After the Legend

Chapter 34: Across snowy mountains

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Minna quickly packed her luggage with her grandfather. They will only take away some things that are useful during the journey, and will leave behind some pots and pans, clothes and blankets, books and utensils, and even Xiao Tianjian's booklet filled with square characters.

Ming Na was a little reluctant to part with that booklet. When it was snowing heavily in the winter and she couldn't go out, in addition to practicing magic potions, she also learned the square characters from her grandfather. Now she can recognize about a hundred of them. What is recorded in the booklet is The only one was written in square characters, and she wanted to know when she would be able to read it all.

She held the book tightly to her heart and said coquettishly to her grandfather: "Grandpa, leave this to me. It's useless for you to leave it here."

Xiao Tianjian said: "This is the only thing that can prove my existence here. I want to keep it. After we leave, Xiaola will live here, and this can be left to him as a souvenir."

"Is Xiao La going to live here?" Ming Na asked in surprise, "Then when will he come?" Maybe we can meet him before leaving.

Xiao Tianjian smiled: "We will come over when we leave. This is what we have agreed with the elves. I can't come back anyway. This house is much more comfortable than the cave where the half-elves lived."

Ming Na was a little disappointed, but she still put the book down. After thinking about it, she reopened the potion box and took out a bottle of potion that she had prepared a few days ago. This is the scar removal elixir she learned to make. The effect is of course not as good as the one made by the old magician Sennett, but according to her grandfather's own experiments, it can make the color of scars lighter. She placed the potion in the most conspicuous place on the table and wrote a note as a gift for Ludlow.

Xiao Tianjian kept smiling after he understood what she wanted to do. It was a joy for him that his two offspring could get along well with each other, although he knew that this had a lot to do with the fact that the children were still young and ignorant. When Ming Na reaches a certain age, it's hard to say whether she will still be so close to the children of her grandmother's love rival.

Lao Qiao came in with a pot of food and shouted: "Come and drink fish soup, fresh fish soup." Ming Na went to it happily: "Uncle Qiao, what delicious food did you make again?" Smell the fish soup in the pot, but there is a fishy smell, with a faint smell of herbs. Ming Na pouted dissatisfiedly: "It tastes weird. What did Uncle Qiao put in it?"

Lao Qiao said while ladling the soup: "This is good stuff. I put more than a dozen kinds of herbs in it. Drinking it will not only warm your body, but also prevent the cold wind from hurting your eyes, ears, mouth and nose, and even your hands and feet will not get sick." Frostbite. Drink it quickly. The snow-capped mountains in the north are difficult to walk on. Only by drinking it can you walk there safely."

"The snow-capped mountains in the north?" Ming Na asked puzzledly, "Are we going there? Shouldn't we go from Phantom Town?"

Xiao Tianjian came over: "Little fool, have you forgotten? The foggy wasteland can only be passed from June to September every year. The poisonous fog is too thick during other times. I may not be able to survive it, not to mention you are just a Children? To the west is the Grand Canyon, which is inaccessible at all. We can only take the mountain road to the north, cross the Snowy Mountains, and return to Qedon through the territory of Noga."

Only then did Ming Na understand, and she quickly took the fish soup and drank it. She was so cold this winter, and she definitely didn't want to suffer like that again. After drinking a large bowl, she realized that her grandfather had not touched the bowl of soup that belonged to him: "Grandpa, aren't you going to drink it?"

Lao Qiao also said: "Xiao, I know you are strong, but you have just recovered from your injury. You may not be able to withstand the cold on the snowy mountains. You'd better drink a little."

Xiao Tianjian shook his head: "No, Mingna is a child, so drinking this soup is a last resort, but I can get through it, so I don't have to drink it. Although I have almost severed ties with the elves, we are in their territory after all. Come on, it’s better not to violate their rules.”

Lao Qiao sighed: "Although you are always making people angry, your character is not bad. If it were not like this, I would not be friends with you. I would like to advise you one last time. There is something wrong with you. It’s better to change it.”

When Xiao Tianjian and Ming Na heard what he said, they both felt a little disappointed thinking that they would never see their half-elf friend again. The Elf Forest is closed, which means that the Phantom Town located on the outskirts of the forest must also be closed to the outside world. They cannot come in, and the half-elves cannot go out.

Minna put down the bowl and spoon, hugged Lao Qiao and murmured: "Uncle Qiao, I can't let you go." Old Qiao smiled and touched her head: "Uncle Qiao can't let you go either, please be obedient and stop being naughty. You're making trouble, you know?" Mingna nodded dully.

Xiao Tianjian was silent for a while and said, "Qiao, I want to ask you for help with something. Can you come out for a moment?" After that, he walked out the door. Upon seeing this, Lao Qiao followed him out, and the two whispered for a long time. Ming Na was in the room and could only faintly hear Xiao La's name, but she couldn't hear the details clearly.

Xiao Tianjian and Lao Qiao talked for a long time, and the latter said that he wanted to go back to the town to inform others that Xiao Tianjian was leaving. After he left, Mingna looked at his disappearing figure from a distance, and suddenly noticed something flashing in the forest, raising a silver light.

Could it be Xiaola

Ming Na hurriedly chased after Xiao La, calling Xiao La's name loudly, but there was only the sound of leaves blowing in the wind. Ming Na had to go back to the house disappointedly, and looked up to see her grandfather sitting in a daze, his expression seemed a little sad. .

Early the next morning, the half-elves hurriedly rushed to say goodbye to Xiao Tianjian and Ming Na. They gave many things as final gifts. Among them, Leif gave Mingna a large box of medicinal herbs and magic materials special to the Elf Forest. Mingna gave her a big hug in return, and Xiao Tianjian even thanked him specially, but he had a face. Red again.

After waving goodbye to this group of enthusiastic friends, Ming Na followed her grandfather out of the Elf Forest. With reluctance, she looked back at the greenery step by step. Suddenly, she discovered a head of silver hair looming among the trees: "Little pull!"

Ludlow climbed on a big tree, waved to them from a distance, then wiped his face and disappeared into the green. Minna shouted his name loudly, but he never appeared again. Looking back, she found that Xiao Tianjian's face had regained its former look. He had changed from the depression he had been in for several months, and said to his granddaughter energetically: "Let's go quickly, there's still a long way to go."

Minna nodded and followed him towards the north.

When the green color gradually disappeared from the field of vision, they could see more and more white color, which was all unmelted ice and snow, and the air was getting colder and colder.

Ming Na watched in confusion as her grandfather put on something that looked like glasses but was larger than glasses and had black lenses, and tied her eyes with a black gauze belt. The black gauze is not too thick, and you can still see the surrounding things through it, but it is much darker. She felt a little uncomfortable and wanted to pull the strap off, but her grandfather said: "Wear it, otherwise you will go blind." Mingna was startled and retracted her hand obediently.

As the ground beneath their feet gradually rose, Minna began to feel some difficulty breathing. She had practiced very hard in the past few months, so her leg strength was much better than when she first came here, her body was stronger, and she had grown taller, so she followed Xiao Tianjian for two days before walking by herself with her grandfather. Hold and walk in rotation.

They were not moving very fast. On the one hand, they had to accommodate their children. On the other hand, it was also because the weather was getting warmer and the snow on the snow-capped mountains began to melt. An avalanche could occur at any time. The grandfather and grandson had to rely on light skills to reduce the risk of their own steps. The influence of snowy mountains.

Also because of concerns about avalanches, they did not dare to spend the night in the cave, so they could only rest by the big rocks leeward at night. It was very cold at night, and they relied on the copper stove they took out of the ring to keep warm. The charcoal had run out, and they burned branches broken from the elven forest. But these firewood are only used for heating. They still drink cold water and eat dry bread every day, and cannot eat any hot food.

After arduously climbing over layers of snow-capped mountains, Mingna looked at the boundless white mountain peaks, feeling like she would never finish the journey. She couldn't help but ask: "Grandpa, are we going west?" Did you go the wrong way? Isn't Qedon in the south?"

"Just follow me, we'll be there soon." Xiao Tianjian panted, dragging his granddaughter forward.

After finally climbing over another mountain peak, Ming Na saw that the mountains in front of her on the left were no longer white, but had the color of soil and moss. She knew that they had finally walked out of the snow-capped mountains. Her feet softened because she was tired. limit.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Tianjian hurriedly pulled her up: "Don't sit down. I know you are very tired, but this is the most likely time for something to happen. Walk slowly and don't stop."

Mingna had no choice but to stumble forward, and soon turned onto the mountain road leading to the south. Only then did she notice that to her left, in the southeast, was a deep and long canyon, extending to the horizon. It was as if a crack had been opened in the earth by a huge axe. The mountain walls are very smooth and there is no place for people to stand. The canyon is very wide, nearly a hundred meters at its widest point, and it is bottomless. The place where she and her grandfather were standing was right at the end of the crack.

Ming Na felt a little weak at the sight, and then looked back to the right. There were tall snow-capped mountains with no end in sight, and even birds might not be able to fly over them safely.

She seemed to understand why she had to walk so far west before turning south. The position she was in now was simply the only way to go.

Xiao Tianjian said behind her: "Isn't it amazing? I heard that there was a hero in ancient times. In order to stop the invasion of monsters, he used all his strength to split the land with a knife, and cracks were formed. This canyon and the knife turned into snow mountains, and from now on, the northern snowfield monsters can no longer threaten humans."

An idea flashed in Ming Na's mind: "It's the 'Blade of the God'! I heard Winnie talk about it! It turns out to be here!" It was an ancient myth widely circulated in the mainland, and it was one of her pillows when she was a child. .

"Maybe, I heard your grandma told your uncle, but I can't remember clearly." Xiao Tian swordsman set up a pergola and looked to the south, "Let's go quickly. When we reach the mountain opposite, we can find a place to rest. There is a place to rest over there. Much warmer.”

Ming Na followed closely.

They found a cave on that mountain at night. Although the surface of the cave was frozen soil, it was undoubtedly much safer than the snow-capped mountains where avalanches would occur at every turn. Ming Na ate the warm dry food and felt that her strength had returned.

Outside the cave, she could see the dark blue sky, clean air, no clouds, no black veil, she could see the stars in the sky, it was a sight she had never seen before, but her eyes quickly understood I was attracted by the wonderful scenery in the canyon.

The glistening white light from the snow-capped mountains is projected into the valley. One side of the valley is covered with ice, reflecting a soft, colorful light, while the other side is purely black frozen soil. The mythical blade of the gods seems to be This land split into two completely different worlds.

"It's really magical, isn't it?" Xiao Tianjian appeared behind her at some point, "Snowy mountains separate the worlds of humans and monsters, but the canyon isolates humans and elves. The hero in the myth is not so much a person who stopped The invasion of Warcraft can rather be said to have separated three different kinds of life. The reason why Warcraft invaded the Elf Forest is probably inseparable from the earthquake decades ago. Originally, these three kinds of life lived on their own territory. , do not interfere with each other, and avoid many disputes.”

Ming Na nodded as if she understood, and then Xiao Tianjian continued: "This approach also makes sense. As the saying goes, 'Those who are not from my race must have different minds.' When different races live together, various kinds of things will always happen. Contradiction. I didn’t understand this truth before, so I married Fonaya on impulse. As a result, after living together for a long time, I found that we were not compatible in many places. Although Fonaya is very gentle, some of her thoughts... I really can’t understand it. A marriage that only relies on one party to accommodate the other party cannot last long. I was so stupid to think that I could solve this conflict.”

"Grandpa..." Mingna couldn't understand at first.

"When did I become so blindly confident?" Xiao Tianjian ignored it and continued to talk to himself, "When I was in college, although I was young and flamboyant, I was still an ordinary person. In addition to learning from my master, Apart from a little effort, there is nothing outstanding about me. My heart beats faster when I see a beautiful woman, and I blush when I go on a date with a girl. But after coming here, I seem to be a different person. Why is this happening? Is it just because In a different world, has your personality changed?"

"Grandpa..." Mingna tilted her head in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

Xiao Tianjian suddenly woke up from talking to himself and smiled: "It's nothing, I just want someone to talk to. You don't need to understand. Go to bed early, I have to be on the road tomorrow morning."

So Ming Na fell asleep in confusion.

Early the next morning, they continued walking south. The mountains gradually became lower and the weather became warmer. When they reached a fork in the road, pedestrians even appeared.

The people here looked and dressed differently from those Ming Na had seen before. Their faces are purple, red or black, and their skin is rough. The men cover their heads, wear robes with standing collars and narrow sleeves, and have cloth belts wrapped around their waists several times. They also wear thick short cloaks on their shoulders. ; Women also wear cloaks, but they wear long dresses, revealing thick trousers underneath, and have braids on their hair... If they are married women, they put their braids on their heads and add a thick Thick headscarf.

Judging from people's clothing, life here is not rich, and many people have patches on their clothes.

Minna looked at the people around her curiously, and at the same time noticed that people were also looking at them quietly. Suddenly, her stomach growled, and she realized that it was already afternoon. She quickly tugged on Xiao Tianjian: "Grandpa, I'm hungry, let's find a place to eat? I want to drink hot soup." At this time, it was far away. It had been six or seven days since she last had hot food.

Xiao Tianjian was thinking about something when he heard her words and woke up: "Okay, the road on the left is not far away..." After a pause, he suddenly changed his words, "Let's go to the right. I remember there is a village there. When I left the Elf Forest, I lived there for a month."

No matter which way Ming Na went, she just wanted to eat hot food as soon as possible, so she followed the good and the good.

Just as he was about to go to the right, an old man walked from the road on the left. He hugged his body tightly and turned onto the same road as them. He accidentally looked up and saw Xiao Tianjian, and suddenly his eyes widened: "You... Are you Mr. Xiao? Oh, what a coincidence, I am Luo Er, do you remember? Luo Er from Lila's neighbor!"

Xiao Tianjian also opened his eyes wide: "Luo Er?!" There is indeed such a person in his memory, but he was only a young man in his twenties back then, how could he become so old

He was a little worried about his old acquaintance, and hurriedly chased after him to ask. Minna stayed where she was, but happened to hear the whispered words of several people passing by: "...I heard that they missed. Even the five demons are no match for the elves."

"Also, if they weren't stupid, how could they have alerted the enemy? As a result, we couldn't enter the forest and had to take the mountain road to the north. That was a narrow escape!"

"Stop arguing, as long as you can get the elf's treasure, what does it matter if you suffer a little?"

Minna's eyes suddenly opened wide.