NOVEL WEB Chapter 63: Into the Mountains*
Jier knew she wouldn’t budge from the clear stubbornness in her eyes. He wasn’t going to turn down a young lady’s request for help, so naturally he was going to help her.
“You can’t go. It’s too dangerous!” The chief grew very agitated at the prospect and he tried his best to convince the children not to go.
“Chief, be at ease.” Jier smiled benignly, the confidence clear on his face.
Although Feng Wu didn’t say anything more, her eyes spoke volumes.
Unable to stop them, the chief looked at them as though they were as good as dead. In his eyes, they were. No one had stepped into the forest and made it back alive. It wasn’t just the chief who felt this way, the villagers also agreed. None believed the children would come back alive.
Feng Wu and Jier headed towards the forest despite the villagers attempts to dissuade them.
Aside from a few tenacious weeds and wildflowers poking out of the snow, the forest was just a vast field of snowy white. The trees standing were bare with only a few scraggly leaves hanging from their branches. With such a tenuous grip, it was obvious a strong wind would easily blow them away.
That’s not to say there weren’t living things that thrived there. In fact many wild magical beasts adapted well to the cold climate in Frosted Hills and Knolls. There were a wide variety of ice birds, snow tigers, snow leopards and of course the well-known ferocious polar bears. They were difficult to deal with, but not impossible to handle since they lacked a natural affinity for the ice element. This prevented them from reaching their awesome, fearsome potential.
Feng Wu walked ahead of Jier, occasionally touching a tree here and there to get directions. Jier wasn’t stupid. Upon seeing her behavior, he surmised she had some kind of ability that allowed her to communicate with the plants around her.
“Xiao Wu, can you talk to the plants?” Though he asked, he was sure he knew the answer already.
Feng Wu lowered her head, her thoughts troubled. If Jier found out she could talk to plants then he’d hate her. Jier was a good friend and she didn’t want him to hate me.
The sight left Jier feeling awkward so he patted her on the head.
She looked up, her face clearly aggrieved.
“What’s going on in that head of yours? How is it bad to be able to communicate with the plants around you? There are tons of people who’d love to have that kind of ability. They’d be loved by the world for sure.” Jier didn’t know why she tried so hard to hide such a good thing. How could her family not know what a wonderfully precious gift it was?
“Really?” Feng Wu said. His comment made Feng Wu’s eyes shine brilliantly with hope. Underneath it however was a hint of caution.
Jier sighed. Where did such a silly girl come from? To raise a girl this sincere… he really wanted to meet her parents. “Of course. Your ability is unique but it’s not strange. People aren’t going to dislike you because of it. Just look at our school. There are people there who can fly, create shields with the earth, and some even have an inexhaustible source of energy. There are all kinds of talents. Yours is just a very special one. It may not be powerful in combat, but it is powerful in other ways.”
An ability could be considered useful even if it couldn’t be used in combat. It was easy for him to see the value of her ability in everyday use, such as in an investigation… Its practical application was obvious and was much more useful than those of other students in their school. For those other abilities, unless they were of a divine level, then they really weren’t worth mentioning.
Feng Wu’s eyes sparkled at his words. What he said blew her mind. She knew very little about the world she currently lived in. She knew fire could come out of thin air, that magic spells could be used to attack. She thought the world was really strange, but had never considered the possibility that others like her existed, that there could be other people with special abilities.
Back on Yuehua mountain she was the only one. Master had cautioned her about keeping her abilities hidden because of this.
The children below the mountain were terrible, constantly throwing stones at her or calling her names. She had no desire to befriend any of them. As a result, the only friends she had were the plants and animals on the mountain. She’d never made friends with another child before…
But now Jier was telling her she wasn’t strange or unique, that others had special abilities too. It felt like a stone had been lifted from her shoulders; her body felt lighter and refreshed, so much so that her mood actually showed on her usually blank face.
This girl… her future husband couldn't be too clever. Otherwise with that IQ of hers, she would surely be taken advantage of. Jier suddenly understood what it felt like to give a daughter away…
Feng Wu’s new-found freedom was marvelous. She easily led them through the heart of the forest and up the mountain, only occasionally encountering a polar bear or two.
Jier prepared for battle only to be struck dumb by Feng Wu. The bears, known for their ferocity, were as gentle as mewling kittens in her hand. Jier was shocked. So shocked he nearly lost his footing and fell down. What he’d expected to be a slog through a mountainous forest of beasts turned into a leisurely walk.
With Feng Wu as their guide, not only did they pass through unimpeded, they were received warmly by the ferocious polar bears. They even went out and picked a couple of rare fruits for them as welcome gifts!
The fruits helped improved ice compatibility traits, perfect for ice-type magicians. Naturally Jier recognized them instantly, after all they were the kinds of fruits one dreamt about, but lacked ability to get, as they only grew in the fiercely guarded forests in Frosted Hills and Knolls. A person would have to navigate their way through the forest, fight against the magical beasts that lived in the area, find the fruits - and very importantly - make it back out alive. It was a difficult task few managed to complete because magical beasts guarded the fruits so fiercely. For anyone to be able to get their hands on any would have been a stroke of amazing luck, either that or be a very powerful magician.