Chapter 323 - 131. Hairpin

Chapter 323: 131. HairpinFisher continued up the mountain and soon spotted a campsite in the woods below, lit by the faint glow of a fire. The overall situation of the campsite had not changed much since he left, except for a few pieces of game hanging on a rack, drying in the wind.

The game had been gutted, with most of the meat salted and other seasonings applied then left to dry, while the organs were being cooked and eaten on the spot. From a distance, Anna keenly smelled a rich scent of meat.

In Anna’s line of sight, she followed the light and suddenly noticed a huge shadow moving beside the campsite, resembling a massive equine monster.

Her face turned slightly pale, and she instinctively grabbed the sleeve of Fisher next to her, asking him in a low voice,

"Do you demi-humans from the Western Continent also have ’Lamakan’ monsters?"

"Lamakan? What is that..."

Before Fisher could finish, Anna felt her hand lightly tapped, stinging as if it had been burned, though no loud noise had been made.

She withdrew her hand in pain and turned her head to see Little Moli, seemingly nonchalantly observing the wooded scenery around her.

She pouted her lips, looking around at the night as if nothing had happened. If it weren’t for those sparkling eyes that glanced over guiltily, Anna would not have realized it was she who had acted.

Could... a little girl be that jealous?

It was just borrowing Fisher’s sleeve after all.

Anna was from the Southern Continent and, of course, did not look down on demi-humans. But for humans from the Southern Continent, demi-humans and humans generally kept to themselves, seldom seeing each other, let alone the rare Ocean Subhuman.

She didn’t know what race of demi-human Moli was; she only knew that Blake was crazily looking for her. Now it seemed she wasn’t that special, except for being particularly jealous.

"...Hmm, a creature that looks like a giant horse, which likes to eat the corpses of the dead and occasionally attacks the living."

"That’s not a monster up ahead, just a female Centaur from your Southern Continent who is our friend."

Friend, huh...

Anna glanced at Moli, who was following behind Fisher, and walked into the campsite, where she indeed saw a female Centaur squatting on the ground, watching over a pot of organ and leaf soup over the fire.

Although she had some understanding of this man named Fisher Benavides’ strange nature, actually seeing different races of demi-humans around him still amazed Anna.

Could this also be why her seduction didn’t work?

Did he actually not fancy humans and preferred these odd kinds of demi-humans?

But he clearly also seemed to like Princess Elizabeth...

Surveying the campsite and following the night wind, it was Fisher who spoke first.

"Xiayat, we need your help."

"Whoa! Why are you back again, weren’t there other things to do..."

Xiayat stood up suddenly, startled, her brown hair swaying as her horse ears pricked slightly, and she stopped mid-sentence when she caught a glimpse of Anna standing beside Fisher—a stunning beauty standing in the darkness, instinctively giving her a strange sensation.

She couldn’t articulate the exact feeling, but it was as if something very dangerous was in front of her, triggering her instinct to avoid harm.

But after all, Anna was with Fisher, so Xiayat just gave her a cautious look before quietly moving a little closer to Moli.

"We had a bit of a mishap earlier, it’s complicated to explain... This is Anna, my partner, and we now need to get to Nali Lake behind this mountain. I have a rough idea, but we need your help with something small."

"Help, huh, no problem... Oh, right, have you eaten anything? Come and have some food first."

Actually, Xiayat didn’t want to add that last part; the pot contained the meal she had painstakingly prepared all evening. But Moli kept staring unmoving at the pot over the fire, as if frozen with longing eyes—her intentions were pretty clear—so Xiayat decided to let them eat something first.

Fisher hadn’t eaten much all day, and at Xiayat’s invitation, he suddenly felt the hunger gnaw at him. He wasn’t fussy and took a seat in front of the fire.

Xiayat distributed wooden utensils made from twigs to Moli and Fisher. In the wilderness, she would roll leaves to make bowls, so she had to make do with what was available.

Anna didn’t eat, just sitting to the side, constantly looking around, fearing Blake would catch up with reinforcements. It was clear she held a deep fear of Blake.

Xiayat was still worriedly pondering how to get Fisher and the others into Nali Lake, but whether to share his idea or not, Fisher was a bit groggy today, especially after a series of battles. Now that he had consumed a hot soup, his brain finally received an energy boost, and his thoughts became clearer. He also shared his thoughts with Anna and Xiayat,

"The surface of Nali Lake doesn’t seem to have any waterways connecting to the outside, but in fact, there’s a very hidden underwater passage at the bottom of the lake that provides it with a water source. This passage was discovered only recently, about a decade or so ago. Professor Cecil from the Royal College roughly confirmed this hypothesis of the underground river supplying water through the seasonal water level changes of Nali Lake, and he proposed the underground river water supply theory..."

While he was speaking, Fisher realized that the ladies around him were all looking at him as if he were talking about something unbelievable, and he paused for a moment. He had to simplify his words,

"That is, there is a hidden waterway at the bottom of Nali Lake. Its direction and specific entrance are not clear yet, but we can use it to covertly enter Nali Lake. According to my estimation, this river could very well be connected to the rivers that flow into the ocean further north, but the exact location still needs to be determined..."

While listening, Moli, who was holding an entire pot and drinking soup, suddenly put down the gigantic pot in response to Anna’s somewhat astonished gaze. The soup with innards had already been thoroughly consumed by her,

"Fisher, if that waterway follows the ocean, I can find it."

"You can find it?"

Originally, Fisher’s discussion was intended for Xiayat and Anna, hoping Xiayat could help them find the waterway they were looking for.

Usually, Moli was physically present but her mind was not part of the discussions, as she likely wouldn’t understand even if she spoke—it was akin to being a mascot. But now, Fisher hadn’t anticipated that she actually possessed the ability to find water passages.

Moli, how many more surprises do you have that I don’t know about?

The young Whale-man girl in front of him nodded, then reached for the hairpin on the back of her head, and with a little effort, streams of blue water slowly emerged and formed a hair ring shape. When she pressed it again, the direction of the water ring suddenly pointed towards Nali Lake.

Fisher remembered that her aunt had made this hairpin as a relic for her. Its specific effect was to point in the direction of the Sea Floor, but this time it pointed straight towards Nali Lake.

Looking at the flow of water on her forehead, Moli began to explain,

"When submerged, this relic points in the direction of the Sea Trench, but when on shore, this hair ring points towards the nearest water flow leading to the Ocean. If we follow Nali Lake and reach the place connected to the underground river, its direction will change. By finding the place where its orientation changes, we can trace our way back to get an approximate location of the underground river!"

Looking at the revolving water ring on Moli’s forehead, this unexpected asset was something Fisher hadn’t anticipated, but Moli’s method indeed seemed viable. Anna’s eyes lit up after hearing this, and she could hardly wait as she stood up impatiently,

"Then let’s follow the perimeter of Nali Lake right now, the sooner, the better!"

While sitting on the side without interrupting, Xiayat watched the others who had unexpectedly found a way to enter Nali Lake and then blinked uncertainly before standing up and joining them.

Watching Fisher and Moli get ready to leave, Xiayat glanced down at the now empty dinner on the ground, only then somberly realizing a hint of loss.

Wait a second, did you come up here just to mooch a meal and leave?!

You guys are even worse than the Human members of the New Party!

Xiayat was about to blow her top, but before she could say a word, Moli had already walked beside her,

"Thank you, Xiayat, you’ve been a huge help..."

The blushing Moli looked at Xiayat gratefully and thanked her adorably, which made Xiayat sigh softly and then pat her little head,

Moli is truly too adorable. Considering her cuteness, Xiayat couldn’t possibly fuss over such a little bit of food, right?

"Xiayat, it would be best if you set out with us or leave this place right now and return to the Protection Association. Soon, either Blake or the Nali Official might come to investigate our tracks, and if you were discovered, there could be an accident."

Fisher had thought of this on the way to the base of Klein Mountain. He sought out Xiayat not only for her help but also to keep her away from potential danger.

"Ah, then I’ll follow you. Maybe I can be of some help. I’m quite sensitive to people approaching nearby. In the past few days staying in the mountain, the Royal patrol soldiers never found me; they even thought Klein Mountain was haunted."

Upon hearing she might be caught by Humans, Xiayat immediately started packing her belongings to leave with Fisher. As a demi-human whom nobody cared about, she dared not gamble on what those Humans would do upon finding her.

Better to go with Fisher and the others...

Xiayat grabbed her bow and arrows and daggers, regretfully leaving behind the jerky that wasn’t ready to take with her, and slowly walked over to Moli, staying a bit away from Anna, who wasn’t paying her any attention, but instead, went to Fisher’s side.

But as Moli saw Anna getting closer to Fisher, her odd radar activated by her twitching ears opened, and she vigilantly walked over to Fisher’s side. After walking in circles, the speechless Xiayat still ended up near Anna.

Thinking back, it seemed it was because of what she had told Moli during training that made her so territorial.

Xiayat walked with a sour face, begrudgingly following Fisher, regretting her previous words.