The warden Gekoro tried to project an air of authority:

"Flask. Mine. Elf girl. Yours."

Fang Senyan snickered, turned away with a dismissive scoff, then slammed the flask against his lips and guzzled it down in gulps. The warden Gekoro's eyes bulged as he seized the bars, bellowing like a butchered pig:

"Drink! Forbidden!! Wait!"

Fang Senyan eventually struck a deal with these finger-counting goblins - nine shots (?!? Exactly nine; the goblins had been thoroughly dizzy from his mind games) of potent vodka paired with lifting their curses in exchange for moving the elven girl Wugē into this cell.

The warden Gekoro seemed deeply concerned about superior orders, repeatedly stressing that the elf girl must be voluntary and no self-harm must occur. Though he claimed to understand Fang Senyan's desperate thirst as a fellow traveler seeking something profound, any deal would be void if rules were broken.

Jiao Shi glanced at Fang Senyan with their Dream Mark communication:

"Shall we make a run for it now?"

Fang Senyan slowly shook his head:

"These goblins are just the first line of defense. They handle prisoners' daily affairs while I suspect there's another layer of ogre guards outside. Rushing out now would end our Lord of the Rings adventure here."

Jiao Shi nodded, clearly agreeing with Fang Senyan's judgment, then retreated to his corner. Fang Senyan became even more confident in his assessment - Jiao Shi maintained an impeccable knightly bearing even while meditating in a cell, undoubtedly shaped by years of real-world living.

Meanwhile the elven cell door opened. Warden Gekoro struggled with gestures and terrified expressions as he communicated with the trembling elf girl who kept shrinking backward. Many elves shouted furiously but their abilities were heavily suppressed in prison - they could only verbally oppose the goblins' stench, brutality, and biceps.

After a long while, Warden Gekoro stood before Fang Senyan dejectedly:

"Lie. You. Elf refuses. Void. Conditions."

Fang Senyan scoffed again:

"Take me to her. I'll talk to her myself."

He then rattled his flask as if shaking it for show. The warden Gekoro swallowed hard at the scent of alcohol, flexed his biceps in an Illidan pose (with black cloth over his eyes against sunlight), and compared with Fang Senyan's arm half its size before making a decisive choice - better to be kind than cruel, after all this little worm couldn't make waves.

Needless to say, Fang Senyan needed only a few sentences to convince the elf girl. Though Wugē remained shy, she eventually lowered her head and followed him. Jiao Shi turned his head slightly in mild surprise before returning to meditation.

The human cell was neither crowded nor spacious with just two windows letting sunlight through - occupied by two poachers captured earlier who had already been sneaking around together. When goblins brought food, they simply took Fang Senyan and Jiao Shi's portions. The two prisoners didn't know that the duo had secretly stockpiled supplies in their storage space long ago and showed no interest in fighting over goblin-cooked rancid meat stew.

But these men mistook their indifference as weakness! Seeing such a pure, delicate elven maiden brought into the cell while goblins were all outside greedily drinking alcohol, the two men approached withgrins. A tall poacher whispered menacingly:

"Kid, hand over that elf girl or I'll cut your throat tonight!"

Fang Senyan was just brushing Wugē's slightly disheveled hair like an elder brother when he heard this. He remained completely indifferent as if he hadn't heard anything at all. The enraged poacher charged forward with his head lowered. Fang Senyan didn't even turn around, delivering a casual roundhouse kick to the man's chest - a textbook heart-strike. With 40 points of strength behind it, the tall man was launched five meters before slamming into the wall in a crumpled, shrimp-like position for several seconds with pale face and dry heaving. Likely with two or three broken ribs now, his eyes brimmed with fear - no more thoughts about mischief.

The shorter poacher had already cowardly retreated to the corner when he saw this display of power.

It was their own misfortune these men didn't know that as Contractors, Fang Senyan and Jiao Shi were completely immune to cell searches - all equipment bore illusionary effects, not to mention the Dream Mark storage space tricks. These two poor souls had been caught bare and how could they possibly match?

Wugē besides showing intimacy toward Fang Senyan displayed elven coldness, pride, and distant politeness toward other humans - an unpolluted young Xiaolongnü version. She remained completely unaffected by Fang Senyan's violent actions, as if he'd just kicked aside a blocking stone. Then she naturally ran to the sunlit window with joy.

Fang Senyan silently stood behind her. As elves were nature's children inherently possessing purification abilities, despite being imprisoned for days, Fang Senyan standing at Wugē's side saw sunlight reflecting on her innocent face and smelled an indescribable clean scent - like fresh meadows after rain, making his mind clear and spirit refreshed just by inhaling it.

After basking in the sunlight, Wugē looked radiant and suddenly turned to him with focused seriousness:

"You noticed my clan pushing against me earlier so you specially arranged for me to be moved here, right?"

Fang Senyan wanted to brush this off as others did - learning from gold mines - but seeing her serene, flawless eyes made him just nodly.

Wugē turned away, brushed her hair and said calmly:

"I won't thank you. Because you must be the guardian I'm supposed to find in my coming-of-age ceremony."

Fang Senyan immediately stonewalled... his lips trembled for a while as he silently screamed inside: *I don't want to be a guardian!!! I just wanted to be a quick-take beast!!! I don't want to be tied down!!! I'm innocent!!!*

But none of these words could escape past Wugē's tranquil gaze. The elven girl smiled and sat on the ground, embracing her knees with tilted head as if etching her image directly into Fang Senyan's heart and memories.

Seeing his dazed expression, Wugē boldly ordered him to sit behind her then naturally used him as an eco-friendly leather pillow, even patting it for dust before leaning against him to hum a mysterious elven song while closing her eyes.

Suddenly something felt odd. He clearly sensed sunlight pouring through the window distorting like flowing water rushing into Wugē's body. Her slender frame absorbed it like thirsty sponge! Gradually her voice became ethereal, washing through the enclosed filthy cell like clear mountain springwater cleansing everyone's organs. Though Fang Senyan couldn't understand the lyrics, inhaling her natural fragrance stirred a subtle joy in him - like starlight and sunlight merging to purify his soul.

The elven prisoners in adjacent cells suddenly erupted into frenzied screams about "Morning Songs", with some elder elves crying while others wept tears of joy... though distance prevented understanding details. Wugē completely ignored them, continuing her song in Fang Senyan's warm embrace under bright sunlight.

After a while when elves were allowed courtyard time, they rushed out through their cell door toward this area. Elder Sha Wen Ji Shu gripped the bars so tightly his veins turned blue, gritting teeth to snarl:

"HUMAN! Leave our Morning Elf (Elve f e ilig)! Stop your filthy body's desecration of her!"

(Continued request for golden keyboard votes as it's Sunday. Another chapter at 12 midnight.)