Chapter 2570: Chapter 2570: The Ear Mouse
As Zen had expected, it was not a person behind the curtain. It was a mouse.
The mouse was as tall as a man. It hinted humanistic habits as it sat elegantly with its legs crossed on the ground. There was an unusual magical array surrounding it.
The mouse looked at Zen and closed its eyes. “Why do I sense hostility?” It slowly opened them and glanced at Zen with a stern expression. It seemed to be able to read his mind.
Zen was taken aback and immediately replied, “I'm just not used to being around fierce beasts.”
In the divine land, some people kept fierce beasts like pets. There were also contractual beasts. The beasts were not used to blending in with humans they were unfamiliar with. Mostly they only communicated with their owners. They had little to no knowledge about human society.
However, things were different in the Source World. Beasts and humans lived amongst each other in harmony. They lived like equals and they each had an individual status in their society. All of this was still new to Zen.
In the Sweltering Desert, he condemned the people of the Sand Country for closely cooperating with the Man-eating Demon Flower. He found it bizarre for humans to be interacting with fierce beasts. Now it seemed that it was common for folks and beasts to blend with each other in the Source World.
The mouse appeared unbothered by Zen's attitude and asked, “I heard that you were looking for someone. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Zen answered with a slight nod.
The mouse stared blankly at Zen and continued asking more questions, “What's the cultivation level of that person? What does the person look like? When and where did this person last appear? The more details you give to me, the easier it is for me to find this person.”
Zen straightened up and began recalling everything he remembered about Emily. He thought for a moment before replying in a serious tone, “Three days ago, she entered the Wild Goose Pass from the chaos. I don't know whether she passed through the Sweltering Desert. She is a powerful warrior at the Other Shore Realm.”
Zen was cautious enough to not give away too much information about Emily. He feared a link between the Mice League and the Yellow Emperor Guards. He wanted to avoid it, even if there was a slight chance of it being true.
But then again, the Yellow Emperor Guards' strength far surpassed Emily's. They might have had close to no involvement with what happened at the Excellence City. Zen continued to have a debate with himself in his thoughts before deciding on telling the mouse everything he knew.
The mouse listened attentively and nodded at Zen's words.
The expression of the mouse turned serious. It composed itself and waved its two paws gently in the air. The two huge ears on the top of its head stood up like antennas.
The ears of the mouse were bigger compared to its head. They gave it an exotic appeal. The small head and long ears made it look more like a rabbit than a mouse.
Buzz!
Suddenly, the magic array lying dormant on the ground came to life. Zen focused as he felt a strong spiritual sense pour itself into the array. The mouse closed its eyes and entered a state of meditation. The presence of magic in the room rose to a noticeable amount. Zen tried not to blink as he watched the mouse curiously.
“I did not expect the Ear Mice to have developed so quickly. They even appeared in such a remote city. Haha...” No. 9527's voice resounded from Zen's mind.
“The Ear Mice? Do all these mice belong to this race?” Zen asked while raising his brows in wonder.
No. 9527 smiled lightly. “No. The other mice in this house are nothing more than mice with mediocre talents. Some of them can transform into human beings, while some don't even have intelligence. They are not Ear Mice. The mouse in front of you is the only Ear Mouse here.”
“Can they live peacefully with human beings?” Zen asked with concern.
On his way to the Source World, Emily and the others had told him many things about this world. However, the Source World was so large that it was impossible to educate him about everything in it. Zen had to experience and learn gradually on his own.
“Yes. What's so strange about that? Human beings are not alone in the Source World. If you visit the city of the Ear Mice, you will be an alien in their eyes,” No. 9527 answered in a calm and patient tone.
The Chaos Ancient Gods like Gerald and Herbert were not human beings. The Snake Goddess wasn't considered as a human being either.
The concept of human beings was established after the Snake Goddess had created the Grand World Cultivation Method.
“The spies of the Ear Mice can be found throughout the Source World. They communicate with each other, so they know everything in this world. It is wise of you to inquire about Emily's whereabouts from them,” No. 9527 said. ɽΑΝỗβЕȿ
Zen couldn't help but feel uneasy with all this. This was all so new to him. Ever since his childhood, he had always seen fierce beasts as inferior beings to the human race. He never considered them as equals. And now in a world so different from his, he got to see them in a different light.
Buzz!
The magic array on the ground of the room intensified and became brighter and brighter. Zen could feel countless strands of tiny spiritual sense pouring into it.
The spiritual sense belonged to the mice. They were scattered across the Source World, each pouring in the spiritual sense that contained information from a different place. They sent the news they saw, heard, and knew to the Ear Mouse. The Ear Mouse acted as a link between them and the world.
Soon after, the light of the magic array faded away. The Ear Mouse opened its eyes and glanced at Zen expressionlessly. “I've found the person you are looking for.”
Zen's face revealed a trace of joy when he heard this. He heaved a sigh of relief. “Where is she? Is she alive?” Zen held his breath as he asked this. He prayed Emily was safe.
The Ear Mouse pushed over a porcelain plate towards him and said, “It's a piece of expensive news. It's worth twenty divine crystals. If you're willing to pay for it, place the divine crystals on the plate, and I'll tell you.”
“Twenty divine crystals?” Zen eyed the Ear Mouse in disbelief.
He had plenty of divine crystals, but Kenelm had told him that he only needed to pay one for the information. Now the price suddenly increased twenty-fold, so it was naturally a little difficult for him to stomach.
“The news is graded. Some important news sells high. We collect the news in this world with our ears, so we know the right value. If you are unwilling to pay the high price, you can leave.” The Ear Mouse shrugged as it pointed towards the exit. It had been used to this kind of thing, so it didn't bother with forcing Zen to pay.
Zen was left with no other choice. He sighed and raised his right hand and tapped the space ring gently on the plate. He bit his lip as he watched the twenty divine crystals fall on the plate one by one.
The Ear Mouse pushed the plate aside and drew a line in the magic array on the ground with its sharp claw. Soon, a holographic illusion appeared before Zen's face. He saw the image of Emily and Leopold standing side by side. They seemed terrified and confused.
His eyes widened as he scanned the environment around them. Judging from their surroundings, it didn't seem like they were in the Sweltering Desert. They were in a plain.
“Where are they? What is that place?” Zen asked, with his stare fixated on Emily in the illusion.
“The Cyan Brocade Plain, two million miles away from the Excellence City,” answered the Ear Mouse. “They are not Yellow Emperor Guards, but they have the Slaughtering Moonlight Array. It's quite interesting.”
The illusion only lasted for a few seconds before it faded. Zen asked desperately, “Is that all?”
He saw Emily and Leopold had activated the Slaughtering Moonlight Array, so he assumed they hadn't gotten rid of the man in white yet. His eyes reflected how impatient he was to know what happened to them.
“Of course not. What you saw is just the scene sent by one of the many mice,” the Ear Mouse said. It once again stretched out its sharp claw to draw another line in the magic array.
Soon, a new illusion appeared in front of Zen.
He saw a dazzling blue light on the screen. The man in white was still chasing after Emily and Leopold. Zen's heartbeat quickened as he witnessed the intense situation. He desperately wished to be with them to help.
His heart rate quickly came to a sharp drop. His eyes widened at the scene before him as it paralyzed his entire body in shock. The man in white had swung his sword at Leopold, who failed to dodge it in time. Zen watched in horror as the blade pierced through Leopold's chest, impaling him.