“Good afternoon, dear students. The plane has arrived at its destination, First University.”
“The plane has landed. Please gather your belongings and hold your pets close. Please be careful when retrieving items from the overhead compartments. Students with checked luggage, please proceed to the First University School Work Committee’s special luggage claim area to collect your parcels.”
“Outside cabin temperature: minus ten degrees Celsius to twenty degrees Celsius. High altitude winds are around eighteen knots, while low altitude winds are two to three knots. Please take appropriate precautions.”
“The cabin door has opened. For your safety and the safety of others, please exit the cabin in an orderly fashion.”
“Thank you for choosing Wizard Union-Lunar Airlines.”
“See you on your next journey.”
An elegant voice accompanied by soothing music played repeatedly in the cabin.
Zheng Qing groggily opened his eyes, feeling a tickle in his nose.
“Achoo!” He sneezed loudly.
Li Meng’s clear laughter came from beside him.
Poseidon, as if seeking praise, squatted on Zheng Qing’s chest, wagging his tail at the little girl.
“You’re a fox, not a dog,” Zheng Qing mumbled, rubbing the little fellow’s head. Then he frowned, feeling that the word “dog” had a strong sense of déjà vu.
“You’re finally awake. We were debating whether to hand you over to the teacher,” Li Meng leaned her face close to Zheng Qing’s, a fresh scent of a young girl wafting over him. “Is your head better?”
“Much better, much better,” Zheng Qing awkwardly turned his head away.
Across the aisle, Little Monk Shiyuan was organizing his scriptures; the beautiful girl with the wine-red wavy hair was pulling her plain red University robe from her handbag.
Looking up, the cabin was full of new students putting on their University robes over their coats.
“Hurry and change, put on the long University robe,” Xiao Xiao leaned his head over, examining his complexion, and nodded in satisfaction. “You look well. Hurry up, the University gate won’t stay open for too long.”
The little fox stepped on Zheng Qing’s stomach, barking loudly in his ear.
Zheng Qing lowered his head and saw a pair of large, black pearl-like eyes on the little fellow’s back.
It was the injured green Little Elves.
“Why is she still on Poseidon?!” Zheng Qing exclaimed in surprise.
“Where do you want her to go?” Xiao Xiao sighed. “That flight attendant was her owner, as you know.”
Saying that, he lowered his voice and looked around.
Zheng Qing knew what Xiao Xiao meant.
The incident of the vicious murder on the special flight was still a secret. To ensure a smooth journey, the flight crew repeatedly instructed the new students to remain silent about the matter.
This kind of thing was easy to understand.
“So, she’s homeless now?” Zheng Qing found it a bit unbelievable. “Aren’t they employees of the airline? The airline should be responsible for this!”
Xiao Xiao let out a short, sharp laugh.
“In the Wizarding World, Little Elves are not considered citizens with legal capacity,” Li Meng explained very seriously from the side. “They are the personal property of Wizards.”
“Personal property of Wizards?”
“To be precise, they are not a Wizard’s personal property. Because in modern times, such a statement would trigger protests from some overly sympathetic Wizards—using such a statement for sentient beings easily brings to mind slavery.” Xiao Xiao replied while putting on his Red Robe. “So, in the modern wizard codex, these Little Elves are identified as ‘effective individuals who form an independent contract with a Wizard.’”
“Although it’s convoluted, you’re saying that these Little Elves only have a contractual relationship with that flight attendant. The airline doesn’t need to be responsible for them, is that what you mean?” Zheng Qing felt a heavy weight in his heart, feeling very uncomfortable.
Li Meng nodded quickly beside him, looking at Xiao Xiao with admiration.
“You mentioned to me before that Little Elves are gregarious creatures.” After a moment of silence, Zheng Qing slowly began, “What about her other Little Elves?”
He still remembered Xiao Xiao mentioning when he introduced Little Elves to him that these small lives lived in groups, and their lives were closely linked to the Wizards who cultivated them. Every Wizard had their own unique Elves cultivation potion, and these Little Elves, from the moment the seed sprouted until they disappeared from this world, would live on those potions.
And now, the owner of the Little Elves, that flight attendant, had died at the hands of a demon.
Without the potion, what would happen to these little fellows?
Zheng Qing suddenly felt a sense of dread in his heart.
On Poseidon’s back, that Little Elves cried “Xi Xi,” her voice soft and trembling. The pair of transparent wings on her back had been carefully smoothed down and covered with ointment, now awkwardly drooping on either side of her body.
She tugged at the long fur on Poseidon’s neck, hiding herself tightly within the white fur.
The little fox wrinkled his nose, carefully twitching his ears.
“Still in that lounge,” Li Meng whispered from the side. “With that flight attendant.”
Zheng Qing glanced at Xiao Xiao.
“Not a good idea,” Xiao Xiao seemed to know what he was thinking, lowering his head and muttering, “You can’t save them. Even the airline can’t save them. Without the potion, their lives will only last less than a month.”
“Is there really no way?” Zheng Qing murmured.
“There is,” Xiao Xiao raised his head, a cruel smile on his lips. “philosopher's stone, Fountain of Youth, Flat Peaches, Yellow Plum, Nine-Turn Golden Core. Any of these would work.”
Li Meng raised her small leather shoe and kicked him several times fiercely.
Xiao Xiao looked at Zheng Qing expressionlessly, not even bothering to brush off the small footprints on his brand-new Red Robe.
Zheng Qing’s heart sank little by little.
Although he knew very little about the Wizarding World, he understood the nature of the terms Xiao Xiao had mentioned.
Those legendary Heaven And Earth Treasure, even if a Wizard obtained them, they would probably cherish them immensely and be reluctant to use them. Let alone using them on these Little Elves who didn’t even have full rights in the wizard codex!
Zheng Qing said nothing more, only turned and pushed through the crowd, rushing towards the lounge.
The dining room was empty.
A group of new Little Elves were diligently tidying up the tables, chairs, and tableware.
The green light around their bodies was still as gentle and soft, and their “Xi Xi” singing was still pleasant to the ear.
The lounge door was ajar, unguarded.
Zheng Qing mustered his courage and pushed the door open.
In the corner, the group of Little Elves, their green light dim, still surrounded the flight attendant’s corpse.
They were still repeatedly collecting the blood that had flowed onto the floor, now cold and black, and feeding it into the flight attendant’s mouth.
Their once clean and translucent wings were all stained with thick blood, and their delicate antennae were solidified with blood clots on their foreheads.
A few brave Little Elves even used their bodies to block the large hole in the flight attendant’s chest, while diligently massaging the cold heart of the female corpse and loudly calling out to their companions.
They were trying to save a life that had long since vanished.
The female corpse leaning against the wall remained motionless.
She tilted her head back, her lips slightly parted, and a few turbid tears hung at the corners of her tightly closed eyes.
Zheng Qing’s nose felt a bit sore, and his eyelids were burning.
“She’s already dead,” he stood at the doorway, sniffing, trying to speak in a normal tone.
The Little Elves all looked up in unison, staring at him blankly.
It was a look as if they had been abandoned by the whole world.
Zheng Qing could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down.
“Come with me!” He shouted. He had never felt his choice to be so right: “I’ll find a way to keep you alive!”
Not a single Little Elves moved.
They just turned their heads, quietly and blankly looking at the flight attendant sitting against the wall.
“I believe you are intelligent.”
“Just as I believe I can save a group of innocent lives!”
“If you want to live, then come with me.”
“Let’s work together to survive!”
“If you don’t come, I’ll knock you out, stuff you in a sack, and take you away!”
Zheng Qing roared, trembling all over.
From the dining room came the clatter of tableware falling to the ground.
Zheng Qing didn’t look back.
He wiped his face and raised his arm.
The Little Elves hesitated, then one by one landed on his arm.
Zheng Qing turned around.
His recently acquainted companions were all standing there.
Li Meng’s eyes were red, but a brilliant smile was on her face.
Xiao Xiao was silently writing something in his notebook.
Lan Que held his sword, seriously looking at the Little Elves.
Little Monk Shiyuan smiled, clasped his hands together, and softly proclaimed:
“Namo Amitabha! Excellent! Excellent!!”
“We were looking for you, it’s time to get off the plane, hurry and change,” Li Meng sniffled, shouting loudly.
Zheng Qing looked back at the female corpse in the corner; the tear at the corner of her eye happened to slide down her cheek and fall to the ground.
In the dining room, the new Little Elves lined up neatly, one by one landing on Zheng Qing’s forehead, gently touching him with their antennae.
At the dining room entrance, several flight attendants covered their mouths, their eyes red, giving him thumbs up.
The guard captain, the young captain with graying hair, patted Zheng Qing’s shoulder and handed him a parchment:
“Sign it.”