Collecting water and soil samples doesn’t take much effort. Yaleriga quickly finished all this and hung all the sample bottles in the pockets of the protective clothing. Qiaoqiao Tianyi had already gotten rid of the mud and water on her body, flapping her wings like some large insect, flying around the swampy land, looking at anything that interested her.
"Are we going back now?" she asked Yaleriga.
"I'd like to see somewhere else."
"I don't think there's anything else here." Qiaoqiao Tianyi said, "But I don't mind walking with you for a while. Do you need my help? There are mire everywhere here, and it's quite deep."
Yaleriga declined her kindness. She saw that Qiaoqiao Tianyi actually didn't like being ridden on the back of another creature, and she was not completely helpless against the quagmire. Her shoes have a lightweight buoyancy design that allows her to walk through deep water if necessary. During the trip, she also made use of the Silence's greenhouse that had been idle for a long time. Previously, she discovered that Jing Huang allowed the system to randomly cultivate any plant, just like a wild field growing freely.
She took out a breathable vial of insects from her pocket, held it in her hand and shook it. The moth perched at the bottom of the bottle was startled. It flapped its gray-white wings with thin black stripes and struck the vase twice in vain.
Qiaoqiao Tianyi flapped her wings and came closer: "What is this?"
"My amulet." Yaleriga said, "If the environment here is toxic, its wings will change color."
"This is quite interesting, but I think our protective suits can withstand harmful gases. Besides, I know a little bit about healing."
"It can help us detect some dangers that have an etheric component."
"Oh, that's great. And this little thing is quite cute! Where did you learn to take care of them?"
They walked together into the depths of the mire. Yaleriga tells how she learned many tricks on insects from a witch doctor who was cursed by a half-moth. She is not as obsessed and dedicated as the White Tower Master, but she has actually learned some rituals. Ancient rituals like this don't require special talents, just the accumulation of tedious knowledge, coupled with the appropriate environment and materials. Naturally, Yaleriga added, they are always less effective than natural spellcasters.
"No, no," Qiaoqiao Tianyi said, "I don't think so. You see, talents like ours are innate. You can fly if you have wings, you can cast spells if you have horns, and you have been able to cast spells since you were born. Knowing that you're only gifted in a certain direction... It's amazing for my people to travel and learn like you do. And I have to apologize to you - I mean, I didn't treat you like that 's race because I've heard that the succubi's way of life is less, well, sincere."
Yaleriga was still observing the wet mud beside the swamp, trying to find some traces of biological activity, or some even the most primitive plant roots. The strange diseases of those abandoned babies and their extremely unevenly developed facial features were still tumbling in her mind, making her think and hypothesize about what kind of environment could breed such a race. But this thought did not interfere with her conversation with Qiaoqiao Tianyi. She had always been good at multi-tasking, and - not a good habit, she had to admit - wasn't very resistant to cute things. She deliberately leaned close to Qiaoqiao Tianyi's ear and asked, "Not so sincere?"
The Qiaoqiao Tianyi flew away quickly. "Hey!" she protested, "don't make fun of me like that!"
"I'm just curious about what you saw in the book."
"It's just a little rumor about you guys. I think it might be a little unfair..."
Yaleriga repeatedly asked her to continue, but she could only hesitate to say that it had something to do with some unlucky people who had been deceived into losing all their money, and it also involved nudity, elastic bands, ropes, dysfunction and extremely degrading funerals. For an Alicorn who had lived in the most peaceful and loving country in the fantasy world since she was a child, that book was beyond her imagination.
These half-covered descriptions really amused Yaleriga, and she almost forgot to continue thinking about the abandoned baby. Although she didn't want to scare such a pure creature, she still had to admit to Qiaoqiao Tianyi: Even if the content described in that book contained fictional elements, it did not deviate from the basic facts.
"Succubi are easily aware of the physical presence," she admitted.
"Does that mean you prefer physical contact?"
"That's after you realize it." Yaleriga explained, "When you meet a stranger for the first time, what you notice is his speech and dress, which are the easiest things to observe. But for Mei For demons, the vitality of the physical body is the easiest to feel. If a body is full of vitality, we will want to awaken it more, and we are born to know how to awaken it most easily. But that kind of sensitivity will dull the sense of spirit. Perception, we will feel that we are facing a living body."
"I do not quite understand you."
"We will ignore the things in front of us and our thoughts. When intoxicated with the radiance of life, the succubus will feel that the life of this body lies in instinct, and the consciousness attached to the body is redundant. As long as we have radiance of life, we will not Care about what the consciousness attached to the body thinks - sometimes, some succubi find it annoying to have a beautiful body making constant noise. They try to make the body glow quietly, and the sooner it drains out all its potential, the better , because they don't want to listen to the spoiling noises of thoughts that think they are the subject. This is where all those stories of suffocation murder and sudden death you read come from. If you just sleep with a succubus, don't try to communicate with it, or let it interact with you. Live together and you'll usually be safe."
Qiaoqiao Tianyi seemed to have forgotten her embarrassment while listening. She flapped her wings and unknowingly flew back to Yaleriga.
"That's something I've never read about," she said. "It's weird, but when you hear it from you, it seems a little easier to understand. And I don't think you mean what you just said. I don’t care about thoughts, I haven’t met many people as knowledgeable as you.”
"Only part of me is a succubus." Yaleriga said, "It's not easy to sense the body, and I also like to hear interesting sounds."
"Oh, you're half-blood? I never noticed! You look exactly like a succubus, and I did hear that succubus blood is pretty stubborn in appearance."
Yaleriga shrugged. The conversation with Qiaoqiao Tianyi made her feel happy. It didn't even have anything to do with the gorgeous fur and plump wings, it was just because this Tianyi was straightforward and enthusiastic. As she stepped across a pool of dark red mud, she realized that it had been too long since she had spoken to someone like this - no sexual connection, no secrets, no need for her care and support. They were just like traveling companions who met by chance on a walk, chatting without any burden on the way.
Her thoughts drifted away a little, towards the blue sky above her head. They couldn't see the situation of the Silence here, so she could only guess that Jing Huang was still in his room.
"There's something I've always wanted to ask you," she heard Qiaoqiao Tianyi hesitate to say, "About your horns... have they ever been injured?"
Yareliga touched the hole in the corner. She was a little surprised that Qiaoqiao Tianyi would find this small flaw. Perhaps it was due to the Skyhorns' sensitivity to structures and materials.
"I had an ex-lover who was not very polite," she said. "He put chains through my horns and locked me in a prison."
Qiaoqiao Tianyi became visibly angry.
"He actually did this to you?" she shouted loudly, unconsciously returning to her aristocratic accent.
"He loses control easily." Yaleriga commented impartially, "and not very smart. Now I have completely gotten rid of him, leaving only one souvenir with me."
"Why do you still keep his things!"
"I have to face up to my mistakes, and the thing itself is good... I think it is indeed a treasure worth cherishing."
Yaleriga hasn't shown the scimitar dagger to Qiaoqiao Tianyi yet. She thought she might as well show it to her new and sincere friend, but before she could take out the knife, Qiaoqiao Tianyi's mane suddenly drooped.
"Oh, oh -" she said, "I understand... This is really a matter of no choice, right? In the words of our hometown, life is brought by the spring breeze and bird wings, they cannot choose by themselves Anyway, if you have a child and you are willing to raise him, I don’t think he will become more and more like his father, right? If you look carefully, I think he is a bit like you. of."
Yaleriga realized what kind of misunderstanding had occurred here. She was amused and a little annoyed - not at her clueless friend, of course - but of course she and Deborah would have no children, and perhaps she wouldn't have one before the end of her life. .
She planned to clarify this misunderstanding so that Qiaoqiao Tianyi would not say these words in a more unsafe situation.
"He is not……"
The bottle she had been holding in her hand trembled slightly. With her peripheral vision, Yaleriga glanced over and saw the moth striking the bottle wall ferociously. Its fine-striped wings are emitting light green fluorescence.
