Chapter 2047 Ziran's Woes
"Dark elves have a natural affinity to darkness, while wood elves have a natural affinity for wood, just like their names. High elves on the other hand have a varied affinity with the exception of the darkness element. If I had half dark elf blood I would inherit the darkness affinity, but I am only quarter with the other quarter being wood elf. As such they canceled out." Ziran explained in detail.
"Ah, that's a shame." Lin Mu said with some sympathy.
"It doesn't matter. I didn't grow up in a magic world anyways." Ziran laughed. "I was brought up in a world full of cultivators. In fact I grew up in a sect." "Is that why you became an explorer?" Lin Mu wondered.
"Indeed… I wished to see more of the universe and learn about it. It was my mother's dream too… in fact that's how she met my father." Ziran said with a fond look in his eyes. "Unlike me, my mother grew up in a world of elves. She was born from a Dark elf and a Wood elf, gaining the benefits of both being a great mage.
As such had a great desire for knowledge which further led to her dream of exploring. She went against her family and left her world to explore. She soon learned to cultivate and even joined a sect.
That's where she met my father and gave birth to me. She didn't wish for me to be limited to the sect and as such let me choose my own path. I took after her dream and chose to explore the myriad worlds." He narrated.
Hearing that, Lin Mu felt that Ziran's mother had a similar mindset as him. He found a kindred spirit in her as well as Ziran. Lin Mu could almost imagine the journeys that Ziran and his mother had been on.
His conversation with Ziran was something that even made the others on the table listen silently. The Crown prince and his companions had stopped their own conversation to listen to it. Though hearing all that actually made them a bit more comfortable too.
'This Ziran is a lot more tolerable than Qiao De for sure.' Crown Princess Shang thought to herself.
The same thought was mirrored by Crown Prince Feng Shun too, but he knew that Qiao De was like that simply because he was a merchant through and through.
He had met many people like him and knew how to deal with them. "No wonder you're an expert in the Shamanic Script of the Demonic tribes." Crown Prince Feng Shun spoke up.
"Not just that. He's an overall expert in Demonic Tribes." Qiao De chimed in.
"Is that right?" Crown Prince Feng Shun raised his brows.
"I am." Ziran nodded his head. "I've learned a lot of their history and culture personally from their elders." "Oh? You lived with them?" Lin Mu asked.
"I did." Ziran confirmed. "I've spent about a thousand years living in Demonic worlds. Though not all of it was voluntarily…" he added.
"What do you mean?" Lin Mu asked, sensing some negativity there.
"Well… I kind of got kidnapped by some demons in the past. Then got trafficked to their world and made to work as a slave for about a hundred years." Ziran said, shocking others. "I did manage to buy my freedom, but then I got married off to the daughter of one of the Demon Chieftains for a while." He dropped more shocking facts.
"Huh… that's something for sure." The Crown Prince couldn't help but feel that Ziran certainly had an exciting life.
"Are you still married?" the Crown princess asked with a strange glint in her eyes.
In response, Ziran raised his hand and pulled his left sleeve back. "I sure am." He said, showing them a mark that had been seared into his skin. "It still burns whenever my wife thinks of me." "Haha! I want to learn how to do that." Crown Princess Shang laughed. "What better way than to keep your husband in line!" Crown Prince Feng Shun and Daoist Chu who heard it couldn't help but feel a chill go down their backs. "Amithabha." Monk Hushu was the least bothered and unaffected by it all. "Celibacy is the way to go past the illusions of mortal desires." Qiao De laughed as well and spoke, "Ziran's wife is why I had a hard time getting him here. I had to pay her a lot to let Ziran free for a while." "And I'm thankful for that." Ziran said with true gratitude on his face. "The kids are a headache… I haven't been free for six hundred years! I needed a vacation." "Six hundred years? Isn't that more than enough for the children to grow up?" Lin Mu was confused. "It is… but not when you keep on adding new children every decade!" Ziran said with a wronged expression. "Wait… How many children do you have?" Daoist Chu asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Uhh… Seven hundred and eighty eight." Ziran replied. "Will be Seven hundred and ninety next year, once my wife gives birth to the twins." He added.
Everyone's eyes went wide as they heard it.
While it was common for most cultivators to have a lot of children, it was still over a long time. "Six hundred years and nearly eight hundred children?" Crown Prince Feng Shun asked, feeling a bit afraid.
"Yes." Ziran nodded.
"And from one wife?" Crown Princess Shang asked this time.
"Yes… I only have one wife." This time it was Crown Princess Shang's turn to feel afraid. Everyone couldn't help but feel collective pity for Ziran at this moment.
"I think even I would prefer to go on a possibly fatal expedition than be in the same situation as you." Daoist Chu stated.
"I think it is an improvement." Ziran replied. "The kids are far more dangerous… Demon Children are a lot more unhinged and don't mature mentally for nearly a hundred years. What's worse is they gain the strength of an adult in just ten years."