"Stone, stone~~~" The last word was pronounced with a sudden rise in pitch, accompanied by a vibrato.
Stone's eyes narrowed into slits as he happily greeted his older brother, whom he had just met two days ago: "Hi, brother, I'm back!"
"Flame, what are you yelling about?" Before Flame could speak, several people came running over, followed by a chorus of gasps, as if they had rehearsed it countless times.
"Good morning, everyone! Big brother, second brother, third brother, fourth brother, fifth brother, sixth brother! By the way, where's seventh brother?"
Chapter 81 Divine Artifact, Divine Artifact, Where Are You?
She sat back down in her designated seat, resting her chin on her hand, looking at her family with a happy expression. But before she could even utter a word of joy, "I'm so happy today," she was interrupted by that damned, clueless rice noodle.
"Snoring..." Since Seventh Brother wasn't there, Rice Noodles took his place and sat to the left of Stone. Starving and oblivious to elegance, Rice Noodles immediately became excited upon seeing the table full of delicious food. She stretched out her arms and picked up a large pot of porridge from the center of the table, drinking it straight down without using utensils.
Shi Tou watched as his family stared intently at the rice noodles, finished a whole pot of porridge in one gulp, and even licked it clean with their tongues. Shi Tou swallowed back the emotions that were already on the tip of his tongue.
Waaaaah, so embarrassing! Rice Noodles, could you possibly be any more embarrassing?!
"Mmm, delicious!" Mi Fen'er put down the large bowl in her hand, wiped her mouth with a hearty gesture, pushed the bowl towards the center of the table, and shouted without any politeness, "More!"
The plump mother stared blankly at the thin, little rice noodle girl, then looked down at the bowl that had been licked clean, and was immediately confused: "Shitou, what did she say?"
Shi Tou covered her face. She was wrong, she was really wrong. She shouldn't have doubted Mi Fen'er. Foodies have no bottom line!
"Mom, she said it was delicious and she's full." Knowing that her family didn't understand Elvish, Stone decisively acted as a translator. However, for the sake of her daughter's pride, she slightly modified what Rice Noodles said.
"Really?" the plump mother asked skeptically. Although she didn't understand Elvish, the girl's actions clearly showed that she wanted to eat more.
"Really! Absolutely!" Stone nodded firmly. She had decided that she absolutely had to find Baozi later. From now on, she'd make that glutton eat Baozi's "poop" every day!
⊙﹏⊙‖∣°Elves and stuff, what a disgrace!
"Stone! Rice Noodles is hungry!" Rice Noodles is a foodie, that's for sure. But she's not stupid! Seeing that no one else reacted, she immediately turned to Stone: "More!"
Stone really wanted to just slap this glutton to death. Unfortunately, she couldn't bring herself to do it… Waaah! That was a million purple gold coins!
"Good girl, Rice Noodles. We still need to find steamed buns. When we find them, we'll ask them to make you lots and lots of delicious food!" Stone said gently to Rice Noodles, trying his best to keep a smile on his face.
Rice Noodles hesitated. She hadn't been in the Crimson Forest for very long, but ever since she lost contact with her companions, she hadn't had a proper meal. That's why, even though Stone wasn't exactly kind to her, she still followed him around expectantly. At least he hadn't let her go hungry! And that big, white, plump steamed bun was definitely Rice Noodles' favorite. Buns were so good; whenever she said she was hungry, Buns would definitely get her something delicious!
"Okay, Baozi, come back!" After hesitating for a long time, Mifen'er finally agreed. As long as Baozi came back, how could she not have something delicious to eat?
Stone was finally relieved. He also reconnected with his parents and brothers and told Steel Hammer that he had accidentally lost his beautiful black diamond near the elevator and asked Steel Hammer to help him find it.
Steel Hammer Dad readily agreed. He had seen his daughter's precious diamond, and it wasn't a difficult matter. What Stone didn't know was that since Stone left the Dwarf Kingdom, some dwarves would still find beautiful stones and eagerly bring them here.
In fact, apart from the elderly elders of the Dwarf Kingdom, the young dwarves all treated Stone very well, showing no prejudice against her because of her origins. All of this further solidified Steelhammer's belief.
After the elders passed away...
"Stone, come to our room!" After Steel Hammer Daddy left, the twins each carried Stone on one side and ran to their own room, leaving Rice Noodles staring blankly at Stone's back.
"Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, what are you doing?" Stone was utterly speechless! She was actually a little taller than the twins, but not as strong as they were, who spent all their time hammering iron. Therefore, even though she didn't want to, she was easily carried away.
Upon entering the twins' room, Shi Tou was immediately struck by the pile of books stacked beside the bed: "Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, when did you two become so fond of studying?" He rubbed his eyes. Indeed, these were books, and thick, very old ones at that.
"Hahaha, Stone! We took all of these from Elder Red Stone!" Firebeard was very proud, hands on his hips, laughing arrogantly: "Tell him to chase Stone away, we'll teach him a lesson!"
Huo Hu retorted, "That's right! Shi Tou, you have no idea how he looked when he found out half the books in the library had been moved! He turned deathly pale, he was so angry he almost died!"
Shi Tou was completely dumbfounded. She never imagined that her casual remark would actually send the twins to bother Elder Chi Shi. Shi Tou remembered visiting Elder Chi Shi's library once when she was little, and from that one visit alone, she was certain that Elder Chi Shi treasured his entire library of books immensely. Now, the twins had carried so many books back; wouldn't he be heartbroken?
Hehe, but why does she feel that this result is so...pleasing?
"Stone, didn't you want to read? These are all yours!" Looking at the identical smugness on the two identical faces, Stone suddenly felt like crying!
Waaaaah, Baozi, where are you? There are so many delicious things here~~~
In a fit of grief and indignation, Stone plopped down on the ground, grabbed a book at random, and figured he might as well read it since he had nothing better to do. Maybe he could find something about the sub-artifacts!
The twins saw Stone start reading a book, exchanged a glance, and decisively chose to run away. At the same time, a thought simultaneously crossed their minds:
Humans are truly strange creatures! They love reading, they love pretty stones... Sigh!
After reading for a while, the chubby mother came in again to bother Shitou: "Shitou, you finally come home, what are you reading? Be careful not to ruin your eyes! Come on, come chat with Mom!"
Seeing the chubby mother's bright eyes, Shi Tou decisively put down his book. In fact, she hadn't been reading much; she had been spacing out the whole time.
"Hmm, that's a good girl! I'll have your brothers bring you all the books later!" Like most dwarves, the plump mother thought reading was just making trouble for no reason. Basically, after receiving their basic education at the Wise Men's Academy, most dwarves chose to engage in various forging-related jobs, and very few people would read books.
Shi Tou's situation was even worse. She started learning ore refining at the age of three and never actually attended school, except for occasional lessons from her sixth and seventh brothers. In fact, to be precise, all her cultural knowledge came from Baozi…
Time spent with family always seems too short. Steel Hammer Dad sighed, looking at Stone, and hesitated to speak. Fat Mom, on the other hand, seemed more accepting this time: "Forget it, we're not in a hurry. Red Stone is putting up a fight with us right now, it's not worth it! Stone, be good, in a few years, Mom will definitely bring you back and personally put your wedding dress on you!"
O(╯□╰)o
The wedding dress is absolutely stunning.
Fat mom, do you really think we can still get married?
Unable to bear telling the truth, Stone followed Steel Hammer's father to the elevator. Steel Hammer's father kept sighing, and Stone almost started to sigh along with him: "Daddy, I'm fine. At worst, I'll just secretly come to see you guys again!"
"Sigh..." Steel Hammer Dad hesitated, but in the end he gritted his teeth and said, "Stone, you shouldn't come here again."
"Huh?" Stone exclaimed in horror.
Seeing Stone's expression, Steel Hammer Papa quickly explained, "Dad didn't mean that. Sigh, it's all Red Stone's fault. You're lucky today. Just a couple of days ago, he convened a meeting of elders and said... sigh, he said that starting tomorrow, there will be night patrols throughout the country, saying that it's to prevent, to prevent..."
"Are you trying to protect yourself from me?" Stone asked calmly.
Steel Hammer Dad opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything, he just nodded helplessly.
"I understand, Daddy, I won't come again. But remember to come see me!" A cold smile appeared on Stone's lips. Elder Red Stone, you really have a lot of patience! But do you know that everyone is betting on how many more years you have left to live?
After saying goodbye to Steel Hammer Daddy, Stone pulled Rice Noodles onto the elevator. However, once they reached the ground, Stone suddenly remembered something crucial.
"Ahhh!" A sudden scream startled Mi Fen'er, making her jump. Shi Tou looked at Mi Fen'er pitifully with a mournful face: "Mi Fen'er, do you know how to get back?"
Mi Fen'er shook her head, still shaken.
Stone was truly heartbroken. "It's all over! I went out once, and not only did I not find the artifact, I even lost my steamed buns! Waaah, how am I going to get back to the tree hole?"
"Rice noodles, we can't find the steamed buns. Shall we go down and look again?" Stone looked down at the direction of the elevator and felt a deep sense of unease.
Elevators and the like are really a source of sadness.
"No, no, no!" Rice Noodles shook her head like a rattle drum. No matter how Stone threatened or used her, she absolutely refused to ride the elevator again.
Finally, seeing that MiFen'er's attitude was really firm, Shi Tou had no choice but to tell her to stay obediently inside the tree. Shi Tou then closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and... went down again.
Waaaaah, Baozi! Stone has made a huge sacrifice for you, so you have to show up obediently and take Stone to find the artifact!
OTZ
That stubborn Scrooge never forgets his magic weapon, no matter what...
Chapter 82 Elder Chishi and Huoqian
That dwarf-brand makeshift elevator! One ride and your stomach churns; two rides and you foam at the mouth and bleed from all seven orifices; three rides and you'll go insane and won't live much longer.
Stones fall into the last category.
Her legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground. Shi Tou felt as if every bone in her body, except for her skull, was screaming in rebellion. She had only one thought in mind.
Damn it, even if that shit-eating elder invites her from now on, she won't come! Waaah, Baozi, Stone has sacrificed so much for you, you must find lots of divine artifacts to repay this princess!
~~o(>_<)o ~~
Just as Stone was struggling to get up, leaning on his cane, a series of footsteps suddenly came from not far away. Stone's heart tightened. Damn it, could it be that he had run into the patrolling dwarves?
They quickly ran around, thankfully the cave near the elevator wasn't very tidy, with stones of all sizes scattered everywhere. The stone spotted a large rock and hid behind it.
A moment later, two dwarfs came over.
Illuminated by the shimmering light of the stone, the stone easily made out the two figures. But that one glance was enough to startle her so much that she covered her mouth in shock. At that moment, she was actually relieved that Mi Fen'er hadn't come down with her; otherwise, that girl wouldn't have possessed her composure.
One of the people who arrived was Elder Akaishi, with a full white beard, and the other...
"Elder Chishi, I just went home. Although my parents and brothers didn't say it explicitly, I know that Shitou must have come back. However, it seems we're too late; Shitou has already run away!"
Stone stared in disbelief at the person speaking. The face and voice were familiar, but why did his words send chills down his spine?
"Fire Pliers. You did a great job. The Dwarf Kingdom will never be defiled by humans! Hmph, Steel Hammer was too emotional, thinking that sending Stone out of the Dwarf Kingdom would be enough. But he didn't even consider that Stone, as a princess, stayed in the Dwarf Kingdom for eight whole years. Just how many secrets of the Dwarf Kingdom did she know!" Elder Red Stone said through gritted teeth, his face full of grief and indignation.
Huoqian nodded: "Yes. Stone staying in the Dwarf Kingdom might cause us trouble, but if she leaves the Dwarf Kingdom, or even the Crimson Forest, the consequences will be..."
"Humans are all treacherous animals! Hmph, if it weren't for humans, we would never have been banished to the Crimson Forest, living like gophers! And Huoqian, do you know? During the Dwarf Kingdom's heyday, all its subjects numbered over a hundred thousand! But now? I specifically checked last month. Now, all the dwarves combined have less than ten thousand left, and half of them are over two hundred years old!"
Seeing Elder Chishi's extremely excited expression, Huoqian's calm expression wavered slightly: "Elder, rest assured, as long as there is no human interference, our Dwarf Kingdom will definitely get better and better!"
"Let's hope so..." Elder Redstone was already old, and now he looked even more frail, with a hint of despair on his face: "If Stone went to the human kingdom, if Stone told the humans everything about the dwarf kingdom..."
"No, Elder, don't worry!" Huoqian nodded firmly: "My parents would not send the stone to the Crimson Forest."
"How did you know? Hmph, that bastard Steel Hammer, he thought I was deliberately making things difficult for him, but does he even know how terrifying humans really are!" Elder Red Stone seemed to remember something and suddenly became furious, slamming his cane heavily onto the ground.
Huoqian remained silent. Although he was only ten years old, his childish face held a maturity that belonged only to an adult.
Elder Chishi looked at him and said with a heavy heart, "Huoqian, you must find it strange, right? Actually, Shitou did nothing, but I insisted on dealing with her. Are you blaming me too?"
"No, I have no reason to blame you," Huoqian replied frankly. "Bloodline determines destiny. Just like a meat rat is destined to become our food from birth, we are not allowed to live in the sunlight from birth. As for Stone, she is human, and humans are not only cunning but also aggressive."
Elder Chishi gave him a deep look, as if assessing the truthfulness of his words.
After a moment, Elder Chishi hesitated before speaking, "There's something that you younger generation might not know. It's about humanity..."
"It's related to stones?" A hint of doubt appeared on Huoqian's calm face.
“It’s not a stone, it’s my grandson.” Elder Chishi sighed, a look of reminiscence on his face: “That was more than two hundred years ago.”
More than two hundred years ago, Elder Chishi was not alone. He had a wife who was not beautiful but very hardworking, and a lovely daughter. Later, his daughter grew up. She was very mischievous and especially loved the sunshine. For a while, she ran to the ground almost every day. Then one day, she ran home crying, her clothes tattered. A year later, she gave birth to a child.
At that time, premarital pregnancy was considered a scandal in the Dwarf Kingdom. More importantly, no matter how Elder Redstone threatened her, his daughter refused to reveal the man's identity. Later, shortly after giving birth, she slit her own throat with a knife.