Fountain of Youth

Shen's expression suddenly turned serious, his anger deepening:

Hearing the first part, I thought there was no hope, but the latter words gave me a glimmer of hope. So, I stated the facts to Shen: "Actually... Zed killed Alanta, and Alanta left behind a daughter."

Shen was shocked to hear this: "What! You're saying Senior Sister Alanta was killed by that scoundrel Zed?!" He then looked at Akali: "Then this child..."

"Yes, she is Alanta's daughter, Akali. I saved her. I'm sorry I didn't tell you directly because I was afraid you might treat her unfavorably. But now it seems that's not the case."

"There's nothing to apologize for. On the contrary, thank you very much for saving Senior Sister's daughter. If possible, please let me raise her."

Shen took the initiative to take on this responsibility, which I was more than happy about. Since he was so humble, polite, and loyal, I had nothing to worry about.

Akali naturally had no objections. As long as she could learn skills, she didn't care where she was.

After dealing with this matter, it was time to attend to the real business: finding the true hero.

Poppy hadn't mentioned searching for a hero much since she'd been with me. It seemed she was only looking for friendship, and perhaps friendship was the will that gave birth to her.

Along the way, we hadn't heard any news about a demon-slaying hero. Instead, Poppy was righteous and brave, drawing her sword to help those in need.

I felt that the hero Oren spoke of was Poppy herself, but she was completely unaware of it. Having fought dark magic users for so many years, she must know many ways to counter dark magic, and perhaps she could defeat LeBlanc!

But... where did she go?

Oh, right. I had also promised Whet that I would help Lux find Ageless Water. Now that I had time, I could also seek Shen's help:

"By the way, Master Shen, I'd like to ask for your help with something. Do you know where Ageless Water is?"

"Why are you looking for such a thing? Isn't that something women use to maintain their youth?"

"I was entrusted by a friend. Please guide me, Master."

"You flatter me. Ageless Water is a special substance produced at the source of the Navori River. It's on the highest peak southwest of Prexian. The terrain is treacherous, and there's a grumpy old man guarding it. It's said he's very difficult to communicate with and isn't swayed by money or beauty, so few people have succeeded in obtaining it. As for the effects of Ageless Water, I really don't know."

"Thank you. I'm here with a friend. If she comes looking for me, please tell her where I've gone."

"Certainly!"

After giving my instructions, I set off. The peak where Ageless Water was located was easy to find. I could see it towering into the clouds from afar. I tightened my clothes and walked upstream along the river.

As I neared the summit, a relatively flat clearing appeared before me. Several sheep were grazing in the clearing; they weren't afraid of people, suggesting they were being raised by someone.

Sure enough, after walking for a while, I found a tall old man leisurely riding a ram. It seemed this was the grumpy person Shen had mentioned.

"Hello, sir. Are you the one guarding the Ageless Water?"

The old man didn't answer. I carefully asked again, and only then did he lift his eyelids and look me up and down:

"If you want the Ageless Water, just wrestle with the ram beneath me and win. Then it's yours!"

I looked at the ram. It was even bigger than a water buffalo, with curly dark brown wool like a blanket and two exaggerated spiral horns that seemed to declare inviolable majesty.

Wrestling is different from combat. The Man-eating Bears I killed in the arena before were larger than this ram, and they were ferocious carnivores. But I didn't have to fight them with brute force; I just needed to kill them with a weapon.

Wrestling meant a direct contest of strength, and failure could result in being gored.

Of course, I could take it by force, but that would be no different from being a bandit. So, I agreed. I was quite confident in my strength.

The old man dismounted and drew a line behind me and the ram. Whoever pushed the opponent past the line first would win. I gripped the ram's horns with both hands, waiting for him to shout the start and push forward.

I initiated the push, exerting great force and pushing the ram back a large step. It was only a small half-step away from winning, but I couldn't move it any further.

The ram recovered and began to push forward. I bent over, desperately trying to stop it, and the situation became a stalemate. Neither of us could advance, and neither was willing to retreat.

I didn't expect this guy to be so strong. Since brute force wasn't working, I had to think of another way. I started to press down on its head, hoping to force it down, but my face turned red with effort, and it wouldn't budge.

After a period of stalemate, I thought of another idea. Both sides were exerting great force. If I suddenly took a step back, the ram would lose its balance and surely fall to its knees!

This trick worked. The ram fell to the ground as I predicted, and I pushed it past the line!

"This isn't cheating, is it, sir?"

"How despicable! But be careful behind you."

Hearing the old man's words, I turned around and saw the ram charging at me. This time, it wasn't a wrestling match; it was clearly enraged by my previous action!

I quickly dodged, but my movements were slightly slow due to the excessive force I had just exerted. I had to grip the ram's horns again, and at the same time, I saw the ram's brown eyes turn red.

"Sir, please make it stop! Why is it suddenly going berserk?"

"It's useless. You've already angered it. Nothing you say now will work; you can only subdue it."

Easier said than done. This ram was strange, as if forged from steel. How could I subdue it? And the old man showed no intention of helping me.

At this moment, the ram was closing in, its horns almost touching my chest. I looked into its red pupils, unsure what to do, when suddenly I saw a flicker of fear in its eyes, and it knelt down again!

This time, it didn't kneel because I subdued it or because I tricked it into falling. It truly knelt down, and the blood-red color in its eyes vanished!

The old man was greatly astonished and also knelt down with the ram: "So you are the Shepherd, sir. Please forgive my ignorance and mistakes."

I am the Shepherd? Isn't this old man the Shepherd? I didn't understand what he was saying and quickly helped him up:

"Please get up. What Shepherd? I don't understand."

"You... you don't know?"

I shook my head. I really didn't know, so the old man explained it to me in detail, much to my surprise.

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Pirated websites may have the earliest drafts, with plots or writing that haven't been polished, making them seem rough. I apologize to those friends!