Chapter 751: Unknown Sea

"Making pigments?" Although the Platoon Leader was puzzled, he could not refuse Baifeng's request, so he took two sheets of paper from the table, wrapped up some of the more vibrant and attractive colors for Baifeng, and then took the rest, preparing to bring them to the Blacksmith Department to melt them down and see if iron could be extracted.

Just as the Platoon Leader was about to leave, he saw Changle and suddenly thought of something, then immediately turned his head and said, "Oh, Changle Prince, we also brought back some new plants dug up from Xiao Town this time. Would you like to go take a look and see if there are any new species?"

Changle nodded: "Fine, you all put the things in my office first; I will go take a look in a while."

Hearing Changle's arrangements, the Platoon Leader hurried away to organize these tasks.

The main purpose of Changle coming to Huaxia this time was to have Baifeng help identify the plants found in the Xuanyuan Tribe to see if there were any Baifeng recognized. In this way, it would be possible to avoid the mistake of ignoring the utility of plants that Changle did not recognize when determining them to be new species.

But regretfully, there were too many plants that Baifeng could not identify. Perhaps he had recognized them in the past, but so many years had passed that Baifeng had forgotten most of them. Furthermore, the characteristics of many plants did not lie in their leaves or branches, but in their flowers and seeds. Without having seen them in person and only looking at crude drawings, dried specimens, and descriptions, it was very difficult for Baifeng to make an effective identification.

Therefore, Changle had almost no harvest from this trip back, so he already had the idea of returning to the Xuanyuan Tribe. The Xuanyuan Tribe did not show an overly strong reaction to Changle bringing specimens back to Huaxia, because the quantity was relatively small.

Moreover, if a certain plant really had some great use, then Huaxia would certainly include it in the content of their trade; it would be impossible to hide it from the Xuanyuan Tribe. Furthermore, the Xuanyuan Tribe believed that with the restrictions of the treaty, Huaxia would not conceal this.

Seeing that there was no one else in the office, Changle secretly asked his own doubt: "Father, is the peacock you spoke of real, and not a fictional creature like the dragon or the qilin? Could there really be such a beautiful bird in those wicked places?"

Baifeng smiled and said: "Of course, and there is more than one kind. There is a distinction between the green peacock and the blue peacock; the green peacock is even more precious. I have seen the blue peacock, but it is just like other birds—the males are beautiful and good-looking, while the females look very ordinary. If the male and female are not walking together, you wouldn't even be able to tell they are the same species."

Changle had a look of longing: "Father, then you say, could I have a chance to see one?"

Baifeng stared fixedly at Changle: "Don't even think about this matter. Although the Xuanyuan Tribe is not Huaxia, at least the entire territory is dominated by humans, and it is relatively safe there. But that south—it is directly south of us. If you want to go, you must first cross that extremely high mountain range."

With our current capabilities, if a thousand people go, it is not certain that a hundred will come out alive. After crossing the high mountains, the climate becomes extremely humid and warm, like spring all year round, with no Winter.

However, it is misty and rainy all year, and everywhere is full of poisonous insects and snakes. You wouldn't be able to walk out of a forest there before being drained of blood by leeches.

If you cannot see the sun, you cannot judge the direction and will be lost in the forest forever. Even if you are lucky enough to reach a place where there are peacocks, do you know what you will face? There are more elephants there than there are people here; humans are like ants there. So, you must never think about going there, even if you say you want to go see the sea in the future, I can support you."

Right now, any place beyond that mountain range is difficult for humans to survive in. Even after several hundred or a thousand years, it will still be a very terrifying place.

If you like good-looking birds, go catch them at the Xuanyuan Tribe, or I will have people at the Suiren Clan catch them for you. There is a kind of bird there that is as beautiful as fire."

After listening to his father's nagging, even though the words were full of refusal and negation, Changle did not feel sad; instead, he was very happy. Now he already knew that everything Baifeng did was to protect him, his son.

A father who was as knowledgeable as a god and almost omniscient—if he said a place was dangerous, then it must be fraught with crises. He had already had a very profound experience with this when he snuck off to the Xuanyuan Tribe this time.

So he explained to Baifeng: "Father, please rest assured, I do not want to go there. I cherish my life very much now; it is just that I have a strong desire for knowledge. You have seen everything, and I can only listen to your descriptions. Although I really want to see them with my own eyes, I think that only by living long enough can I see more things."

Baifeng nodded and patted Changle on the shoulder: "That's right, that is the logic. Living long is the greatest success. As long as a person's lifespan is long enough, they can see more things that others cannot see."

The lecture finished, and Changle suddenly asked: "Father, you said that if I wanted to see the sea, you would support me. Then when do you think, how long from now, I might have the chance to see the sea?"

Baifeng wiped a bit of sweat, but this was not too difficult a matter, and he could make a promise: "After you go back, you can ask the people of the Xuanyuan Tribe. Ask them if they have ever seen a boundless Dahu. The lake water is bitter, and the water level is constantly changing—that is the sea."

"Qingqiu City is not too far from the sea; they can see it there. However, the sea is not the same as the sea. The sea further south... never mind, I haven't seen it either. I don't know what it would be like there now, but it must be fraught with crises."

"Ah?" Changle asked in disbelief: "The people of the Xuanyuan Tribe have seen the sea?"

Baifeng stroked his beard and said: "I think they must have seen it. Since they can expand to the west and south, there is no reason they wouldn't go east. As long as you keep going east, you will eventually reach the end of the continent and see the great sea. It is just that they probably don't know that it is the sea."

"Oh, is that so..."

The conversation broke off there. Before the atmosphere could turn cold, Changle spoke first: "Father, why don't you accompany me to look at the plants they brought? What if you can find something useful?"

Baifeng recalled that there shouldn't be anything other than medicinal herbs in that land, but since his son had asked, he would just accompany him; he wasn't that busy right now anyway.

"Fine, then let's go. The two of us will go take a look together and see if we can find anything good."