Arriving at the big tree, only a thick rope was tied to it. After dismounting, Leyton didn't even bother to tie up the reins, letting the two horses forage and play freely in the forest. He simply untied the thick rope, and it shot upwards as if someone was pulling it from above. Leyton merely held on with both hands to prevent the entire rope from going up. Finally, a huge basket descended from the sky and landed with a thud on the verdant moss.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Leyton." Kayal stepped into the huge basket and gently nodded at Leyton. Leyton let out a shout, gripped the rope, and pulled it down slowly. The huge basket was steadily lifted into the sky and began to ascend, like an elevator.
This was, of course, Kayal's idea. When he was two years old, he had already begun to use his tender and innocent appearance to trick Grand Duke Andrei's royal craftsmen into making this huge basket for him. This particular tree was also chosen after careful selection; besides being tall, it had to offer absolute surveillance over the surrounding area. In other words, it had to be able to detect any movement in the vicinity at the earliest possible moment.
Kayal, of course, possessed this talent. How could a man capable of treating the world as a chessboard lack such foresight?
So the selection of this tree was accidental, yet inevitable.
The basket continued to ascend until, a minute later, it clicked into place on a gear and stopped.
Gears, what convenient things they are.
He carefully stepped out of the basket. This was about two hundred meters high; a single misstep could lead to a shattered demise, couldn't it?
Having spent most of his previous life in a wheelchair, Kayal cherished this newfound life immensely.
He arrived on this small platform.
A delicate little wooden house.
Vines coiled around the walls and roof, as if draping the small wooden house in green camouflage, yet also bringing a touch of freshness to it.
In front of the wooden house, several sunflowers in earthenware pots smiled towards the sun, like many smiling faces welcoming their master's return.
"Ah, after so long in the castle, it's still here that I feel most comfortable." Kayal stretched with a big yawn, like a child. In the castle, as the son of Grand Duke Andrei, he had to disguise himself with "perfection," using perfection to tell those ambitious people that Grand Duke Andrei's son was a genius, so they shouldn't even think about it!
Here, he could truly be himself and relax.
"Alright, next is…" Kayal immediately stripped off all his clothes, revealing only a pair of small shorts.
Then, he sat cross-legged facing the rising sun, his limbs twisting into irregular shapes like boneless snakes. Although it looked terrifying, in fact, this twisting was very regular and would not harm him.
When his entire body was twisted and curled up like a pretzel, Kayal suddenly exhaled, then slowly stretched out and returned to a normal human form.
In fact, any Earthling would know what this terrifying yet will-training technique was—classified as a martial art, the ultimate secret of the Indians, the source of power for the people of India, Yoga!
Yoga seems to be more effective the older one gets, but those in the know understand that if Yoga isn't practiced from a young age, those who start halfway through will never reach its peak.
A child's bones are the softest and easiest to train in Yoga!
Kayal, who didn't want to end up in a wheelchair again, naturally paid great attention to physical exercise. He didn't want to become a muscular brute like his father, but he also absolutely refused to become a frail scholar. So, Kayal chose Yoga, which he had thoroughly researched in his previous life, for his training.
Kayal wasn't without other martial arts training methods, but asking a child whose bones and muscles hadn't fully developed to practice Iron Sand Palm or Karate, wasn't that foolish?
After finishing a set of Yoga, Kayal put on his clothes and turned to push open the door and entered the small wooden house.
Inside the small wooden house were rows of parchment scrolls, like bookshelves, and beneath the bookshelves were all sorts of rare and delicate wooden carvings.
He picked up the last scroll of parchment from the bookshelf, walked to a small desk, dipped a quill pen in ink, and began to write.
Square and upright Chinese characters.
If anyone could understand them, they would surely be astonished by the child's terrifying intellect. The title of this parchment scroll was — On the Irrigation Possibility of the Red Leaf Ridge Artificial Canal.
Tens of thousands of words eloquently discussed the disadvantages and advantages of constructing an artificial canal at Red Leaf Ridge for the nearby farmland, the harm to the nearby wetlands and grasslands, and all the chain possibilities were completely considered by Kayal, as if he were an omnipotent Kami (Note 1)!!
"Hehe…" A soft laugh made Kayal jump up from his chair like a startled cat, knocking over half a bottle of ink and staining his sleeve.
But none of that was the point; the point was that laugh!!
He stood up abruptly and looked towards the source of the laughter.
A suspicious woman in a cloak!
The reason she could only be described as a woman was that her figure was too astonishing; what should be curvaceous was curvaceous, and what should be slender was slender. Her exquisitely proportioned body could not be hidden by the cloak.
"Who are you? How did you get up here?! Where is Leyton?!" Kayal immediately retreated two or three meters, and the dagger strapped to his boot was kicked into his hand with a flick of his leg.
Watching her warily, Kayal's mind raced.
Her ability to come up here could only mean something had happened to Leyton below! Whether she climbed or used the basket, as long as Leyton was there, he would never have let her up. Although Leyton was a Knight with ample chivalry, he would never allow danger to threaten his master. Kayal trusted Leyton's loyalty.
But how did this woman get here?!
Kayal had no choice but to be on his highest guard and vigilance to deal with this mature, enigmatic woman who had appeared here.
"Oh! What an interesting child and house." She squatted down and picked up a model of a carriage: "Is this thing a carriage? What can it be used for?"
"That kind of thing can maximize the horse's power and increase its carrying capacity, allowing it to transport more goods." Kayal used words to buy time, his mind still calculating all sorts of possibilities.
"How interesting, what about this one?" she asked, picking up another wooden carving.
"Who exactly are you! What are your intentions! Speak." Kayal, no longer wanting to beat around the bush with her, spoke sharply, gripping the dagger in his hand.
"It seems my presence makes you uneasy, little one, so let me introduce myself."
"My name is Merlin."
"I am a Mage."