Her trembling hands fumbled in her pockets for the coat’s toy, but even wrapped in three layers of thick cotton, the bone-chilling cold was unbearable.
Xia De then understood that this cold was a characteristic of this special place called “Dead Silence Valley.” Otherwise, with his current physical condition, he wouldn't be unable to endure such coldness.
“If you hadn’t drunk the blood brew of the ‘Ice Crystal Butterfly’ at the God’s Wine Party to increase your cold resistance, the situation would probably be even worse now.”
“She” also reminded him in his ear.
Now was not a good time to stand in the snow discussing issues. Although the snow layer in the valley ahead was almost completely flat, showing no signs of human activity, the faint glow of a bonfire could be seen in the cave ruins of the curved cliff walls where the valley narrowed on both sides directly ahead.
At the same time, that also seemed to be the entrance to the entire Library ruins.
Generally speaking, although the Father of Infinite Trees liked to drop Xia De some distance from the actual event location, it was never too far. Since he saw the firelight, Xia De understood that his destination was there.
“It’s really cold…”
Muttering to himself, he trudged forward through the snow. After only two steps, he felt himself trip over something hard under the snow.
Hesitating for a second, he plunged his hand into the snow and pulled out the heavy, cold object. What he saw was a completely stiff, frozen corpse. It was a male body, dressed in a robe, with dark skin and eyes staring fixedly upwards.
“Oh!”
Xia De quickly threw the corpse away, no longer curious about what lay beneath the snow.
The main entrance of the Library ruins had long disappeared. The Library, carved into the cliff face, now only consisted of dark, cavernous openings, like an abandoned beehive, standing silently in the snow.
Inside the profound structure, it was dead silent, while a crackling bonfire burned on the flat stone ground inside the main entrance. Surrounding it were crooked and discarded grey stone bookshelves, and relics left by past adventurers. Even the massive rectangular entrance doorframe appeared somewhat askew; only through faded murals on the walls and traces of aether lamps remaining on the ceiling could one discern its former glory.
Beside the warm bonfire were three young-looking Witches.
The Golden-haired Witch, dressed in a brown robe, hugged her legs, staring blankly at the fire in front of her. Her ears were somewhat pointed, and because of her leg-hugging posture, the edges of her robe, which seemed to have been singed, were pulled up, revealing her pair of black lace-up ladies' high cloth boots. She sat facing the heavy snow outside the door.
A Red-haired girl with a thick, heavy red tail behind her and fiery red hair, wore an unseasonal white shirt and a thin plaid skirt, kneeling to the right of the Golden-haired Witch. Only the fur cape on her shoulders could be considered warm clothing. Her body leaned forward towards the bonfire, seemingly tending the fire, but also as if observing something through the flames.
The third Witch, with long golden hair draped behind her that looked like it hadn't been washed in a long time, sat to the left of the Golden-haired Witch. She looked the most disheveled, also wearing a brown robe and a pair of round-framed glasses. She sat on a pile of old books, with another pile of old books as tall as her seated body beside her, shielding her from the wind and snow blowing in from the entrance.
Because the wind and snow constantly swept in from outside the huge old Library door, the pile of old books showed traces of un-melted snow and dampness.
None of the three Witches spoke, only the howling wind outside echoed continuously. They all looked to be in poor condition, their somewhat numb expressions indicating that they had probably been here for a long time.
Suddenly, the Red-haired girl tending the fire twitched an ear, then abruptly turned her head to look outside the door:
“Teacher, I hear footsteps!”
The pointed-eared Golden-haired Witch facing the doorway, and the Golden-haired Witch sitting among the piles of books, also looked up at the door.
In a world that was almost pure white, behind a curtain of goose-feather snow, a black figure was slowly and laboriously approaching.
“Oh?”
The Witch with the round-framed glasses squinted, using the power of her special glasses, and was the first to see the figure walking through the snow:
“Why does he look like a man?”
The figure drew closer and closer. Although he occasionally tripped over things under the snow in a somewhat comical way, he was undoubtedly walking towards them.
“Teacher, I didn’t sense a man approaching.”
The red-haired, tailed girl said to the Golden-haired Witch, who was staring blankly at the wind and snow outside the door. She then supported herself on the ground and stood up, her robe’s hem covering her black lace-up cloth boots.
At this moment, the three also saw the approaching man raising his arm to shield his face, blocking the relentless assault of cold snowflakes on his head.
“He is…”
The Golden-haired Witch walked around the bonfire towards the crooked, distorted doorway.
“Blainey, is this someone you know?”
The Witch with the round-framed glasses asked curiously:
“In this godforsaken place, you actually know someone? Fiona, since when did your teacher know men?”
The Red-haired girl shook her head gently, and then the two also got up, following behind the pointed-eared Golden-haired Witch to the doorway.
The massive doorframe, now devoid of its door panels, seemed like a boundary. None of the three stepped outside, but instead watched the man in bulky clothes approach step by step.
A look of surprise gradually appeared on the Golden-haired Witch’s face, which then softened into a gentle smile. Xia De, who was approaching, also noticed the three ladies standing at the doorway.
Even though the pendant that could detect Witches could not be brought to this era, he could still confirm that all three were Witches.
“Am I seeing things? Why does that young Red-haired girl have a big tail behind her?”
He looked at them from under his arm, his eyes scanning their faces one by one. Then he paused, and across the swirling snow, his gaze met that of the yellow-haired lady, who appeared to be in her early twenties, standing at the very front.
Both of them froze there. Then Xia De quickened his pace and walked forward, finally arriving outside the door amidst the astonished gazes of the Golden-haired Witch with round-framed glasses and the Red-haired Witch with a tail.
The Golden-haired Witch extended her hand, taking Xia De’s somewhat cold right hand, and pulled him inside the door, past their defensive and warning rituals.
It was as if he had broken through a layer of water film; though the two spaces were connected, the inside of the doorframe was unusually dry and warm. Even the crackling of the bonfire made Xia De feel a sense of comfort within.
He stomped his foot abruptly, shaking off the cold snow clinging to the bottom of his boots, and at the same time, patted his hair and shoulders to prevent melting snow from dampening his clothes.
Only then did he have time to look up and greet them:
“Good day, ladies.”
Regardless of whether they understood him, he greeted the unfamiliar Red-haired girl with a tail and the Golden-haired lady with round-framed glasses. Then, with a hint of nostalgia, he looked at the Witch with long golden hair and pointed ears.
Pointed ears were a symbol of elven blood, and the patterns sewn with thin threads on her robe, resembling vines and branches, were typical elven decorations. All of this was Knowledge provided by the Elves to Xia De.
And there was only one Witch with elven blood he had known in the past:
“Long time no see, Miss Blainey Oranode.”
“Long time no see…”
The Moon Witch said likewise. She seemed to understand delarion, and her golden eyes held an indescribable emotion.
This lady with one-eighth elven blood looked exactly the same as she had 22 years ago. Her rosy lips parted slightly, and her voice hoarsely uttered the name:
“…Xia De · Su Lun · Han Mi Er Dun.”
