Chapter 89 – The Enchanted Forest: You Are My Exclusive Love (06)
After undergoing the rigorous examination of the elven elders, it was confirmed that the magical attributes within Bai Tang’s body were indeed of the same origin as the elves’ power. This solidified the fact that Bai Tang was the elven holy child who had been stolen eighteen years ago.
The elves erupted into joyous cheers—they had finally reclaimed their holy child. To celebrate his return, an outdoor gathering would be held that night, allowing all the little creatures of the forest to partake in this momentous occasion.
Bai Tang could genuinely feel their happiness. Fine, if I’m the elven holy child, then so be it—what matters is that we all stay happy.
He quietly held Daniel’s hand. Reuniting with his people and having someone he loved—this feeling was truly wonderful.
“And me, and me! Tang Tang still has me!” The system bounced around, unwilling to be ignored.
“Yes, of course, there’s also Qiu’er. Without Qiu’er, I wouldn’t have been able to experience all this happiness.”
The system puffed out its chest with pride. See? It knew it was Tang Tang’s number one system!
The elves led a simple and unpretentious life. The celebration was held in a spacious clearing under the open sky. The surrounding forest was neither too far nor too close, ensuring the bonfire wouldn’t pose a fire hazard.
They had gathered an abundance of sweet fruits, placing them on fresh lotus leaves, and even invited various birds to sing and liven up the atmosphere.
A small elf timidly approached Bai Tang, holding a flower wreath woven from vibrant blossoms. With a shy expression, the elf offered it to him. Bai Tang accepted the wreath with a smile and gently patted the elf’s pointed ear. The little elf was so moved that he burst into tears.
“The holy child touched me! The holy child touched me!”
The other young elves, watching enviously, immediately followed suit. They eagerly presented their own carefully crafted gifts to Bai Tang. He accepted each one with a warm smile, patiently comforting them.
Yet, to his surprise, the more he comforted them, the more little elves ended up crying.
“Amazing! The holy child is so kind! The holy child is so adorable…!”
At the evening gathering, the elves held hands and formed a circle around Bai Tang, singing and dancing joyfully. Their smiles never faded from their faces.
At first, Bai Tang shyly covered his face, feeling embarrassed, but as he was drawn into the festive atmosphere, he hesitantly asked, “Can I join you?”
The elves welcomed him enthusiastically, pulling him into their dance.
Laughter and cheerful voices echoed through the heart of the Misty Forest.
Daniel watched Bai Tang play with the elves, smiling as he threaded fruits onto a skewer and roasted Bai Tang’s favorite nuts for him.
“Report—!” A hurried voice rang out as an elf came running.
The singing stopped abruptly.
“Someone has broken into the forbidden land and attempted to steal the Elven Key. Nicol is leading the defense squad at the border of the restricted area.”
The elven elder’s face darkened with concern. Without hesitation, he led the other elves toward the forbidden land.
Daniel pulled Bai Tang close and handed him a freshly peeled nut.
Forbidden Land
The intruders were none other than the female lead, Kelly, and her two teammates from the bounty hunter group.
By now, two of them had already fallen, leaving only Kelly standing, gripping her sword with great difficulty.
“Intruding humans blinded by greed—must die.” Nicol, well aware of the corrupt nature of outsiders, unleashed his magic to eliminate the trespassers. If he let them escape, it would surely lead to endless trouble.
“W-wait…” Kelly gasped for breath, trembling as she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. She dropped her sword and raised both hands in surrender.
“We mean no harm. We only want to obtain the Elven Key to drive the Ghost Clan off this continent.”
“You think I’ll believe you?” Nicol scoffed. If not for the Holy Child’s intervention, he would have died at the hands of humans. Of all people, bounty hunters, who spout nothing but lies, were the ones he despised the most.
The torches gathered closer as the elven elders arrived with their guards.
Kelly and her teammates were on the brink of death.
Just then, Kelly’s sharp eyes caught a familiar figure. Her face lit up with excitement as she called out, “Daniel! Daniel, over here! It’s me, Kelly! Please help us!”
The moment Kelly spoke, all the elves turned to look at Daniel in shock, instinctively making way for him.
Are they working together? Was their goal all along to create a distraction so they could steal the Elven Key?
Seeing Kelly address Daniel so familiarly, the elves immediately assumed he had approached the Holy Child with ulterior motives.
The Holy Child has been deceived.
“You and this woman conspired to deceive us—to deceive the Elven Tribe. Is that true or not?” The elder, unable to suppress his anger, stepped forward, intending to snatch Bai Tang away. However, Daniel held Bai Tang tightly in his arms, giving the elder no chance to take him.
“Daniel, were you captured by the elves too? Let’s escape together!” Kelly picked up her longsword, convinced that she and Daniel were destined to be together.
“I don’t know you,” Daniel replied calmly. “I have no connection to you.” He didn’t spare Kelly a single glance, his gaze fixed solely on Bai Tang—just as he had promised before: he would never look at another woman.
Daniel’s response slightly eased the elves’ anger, but their distrust of him remained.
In the original storyline, the female protagonist was a righteous figure. While she shared a romantic connection with the male lead, her primary goal had always been to drive the Ghost Clan off the continent. It was during her quest to obtain the Elven Key that she met the male lead. She had a strong sense of justice.
Aside from Bai Tang’s personal mission to separate the male and female leads, he didn’t particularly dislike her—as long as she didn’t try to take Daniel from him.
After some thought, Bai Tang timidly spoke up amidst the elves’ heated discussion about whether to execute the intruders. “Killing will taint the sacred land of the elves.”
His words startled the gathered elves.
The Holy Child was right—there was no need to stain their sacred land with human blood. The elves were a peaceful race, devoted to the Light. They did not easily resort to violence. If they killed humans in the Misty Forest, the God of Light might punish them. Instead of revival, their tribe could face annihilation.
With Bai Tang’s reminder, the elves looked at him with even greater reverence. As expected of the Holy Child.
Bai Tang let out a small yawn. Since the female lead wouldn’t die, he felt at ease following Daniel back to rest.
Here, among the elves, Bai Tang no longer needed to hide his ears and tail. Lying on the bed, his exhaustion made his exposed ears and tail droop weakly.
“Daniel, I want to hear a story.”
Ever since Daniel had completed the story of the little squirrel and the hunter, Bai Tang’s craving for bedtime stories had been rekindled.
“The fireflies flew through the sky, guiding the hunter forward. He climbed over mountains, leaped across rivers, and arrived at a strange forest. Whenever he met an animal, the hunter would ask, ‘Hello, have you seen my little squirrel?’ He followed their directions, asking along the way, until finally, under a great banyan tree, the hunter found his little squirrel. It turned out that the little squirrel had accidentally run too far and had gotten injured, making it impossible for him to return to his original forest… From then on, the hunter stayed in the new forest and lived happily ever after with his little squirrel.”
By the time the story ended, the boy’s breathing had become steady and peaceful. Daniel leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Bai Tang’s smooth forehead.
Goodnight, my little squirrel.
As for the final decision made by the elves, it seemed the female lead had successfully persuaded them. In the end, her two teammates were released from the Misty Forest after having a forgetting spell cast on them, while Kelly herself was allowed to participate in the three trials of the Elven Key alongside Daniel.
After resting and regaining their strength, the first trial arrived.
The first challenge: Crossing the Alligator Swamp.
Deep within the forest lay a treacherous swamp, home to many ferocious alligators. To advance to the second trial, they had to retrieve an item guarded by the alligators within a set time limit—without harming any of them.
As the rulers of the Misty Forest, the elves possessed a variety of magical abilities. Even the most aggressive creatures would obey their commands. If Daniel or Kelly injured an alligator during the trial, the elves could heal it—as long as it wasn’t fatal.
Kelly gripped her sword confidently. She had been trained by a renowned sword master, and dealing with mere alligators was hardly a challenge for her.
At that moment, the sleeping alligators responded to the elves’ summons, awakening from their slumber. They opened their massive jaws, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
Meeting Bai Tang’s worried gaze, Daniel gave him a reassuring smile. Then, he walked over to a nearby tree, broke off a sturdy branch, and carefully smoothed out the thorns, fashioning it into a makeshift weapon.
The trial officially began.
Kelly took the lead, charging ahead. The alligators reacted instantly, snapping their jaws at her. If not for her quick reflexes and high jumps, she would have been bitten. Even so, her shoe was torn open by the sharp teeth.
Meanwhile, Daniel remained calm. After carefully observing the terrain, he approached the edge of the swamp. He lured the attacking alligators to one side and took advantage of their instinct to close their eyes when opening their jaws. Using this brief moment, he obscured their vision and skillfully leaped across their backs, moving swiftly through the swamp.
Both competitors were deeply engaged in the challenge.
Watching Daniel’s high-risk maneuvers, Bai Tang gasped repeatedly, his heart pounding anxiously.
After all, humans couldn’t match the endurance of alligators, so both contestants aimed to finish the trial as quickly as possible.
Before long, after an intense battle, the results of the first trial were determined.
Daniel was the first to retrieve the key guarded by the alligators. Kelly, however, struggled without the male lead’s assistance, as was the case in the original storyline. In the end, she managed to grab the key, but only at the cost of breaking her sword. Though she was in a sorry state, she had still succeeded.
Both had passed the first challenge.
The elven elder stroked his long white beard and gazed at them with an enigmatic smile.
“Both brave warriors have completed the first trial. Today’s challenge ends here. Return and rest well. In two days, the second trial will commence.”
“Daniel, are you okay?” Bai Tang was the first to rush forward and support him.
Daniel was covered in mud from the swamp, emanating an indescribably foul stench. The overwhelming odor was so strong that even the system couldn’t help but pinch its nose.
“Bai Tang, hurry up and make the male lead take a bath,” the system urged.
But Bai Tang ignored it. Instead, he used his abilities to scan Daniel’s body, healing the cuts and wounds. Only after ensuring Daniel was unharmed did he follow him to a forest pool for a bath.
This natural pool wasn’t very large, but it was spacious enough for several elves to bathe at once. Due to Bai Tang’s status as the Holy Son, the elves would always clear the area whenever he came to bathe.
Daniel picked a few cleansing fruits, grabbed a change of clothes, and jumped into the cool, clear water.
Bai Tang dipped his fair-skinned legs into the water, swaying them gently as he watched Daniel’s well-defined abs emerge from the surface. The sight reminded him of their passionate night—the way sweat had dripped from the man’s alluring Adam’s apple down to his abdomen. His face flushed slightly with embarrassment. He covered his eyes, but he couldn’t resist peeking through the gaps between his fingers.
Daniel was always aware of Bai Tang’s every move. Instinctively, he straightened his posture, his broad chest appearing even more imposing beneath the shimmering water.
Author’s Note:
Will Bai Tang evolve into Seductive Tang? 😏