Everyone stared at the girl's right hand and discovered that lying in her palm was a black, reflective, unknown crystal.
"what is this?"
Xia Yibing frowned as she tried to get an answer from her lover.
After all, according to Lulum, this thing was taken from Griman's desk.
That evil disciple also knows alchemy... In ancient times, he would definitely be a dark wizard. Can we just take things from a dark wizard?
"It's a bit like carbon..."
Hitzfeld took the thing and whispered.
"But the structure is much more stable than carbon... there is no residue... I don't know what it is."
[No radiation!]
Yusirion was also producing a report simultaneously.
[I can't be sure without tools to test it, but it should be harmless, and it's okay for you to hold it!]
Yeah.
Then don't let your child's wish fall through.
Nodding, Hitzfeld put the "lucky stone" into his cotton coat pocket and rubbed Lulum's hair twice.
"Thank you."
"We'll take your luck with us."
After leaving Bart's house, they headed straight for the town entrance, still riding on a sled pulled by Sheldon dogs.
The speed was much slower. After all, it was because of the increased weight, and the four Sheldon dogs could not pull it hard.
Fortunately, Bart's house was in the outer area at the northernmost part of the town, not far from the northern town entrance, so they arrived there soon.
This place has changed a lot... The piled up sled wreckage has been cleared, the number of coal lamps and torches nearby has increased dramatically, more donkeys, Arctic dogs and Ice Lake people are gathered in the front ready to go, and in addition to ice and snow, there is a faint peculiar smell of animals in the air.
"You are here!"
Xintara walked up to them and found that there was a tall woman they didn't recognize beside them.
The woman's height was what he wanted, but unfortunately she was still too thin and would most likely be a burden.
Heidi remembered Sintara, but Sintara didn't know Heidi. He simply gave the three of them some precautions, telling them not to panic no matter what happened and not to leave the team and escape on their own. Then he went to the front to prepare to lead the team.
"He is not just a brute force."
Xia Yibing looked at his back and commented.
It was really surprising. She thought Xintala was a brainless character at first. Unexpectedly, he was a man of great talent. Not only was he in charge of the hunting team that set out at 5 o'clock, but he was also in charge of the rescue team that was going to rescue people.
Obviously, his ruggedness is just a disguise, because leadership is the last thing to be joked about, and no one will leave their life to a fool.
"What a pity." Hitzfeld looked back and forth among the crowd and shook his head slightly. "None of those students came."
She didn't know many students, only Esther and the others. But they all disappeared with Robb. She wanted to ask the remaining students about their situation, but they were probably too frightened... or they were accompanying the injured.
Without any delay, the team set off directly.
Polly did not come to see him off, and no one knew why. Xia Yibing joked that he was "unwilling to kowtow to a few women," but Hitzfeld did not think he was a man who treasured his self-esteem.
She didn't take it to heart. As she was getting further and further away from the town and entering the real Arctic glacier and the Arctic ice field, she couldn't help but feel a little excited.
The team was moving at a fairly fast pace at the beginning, and it was not time to go up the mountain yet, so the road was flat. Everyone rode on the sleds and let the donkeys and dogs speed up, and they quickly searched the area between the forest and the ice field, and successfully found the two missing people who were unconscious and injured.
To take care of the wounded, the team stopped at the foot of the mountain to rest for a while. Hitzfeld and the other two followed the crowd to find Sintara, and the girl expressed her wish to see the wounded.
Xintala was a little surprised, but didn't say anything. She took them to a small tent erected in the middle and motioned for them to go and see for themselves.
The reason for not going in together was that the tent was too small and he couldn't even stand up in it by himself. But there was no other way. They didn't plan to camp here and the big tent was not suitable for deployment at this time.
Hitzfeld checked the condition of the injured, two bearded men, both with fever. The rescue team's field doctor gave them some medicine, then left angrily, cursing the official doctor for failing to deliver.
The real doctor is talking about Grimman?
Raising his eyebrows slightly, Hitzfeld suppressed the slight guilt in his heart.
Why do you think so much?
Anyway, I am here, and I can save those who Griman can save.
She came to see the injured mainly to see if it was Kurum. When she found out it was not Kurum, she told Sintara about looking for Kurum.
The only difference is that the wording was changed to "Mani entrusted me to find her husband."
After all, they are outsiders, so this excuse may be more likely to impress the locals.
Xintala was indeed affected. He thought that they knew how to repay their gratitude and were all good people. His attitude towards them became more friendly. He also promised that they could come to see him if they found any wounded in the future, and he would instruct the guards not to stop them.
After all, they are people from the Arctic and the ice lake. No matter how rough they are, they are also delicate and have a very straightforward personality.
"Sintara!"
Seeing that he was about to leave after he finished speaking, Hitzfeld chased after him, "Are we going up the mountain later?"
"We have to go up the mountain."
"It's polar night now! It's always so dark! How can we get up there?"
"Just do it the same way you did before."
"So how did you get on before?"
Speaking of this, we have to mention the terrain of the 'Great Snow Mountain'.
It is called a snow mountain, but it is actually a steep glacier cliff. As far as the eye can see, there are 90° ice and snow cliffs. How can a sled go on such a road?
"Oh, there is a tunnel in the middle, and there is a snowy mountain road around it. Just be careful not to slip and it will be fine."
"Sintara."
Hitzfeld stepped in front of him and stopped him.
"Don't be so anxious."
"The team is already preparing to set off. You don't need this little bit of time. I want to ask you something."
"Then hurry up." The bear-like man was a little impatient, "What do you want to ask?"
"A legend in town."
The girl said.
"On the way here, I heard about the legend of 'The Whimpering'. It is said that at certain times, strange sounds will come from the mountains and the ice lake, and this sound is obviously different from the usual sound of the wind. I want to know if this is just a legend or if it really happens."
"……it is true."
Xintara frowned and thought for a while before answering.
"Every month there are...sounds like whimpering and howling coming from up there. I think they must be blown down by the wind. The nights are the most dangerous at that time."
"Why? Is there a curse in that sob?"
"I'm not sure if that's the case, but I've seen some people... people who got lost in the mountains and survived and came back, when they heard that kind of sobbing, a part of them would uncontrollably want to go back."
“Only for outsiders?”
"Include us."
"You haven't reported this level of abnormality to someone for investigation?"
"You are very interesting, Miss Countess."
Sintara smiled instead.
"Let's put it this way."
He put one hand on his hips.
"As for me, I've been back in town for so long, and there have only been two such cases, including what I've seen and heard."
"Twice, countess."
"Would you Sara send anyone for something like this?"
"Oh, yes, you did come here, but the people you sent stayed for a while and found that the facts did not match the description. There was no curse at all, so they turned around and left."
"So that's what happened."
"It's just a legend, a legend that has not been confirmed."
"I advise you not to waste time on this kind of thing. It's more important for us to find someone."
Chapter 27: Crazy Life (Two in One)
Sintara didn't understand Hitzfeld's job, and for a moment Hitzfeld suspected that he didn't even know what the word "detective" meant.
The people in Binghu Town at least know about the police. She wouldn’t mistake us for the police, right?
Looking at the back of the "bear man" going away, Hitzfeld was not angry. After all, she was indeed bothering others and taking up their time to do their work. It was a pleasant surprise for her that Sintara was willing to stop and talk to her.
After returning, Hitzfeld and Xia Yibing began to exchange the information they had learned from each other.
Not counting the two people who were sent back, this rescue team had 152 people, including them, and this number was less than a few dozen people - it was almost as convenient and quick as the class spring outing. It should take another two or three minutes to assemble, and they didn't want to waste even this little time.
"Sintara admitted that there is indeed a case of 'Whimsel'," Hitzfeld said. "That means we can now confirm that 'Whimsel' really exists. It appears once a month, but it's not certain whether it carries a curse."
"I heard about the hunting team." Xia Yibing nodded. "I asked some people, and they said that they rarely go out hunting in polar night."
"Remember the pickled seals that Jager mentioned? That's actually a 'feature' that exists to help them survive the freezing cold of the polar night."
Hearing about pickled seal again, Hitzfeld's expression twisted slightly, thinking that this was indeed in line with the laws of nature.
In places with abundant food and mild climate, locals rarely eat pickled food. Whether it is a barbaric pickled food like pickled seal or a carefully prepared pickled food like pickled vegetables and pickled meat, the appearance of these things is ultimately a helpless thing.
The Ice Lake People don't like to go out during the months of polar night. They know that the temperature at night is lower than during the day, visibility is worse, and it takes more energy to capture prey. They may even not see clearly and step on empty air when climbing mountains, trees, or fishing.
There are too many dangers, so out of their instinct to avoid danger, they choose to store enough food to feed the family for several months before the polar night arrives.
Pickling is not only to prevent food from spoiling, but also to increase the flavor of food in ancient times - a barbaric era when there was not enough salt and other seasonings.
It’s just that this flavor is not acceptable to normal civilized people... We can’t think too much about this... We must respect the objective conditions of the local people.
"So why are they going out?" After taking a breath, Hitzfeld asked the woman.
"It's simple, because they couldn't catch enough food to survive the polar night before it came," said Xia Yibing.
She took a deep breath and paused briefly before continuing, "This is not normal... This situation has never occurred in Ice Lake Town's history. There are no fish to be caught in the sea, and no animals to be caught in the dark forest under the glacier. This forces them to go out in the polar night and take the risk of climbing the glacier snow mountain - because only at the top are there enough animals for them to hunt."
"That's not all!" She spoke faster and faster. "I also got a piece of information that may be crucial. Since the polar night is approaching, all the local animals have become more aggressive than before."
"What's the reason?" Even Heidi frowned.
Pickling seals is in line with the laws of nature, but I've never heard of any natural laws that would lead to animal riots?
Is there anyone in this world who really believes the made-up plots in knight novels or fantasy stories?
What about beast tides...mass suicide of animals...and herbivores rioting and eating people...don't take these stories seriously!
Oh! There are indeed mass suicides, but that is not the intention of the animals. Instead, as human society continues to develop, chemical plants built in various places discharge wastewater unscientifically, causing the water sources that local animals rely on to be heavily polluted. After drinking polluted water, many animals gradually accumulate toxins in their bodies and begin to develop a series of extremely painful diseases - this is the reason why they collectively jump off cliffs and jump into the sea to commit suicide. They can't bear the pain! In the end, the blame should be put on humans!
But there are no chemical plants or fertilizer plants in the Arctic!
The water here is so pure, and the deep blue is hard to find anywhere else. The only factor that could cause the animals to riot is the melting of glaciers and the collapse of the ice surface... But the Arctic is not showing any signs of warming!
It's still so cold here and nothing seems to have changed, so why are the animals collectively becoming abnormal?
Xia Yibing turned her head and looked at her with a look that was similar to the look Hitzfeld gave her when he looked at Doraemon: "Can you tree people understand what animals say?"
Heidi's eyebrows twitched, "No."
"Can't?"
"…Are you deliberately making fun of me, Sheriff?"
"Oh, I just thought that you were specially cultivated by Tree Ring for almost two years, and I thought you would be different from the tree people I met before..."
"No matter how different I am, I am still a tree person. I am not an animal! Even if I were an animal, it would be impossible for me to communicate across species!"
"Well... then the way to ask the animals directly is cut off."
There was no such road from the beginning...
Heidi squinted her eyes and curled her lips, almost writing down her dissatisfaction and helplessness.
