"Are we going to live here from now on...?" Morax looked at the tile-roofed house before him and asked doubtfully.
"What's the matter? Not happy about it?"
"No, no, I was just saying... this is much nicer than my rock hut, but it doesn't seem very sturdy."
"As long as it keeps out the wind and rain, that's enough."
"True."
Before they could step inside, however, a crowd of villagers approached, each carrying offerings.
"These are eggs from our family's birds. We have more than we can eat, so we brought some over for you."
"I had good luck fishing today and caught several big fish. Here, take these for your meal."
"These are vegetables from our own garden. Help yourselves if you'd like."
Dozens of villagers brought their own produce to Elliot and Morax, leaving Mora utterly bewildered.
His pupils dilated as he stared at the humans before him.
His eyes brimmed with incomprehension.
He couldn't fathom why these humans trusted others so readily.
If they were acquaintances, it might make sense. But Mora had never even met this entire crowd before—and yet they voluntarily offered so much food?
Of course Mora couldn't grasp it. This was a human trait.
In times of peace, people instinctively extended kindness to fellow beings who'd endured hardship.
"Stop spacing out—hurry up and bring it inside!" Elliot nudged him with an elbow, snapping him back to reality.
When Morax finally snapped back to reality, the crowd had already dispersed, leaving their doorway piled high with countless items. Elliot's arms were so full he couldn't squeeze in a single extra thing.
It took them quite a while to carry everything back inside.
In the days that followed, Elliot and the others continued to receive care from the villagers. Even Morax, who feared saying the wrong thing, managed to exchange a few words here and there.
"Zhongli, come here for a moment," a kind-hearted old grandmother beckoned to Mora.
Hearing this, he instinctively looked in her direction and approached the elderly woman.
"You poor child, how come you're so different from your brother? You've been in the village for so long, yet I've hardly heard you speak a word."
The grandmother pulled Zhongli closer, then fished a handful of candies from her pocket and placed them in Mora's hand.
"Let bygones be bygones. Just treat this place as your home from now on."
Her weathered, calloused hands gently clasped Morax's, her eyes filled with heartfelt concern.
To her, his silence stemmed from grief he hadn't yet overcome.
Looking into the grandmother's eyes, Morax felt an unfamiliar, strange sensation.
A warm current inexplicably flowed through his body, washing over him, freely stimulating every pore.
He froze.
For in the old woman's eyes, he saw heartache, tenderness, warmth.
This was an experience he had never known.
He had never been pitied, nor treated this way, for he had always carried himself with an air of superiority, and humans maintained absolute reverence toward him.
"Th-thank you..."
Morax awkwardly managed to utter his thanks.
It was the first time he had ever thanked a human, and it felt terribly unnatural.
"Good boy, everything will be alright," she said with a kind smile.
Later, Morax arrived at his home carrying the candies the old woman had given him.
He stood at his doorstep, glancing back toward the old woman.
The houses in the village were close together. Seeing Morax look back, the old woman waved gently at him.
Morax gave a slight nod before entering the house.
Back home, Morax took out the bag of candies and slowly unwrapped one.
He hesitated for a few seconds before finally popping it into his mouth.
"So sweet." Morax experienced this indescribable, special feeling for the first time—an emotion he had never known before.
Recalling the old woman's kind smile, Morax's lips actually curved into a faint smile.
Being treated with such kindness by so many strangers could shake even an Archon.
Standing atop the mountain peak, Elliot smiled faintly.
He had witnessed the entire scene and knew Morax's attitude toward humans was shifting.
Time would prove everything.
...
"Bad news! Qing'er's been captured by the gods!"
A deep voice echoed through the village.
In that instant, the entire village rushed toward the source of the commotion, quickly gathering into a large crowd.
"Liu Hong, what happened? Slow down and tell us clearly," a relatively composed man urged.
"Today, Qing'er and I went up the mountain to gather herbs. We must have stumbled into a deity's domain. She said we disturbed her sleep and demanded two children as offerings. Otherwise, Qing'er would be burned to ashes!"
Hearing Liu Hong's words, the crowd froze in shock before erupting in fury.
"What kind of damn deity demands two children's lives just for disturbing her sleep!? Damn it! Grab your weapons and kill her!!"
A hot-headed young man immediately set off to confront the so-called "deity."