A week or so after the Christmas break, Ryan receives an invitation from Aunt Betty in the Emerald Dreamland. The letter invited Ryan and Hermione to the centaur village the next night as guests of honor at her son's tree-planting ceremony.

"Holding a ceremony at this time means that we are going to go out at curfew. Ryan exclaimed when she told Hermione the news.

"Of course, as far as I know, this centaur ritual is to be held in the early hours of the morning at the beginning of the day, which means that we will not be able to come back before curfew. I can go alone if you don't want to, it's no problem. ”

"Who's to say I don't want to go? It's an absolute honor to go to such a ceremony that is not even recorded in the books. Hermione said with some excitement. "Besides, it's Christmas break, and it's not too much of a deal to come back late - what are you looking at me like that?"

"It's the first time I've seen our Miss Granger willing to break some school rules, so I'm a little surprised. Ryan replied solemnly.

At nine o'clock the next night, the two men quietly slipped out of the castle gate. Then, under Wolff's guidance, he headed straight for the centaur village. Under the moonlight, the snow in the forest reflects a silvery white light, reflecting everything around it clearly.

The Centaur village is no exception, the river on the edge of the village is frozen and covered with a layer of snow. The houses in the village were also covered in snow, and the tall wooden roofs seemed to be covered with a thick layer of cream.

Follow Wolf through the quiet village to Aunt Betty's house on the left side of the village, where she was already waiting for Ryan and them. On the side of her horse there was a frame with a lot of fur, and the child was inside.

Centaur babies are much smaller than foals, and look more like horse-like human babies with lower body lengths. Aunt Betty's husband, Bane, was seriously teasing his son with a small toy made of golden leaves and vines. At this time, Bane looked much neater than when he saw him in the first grade, and his hair was neatly groomed. Because it was winter, he still wore a whole cape made of bearskin on his upper body.

"Welcome, welcome. After seeing Ryan and Hermione, Aunt Betty greeted them happily. "You are welcome to come to our son's full moon planting ceremony, and you can go to the campfires in the center of the village to make a fire. ”

Saying that, Aunt Betty opened the gift that Ryan gave her, and then let out a surprised voice: "These arrows are much better than most of our arrows, only those top-level arrows that are usually stored in the altar can beat them, this is really thank you, we love this gift." ”

Not only are these arrows made of Valyrian steel, but Ryan also consumes a lot of materials to give them a variety of useful magical properties. Just pinch these arrows and feel the power contained therein.

Bane, who was next to him, expressed his affection for the gift even more clearly after receiving the arrowheads, and he directly tied an arrow with rattan and pressed it under the pile of animal skins in the basket, and then put his child back into the basket.

"If a horse has a male newborn, his parents will put what they think is the best weapon at the bottom of the newborn's rattan frame to wish him a good warrior in the future. Wolf whispered to the side what Bane was doing.

By this time, Ryan and the others were already sitting on the warm stones roasted by the campfire, each holding a teacup with some medicinal tea that was a specialty of the Forbidden Forest. Wolfe lay beside them, and in front of him lay a jarged cup containing the same medicinal tea.

"You can taste it, it's a good thing that only happens on important days, and horses don't usually want to take it out. With that, Wolf put his long, fluffy mouth into the cup and began to drink.

Seeing this, Ryan also took a sip, and the tea had an obvious bitter and astringent taste in his mouth, but it became a kind of sweetness when it flowed to the base of his tongue. After that, it is like a warm current flowing directly down the esophagus to the stomach, making the whole person warm. Dispelled the chill that seeped into his body after running in the snow for nearly an hour.

Centaurs are worthy of being nature's darlings, and after the elves leave the material world, it is estimated that only centaurs can have such a powerful talent in herbology. After observing for a while, Ryan saw more details. For example, the old centaur sitting next to the campfire added branches and leaves to the bonfire from time to time, but it was these magic powers that were so rare that they were not even regarded as herbs at all on the side of human wizards, and the old centaurs ordered the bonfire to emit a faint white smoke.

The smoke carries the fragrance of grass and trees, and everyone who smells it can feel that the fatigue on their body has been slightly relieved. After noticing Ryan looking at her, the old pony man smiled kindly at Ryan.

"Child, you are the friend of nature of the human race, thank you for your help this time, otherwise little Betty would not have fulfilled her wish for many years. ”

"I just realized a small part of nature by chance. Ryan said modestly, and then he asked, "What do you call it?"

"Lanny, we centaurs aren't as complex as humans, just call me Lanny. I'm the witch doctor of this tribe of centaurs and Bain's grandmother. I grew up watching them, and after Betty was cursed, I was looking for a solution to the problem, but unfortunately it never worked. Thankfully your help fulfills their feelings. So, you can come to me after you enter the Emerald Dream Realm in the future, and I am willing to share with you some knowledge about nature and potions. ”

Centaurs are very upright, so they don't say polite things like humans. For example, the witch doctor of the centaur tribe in front of him made it clear that she was willing to use her knowledge as a thank you gift to thank Ryan for helping her descendants continue their bloodline.

"Thank you so much. Ryan thanked the generous old man from the bottom of his heart, but Witch Doctor Lannie didn't think it was that important, after all, in the centaur tribe, knowledge is openly exchanged with each other. It is not like a human wizard who cherishes himself and erects countless barriers to the exchange of knowledge.

For the rest of the day, Ryan had been chatting with the elder, and her wealth of experience had taught Ryan and Hermione a lot. And Lanny is also happy to have younger generations who are willing to listen to the stories of her youth. After all, the centaur tribe is so big, and after she explained her story many times, everyone in the tribe is familiar with what she said.

For example, as soon as she started speaking, Wolf turned to the other side of the campfire with his teacup in his mouth. Lannie Witch Doctor just shook her head when she saw it, and then told Ryan Wolf in the chat that she told Wolf a story when he was still a wolf cub, and he guessed that he was just a little scared after hearing too many stories now.

Time passed quickly during the chat, and suddenly a low sound of a bull's horn echoed throughout the village. Dr. Lannie stood up (the difference between centaurs and horses is that centaurs often rest on all fours), wagged her tail and swept the dust off her body, and said to Ryan and Hermione, "Betty's full moon tree planting ceremony is about to begin, we need to hurry to the altar now." ”