Translator:
Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor:
Nyoi-Bo Studio
Except for Dumby and Stripey, Gao Peng could also look into Medusa’s eyes, since the harm was transferred to Dumby…
But this Medusa had what was considered a good temper, totally different from the fierce Medusa in mythology.
Medusa and Gao Peng exchanged glances, and it said softly,
There are very few monsters that can talk to me while making proper eye contact. Can you talk to me for a while?
My pleasure.
Gao Peng gave it a standard formal smile.
Medusa smiled lightly.
Dumby was following Gao Peng as if it was his bodyguard. It would be there to break Medusa’s neck once it showed any sign of abnormal behavior.
Gao Peng and Medusa talked for a long time. This Medusa had come from another labyrinth far away from this one. It was born there, and that giant labyrinth was dozens of times larger than this one.
After it turned into an adult, it was driven away from the labyrinth by its mother, since Medusa was of the kind that didn’t like to live in groups.
Their secluded character made it difficult to coexist with other species except during a period of reproduction. Even their own offspring were treated the same.
Listening to what the Medusa in front of him had said, its mother was actually considered to have a good temper, which was absolutely rare, since it had only been driven away when it became an adult.
But of course, Medusas had no specific gender. They were, in fact, hermaphrodites, or at least, this was true for the Medusas in the Black Fog World.
Their mating process was similar to that of snakes, where they would entangle, while the stronger one would become the
mother
and the weaker one would act as the
father.
Thus, it was possible for one to either be a father or a mother.
Gao Peng listened with gusto, as these were facts that he had never heard of.
Do you want to go with me? I’m a wandering monster trainer, and these are my monsters. Let’s go on an adventure together. Perhaps you’ll meet another Medusa.
Gao Peng tempted the Earthen Medusa.
But the Earthen Medusa rejected him. These temptations had no effect on it. It didn’t like to be in contact with other Medusas and also disliked lively environments. It liked to stay alone in the depths of the maze, watching the changing of the seasons, looking at the majestic sea, seeing these things as the most beautiful scenery in the world.
Gao Peng didn’t understand its thoughts, but he wouldn’t force anyone to follow him if they were unwilling to. The Medusa waited until Gao Peng and the others were gone before returning to the labyrinth.
Deep in the labyrinth was a small and exquisite stone house. There were some fine stone sculptures on the empty land in front of the stone house.
The stone sculptures were both large and small, and they consisted of different types. The smallest one was a fist-sized stone sparrow with its wings closed. It looked gentle, and its eyelids were hanging down, just like it was falling asleep. The large stone sculptures included all sorts of monsters.
The Earthen Medusa sat on the stone bench, hand under its chin as it looked at the sculptures, then slowly closed its eyes.
A hundred years before, a two-foot-tall little Medusa had left the labyrinth for the first time and stepped foot into the forest outside. In the empty forest, a group of small chirpy sparrows had been flying over. It was curious since it had never seen a sparrow before.
At that time, it hadn’t awoken the Eyes of Medusa yet. With kindness, it had soon become friends with the sparrows.
However, one day, a sharp-toothed wolf suddenly rushed out from the forest when it was playing with the sparrows. At that critical juncture, it awakened the Eyes of Medusa to petrify the wolf. Unfortunately, two of the sparrows accidentally flew in front of its eyes and turned into stones. The other sparrows flew away in horror. They thought it was an ominous monster, and they had never appeared again since.
The little Medusa had felt wronged as it laid on the ground holding the two sparrows that had turned into stones. It saved the two sparrows with its hair. One escaped after, and the other was willing to stay and become friends.
It was the only friend it had; a sparrow.
When it made contact with others later, although it tried to avoid using its eyes as much as possible, their power was too horrible, so there were always accidental injuries. All the monsters who made friends with the Medusa for various purposes at first had ended up leaving. The only one which stayed was the sparrow.
It clearly remembered that it had accidentally
injured
and petrified the sparrow six times, yet the sparrow didn’t seem to mind. Every time after being relieved of the petrified curse, it happily flew in circles above the Medusa’s head.
Hey, this is really great. I think I’m living again, don’t you think so?
Every time this happened, Medusa would bow its head down and not dare to look up at its friend for fear of accidentally injuring it again.
I’ll pay attention next time.
It was ridiculous to say that it had been friends with the sparrow for 30 years, but there were only a handful of times when it made eye contact after awakening the Eye of Medusa.
Sparrows had a limited lifespan, commonly about ten years, but the sparrow had extended its life to 30 years after eating the many spirit fruits Medusa gave it. However, this was already the limit.
At the end of its life, the sparrow said to Medusa,
I don’t think that you’re a Medusa. I’ve never heard of a kind of Medusa like you.
Did you know? Medusas as kind as you are the most easily deceived,
the sparrow said seriously. At this time, the sparrow’s eyelashes had already turned white, and the feathers on the top of its head and wings had turned gray. It was too old, resembling a wise man.
Did you know that when we first came into contact with you, all we wanted was to trick you into giving us some spirit fruits?
asked the sparrow.
How can sparrows take the initiative to make friends with a Medusa? It was because you were a Medusa, and we knew that in those pockets of yours held the spirit fruits that we needed to prolong our lives, so we got close to you.
Medusa didn’t burst into anger and merely smiled,
That’s actually not so bad.
Medusa didn’t care about the fruits. There were many fruit trees in its mother’s yard and it could just casually pick some to eat. It was wonderful if the fruits could be exchanged for some friends.
You…
The sparrow was suddenly speechless. What a fool! It wanted to be angry at Medusa, but couldn’t bring itself to do so. But… it was because of its foolishness that the sparrow had agreed to be its friend.
The sparrow smiled and looked up at the sky, where there were two round blue moons above, leaving the back garden extraordinarily quiet under the night sky.
Medusa, I would like to see you,
the sparrow said suddenly.
Okay.
Medusa raised its head and closed its eyes. Its light green skin was dyed blue by the moonlight, the skin on its face smooth and glowing.
After staring for five seconds, the sparrow blinked.
I would like to see you with your eyes open.
You’ll be petrified,
Medusa said with its eyes closed.
…I have lived too long and will probably die tonight. I want to really look at you before I die. When I’m petrified, don’t save me; just let me become a stone to stay with you,
the sparrow said sincerely.
Medusa opened its eyes and the sparrow looked at it while standing on the branch.
Your eyes look beautiful.
These were the sparrow’s last words before it was petrified.
The Earthen Medusa blinked and woke up from the memory. The stone sculpture in front of it had two little claws grasping the branches tightly with its head tilted to one side, its eyes silently uttering words as if it was still alive.
