This nightmarish way of eating sounds too disgusting.
Many students from Vera Girls' School who were walking nearby also heard it and showed expressions of fear.
Goddess, how long do we need to observe here?
The people here must have other food besides pickled seal, right?
The professor wouldn't be so cruel as to let us stay here for more than a month, would he?
The boring journey did not dampen their curiosity and will to learn, but after just listening to Yager's few words, many children have already backed down.
Eating raw food, drinking blood... It sounds no different from the native tribes. Hitzfeld immediately thought of Ashley after hearing this. She felt that Ashley would definitely live well here.
But not necessarily.
After a pause, she fell into deep thought.
Ashley has been used to the heat since she was a child, and she seems to have always been afraid of the cold rather than the heat, which is the exact opposite of Esther Murphy.
Glancing back, Hitzfeld saw Esther and a group of female students supporting each other, trudging through the snow.
Not far behind Esther was Robbo.
He walked much more steadily than the others... Although he also took one deep step and one shallow step, the rhythm of his arms swinging was almost the same every time he took a step, and it was obvious that he was leaving some energy in reserve.
Yeah……
In this position, if anything happens to Esther, he can go over and help immediately.
Considering that he would rather let the egg case go than let the fight happen in front of Esther, it is obvious that he cares about his daughter, but I don’t know why he doesn’t express it well.
This is someone else's business.
Hitzfeld took a quick look and paid no more attention.
In this way, the large army arrived at the shore in a mighty manner and began to find a way to cross the water with the help of the locals.
Hitzfeld took a look and saw that this group of new visitors consisted of three groups, namely the two Chamber of Commerce teams led by Yager, the student team led by Rob, and the exploration team headed by Hitzfeld himself.
Those scattered small businessmen were probably also counted into the two Chamber of Commerce teams. The three groups of people added up to about 180 to 200 people, but she didn't know the exact number.
Although this team is large, Binghu Town has at least 20,000 residents, so it should not be a problem to accommodate them.
She estimated that she would have to gather some people for a small meeting after crossing the river to discuss where to stay.
It is worth mentioning this glacier.
It is not actually a river, but a microcosm of the entire Arctic Ice Sea. It is just because this is the intersection of the Arctic Ice Field - a large area of high-altitude glaciers and snow-capped mountains and the end of the Ikalolin continent. After years of collision and friction, they formed a narrow gap, which became a glacier. It is the last barrier blocking the end of Ikalolin's exploration.
And the Arctic Sea...
The Arctic Ocean is a legendary ocean of death located at the end of the top of the world map. The water here is pure and deep dark blue. In history, when navigators and expedition teams first came to the Arctic Ocean, they actually called it the "Sea of Silence" at first.
Because they feel that this place is too quiet and cold. It is difficult for any life to survive in the extreme cold. It is a forbidden zone for life, a place where life and God's grace have disappeared.
Of course, this is just a misjudgment caused by backward cognition and feudal superstition. Hitzfeld, who has the experience of modern people, knows very well that there is life activity in Antarctica at minus 50 degrees Celsius, let alone minus 30 degrees Celsius on Earth.
Nature is very wonderful. No matter how harsh the environment is, there will always be a group of people that are suitable for survival in it.
Whether in icy water or lava flows, or even under terrifying water pressure, in the endless dark abyss of the seabed, life always stubbornly leaves traces in these desperate situations.
This is a very romantic thing in itself, and it is also worth singing praises...
As he thought about it, Hitzfeld showed a faint smile.
She looked at the large pieces of ice floating on the water and suddenly heard a "splash". An animal about 50 centimeters long, with a pattern that looked a bit like a harp seal, jumped out of the water and lay on the ice with its belly exposed.
"roll!"
A block of ice hit the surface and landed near the water nearby, scaring the little seal so much that it fled back into the water, while the culprit laughed loudly beside it.
Frowning slightly, Hitzfeld looked to the left and caught a glimpse of a burly man wearing a plush leather jacket, with broad arms, nearly two meters tall, and long "Aquaman"-style hair.
The means used by the locals to carry passengers across the river were boats. There were several large, sturdy wooden boats with blackened wood surfaces, and each boat was more than twenty meters long... Hitzfeld was standing on one of the boats at the moment, and she naturally thought that this person was the sailor on the boat.
"That's Sintara." Heidi suddenly spoke up beside her, "A rather pitiful child."
Hitzfeld thought to himself, you are only eight years old at best, how can you have the nerve to call others children.
But it was too rude to say that, so she just thought about it in her mind and asked gently on the surface: "Why do you say he is pitiful?"
"There are ancient witches in Binghu Town." Heidi said in a low voice, "That is... how should I put it? You can think of them as ancient prophet, wizard, priest, shaman, or witch."
"An ancient witch once prophesied to his parents that he would turn against them in the future. His parents began to fear him, and on the first night after he was born, they took him to the snowy mountains and abandoned him."
"Can it survive?" Xia Yibing was stunned. Even an adult might not survive in this situation, so how could a baby... survive?
"He was adopted by a white bear who had a grudge against the locals."
Heidi smiled. "Don't ask me what White Bear was thinking. How would I know... Anyway, it was like this. He grew up drinking bear milk, raw blood, and eating raw meat. He developed brutal skills on the ice field and killed his parents with his own hands in an encounter with a local hunting team."
Xia Yibing showed a disgusted expression: "That ancient witch should be burned to death!"
In her opinion, this was clearly a man-made tragedy. It was because the ancient witch suggested that Xintala's parents abandon him that the subsequent manslaughter occurred.
Even if it wasn't an accidental killing, given this man's savage nature, if he knew the truth, there's a good chance he would choose to take revenge on his parents.
So this is entirely the problem of the ancient witch. The prophecy was deliberate and biased.
"Unfortunately, the ancient witch will probably be more respected because of this incident." Heidi shook her head. "These are what I heard and experienced with Year Ring when I settled here seven years ago. I only recognized him after meeting him once. Don't ask me why he is staying on the ship now. I have no idea about this."
The tragedy of the "bear man" Xintala was just a part of the conversation. As they continued to chat, the wooden boat docked and they were able to truly set foot in this legendary town.
What comes into view is the dock floor made of black pine, which extends all the way inside and connects with the floor tiles also laid with wooden boards.
Some places nearby were covered with snow, and some low, dilapidated and simple wooden houses were crookedly crowded together, as if they had grown out of the cracks in the snow, surrounding the pier.
It looks no different except that the houses are a bit run-down, most of them are made of wood, and there is a lot of snow.
Hitzfeld compared the houses and streets of Ice Lake Town with the villages and towns he had seen elsewhere, and found that the conditions here were quite good.
It's better than Elsa in some places.
In the most desolate and poorest Aisha Village, people there are likely to be eaten by monsters at any time. In contrast, people in Binghu Town can generally live a peaceful life. Even though the climate is much worse than other places, it can be considered a good life.
When they arrived in the town, the three groups separated.
Yager was responsible for negotiating the housing issue with the mayor, and they did select a few people to attend the meeting. The final result of the discussion seemed to be... the town would use lottery to vacate some houses in concentrated areas to accommodate them, and as compensation, the goods sold to the families in these houses would be discounted by 20% based on the price given to other people.
“They are quite good at business!”
Xia Yibing shook her head.
Who said everyone here is stupid?
Legends can't be believed at all!
"We have two options here."
Heidi squeezed out of the crowd to meet them, "Because those houses were provided at a price, if we want to get similar treatment, we have to pay."
Xia Yibing nodded: "That's no problem."
They have plenty of money anyway.
"Don't be impatient, Sheriff. I'm afraid the money I'm talking about is not what you think."
"What do you mean, they don't accept Sara currency?"
"Of course. But the locals have a peculiar custom. They regard the 'habitat' as an extremely sacred place and do not accept money in the transaction or leasing of the 'habitat'."
Doesn’t that still mean it’s free?
So that's why they asked those merchants to lower the price in exchange?
Xia Yibing was so angry that she grinned and asked, "What do they want?"
"We have no goods to sell!"
Because she thought of some rather dirty things, she was actually trying hard not to get angry.
"Prey," said Heidi.
"what?"
"Prey? Don't you understand? It can be a seal, a snow wolf or a polar bear. If you can get the prey, they will be willing to give up the house."
"Can I buy it on credit?"
Xia Yibing was still stunned, and Hitzfeld followed up and asked.
After all, it's getting late now. It doesn't seem realistic to go hunting first and then rent a house.
"Sure." Heidi nodded. "You can choose a house first, then talk to the owner. As long as the other party accepts, you can move in first. Just replenish the prey the owner needs before leaving."
“Is there a requirement for the number of prey?”
"It depends on what the other party wants."
"...I hate this place!" Xia Yibing gritted her teeth and looked down at Lily.
“Does this guy count?”
"Of course you can." Heidi smiled.
"The Sheles dog is a rare resource here. If you choose to pay with it, they will have to give you a lot of things."
But Lily refused to do so. She definitely understood what these people were discussing. The whole dog curled up behind Hitzfeld's legs again, with her ears drooping and her tail tucked between her legs, whimpering and rubbing against her trouser legs.
"We won't sell you."
Hitzfeld bent down and stroked its fur hard.
"Xia was just trying to scare you."
"She's playing with you."
After comforting Lily, she looked up at Heidi, "What about Robbo and the others?"
She was a little curious about how Robo and the others would be settled. After all, with this kind of "currency", how could they expect a group of female students, especially middle school girls, to go hunting on the ice field?
No matter how crazy a professor of literature and history is, he shouldn't do this kind of crap work.
"Robo knows a family here. Their house is quite big, so it shouldn't be a problem to accommodate those students."
Heidi nodded.
“So it’s up to us.”
"Make a quick decision."
That being said, there is actually only one way to go.
They walked and looked, and finally chose a household on the outskirts of the city near the snow-capped mountains. After some intense bargaining, they finally settled on the price of "four snow foxes."
The family was quite unhappy about this because they loved Lily, the Sheldon dog, very much.
According to them, even in Ice Lake Town it was rare to see such a tall, majestic and extremely psychic Arctic dog. If they were willing to give Lily to them, they would not only rent her for free, but also let them choose any three of their heirlooms.
But this is not possible.
Hitzfeld refused without hesitation.
Although this caused the original price to increase from "3 snow foxes" to "4 snow foxes", she did not regret it.
After all, Lily is also a member of Hitzfell Manor.
This big dog also appeared in the warm dreams she had.
Chapter 21: First Night (Two in One)
The landlord who was negotiating with Hitzfeld and his team was called Kurum. He was a tall and strong man with a height of over 180 cm, a broad waist and strong arms.
His full name is Kurum-Bart-Binghu, "Kum" is his first name, "Bart" is his family name, and "Binghu" is the ancestral surname shared by all the people in Binghu Town.
Yes - basically everyone here has this name structure, and their last suffix is "Binghu". It is said that this is to commemorate their past origins, and all the people in Binghu Town firmly believe that they are descendants of the ancient Binghu warriors.
This is why, even though this place is very far away from the Cursed Ice Lake and separated by a large ice field, it is still called Ice Lake Town. The name comes from this.
The people in Ice Lake Town call each other by their names, so Kurum asked them to call each other that way.
"There are three people in our Bart family, me, my wife Marnie, and my daughter Lulum."
"As you can see, this house is in a bad location... It's located at the very outside of the town. If a group of wild beasts attacks, this kind of place will be the first to suffer."
"But at least there's a lot of space here!"
