Early morning on August 12th.

The hard-working adventurers have already gone out early and are running in the direction of the snowfields. Although there were three piles at the entrance of the villa for some reason, the young people who were in a hurry had no time to pay attention to this detail, and after taking half a second to glance at the piles, they ran away in a hurry.

The three people who were splashed with snow slag slowly came back to their senses.

When the fog cleared, it wasn't surprising to find yourself in front of the Wind and Snow Lodge - it wasn't the first time a copy had been ejected along this trajectory anyway. In contrast, the name engraved on the tombstone is the culprit that makes the Terashima siblings stand tall.

"Boss, Boss, isn't Ralph the name of the Second Elder?"

"Was it me dazzled or was it a ghost that we saw before......"

The two children tugged at Xiaoye's sleeves left and right, trembling with fear from their own brains - or maybe the psychological shadow left by last year's horror theme.

"We didn't see it. Xiao Ye said.

"Huh?"

"Although we heard the second elder's cough when we visited the Elder's Mansion, we never saw him in person. ”

"What do you mean......" Li Jiu's eyes rolled, vaguely guessed Xiao Ye's thoughts, and hurriedly asked, "Did you detect anything when you went last time, boss?"

Although they had already guessed the result, seeing that Xiao Ye shook her head honestly, the sister and brother sighed together.

Also, if there is a jammer in a secret place, the player will know everything if he takes a super Pokémon and swings around.

"So, in order to find out the truth, we need to find a way to see the 'Second Elder' with our own eyes. Xiao Ye clapped her hands, "Let's go-"

"Going to the Elder's Mansion?" the siblings suddenly became excited.

"No, we're going to see Lily's grandfather first. ”

After entering the villa, the three of them quickly sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere. The number of lodge residents staying outdoors was significantly reduced, and they were replaced by double the number of patrol guards. Many of the buildings near the entrance of the villa have potholes, as if they had just fought a big battle. The Terashima siblings immediately realized that something had happened, and when they saw that the patrol leader who was passing by happened to be a familiar face, they immediately approached with a smile.

The leader hadn't slept for half a night, and was already sleepy and upset at this time, and planned to wave his hand to drive away the adventurer who was talking to him. After turning his head and seeing the face of the visitor, the team leader, Jean, who had been whipped away by a sword on the training platform, immediately changed his movements and said with a friendly smile: "It's you." After all the hard work, is the work still going well?"

"Of course it went well. Actually, we have something we want to ask—"

The siblings knew very well who Jean's favorability was, and after half a sentence, they fell silent one after another, and threw their eyes at the boss in unison. Xiao Ye shook her head helplessly, and had no choice but to speak, "I'm sorry to disturb you." We didn't go back to the lodge last night, I wonder what happened here?"

"Don't mention it. Jean grinned, waved his hand to send the team members to take the first step, and he sat on the side of the road without paying attention, looking full of complaints, "I don't know which stunned young man angered the monsters in the Warcraft Forest, the villa was suddenly attacked last night, if it weren't for the patrol's quick response, the houses would have to be demolished by the Warcraft now." ”

When Jean said this, Xiao Ye remembered the abnormal beast tide in the Warcraft Forest yesterday afternoon. It's just that I didn't expect the Warcraft to be so sincere, and they actually crossed the entire ice field with their feet......

"That's right. Unfortunately, we weren't there last night and couldn't help. Xiao Ye handed the kettle to Jean, who was so tired that his eyes were full of stars, "Are everyone in the villa okay, are you hurt?"

Jean was not polite, took the kettle and drank the cow drink, then wiped his mouth and said, "Thank you—that's not true, fortunately, the three elders came with people immediately, just like last time......"

His voice paused, and he seemed to know that he was speechless, and immediately fell silent.

"You mean that time a year ago?" Xiao Ye didn't seem to notice Gin's abnormality, and answered with a natural expression.

“...... Alas, since you know, I don't hide it anymore. The young man sighed, "That's right, our mountain villa was also attacked by demonic beasts a year ago. It was the newly appointed Third Elder who fought bravely with the warriors and demonic beasts under his command and saved the clansmen, and it was from then on that everyone began to admire and love him—these should be kept secret from outsiders, but you must not tell anyone about them. ”

Xiao Ye's eyes widened slightly, revealing a look of surprise.

"How?"

"Nothing, I just felt a little surprised. I heard that your father, the second elder of the Himi family, was the strongest warrior in the clan, and I thought he would be in charge of the defense. ”

Gene immediately smiled bitterly when he heard this, "It was indeed my father's duty to protect the villa. It's just that he was seriously ill by then—and as you can see, it's not getting any better. ”

After a few small talks, the young man still had a job, and soon said goodbye to his adventurer friends and ran in the direction of his teammates' departure.

Seeing Jean go away, Xiao Ye said "I see" lightly, and continued to walk towards the villa with his teammates. Li Jiu and Long Xing only felt confused, and they couldn't figure out which of the tombstones or Jean's words was true, and seeing that the boss didn't mean to explain for the time being, they had to hide the confusion in their stomachs first.

On the way to Lily's house, they saw an old man being carried out on a stretcher, covered with a white cloth, apparently deceased - when they noticed that the chest of the "corpse" was still slightly undulating, the three of them were shocked for a moment by the professionalism of this dead man who had to play it himself, and they were stunned for a moment before they returned to the right path.

...... Wait, the tombstone engraved on the mass grave is also the real name, right?

...... No, that's not the right path.

After some inquiry, the information obtained proved that what Jean said was true, and that the residents of the villa were indeed not injured in the night attack of the monsters. The old man was too old to die of natural aging.

Xiao Ye looked at the stretcher and suddenly captured an inconspicuous picture.

The person in charge of carrying the stretcher lifted the corner of the white cloth, took off the jade bracelet on the old man's wrist, and quietly put it in his pocket. The bracelet was dull in color, lifeless like a lifeless creature.

The adventurer looked away thoughtfully, looking at the others around him.

As early as the first day of the competition, they found that all the members of the Bingjian clan were wearing a jade bracelet of the same style - at first, the three of them didn't pay much attention to it, after all, the magicians of the ice were also dressed in a uniform manner, and being careful not to let others touch the bracelet could also be interpreted as cherishing valuable jewelry. It's just that the bracelets worn by people who come and go are crystal clear, and there is a beautiful glimmer of light inside, which is almost different from the faint bracelet of the deceased old man.

Probably because they had been standing here for a long time, the Bingjian clan next to them thought that the adventurer was too young to see life and death, so they said a few words of comfort - according to her, the old man's partner had passed away a long time ago, and the only daughter had also been cut off after leaving Fengxue Mountain a few years ago, I don't know if it was an accident. For the elderly, who suffer from loneliness every day, it may be a joy to die at the end of their lives.

Xiao Ye was slightly stunned when she heard this, and a vague guess took root in her heart.

She dragged Li Jiu and Long Xing into the shadows, and quietly arranged a task - to find out the situation of each empty house in the Wind and Snow Villa.

For socially savvy southerners, this couldn't be easier. The trio went their separate ways and soon explored the uninhabited houses in the villa.

Combining the information they obtained, they came up with a surprising result: in just one year, more than a dozen elderly people and young children had died of old age or disease, which had led to the creation of many temporarily abandoned empty houses in the Wind and Snow Lodge.

Even in ancient times, when medical technology was not developed, such a number of deaths was too high.

The Terashima siblings immediately scratched their ears and cheeks, eager to immediately grab all the Bingmi people and interrogate them carefully, so as to find out the truth of the matter. However, their team leader said that there was no need to focus on this matter immediately due to the lack of information at the moment. The siblings had no choice but to press their curiosity first and follow the team to their intended destination.

When the trio arrived at Lily's house, the girl's grandfather had already woken up.

Although the old man was emaciated after getting rid of the disease, his eyes were burning bright, and he had a kind of momentum that was not angry and self-assured. He meticulously saluted the adventurers with his granddaughter's support, and then sat down on the edge of the bed.

Although Xiao Ye and his party did not intend to ask them for any substantial reward, the old man with an old-fashioned personality refused to accept the favors of others in vain, and looked like he was going to sell his entire family as a reward, so frightened that the three of them were violently persuaded for a while, and it took a long time to reluctantly accept the old man with the reason that "information is more precious to us".

There's only one thing we want to know. ”

After the dispute was settled, Xiao Ye, who was sitting opposite the old man, spoke.

"What happened on this snowy mountain?"

At the bedside of the burning campfire, the old man told an old story to the adventurers.

A long, long time ago, almost everyone on this continent knew that Fengxue Mountain was a place guarded by gods.

The god with blue wings, a symbol of ice and snow, lives on the top of the snowy mountain all year round, and uses its wings to protect the creatures on the mountain. The Himi family, who control the power of ice, has lived in Fengxue Mountain for generations, and they regard the Ice Demon Beast as the "son of God", and they support each other and live together with the Demon Beast.

A few decades ago, the disappearance of the Azure God was the beginning of a catastrophe. No one knows where the gods are, and it's hard to get the slightest clue when they go out to search. Natural disasters, harsh environments, outlaws, and enemies with bad intentions—the Himi family, who had lost their shelter, was in an increasingly difficult situation under the onslaught of countless hardships.

Gradually, another voice began to emerge within the family. They believe that now that the gods are gone, perhaps one day, the gods' heirs, the ice monsters that are close to the people, will also disappear. Therefore, human beings should not continue to rely on the power of Warcraft, and only tempering their own magic power is the safest way to protect themselves.

The Wind and Snow Villa quarreled over this matter, and the family gradually divided into two different factions. The standoff lasted for a long time, until a year ago, in the middle of a foggy night, the lodge was attacked.

The sleeping tribesmen had no idea what was happening, and many lost their lives in their sleep. The homes were destroyed, and the survivors fled in confusion under the protection of the guards, and they could not even see the appearance of the attackers. It wasn't until dawn that the enemy faded and the three elders Morton, who had fought bloodily on the front line, tirelessly announced to the people that it was the demonic beasts living in the sacred forest that attacked the Wind and Snow Mountain Villa.

The days that followed were hard and painful for all the Himi people. They bypassed treacherous forests and crossed cold ice fields to finally find a sheltered valley where they could begin to build their new home. The people who had experienced a catastrophe no longer wanted to believe in the Monsters, and the two factions shook hands and made peace, cutting down all the sacred trees that attracted the Monsters, and building a high wall to block the Monsters outside the Villa. Under the leadership of the Three Elders, the people honed their magic and vigilantly expelled all the demonic beasts that dared to approach the villa - but in just one year, the Wind and Snow Villa had changed from a place where humans and monsters coexisted to a place where only humans lived.

"That's it, that's it. The old man snorted coldly, "No, just after standing steadily, you adventurers roared over, and wanted to kill all the demonic beasts?"

Xiao Ye seemed to be aware of this, and asked softly, "Old man, is it really a demonic beast that attacked the villa?"

"God knows. The old man rolled his eyes, "Anyway, old man, I am lonely and unheard, and I only see a group of human-like things from afar, and I can't think of any demonic beasts that have grown into that virtue." ”

Xiao Ye and the Terashima siblings glanced at each other, and they both remembered the humanoid ice puppets they had seen in the abandoned old village, the former "Wind and Snow Mountain Villa".

"Hey, it looks like you've already seen the 'ruins'. ”

The old man's gaze circled around the faces of the three men like knives.

He took a sip from his glass, then slowly took out an object and placed it gently on the table.

"Well, this is the spoils of my travels when I was young, and I give them to you. Think of it as a reward for saving my life. ”

The Terashima siblings' eyes widened in curiosity as they looked at the shiny bead—although the pattern was similar, it was a full circle larger than a normal magic core, and it looked brilliant and beautiful.

"Grandpa, is this the Demon Core, why did you give us this?" asked Lijiu curiously.

"Didn't that kid Morton want you to hunt the beasts? The old man was concise and to the point.

After a while, the white-haired old man who had just recovered from a serious illness put down his water glass, and his expression was incomprehensible.

"That's all I can say, old man. From now on, you have to see the truth with your own eyes—"

"Then decide which side to take. ”

At the end of the conversation, the busy adventurers did not delay any longer and said goodbye to their grandparents.

Before going out, Long Xing seemed to see his boss whispering something in the little girl's ear - but the voice was too faint, and by the time he stepped forward curiously, Beidou had already straightened up and patted Lily on the shoulder.

"Take care, we'll be coming to see you. ”

The adventurers, clad in white cloaks, waved to the people in the house, turned and pushed the door open, and stepped into the snow again.

The weather in the mountains is always gloomy, and the rising sun is blocked by overcast clouds, leaving only a few faint rays of light. The adventurers quickened their pace and arrived at the Elder's Mansion in less than a few minutes.

Today is the third day of the competition, and almost all the players are busy exploring the field map, and rarely come to the Elder's Mansion to pester the Bingjian clan. Xiao Ye and the three of them walked through the hall unimpeded and entered the office of the three elders.

"Welcome, young adventurers. ”

In front of the desk full of case files, the middle-aged man raised his head and showed a kind smile.

"You said you would come to register your results last night, but I didn't wait for you until the curfew, so I was worried for a while. Thankfully, you're safe. ”

Morton, the third elder of the Bingjian family, stood up and walked slowly in front of the adventurers.

It was only at this time that the Terashima siblings suddenly discovered that this elder who was always lying on the table and working hard was tall and strong, and he needed to raise his head with great effort to meet him.

"As you may already know, a monster attacked Blizzard Villa last night - coincidentally, you weren't there. ”

He leaned forward slightly. The flickering candle flame cast a shadow in front of him, enveloping the dwarf adventurers completely.

"—can you tell me why you didn't keep your promise?"

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

Small Theatre:

Himi people: I'll tell you a secret - in order to ensure the effect of the performance and the sense of substitution, we stipulate that the corpse lying on the ground must be played by a real person, and the name on the tombstone must also be the real name. To be fair, only those who are considered to be the worst in the whole family will be assigned this kind of task.

Adventurers: ...... What a cold world this is!?