseless!

However, once the snake drew back a little, the terrifying pressure eased, and his soul gradually returned to his body.

His mind raced. Remembering Siet’s claim that the magical beasts and animals of the forest were all friends of the Fairies, Shu Li gritted his teeth and decided to trust him for now. With nothing left to lose, he greeted the magical serpent in Elven and deliberately mentioned the Elven King’s blessing to give himself a little more leverage.

Thank goodness the quiet little genius had corrected his faulty pronunciation. His spoken Elven had improved by leaps and bounds. Aside from the stammering, he had completed the entire sentence without getting stuck once.

The magical serpent appeared to understand him. It retreated again, and the oppressive pressure vanished completely. Even the air around them warmed by several degrees.

Shu Li secretly sighed in relief. Summoning his courage, he spoke again. ”I’m very sorry for entering your territory. I only want to reach the top of the tree and see... which direction the divine tree is in.”

As his fear diminished, his speech became much smoother.

The magical serpent hissed twice and rested its enormous head on the thick branch, quietly watching him.

They had successfully communicated. Shu Li was so moved he could have burst into tears.

Waaah—

His father had not lied to him!

Learn a language well, and you could travel anywhere without fear!

Communication was the first step toward building a good relationship between people.

Elven had saved his little life. From now on, Elven would be one of his native languages. He would work twice as hard to master it!

Seeing that the magical serpent showed no anger, Shu Li took its silence as permission. Imitating the adult Fairies, he bowed elegantly.

”I’ll leave immediately. Please forgive the intrusion.”

Without waiting for the magical serpent to respond, he swiftly stuffed the notebook back into his belt pouch, beat his wings rapidly, unleashed every bit of potential within his body, and shot upward like a tiny cannonball.

Fear would not stop his ascent. No matter what, he had to reach the crown and determine the direction of the divine tree.

The blond Fairy cub charged forward without hesitation. His wings vibrated faster than ever as he flew toward the top of the tree.

The higher he went, the stronger the wind became, creating tremendous resistance for the young cub.

Shu Li gritted his teeth and persevered. Even when the wind blew him away from the trunk, he still did everything he could to keep climbing.

Once he reached the top and saw the divine tree, he would have won.

Driven by that single determination, he pressed onward.

Another fierce gust swept past. The tiny cub was tossed from side to side, unable even to flap his wings.

Shu Li’s heart lurched. He panicked and flailed helplessly.

He was already afraid of heights. Being caught in the wind only made matters worse.

After tumbling through the air several times, Shu Li was blown completely away from the trunk. He panicked, with no idea how to respond.

Just as despair overtook him, a massive shadow surged up from below and effortlessly caught his tiny body.

”Ah!”

Shu Li landed heavily on something enormous and hard as ice, his head spinning.

After a long moment, he shook his head and forced himself to calm down.

”Hiss, hiss, hiss—”

The familiar hissing sound rang out.

Shu Li stiffened. He looked down in disbelief and saw scales as smooth and reflective as a mirror. His mouth dropped open in astonishment.

The creature that had caught him was—

The magical serpent!

Its head was enormous, so large that he could have run laps across it.

Shu Li’s pale green eyes filled with shock.

He had fled from the magical serpent in terror, yet when he encountered danger, the serpent had rushed forward and saved his life.

The shock was so overwhelming that the young cub temporarily lost the ability to speak.

The magical serpent did not require a response. It activated a defensive barrier to block the fierce winds high above, preventing the Fairy cub on its head from being blown away.

Its body coiled expertly around the trunk as it climbed in a spiral. In an instant, it shot upward more than a hundred meters and reached the crown with practiced ease.

The sky was filled with rosy clouds. Orange sunset light fell across the serpent’s head and the Fairy cub alike.

Shu Li raised a hand to shield his eyes from both the sunset and the light reflected by the serpent’s scales.

Once his eyes adjusted, he lowered his hand, rose to his feet, lifted his small face, and gazed into the distance.

The divine tree!

He could really see the divine tree!

Even from ten thousand miles away, the ancient divine tree still appeared to pierce the heavens.

That was the home of the Fairies.

And it was also... his home.

Tears welled in Shu Li’s eyes. For the first time since arriving in this other world, he felt that he belonged somewhere.