In the distance, gray ridges rise from the ground, obscuring the dark horizon and leaving only a starry night sky overhead. Nearby, in the valley, the white snow reflects the moonlight, blending with the snow droplets and mist, almost giving the illusion of a fairy aura.

And at this time, the bright color that should be dazzling in the middle of the night was swallowed up by an even more dazzling light—

Above the snow, wooden houses and cedars are intertwined and stand in groups. Heavy snow piled up a soft white layer on the sloping roof, as if it had become one with the house, and warm orange lights spilled through the windows, softly spilling through the glass on the snow. From afar, the dotted lights stretch from the front to the depths of the mountains, shining like stars reflected on the earth.

A few seconds ago, the contestants were still in the cramped jungle where they couldn't see their fingers, and the sudden opening of the scenery made them subconsciously hold their breath, and they were shocked by the sea of lights in the snow-capped mountains - on the other hand, there were also a very small number of southerners who were attacked by the unique temperature of the snow-capped mountains and quickly retreated, and they had no energy to see the scenery.

"I'm me, I'm saying, Long Xing, was it so cold the last time we were here......

"No, no, Lijiu, we took an air-conditioned bus directly to the dormitory last year......"

The two children in the deer cart are shivering from the cold, hugging in the corner like fallen leaves in the cold wind - the two are so addicted to fighting ghost Pokémon that they don't notice the temperature dropping. It wasn't until I reached the snow line that the wooden deer cart was blown cold by the cold wind of the high mountains, and I slowly realized how unwise it was to wear summer clothes to the snowy mountains.

Sayo sighed.

She pulled the little pichu out of her pocket, placed it on the top hat above her head, and then took off her trench coat.

The fabric of the Pretender trench coat, which was recommended by Hoshihai, is quite thick and windproof, and it will be no problem for a young trainer with a strong body to wear it for a short walk in the snow - which is one of the reasons why Xiao Ye chose this outfit.

"Are you alright?"

Xiao Ye said, handing over the trench coat.

She took off her trench coat and at least had a long-sleeved shirt, which could barely keep out the cold. If the reckless siblings were allowed to get off the bus in short-sleeved shorts, they might be frozen and sick before the game officially began.

The Terashima siblings, who had formed a group, raised their heads when they heard this, and cast a tearful and grateful look at their fellow passengers.

"Thank you so much, I can't repay you for saving my life, I will repay you by being a cow and a horse from now on, QAQ. ”

"Abei, no, Boss Beidou, the lives of the two of us will be handed over to you from today, where do you point to us, QAQ. ”

Xiaoye: "...... Not necessarily. ”

The two unlucky children with iron heads were tightly wrapped in trench coats, almost tied into conjoined babies, and only then did they barely survive. At this time, the leader of the deer cart began to slow down slowly.

Tall stone pillars stand on both sides of the road and stretch out into the valley along the road. The rock surface is delicately embossed and intricately patterned, as if drawing an invisible dividing line at the entrance.

Instead of entering the valley, the deer carts stopped in turn in front of the stone pillars.

Under the guidance of the guide, the contestants got off the bus one after another and looked at the brightly lit snow town in the stone pillars in amazement. Sandy, the housekeeper, stood at the front of the line and instructed each driver to lead the passengers to their quarters.

"Due to the large number of adventurers and the lack of empty houses in the villa, the Himi family decided to provide each family with a guest room as a temporary place to stay. Sandy said with a gloomy expression, his voice still eerily reaching thousands of miles, and even the tail of the queue that had not yet stopped could be heard clearly, "So, please also respect the living habits of the Himi family, and try not to enter and exit late at night, so as not to disturb the rest of the owner." ”

As soon as these words came out, many trainers were stunned and began to discuss in each other's ears - in previous years, the Bingjian family would provide collective dormitories for the contestants participating in the Battle of Wind and Snow, depending on the era of the story, sometimes it was a modern hotel, sometimes it was an ancient inn. Before the start of this year's competition, the residence of Fengxue Mountain Villa had just been renovated on a large scale, and many people wanted to take the opportunity of the competition to sneak a peek at what the brand-new mansions of the "nobles" looked like.

Just listen to the housekeeper...... Could it be that there is no dormitory this time, and they live directly in the homes of the Himi clan?

The young contestants looked at each other, and even though many of them had heard of the true character of all the members of the Bingjian family's Fengxue Mountain branch, they still had exclamation marks on their faces with "play so big".

Li Jiu and Long Xing suddenly became excited, muttering "It's a pity that the phone was left in the Pokémon Center and there was no way to take pictures", while dragging Xiaoye along the queue together. The three of them were already in the front of the list, and soon it was their turn to be assigned accommodation.

The housekeeper in a black dress looked up at the people - Xiao Ye vaguely felt that their group had been looked at for an extraordinarily long time, and the tense air made the Nanguo siblings a little nervous.

Eventually, Sandy didn't say much, nodding coldly to the coachman next to them, "Tom, take them to 'that house'." ”

"Yes. ”

The coachman, named Tom, answered without raising his head, and slowly marched through the valley with three passengers.

The silent coachman walked ahead, followed by the Terashima siblings, looking curiously left and right.

With Xiao Ye's trench coat alone, it is really difficult to take care of two people. They were so close that they were about to merge, and the fabric of the poor trench coat barely covered the upper body. The person who was suffering from the cold was very big-hearted, and while shivering, he was chatting with great interest, but only Xiao Ye was worried about their health.

The interior of the Wind and Snow Villa is brightly lit, and the main road is almost as bright as day. Xiao Ye saw that the doors and windows of many wooden houses were carved with unrecognizable patterns, and the door of the largest room even had a huge magic circle painted on it, which filled the entire villa with the atmosphere of a fantasy world.

The silver-haired people of the Himami clan gathered in twos and threes, leaning against the roadside and chatting. Most of them wore pitch-black robes, their shoulders and chests embellished with crystal gemstones, and gold and silver silk threads delicately and ornately patterned on the cuffs and the edges of the placket. Seeing the "adventurers" coming, many people greeted them politely, like polite magicians.

Li Jiu and Long Xing talked to the residents of the villa all the way, and spared no effort to praise the construction of the house that was very much in line with the aesthetics of teenagers. A young magician brother was a little embarrassed to be praised, and lowered his head and said softly, thanks to the three elders, they could live in such a good house.

Nanguo's sister and brother didn't care who the "three elders" were, and they followed each other's words and blew them all the crooked hats of the magicians before stopping. And Xiao Ye, who was next to her, tried to recall the words of the housekeeper - when the deer cart had just set off, she had indeed said that the adventurers had come here "at the call of the three elders".

From this point of view, this Third Elder must be a well-spoken heavyweight in the Wind and Snow Mountain Villa.

The three of them followed the driver all the way to turn left and right, and finally stopped in front of a rather remote house with its back to a hillside.

"Thank you for your hard work, this is where you live. The coachman said angrily, knocked on the door, stepped back, and motioned for the adventurers to come into the house.

After clearing the snow from their shoes, they stepped onto a clean wooden staircase. Before she could push the door, Saya heard a conversation coming from inside the door.

It's not that the sound insulation of the house is bad—it's just that the speaker's tone is so sharp that it almost has the effect of a harsh move, and the noise makes people's defenses drop again and again.

"Master Karl, I have said many times, as a descendant of the noble family of magicians, you must behave in front of your guests, how do you look so flustered. ”

"Yes, I'm sorry, Mrs. Linda. ”

After the woman in the room spoke in a tone of voice, it seemed that a young man's voice answered in a resigned manner.

"Alright, Young Master Karl, now come and open the door with me to welcome the guests—hmph, the third elder's only drawback is that he is too polite to outsiders. It's just a bunch of rude monsters who want to make a lot of money off us, so why let them live in our room?"

The woman kept saying "welcome the guests", but there was no respect for the visitor. She didn't even intend to hide it, and was still complaining loudly as she pushed the door open.

"In my opinion, it's enough to spend their time in tents. Most of our three elders are kind-hearted, benevolent, generous, and sympathetic......"

The moment the door opened, Linda, who was wearing a maid's suit, saw the appearance of a person outside the door - a person wearing a thin shirt, and a gust of wind could blow through the fabric completely. The other two were wrapped in the same trench coat, and their calves were bare, and they were almost shaken into two sieves.

Linda's tone changed in shock, and she insisted on reciting the last line with all kinds of twists and turns: "Sympathize with these adventurers who dress too shabby......"

The Terashima siblings looked at the people in the room with their beanie eyes, as if they were still trying to think about whether the long list of words just now was satirizing them with their frozen brains. Xiao Ye didn't show any embarrassment, and bowed calmly to the visitor, "Hello, we are adventurers from the outside world, and we are here at the invitation of the three elders of the nobles. Sorry to disturb ......"

"Alright, okay, we don't make it difficult for risk-takers with red tape, please come in. ”

The maid Linda quickly interrupted Xiao Ye's politeness, and she didn't know if it was the person's design, or if she was frightened by the three young men with iron heads outside the door, wishing that they would hurry into the house to prevent the corpses from being exposed in the wilderness.

"Master Karl, what did I say?"

Next to the tall maid, the inconspicuous silver-haired young man trembled, and immediately reflexively bowed and saluted, and whispered, "Three of you, please come in, welcome to the Wind and Snow Villa." ”

The trio thanked them and walked into the house one by one.

Warm air rushed to their faces, caressing their already frozen skin. Li Jiu and Long Xing breathed a long sigh of relief happily, and they were finally able to untie their trench coats and return the two of them to a posture where they could walk normally.

"Alright, adventurers, since you live in our house, you must obey our rules. Linda, the maid, had a mean face on her toes, and pointed to the three bamboo baskets on the side as she spoke, "We don't care what methods you have used outside, but the Wind and Snow Villa prohibits the use of items with evil magic." If there's something ominous with the trio on them, it's best to hand it over now, and we'll take care of it for a week - if we find out what they've been secretly hiding, then with all due respect, you're not welcome at Storm and Snow Villa. ”

Her words were very polite, and the seemingly straight-tempered Terashima siblings were completely lifeless, and threw a "you know" look at Xiao Ye with understanding.

Anyone who has read the strategy of the previous competition knows that this string of lines means that they should store all their belongings, and they are not allowed to use their own props during the competition to ensure fairness. Naturally, the three of them would not argue with NPCs on such a fixed link, and they all obediently stuffed all the things on their bodies into the bamboo basket.

"Lady Linda, do you want to store these too?" Lijiu familiarly used the term used by the silent teenager on the side, and showed Linda the six Poke Balls in her hand.

The maid Linda only glanced at it and stepped back again and again, her face could not hide her disgust, "No, no, no, the magic stone that seals the demonic beast, please be sure to put it away yourself." Listen, this filthy creature is absolutely not allowed to be released in the Wind and Snow Villa!"

Linda's violent reaction, or perhaps the novel wording, caused Pichu hanging behind Night's back to poke his head out curiously.

"Mound?"

"Oh my God!" Linda was so shocked that she almost fell to the ground, "quick, get this terrible creature back!"

Saya blinked, roughly understanding that this meant that "the inhabitants of the Wind and Snow Villa in the story hate Pokémon", and took out the Poké Ball from the goodness, "I see, Miss Linda." Sorry for the frightening. ”

Pichu listened to the meaning of the conversation in a daze, and Saya had already said that this game might be a little strange, so he reluctantly touched the Poké Ball with his head and obediently retracted it into the capsule.

"Ahem. Probably feeling a little embarrassed by the frightened performance just now, the maid Linda cleared her throat and glared at the young man in the corner with a stern expression, "Master Carl, as the master of this house, you should entertain guests, isn't it?"

“...... Be. The young man replied in a voice and cautiously took two steps forward, "Please come with me, and I will take you to the guest room." ”

He hung his head half-down, and after the slightest contact with his gaze made contact with the visitor, he immediately looked away as if frightened.

The maid Linda snorted and sat down in the living room on the first floor, as if she didn't intend to bother herself with the rude adventurers again. The boy turned around and walked slowly to the spiral staircase to lead the way.

And the three people standing on the porch looked at each other, and they all saw shock on each other's faces.

The name, coupled with the glimpse of the face when they looked up, was enough for them to judge the identity of this poor young master who was oppressed by the maid - Ice Karl, a well-known young talent in the trainer circle, and the prospective champion of this year's U18 World Youth Championship. When he settled in Bailang Town, Xiao Ye had also seen him fight against another young man from the Bingjian family from afar.

As fellow trainers, you've all known the 14-year-old who shines in the arena - and most of the participants who have done their homework know that when assigning roles in the Battle of the Snowstorm, the Himi clan will hold a clan battle tournament, and the stronger the person, the more priority will be given to the role.

So...... In the news report a while ago, the invincible opponents of the young people of the Bingjian family and the big brother Karl, who won the first place in the battle conference, snatched such a script for himself?

Surprised to surprised, the three of them obediently obeyed the instructions and followed the young man's footsteps to the third floor.

The size of this chalet resembles a detached house, and the interior is quite spacious. Even the third floor for entertaining guests is not crowded at all, with three bedrooms surrounded by a small living room in the middle.

Li Jiu and Long Xing couldn't wait to push open the bedroom door, and then they all let out an exclamation - unlike the cold and dull guest bedroom they imagined, the interior of the room was exquisitely furnished, and the sheets and quilt cover were printed with vintage linen patterns. On the wooden table next to the bed, an oil lamp was placed, and the orange fire was gently sprinkled, filling the small room with warm tones.

Before pushing open the bedroom that belonged to him, Xiao Ye turned his head sideways, and looked at the young man vaguely under the cover of the lowered brim of his hat and sunglasses.

He stood quietly at the top of the stairs, as if staring at the handrail in concentration, his short soft silver hair warmed in the light of the fire. The boy looks introverted and timid, and he is like the high-spirited and often mocking young genius in the ring in Bailangzhen. If you look closely, you can see that there are heavy dark circles under his eyes, and the skin on his neck and wrists that cannot be covered by clothing are faintly bruised.

Xiao Ye looked away and looked at the bedroom while still thinking.

Although the maid downstairs, Linda, treats Carl badly, and it is easy to lead the inference to a seemingly "natural" conclusion - she has also said that the house belongs to Carl himself.

In the context of the hierarchical society of the ancient West, does a maid really have the audacity to abuse the young master she serves?

After the adventurers had looked through every room in the third-floor hospitality area, Karl had somehow gone to fetch three heavy packages.

"This is the utensils that the three elders have prepared for all adventurers, please accept them. He said.

"Thanks!" Li Jiu rolled her eyes, and instead of rushing to open the package, she approached the NPC actor with a smile, "Master Carl - I can call you that, right? Anyway, this deep mountain wilderness is quite boring, do you want to talk to us?"

"By the way, Young Master Karl, why don't you introduce how many people there are in your villa, and what kind of work do they do?" Long Xing also tacitly approached.

"I, that ......" The poor young master didn't seem very good at talking to people, and took a step back awkwardly. It just so happened that the stern roar of the maid Linda came from downstairs.

"Master Karl, how long are you going to grind off!Adventurers, it's time for you to rest, tomorrow's gathering can't be delayed!"

"Yes, yes!" the silver-haired boy replied in a panic, and threw a sentence to the three of them, "Please go to the square at eight o'clock tomorrow morning to attend the rally," and hurriedly went downstairs. The Nanguo siblings, who failed to talk to NPCs, sighed regretfully, but they also understood that this belonged to the "coercive force of the plot" and did not dwell too much.

Then, they quickly unwrapped the package that Carl had brought with them – more often referred to by experienced contestants as the "Basic Pack". As soon as it was opened, the light-colored fabric reflected the firelight, immediately attracting the full attention of the three of them.

"Oh, that's cool!"

Curious, Lijiu spread out her clothes and looked at them—it was a very old Western outfit. The whole is mainly spotless snow-white, and it is equipped with a jacket, trousers, gloves, boots and other cold equipment, and a long cloak with exquisite workmanship. The surface of the fabric is smooth to the touch and seems to be a material that does not stain easily, while the inner layer is the opposite soft touch. Probably using self-heating materials, the clothes felt warm and soft to the touch, and Long Xing couldn't help but bury his face in it.

The bulging package also includes dry food and water bottles, common medicines, pen and paper maps, compasses, fire utensils, and other common tools for survival in the wild, which are all too familiar to freelance trainers who are constantly on the go. In addition, the Himi family also prepared an iron sword for each adventurer for self-defense, and the gray blade of the sword appeared thick and clumsy, exactly matching the appearance of a metal weapon hundreds of years ago.

The siblings excitedly changed into new clothes and looked at themselves in the blurred reflection of the glass—cloaked and booted, with an iron sword at his waist, indeed the dusty adventurer of ancient Western works.

Since there is still a rally tomorrow morning - as the first "plot point", if you miss it, you will probably be asked out of the game - Xiao Ye said it badly, and finally persuaded Li Jiu and Long Xing to go to bed early.

After washing, Saya returns to her room. Before lying down to rest, she looked out the window at the brand-new wooden houses, the continuous lights, and the magic runes carved on the stone pillars, and finally couldn't help but sigh with a sigh of doubt.

...... Therefore, the organizers of this blizzard battle not only took out their own homes for the contestants to live in, but also sent the whole people to participate in the scenes, and even built the newly built houses and even the entire residential area into the magic style of ancient mages for the competition.

The Bingmi family, absolutely.

====================

Small Theatre:

Linda, the maid who watched Carl and the adventurers go upstairs: "Oh my God, why would anyone in the world wear a single shirt and shorts to go up to the snowy mountains? This is so terrible, it is even more terrible than the real adventurers of ancient times, and I was so scared that I almost forgot my lines and was deducted from the bonus. (palpitations)