Chapter 1658

The bard's lute had been played by the god when Xia De arrived last time. Although Xia De wasn't very sure whether this God of Journeys who appeared before them had truly descended, was a clone, or had possessed someone, it ultimately gave the lute its uniqueness.

However, no one wanted to snatch the lute. Xia De didn't care, the witch was thinking about more important things, and the maid Clara was still haggard for some reason.

"Yes, true death."

Just as Xia De was handing the paper and pen he had promised to the bard, a voice came from the tent, and the travel-worn traveler, lifting the curtain, appeared before everyone again.

She smiled at the crowd, and also at Xia De, whose body was gradually covered in golden embers. Except for the cat, the four people respectfully greeted the god, and the god then sat in the position with her back to the campfire:

"In the deepest part of the Lost Forest, there is a path connecting to true death. All souls and living people lost here have that as their final destination. This also includes you."

The god looked at the other three:

"Even if you complete the story of the journey, when your lives end, you will surely walk this path."

This also meant that besides the relic "Gate of Death" under Mibao—which was the execution gate of the Witch Council in the Fifth Era—and the 【Soul Cemetery】 left behind by the Ancient God, there actually existed a third way for living people to enter true death.

"Death is the ending of a story. A good story must have an ending at the right time."

Xia De said, while stroking Little Mia:

"People are the same."

The god smiled and didn't answer, but asked:

"Traveler under the moon, welcome your arrival again. This night, the seven-day journey story we told by the campfire has reached the fifth day. On the night of the fourth day, you had a good rest near the snow-capped mountains, so, shall our story continue?"

Xia De looked at his three companions this time in turn. The bard had put down the lute and was waiting calmly with paper and pen; compared to the first time they met, he had really changed a lot. The witch was full of expectation and nervousness; according to the saying about the demon in the bottle encountered last time, everyone would encounter what they wanted to find. The black-dressed maid was still listless, but when she looked up, there seemed to be light in her eyes.

"My lady, what is wrong with your maid? Although it is impolite to say so, I must know everything and cannot continue the journey with problems. After I left, did you have a conflict?"

Xia De asked, but the witch shook her head:

"It's not a conflict, it's just... Clara and I came to look for her sister, who is my apprentice, Laks. The reason Laks went missing has to do with Clara. This can be considered my own scandal, failing to balance the relationships in the family. Let's not talk about it, I will find Laks. Clara is just a bit guilty, although I don't blame her at all."

The bard shook his head imperceptibly at Xia De, signaling him not to continue asking, so Xia De said:

"God, please continue the story by the campfire and lead us to finish the rest of the journey."

The stack of cards appeared again in the middle of everyone, and at the same time, the identity cards representing each person fell in front of them. Xia De picked up his "Traveler under the Moon," brought it to Mia to let her sniff it. The cat had sniffed this thing last time and knew it couldn't be eaten, so she pushed it away with her little paw in disgust.

Xia De revealed a smile. If he guessed correctly, the key to opening the relic that had circulated in the 【Winter Choir】 for thousands of years should be the card here. It's just that he didn't know if it was the card representing his identity or the unicorn card representing the witch's identity.

"As the sun rose from behind the vast snow-capped mountains, the travelers opened their eyes on the morning of the fifth day. The desert behind them had become a story of the past, and next, you will face new challenges."

The first card on the deck was automatically flipped over, revealing a scene of a blizzard:

"Entering the nameless snow-capped mountain scene, automatically encountering the event—Blizzard. The harsh natural environment soon made the travelers from the desert area suffer. The violent wind and snow brought not only obstacles to vision but also the extreme cold approaching death. Cold, shivering, unknowingly, you have frozen in the snow-capped mountains. Except for the unicorn that is naturally cold-resistant, everyone must find a way to resist the cold as soon as possible."

The sudden snowfall appeared over the forest ground in reality, but this wasn't Xia De activating a mystery; it was truly snowing. The extreme cold wind blew in the fog, the campfire swayed abruptly, making everyone's shadows begin to tremble, even the witch Andreana, who was evaluated as "cold-resistant," couldn't help but shiver:

"Man, it's up to you!"

She hurriedly said to Xia De, while reaching out to hug her maid, trying to give her warmth. And the well-prepared bard Enrikes, shivering while holding his lute, also looked at Xia De for help. Xia De reached out to take out the bracelet Yin Yi Yi Lu Na gave him, but heard the cat in his arms suddenly meow:

"Meow~"

It was a slightly "fierce" meow, at least that's what Xia De thought. The cat stood up from Xia De's lap, and while her whole body emitted a warm yellow light just like when encountering darkness in the City of Eternal Night, she actually "roared" at the god sitting opposite Xia De.

"Oh, Mia!"

Xia De was truly frightened this time; he never expected this cat to dare to do such a thing. So he hurriedly stuffed her into his clothes before the god got angry. At the same time, he didn't forget to apologize to the God of Journeys to prevent Little Mia from being injured by various accidents during her daily patrol of her territory (No. 6 St. Deran Square) after returning home.

Fortunately, he immediately received the god's tolerant understanding, and the god forgave them.

Although Xia De hadn't activated Yin Yi Yi Lu Na's gift yet, he already felt warmth at this moment. Under his black coat, the cat-shaped glowing mark was quite eye-catching, and the warm light helped Xia De gain warmth like the sun.

This also let Xia De know that besides darkness triggering Little Mia's "glowing" characteristic, extreme cold would also trigger it.

But others didn't have a cat as useful as Little Mia, so Xia De still lit the golden sun bracelet. A few sparks from his fingertips made the ring in his palm jump with a pleasing flame.

Xia De didn't immediately put it among the crowd; he still remembered the rules of the "story":

"Facing the intrusion of extreme cold, the traveler under the moon took out the gift given by his best friend and lover before the journey began. The destined hero condensed the power of the sun and the earth here, which would make the traveler away from home always remember when to return home."

Because Xia De used some adjectives that sounded very powerful, the witch, who was the only one in good condition, immediately looked over.

The traveler sitting with her back to the campfire nodded gently, the smile on her face unchanged:

"The firelight warmed you, and the blessing from the sun and the earth finally gave the travelers the ability to act normally in the snow-capped mountains. From now on, you will not be troubled by extreme cold and blindness in the snow-capped mountain environment, and the safety at night has further increased. But at the same time, light will attract malice from the darkness, and the probability of encountering unknown strong enemies has increased."

These didn't matter, at least there was a possibility of fighting back. So Xia De placed the golden ring he was holding on the side of the deck in the center of the crowd.

The flame was very stable; compared to the campfire behind the god, this flame was pitifully small, but it was enough to protect the people on the journey.

"After eating lunch sitting around the campfire, the travelers continued their journey on the afternoon of the fifth day. The vast snow-capped mountains seemed to have no end. Ahead, what will be waiting for you?"

"Miss Andreana, you do it."

Xia De ordered, so the witch, who was still hugging her maid, reached out and flipped over the next card. The card face was quite simple; it was three huge ice crystals, and something existed vaguely inside the ice crystals.

"In the afternoon, the unicorn guiding the travelers ahead sensed mysterious power. She guided you to dig through the snow layer and discovered three ice crystals sealing unknown objects. You can choose to ignore them and continue on your way, but you can also choose to break the ice crystals to meet challenges or gain harvests. But no matter what, this is your own choice."

As the god's voice fell, three huge ice crystals really appeared on the left side of the campfire. The ice crystals were twice Xia De's height and five times his waist width, standing in the snow, which was quite harmonious with the background.

The appearance of the ice crystals wasn't abrupt at all, as if they had been there originally, and the four people had just discovered them.

"Should we take the risk?"

The bard asked Xia De, and Xia De looked at the witch:

"The event you encountered, you decide for yourself."

Although Miss Andreana couldn't see clearly what was inside the three ice crystals, she could at least see the general outline.

Among the three crystals, one contained something like a box, and the remaining two contained human bodies. And judging from the frozen, fluttering hair, they were all tall women.

"Definitely not Chloe."

Xia De thought in his heart that the Ice Witch who had become a demigod had a petite figure, completely different from the ladies here.

He saw the black-dressed maid tugging at her master's sleeve and understood the two ladies' thoughts:

"Could the missing lady you are looking for be here? If you want to open the ice crystals, I have no objection."

The bard on the side had even less objection, so the witch nodded, stood up, and said to Xia De:

"If it really is the person I'm looking for, no matter what happens after breaking the ice crystals, please don't attack her."