As Han Sen was wondering what the God Spirit Touch wanted, he suddenly received a thought. “Give me a few more drops of your blood.”
Han Sen was shocked. He had encountered a God Spirit Touch before, so he knew that they were capable of basic communication. This God Spirit Touch was far stronger than the last one he had seen, though.
In Sky Palace, the thoughts of Bixi’s God Spirit Touch had been blurry and undefined. Han Sen had experienced the creature’s thoughts more as feelings than as direct communication. But the mind of this God Spirit Touch was very clear, as if it was speaking directly into his ears.
“Why would I give you a few drops of my blood?” Han Sen looked at the God Spirit Touch he was cradling in his hands with great interest.
“Swap,” the God Spirit Touch’s voice said into Han Sen’s mind once more.
“This God Spirit Touch really can communicate. If they live long enough, they can evolve, it seems. This guy was around when the Very High alpha was alive. It must have traveled the entire universe with the Very High alpha. It really is special.” Han Sen was shocked.
“What do you want to exchange?” Han Sen asked.
“Follow me,” the God Spirit Touch said. It then flapped its wings and soared out of the wooden building. Carrying Bao’er, Han Sen spared no time in following the little bug. He was keen to see what the God Spirit Touch was offering in trade.
Exquisite had warned him not to leave the mountain. If he left it, he could be in danger. But that didn’t stop him from following the God Spirit Touch. Besides, as long as he didn’t go too far, there was no reason for him to be afraid.
.
The God Spirit Touch flew extremely fast. It was faster than Han Sen. Han Sen summoned all his power as he struggled to keep up with it.
They flew for most of the day. The God Spirit Touch didn’t fly in a straight line, either. It zig-zagged and flew every which way. Its erratic flight patterns seemed to indicate that it was very afraid of something.
Many deified xenogeneics roamed freely across Outer Sky, and Han Sen was worried he might run into some of them. If he encountered a deified that was transmutation class or above, he would be unable to fight it.
His worries were put at ease after a while, though. On his way, he didn’t notice any such xenogeneics. The only xenogeneics he spotted were weaker ones that wouldn’t pose as much of a threat.
In the end, the God Spirit Touch came to a stop in a valley.
Han Sen could see that the valley was lush and verdant. There was a lot of vegetation there, including a large bamboo forest. The bamboo was a rich green that seemed to shine like jade.
The God Spirit Touch flew into the bamboo forest, and Han Sen pursued. They came to an empty field in the middle of the bamboo forest, and in that field, there was a patch of small white flowers.
When Han Sen drew closer, he noticed that the little white flowers were far from ordinary. They looked like flower fairies that were clad in white robes. Their tiny faces were lovely, and when Han Sen looked closer, he could even see their little eyelashes.
But those flower fairies all had their eyes closed. It was difficult to discern if they were truly living beings.
The God Spirit Touch flew through the clearing, flapping its wings hard enough to create a little breeze. When the breeze rustled the flowers, it roused the flower fairies to wakefulness. But when they opened their eyes, their bodies shook in the wind. They all squeezed together as if they were very afraid of something.
“I offer these in trade,” the God Spirit Touch said as it landed near the flowers. Again, it had used its mind to communicate with Han Sen.
“What are these things?” Han Sen looked at the white flowers that looked like fairies. He detected a powerful lifeforce within each of them.
“Flower fairies,” the God Spirit Touch answered.
“What do they do?” Han Sen asked.
“God King Bees love them,” the God Spirit Touch said through its mind again. “What does that mean?” Han Sen didn’t understand.
“You use them to attract God King Bees. You are going to need them…” While this God Spirit Touch’s thoughts were much clearer than Han Sen had expected, there were still limits to its communication abilities. It could say something simple, but explaining a complex subject was beyond the little creature.
Han Sen listened as the God Spirit Touch tried to explain. These fairy flowers could attract God King Bees, and God King Bees could somehow benefit Han Sen.
Of course, that was just what the God Spirit Touch believed. And Han Sen had never even heard of a God King Bee. Therefore, he couldn’t be entirely sure that what the bug was suggesting would work. “In exchange, how much blood are you asking for?” Han Sen asked, looking at the God Spirit Touch.
“One hundred drops,” the God Spirit Touch said in Han Sen’s mind.
“That is too much. How about one flower per drop? Hold on, let me count. There are seventeen flower fairies, so I will give you seventeen drops of blood. How is that for a bargain?” Has Sen asked, flexing his haggling chops.
Han Sen wasn’t in a rush to get the flower fairies. After all, he wasn’t sure what sort of benefit they would ultimately provide. He was, however, very interested in the God Spirit Touch. It knew Outer Sky very well, so there was a chance the creature would be quite useful sometime in the future. Forming a good relationship with it might come in handy later on.
“Sure,” the God Spirit Touch answered with certainty.
“How do I use these things?” Han Sen asked, looking at the fairy flowers.
“Dig out the roots and take them with you,” the God Spirit Touch answered.
“Will they die?” Han Sen looked at the white flowers that looked like fairies. He didn’t want to hurt the beautiful creatures any more than he had to.
“No, but plant them in your yard when you get back,” the God Spirit Touch said.
“Sure.” Han Sen rolled up his sleeves and got to gardening. He started digging up the flowers one by one. “Blood,” the God Spirit Touch requested, flying over and landing atop Han Sen’s hand.
Han Sen didn’t hesitate. He squeezed out seventeen drops of blood and let them pool in the palm of his hand. The God Spirit Touch fell on the blood like a hungry wolf. It gulped it all down, draining the seventeen drops of blood instantly.
The creature’s crystalline body was dyed light red. It looked like an artwork made of pink crystal.Han Sen dug all the fairy flowers from the ground. While there were seventeen different flowers, their roots had grown together into a single mass. The root ball was about thirty centimeters wide. The fairy flowers trembled as he worked, looking scared.
“Don’t worry. I don’t want to hurt you guys,” Han Sen soothed them with a smile. Those creatures were very adorable. Even if they were edible, Han Sen wouldn’t want to eat them.
The God Spirit Touch suddenly flew up and away from Han Sen’s hand. It landed on the ground and started digging, drilling into the soil next to the root ball.
“What are you doing in there?” Han Sen asked with curiosity.
“I am sleeping,” the God Spirit Touch’s voice said in his mind. The creature had already disappeared under the soil, so Han Sen couldn’t see it anymore.
Han Sen asked a few more questions, but he received no response from the God Spirit Touch. At that point, he knew that he needed to return to the wooden house with the fairy flowers.
“Exquisite must know how to make use of these fairy flowers. I’ll have to ask her later.” Han Sen flew up out of the clearing, then turned and headed back to the mountain where the wooden house was.
Before Han Sen made it all the way back to the house, however, the small jade figure vibrated and lit up. That meant Exquisite was back in range; she could sense Han Sen again.
