Chapter 64
Footsteps approached, and Ning Zhixia nervously greeted him, “Hello, Lord…”
“Hello, human.”
The lord glanced at the figure behind him and nodded.
He didn’t explain his purpose or express surprise at encountering them here. He simply stood silently, his gaze fixed on the slightly nervous human.
The elf lord, accustomed to his high position, exuded a powerful aura, and perhaps it was natural to feel nervous in front of a friend’s parent, but Ning Zhixia fidgeted, scratching his head and face, then took a deep breath and opened his backpack, rummaging through it.
“This is for you…”
He took out a thick photo album, the bulging backpack deflating instantly.
Ning Zhixia offered it to the lord with both hands and said softly, “I hope you’ll accept this, at least you can see how he spent his time away from you.”
The lord said slowly, “Elves have long lifespans, this missing time is nothing.”
“Really?”
Ning Zhixia blinked. “If you truly didn’t care, you wouldn’t have invited him back.”
The lord was silent again, then, after a moment, he accepted the album and turned to leave.
The rigid rules of royalty restricted their every word and action. The elf lord, in his high position, was like a perfect statue, his dark robes reflecting the light.
The whirring of brass birds echoed in the sky, and he looked up to see a group of elf children staring curiously, babbling about “metal birds.”
Once upon a time, his child had been the same, only much quieter, skipping his daily lessons, covered in colorful flowers and plants, hiding under a tree and dyeing the tip of his tail.
During the annual celebrations, while other children showed off weapons or useful machines, little Peleg, standing on tiptoe, held up a bouquet of brass flowers, trying to get everyone to see his creation.
“What’s the use of it?” The lord remembered asking.
Peleg, his head lowered, had replied softly, “N-no use… it’s just pretty…”
He realized the others were laughing and, turning around, quietly left the crowd with his flowers.
“The little prince is leaving again…”
“Didn’t he just come back? Isn’t he staying longer?”
“It seems so, the banquet wasn’t very pleasant, but it’s normal, he has no power and doesn’t participate in politics, he’s never been popular…”
“I actually quite like the little toys he makes, ha ha, if he put that effort into making weapons, he might be even more talented than the other princes.”
“I don’t think so, he looked quite handsome today…”
The patrolling guards whispered among themselves, then, noticing the elf children fighting over a toy bird, they stopped chatting and went to break up the fight.
The lord, retracting his gaze, clutched the photo album and walked away, his robes swirling around him.
Qu Banqing, his wings drooping, packed his dolls and trinkets, one hand holding Ning Zhixia’s, the other Audrow’s, and returned to the nail salon silently.
Back at the shop, they resumed their usual leisurely routine. The popular drama played on TV every day, and as the male and female leads entered the “rival in love” stage, Audrow, as if his OTP had been broken up, sulked, his brow furrowed.
Qu Banqing, who had been listless, instantly perked up at seeing him unhappy and, after dinner, rolled up his sleeves and started cleaning the storage cabinets.
The cabinets were filled with all sorts of things. Qu Banqing rummaged through them, then suddenly called out, “Zhixia, I think we’re missing a photo album.”
“Oh, it’s here.” Ning Zhixia held up his tablet.
“No, not that one.”
“The charger and cable are also here.” Ning Zhixia held up other items.
“…I’m talking about the photo album!”
“Um…” Ning Zhixia hesitated, wondering if he should confess, when someone knocked on the door.
“Hello?”
Two similar-looking heads peeked in. Gliti and Lino, seeing Ning Zhixia, their eyes lit up, their small wings fluttering.
Qu Banqing was surprised: “What are you doing here?”
They were both born from the elf tree nurtured by the lord’s power, but since he had been born much later, they weren’t very close. However, these two had always defended him when he was bullied by his older brothers.
“Well, actually…” Gliti smiled, “We wanted to see you…”
“And ask who made your outfit for the banquet.” Lino added quickly.
Qu Banqing’s eyes narrowed suspiciously: “What do you want?”
Were they here to hold him accountable for disrupting the banquet?
“Relax.” Gliti waved her hand, exchanged a look with Lino, and lowered her voice, “We also want to try it…”
Ning Zhixia, hearing this, immediately patted his chest.
Qu Banqing, receiving his signal, said helplessly, “There, it’s him.”
“Ha! It was you!”
The two elves excitedly grabbed Ning Zhixia and started swaying him back and forth.
Audrow glanced over, then at the TV screen, where the second male lead was embracing the female lead, his gaze shifting between reality and the screen, a cold smile appearing on his lips.
Qu Banqing watched the three of them like they were idiots, and before he could warn them not to get too close, an icicle grazed Lino’s wing and embedded itself in the wall.
Wasn’t the human world supposed to be safe? Why the assassination attempt?!
Lino’s face paled, a chilling gaze on the back of his neck, but he didn’t dare turn around.
Gliti, however, was smarter. She released Ning Zhixia’s shoulder and asked Qu Banqing softly, “Who is that?”
He was being way too possessive!
Qu Banqing’s expression clearly said, “See, I told you so,” and he advised sincerely, “Don’t ask, you’ll be heartbroken.”
Gliti: “…”
Lino: “…”
Ning Zhixia tilted his head: “Hmm?”
“Peleg, you’ve been busy…” Gliti sighed softly and followed Ning Zhixia to the workstation.
The decor here was warm and bright, the shelves filled with things, but not cluttered, even cozy.
Gliti’s black nails were sharper than male elves’, which gave Ning Zhixia more room to work with.
He applied a clear base coat, then, with a brush loaded with colored gel, created a gradient effect, two fingers in gray and white, three in blood red.
The blending technique seemed casual, but the patterns were distinct: marble, clouds, mountains… using different blending liquids, watercolors, or even just base coat… different materials created different effects, seemingly simple, but often the result was different from what he had imagined.
Usually, he would start by applying color to the corners, but on narrow nails, it could look awkward, the tips lacking a sense of dimension.
So Ning Zhixia tilted his brush and created a triangular shape at the tip, first gray, then translucent white, never mixing the colors, either swirling or blending them, the shades gradually merging.
Silver mirror powder mixed with alcohol, although grainy, added sparkle to the deep colors. Ning Zhixia used a striping brush to create a swirling pattern, then, with a flick of his wrist, connected the lines, creating a Z-shaped crackle effect, like wisps of white smoke rising and enveloping the obsidian-like nail.
Gliti gasped, wanting the same blended effect for all her nails, but Qu Banqing insisted on Ning Zhixia’s idea, opting for blood red for the remaining two nails.
Lino tilted his head and muttered, “Won’t that be ugly?”
“You know nothing about aesthetics.” Qu Banqing, not tolerating his taste being questioned, headbutted him.
A vibrant, fiery red enveloped her fingertips. Following Ning Zhixia’s brushstrokes, vivid camellias bloomed on her black nails, a shimmering silver trail winding through them, enhancing the eerie elegance of the blood red. Combined with the sharp nail shape, it was the epitome of edgy beauty.
Gliti was mesmerized, every cell in her body trembling.
Qu Banqing, to save time, took Gliti’s other hand and joined in.
“Oh my god, what’s that?”
“Can you add decorations? Where did you get them?”
“Wow, that pearl is beautiful, wait, that shiny stone is also beautiful!”
The two elves, who only knew fighting and making weapons, were amazed by every step, exclaiming “wow” repeatedly.
Even Fatty Orange found them annoying, and as they opened their mouths to exclaim again, it stuck its paw in their mouths.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh!” Lino turned his head and spat out the fur.
For the final step, the embellishments, Ning Zhixia chose a translucent gray…
Qu Banqing cut a silver chain, attached the ends to the base of her middle and ring fingers, and added tiny silver bells that jingled with every movement.
“Wow…” Lino leaned closer, intrigued, then suddenly felt a chill behind him, his expression changing as he cautiously moved away from Ning Zhixia.
Gliti, ignoring her brother’s foolishness, stared at her transformed nails, never having imagined she would wear such decorations.
In fact, she and Lino had come here to subtly express their support for Peleg, regardless of their father and others’ opinions. But now… what were they here for again? Oh right, manicures!
Lino didn’t have time for his own manicure, but he planned to come back later. They left a small, intricate mechanical quiver as payment and happily bid farewell.
The quiver was powerful and portable. Ning Zhixia didn’t want to exchange it for money and decided to keep it as a collectible.
However, soon, elves started visiting every night, explaining their intentions with awkward smiles.
The mechanical weapons, once rare collectibles, were now piling up, the shop slowly turning into an armory.
Meanwhile, a strange trend swept through Shadow Isle, from royalty to nobility.
Some older nobles noticed that the younger elves were always huddled together, their hands extended as they whispered among themselves, quickly hiding their hands whenever someone approached, a comical sight.
One day, a careless royal elf, while hunting a beast outside the city, was seen by nearby commoners, the turning clock face on his nail so small and intricate that it was mistaken for a new weapon.
The news spread like wildfire, and the exposed elf was cornered and beaten up by Gliti and the others.
“So the elders scolded Lino, but he’s thick-skinned, he didn’t care…” Gliti, holding the calico cat, gently stroked it with her large hand, which could engulf the entire cat’s butt.
Qu Banqing and Ning Zhixia were painting iris patterns on her metal feathers with Maureen’s new pearlescent pigments.
After she finished her story, Qu Banqing paused, pursed his lips, and asked cautiously, “So… what did Father say?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t seen him for a while.” Gliti, afraid he would worry about being scolded, said reassuringly, “What are you afraid of? He won’t come all the way here to lecture you, will he?”
“Why not?”
As soon as she finished speaking, another deep, cold voice sounded, and the three of them froze, turning to look at the figure at the door like stiff puppets.
The elf lord, his tall, slender figure cloaked in a dark cape, entered the warm, brightly lit room, the air filled with a pure, harmless aura, as if it could soothe the mind and body.
He glanced around the room, his gaze stopping on Qu Banqing, who looked relatively docile in his human form.
However, Qu Banqing wasn’t docile, he was terrified, even more nervous than Gliti, having not expected to see his father so soon after their argument, his face filled with awkwardness and unease.
“Your dad is here…” Ning Zhixia nudged him with his elbow, like a child meeting a friend’s parent after school.
His deliberately lowered voice was as loud as a shout to the elves, and Qu Banqing quickly covered his mouth.
Ning Zhixia: “Mmmpph.”
“Come here, Peleg, we need to talk.” The lord gestured for Gliti, who was pretending to pet the cat, to move aside, and slowly approached.
“I, I don’t think there’s anything to talk about…” Qu Banqing clutched his shirt, trying to remain calm. “And I’m definitely not going back with you!”
The lord looked down at the defiant young man, raised his hand, and gently ruffled his hair, his touch slightly awkward.
“That’s not why I’m here.” The lord held up the photo album in his other hand and said calmly, “Tell me about your life in the human world, I want to know.”
Qu Banqing was stunned.
The floral screen hid the two figures, and after a while, a dark-haired head peeked out.
Ning Zhixia, worried, squinted like a scout, observing and eavesdropping, when someone leaned against him from behind.
“What are you looking at?”
“I’m worried they’ll fight, and Banqing will get beaten up.”
“He won’t.” Gliti, admiring her small wings in the mirror, said casually, “If he was going to be beaten, it would have happened already, and I would have been included.”
Her casual tone, laced with the wisdom of experience, made Ning Zhixia feel a pang of sympathy. It seemed the elves had a rather eventful childhood.
“Th-that’s good.” Ning Zhixia muttered, slightly relieved.
A ticklish sensation on his neck, and he brushed aside Audrow’s silver-gray hair, then changed the subject, “By the way… Xiao Ao, can you move your head?”
Audrow asked calmly, “Why?”
Ning Zhixia tried to look up and said as politely as possible, “It’s a little heavy, please move.”
Audrow nuzzled the young man’s hair with his chin and refused, “No.”
