It wasn't until night fell that the lively celebration banquet finally came to an end.
The silver hairs of the Himi family walked out of the library arm-in-arm, not caring about the cold air flowing around them. In order to prevent the three adventurers inside from being blown into ice sculptures by the cold wind of the snow-capped mountains, after the Frozen Bird landed, the huge glass sky It quickly closed again. The poor frozen bird stood there with its head upright, not even daring to flap its wings, so it could only angrily spit snowflakes at each tribe member to show its dissatisfaction.
The noise from the direction of the square has not stopped, the firelight makes the sky reddish, and from time to time there are explosions. It is obvious that the square where hundreds of contestants have gathered has become a battleground. With the training of the Southern Country trainers, Due to my temper, I'm afraid I won't rest until at least twelve o'clock in the night.
Lijiu and Longxing were helpless against such a scene. They hurriedly said hello to the boss and ran straight away waving their elf balls. Xiaoye, who was repeatedly warned by the doctor to "not consume your mind excessively, and definitely not to run into battles," had no chance to attend the carnival, so she went for a walk on a secluded path with her friends Yang Yu and Karl.
Having just had a hearty meal, Ghost Stone, who was full of energy, chased Pichu all over the ground with his mouth wide open. Snow Boy, who loved to join in the fun, also followed behind and ran around happily. For a moment, snowflakes were flying and lightning was dancing wildly. Xiaoye tried her best to prevent them from damaging the railings and causing unnecessary compensation.
After two days of getting along with each other, the fellow travelers were no longer surprised by this, and they walked calmly in the center of the chaos and chatted alone.
"——I see. That's why Mr. Ye sent you and Mr. Jingmu here together." Karl suddenly said, lowering his eyes to look at the flaming round stone inlaid on the handle of Yang Yu's knife.
"Yeah! It's great to be able to help." The red-haired boy nodded happily.
"I didn't even know you were recognized by the Heart of Fire. Did you find out at the previous Fire Worship Festival?"
"No - I just accidentally knocked off the lid while cleaning the cellar and found it lit up."
"Well……"
According to legend, in ancient times, people who were allied with the gods used the Mind Stone to release incredible power and fight side by side with monsters. The authenticity of the old news has yet to be verified, but both the Ice and Fire tribes did store several Mind Stones with corresponding attributes. . In the distant past, they were used to test the purity and firmness of the will of the tribesmen, so as to determine the capacity of the people.
But for modern Alliance people, the Mind Stone is just a slightly special prop. Its practicality is comparable to the paralysis powder bullets sold in friendly stores, and no one cares about "whether it can be recognized by the gem". In Yongzhen's words, the mental damage suffered by using a gem is equivalent to memorizing math all night long, which is a huge loss. Of course, people who can use gems are often better at Pokémon battles. This is also the case for Yang Yu. One of the reasons why he was chosen as Jingmu’s partner.
As of now, the Ice Heart of the Himi family has long been sealed in the warehouse and no one cares about it. Occasionally, young people are curious to take a look at it, or take it away to play with. Only the nostalgic Fire People still maintain the tradition of holding a test every year during the Fire Worship Festival, allowing all tribesmen to touch the stones randomly.
——Although it was not testing that came in handy in the end, but cellar cleaning.
"But..." Yang Yu looked at Xiaoye who was repeatedly jumping horizontally to catch Pokémon, "I seem to have heard the clan leader say that although the Heart of the Moon can be traced, there are very few people who can use the Heart of the Moon. It hasn’t appeared in over a hundred years.”
The boy from the Himi family nodded slightly.
"Besides, the Heart of the Moon..."
His voice blended hazily into the wind and did not reach the ears of strangers. Xiaoye, who was facing two searchlight-like gazes, felt a thorn in her back and couldn't help but turn around and put a question mark.
Yang Yu didn't say anything, and pulled Xiao Ye forward with a smile.
"I forgot to mention just now - Xiaoye, there is someone who wants to see you."
When the three of them stood still in the empty courtyard, a warm wind blew against their faces. The bird covered in flames fell from the sky and settled lightly in the center of the stone slab.
Xiao Ye quickly raised her head and carefully looked at the appearance of the divine bird she once fought alongside.
Although it was known from other people that both divine birds were safe, the sight of Niwa's body covered in blood during the battle was really worrying. What's more, the wound carved on its chest five hundred years ago is far from completely healed.
As soon as she took off the hood that obstructed her vision, Xiaoye saw that the fluffy bird's head was very close, almost hitting her head. The young trainer froze immediately, and the flame bird carefully extended its beak and pecked the human lightly.
The clear flames flowed around Xiaoye's body, seeped into the glowing feather in her pocket, and soon disappeared. The warmth surrounding her body was clearly transmitted to her mind, causing the human girl's expression to change slightly.
Before she could speak, the God of Niwa looked at the short human and suddenly sighed hotly.
It plucked a beautiful feather from the tip of its own wing and inserted it directly into Xiaoye's messy purple hair.
Night:"?"
The Flame Bird thought for a while and inserted another one.
Night:"……"
Flamebird inserted the third one.
Night:"???"
Seeing that the human girl with feathers and question marks on her head was about to turn into a hedgehog, the God of Niwa reluctantly stopped.
The howling cold wind passed through the mountain town, causing the huge feathers that were almost longer than the arm to sway. Xiaoye hurriedly reached out to catch it, so that the fresh feathers that the flame bird had just plucked would not be lost in the wind.
The unique warmth of the God of Fire seeps from the feathers into the palm of your hand, refreshing but not too strong. Xiaoye looked at the three goose-yellow feathers and suddenly realized something.
Past experiences flashed through my mind quickly. The flame bird that arrived in time during the battle on the top of the mountain, Yang Yu's gaze at the post-war meeting, the invisible barrier that protected the people of flame in the memories of thousands of years -
And when she fell into the cave during the explosion, she almost thought it was an illusion, and the temperature of the flames flickered away.
"Please wait a moment."
The adventurer's tone was slightly urgent, causing her fellow travelers to look over in surprise.
"Niwa-sama, thank you for sharing your power with me and saving my life." The human girl said softly, "It's just that your injury has not healed. Maintaining too much 'blessing' will increase your burden, won't it."
Perhaps, she should have thought of this possibility when she fell into a deep cave but was "lucky" not to be seriously injured.
Using feathers as a medium, the God of Niwa exerted "divine protection" on her. Just like the soldiers fighting on the battlefield in ancient times resisted fatal attacks, the invisible flame barrier also protected her, allowing the young man to survive the sudden explosion. It was precisely because of the fragmentation of the protection that the people of the flames noticed in advance that the situation had changed, and were able to come to the rescue at the right moment of crisis.
The flame bird lowered its head and stared at the human in front of it.
Her face is both familiar and unfamiliar to the gods, and the shining heart of the moon on her wrist is a color that the gods have seen too many times. However, after thousands of years, facing this gentle moonlight again, Niwa God did not feel happy at all.
Because Yuehua's controller is still chattering about things it doesn't want to hear.
"——After all, I am not a real people of the flames. I deserve your protection..."
The flame bird couldn't bear it and spit out a few small sparks, confusing the human face.
The girl whose face was washed by the hot air was confused, as if her head had melted and she couldn't find the direction. But Yang Yu had already widened his eyes, grabbed his friend and said seriously: "What are you talking about? If you take Niyu-sama's feather, you will become a member of our Fire People, and if you talk like this, it's like running away from home. Niwa-sama will peck you."
Night:"……"
I remember that my title clearly has the word "honor" in front of it?
While chatting and joking, the three of them and one bird paused for a while in the courtyard, looking up at the night sky with stars and moon hanging high in the sky.
When the silent and warm divine bird lowered its head again, Yang Yu narrowed his eyes at the god and smiled.
"Lord Niwa, please wait a moment, I have one more thing I want to do."
The red-haired boy turned around and stood next to Xiao Ye.
"Xiaoye, can you fight with me?"
The adventurer nodded without understanding, thinking that his friend had itchy hands because he had not caught up with the carnival in the square. And Yang Yu already added seriously: "It's not fighting me, it's fighting him."
Xiaoye looked in the direction Yang Yu pointed, and stared at the innocent-looking Karl.
"You mean we take turns fighting Mr. Carl?"
Yang Yu: "How could it be possible? The two of us beat him up."
Xiaoye: "Uh... isn't this bad?"
Yang Yu: "He has been a trainer for four years. We haven't been able to last as long as him alone. Of course two versus one is fair, right?" (Can Ran)
Carl: "Yes." (Compliance)
Xiaoye: "..." (confused)
In any case, Xiaoye still fulfilled her friend's little wish. She and Yang Yu stood side by side in a corner of the courtyard, while Karl opposite him shrugged helplessly.
"Yang Yu, is this the surprise you said you wanted to give me?"
The red-haired boy just shook his head and did not answer. He solemnly emphasized to Xiaoye that he must bring out his strongest Pokémon with the most favorable attributes.
——Of course, Xiaoye knew that even if she and Yang Yu worked together, it would be difficult to compete with the famous genius trainer and the potential champion of the World Youth Championship. If we don't send the strongest general, I'm afraid we will be defeated in an instant.
When the Snow Witch appeared silently behind the Himi boy, the fire-breathing flame dragon also appeared from the light. Following them were Yang Yu's original partners.
Looking at the majestic and tall figure, Carl was stunned.
"When did your strong chicken evolve...?" he asked hesitantly.
And Yanlong's impatient roar drowned out the young man's voice. It spit out blazing fire, and the quiet snowflakes spread quietly, dispersing all the blazing temperature.
For a while, the wind blew violently and the fog filled the air. When the two sides were in a stalemate, as the crisp sound of footsteps sounded, another flame suddenly lit up.
Orange fire burst out from the Pokémon's body, turning into an indestructible battle suit. Driven by the surging energy, the flame chicken advanced fiercely, tearing apart the ice and snow barrier. However, the trainer of Snow Demon Girl was in a daze for unknown reasons. The Pokémon looked at the trainer hesitantly, and was immediately knocked upright and thrown far away.
The ice-haired boy opened his eyes wide in surprise.
——He saw his friend's expression clearly.
On the battlefield filled with flames and tongues of fire, Yang Yu stood firmly in it. There was no trace of shrinkage or patience in those fiery red eyes, and they were shining with a happy and confident light - a light that had never appeared since the accident.
Years ago, that out-of-control flame came too suddenly and was too destructive. Although the injured person was not afraid of pain and did not care about the minor game accident, he still could not dissuade his friend from blaming himself. He could only watch the heavy regret crush the boy little by little.
But now, opposite the fire and snow, the young people of the flames smiled.
——That's right. I decided to come out.
Because I have already sworn an oath that I will never run away or be afraid.
When the moon and stars faded, the battle was over.
Even though the two fire Pokémon tried their best, they still couldn't gain any advantage over the Snow Demon Girl. Under the trainer's energetic instructions, it used unpredictable ice crystals and shadows to play with its opponents. By the end of the fight, Xiaoye didn't feel that her side had the numerical advantage at all. Instead, she felt as embarrassed as if she had been beaten by a group. She even thought there were three of them in a daze. Xiaotian from the Quartz Alliance surrounded him and started fighting violently.
After briefly healing the Pokémon, Yang Yu turned over and jumped onto the back of the divine bird.
"Not staying another night?"
"No, staying here won't help much." Yang Yu said with a smile, "Uncle Jingmu and I will go back to Fiery Valley to sort out the information. We will inform you of any new progress."
"Then, see you in a few days."
The flame bird rose into the sky and carried the young man away gradually. Xiaoye watched the bright figure disappear into the night sky and smiled reassuringly.
Ice and fire are supposed to be opposite and separate attributes - they have too many differences. The people of the fire can easily endure the heat of the crater, but are afraid of the cold; while the people of the Himi family can hardly tolerate the heat of the tropics. In the summer, young children even have to live in the snowy mountains all year round in order to grow up healthily without getting sick.
Because of this, the friendship between them that spans thousands of years is particularly precious.
——Fortunately, the scene in the nightmare did not happen again.
"Let's go too."
When the firelight in the night sky completely disappeared, Karl looked at Xiaoye with a smile.
"Since you have to go down the mountain tomorrow, why not let me seize the last opportunity to entertain you?"
On the last night in the Snowy Mountain, Xiaoye, who had recovered from her injuries, was finally able to get rid of the depressing medical cabin and came to Carl's home at his invitation.
——Speaking of hospitality, in fact she had already become accustomed to this residence during the competition.
The lights of the small town in the snow are still bright, and the Himi tribe members in black robes are still walking and chatting. Except for the groups of "Warcraft" playing and fighting on the road, everything is very much like the night when I first arrived - even the maid's weird voice after opening the door is exactly the same.
"Oh, isn't this our Master Karl?" Linda raised her eyebrows and said loudly, "It's so late at night, I thought you had forgotten which way your door opens. You don't pay attention to rest, and you always give us trouble. Forget about the trouble, do you still want to invite the guests to have a 'carnival until dawn'?"
The maid's mean tone suddenly felt familiar to the adventurer, and for a moment he thought he was back in the script. Unfortunately, the person who answered the call was too playful and smiled, which immediately shattered the nostalgic atmosphere.
"Hey, hey, I'm sorry, Sister Linda." The young man begged for mercy, "Don't we think that you have been busy at home all day, and you must not have had time to have a good meal."
As he spoke, Karl took out a mountain of desserts from nowhere and piled them on the table like a magic trick. Xiao Ye watched helplessly as the fierce maid was coaxed by his two words, and her heart was filled with admiration.
Linda, who was in a good mood again, stopped nagging, served hot tea and snacks to the two of them, and then exited the living room. Her meow was still nestled in the corner of the sofa, completely unaware that its owner had left, and was sleeping heavily.
Without the constraints of the competition script, the two Pokémon quickly filled the room. Carl, a native of the South, adapted well to this and didn't care that the space became cramped. He enthusiastically took out the ice Pokémon snack sticks he had stored up and fed them to Yukidou.
"That's right." Seeing that the fruit in his hand was suddenly bitten by Ghost Stone, Karl didn't care and continued to eat. "As the lord said, this accident needs to be kept strictly confidential. I told Xiaotian He didn’t mention the inside story when he reported that he was safe, so you can rest assured.”
Xiaoye: "Oh, thank you."
Night:"……"
Xiaoye: "Wait."
Because the tone of the person opposite was too natural, Xiaoye was stuck for a moment, and then she realized that something seemed wrong with the content of the conversation.
"You mean Xiaotian...?" The adventurer's confusion almost overflowed from his brain, "Do you know him?"
"..."
This time it was the boy's turn to be stuck for a while.
"Of course, didn't I say hello to him when you pretended to be injured and retired?"
Before he finished speaking, Karl's face gradually stiffened, and he finally realized that there seemed to be something wrong with the way the information was transmitted.
"Did...he never mentioned anything about me to you?"
Seeing those glazed eyes looking over pitifully, Xiaoye had an apologetic look on her face and still chose the ruthless truth.
"No."
"..."
"I thought you said hello to Long Xing."
"…………"
According to Karl, Investigator Shenyu Xinghai brings his son to visit Fengxue Mountain almost every year, so the two are quite familiar with each other - although he seems to be a little shocked because he has never been mentioned by his friends, so that he is embarrassed. The silence lasted for several minutes before being broken by the round snowball thrown by Snow Boy.
As contemporary young people, both enjoy rich evening entertainment. They chatted and played with Pokémon until the clock hand reached eleven o'clock.
"Beidou." The young man's voice sounded in the warm wooden house.
He stroked the sleeping Ice Eevee, and there was a hint of heaviness in his bright voice.
"At that time, would you think we were being unreasonable? Even though the situation was already critical, we still refused to stop the game."
The adventurer looked at his companion in surprise and shook his head.
"How could it be? Sudden suspension of the competition will only alert the enemy - the players and staff on the mountain will not have time to move immediately. Once the enemy's methods become more aggressive, everyone will be in danger."
This is also the reason why Xiaoye did not raise any objections - although the lord of Snow Wind Mountain does not seem to like to explain his decision-making, as Sandy said, at the critical moment when there is only the last day of the game, taking advantage of the situation is the safest strategy.
Karl smiled, "Actually, there is another reason."
"Most modern competitions originate from the 'games' of the past. Whether it's basketball, football or running, whether you understand the rules or not, you can easily feel happy as a spectator."
"Of all competitive sports, only Pokémon battles are different."
“It originated from ‘war’. "
The young man stood up and looked out the window at the bright lights.
"You should have heard this statement - 'Pokémon battles are rough and barbaric. This kind of competition that can cause injuries to Pokémon should be canceled as soon as possible'. For those who are lucky enough to be born in a peaceful era, far away from war and strife For us, this is only the view of a very small number of people; and once the situation becomes unstable, more people may agree with them."
The young man from the Himi family lowered his eyes. In the living room, the Pokémon who had been playing around all night were already drowsy, and they all snuggled together obediently.
"However, we did gain happiness from Pokémon battles. The tacit understanding of working together and the joy of defeating powerful enemies are irreplaceable treasures for Pokémon trainers. We hope more Everyone can realize, remember, and inherit this happiness——"
"That's why we decided to hold a snowstorm."
"This is also the reason why I chose to become a trainer."
Karl sat down next to Ice Eevee and looked at the moved adventurer with a smile.
"In that case, how can we let this happiness be taken away so easily?"
After the last Pokémon fell asleep, the trainers ended their conversation.
They quietly left the living room, said good night to each other in low voices, and returned to their respective rooms.
Xiaoye gently placed the sleeping little Piqiu on the pillow, then sat down at the table and took out a notepad.
Everything that happened in Fengxue Mountain has been sorted out countless times in my mind. She quickly wrote down the important clues, then looked at the writing on the paper and fell into deep thought.
There was no doubt that the nightmares she frequently saw were not just dreams. That may be a possibility in the future, or it may be a "remnant of the past." Xiaoye knew very well that things that did not exist in the dream - "travelers from other worlds" had caused deviations in all developments.
Takuma, who uses his super powers to protect Snow Mountain Villa, the God of Niwa who arrives in advance, and Moon Flower who saves his life and goes back in time - it is the variables from other worlds that disrupt the trajectory of fate and make that magical bird... The tragedy of fighting each other, burying the contestants in avalanches, and severing the bonds between the ice and fire tribes did not happen.
So……
If she hadn't come here, would everything have gone according to its original trajectory?
Are there countless tragedies quietly taking place in places she couldn't see?
Once she misses the key point in time in the future...or finally chooses to leave here, isn't it, those nightmare scenes - the scorched earth, the raging flames in the air, the blackened half of the World Tree, swallowing The black meteorite of all starlight——will it reappear irresistibly?
"I know you're here."
In the deep silence, only the human girl's voice echoed softly.
"Where's the next place?"
"What can I do to prevent this nightmare from happening again?"
The silence lasted for a while. After a long time, Xiaoye felt her arms move slowly.
It was a thought that was not his own, familiar yet strange and creepy. Under its control, she held the pen with difficulty in her right hand and wrote a crooked word on the paper.
It is not complicated and difficult to understand alien script, but a symbolic script that is common to the alliance and looks like an unknown totem.
"wait".
The traveler from another world looked at the writing and remained silent for a long time.
The moment of decision came too quickly and unexpectedly, catching people off guard. The scene in the past life, the goal in this life and the reason for becoming a trainer, they were tangled together and passed through the mind like a landslide and tsunami. The sound was almost deafening, but it was pressed down heavily and gradually became silent.
It wasn't until the stars and moon were obscured by thin clouds, casting shadows on the snowy town, that she finally made some movement.
The notepad in his hand was gently closed. The human stood up and looked at the illuminated ice and snow land.
"good."
====================
small theater:
Carl: When do you plan to go down the mountain tomorrow? We’ll send a frozen bird to you! The first place in the competition must be the first place.
Xiaoye: Well, your grandpa also said so... It doesn't have to be so troublesome, and my Pokémon doesn't seem to be willing. (Mentioning the Pichu that emits electric sparks)
Carl: Okay. Good night then, go to bed early.
Xiaoye: Good night.
Carl: Oh, one more thing.
Xiaoye: What?
Carl: Although the elder and I played the role of a grandson and grandson, and they looked very similar to each other, he was not actually my grandfather.
Night:……
Karl: The third elder is not Clive’s father either. Mr. Ralph, the second elder, is the one.
Night:……
Karl: We in Fengxue Mountain don’t have an ancient position like elder at all. It’s just that they played the role of elder so many times that everyone gradually started calling them that.
Night:……
Night:! ? ?
====================
At this point, the Snow Wind Mountain chapter officially ends!
The update has been slowed down a lot due to academic reasons. Thank you all for your continued tolerance.
Before entering the next chapter, according to the agreement, last year's fanfic will be released first. As introduced before, the extra is an independent story in the background of Western fantasy, directed by Ye Tian CP, and has nothing to do with the main content. The full text will be released in about three chapters, and it will still be updated weekly. Students who are not interested can skip it at will.
Above, thank you for your support!
