Chapter 004: The Magic Empire

Hearing Master Harry’s introduction, Du Fan’s heart pounded violently!
“Damn it, Harry Potter has shown up too,” Du Fan muttered to himself.
And so, another group of magicians joined Du Fan’s team.
……
At the top of the Magic Tower, in the Magic Guild, President Edward stood respectfully before an old man with a weathered face.
“Elder, there’s news from Barbari—they’ve joined forces with Duke Du Fan,” Edward said respectfully.
If Du Fan were here now, he would be extremely surprised. As the president of the Magic Guild, Edward should be its most important figure, yet now he stood respectfully before another magician.
“Xiao Hua, do you think our plan to cultivate a large number of magic talents this time can succeed?” That aged voice sounded incredibly soothing to the ears—it felt as though one had suddenly reached the ends of the earth, witnessing profound changes over time.
“Elder, although Duke Du Fan is young, he seems to possess some kind of magic. From being just a praying priest in white to becoming a powerful duke who rules an entire province, it took him less than a year. Even more astonishingly, it also took him less than a year to go from knowing nothing to becoming a master of the sacred rank. So, Elder, I believe our plan to collaborate with Duke Du Fan to train magic talents should work without issue,” President Edward replied respectfully.
“Sigh, for so many years, we’ve tried to cultivate magic talents on a large scale, but when has it ever succeeded? If it weren’t for our agreement with those people, I’d really go and handle it myself!” the Elder sighed.
“Xiao Hua, before you, many presidents have tried to cooperate with various forces, but none of them succeeded amid their disruptions. I hope this time, Duke Du Fan won’t disappoint me!” the Elder murmured again.
“When will the glory of our Magic Empire return to this continent? Hmph, those bastards think that by destroying all records of the Magic Empire, they can erase us from history? The glory of the God of Magic Elements will eventually shine upon this land again,” the Elder said solemnly.

If Du Fan heard such words, he would surely be greatly astonished again. The Magic Empire, the God of Magic Elements—these were all terms he had never heard of before! Moreover, if what the Grand Elder said was true, then who exactly had destroyed the Magic Empire, and who had deliberately erased all records of its existence? And what kind of people were those who restricted the Grand Elder’s actions? How many secrets lay hidden in the words exchanged between President Edward and the Grand Elder! …

Another day passed, and the group left the capital city and arrived in front of a small town. With just over seven thousand people living there, Du Fan naturally didn’t want to enter. It didn’t take much thought to realize that there surely wasn’t enough food or lodging in that town. As dusk approached, Du Fan ordered that a camp be set up outside the town. Strangely enough, just as Du Fan’s group set up camp, a tent was quickly pitched across the way. In front of the tent door sat a man and a woman. The man was entirely covered in a long robe, but judging from his figure and appearance, he seemed to be a handsome and elegant man. As for the woman, she was extremely charming, not falling short even compared to beauties like Chenchen and Naixiu. The man somehow produced an ancient zither, and soon, its melodious sound, as pure as flowing springs and moonlight through pines, spread throughout the area. After playing for a while, the woman took out a flute from somewhere as well. With her lips slightly parted, she soon produced a deep, serene, and mournful flute melody. The flute music, combined with the zither sounds, gave the impression of fleeting beauty and the brevity of life. Gradually, the music became more intense, conveying a sense of joy and exhilaration. By the end, the combination of zither and flute created an atmosphere of enduring affection and reluctance to part. This musical performance captivated Du Fan’s group completely. It took a long time before Du Fan and the others came back to their senses. “Amazing! Truly wonderful! I’ve never heard such beautiful music before!” Du Fan exclaimed sincerely. “Even our royal court’s top musicians couldn’t achieve such a high level of skill,” Princess Angel also praised, rarely doing so.

Suddenly, facing that man and woman, Du Fan felt an urge to become friends with them! Such people must be of the highest caliber, like masters beyond the ordinary world! With this thought, Du Fan stood up and headed toward their tent. Of course, he didn’t go all the way to their tent; instead, when he was still over fifty meters away, he suddenly bowed to them. “Your music is so exquisite, your flute playing so profound—would I be fortunate enough to invite you both to join me?” Du Fan said respectfully at loud voice. “Young man, you’re kind! I have fine wine here. If you’d like, bring your elven companion along and come have a drink!” the man replied after hearing Du Fan’s words. After that, he turned with his woman and went back into the tent. “Naixiu, let’s go in and sit down!” Du Fan said to Naixiu with a smile, observing the man’s actions. “Du Fan, what if that man tries to harm you?” Angel asked anxiously. Seeing Angel’s genuine expression, Du Fan smiled slightly. “I believe someone who can play such beautiful music can’t possibly be a despicable person,” he said. “Since you think so, go ahead! If anything goes wrong, give me a signal and I’ll rush in,” Rob said. “It’s okay, don’t worry. Naixiu and I will be fine,” Du Fan said with a smile, then led Naixiu toward the tent. The sky had been gray, but once they entered the couple’s tent, the magical lamps on the roof emitted a bright yet gentle light. “You’ve come. Please, have a seat,” the woman said with a charming smile upon seeing Du Fan and Naixiu. That smile was like a bloom of flowers, filling the entire tent with an indescribable grace! Du Fan was momentarily stunned before quickly regaining his composure. “May I ask your name?” Du Fan asked, bowing to the man. “Haha,” the man laughed loudly. “Duke Du Fan has been searching everywhere for me. How come now that I’m here, you don’t recognize me?” he said with a smile. As soon as he finished speaking, he lifted the hood of his robe, revealing a face of great beauty, though with pointed ears. This man was clearly an elf!

Looking at that elf, a name immediately came to Du Fan’s mind!
“Lord Buzhe! I’ve finally seen you again!” Before Du Fan could speak, Nai Xiu already knelt before the elf!
“Hehe, get up, get up, Nai Xiu. I never expected you to have grown so tall! And you’re even the queen of the elf race! Oh, get up, get up—you’re the queen of the elves. How can I accept such a grand bow from you? By tradition, it should be me who bows to you!” Buzhe said repeatedly, quickly helping Nai Xiu up.
“Haha, Lord Buzhe, if it weren’t for us spreading those messages, how could we have found you so quickly?” Du Fan said with a smile. “You’re not blaming us, are you?”
“If I were blaming you, I wouldn’t have come all this way. Besides, since you gave orders in the name of the queen of the elf race, I, an old man like me, had to make the journey!” Buzhe said with a laugh.
“I’m truly sorry, Lord Buzhe. We did this just to find you sooner,” Nai Xiu said.
“Has the elf race encountered some crisis?” Hearing Nai Xiu speak so seriously, Buzhe frowned.
“A crisis for the elf race? Haha, there was one, but it’s already been resolved. Haha, even the Goddess of Nature appeared back then,” Du Fan said with a smile.
When the Goddess of Nature was mentioned, Du Fan noticed carefully that the woman smiled slightly upon hearing her name.
“Oh, Her Majesty the Goddess of Nature—what a rare occasion!” Buzhe said with a laugh. “Also, you don’t need to call me ‘Lord Buzhe’ or anything like that. It sounds awkward to me.”
“Oh, then how should I address you?” Du Fan asked.
“Just call me Buzhe,” Buzhe said with a smile.
“Is that okay?” Nai Xiu said, a bit reluctant after hearing Buzhe’s words.
“Hey, what’s wrong with that? Haha, definitely don’t call me old. Although I’m over a thousand years old, for an elf, I’m still a young man,” Buzhe said with a loud laugh.
“Haha, then I’ll call you Buzhe. Buzhe, we just want to ask—do you know where Nai Xiu’s parents are?” Du Fan asked directly.
Hearing Du Fan’s question, a hint of sadness appeared on Buzhe’s face.
“Of course I know. I buried them myself,” Buzhe said.

“My parents are dead?” Hearing Buze’s words, Naixiu was as if struck by lightning, completely stunned.
“That’s right, Naixiu. Since you told me that your parents were still in human hands, I naturally had to rescue them,” Buze said sadly.
“Although I did rescue them, after I freed them, your parents chose to commit suicide!” Buze added.
“Why? Why would they do that?” Naixiu cried in pain.
All along, Naixiu had held onto one firm goal: to find her parents! Suddenly hearing that they had already passed away, her heart felt utterly empty.
The extreme contrast made her heart feel as if it were being torn apart!
“I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it! They didn’t choose suicide even during those tragic days; it’s impossible they would do so after being rescued by you!” Naixiu murmured.
Seeing Naixiu in such a state, Du Fan gently pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.