It had been raining for a whole week, the ground was muddy, the wheels were stuck in the mud, half of the body was crooked, and there was always a danger of overturning. The www.biquge.info merchant of the pen "Fun" Pavilion pulled the reins and gave the horse a whip fiercely, and the horse neighed, and the front hooves were hard, and the legs sank deeper. Worse still, the car took up most of the lane, making it impossible for people and horses behind to move forward.

Even the guards at the checkpoint were impatient, braved the rain, and cursed loudly: "You either find a few people to push the cart, or unload the goods, otherwise the cart will just get stuck in the mud." ”

The rain was rattling, the vendors were shouting, and Hugo heard him shouting, "You can't unload the goods!" the tarpaulin was covered with the goods prepared for the imperial celebration, all the finest wheat, flour, and a few barrels of tuna. ”

"Damn, you're the first person today who claims to be buying goods for the Emperor's celebration?10th?11th?" the guard waved his hand, "A few of them lied and couldn't prove it, so I gave them a whip." ”

"I have a certificate, a pass from the Imperial Ministry of Internal Affairs, and a tax exemption certificate from the Ministry of Revenue. The vendor shuddered, carefully took out 2 pieces of paper from his arms, and the attendant held an umbrella, and the guard looked at it and waved his hand: "Then you damn hurry up and find a way to get the car out." ”

The vendor gave the horse a whip, and the horse blinked, stepped on its front hooves, and stagnated.

There were more and more people in line, Hugo didn't want to delay time, he walked over, pressed the ground, a ditch appeared next to the puddle, and after the muddy water flowed to the ditch, he cast another spell to make the soil around the pit form a slope, the horse neighed, and with a force, the carriage rushed out of the slope and galloped away.

"He's a magician?" "There's really magic. ”

"Wow, uncle, can you stop the rain?"

"Freaks, magicians are freaks. ”

"Be careful, his ears are as sensitive as bats. ”

Hearing those whispers, Hugo could only smile bitterly in his heart. He's used to it.

"You're a magician?" the guard said with a glance at Hugo, "what are you doing in such a remote place?"

Hugo stepped on his horse, looked up at the mountains in the distance, and replied, "Don't worry, guard, there are no polar people here, and there are no supernatural phenomena, I just happened to be passing by." ”

"Listen to you, magician, the Empire is proud of you. The guards signaled for the checkpoint to let them go.

The mountain road is not easy to walk, the road is slippery in the rain, the horse walks very slowly, and encounters some potholes on the road, Hugo casts a spell to level the ground, but he doesn't want to waste too much mana. Pulsatilla Mountain is 2,000 meters above sea level, and he only walked halfway up the mountain. Located on the border of the province of Menot, the mountain has a different climate from the mountain, and when spring comes, the summit is covered with snow, hence the name Pulsatilla Mountain.

The further up you go, the stronger the wind and the colder it gets. The rain kept falling, and two-thirds of the way through, the rain condensed as it fell. Hugo exhaled, and a white mist erupted. He shuddered and slapped his horse forward. After walking for about an hour, the tower at the top of the hill was faintly visible, and he patted his horse forward, and the horse lingered on the edge of the cliff. Pulsatilla Mountain has several peaks, the highest of which rises into the sky, and on the cliff between the two peaks, there is a bridge made of wood, which swings slightly in the wind.

"Don't be afraid, rabbit. Hugo stroked the gray mare's mane and comforted it. He was too lazy to choose a name, and when he met the gray mare, Cassius asked him to choose a name, and Hugo scratched his head, looked at the rabbit meat on the grill, and said that the mare was called "Rabbit". Cassius laughed and asked Hugo if he wanted to eat the rabbit tonight.

"Cassiu, you bastard boy, how are you doing with the Rangers?" said Hugo to the air, and he dismounted, took the reins, and crossed the bridge with the rabbit. There is no bottom under the bridge, and the sound of water is vaguely heard, and the water is very fast. The rabbit shook its head, and Hugo had to stroke its nose and speed up to cross the bridge.

After crossing the bridge, there was another peak, the terrain was relatively stable, and he rode his horse until he came to a high tower on the highest peak of Pulsatilla Mountain. The tower is painted in white ivory for the exterior walls, and the spire of the tower is painted in red.

"Like a white radish. Hugo quipped the horse on the forehead.

He knocked on the door, and it was opened by a boy of about 15 years old, wearing a linen hood and holding a staff in his hand, and asked, "Who are you?"

"Hugo. Enchanter. Hugo unbuttoned his coat, revealing the white robe inside.

"Master Schultz is no guest. The boy then closed the door.

Hugo grabbed the brass ring on the door and said, "I have something urgent, something very important, please report it." ”

Then you have to answer three questions. Who are you?Where are you from?Where are you going?," the boy blinked, and asked, "The master has spoken, but he cannot answer, and no one is allowed to enter." ”

Hugo pursed his lips, held his patience, and replied word by word: "My name is Hugo, I am a magician, I am from Serves, I am ...... I don't know where I'm going. ”

Without saying a word, the little boy was about to close the door.

"Hey, little ghost, I don't have time to guess riddles with you!" Hugo showed the silver pendant of the wolf head around his neck, "I am Hugo of the Wolf Warrior Squad, and I have come to find Master Schultz, and the fate of the empire is at stake." ”

"Fate?" said an old man's voice behind the little boy, "here you are, with that damn wolf's head, threatening a child." ”

The little boy turned his head, then gave way. Master Schultz, a member of the Council of Magic, was dressed in a white robe, his gray hair was scattered over his shoulders, and his beard was also gray, longer than his neck, and he walked slowly with a staff made of elm.

Hugo bowed slightly, nodded and said, "Master Schultz, long time no see." ”

"It's better not to see you. I don't want to see you since you hung that wolf's head. The master replied coldly, "I'm afraid that if you say the wrong thing and do the wrong thing, I will be arrested by you." ”

Damn Katheu, why do you want me to be the leader of the Wolf Warrior Squad. Hugo swallowed, and he carefully chose his words: "Master, I'm not here...... In fact, I'm here to ask for help, and it's about ......"

"Fate. Master Schultz waved his hand and motioned for Hugo to come in, "What does the fate of the empire have to do with me? ”

The tower is larger than Hugo had imagined, with a central staircase that spirals upwards and connects the rooms on each floor. Hugo noticed that the first floor was furnished with simple furniture, a dining table and six chairs, which were polished to a shiny finish, but the master did not let him sit down, but led him up to the second floor.

Every room on the second floor is full of books, the shelves on the entire wall are full of books, large and small, and there are many scattered on the woolen carpet, some of these books are about herbal medicine, such as "Treatise on the Medicinal Properties of Plants", and some are about alchemy, such as "Research on the Decomposition of Nitric Acid". Hugo felt that his head was big, and he was not good at reading when he was in college.

"Sit down. I can't stand for long with this old bone. The master half-reclined himself in an easy chair, put the staff aside, and stretched the boy away," said the boy. ”

Hugo smelled the smell of ink all over the room, he coughed, and said, "This year's magician graduates have been killed, more than one. ”

The master listened quietly, picked up a copy of "Travels in the Empire" and flipped through it, and when Hugo finished speaking, he sighed and praised: "When I was young, I also wanted to travel all over the country, to travel every inch of land, to study every herb, to try every mineral. ”

Hugo sat awkwardly across from him, rubbing his hands together. He knew that Master Schultz had an eccentric temper. I have to be patient.

"Hugo, you can try to read this, "Imperial Creature Collection", oh damn, this book is too old, I don't know who wrote it, the petrified lizard is not in the Tux kingdom at all, he must be mistaken, how can there be a lizard in a cold area?" Master Schultz threw away this one, "By the way, that one is not bad, "Imperial Chronicles, compiled by the royal historians, is a little older, it was compiled in the 30th year of the imperial calendar, when Emperor Yudit Rudolph was compiled." ”

"Master, what I just said ......," Hugo asked cautiously.

Master Schultz smiled: "I know that you don't like to read, and your grades in the academy are not good. In this library, the smell of ink makes you nauseous? ”

Hugo clenched his fists and made up his mind to ask for some clues no matter what.

Master Schultz stood up, took his staff, straightened his waist, and said, "The past, the present, and the future, we cannot part with each other. From the time the Prophet Muhammad met Emperor Rhodes, the seeds of the future were planted. ”

He pointed to the book he had just asked Hugo to read: "The world is big, time is long, and the unknown fascinates and frightens us. Hugo, this is especially true of shadow magic. Almost 10 years ago, I refused to agree with Willen Madison that he shouldn't have practiced shadow magic. ”

Hugo blinked, and he took a sip of the tea that the boy had handed him, and the tea was fragrant with a few white petals.

"Willen Madison is dead. Hugo put down his glass, "One year of war is dead." ”

"As I said, the seeds of the future are buried in the past. Master Schultz turned and looked out the window, "Ever since Holland acquiesced in his specialization in shadow magic, he was wrong, wildly wrong. No one knows why Viren learned shadow magic and manipulated shadows. The Council has debated this. ”

Hugo came to the window and looked out the window, halfway up the Pulsatilla Mountain, the fog was boundless, the sky was getting dark, and the sound of rain was still there.

"The Council is responsible for judging the level of magic, the dangers of magic, the history of magic, and the teaching of magic. The seven-member council, when it encounters a dispute, usually votes by a show of hands, but on complex issues, it is very noisy, eager to give the other party a fireball, or let the other side sink the ground where the other party is standing. Master Schultz lit a cigarette and blew it out in a circle.

Hugo was worried that he had burned all the books.

"Jason, one of the old Ten Saints, is adamantly opposed to the inclusion of Viren in the Ten Saints, and James Blackwood, who is Cassie's teacher, is also against it, believing that Viren must have sold his soul to the devil. Blair May, the gloomy guy who said that the Polar Regions are enemies at the moment, and that shadow magic is powerful and rare, and that one more combat power has one more insurance against the Empire. Master Schultz snorted softly, as if the scene was vivid, "The most hateful thing is Holland, he is too eager to form a magician army, he always fantasizes that the polar people will attack the imperial capital the next day, he does not take the great cavalry, the brave rangers, and the navy of the empire seriously." Arrogant and conceited, obsessed with magic. As the president of the Council, he nodded, and as a result, Viren became one of the Ten Saints and was awarded the highest rank of arcane crystals, the purest arcane crystals. So, the root of the bane was laid. ”