"Your Excellency Surtu."

In the depths of the banquet after a while, Duan Qing's figure gradually appeared next to Surtu, who was also sitting in the corner of the banquet by the bonfire, and he was covered with smoke and oily smell, and then he also pulled the strong man who looked slightly drunk and looked a little relaxed to the side, and woke the other party from the shaking of his head with a burst of slapping: "Don't jump along, while the banquet is not over, I have something I want to talk to you about." ”

“…… Let's go over there. ”

Staring at the gray-robed magician, Surtu, who was gradually sobering up, walked behind Duan Qing with a wine: "I also feel the need to have a good talk with you, after all, after coming here, we are only guests, and——"

"Poor people who have been rescued here by you wonderful adventurers."

Away from the darkness brought by the bonfire, the tall and burly new patriarch's face became less easy to distinguish, he slowly withdrew the wine jug in his hand into his arms, and then bowed deeply to Duan Qing: "This sentence, it shouldn't be too late to say it now." ”

"Thank you." His head bowed deeply, and even his voice became much more sincere: "Neither I, nor my people—without your deliverance, we would not be able to live here now. ”

"Don't say that, we're all family." Slightly relieved, Duan Qing, who stepped forward, hurriedly stretched out his hand to help the figure that was a few points taller than him: "Protecting you from disasters and predicaments is the task we agreed upon when we first met, we are just completing our own duties, if we really don't accept it-"

"You should have made the right bet." Looking at the face of Surtu, who slowly raised his head, Duan Qing also burst into a smile: "We adventurers are very strong—this concept is equally applicable in both the Free Continent and the Wind Continent. ”

"Hehe, that's right." Nodding approvingly, Surtu, who straightened up, also smiled: "I have deeply felt your energy, as well as your endless routines and surprises...... That's right. ”

"As for the Divine Envoy, can you help us ask a little more questions?" As if remembering something, the patriarch then pondered his slightly hesitant words: "Since we came to her aerial territory, we have only met her once, and we still have many questions about our people, and how to survive in the future, etc., we still have many questions to ask about-"

"Before I do that, I need you to answer some of our questions."

Raising his hand to interrupt the other party's words, the gray-robed magician's face became much more serious: "Considering the relationship between you and me and the divine envoy, there are some problems that we can only ask you to solve. ”

“…… What's up? ”

"Of course, it's about Mount Kinabalu."

His face became extremely serious, and Duan Qing, who had a straight face, then took Surtu to the depths of the ruins, which were even farther away from the bonfire and the hustle and bustle of the crowd: "We have now broken with the Hulun clan, and it looks like we are on this side of the Divine Mountain, but I don't think that if we really get to the range of the Divine Mountain, those guys who have not shown up will accept us so easily." ”

"You should think of us adventurers who don't have much faith as suspicious." He faced the starlight sprinkled between the ruins, and his hair fluttered slowly with the breeze: "But until we understand these issues, we don't dare to make unauthorized contact with the Divine Mountain, even if there is a divine envoy. ”

"You adventurers are weird."

Shaking his head, Surtu then slowly put away the puzzled look on his face: "No, or is it such a character?" It feels like you're always going to be very careful about that. ”

"No way, we're walking on a tightrope all the way." Duan Qing waved his hand: "If you're not careful, we don't know how many times we've died." ”

"And what's your problem?"

"If possible, please let us know what tickets you have."

Staring at Surtu's eyes, Duan Qing slowly asked his first sentence: "Or 'voucher', 'token' - in short, it is something used to enter the sacred mountain." If I'm not mistaken, you guys mentioned something like this before, right? ”

"That's right, in order to enter the sacred mountain, we need some kind of recognized token." Surtu's expression also became solemn: "This is also the result of my conversation with the Wabu tribe: the patriarch of the Wabu tribe handed me the inheritance of their clan, and that inheritance contains some kind of existence that can make the sacred mountain recognize our qualifications. ”

"I'm glad you're willing to tell me about it." Duan Qing nodded: "Presumably, this is also the reason why the Wabu clan has also been hunted down, right?" ”

"Yes, so do our Sioux." Surtu nodded cautiously: "It's just that we used to be a member of the central tribe of the grassland, and we who were eliminated from the competition have no advantage in this regard. ”

"That's the crux of what I want to ask." Duan Qing's next question followed: "What exactly is this so-called inheritance?" What exactly is the method of selecting voters in Mount Kinabalu? ”

"The Continent of the Wind is the Continent of the Winds, and the monsoons here never stop." Starting with this sentence that has been repeated many times, Surtu sighed and looked towards the night in a certain direction in the depths of the floating island: "Because of the monsoon, every tribe here is facing the test of survival all the time, and the powerful tribes will have more strength and numbers to snatch the Wind Stone and other resources for survival, so they are more qualified to choose a better place to survive." ”

"There are no criteria for 'selection' on Mount Kinabalu itself, and they open the way to Mount Kinabalu at a certain time every year." The tall and burly tribal patriarch crossed his arms: "It is a special wind channel, the only wind channel in the Central Grassland that will not be affected by the wind, through that wind channel, enter the sacred mountain, become the tribe and the elect recognized by the sacred mountain, and all the people in the tribe will also get rid of the survival problems of the Wind Continent, and live comfortably and happily forever." ”

"But not everyone is qualified to enter this pathway, at least in the eyes of many tribes in the grasslands." Duan Qing replied in the other party's voice, "In order to control this 'qualification', the Central Clan was born, right?" ”

"Yes." Glancing at Duan Qing lightly, Su Ertu replied: "Whether it is the time when the wind tunnel is open, the width of the wind channel, or even the degree to which the sacred mountain itself can accommodate, it is impossible for everyone to be a lucky member. ”

"Over time, only the powerful clans will remain in that area of the Central Prairie." Speaking of this, the strong man sighed again: "This is also a rumor that I have heard since I spoke out, because the Sioux have already left that place at that time. ”

"So what is the so-called 'inheritance'?"

"Because the qualification to enter the sacred mountain cannot always be determined by force."

Recovering a little of his emotions, Surtu turned to his next answer: "The larger the tribe, the more difficult it is to bear the wounds left by the fierce killing, so when the competition gradually tends to balance out, and no one dares to help anyone, several people who remained in the central grassland at that time, representing the most powerful tribe on the continent, stopped one after another and made a series of rules. ”

"This includes the rule that tribes that have obtained qualifications and made outstanding contributions to the grasslands can leave their own tokens as a legacy to obtain the recognition of other tribes' 'qualifications' in the future that may arise." Su Ertu slowly said the answer Duan Qing wanted: "No matter how strong or weak this qualification is, as long as you take out this token, the entire clan can enter the Divine Mountain unconditionally, but it can only be used once." ”

“…… Are the Wabs a tribe that has contributed so much to the continent? So Duan Qing glared at his eyes: "Why haven't I heard you mention this before?" Are they so famous on this continent? ”

"Of course not, I don't know how the patriarch of the Wabu clan got this inheritance." Surtu shook his head: "Maybe it's because of favors, maybe it's because of money, in short, they don't know why they have this token, and it's still in a secret state." ”

"But because they are not strong in their own right and have never made a similar contribution, this qualification can be seen as fake at a glance." As if he had finally seen through the cause and effect in the middle, Duan Qing's voice slowly spit out this sentence: "Later, I don't know why, the news leaked out again, and this tribe has become the current fate." ”

"That's right, unable to get the protection of the sacred mountain, and without a strong force as a guarantee, this tribe has been hunted down by other tribes, and finally fled to the north." Surtu replied in a dull voice, "Until they met us." ”

"You used to be one of the central tribes of the steppe, and your qualifications have been recognized by the other tribes." Duan Qing looked at Surtu's face with a natural expression: "If you use this qualification, you don't have any obstacles. ”

"There are still obstacles, but I've already figured out how to deal with them." Surtu shook his head and sighed: "However, before this countermeasure is used, we will meet the Hulun tribe. ”

"That Hulun patriarch must have known about these things as well, so he also made a corresponding request, right?" Duan Qingmo lifted his chin: "Let me guess - hmm, they also want a piece of the pie?" ”

"It is impossible for a token to represent two tribes, especially if both tribes were once members of the central clan." Surtu shook his head again, "Unless the two tribes become one, or as they proposed at the banquet for me—"

"Whatever good reasons they gave you at that time, most of them have turned into bubbles now." Interrupting the other party's words with another wave of his hand, Duan Qing said in a deep voice, "Because they chose the former, right?" ”

"To be honest, I have a lot of admiration for the Hulun warriors themselves." Surtu also raised his head: "Joining the Hulun tribe in this extraordinary period, becoming one of them and fighting side by side with them, I actually don't have much resistance, but I am now the patriarch of the Nasu tribe, and I bear the name of the Nasu tribe on my body. ”

"Even if I put aside the opposition from the tribe, I can't just hand it over." He clenched his fist vigorously, and then slowly released it as if relieved: "Presumably, that Hulan Baatar probably also saw through my thoughts, so he chose to let me drink the blood of the dragon rebellion at the banquet." ”

“…… So how are you feeling right now? Are there any other physical problems? ”

"No, thank you for your help." He bowed his head again, and then Surtu also asked rhetorically: "Now that I can tell you everything, do these things help you?" ”

"Of course it helps, but it's all of us who help." Nodding his head, Duan Qing's voice replied decisively, "Because of the existence of this token, our current situation has become very delicate. ”

"Most of the Hulun people who have lost this shortcut will choose their way to enter the sacred mountain, and we don't care about this for the time being." He gestured with his finger in front of Surtu, and his gaze swung back and forth in the space between the starry sky and the territory of the Floating Tower: "But you and I are still aiming to go to the Sacred Mountain, you shouldn't deny this, right?" ”

"Of course." Surtu's voice replied affirmatively: "It has nothing to do with the existence of faith or anything, even if it is for the sake of the people, I will continue to follow this path - what, what's the problem?" ”

"Of course there is a problem, after all, I have been listening to it for half a day, and the so-called tokens and qualifications are all rules set by you powerful tribes on the grassland." Duan Qing pointed around the two of them: "But now we have a simpler and more convenient way. ”

"We have an oracle and a floating island." He spread his hands to both sides: "Without the restraint of the wind channel, we can choose to enter the sacred mountain at any time." ”

"That's right." After hesitating for a moment, Surtu finally replied, "If the gods make your lord agree to this—"

"Now the question is no longer whether the divine envoy agrees with him, but whether the divine mountain agrees with him." Waving his hand to interrupt the other party's words, Duan Qing turned to his head and nodded: "I just got some news—you can think of it as a means of obtaining information that is unique to us adventurers—Shenshan has already started to deal with us. ”

"This easier and faster road may become more rugged than any other."