Chapter 360: Immortals Have No Love

…

"Jade Cangting Syndrome?"

Matthew had a look of doubt on his face.

Beanna immediately explained:

"Ah, this is a disease that commonly occurs in Jade Cangting. Its specific manifestations include nausea and vomiting, dizziness and headache, nervousness, repeated insomnia, etc."

"These symptoms actually have nothing to do with physiology, but a very strange psychological phenomenon."

"Most of the patients are humans from the east coast. Before they came here, they generally had unrealistic fantasies about the city of elves. In their minds, the Emerald Cangting Garden is a flawless and sacred place, and the elves are also supreme. A holy race, but the reality is definitely not like this.”

"When they actually came into contact with the real Jade Cangting and the elves, their dreams were shattered. Under the impact of this huge gap, many people would go insane. Hitting their heads against the city wall is nothing new..."

Matthew clicked his tongue a little after hearing this:

"Is it that exaggerated?"

Beanna said unsurprisingly:

"I couldn't believe it when I first heard it. It wasn't until I witnessed more and more suicides that I gradually began to believe it."

"But I can understand their feelings. Even I, when I first came to this city, was full of psychological gaps and discomfort."

"Forget everything else, the feces and urine along the street are really disappointing. You must have seen it just now, right?"

"This road is the main road, and it is often cleaned. However, there are still stinking feces on both sides of the road from time to time. It is the excrement left by the old elves who have not changed their habits. They think this is a sign of respecting nature. "

"I...I feel disgusting!"

Beanna showed a disgusting expression.

Matthew nodded slightly:

"I thought it was animal excrement at first..."

"They are all left by the elves!"

Biananna took Matthew along the city wall for sightseeing, and said as they walked:

"Do you know why I brought you to the city wall?"

"Because the terrain here is high and the air is good, I'm worried about you getting smoked down there."

"Most of the time, I live in the tallest treehouse where I'm not affected by the disgusting stuff."

Matthew was puzzled and said:

"Don't elves have toilets?"

Beanna replied:

"For a long time, not really!"

"Because the elven cities are closely connected to the woods, they really think that urinating in the city is a way to get close to nature."

"However, several plagues occurred later, and the Elf Royal Family and the Council of Elders forced the implementation of dry toilets in the city."

"The situation you are seeing now is the result of the effective implementation of dry toilet policies. It may have been worse a few decades ago."

Matthew couldn't help but exclaimed:

"You're saying that wood elves only recently started using dry toilets?"

Beanna shook her head:

"That's not true, it's just that their policy has been implemented for nearly sixty years, and it has only slowly produced some effects in the past two years."

"In the elven community, it is very difficult to implement a new policy."

"Among the immortal species, the elderly have a poor ability to accept new things. When you explain to them the advantages of dry toilets, they will tell you that they have been doing this since they were children..."

"It just so happens that this group of people has the most say!"

"Even if it is determined that a certain policy must be implemented, it will take an extremely long time to implement it smoothly."

“In the history of elves, it often happens that policies are indeed implemented, but because the delay is too long, the situation changes, and the original policy is no longer appropriate, but at this time it will be extremely difficult to implement new policies. "

"Over time, the elves are no longer willing to mess with new things."

The two walked along the phoenix bush to the east of the city wall.

This section of the city wall is connected to a raised mountain. The mountain is densely planted with bamboos, and the sound of music can be faintly heard in the bamboo forest.

Matthew followed Biana up the hill.

"These bamboos are not bad."

Matthew can feel the huge vitality contained in the bamboo forest. Although the elves have various shortcomings, the plants in the Jade Cangting are indeed extremely energetic.

This is a characteristic that Matthew cannot obtain through short-term afforestation.

Beanna squinted her eyes and said:

"I also like these bamboos very much. It is said that these bamboos, like the phoenix flowers, are also gifts left to the elves by the divine phoenix."

"But this place is not as popular as the Phoenix Flower, because these bamboos caused a relatively bad trend in the history of the elves."

Matthew looked interested.

Beanna asked as she walked:

"Do you know about the Bamboo Stick Party incident?"

Matthew shook his head:

"I don't know much about Jade Cangting."

Beanna happily replied:

"I didn't know anything about it before I came here. Later I did a lot of research and learned a lot of things that were shocking and even unbelievable. The Bamboo Stick Party incident was one of them."

"You know, wood elves uphold order and advocate respecting the elderly and caring for the young."

"This was originally a good thing, but after years of evolution, this trend has become very extreme. Compared with the younger people, the older people have a greater say."

"If a young wood elf wants to obtain a desired position in society, he must either accept marginalization - that is, go to the border with humans to find a job, or he can only be a slave to the elders. Wait until the latter abdicates or dies of old age, and then you have the chance to stand out."

"This extreme phenomenon has prompted some young elves to feel hatred. On the surface, they are respectful to the elders, but secretly they are extremely hostile to the group of elderly elves who have the right to speak."

"Under the joint promotion of various factors, a group called the "Bamboo Stick Party" emerged in the Jade Cangting. Most of the members of the Bamboo Stick Party are young elves. They hold bamboo sticks and call each other brothers. Well, these are the bamboo sticks made of bamboo. "

Beanna pointed to a dark green bamboo next to her and said

Matthew reached over and touched it.

This kind of bamboo has a very hard texture. Although it is hollow, it feels solid when held in the hand.

"What did the Bamboo Stick Party do?"

Matthew asked.

Beanna said:

"Attack the old elves."

"They would leave their homes at nightfall, then randomly target an elderly elf and hit him on the back of the head with a bamboo stick while he was not there."

"Due to the special physique of elves, it is difficult to kill elderly elves with this attack method, but it can easily drive them into dementia."

"When a person becomes demented, of course he cannot continue to work in his original position, so the position becomes vacant."

"This trend became more and more intense, so that more and more young elves joined the Bamboo Stick Party. During that time, everyone among the elders in Jade Cangting was in danger, and even some young elves were attacked - the reason may be Just because he looks more mature..."

"This story was told to me by Tyrani, and the person who personally experienced it was her father - Mr. Terraste. You may not know that the majestic Grand Marshal of the Wind Chaser was also a bamboo stick back then. A member of the party.”

Matthew continued to ask:

"Then what happened?"

"How will the Bamboo Stick Party end?"

Beanna said lightly:

"The Bamboo Stick Party was dispelled and suppressed by the Wind Chasers. Most of the young elves were imprisoned. A few elves survived because of their family background. Tyrast is an example. He is also a member of the Bamboo Stick Party. Most of the young elves spent a long life in prison, but he himself was absorbed into the Wind Chaser because his family background was good enough. "

"Actually, the Elf Royal Family and the Council of Elders never thought of using such drastic measures to deal with the young Bamboo Stick Party. In the eyes of the higher-ups, this matter is still just a small fight."

"However, after the trend intensified, the Bamboo Stick Party's turmoil involved the Windward Valley. Many elves in high positions were attacked when they came out of the Windward Valley, which led to the subsequent great purge."

Windward Valley?

Matthew looked at Beanna in confusion.

The latter explained:

"Windward Valley is the largest brothel gathering place in Jade Cangting. There are an astonishing number of prostitutes and cowherds from different races - by the way, most of them are abducted."

"Many of the service providers in Windward Valley were initially told to work in Jade Cangting, but they never imagined that the job content would actually be to provide such services to those elves who are either rich or noble."

"In short, it would be fine if the Bamboo Stick Party's disturbance only broke out in civilian areas, but the attack near Windward Valley stimulated the nerves of the elven nobles, and the incident was quickly suppressed. Except for a few parties involved, Many latecomers have no idea this happened.”

While talking.

The two arrived at the top of the mountain.

The hillside ahead is full of winter jasmine flowers.

The tree houses and stone houses of the elves in the distance are lined up on the ground.

The early morning fog was blown away by the spring breeze.

The sun shines from the east.

A scene of revival of all things.

"That's the Windward Valley."

Beanna pointed to an area to the east of the Emerald Cangting that was surrounded by giant trees.

"I didn't expect there to be a brothel in Jade Cangting."

Matthew glanced at the giant tree over there with emotion.

Those giant trees are green all year round and have lush branches and leaves, giving people an airtight and oppressive feeling.

Beanna said with a smile:

"I was surprised when I found this information. Later, I pretended to go near Windward Valley accidentally, but I still didn't dare to go in and check it out. The elf guards there were very scary and very unfriendly to humans. I was worried that they would I caught him, so I didn’t dare to get close.”

“Later I learned that the first batch of brothels in the human cities on the east coast were probably run by elves——

After the destruction of the Troll Empire, the elves gained the most inheritance, including the evil spirits from the Troll Empire.

Do you know why elves have such a transcendent status in human hearts? "

She looked at Matthew with bright eyes, looking eager to continue talking.

Matthew cooperated with a curious expression:

"Why?"

Beanna said with satisfaction:

"This is actually related to the legacy left by the Troll Empire!"

“After the destruction of the Troll Empire, it was followed by the rise of the ancient gods of nature and the gods of elves. In addition, the areas where the wood elves and night elves moved were closest to the capital of the Troll Empire, so they gained the most wealth. "

"After that, the continent ushered in the era of elves. The first batch of elves did a good job. With the help of the gods, they redivided the continent and established a new order."

"In order to celebrate this, the wood elves in the Fallen Leaf Court and the night elves in the Eversong Forest jointly held the first poetry competition in Silver Night City."

"They summoned bards from all over the world to sing praises for the elves."

"They took out a lot of wealth and beauties to reward the bards who flattered the most."

"The early poetry competition was held once a year, and its generous rewards attracted a large number of bards to participate. Over time, various cultural works about elves were widely circulated in human society."

"The poets were treated and benefited by the elves, so After going to other places, they would chant the elves' poems from time to time. "

"The power of inertia is terrible. When habits have been formed, it is difficult to change old ideas unless the new cognition has subversive power."

"In this way, a false image of a perfect race is deeply rooted in people's minds."

"Because most humans will never reach the Jade Palace or Silver Night City in their lifetime, they can only come into contact with the elf cities in cultural works. Therefore, a small number of people will firmly believe that the environment around them is bad, and the elf city they imagine must be perfect."

"These people are potential patients with Jade Palace Syndrome. I dare say that if they all come to this city, the city wall just now may be knocked down..."

Not long after.

The two went down the mountain along the green leaf cableway on the north side of the hillside.

When they arrived on the ground.

Matthew really smelled a faint odor.

He glanced at Beianna.

The latter smiled knowingly:

"Follow me, this is the direction of the wind, let's go to the Prancing Horse Inn, I'll treat you to barbecue."

She took Matthew to a path made of single logs.

Beanna was agile and walked the single log path effortlessly.

Matthew also had the gymnastics ability given by the Balance Field, so he could naturally maintain balance.

Along the way, Beanna introduced him to some of the customs and practices of the Jade Court.

Matthew shook his head after listening to this:

"Does this city have no advantages?"

Beanna smiled embarrassedly:

"There are some advantages."

"If you can tolerate the slight odor, then the scenery here is beautiful most of the time."

"And living in this city, the pace is slow and free. You can sleep alone in a tree house for three whole days without anyone coming to disturb you."

"The elves sleep an average of 10 to 12 hours a day. Not only do they like to sleep, they also have a sleep competition. The record for the second place in this competition is seven months and fifteen days!"

Matthew couldn't help asking:

"What about the first place?"

Beanna pursed her lips:

"The first place fell asleep."

"It wasn't until his body was inspired by the pool of light that other elves discovered this..."

Matthew was silent for several seconds before he sighed:

"It sounds like he can sleep well."

Crossing the single-plank path.

They climbed a few more wooden ladders and took the Thunderbird Express in the city with the help of an enthusiastic half-elf.

Seven or eight minutes later.

The two arrived at the lobby of the Prancing Horse Inn.

"It's noon now, the elves are taking a nap, and elf shops are often closed."

"This inn is run by humans, but their barbecue techniques and seasoning ratios were learned from the elves, and the taste is very authentic..."

Beanna led Matthew into the inn.

Matthew looked around and found that most of the guests in the inn were elves, and several tables were eating barbecue.

The movements of these elves eating were not as elegant as the legend said.

On the contrary.

When they used their teeth to tear food, their movements were quite rude.

It was also during this process.

Matthew noticed that the wood elves actually had 8 canine teeth.

This means that the proportion of meat in their recipes may be much higher than that of humans!

"You order, I'm fine."

After sitting down.

Matthew gestured to the other party to order.

Beianna did not refuse. After ordering several kinds of barbecue in one breath, she whispered to Matthew:

"Elves are very meat-eaters. They mastered large-scale breeding technology a long time ago. There are large pastures in the middle and north of the forest to meet their meat needs."

"But the meat here is very expensive, and ordinary elves can't afford it."

"Some elves even poach human children to satisfy their carnal desires-but that should be a long time ago. The wood elves now should not dare to do such things."

Matthew suppressed his disgust and nodded.

Although he was mentally prepared for the virtues of the wood elves before coming.

But after learning so much from Beianna that was very different from the conventional cognition, he still felt that his three views were severely impacted.

It seems that she noticed what Matthew was thinking.

Beanna also concluded with emotion:

"Of course there are good people among the elves, and the proportion is not low."

"But in the self-deprecating words of one of my elf friends - they were originally a group of monkeys jumping on the trees. They were burdened with the curse of the immortal seed without knowing it. After losing their faith, they were completely lost in the abyss. superior……"

Matthew didn't comment too much on this.

He smiled:

"friend?"

"Is it Terrani?"

Beanna didn't hide anything and nodded generously.

Matthew suddenly asked:

"How's it going with you and her?"

Biananna immediately explained:

"nothing."

"My relationship with her is very good and normal. We have not exceeded the boundaries of friends in the past and will not do so in the future."

Matthew asked curiously:

"Why?"

"Is it just because of gender?"

Beanna was stunned for a moment.

Perhaps she hadn't expected Matthew to be so interested in the subject.

She then thought about it and replied:

“Gender is just one aspect.”

"More importantly, I think immortals don't have love."

"How can I see it?"

Matthew asked.

Beanna answered simply and neatly:

"observe."

"In the year since I came to Jade Cangting, I have gained a lot of knowledge through observation."

"I found that most of the older elves are single, or live in a group of people. Only a handful of elves are monogamous and live together for a long time."

"Later, my observation was confirmed by Terrani - most elven couples will gradually drift apart after middle age. Those rare cases are because they are the lowest level among elves and cannot afford to separate from each other. …”

"Actually, I have thought about this question for a long time, and the final answer I came to is that there is no love among immortal species because their lives are too long. Many precious things in the eyes of short-lived species are just daily life for them. adjust."

"Although they look no different from us, because of the length of our lives, we are creatures from two different worlds."

"Same goes for Tyrani."

"Although she showed her love for me, she will fall in love with someone else a hundred years from now - even without waiting for that day. In that case, why should I be with her?"

"What's more, I don't like her in a romantic sense at all."

"She was just a good friend or a benefactor to me, that's all."

After saying this, Beanna's face turned red.

Matthew nodded.

Immortal species do have a different way of thinking than ordinary people.

Beanna can sense this.

It shows that this girl's mind is indeed precocious, and she must have experienced a lot in the past year.

"Do you know about Vesni's past?"

Beanna asked herself and answered:

"That is the most classic stage play in Jade Cangting."

"The story is so popular with the elves that it is retold almost every year and performed in theaters everywhere."

"The heroine of the story is a female elf named Vesni, and the main plot is about the heroine fighting side by side with a young, strong, reckless and brave human adventurer."

"In various versions of Vesni's past, the male and female protagonists will be forced to act together due to various misunderstandings. After embarking on the journey, they will challenge the devil in purgatory, defeat evil monsters, pass through many obstacles, and finally obtain treasures. save the world."

"Of course, there will definitely be scenes where the male protagonist defeats his love rival and wins the beauty back."

"But no matter which version of Vesni's past, in the last scene, the male protagonist will definitely know the final truth, that is, the female protagonist he has fallen deeply in love with is actually his ancestor——

She gave birth to a child with the hero's ancestor three hundred years ago, and the bloodline continues to this day. The descendants met and fell in love with her under the inspiration of the unknown..."

"The story often ends with the male protagonist overcoming his psychological barriers and living happily with our elf heroine."

"The content of the stage play usually ends here."

"But I can't help but wonder, fifty or sixty years after the story ends, after the hero dies, will the heroine Vesni have a love story again?"

"Is the subject of the story still a descendant of one of my own generations?"

"This situation is really unacceptable."

"But for elves, this is the most romantic love story."

"Telanie's explanation is that because there is no way to share her entire life with a human being, choosing to share it with him and his descendants is also a kind of romance..."

"To be honest, I just felt more disgusted after listening to it."

"Perhaps this is the tragedy of short-lived species."

Beanna smiled bitterly.

Matthew also showed a ridiculous expression.

Just at this time.

Perhaps it was because Beanna had unknowingly raised her voice when she was speaking, and her comments about Vesni's past were heard by the three wood elves at the next table.

Two of the men showed restraint and just cursed a few times on the table.

The female elf stood up directly.

She cursed vehemently:

"Where did the short-lived species come from?"

“I don’t understand classics or romance, so how dare I speak nonsense?”

"Get out of Jade Cangting!"

"I feel sick when I see your rotten face written all over it..."

Matthew frowned slightly.

But the next second.

An even more unexpected scene happened to him.

But he saw that Beanna slammed the table and yelled back:

"Shut up, bitch!"

"Don't you know that eavesdropping is very rude?"

"Do I have to slap you twice before you know not to cause trouble when you go out?"

As she said that, she rolled up her sleeves.

She grabbed the female elf's hair, her face full of fierceness.

The female elf screamed when she was caught.

But Beanna didn't let go at all. The two pushed for a long time before the female elf finally begged for mercy.

Only then did Beanna push her away.

Then she cursed a series of dirty words, both in Elvish and human common language.

Matthew glanced at the female elf.

She looked frightened, and although she was a little angry, she didn't continue to cause trouble.

And the two male elves seemed to want to intervene at first.

But they soon saw Beanna's armband and finally chose to remain silent.

"The armband of the wind chaser is quite useful."

Watching the three elves leave, Matthew couldn't help but tease:

"To be honest, I didn't expect you to become so..."

He couldn't find an adjective for a while.

In Matthew's cognition, Beianna was still the ignorant, quiet and introverted girl.

"Shrew?"

Beanna smiled and sat down. Her sitting posture was still very upright and elegant. There was nothing wrong with her from the perspective of etiquette:

"There is no way. Most people here bully the weak and fear the strong. I can only survive better by being tough."

"There is an unwritten rule in the Jade Court that the opposite sex cannot participate in a fight between the same sex, so I just need to make sure that I am stronger than most of the same sex here."

"The female elf just now is nothing at all. The classmates who study sword chants with me are really difficult to deal with..."

Beanna talked about the difficulties she encountered in class calmly.

She seems to be able to deal with those things calmly now.

But after Matthew listened.

Still couldn't help but say softly:

"It's still very hard, right?"

Beanna was stunned for a moment, then turned her head and wiped the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief.

The table fell silent.

Fortunately, the owner of the restaurant personally brought the plate.

Faced with the dazzling array of barbecue and all kinds of strange seasonings, the two of them couldn't help but salivate.

Beanna didn't exaggerate too much.

The elf barbecue is indeed a must.

Matthew's mouth was full of oil after this meal, and he praised it again and again:

"It's really great."

Beanna's eyes smiled into a crescent shape.

After eating, the two of them rested for a while.

Beianna lowered her head and thought for a long time, and suddenly asked:

"So what's going on between you and Sif now?"

Matthew said frankly:

"Rhaegar wants me to be with her. Well, I'm not sure what Sif thinks for the time being, and I'm also considering it myself."

"I'm not sure if I like Sif. If it was before, the answer would probably be no, but now she seems a little different..."

After listening, Beianna showed a thoughtful expression:

"She is more attractive now than before, right?"

"So you like this type..."

Matthew stretched lazily:

"Maybe, I don't know."

"There are more important things for me now."

Said.

He looked out the window.

In the gap between the green trees, you can vaguely see an ugly gray-brown color.

That is.

The Mark of the Dead!

...

Dusk.

Seven kilometers away from the southern wall of the Emerald Cang Court.

A Mark of the Dead that looks like a gray-brown lake is formed here.

If you look down from a high altitude.

This lake is like the pupil of an eye, and the winding scars on both sides are the rest of the eye.

Matthew stood nearby, quietly sensing the changes in the elements in the scar.

The evening breeze blew.

A few sparks flew out of the scar.

Suddenly.

His confused eyes became focused:

"What can I do for you?"

Matthew turned around.

A tall and straight figure stood less than 20 meters away from him.

It was a wood elf with a somewhat old face.

He held a bamboo stick in his arms, looking old and lazy, but his eyes were extremely sharp.

"Mr. Terrast."

"I don't look very old, do I?"

Matthew glanced at the bamboo stick in the other's hand and whispered.

Terrast said calmly:

"I heard that Nila's bow is in your hand."

"Can you lend it to me..."

...

"Hint: You have encountered the Apocalypse Sword Saint "Terast" (LV28/Hero Template)!"

...