Chapter 20 Chapter 1 Caravan

When the elf man appeared in front of the caravan, it was the girl who saw it first, but she was not the one who made the people in the caravan make a fuss. "Elf, it's an elf." "Look, ahead." "Why did the elves come to the desert?" "Look at his hair, look at his ears." The girl looked at the fellow travelers in the discussion, and at the elf walking on the right front side of the caravan.In fact, she had seen this elf a long time ago. Originally, there was a continuous sand dune that blocked everyone's sight during the caravan's journey. Only this girl could see the scene on the other side of the sand dune because she was sitting on a tall cargo.She was so drowsy by the pace of the convoy that she was about to fall asleep, and that elf jumped into her half-closed eyes at this time.The elf walked faster than the caravan, so the girl could only see his back, and only saw that he had long silver-white flowing hair, which seemed to be blown by the wind in such a sultry, windless desert. A loose robe, with extremely brisk steps, as if sliding on the soft sand, and as if dancing.The girl has been looking at him, wondering where he is going and what he is going to do, but she has never mentioned the existence of this elf to the companions around her, and only regards him as her boring An embellishment during the journey.

Once on the way, the elf changed direction and headed towards the west, but he returned to the original route after a short while, heading south almost in sync with the caravan, and the girl couldn't help guessing what he was doing just now. Where to go or something.Until the sand dune between the elf and the caravan naturally came to an end, the elf was displayed in front of everyone. "Elf, elf." The noise in the caravan obviously alarmed the elf, he turned his head to look at the caravan, showed a smile, then quickened his pace, and he disappeared after a while. Although the girl was a little disappointed because the elf left, she also saw the appearance of the elf: water-colored eyes and a handsome face, so she just stayed at the place where the elf disappeared for a while, and then began to find new ones for herself to pay attention to. things.

The appearance of the elves only made the boring march of the caravan lively for a while, and everything returned to the original.The girl watched for a while the snowy mountains looming on the horizon in the distance, watched the two people in the caravan arguing for a while, and then began to doze off again. "Falling leaves, be careful to plant them down!" A man walking beside the van where the girl was sitting cried out when he saw that she was about to fall asleep. "I didn't fall asleep." The girl cheered up and said. "Why do you keep climbing so high? You're not a monkey." The man was also bored, so he started talking to the little girl.

"You can see very far." The little girl named Luo Ye said. "No matter how far you look, it's a desert, so what's there to see?" The man laughed at the child's weirdness. "Yeah, I can't see my mother anyway." The girl muttered, and said loudly to the man, "I just want to see the desert!" "Haha," the man laughed, and said to the girl's father who was walking over, "Brother Hong, your daughter is really interesting." "Luoye, are you thirsty?" The man named Zhengyang Hong raised his head and asked Luoye, "You always sit on it, the sun is very strong, and you will get sunburned."

"How can a merchant's daughter be afraid of the sun?" Luo Ye said, but she still slipped off the truck neatly, untied her water bag to drink water. "I'd better listen to my father." The man who had talked to Luo Ye before said without knowing it, and even stroked Luo Ye's head affectionately. Luo Ye squinted her eyes and smiled, but Zheng Yang showed some embarrassment.Luoye and Zhengyang are indeed father and daughter, but the father and daughter have known each other's existence for only thirteen days, which is as long as the caravan set off from Iron City.

Zhengyang is a well-known businessman from Huoyou Country. Because of business needs, he travels between Huoyou Country and Beiding Country all the year round. In Tiecheng of Beiding Country, he once dated a romantic woman thirteen years ago. For a period of time, it was just that this kind of feeling passed away. After they separated, he never looked for her when he passed by Tiecheng, and the woman never contacted him again. Until this time when he passed by there again, this woman suddenly found her. come to your door.She brought the little girl and claimed it was Zhengyang's daughter.

In fact, as soon as Zhengyang saw this girl, he felt that she was his daughter, because this girl was terribly similar to his grandmother who Zhengyang had only seen in portraits and died when he was very young, so the woman asked Zhengyang When he adopted the child, he agreed immediately. "You have to think clearly before agreeing," the girl said to Zhengyang when her mother turned her head. The little girl had a serious face and spoke to Zhengyang in a warning tone, "I may not be your daughter, she has already I told three men this way, and she won't take advantage of you for nothing."

Zheng Yang was stunned by her words, but it also strengthened his determination to have this child. After he paid a large sum of money as the woman asked and kept the girl, two people who should be father and daughter were in the room Looking at each other, no one knew what to say. "What's your name?" Zheng Yang finally found a topic. "Falling leaves." "Luo Ye Hong, this name sounds nice." "Why don't you think that we are deceiving you? Maybe I am not your daughter at all." Luo Ye asked him excitedly, "That woman is very good at deceiving! She is going to marry a rich man who has fallen for her I was in a hurry to kick me out when I got married, otherwise she would..."

"What will happen to her?" Zhengyang understood that the relationship between the mother and daughter was not as bad as usual. "Maybe they will sell me to a brothel?" The girl shrugged, "But she has always disliked me for being unattractive. Maybe I will be sold as a slave." "What kind of mother is she!" Zheng Yang exclaimed angrily, "It's a good thing I came here at this time, otherwise, otherwise..." He couldn't even think about the possible future for this girl. "Otherwise I'll kill her with a knife." The girl said coldly, and her attitude didn't look like she was joking at all.

Because of her words, Zhengyang felt cold, so he couldn't help but look at the girl carefully: in Huoyou country in the south, the 12-year-old girl has grown up and started to develop. She looks as if she is only ten years old. Her black hair and brown eyes are common to everyone in the Zhengyang family. Her hair is dry and yellow, but her eyes are piercing. Her facial features are not at all like her charming mother, red and black. Her thin skin and snub nose make her look like an ugly little girl, only a little cute when she moves her eyes.The child said such heartless words so easily, which made Zheng Yang deeply realize how unhappy the days she lived with her mother were.

"I think you are my daughter, this is the nature of blood, there is no mistake." Zheng Yang tried his best to say in a gentle tone, "So you and I will return to the country, Dad may not let you live a luxurious life , but I will work hard to make you happy. My wife and I only have four sons, and she also wants a lovely daughter in her dreams. She will definitely be your good mother. You have one older brother and three younger brothers, They are all very naughty guys, but they are all kind and obedient, and there is also a cat and two dogs, a smart child like you must be able to get along well with them." He didn't know how to tell this man who had never gotten along well. He expressed his love for his ex-daughter, and reached out to touch her head as a gesture of kindness. "Father," Luo Ye tried her best to endure, but she still shed tears, "Do you know that you saved that woman's life and mine as well... I thought I was going to die... I dreamed Seeing that I killed that woman and was tied to the stake and burned to death..." She clutched the corners of her clothes tightly with her hands and choked up, "I thought I was going to do that soon... I wanted to kill her, I wanted to kill her. myself..." Zheng Yang hugged the child into his arms, tears also fell. In this way, when Zhengyang left Tiecheng, he took a daughter with him. Luo Ye is a quiet, lively, and weird little girl. There are also children of other merchants in the caravan, and several children who are about her age. Those children play together after a short time, but Luo Ye does not stay with them. , besides eating and sleeping, she just likes to sit on tall goods and look around. Zhengyang asked her why she didn't go to play, and she just laughed. "Dad, what is an elf?" "Elves are elves." Zhengyang's mouth was clumsy, and he couldn't tell why. "Then have you ever seen an elf before?" "Yes, some elves like to travel very much, so they can be seen everywhere on the mainland." "Then why were you so surprised when you saw that elf just now?" "Because elves like forests, they generally don't come to deserts without plants, so everyone is wondering what that elf is doing here." "He must have something important to do, right?" "Yeah, he must have important things to do, otherwise why would the elves come to trek in the desert." Luo Ye nodded, looking at the desert where the sky had darkened, thinking in her heart, what would that elf do at night?The night in the desert is very cold, he looks so weak, where should he live?What to eat?How to spend the night in the desert?She just kept thinking about it, and she didn't even hear the caravan stop and Zheng Yang calling her to eat. Luo Ye was wrapped in a thick blanket and leaned against Zheng Yang, but she didn't fall asleep. She listened to her father's snoring, but she didn't feel sleepy at all.It was windy in the desert at night, and even though the cattle were surrounded as a barrier, the rolled up gravel still hit the face from time to time.The fallen leaves brushed the sand from his father's hair and covered him with a blanket.When Zhengyang was awake, he always took care of the fallen leaves in one way or another, but once he fell asleep, he became his daughter taking care of him unconsciously. "Who!" It seemed that the night watchman in front yelled, and the entire caravan suddenly woke up from the dream and became nervous.Zheng Yang pulled Luo Ye behind him at once, and listened vigilantly. "Elf, what can I do for you?" The night watchman's second question calmed down. "Elf?" Luo Ye threw off the blanket and ran to the front of the team. "Travelers," it really was the elf in the daytime, in front of the caravan, his figure glowing by the bonfire seemed not to belong to this world, and he said with a smile, "I found a group of sand jackals ahead. So I'm here to tell you, please deviate a little bit westward tomorrow." "Sand jackals..." A gasping voice came from the caravan, "There are also sand jackals in the hot wind desert!"—Sand jackals are a kind of beasts that live in the desert, they can lurk under the sand to attack their prey, and always It is hundreds or thousands of animals that act together, and the caravans or tribes attacked by them will not leave any creatures. They are the most feared beasts for travelers in the desert.This kind of beast had never been found in the Hot Wind Desert before, so the caravan did not make any preparations to resist them. If the elf hadn't specially warned them, there would probably be no one alive in the caravan by this time tomorrow. "Honorable elf, we are very grateful for your kindness." The leader of the caravan stepped forward to bow deeply to the elf, and asked for his name. The elf smiled faintly and said: "Everyone should help each other during the journey, I just did what I should do." He didn't say his name, and he was about to leave after paying tribute to the caravan. "Elf, where do you live at night? Are you cold? Have you had dinner?" Luo Ye couldn't help asking her question. The elf noticed the thin child and showed a bright smile: "Thank you for your concern, nature will give me shelter." He put his hands on his chest and saluted the fallen leaves as he spoke. The figure of the elf disappeared into the night of the desert again. As soon as Luoye turned around, she heard a few children of her age making fun of them kindly: "Luoye, don't you know that elves don't need to eat? They are like trees. Alive." "Yes, yes, elves never live in houses, they sleep under the stars." "That's not right, elves drink the wind to live." "My mother said that elves can do magic, They can grow houses out of the ground to sleep in." "Elves are..." Fallen Leaf shook her head.She was shut up in the house by her mother since she was a child, and grew up facing only an old servant and four walls. She had neither seen the outside world nor taught her about it.Fortunately, the old servant used to be a maid of a declining noble family, so she knew a few words. She taught Luo Ye a little bit, and somehow found some tattered storybooks and picture albums for Luo Ye to read—— In this way, Luo Ye can stay quietly by herself and she can take a nap by herself.Luo Ye learned very little words, and she didn't know much about the stories, but she could understand those picture albums: her favorite one was a picture of a lost grassland, an elf man holding a magic wand, standing against the wind .From the description below the picture, Luoye knows that this elf is the emperor of the elves, a magician Tianyin Yuanlin who is as famous as the Holy Bright King.The picture is from the hands of ordinary painters, and the face of the elf is also blurred, but the elegant demeanor of the elf king in the painting still fascinates the fallen leaves. She often leaves the portraits of other legendary figures such as the Holy Hero King aside, and just keeps on Looking at this painting, imagine the heroic appearance of the Elf King back then. Today she saw a real elf for the first time, and from the first sight, she felt that this elf was exactly the same as the elf king in her mind, as if the character in her dream had come out all of a sudden.But this is of course impossible, because the elf king Tianyin Yuanlin has passed away long ago, and his son has inherited the throne of the elves for a long time. This is a well-known fact in the world.Maybe it's because elves all look alike?Being able to see the elf and saying a word to him already made Luoye so excited that she couldn't fall asleep, thinking over and over of the elf who was so close to her just now and the words he said to herself. "So where did he go now?" Luo Ye started to circle this question in her mind when she finally fell asleep in a daze. The elves didn't stop because of the night.The sea of ​​sand under the moonlight was like snow, and he walked forward with a lighter pace than during the day, as if he couldn't bear to destroy the beauty of the desert at night.A gust of wind blew by, he stopped to straighten his long hair, and then began to identify the position.In fact, he himself didn't know where he was going. He just happened to see an ancient and incomplete record, saying that flying flowers could be seen in the hot wind desert in this season, although the exact time could not be found in the record. And location, but also he came alone.He also knows that his behavior is willful, and he often warns himself in his heart to be more responsible, but every time he does self-reflection and determination, he will do such a thing again, and he has nothing to do with himself. "Huh?" His hand stopped on his temples, and he realized that an ornament he had worn there was missing. He frowned and recalled it, but shook his head and gave up. Where.He didn't let go of his brows. It wasn't a pity for this somewhat feminine accessory, but he remembered what his daughter who gave him this accessory said when he was about to leave Moonlight Mountain: "Daddy, do you know Mommy?" Why did I leave you... oh..." "Alas..." he sighed.Why didn't he know that the elf woman who had been in love with him for 300 years had only one reason for his daughter's mother to leave. The man she wanted should be more serious and responsible.He also wants to have these things, but now it seems that his daughter has more than himself. He shook his head to get rid of his troubles, and made up his mind to himself that this was the last time he would be self-willed, and he would never do this again after watching Fei Hua, and he would earnestly perform his duties.He made a wish that he didn't even believe in, and immediately felt less guilty, then decided on a direction, and continued to move forward. After deviating from the route westward according to the warning of the elf, the caravan continued to move forward as usual. The scorching sun at noon made everyone sunburned, and even the fallen leaves, which always liked high places, hid in the small shadow of the truck , Wrap yourself in a cloak to block the sun.Zhengyang always walks beside her, using his body to create a little shadow for her. Luo Ye tried her best to stride her legs. She was not afraid of being tired, but she couldn't stand the scorching sun. She felt that she was about to be dried out, but she still stubbornly refused the water bag handed by her father. Because the caravan changed its route, they had to Three days more walking in the desert, so save the use of drinking water.The person next to him saw a child clamoring for water in front of him, smiled at Zheng Yang and said, "Your daughter is really sensible." Luo Ye didn't think she was sensible, she was just used to treating herself as an adult. At this time, almost no one in the caravan spoke, and the fallen leaves walked silently, but the flash of something on the sand dunes not far away caught her attention. "Father." Luo Ye pulled Zheng Yang's clothes, "There..." "It's the sand reflecting the light." Zheng Yang glanced at it and said. "No." Luo Ye unexpectedly shook off her father's hand and ran over by herself. "Falling leaves!" Zheng Yang failed to stop her, and watched her climb up the sand dune with hands and feet, searched for a while, and then ran back holding something to show him, "This." "Oh, it's Yuki's hair accessory." Zheng Yang said.Snow wood is a very common tree in the north. The wood is as white as jade. Although this kind of tree does not grow large, it cannot be used as a building material, but it is very suitable for making some carvings and small ornaments. And because the material is common, the price of these items It is also very cheap. Although the jewelry picked up by the fallen leaves is very delicate, it is not expensive, so Zheng Yang said with a smile: "If you like it, there are many such things in our goods this time. You can choose whatever you like. All right." "But this one is there." Fallen Leaf pointed to the desert, "How could it be there?" "Maybe someone dropped it when another caravan passed by. If you like it, just keep it." Zheng Yang patted Luo Ye's head, and the girl really liked these gadgets. Fallen Ye held this ornament, thinking that it really belonged to someone, why did it fall by itself in the desert?Did its owner notice that it was missing?Or is the owner not wanting it?How long had it been in the desert by itself?She thought so wildly to break the loneliness of the journey, and casually put the jewelry on her hair. "Father! Daddy! Daddy..." Luo Ye hugged the pack beast's neck tightly and cried loudly. The desert was getting colder and colder at night, but she only had very thin clothes on her body. She was cold, hungry and thirsty. She managed to get the beast of burden to take her up a sand dune, and when she looked around, there was still no sign of the caravan. Although the caravan followed the elf's advice and changed direction, they still encountered sand jackals yesterday afternoon.Fortunately, they were far away from the sand jackal's lair, and all they encountered was a small group of less than twenty sand jackals, but twenty of these animals were enough to cause trouble for a medium-sized caravan.During a scuffle, a pack animal was frightened and ran from the line, and the fallen leaves happened to be sitting on the load it was pulling.What happened afterwards was a mess, and Luoye herself couldn't remember clearly, only that the truck was galloping in the desert as if it was about to overturn at any time, with sand jackals howling beside her, her father calling behind her, and people from the caravan in catch up.She clung tightly to the ropes that bound the goods, unable to think at all, closed her eyes and resigned herself to fate.When she felt the pack animals stop, she was already in the vast desert, and she didn't know where the caravan and her father were. The leaves began to fall and waited patiently for rescue. She found a small bag of water in the truck, but the goods on the truck were all utensils, and there was nothing that could help her.Luoye suppressed the fear in her heart and spent the night cuddling up with the pack beast. She drank the little water carefully, hoping that her father and the caravan people could find her quickly, but no one had found her by noon today. When she was there, she decided to find everyone by herself.She untied the rope between the pack beast and the truck, threw away the load of goods that were useless to her, and finally got on the pack beast's back after a dozen attempts, "The only one I can rely on is you," She said to the pack beast, "You want to go back to the caravan too? Then let's go." Luo Ye just rode a pack beast around in the desert. She hoped that the pack beast could find the team by relying on animal instinct, but in this desert, the animal instinct seemed to have failed, and she couldn't bear the cold at night. When the wind had to stop, he didn't know that he had gone in the wrong direction and was heading deep into the desert.She snuggled up to her pack beast, ready for another desert night. She has never been happy since she was a child. Her mother is a mercenary woman who treats her as a burden and often plans to sell her or abandon her. That woman has never been like a mother, and she has never regarded her as her own mother. , even Luo Ye said that she was going to kill her, she was not threatening or joking, she knew that if she continued to live with her, maybe she would really do it one day.But fate did not let her continue to live such a life, but sent Zhengyang to her side. Zheng Yang really cared about her. Although they were strangers to each other, the sensitive Luo Ye knew that this man treated her with a father's heart. "Maybe I can live a happy life." Luo Ye had just started to have such extravagant hopes, but was thrown into such a situation by fate again. "Dad, Dad..." No matter how stubborn she was, she didn't want to cry, but after she couldn't help calling her father, she still started crying. It was already midnight. When the tired fallen leaves were about to fall asleep, she saw a lot of flowers appearing in front of her eyes. She opened her eyes wide in surprise, and saw clearly that the red flower had no branches or leaves, and it bloomed out of thin air.The fallen leaves couldn't help stretching out their hands to feel if it was real, but the breeze blew the flower into the air. "I heard that people will see hallucinations when they are about to die in the desert. Am I about to die?" More and more flowers appeared in the air, flying and dancing, and dreamlike pictures appeared in front of the fallen leaves. "So death is so beautiful?" She stood up in a murmur, and walked into the center of the flying flowers with open arms.She spun along with the flying flowers, hoping to become one of them and go away with the wind... When the flute sounded, she saw the elf standing on the sand dune through the flying flowers. "Can I see my dream when I'm dying?" Luo Ye thought, dancing to the sound of the elf's flute, the wind and the flow of flowers... The flowers began to fade away one by one in the air, and I was about to die in such a beautiful scene, how lucky I am... "Is that you? The Elf King." When the elf walked to Luoye, she asked this person who should have come out of her dream. She saw the elf nodding with a gentle smile. "Tianyin Yuanlin..." "No, I'm Pole Star Yuanlin." The elf said so, reaching out to catch the fallen leaf's body. When the fallen leaves opened their eyes, the sun had just risen. She shaded her eyes from the dazzling sunlight with her hands and sat up. She remembered that she was separated from the caravan and wandered alone in the desert. But now, she seemed to see the dream in front of her eyes, the elf man was sitting beside her, stroking the pack beast while talking to it.Seeing the fallen leaves wake up, he smiled and said, "I thought you would lie down for a while." "Elf..." Luo Ye looked at the vast desert and finally figured out where she was, "You saved me?" "You're just too tired. There's nothing else to do. Come on, drink some more water." The elf took a cup woven from leaves and handed it to the fallen leaves. It contained clear water, and he didn't know where he got it from. When Luoye was drinking water, the elf kept looking at her. He didn't expect this weak-looking girl to wake up so quickly, and he felt a little impressed by her. "Did you get separated from the caravan?" He still remembered seeing this girl in that caravan. "We met a sand jackal, and the pack beast was frightened and pulled me here." Luo Ye looked at his face and explained, "We have already gone west, it's not that we didn't listen to your advice—but we still have met……" The elf smiled and shook his head, he would not be upset about such a thing, this girl is too careful.He asked with concern: "How many sand jackals have the caravan encountered? Can they resist it?" "I don't quite understand...but it should be fine!" Luo Ye was not so much talking about her own judgment as she was talking about her own hope. After she found out that she was saved, what she thought was that her father would be safe, and she hoped that he would also be safe. Can be safe. The elf stood up, opened his hands against the wind, closed his eyes, murmured something, and said after a while: "They are safe and sound, and now they have reached the edge of the desert." "Is Dad safe too?" Luo Ye looked at him in a daze.Is this the magic of elves?How did he know about the caravan?It looked like he was talking to the wind. "I think they are all safe." The elf's magic is not so good that he can know the situation of a certain person he doesn't know from the wind elf, but he still comforts Luo Ye in this way, "Come on, I will take you to chase after him." Let them." He stretched out his hand to the fallen leaves.Luo Ye hesitated and held his hand in disbelief, looked at him cautiously, and felt that it was unbelievable that she could hold the elf's hand.The elf placed the fallen leaves on the beast of burden, and walked alongside. "May I know your name?" Fallen Leaves asked bravely. "Ah?" The elf was stunned for a moment. He remembered that he had told the girl his name last night, but Luo Ye continued to ask, "Can you tell the human beings about your name?" The elf understood somewhat. This girl met her last night in a state of extreme fatigue and fear. Once she relaxed, she forgot everything about last night.That's fine, he's regretting casually telling the human about his identity, let her forget it like this, he said with a smile: "My name is Xing, what about you?" "Falling leaves." "Falling leaves, this is a very beautiful name." Xing said. "Beautiful?" My name is said to be given to me by my mother when she saw the leaves falling on the tree after she was born. Luo Ye never thought this name was beautiful, but Xing still made her very happy when she commented on her name. , a little shyly said: "You elves have beautiful names, like Tianyin, Yuanlin, Xing... No wonder you are the descendants of nature." This girl seemed to be very interested in her father. When she asked herself if she was the elf king last night, she thought she recognized her, so she admitted it without saying anything. Unexpectedly, she thought she was the father. "You seem to be very interested in the elf king?" Although Xing himself is already the king of the elves, in his heart, he still regards his father as the only king of the elves. Since he wants to pretend to be an ordinary elf , he asked naturally. "Well, I really want to see him with my own eyes." Luo Ye said with infinite longing. "He has been dead for many years." Xing sighed silently. "Yeah, so I have been looking forward to when I grow up, I will learn magic, and then become a great magician like the Holy King of Light. I can use the magic of time-space transfer to see him." Fallen Leaf said Thinking of his dream, with a longing look on his face. "Really? But apart from the Holy Light King, not even the father...even the Elf King knows how to reverse time and space." I didn't expect this child to have such a crazy idea in his heart. "Ah... yes, it is impossible for me to have the opportunity to learn magic." Luo Ye sighed, "I wish I was born in that era." "That era? The era of Sharna?" Xing said in surprise, "How could you want to live in such a chaotic and precarious era." "Then I can become a warrior and fight side by side with the Elf King." Xing smiled wryly, he knew that his father was always surrounded by many women when he was alive, but he didn't expect that after he passed away for so long, there was still a girl who admired him here. "You say that, it seems that you are very familiar with the Elf King?" "Yes, I know a lot about his deeds. I know that he is a gentle, kind and caring magician. The book says that he himself is the shadow of nature." "Ha." Xing couldn't help laughing, father is gentle?Full of love?Why don't I know.He recalled his father who was strict, serious, and unsmiling. He really didn't know how human books were written. "The first time I saw you, I thought you looked like the Elf King. Are all your elves so beautiful?" Since childhood, Xing has often heard that he is similar to his father, especially after he became an adult, except that he does not have the courage of his father, his facial features and body are almost exactly the same as Tianyin Yuanlin, and no one compares them with his father until Tianyin Yuanlin passed away. , But I didn't expect to hear such words from a human girl today. "Do you know what an elf king looks like?" Xing asked Luoye. "I know." Luo Ye nodded, she took out her treasure and said, "I'll show you." Xing looked at the piece of paper she had torn out from a design book, and saw that "Father" was drawn on it: in fact, it was just a scribbled and simple picture, and the facial features of the elf painted on it were blurred. I don't look like my father in any way. "Look, is it very similar to you?" Luo Ye said. Probably she has never seen an elf, any elf she sees will think she looks like her father, right?Star thinks so. "Have you seen the Elf King?" Fallen Leaf asked. "Of course I have." "What kind of man is he?" Xing didn't know if he should tell the truth, should he really tell her that her father is completely different from what he imagined?He smiled, why bother, anyway, the father has passed away for so long, let this girl always worship him so much. "He is very gentle to me, he often teaches me magic hand in hand, and even hugs me to see the scenery..." He recalled his father's gentle side and told Luoye about it. "You are so happy... If only I were a child of the elves, he must like children and treat me so tenderly, right?" Luo Ye's eyes sparkled. "Ah... yes, he likes children very much..." Xing said words against his will, distorting his father's image. "Is he popular with women? Does he have a lot of confidante? What is his wife like?" "He's very popular with women," Star said.As for other questions, he has no way to answer, the father is surrounded by many women, but the mother is not one of them, and she is not the wife of the father, just like the mother of his daughter is not his wife, the elves The view on marriage is different from that of human beings, which is difficult to explain clearly to a human girl.He is unwilling to mention the relationship between father and mother in front of outsiders, even if this little girl makes him feel that he doesn't need to guard against it at all. "Then his son is the current elf king, right? What kind of person is he?"——Fortunately, Luoye asked the question without paying attention to his hesitation in answering, and soon asked elsewhere . "His son..." Xing knew how to answer this question best. He shook his head and said with a wry smile, "He is a man without much talent and no sense of responsibility. He is neither outstanding in martial arts nor magic, nor is he a wise man In short, the king is far from his father by a hundred and eight thousand miles." Luo Ye looked at him in surprise: "You are also an elf, why do you say that about your king?" "It's the truth." Xing sighed, he didn't want to be like this, but how could he change his natural personality. Luo Ye looked at him carefully: Could it be that he was kicked out by the current elf king instead of traveling?Otherwise, why does he seem to be very dissatisfied with the Elf King.She hurriedly changed the subject and asked, "The elves live in Moonlight Mountain, right? Are humans allowed to go there?" "Our family of elves live in Moonlight Mountain. Generally, we don't welcome outsiders, but there are many groups of elves on the mainland, such as the black elves as the saying goes. They live mixed with humans and are called moon elves. They live in the north and only like to come out at night. There are also some elves who don't belong to any family and roam freely on the mainland. But when it comes to the country of elves, there is only us Moonlight Mountain. You really want going there?" 落叶用力点头。 “等你将来长大了，我带你去吧。”星脱口许下了自己不应该说的承诺，马上又在为自己的说话不经大脑而后悔。可是落叶已经兴奋得叫起来：“真的，那我们说好了，你不要忘记啊！”他也就没有办法反悔了。“等你长大了再说。”他揉揉落叶的头发，可是等到落叶长大最少还要十年，这样的时间对于精灵来说当然算不了什么，但是对于人类来说就很长了吧？也许到那时候她就忘掉了。星乐观得这么想。 落叶有机会和向精灵询问自己仰慕已久的精灵王的事，当然十分兴奋，而星也很高兴这样毫无心机地和落叶说话，他们边走边聊，漫漫沙漠反而成了他们悠闲散步的去处一样，星细心的照料着落叶，使她完全淡忘了自己与家人失散的情况下的忧虑。 到了晚上，星召唤了火的精灵为落叶取暖，并且为她唱歌，为她吟诵诗句，为她吹笛子，当他悠扬的笛声最后一个音符消失在夜空中时，落叶忽然拉着他的衣襟说：“我觉得好像什么时候听见过这样美丽的笛声，而且那时还有很美的景象……可是记不起来了……” “是昨天晚上吗？看见飞花的时候啊……我就是在那里看到你的。” “飞花……原来吗不是梦吗……”落叶回忆起那漫天飞舞的花朵，痴痴得闭着眼睛问。 “那可是拿的一见的奇景啊，”星也回忆着那美丽的景象，“我根据前人的记载找了两个月才看见它，而且在那片飞花中，你一下子就出现了……” 落叶忽然说：“你和精灵王好象啊，我心目的精灵王就是你这个样子，你们精灵都是这样的吗？” “是啊，大家都差不多啊。”星随口说。 “行，等我长大了，学会了时空转移的魔法后我就要去看精灵王，到时候你也去好不好？” “哈哈。”她竟然还念念不忘时空转移魔法，星笑起来。 “你不要笑我，不然到时候我就不带你去。”落叶信誓旦旦的说。 “好，不笑了，到时候我一定跟你去。我也很想见见他啊……” “好，我们说好了，谁也不许反悔……”落叶咕哝着，星想再和她说话时，发现她已经靠在自己身上睡着了。星扶着她的头让她躺好，却在她的头发上看见了一个饰品：“咦，这个是我的……”他看到了自己遗失的东西，伸手从落叶头上拿了下来。 “你干吗拿我的头饰？”落叶迷迷糊糊地问。 “这是我的啊，你怎么找到的？” “捡来的。”落叶半睡半醒。 “这是我女儿送给我的呢，我还以为找不到了。” “你女儿……你多大了啊？已经有女儿了啊……”落叶几乎是在梦中说话了，“那就还给你好了……” “我已经一千六百多岁了，对于你们人类来说很难以接受吧？”星又把饰物给她戴上说：“你留着吧，我也不太想要这种女性化的饰品。” “一千六百岁……好长的时间啊……难道你们不觉得寂寞……”落叶双手抱着星的手臂，这次是真地睡着了。 “寂寞啊……”星苦笑一下，让这个小姑娘在自己身上烤得更舒服一些，也闭上眼睛进入了梦乡。 “爸爸！爸爸！”落叶在人群中边叫边寻找。 柯城是个繁华的商业城镇，刚刚渡过大海峡和刚刚穿越沙漠、以及将要去渡过海峡和穿越沙漠的商人们都集中在这里，落叶根本记不住自己跟随的商队叫什么名字，只好在一个一个商队的驻扎点寻找着。星什么也不说，只是跟在她的身边，在这种鱼龙混杂的地方，有一名精灵跟着使很多不怀好意的人打量过落叶之后又悄悄的放弃了她。 “落叶？你是不是落叶？”当她问过这个商队后，有个声音问她。 “是啊，您是？” “真的是你！你没有死啊！”这个商人正在和落叶刚才问到的商队交易，听到有人打听和自己一起旅行的征洋，抬头看见了落叶，这个大家都以为她已经死在沙漠里的孩子，“你快点回去吧，你爸爸都要急疯了，商队中大伙不肯跟他一起回去找你，他正在自己准备雇用佣兵去找呢！” "dad!" 落叶的叫声使正在佣兵工会雇用人手的征洋把手里的钱包掉到了地上。他抬起头，看见落叶从门外跑进来，眼泪一下子流下来，父女两个紧紧搂在一起。落叶看到父亲两个眼睛又红又肿，满脸胡渣，眼眶深陷，显然这几天根本没有好好的吃睡过，她想想自己跟着星心安理得的走，甚至还暗中希望这条路慢点走完，不由一阵惭愧。她因为有那样一个母亲的关系，童年都是在孤独中度过，习惯了没有人关心也不去关心别人的生活，虽然她还算喜欢这个父亲，但是也没有对他产生什么关切，只有独自在沙漠里迷失时特别想念他，至于他会怎么面对自己失踪着件事她更没有考虑过。现在看到父亲这样牵挂，她第一次体会到了有人关心的滋味。 “你没有事吧？有没有受伤？有没有生病？还不害怕？你是怎么逃出来的？”正洋一连声的问，上下打量着落叶。 “是星救了我。”落叶指着星说。 征洋这才看见跟在女儿身后的精灵：“您救了我的女儿……我简直不知道说什么好……”征洋激动得语无伦次，一个劲的向星行礼。 “这没什么的，旅途中的人本来就应该相互帮助。”星还礼说。落叶觉得现在的他和单独面对自己的时候什么不一样了，但是又说不出变化在哪里来，只是睁大了眼看着他。星摸摸落叶的头，道别以后转身向门外走去，看起来他不愿意和人多谈。 “星，你要记得我们约好的事啊。”落叶突然不太相信自己还能见到他并且要他履行诺言了。 “我会记得的。”星也没有还要履行自己的诺言的信心，他当然不会忘记，但是人类是健忘的种族，“如果你长大了还依然记得的话，道月光山来找我吧，我会尽地主之一的。”他说完挥挥手，出门飘然而去。 落叶和她相处只有两天，但是不知为什么，分离的时候竟然有一丝伤感。 “我的女儿安然回来了，我请大家喝一杯！”征洋兴奋的叫着，掏出钱袋请在场的所有人，屋子里顿时爆发出欢呼。落叶跟在他身边，向他和好奇的人们讲述自己的遭遇，她抽空向门外看去时，星的身影已经消失了。 穿越了沙漠以后，原来的商队就自然的解散了，征洋带着落叶，又加入了一支全部由火由国的商人组成的队伍，踏上了归国的路程。这次的旅伴大多数都是常常来往这条商路的人，彼此都认识，所以大家对于征洋带竟然回了一个女儿就格外的好奇。 “宏老弟，你这么老实的人原来也会背着老婆在外面找女人啊！哈哈，真是人不可貌相。” “这个孩子根本不象你吗，真的是你的女儿？不是偷偷买的女人不敢承认吧。” “你这样带个孩子回去，你家里那个母老虎能不能饶了你啊！你有苦头要吃了！” "..." 诸如此类的对话围绕着他们，落叶的眉头也就越来越难以舒展了。她相信父亲是真心想疼爱自己的，但是他的家人呢？据说他有妻子和四个儿子，他们能接受自己这样吗？即使他们都是很好的人，自己这样的个性可以和突然出现的母亲、哥哥、弟弟们相处的好吗？她越想到这些就越难以掩饰的不安，越接近火由国她就越害怕起来，甚至到了茶饭不思、夜不能寐的地步。征洋看在眼里，百般的安抚她，告诉她家人都是很好相处的，但是对于过度紧张的落叶也起不到什么作用。 “落叶，你看，使你喜欢的精灵呢，有好几个？”征洋逗女儿说话。 落叶顺着他指的方向去看，果然有七八个精灵走在商队的后面。商队是沿着大路行进，他们却是走在路边的山林中，若隐若现，有的背着弓箭，有的佩带着刀剑，有的手持魔杖，看起来到象是一支军队。“他们根本不象精灵。”落叶看了他们一会，嘟起嘴说。她看来这些精灵虽然也是姿容出众，气质飘然，但是却和她心目中的精灵王完全不象，甚至和星也不象，为什么呢？星不是说精灵们都是差不多的吗。 “那些精灵是月光山的战士，”一个见多识广的商人低声向大家说，“他们全副武装出现在月光山以外的地方是很少见的。” “是不是有什么大事发生了？”另一个商人也不安的说。 “看他们行色匆匆的，也许是去哪里战斗？” “也许是那里发生战争了吧？” “也许他们只是护送精灵族重要的人物去什么地方吧？我上次也看见过这样的队伍，据说是要护送精灵族的公主出游的。”另一名商人不同意他们的观点，“他们要是参加战争的话，应该会带着有翼独角兽作为坐骑的。” “可是他们当中哪里有什么重要人物？分明个个都是普通的精灵。” 精灵们成了人们旅途中疏解寂寞的话题，但是到了前面的岔路，商队沿着道路继续前进，而精灵们却进入了山林深处。 这队精灵在山林中日夜兼程，快速无声的行进，当三天后，他们到达一片葱绿山林里的湖水旁边时，星已经站在那里等待了。 “王，我们来迟了。”领头的精灵带领大家向星行礼。 “不，是我给你们添麻烦了。”星笑着说，“其实我自己回去就可以，不用你们特地再来一次。”他即使对自己的臣民说话也是这么客客气气的，这也是他没有自己身为王者的自觉地表现之一吧。 “王，您的安全关系整个精灵族，跟随和保护您是我们的职责啊。”这个精灵婉转地提出了劝谏。 “我知道，令河，我以后不会这样了。”星说着精灵们、包括他自己全都不相信的承诺。 “王，我们现在回去还是……”对于王的这种性格令河和精灵们也没有什么办法，只是希望他能快点决定回去。 “我们现在就回去吧。”星自知理亏的说，并且身先士卒的向山林外走去。 “王，我们还是不要沿着来路回去的好，我们来的时候在元山遇见了大股的盗贼集团，险些发生冲突。”精灵们倒是不怕这些盗贼，令河是出于对王不喜欢纷争的个性的了解才这样建议的。 “元山？那里不是一向很平静吗？什么时候有了盗贼集团？”星记得自己来的时候那里还是一片宁静的山林。 “这些盗贼本来是分散在火由国和沙国的边境山中的，前些时候火由国的一支要去黑川国太阳神殿的朝圣者队伍在那里受到了攻击，您也知道，现在火由国的国王多么重视宗教，他得知了朝圣者们遇袭，其中还有两名神官死亡的事大为愤怒，下令要剿灭那里的匪徒。本来那些匪人隐藏在两国边界的山林中，出没不定，历朝历代都没法对他们根除，但是火由国的大将军席远确实有一套，短短两个月的时间，也不知道他用了什么方法，就把那些盗贼剿灭了大半，剩下的不敢继续留在火由国境内，就纷纷来到了元山。这些盗贼彼此之间经过了几次争斗，最后组成了现在这个集团。”令河把他沿途听来的消息告诉星，并且叹息说：“这样一来火由国境内是平静了，可怜沙国……沙国当今的国王沉迷声色，没有什么治世才能，看来是不可能像火由国一样进行剿灭了。” “元山……那里是去火由国的必经之路啊……”星想到了什么，虽然每天过往的商队如此的多，他们也不一定走那条路线，但是不知为什么他心里还是觉得不放心，“我们走元山。”他果断的吩咐说：“精灵族怎么可以因为盗贼绕路。就算遇见盗贼又怎么样？我们正好替沙国除掉一害！” “是！”精灵们大声答应，为精灵王难得的毅然而兴奋。 商人在获得利润的同时还必须要面对旅途中的各种风险：疾病、气候、战争、盗贼……因此而死在旅途上的商人也是比比皆见。虽然大多数的商队都会雇用俑兵或者职业保镖同行，但是也会有疏忽的时候。比如这支队伍，因为他们都是常常来往于火由国和沙国的商人，所以根据自己对这条道路的熟悉程度而决定在开始安全的行程中暂时不雇用俑兵，到了边境的时候再找人护卫，这样就可以节省下一部分开销。 当盗贼们从树丛中冲出来将他们包围时，懊恼爬上了所有人的心头。 “大家不要抵抗！”领头的商人经验丰富，他知道大多数的盗贼只是求财，只要不加抵抗，他们得到了财物后不会随便伤人。现在的商队根本没有抵抗的能力，大家只好豁着这次旅途的辛苦付之东流，但求可以平安返乡了。商人们都很清楚，钱财是去了还可以挣回来，人死了可就什么都没有了的道理，所以各自退离货车，任由盗贼们在车上翻捡起来。 盗贼和商人一样，很能分辨货物的质量和价值，他们把值得他们运回去的货物连同货车一起拉到旁边，然后来到商人们身边，一个一个的检查他们的身体，把他们的钱袋和值钱的饰品、衣物一起夺走。 “爸爸。”落叶紧紧握着征洋的手。她咬着嘴唇，看着那些强盗拿走了父亲的钱袋和外衣。 “别怕，落叶，别害怕，有爸爸在……”征洋尽力的安慰女儿。 落叶脸色苍白，但是还是说：“我不怕！” “对，没什么可怕的。货物没有了不要紧，我把你带回来就是最大的收获了……看到你你'妈妈'就会高兴，她不会在乎货物的损失的……”征洋抚摩着落叶的头说。 盗贼们拿走了大部分东西，看起来是满足了，商人们暗暗地松口气。 盗贼的首领向树林中走去，商人们知道事情已经过去了，他们虽然心疼这次的损失，但是也庆幸自身安然无恙，有几个性急的已经走向剩下的货车，察看还能剩下多少货物了。 “杀！”盗贼的首领猛然转头暴喝一声。 “杀！一个都别留！”盗贼们一起呼应着，举着兵器冲过来。 他们这些日子一直专门对付象这样以为旅途安全没有雇佣保镖的商队，为了能在消息传出去之前尽量多的洗劫这样的商队，他们每次都会赶尽杀绝，不让这些商队留下一个活口。长途跋涉经营的商人们都多少会一点武术，他们马上取出各自的武器来抵抗，顿时惨叫声不绝，血肉横飞，一场屠杀在山林中展开了。 “爸爸！爸爸！”落叶不由吓得叫起来。 “别怕，别怕……”征洋拔出配剑说：“爸爸跟他们拚了！” “爸爸。”落叶还是抓着他不放手。 “落叶，怕也没有用，爸爸死也会保护你的！”征洋想挣脱她的手。 “不是。”落叶摇着头，“给我那个……”她指着征洋的腰部。 征洋摸到自己腰带上插着的一把匕首：“你要这个……” 落叶不说话，脸色苍白，用力地点头。 如果商队遇见这种赶尽杀绝的强盗，商队里的女性很有可能在被杀死前遇到比死更悲惨的经历，这一点征洋很清楚，他不知道落叶是不是也从谁那里听说了这些，还是她看到这样的情形自己有了预感，但是落叶很坚定地看着他，向他要那把匕首。征洋叹口气，把匕首交给了她。 “爸爸会保护你的！”征洋这样大吼着，挥剑向扑过来的盗贼砍过去，落叶把匕首拔出来，双手握住，肩头轻轻战抖着，看着那实力悬殊的战场。 商人们所会的三拳两脚怎么可能是以抢掠为生的盗贼们的对手，更何况在人数上还相差这么多。战斗刚刚开始不久也就接近了尾声，大部分商人都被打倒，没有立刻断气的就会有一个盗贼上前补上一刀一剑，当征洋被一名盗贼一刀砍倒时，落叶尖利的叫了起来：“啊……爸爸……”她直接向前扑过去，也不顾那名盗贼还没有离开征洋身边。 “爸爸！爸爸！” 但这个孩子扑过来时，那名盗贼本来想随手一刀下去，但是他看清了这是个女孩子后就改变了主意，一把把落叶提在了手里叫：“老弟，这里有个小女孩，你不是最喜欢这样鲜嫩的吗！”说完淫笑起来。 另一名盗贼远远的回应：“好，留给我，我把原来养的那个女人送给你！” “好，就是这样！”这个盗贼还要说什么，小腹一阵剧痛打断了他，他低下头，看见落叶手中拿着一把匕首，已经刺进了自己的腹部。“啊……”他惨叫着丢开落叶，但是落叶在地上摔了一个跟头后马上爬起来，又是一匕首向他刺来。盗贼挥刀向她砍下来，落叶连躲都不躲，咬着牙直扑向他。正样拼尽力气从后面一拉这个盗贼，落叶才没有被刀砍中。这个盗贼在腹部受得伤不轻，动作大为迟缓了，又被落叶的这一匕首刺在了腿上，惨呼着跪倒下去。 “爸爸！爸爸！”落叶一声声叫着，匕首一下一下毫不留情的继续向盗贼进攻。盗贼先是一拳打个她个跟头，但是接着两处伤口使他的动作缓慢无力起来，当他的下一刀没有砍中落叶，只是削掉了她头发上的饰品时，落叶的匕首已经准确的刺进了他的胸口。“当。”盗贼的刀落在地上。 “爸爸……”落叶尖叫着，匕首一下一下连续刺向这个盗贼，使他鲜血四溅，落叶的头上手上不一会就全是血迹了。 “好狠的孩子！”落叶眼睛里的杀气和她的行为连杀人不眨眼盗贼们也为之咋舌。 一个盗贼大步走过来，举起剑向落叶刺下去，落叶还在一下一下刺着那个已经死了的盗贼，根本没有抵抗或闪躲……