Pawa walked down from the deck of the sailboat and pulled his hood.

The southern sun was warm, and the ground was soft and clean gravel. The sea breeze carried a faint salty smell.

Pawa looked around at the other people.

The adventurers carrying their luggage walked together, carrying bows and shields, with different accents and skin colors. Most of them were wearing soft leather armor, with swords and knives at their waists, and they couldn’t wait to head into the forest as soon as they got off the boat.

The sailors were sitting in twos and threes, resting and eating pickled grapes on the shore.

Under the shadow of the sailboat, there was a scholar with sun-darkened skin. He set up a wooden drawing frame, covered it with a roll of parchment, and sketched a map of this new continent with charcoal.

There was also an apothecary carrying a medicine box, picking various herbs on the outskirts of the forest.

In addition, there were three dwarves engaged in conversation.

Pawa had dealt with the dwarf clan before. They settled in the fortress outside the ghost city of Sanilo, and each of them was a skilled blacksmith, but they didn’t have a good tolerance for alcohol, yet they loved to drink.

When the three dwarves boarded the ship, they argued with the captain, leaving a deep impression on Pawa.

The captain believed that each dwarf was wearing a bronze armor that weighed as much as two to three people. So each of them had to pay double the fare.

After the dispute, the dwarves helped the captain repair a batch of ironware and improved the captain’s half-armor. The captain not only waived the fare, but also gave them a jar of wheat beer.

Pawa looked on with envy.

Having a good craft, one would never go hungry wherever they went.

At the moment, Pawa caught the attention of the dwarves.

One of the dwarves came over, gesturing to him and pointing ahead, “You?”

“Me, me, me.”

The dwarf first pointed to himself, then to the other two companions beside him.

“Over there.”

The dwarf then pointed to the forest ahead.

Pawa understood what the other party meant.

So he also used his fingers to point to the three dwarves and himself, then turned to the forest, “Together?”

The leading dwarf laughed heartily, “Yes, yes!”

They wanted to team up with him.

Pawa didn’t understand why, was it because he was dressed in black?

This was a symbol of having studied at the theological academy. However, he did not have the qualification to wear the Holy Flower on his chest, because for five consecutive years, Pawa had not passed the final theological exam.

Instead, the “History of Salt City” written by the prophet Dorennunu was something Pawa read with great interest and could recite fluently.

Every segment in it was etched in Pawa’s mind: the fierce hundred-year battle outside the castle, the solemnity of the gods subduing the blood knights, the grandeur of Salt City’s establishment, the pride of the city’s lighthouse, the excitement of the twin cities… and even the brutal and painful era of slavery.

After failing the theological academy exam for the sixth year, Pawa was expelled from the academy.

He could not wear the Holy Flower, as it was the symbol of an official scholar. He was still an apprentice, only able to wear the black clothes representing his time at the theological academy.

Pawa was determined to write stories for everyone, just like the prophet Dorennunu, so that more people could see and hear.

…

In the ancient beer theater of Yao City, Pawa listened to everyone talk about the ghosts that haunted the theater. People said that it was the spirit of the genius inventor Mu Ke, who had died in the theater.

Mu Ke had lost to the previous generation’s prophet, Hamira, here, and his spirit had refused to leave.

It was said that if you played tribal war flags in the theater, you would sometimes hear Mu Ke’s laughter.

Pawa learned to play tunes with cow horns and conch shells in the theater.

…

In the mountains between Yao City and Salt City, Pawa visited the Order of Austerity and heard the tortuous experiences of the elder Salt Long. In the ascetic monks who had renounced desire, Pawa saw the tempering of will by the flames of faith.

They received the guidance and gifts of the gods in their asceticism, and a very small number of them even entered a realm beyond the mundane, possessing incredible abilities.

…

After arriving in Salt City, Pawa heard people talk about the stories of the two mayors. In the past, Shangli and Yulian had racked their brains to sell various houses to raise funds to build roads and walls.

Because they were so tight on money, Mayor Yulian even thought about temporarily renting the iconic lighthouse to merchants, and then redeeming it when Salt City had money.

At that time, the prophet Dorennunu was still the chieftain, and he bought three mayor’s mansions in succession. It wasn’t because the chieftain was foolish, but because he found Shangli and Yulian interesting and wanted to be friends with them by buying two houses.

…

In the ghost city of Sanilo in the south, Pawa saw the hardest-working sandworms and the lazy fish people lying on the ground, dried by the sun.

Although he couldn’t see the ghostly residents of the city, Pawa still recorded many stories there. He picked cotton and repaired dikes with the fish people, and dug soil and mined with the sandworms. When the dwarves pushed carts into the city to sell various ironware and copper utensils, Pawa helped them with accounting and collecting seashells.

…

Pawa had experience interacting with the dwarves in Sanilo, and quickly became familiar with the three dwarves.

The three dwarves were named Tall and Strong, Mighty and Fierce, and Fiery Cloud.

They could accurately pronounce their own names and understand simple Yao Clan language.These three formed an adventure group called the “Blast Furnace Eccentrics.” After failing to find anything in the Sunken Sun Sea, they headed to the southern new continent in search of treasure.

The reason they invited Pawa along was that the dwarves had discovered on their sea vessel that Pawa was also a person.

This young man of the Yao Clan enjoyed writing and could play beautiful melodies on a conch shell—this was important, just like the dwarves’ skill in smithing, it represented a mastery of craft.

The dwarven adventure group made a request to Pawa.

If they were to die here, they asked Pawa to record their adventure and tell the other dwarves at the fortress, so that the name of the “Blast Furnace Eccentrics” would live on.

Pawa agreed.

The hastily assembled team had just entered the forest when they immediately encountered a formidable enemy.

A pack of forest wolves was pacing through the woods, patrolling their territory.

Each of these Transcendent beasts exuded an aura that sent shivers down one’s spine, numbering over fifty in total.

Pawa was so frightened that he stiffened up, his calves cramping.

The dwarves pulled him behind them.

They formed a defensive formation, protecting Pawa, and slowly retreated while facing off against the wolf pack.

The forest wolves did not attack but merely glanced at them before continuing on their way. It seemed they had some other important mission.

The dwarves were momentarily baffled and looked to Pawa.

Pawa was a bit nervous.

He had never encountered such a situation before.

Pawa gritted his teeth and, with a mix of gestures and words, said, “There must be something in the forest attracting these Transcendent creatures. It could be treasure, or it could be…”

“Treasure!”

The three dwarves were very sensitive to that word, and they became excited.

“Charge, charge, charge!”

The trio of dwarves brandished their axes and hammers.

Pawa really wanted to suggest, perhaps next time?

But seeing the hopeful look in the dwarves’ eyes and their trusting expressions, Pawa simply couldn’t say it.

All he could say was, “Let’s wait for them to leave, then we’ll go have a look.”

…

Two days later, Pawa and the dwarves made a ragged escape from the forest.

The forest wolf pack behind them bared their teeth and snarled, their green eyes flashing with ferocity. Being stared at by all those eyes made Pawa’s scalp tingle.

He knew very well that this was the wolves’ final warning.

Seeing that they had calmed down, the wolves gradually turned and returned to the forest.

The three dwarves and Pawa started a fire on the beach. Relying on his islander’s survival skills, Pawa caught fish from the sea and found fresh water in a puddle, managing to fill their stomachs for the moment.

That same day, they saw many adventurers scrambling out of the forest. Some fled straight back to their sailing ships, others cursed and swore, but none dared to venture back into the woods.

Seeing this scene, Pawa and the others felt a little better.

In the middle of the night, a man approached their fire.

He looked exhausted, with many scars on his face and hands. He wore tattered bronze armor and carried a hammer, his style quite similar to that of the dwarves.

“May I warm myself by your fire?”

A pure Salt City accent.

Pawa looked at the three dwarves, and they had no objections.

So the stranger sat down cross-legged.

Pawa felt that the man’s face looked somewhat familiar.

A distant memory was suddenly stirred.

Pawa paused, then excitedly said, “Are you Mr. Copper Sea, the liberator of slaves? You saved me once, you might not remember, but I’ve always remembered your help…”

Copper Sea was taken aback, his smile tinged with melancholy.

“This forest is now occupied by wolves, giant lizards, and treants; there shouldn’t be any slave traders here. They’re cowards at heart, not bold enough for that.” Pawa handed Copper Sea a grilled fish.

The two chatted idly for a while, and Pawa, without realizing it, went on and on.

He recounted Copper Sea’s exploits as if they were his own: the naval battles at sea, the three raids on ports, the burning of lighthouses, the defeat of slave formations…

“It’s all in the past.”

Copper Sea slowly gnawed on the grilled fish, changing the subject: “I’ve discovered an interesting creature on this continent. Would you like to go see it with me?”

“She calls herself the ‘Lake Fairy.’”

“But she can’t fool me; she’s actually a tree demon. I just don’t know why she likes to linger by the sea.”

Pawa saw the three dwarves eager to go, and he cautiously asked, “Is that tree demon dangerous?”

“It’s hard to say.”

“If someone is willing to be her husband and tell her stories every day, she’s willing to give him a lot of treasures. I think…”

Copper Sea looked at Pawa.

The three dwarves also turned their gaze to Pawa.

“Why are you all looking at me…” Pawa frowned.

Telling stories every day?

There’s a limit to human stories, right?

How could that possibly be done!