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墨書 Inktalez
What caught Bai Yujing's attention was an old, rusty water bottle being carried by a brat in front of him. The lid was on tightly, and the bottle swayed as the child moved. Bai Yujing's intuition told him that this was the item he was looking for.
"Can I take a look at your water bottle?" Bai Yujing asked as he approached.
The brat immediately replied, "No way, this is mine!"
Another brat shouted, "No, it's mine! I found it!"
Bai Yujing pulled out twenty pounds and held it up. "Look, I have twenty pounds here. If you give me that bottle, this is yours to split. How about it?"
"No way! I found it, and I'm not selling it to you!" The nearby brat jumped up, looking defiant and proud.
However, the leader of the little gang seemed tempted. Bai Yujing quickly changed his approach: "Alright then, I'll give you all twenty pounds. What do you think?"
The clever little rascal thought for a moment and raised four fingers. "Forty pounds!"
Wow, these kids are so cunning nowadays; such behavior cannot be tolerated.
Bai Yujing feigned disbelief. "It's just an old water bottle; it's not worth that much. Thirty pounds—if not, forget it!"
"Deal!" The little brat, fearing that Bai Yujing might change his mind, quickly handed over the water bottle and dashed off with the money.
Having secured the item, Bai Yujing confirmed that the alarm had indeed been triggered by this water bottle. His heart sank a bit when he heard a loud wailing nearby; the previous brat was crying uncontrollably, clearly upset about losing the bottle and feeling like he had lost everything.
"Here! This is to make up for it. Go buy something nice to eat or a toy—stop crying!"
Bai Yujing had no choice but to pay 10 pounds to send the little ghost away. The little ghost took the money but looked back at the water bottle with reluctance. The contents inside were things he had personally caught after much effort. However, there was nothing he could do; the items were already in Bai Yujing's hands, so he could only leave reluctantly. But the child's mood changed quickly; thinking about the money he received, he could buy what he wanted, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared.
"What do you need that for?" Emma couldn't understand Bai Yujing's actions.
Bai Yujing was mysterious, leading Emma to find a quiet and secluded place to stop. At that moment, they were walking on the paved road of Kailijin Town, with white houses on both sides. Bai Yujing took Emma onto another main road, going uphill until they reached the top, where they saw a row of newly built garden cottages.
At the junction of the cottages was a stone staircase. This place was near the coast of Sky Island, allowing them to see the calm sea and boats coming and going. Bai Yujing and Emma sat down beside the staircase. Emma's curiosity was fully piqued by Bai Yujing, but knowing that Bai Yujing would soon reveal the mystery, she held back from speaking.
The two sat on the Stairs, with a railing on one side and a garden cottage's courtyard wall on the other. The sunlight warmed them as Bai Yujing placed the water bottle on the Stairs between them and carefully opened it. Inside, they saw a bundle of black cloth tightly wrapped around a trembling animal hiding in a corner.
Bai Yujing immediately sensed something and spoke to the presence inside using Lilliputian Language: "Hello, we do not wish to harm you. Are you hurt? We can help you!"
Seeing no effect, Bai Yujing continued speaking in a tone that sounded strange to Emma, as if singing: "We mean no harm. Can you understand what I am saying?"
Emma began to understand what was happening. Sunlight filtered through the Clouds, shining on the staircase and Bai Yujing, illuminating the inside of the water bottle so they could see its contents clearly. Emma felt her chest tighten, her breathing becoming rapid, as if her heart might leap out of her chest.
At that moment, the curled-up presence seemed to make a decision and slowly stood up. Bai Yujing then noticed that it was wearing a large black cloak. As it pulled back its hood, Bai Yujing saw a girl with light brown hair—she appeared young but was likely already in her teenage years for a Leprechaun. She was a very beautiful female thumb-sized person.
She was just over ten centimeters tall, and as sunlight shone upon her, for some reason, both Bai Yujing and Emma suddenly felt she radiated a sense of sanctity that was unapproachable.
Countless feelings of wonder and words surged in Bai Yujing and Emma's hearts, yet they could not speak; at that moment, it turned into an unspoken silence.
"Please let me go immediately!" the girl said loudly. She looked somewhat fierce but fragile, tears welling up in her eyes as she bravely made her request to Bai Yujing.
Bai Yujing quickly responded: "Of course, we will not restrict your freedom. You can leave anytime you want. You seem to be hurt; do you need help? By the way, my name is Bai Yujing. What is your name?"
Bai Yujing saw that one of her feet seemed to be injured. Although she managed to stand up, she had to lean against the wall of the water jug for support to keep her balance.
"You don't need to. Just let me go," the girl said, showing a great deal of wariness towards Bai Yujing, or perhaps she was simply filled with fear of human existence itself. However, as she began to move, she suddenly fell back into the water jug.
Bai Yujing reached out his hand and placed it into the jug, which caused Little People to scream in fright: "What are you doing? Get out, get out!"
"Come on, trust me. I won't hurt you. I really want to help you!" Bai Yujing said again.
It was unclear whether Bai Yujing's sincere words moved the little person or if she truly couldn't walk properly. Bai Yujing watched as she slowly climbed onto his palm, sitting there and taking up the entire width of his hand.
"My name is Alice!" Little People Alice told Bai Yujing her name.
"I'm Bai Yujing, and this is Emma! I'm introducing you to her!" The latter part was spoken in English, directed at Emma.
Emma had been holding back from speaking, afraid of scaring Alice. At this moment, she finally couldn't hold back and introduced herself: "Hi, I'm Emma!"
Although Alice couldn't understand Emma's words, she realized that Emma was introducing herself and immediately nodded in response. Bai Yujing informed Emma that Alice was injured and needed help, but he didn't quite understand how to assist.
Emma had gone out with a wildlife rescue organization and had learned some self-rescue techniques and essential medical skills because accidents could easily happen in animal protection areas. She had also self-studied some veterinary knowledge, so this was her strong suit.
Emma immediately said, "I have a first aid kit in my car. Let's go back now. Alice, can you describe where you're hurt?"
Bai Yujing quickly translated for Alice, who replied, "I bumped my leg inside the jug earlier and have some scrapes on my body. The main injury is from when I fell while dropping into the jug."
Alice wanted to lift her cloak to show Emma but was very conscious of Bai Yujing, the male human. It seemed that Leprechaun culture was very similar to human culture, as she understood shyness and the taboos between men and women.
Emma nodded after hearing this: "There shouldn't be a big problem. As long as you can feel your legs and stand up, let's handle it in the car first, and then we can check again when we get back to the inn."
Bai Yujing nodded: "Alright, then let's do that. Alice, you should hide in my pocket for now."
Bai Yujing placed Alice into her chest pocket, leaving only a small head with a hood peeking out. Alice then sat down inside, disappearing from view. To avoid any bumps or sudden movements that might worsen Alice's injuries, Bai Yujing walked slowly on the way.
At the parking spot, Emma pushed Bai Yujing out of the car, instructing her to turn away and act as a translator, strictly forbidding her from sneaking a peek inside. Bai Yujing wasn't some kind of pervert; even though Alice looked very cute, the size difference was too significant to be concerned about. It could only be said that girls' thoughts were truly hard to understand!
After everything was handled inside, Bai Yujing came back in and saw that the black cloak on Alice was gone. Instead, she wore a small denim overall dress and black boots. At that moment, her left foot was wrapped in bandages, and the air inside the car was still filled with the smell of medicine and alcohol.
Emma was packing up the medical kit and said to Bai Yujing: "There might be some minor fractures that need external fixation. It will probably take about two months of recovery to heal completely. It's not convenient here; we need to proceed with further treatment once we return to the inn."
External fixation likely meant putting on a cast or splint. Bai Yujing understood this medical knowledge as well. Seeing that Alice's injuries didn't seem too serious eased her mind. She then handed over the items she had just prepared to Alice.
"This should be your stuff, right?" Bai Yujing placed the small backpack she had found in front of Alice. Upon hearing Alice's name earlier, she had guessed it belonged to her but didn't expect to actually meet the owner. Was it fate? Or were Leprechauns just too rare?
Alice also didn't expect to see her belongings again: "My backpack! My mom made this for me. After she passed away, I lost it. I can't believe I get to see it again!"
This backpack seemed very precious to Alice, and Bai Yujing felt very happy: "It seems like it's returned to its rightful owner."
On the way back, Bai Yujing continued driving while Emma and Alice chatted with each other, needing Bai Yujing to translate. Alice sat on a toy bear placed on the dashboard by Emma earlier as decoration. After their rescue experience together, their relationship seemed to have grown closer, and Alice's wariness towards humans gradually faded away.
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