The wind and snow in the mountains are still very heavy, and the accompanying biting cold, as well as the interference of vision and hearing, are still surrounding everyone. However, for Duan Qing and others who have just experienced a catastrophe, they originally felt that these The very unbearable factors are not so important now.
They needed to rush back to the Falling Star Mountain area as soon as possible - according to the direction indicated by Art, the entire team's route seemed to be heading that way. Judging from the stone pillar they found at the beginning, the so-called sacred shadow passed down by the Nosier people orally, although it is no different from ordinary stone pillars, can indeed be used as one of the clues for them to find the sacred place.
However, that was what happened after they escaped.
As the person who initiated the negotiation in the first place, Duan Qing did not expect that things would unfold to such an extent. Although he also wanted to have a relationship with the mysterious businessman who called himself Lola, he didn't want to turn the relationship to a level of "hate" in this way. After all, judging from what Duan Qing knew before, this girl He loves money even more than a certain girl with a golden ponytail he knows, so if the other party really comes to him unreasonably, he really has no good solution.
So the last resort was to run away.
The fallen snow slope has become steeper than before, but it also exposed many rocks that were previously buried under the snow, so it seems easier to walk up from the place after the avalanche than before. There are some - nothing more than climbing. But until they climbed along the black mountain to the top and reached the snowy field above the hillside, the girl's screams still echoed in their ears and could not subside for a long time.
"You...remember...will...catch..."
The sound came from far away down the slope, and had become inaudible due to the interference of the wind and snow.
"Is this really good?" Nan Tieshan slapped the snowflakes on his body and asked hesitantly. Due to the previous climb - or escape, several people had exhausted their strength, and they were still carrying an NPC.
"What else can we do? We can't really compensate her." Duan Qing panted and sat on the snow on the top of the slope, shaking his head and looking at the place at the foot of the mountain: "Anyway, she will definitely not abandon her. goods, so...she will definitely not chase us."
"Moshang Qingshan." The woman in black cloak on the side suddenly shouted his name. Duan Qing turned around, and then felt a pair of serious eyes under the black hood: "That backpack just now... ..”
"Yes, we have all moved." Duan Qing spread his hands: "It was very difficult for the three of us to move, but..."
"That Laura carried it all the way."
"So...that girl must be very strong."
"That's why we have to run even more." Duan Qing said with a smile: "We can't beat him again and again, and there is no reason. What else can we do except run... Art."
He patted the snow on his body and then stood up: "Where is the...sacred shadow you mentioned?"
After experiencing this fright, the young man from the Nosier tribe answered Duan Qing's question silently - he panted and sat on the snow on the other side, stretching his fingers in a certain direction.
Several players looked in the direction he pointed, and sure enough, they found a strange stone pillar standing in the white snow on the top of the mountain.
"It seems to be no different from ordinary stone pillars."
Walking to the side of the stone pillar, Duan Qing touched the surface of the stone pillar and looked up and down a few times: "Except that...this is not a natural pillar."
"There are no strange inscriptions or pictures on it." The other two people also gathered around and tasted it: "Is there anything wonderful about this thing? Or is it a mechanism that can be activated?"
"There is no such thing as what you are talking about." Art, who was dragging behind, finally stepped forward: "Every warrior of the Nosier tribe will be sent out to search for the sacred shadow when he reaches adulthood. As long as the sacred shadow can be found, Shadow, even if they complete the trial, they can gain the glory of the clan. And if one of them... can find the sacred place, then he will be called a saint by the clansmen and gain the eternal respect of all clansmen. "
"As for what will happen after finding the sacred shadow... I have never seen it." Young Art paused, and then continued to introduce: "According to people in the tribe, some ancestors found a new When you see the divine shadow, you will see miracles happen.”
"Miracle? What do you mean?"
"...I don't know. There is no record from the Nosir tribe. It was the old people who told us these things."
Art looked at the stone pillar in front of him, his expression became a little dazed: "I didn't expect that I could really see the sacred shadow...while I was alive."
"Didn't you already know that this stone pillar was here?" Duan Qing asked, "It was you who led us here."
"Without you, I wouldn't have been able to climb up." The young man shook his head: "And that's just the location I accidentally heard about from Ori, so I wrote it down... , outstanding warriors in the tribe are often sent out to confirm the existence of these stone pillars, and they only write them down. Only they know the location of these sacred shadows, and...the sacred land is also there."
"Do you know the location of the Holy Land?" Duan Qing suddenly interrupted.
"I don't know, or...can't know." Art's voice became deeper: "Because no one has been there."
"No one has been there? Is it impossible to know?" Duan Qing asked in surprise: "That is to say... you know where it is, but you haven't gone? Or can you say that you can't go?"
"Yes." Art hesitated for a while, then nodded: "It is said... that when soldiers inspect stone pillars, miracles sometimes occur, and that miracle... will show An omen.”
"The omen revealed the existence of a sacred place."
Several players looked at me and I looked at you, and they all felt a huge problem from Art's words - that was the smell of clues.
"But that omen was also passed down by the old people." Perhaps sensing their thoughts, Art looked at the other people and shook his head: "No one has seen that omen for a long time."
"Maybe it's just an image." Duan Qing said suddenly.
"The effect of magic." Xueling Huanbing also added.
"But the pillar in front of me doesn't respond at all..."
"Need to trigger? In disrepair? Too many possibilities..."
"Boy, where have your people... found these pillars before?" Nan Tieshan walked forward simply and patted Art on the shoulder: "If we can see more of these things, We might find more clues."
"No one in the tribe has completed the trial for a long time." The young man said sadly: "The sky was angry, the wind and snow became bigger and bigger, many tribe members never came back after going out, even Hunting is very difficult, my...several young people have volunteered to find new sacred shadows, but none of them have come back..."
"No need for new ones." Duan Qing shook his head: "The old ones will do, as long as they still exist..."
"...Over there." Art stood there and recalled for a while, then pointed in another direction: "Although I don't know the specific location, I remember some things that the old people mentioned. .....”
Following the direction he pointed, several people turned their heads again - there was a giant black shadow rising from the mountains and thrusting straight into the sky.
"Falling Star Mountain..." Duan Qing murmured, "What a coincidence."
***************
Perhaps because they had climbed a mountain, the path that several people took forward - or returned - was different from before, so when they arrived at the foot of the most prominent peak in the mountains, they They didn't see where the crack was when they came before.
However, just like before, the place is still filled with falling snowflakes.
"Why did we see earth-yellow stones all over the ground when we came here, and why do we see a lot of snow here?"
"It's probably because of the climate. Due to the obstruction of Falling Star Mountain, there's a lot of rain here."
"Is Falling Star Mountain that big? When we passed through the cave, we didn't feel like we had traveled much."
"Well... maybe it was because we had already reached the hinterland, so the distance was shortened. Of course, it could also be an illusion. After all, the cave is connected in all directions. God knows how far we ran..."
Chatting casually, Duan Qing and others looked at the mountain with no top visible, and stopped with a headache. From a distance, maybe they can still see the shape of the tallest mountain in the free world through the black shadow, but standing at the foot of the mountain, except for the straight up and down cliffs, they can see nothing useful. Not here.
What's more, the wind and snow that obstructed their vision were always with them.
"There has to be a way... Hey, Art, do you know what way?"
Duan Qing looked at the terrain helplessly, then turned back and asked: "Yate? Ya...forget it."
The young man he asked about was following behind, looking confused and confused.
Along the way, the whole process was relatively smooth, but it wasn't like nothing happened. In addition to the snow-capped mountains that needed to be constantly climbed, the non-stop snowfall at that time, and the occasional monsters also became small incidents that they often encountered on the road. If they hadn't been in large numbers, maybe the adventurers present You also have to endure the loneliness of crossing the snowfield alone.
One time, when they were walking through a narrow stone crevice, they encountered several ice bears attacking from both sides.
Perhaps because they have been hungry for a long time, even the ice bears have learned to ambush and calculate. Just when a few people walked into the narrow gap and wanted to cross to the other side, they rushed over from the front and back together, killing several people. The individual was stuck in the narrow passage. However, several players present are considered experts. They have fought in the ice bear's lair once before, and have a certain understanding of this kind of monster, so it doesn't take much effort to fight against them.
However, when they finished taking care of the first few ice bears and turned around to take care of the following ones, they were shocked to find that those ice bears had already left the young Nosir tribe behind. The man fell to the ground and almost bit his neck.
After the sword light passed, Duan Qing pulled Yatra up from the ground: "So you really can't fight?"
Art didn't answer, he just collapsed and fell to the ground again.
"There are no injuries, except for the shoulder... It seems that it was hit here when I was knocked down just now." After checking the trembling young man's body for a while, Xue Ling Huan Bing stood expressionless. Get up: "But..."
"I've never seen a Nosier like you before."
Art's body stopped shaking, but his eyes became duller, probably because of a mental shock. Until they reached the foot of Falling Star Mountain, the dazed young man did not regain his composure. , still following the team without saying a word, looking at the other three people blankly. Duan Qing looked at his expression at this time and sighed helplessly. He walked to Art's side, first waved his hand in front of his eyes, and then patted his shoulder.
"Okay, Art, don't think about it."
The other party made no moves.
"Building self-confidence seems to be a very difficult thing to do, but it is actually very easy to do." Duan Qing said to his face: "Now that you are an adult, you are actually no different from us adventurers. , you just need confidence and courage, and the rest can be practiced slowly.”
"Including fighting." He blinked in the wind and snow.
"...Can I...really be able to fight?" After a while, Art's eyes moved to Duan Qing's face: "Can I?"
"Of course, everything is difficult at the beginning. As long as you start doing it, everything will get better slowly." Duan Qing said with a smile: "Of course, it would be better if what you want to do is really what you want to do. ”
The young man looked at him with puzzled eyes.
"Like...your dreams."
The young man's eyes lit up.
"Look at that mountain peak." Duan Qing turned around and pointed behind him: "If we can really find that sacred place, will you become the glory of the Nosier tribe? Imagine that you have found all the The holy land that no one has ever found has truly fulfilled the wishes of our ancestors. Who else in the clan would look down on you? What else can't you do?"
"...Yes." Art's eyes slowly gathered together, and finally he and Duan Qing looked at the towering mountain top: "If I can find the Holy Land..."
"Let's go." Duan Qing patted his shoulder again: "Success is right in front of you."
"I didn't expect you to be quite capable of deceiving." After Yat took a few steps, Nan Tieshan turned his surprised eyes to Duan Qing: "You actually succeeded in instigating him like that?"
"Is that called encouragement? That's called encouragement!" Duan Qing shouted: "What's so difficult about this? NPCs all fall into this trap, so as long as you act more righteously and sincerely, you can do it too, brother."
"Really? Then why didn't you fool that Laura before..."
"Uh, hahahaha, don't mention the past anymore..."
The three of them chatted casually, then followed the young Nosier tribesman and set off towards Falling Star Mountain again.
