Chapter 790 The Mischievous Child <TOC> Chapter 792 The Awakening of Tulas
Translator: SumTLMan
A distant wave of thankful prostrations resonated through the air. Leif looked over to find Kumol’s mother on her knees, offering her gratitude next to the wizard who had just graced their village. The majority of the villagers had congregated there as well.
Few had remained by Drew’s side. For some inexplicable reason, seeing this scene unfold filled Leif’s heart with a sense of melancholy. Through the sparse crowd, Leif saw Drew, sitting in silent solitude. Wordless, he clutched at his left ear, a sight that tugged at Leif’s heartstrings. He yearned to offer comfort, yet words escaped him.
Moreover, Leif felt that Drew radiated an aura of silence and resistance, keeping even the friendliest villagers at bay. They stood at a distance, their faces etched with pity as they looked on at Drew.
After an eternity, a tear, tinged with blood, slipped from Drew’s glazed eyes. His sobbing was silent.
Leif wrestled with himself for a moment before finally moving forward. “Drew, your ear is still bleeding. It needs to be dressed, or it might cause problems later.”
Drew turned his gaze towards Leif, remaining silent for a long time. Leif was at a loss, unable to decipher his expression or his thoughts. Nonetheless, he stepped forward, intending to assist Drew back to the village to receive medical treatment.
Drew did not refuse. With Leif’s help, he rose to his feet and they began their journey towards the small fishing village. It was then that the villagers, who had previously kept their distance, finally approached, each offering dried medicinal herbs from their homes.
As they passed by the wizard…
Leif overheard him addressing Kumol’s mother who knelt before him, “The one you should thank the most is Drew. At the same time, the one to whom you owe the greatest apology is also Drew.”
Kumol’s mother was taken aback. It was only then that she remembered Drew, who had risked his life to save her son. She turned to look at Drew’s expressionless face, a hint of shame surfacing on her own.
Cradling Kumol in her arms, she approached Drew and bowed her head in gratitude.
Finally, Drew responded to her, uttering his first words since they had returned to the shore, “Kumol, are you okay?”
“He’s fine… he’s fine…” Kumol’s mother nodded repeatedly. Kumol, nestled in her arms, stirred awake. Seeing this, she promptly spanked him, and amidst his cries, she grabbed his head, “Quickly, thank your savior!”
Sobbing, Kumol lowered his head and stuttered, “Uncle Drew, thank you…”
Drew’s gaze was complex. If it weren’t for saving Kumol, he wouldn’t have lost his ear. He could hardly hear anything with his left ear now; in essence… he had been reduced to half of his former self.
And all of this stemmed from a prank played by Kumol.
He yearned to give Kumol a sound slap, yet, could he solely blame Kumol for all the ensuing consequences? Choosing to rescue Kumol was his own volition, even blatantly disregarding Leif’s warning.
Whether it was Kumol or himself, they were both architects of their own misfortune. However, their luck prevailed as they happened upon Lord Angel, else they would have already met their demise.
Seeing Drew’s silence, everyone assumed he was holding a grudge against Kumol. Though an adult squabbling with a child seemed a bit beneath his dignity, no one spoke up because they too desired to teach Kumol a lesson.
Kumol’s mother, cringing, bowed her head, profusely apologizing, expressing remorse for Drew’s injuries.
Regrettably, what was lost was irretrievable, and apologies were of no avail.
Just as everyone presumed Drew wouldn’t forgive Kumol, Drew, in a frail voice, responded, “I told you… call me brother, not uncle…”
Upon hearing this, even though Drew hadn’t explicitly stated anything, everyone understood his stance.
At this point, Drew waved off Leif’s support, and staggered towards Angel, kneeling down, “Thank you, Lord Angel, for your rescue.”
All eyes were once again fixated on that formidable transcendent, their eyes filled with awe, curiosity, suspicion, and fear. In the presence of a powerful wizard, whose nature of good or evil was unknown, no one dared to speak. Even Kumol’s cries were forcefully muffled by his mother.
Angel looked at Drew and coldly stated, “No need for thanks. As I mentioned aboard the ship, the Wizarding World emphasizes equivalent exchange. I saved your life today; I’ll be expecting you to repay the favor in the future.”
Drew nodded, his face pale. Although Angel’s demeanor was frosty, Drew understood the harsh reality that Angel could have easily chosen not to save him, much like Lord Roman often did—Roman witnessed deaths without intervening, his role solely to slay sea beasts.
Even though Angel expressed his intentions in a business-like manner, Drew himself couldn’t separate the personal from the professional.
“Life is a one-time gift, I hope you appreciate its worth after this ordeal,” said Angel, indicating Leif to assist Drew back to the village for treatment. Otherwise, blood loss alone could take his life.
Of course, Angel could have performed healing magic, but any form of shock education, lessons that can be engraved in the heart and never forgotten, requires a taste of hardship.
Thus, hopefully, this injury would serve as a lesson for Drew.
At least Drew lost only one ear, and as a future transcendent, he would have opportunities for transplantation or reconstruction. If he had perished, there would be no possibilities left.
As Leif helped Drew back to the village, the villagers followed suit. As they passed by Angel, everyone respectfully bowed.
When everyone else had left, only Kumol and his mother remained on the scene.
Kumol’s mother thanked Angel once more, but Angel remained unresponsive, simply gazing at the bawling child in Kumol’s arms.
The child was crying as if he had suffered some monumental injustice. Despite his near-drowning experience and his terrifying encounter with a sea beast, there was no one to comfort him. Instead, his mother was even scolding him.
From the tips of his fingers, Angel flicked a wisp of nightmare essence towards Kumol’s forehead.
In an instant, the child’s crying ceased.
Kumol’s mother stared at Angel in alarm. Instinctively, she shielded her son, unsure of Angel’s intentions or the nature of the mysterious mist that had burrowed into Kumol’s brow.
“His actions have led to dire consequences,” Angel said indifferently. “An unending nightmare will be his punishment. When he truly understands his mistakes, the nightmare will dissipate.”
With that, Angel turned and began walking towards the village.
However, Kumol’s mother quickly checked her child. After a thorough examination, she found nothing out of the ordinary. Could the nightmare Angel mentioned mean he would have bad dreams at night?
As she was at a loss, she noticed Angel pausing a short distance away.
Angel turned back and looked at Kumol. “By the way, I have a minor question. When the sea beast was behind you and you were struggling in the water, why didn’t you sink?”
Kumol was taken aback, not understanding Angel’s question.
His mother, on the other hand, seemed to comprehend. Truth be told, she was also curious. Although she hadn’t paid it any mind due to her emotional turmoil, it did strike her as strange. Even a grown adult wouldn’t have the strength to struggle in the water while drowning. Yet Kumol, a child, had managed to hold on for such a long time. Why was that?
Seeing Kumol’s confusion, she whispered an explanation of Angel’s question.
After a moment of realization and a long period of recollection, Kumol finally said, “I… I don’t really know… I just felt like there was something supporting me underwater, as if I was standing on solid ground. But I looked, and there was nothing beneath the water…”
Walking on even ground? Something supported him underwater, but there was nothing tangible? This statement was intriguing.
Clearly, an inexplicable force was keeping Kumol afloat. Could it have been the sea beast?
If it was indeed the sea beast, it was a bizarre creature, expending energy to sustain the life of its ‘bait’ in order to catch a human.
Angel cast a glance toward the sea. The corpse of the sea beast was nowhere to be found; it had likely become a meal for other marine creatures.
Shaking his head, Angel continued towards the village.
Soon after Angel’s departure, a young man with fish scales on his forehead sat cross-legged in a dark corner deep in the sea. He stroked his chin and clicked his tongue, “I almost got caught. Seems like I shouldn’t meddle too much in the future.”
When Angel returned to the village, he found that the old man was still standing at the entrance. As Angel approached, the old man hurriedly greeted him, “Stranger, I didn’t expect you to be the legendary wizard. I heard what they said. If it weren’t for your timely rescue, I’m afraid… Alas! That child, Kumol, is so stubborn. He definitely needs a good lesson this time!”
The old man chattered on and on, and Angel, not in a hurry to find Drew, stood at the entrance and listened to the old man’s ramblings. It wasn’t until the old man’s son arrived that he finally stopped talking.
The son, a middle-aged man with a full beard, looked at Angel with a hint of fear in his eyes. The old man patted him on the shoulder and said, “Son, this stranger is a good young man. You should treat him well.”
After exchanging glances with his son, the middle-aged man’s fear in his eyes eased slightly. Although their eye contact was subtle, Angel didn’t miss it. He had previously thought it was strange for the old man to be waiting here, and now he realized that the old man was actually trying to gauge his true intentions.
The old man must have thought that since Angel could listen to his ramblings quietly, he probably wasn’t an evil wizard, so he entrusted him to his son.
As the old man left with his cane, he said to his son, “I’ll go check on Scott’s boy and see how he’s doing.”
Once the old man had left, the middle-aged man stuttered, “Wi…wizard, thank you for your help…”
The gist of the middle-aged man’s words was that he was the village chief, and since it was getting late, he invited Angel to his home for dinner.
Angel thought about it and realized that he hadn’t had a proper meal in a long time. Besides, this was a fishing village, so there would definitely be plenty of fish. Toby’s love for small dried fish had never diminished.
With that in mind, Angel nodded in agreement.
As the two entered the fishing village, Angel noticed that all the houses had their doors and windows tightly shut. Occasionally, a head would peek out from a window to look at him, but when Angel’s gaze met theirs, they immediately retreated.
“It’s like a bandit has entered the village,” Angel thought, feeling rather helpless.
He had initially planned to take Drew away quietly as a traveler, but he didn’t expect such an incident to occur.
The atmosphere at the village chief’s home during dinner was quite strange, but Angel didn’t mind. However, the seafood on the table was all boiled or steamed with very little seasoning, resulting in a strong fishy taste. Angel, who had wanted to enjoy a proper meal, was not very satisfied.
On the other hand, Toby was enjoying the meal, bouncing around as he ate. He even begged Angel to release the moon bellflower fairy from his bracelet so that they could share the delicious food together.
In the end, Angel didn’t agree. The moon bellflower fairy was a flower fairy and always avoided eating meat. As far as Angel could tell, the fairy primarily consumed vegetarian food, with the nectar it brewed from flowers being its main staple.
Chapter 790 The Mischievous Child <TOC> Chapter 792 The Awakening of Tulas