Chapter 3097: Dreams in the Snow

"Yes, yes, I remember. Maybe after the next time key is opened, the task reward given by the Tree Father will be related to the sublimation language... or I can go to the Night Temple tonight to seek enlightenment."

Xia De was actually not in a hurry about this, so Iluna asked the same question as Dannister while holding the teacup:

"Is it still a summoning-type sublimation language this time?"

"Not sure, we'll talk about it later. The most important thing in the past two months is to prepare Year-End Festival gifts for everyone. Do you have anything you want?"

Luweiya kicked Xia De lightly with her foot and said with some reproach:

"How can you ask directly? Girls prefer the feeling of surprise."

Besides everyone's gains, Luweiya thought the biggest surprise this time should be that Xia De successfully reached an alliance with the elves through Emilia. Actually, after the Moon Bay event, she had always felt regretful that she couldn't officially contact the dragons on Dragon Island. Although the blood-sucking species were equally ancient, they weren't united at all.

But this time, Xia De had genuinely obtained the support of an entire ancient race. Luweiya believed this would be helpful for many things later.

"The Whispering Poem has reached the eighth chapter now, and it looks like only the last third is left. Xia De, Iluna, please raise your cups together to celebrate that we have walked to the present. There may be more challenges next, but I believe we will walk together holding hands."

Luweiya signaled everyone to raise their teacups. When the three teacups touched, the long-haired girl felt that this ending might really be very different from before.

Today is Monday, and Luweiya still has to go to work, so she left after drinking this cup of tea. Although Iluna also had to go to the Black Stone Security Company, she wasn't in a hurry, so Xia De took her to visit the new door in his house. Only, although Iluna also had time-related spirit runes, she had no interest in using the time key for exploration:

"My adventures in the current time and space are already enough. Let the things in the past time and space be left to you."

Not many things happened during the day on this Monday. Lunch was prepared by the maids sent by Lei Qianya, and Duo Luo Qian left for the "Steam Bird Newspaper" from home at three in the afternoon.

Emilia, who was reading and writing her thesis with a frown, didn't say goodbye to Xia De until before dinner. Xia De wanted to let her stay for dinner, but the little elf, who looked haggard, declined regretfully:

"I have an elective class tonight. I have to go to class immediately after eating at the school cafeteria, and I have to prepare for alchemy experiments after returning to the dormitory. I only discovered yesterday that the dwarf alloy I put in the rune calcination furnace three months ago has finished annealing. See you on the weekend, Xia De. After I meet with the representative sent by the Orthodox Church to the academy, I will come to find you... Your tea is very good."

So Xia De kindly reminded:

"Studying hard is of course very right, but you don't have to worry so much about the exam week. When the time comes, you admit to Miss Dannister that you don't have enough time and show that you have worked very hard, and she will help you find a way."

It was just a pity that Emilia didn't understand Xia De's hint.

Tonight, Lei Qianya and Angelina accompanied Queen Diana to the banquet, Duo Luo Qian went home to eat with her family, and Luweiya had said early on that she would eat at the society and return very late. So, after sending Emilia away, Xia De found that he and the cat were the only ones left at home again:

"Want to watch an opera, Mia?"

"Meow?"

Xia De took it as a yes, so he took the cat to the girls of the "Golden Dawn Opera Troupe." Tonight the troupe had a performance, so the dinner time was very early. When Xia De saw Siris, they were preparing dinner, so Xia De's seat was added to the table.

Coincidentally, Xia De planned to go to Randell Valley tonight, so he asked Siris if there was anything he could help with during dinner. So Siris asked Xia De to help bring two letters to the girls of the 【Church of the Forgotten】, asking them to tidy up the manor where the opera troupe lived in advance.

"Yesterday I received Vanessa's letter, Xia De. You promised her that you wouldn't let her stay here to spend the Year-End Festival with you, right?"

The young blonde girl sat beside Xia De and asked. A total of six people sat around the round table, which happened not to be crowded.

"Vanessa said she couldn't leave you all behind."

"You didn't try to persuade her to stay? She couldn't leave us behind, but you could leave her behind?"

Siris asked unhappily, so Xia De blinked at her:

"I also really wanted to invite you to stay and spend the Year-End Festival together, but you wouldn't leave the opera troupe behind either. Since I couldn't force you to stay, Siris, why do you think I could force Vanessa to stay?"

So the blonde girl had nothing to say, but after dinner, when Xia De was about to leave, she pulled Xia De to a remote corner:

"Do you think our relationship is developing too slowly?"

"Why would you think that?"

"I also really want to stay and spend the Year-End Festival with you..."

The girl gave a light kiss:

"Xia De, you helped me find my father's tracks. After holding hands in Randell Valley, my feelings for you will never be weaker than Vanessa's."

Mia, who had finished eating, always seemed very "generous," specifically manifested in the fact that Xia De did most things and it wouldn't object. So Xia De's "walking the cat" was often chosen after dinner, but on this night, he still couldn't call the cat away from the warm fireplace at home—the winter night obviously wasn't suitable for a fragile and pitiful cat to go out.

Randell Valley in the south of the Old Continent had snow not long ago, and tonight it was still snowing lightly. When Xia De finished delivering the letters in the city and climbed the steep stairs in the cave outside the city, and walked out of the cave entrance on the side wall of the cliff, what he saw was the silver-dyed forest sea under the night.

Although both were forests, the Vista Woodland and Randell Valley were quite different. The woodland near the capital had flat terrain, and looking at the forest from a high place, it was boundless; while the terrain of Randell Valley was slightly more complex, and because it was located in the southwest corner of the Old Continent and had a monsoon climate, the forest scenery was particularly distinct throughout the four seasons.

The snowflakes tonight were fine but not urgent, and the three broken arches standing in the temple were no different from when Xia De left last time, only covered in white snow. After passing through the arches and arriving at the open space at the end of the "Night Temple," Xia De cleared the snow on the ground, revealing the ritual base array of the sun, moon, and stars.

Xia De took out the 【Moon Tears】, and seeing that the moon wasn't completely covered by dark clouds, he calmed his mood and used his right hand to pinch the ear stud against the silver moon in the night sky. The moonlight became a bit crystal clear after passing through the "Moon Tears," but it was still as cold and gentle as ever:

"No change, so what should I do next?"

"She" smiled gently:

【Just suggesting you come here; what to do is up to you. Remember? I don't know what you don't know either.】

The moonlight passed through the "Moon Tears" in his hand and sprinkled on his face blown by snowflakes. That pure silver was also a color he liked very much.

【Compared to purple eyes?】

"I like Luweiya's eyes better."

"She" still smiled gently, as if facing an angry little boy.

Seeing that there was no reaction after aiming 【Moon Tears】 at the moon, Xia De tried to use "Light Spell" to make a silver ball of light float in his palm, then placed the crystal-clear ear stud inside the ball of light to hold it up, but it still didn't work.

"Ha~"

At this time, he opened his mouth and yawned, inexplicably feeling sleepiness rising. Xia De didn't dispel the sleepiness, so he simply sat down with his legs crossed in the center of the ritual base array of the sun, moon, and stars.

"Ha~"

He yawned again, put his hands together in front of him, and 【Moon Tears】 radiated a faint light between his palms. He kept this posture and closed his eyes, so sleepiness rose, and he fell into a deep sleep in the snow.

After his consciousness fell into the chaos of the dream, even his thoughts began to become sluggish. Strange and blurred scenery flashed past him one after another, but they only remained in his consciousness for an instant and then disappeared without a trace.

Gentle moonlight embraced him, so his figure rose from that chaotic and disordered light to the cold starry sky. The silver figure embraced the sleeping Outsider; the moon was Them, and Them were the moon.

Someone seemed to be whispering in his ear, someone seemed to be chanting. In a trance, Xia De felt that this feeling seemed to have appeared before. That was a long time ago, even longer than when he opened his eyes for the first time at No. 6 Saint Deran Square.

He wanted to see clearly who was embracing him in the starry sky at this moment, but his eyes couldn't open, and all his perceptions were limited to the inside of his body.

So he fell into a deep sleep again in that gentle but slightly cold embrace. The whispering and chanting in his ears gradually disappeared, and in the end, only coldness and loneliness remained.

A long time later, when the cold night wind from the cliff side mixed with snowflakes awakened the sleeping Xia De, he seemed to still be able to feel the gentleness of the cold embrace just now. He was still a bit confused when he looked around, and it took several seconds before he remembered what he was doing:

"It's been a long time since I slept so soundly."

But in fact, he only slept for less than two hours. It is now 8:30 on Monday night.

Sleeping in a sitting position made his body a bit sore, but with his current physical fitness, these small problems didn't matter after moving around. It was just that when he looked at his hands held together, 【Moon Tears】 had disappeared.

Xia De didn't feel surprised. After taking a deep breath, he stood up holding the ground. He shook his body to let the snowflakes on his hair and shoulders fall to the ground. While stretching, hot steam mist appeared silently behind him, and then in the sound of bells and whistles, the nine-ring life ring flashing with four-color spirit light appeared.

Turning his head to look behind him, the material of the brass wheel ring in the snow hadn't changed, but it faintly radiated a translucent silver jade texture in the moonlight. This change in color was very difficult to detect. If he wasn't the owner of the life ring, it would be very difficult to find the difference between this life ring and other life rings just by looking at it.