Chapter Sixteen: What Kind of Real Man Wears Earrings?

"Where is Lin Lei?" In the Hall of the Guardians, the orb of light surveyed the room, noticing that everyone had arrived—everyone except Lin Lei.

"He went back to write a funeral couplet," Lin Wen replied.

"A funeral couplet? Why?"

"He thought the Chief was dead."

The orb of light was silent for a long time before addressing the assembled magi, "Let’s move on to other matters... The side effects of the Grand Prophecy are fading; the High Ones are no longer watching us. You can relax a little these days."

The magi perked up at the news.

"Those monsters actually gave up?"

"Is the sun rising in the west today?"

"No, they can’t possibly set aside their suspicions so quickly," Lin Wen said warily. "Are they trying to lull us into lowering our guard so they can target Lin Lei when we least expect it?"

The orb of light shook its head. "No, that’s not it."

Lin Wen hesitated, then a thought struck him. "Could it be... Lin Lei’s words misled them?"

The other magi were astonished. They all knew Lin Lei had spun a tale about demons in the Wilderness Dream, but for the High Ones to actually believe it?

"This is absurd!"

"I’d sooner believe they have hemorrhoids in their brains than that they could be so easily deceived."

"Exactly, unless they really do have hemorrhoids in their brains!"

"No, unless the little prince’s story about the demons is actually true!"

"You’ve guessed it," the orb of light continued. "My sisters on the other side told me that Lin Lei, by sheer accident, revealed another threat to the world that we didn’t know about."

The magi exchanged glances. It made sense—after all, only another truth could fool the High Ones.

Yet if that was the case, then this world was truly dangerous. Not only did the little prince pose a threat of destruction, but the demons had never given up their schemes.

"It really is dangerous to stay on this planet."

"Best to leave before the end comes!"

But on further thought, the magi realized this situation wasn’t so bad for them after all.

"If those fools go looking for the demons, isn’t that good news?"

"Let the dogs fight each other; we’ll be safe in the meantime!"

"Let those demons be defeated and the world saved by them!" This generation of forest elves was different from the primordial ones; their curiosity for new things outweighed their desire to guard the world—in short, they were a carefree bunch.

In fact, not long after they had split from the primordial elves, they passed on the ancient pact’s responsibilities to humans by teaching them magic.

Humans, too, were a race always seeking novelty and purpose. When they heard that the forest elves wished to entrust them with the world’s safety, they held three days of celebrations, drums and gongs echoing as they eagerly accepted the pact.

After learning magic, they even formed international organizations to protect the world, scouring the land for demons and other unknown beings with even greater zeal than the primordial elves—much to the bafflement of the forest elves.

In the hall, the Wang family magi were jubilant as the after-effects of the Grand Prophecy finally faded.

"So demons can be used as bait!"

"The little prince's silver tongue is more formidable than our defensive spells—no wonder he called words the mightiest weapon!"

"At last, we can get a good night's sleep."

Just as the magi were celebrating, footsteps echoed from outside the hall.

"Ouch, ouch..." Lin Lei entered, struggling under the weight of a massive funeral wreath. "Ah, everyone is here. You all came to mourn the Chief Mage as well?"

A long silence followed. Why had he actually gone and made a funeral wreath?

White ribbons adorned the wreath, bearing couplets: "May your virtue live forever, your love endure through the ages," and "Your presence remains, your spirit will never fade."

Beautifully written—was the Chief really this great? In death, he was suddenly elevated to a hero!

This little rascal has a talent for writing funeral couplets, the magi thought. If their relatives ever passed away, they could ask him for a few lines.

But the horizontal banner on the wreath grew more and more suspicious the longer they looked. It read: "We part in tears."

Who are you trying to fool? No one believed this for a moment—his beaming face betrayed him!

The magi wanted to teach Lin Lei a lesson, but the orb of light, barely suppressing laughter, said, "That's enough, Lin Lei. The Chief isn't dead. Put away your couplet!"

Lin Lei’s smile froze. "He survived even after his body exploded?"

"He did. He made preparations in advance," the orb replied with a wry smile. Then, addressing the magi, "Let this be a lesson. Cultivation cannot be rushed. Lin Lei’s formation still needs much testing and adjustment before it can be used on other elves."

The magi were not pleased. Many had been eager to start cultivating, but now there was the threat of explosion.

"If he’s not dead, then why did you call me here?" Lin Lei asked the orb.

Little Bai had fallen unconscious after returning, so Lin Lei had left it with the veterinarian. If nothing urgent was happening here, he wanted to visit his pet.

His own pet was always so frail—Lin Lei resolved to put it through proper training from now on.

"I want to give you a communicator so we can stay in touch and research cultivation together," said the orb.

Lin Lei was too carefree by nature; left to his own devices, who knew how long it would take before he made any progress? The orb felt it was his duty as a teacher to guide him.

Besides, Lin Lei would never document his own cultivation experiences. Without the orb to compile them, no other elf would ever learn how to cultivate.

Lin Lei’s eyes gleamed. "And what’s in it for me?"

The magi nodded inwardly—this rascal never missed a chance to bargain, truly in the spirit of forest elves!

The orb continued, "I’ve stored some spells in the communicator. It can help you contact others, and it also has a storage function."

"A storage ring?" Lin Lei’s eyes shone. Wasn’t this the legendary storage ring? He’d always wanted one, but they were exceedingly rare—nothing like what he’d imagined.

"It’s not a ring."

"Then what is it?"

"The Tear of the Goddess. It’s an earring crafted by the Elven Queen herself in ancient times. I’ve modified it especially for you..."

Before the orb could finish, Lin Lei bolted for the door.

This time, Lin Wen was prepared. He blocked the exit and restrained Lin Lei with a spell.

"No, let me go! What kind of man gets his ear pierced?" Lin Lei struggled desperately. He planned to be a fearsome man someday—how could he wear an earring?

Besides, he already wore a mask. Adding an earring would make him look utterly ridiculous.

"You don’t have to get your ear pierced." Lin Wen smiled reassuringly. "We’ll use magic to hang it on your ear. You can take it off whenever you want."

"Really?" Lin Lei stopped struggling. "Then let me try."

He took the Tear of the Goddess—a silver, teardrop-shaped earring. When he brought it to his ear, it attached itself automatically, painless and without the need for piercing.

"That’s not so bad," Lin Lei muttered, trying to remove it, only to find it wouldn’t budge.

"Brother Wang, you tricked me!" he exclaimed.

Lin Wen only smiled at him. The Tear of the Goddess, retrieved from the royal treasury, could only be worn by those of pure heart. If Lin Lei ever failed to restrain his inner beast, it would fall off on its own.

A younger brother with the potential to go astray had to be watched carefully, right from the start.