"Hmm..."
Otto let out a low hum, saying, "Our ancestors migrated to this island from a long ti ago, being the island’s earliest residents. Indeed, so secret techniques were passed down, and the swordsmanship I practice also began from then."
"There’s also swordsmanship?"
When Li Ang asked this, Otto’s eyes instead showed confusion. The elder realized that Li Ang would have to first know that Huanwo Village has secret techniques before he would question the existence of swordsmanship.
"So she told you?"
"Who?"
Li Ang didn’t understand what Otto ant, he just took out the Sea Dragon Egg he had obtained earlier.
"Hmm?!"
Otto’s attention was imdiately caught: "This is a holy object worshiped by the village. Where did you get it from?"
"Of course, I didn’t steal it."
Even though there was no need to feel guilty, Li Ang added an explanation to prevent distrust due to his adventurer status.
He roughly explained the matter of the Yijie Association.
"At that ti, I realized this egg was not sothing ordinary, so I bought it. I was considering choosing a Summoned Beast for the team and wanted to study it."
"This ti returning to the village, I indeed heard that there was a burglary after the barrier was lifted. So it was the Yijie Association, I see now, thank you for letting know."
Otto drank another bowl of wine, raised his hand and said, "Since you purchased this egg, keep it with you. I can decide on such matters."
Li Ang said, "I don’t know much about Huanwo Village; I had only heard rumors before. The so-called secret techniques indeed have a connection with Farina."
He briefly explained to Otto that Farina was his old friend, and also a forr mber of Balbanus’s team. Otto nodded, indicating he rembered Li Ang’s previous interactions with Balbanus.
"It turns out she had a deep connection with dragons. I also learned from her about the classifications of dragon species and the extinction of the Sea Dragon family. So, I guessed that if your village worships sothing that might be a sea dragon egg, there could be so secret techniques similar to hers."
"Very well guessed, worthy of soone who once sat as the strategist for a top-ranked team." Otto praised him.
"Let’s not dwell on the past."
Originally, he intended to sell the idea of the Sea Dragon Egg as a favor, since for Li Ang, taming it would not make much difference, and reviving the egg’s spirituality would be troubleso. But since Otto didn’t take the egg back, he just kept it.
However, what puzzled him was that even though he didn’t know Otto well before, the other still seed to hold him in high regard?
Otto returned to the question from earlier: "What do you think of ii?"
"I’ve only t her once. I couldn’t discern any particular talent from her."
Li Ang realized that it seed Otto wasn’t asking him there because of the witch matters.
Why focus on the girl he had t by chance?
What did he think? That girl was so young, surely Otto wasn’t asking about kinship or affection? Besides, he wasn’t acquainted with the girl, and it felt odd to praise her beauty in front of an elder.
Thus, Li Ang responded from the perspective of talent.
As he spoke, he suddenly thought, could it be related? Because Otto previously ntioned that the girl could naturally sense the will of all spirits, suggesting she had strong talents in shamanism and witch doctor practices.
Originally, witches were considered an abnormal profession, diverging from these two, yet Otto, being a council mber, actually knew the might of witches. Was he considering letting ii learn to beco a witch?
Otto put down the drinking vessel: "Not discussing talent, focus on her appearance."
Appearance... What does that an...
Li Ang cautiously said, "Very beautiful, very cute, and then?"
Otto let out a breath, shook his head, his gaze seed to scrutinize.
Weren’t you the one asking? Why do I feel like you’re viewing as so charming fraud who tricks won? Li Ang secretly complained.
"It’s my problem."
Otto seed to sense Li Ang’s bewildernt: "Indeed, the question I wanted to ask might sound too outlandish. Therefore, I sought a quiet place.
"I’ll get straight to the point."
"Please, go ahead."
"What do you think is the relationship between ii and luna?"
"i... luna?"
luna was Li Ang’s ex-girlfriend.
A woman who could, in so aspects, be considered to have a bad character, yet everything could be explained as extrely naive, a scatterbrained type with whimsical thoughts and erratic behavior.
When she was in the mood, she’d draw her sword; if she wanted to overpower Li Ang, she did so; if she wanted to try different positions she made him end up in chaos; when she wanted to travel she just left, disappearing with no warning.
Yes, luna.
That’s right, it’s her.
The reason ii seed so familiar when he saw her was that her face was essentially a younger version of luna.
The reason he didn’t recognize her was perhaps due to the distracting flowers, as well as the mirth and speechlessness from that woman’s unexplained departure, struggling to forget her. As a result, her appearance wasn’t as clear in his mind as before.
Also, luna didn’t have white hair, but black hair like Li Ang’s, and occasionally dyed it.
"Are they related? Are you saying luna is from Huanwo Village too?"
If Huanwo Village had strong swordsmanship traditions, then it might explain that woman’s unreasonable martial skills.
"I..."
Otto hesitated for a mont.
"I didn’t express my intentions directly because I couldn’t be certain."
The Elder Sword Hero had a look of reminiscence as he slowly spoke of how he ca to know that woman.
Otto trained in swordsmanship from a young age, left the village and island as a teenager. At that ti, the guilds were just forming, and navigation between the aerial realms was not as developed as it is now. He boarded a small boat, nearly losing his life at the bottom of the sky before reaching other islands.
In his youth, he had reached the Excellence Realm of swordsmanship. Ever since then, he pushed himself even further, living a life that could be described as magnificent, having experienced almost every adventure a hero encounters more than once.
People in Huanwo Village naturally lived long lives, and their mastery of magic power could further extend longevity. Consequently, Otto is over two hundred years old, counter to the usual traits of the Horned Race, yet his strength surpasses his pri.
From middle-age onwards, he was simply trying to discover the ultimate limit of the Sword Dao.
Throughout these long years, he even glimpsed a way to ascend to the Legendary Realm, but he wished to reach it through swordsmanship, thus he continued exploring.
In these two hundred years, Otto didn’t stop returning to Huanwo Village. Initially, it was due to inconvenient transport, but later as the guild established stable routes across the aerial realms and companies like Contan Helm were founded, it beca extrely easy for Otto to return ho.
"Huanwo Village has a small population, and I am one of the oldest residents, but in all these years, there has never been a girl nad ’luna’. No one in the village has seen her either."
It was this point that made Li Ang realize Otto’s main purpose in seeking him.
It wasn’t about the witch matters, but purely because of his relationship with luna.
"Are you sure she has any connection to Huanwo Village?"
Li Ang drank the water in his teacup dry, poured more tea as he spoke: "The history of Nebis goes way back. So scholars even believe that the islands used to be one contiguous continent, as certain characteristics so impossibly coincident appear in both islands across so many years in isolation, verifying they share a common origin."
His aning was clear; if luna shared certain traits with the people of Huanwo Village, she might be a descendant of people who once shared the sa origin.
"You don’t understand. After the falling of the Sea Dragon God, we’re the only village worshiping it, no one else could carry that aura. This ngze Island is also the last Sky Island capable of preserving the power of the Sea Dragon God." Otto slowly shook his head.
This pertained to the secrets of Huanwo Village, sothing Li Ang didn’t know and couldn’t comnt on.
"So, you want to say luna is a seemingly non-existent Huanwo Village person?"
Otto nodded.
Li Ang gave a wry smile: "Sotis, I even wonder if she’s soone I imagined, if I’ve gone mad and that’s why there’s such a person in my mory. But thankfully, others rember her, proving I’m still sowhat sane."
Li Ang continued: "ii does resemble luna indeed. What about her parents and relatives? Do they really know nothing about luna? Could it be that luna is an outside lineage of their family?"
"I’ve considered these possibilities, investigated them all, but they’ve all been ruled out."
Otto said in a low voice, "I initially found it presumptuous to inquire with that girl directly, thus the investigations were done in secret. After hitting a dead end, I decided to visit your ho, yet..."
"Yet she disappeared, didn’t she?"
"Yes, and then when I recently returned to the village, I encountered ii, who had grown a few years and changed completely from when she was young. Only then did I realize how similar she was to the other."
Li Ang summarized: "This matter is indeed strange. What is it you want to do?"
Li Ang felt that Otto was holding back, as if he still had concerns.
"Once you’ve concluded your matters, I would like to invite you to Huanwo Village."
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