Lookout Fortress, business district, Silver Needle Tavern.

In stark contrast to the cold and silent streets, when Xu Nan pushed open the door and walked into the tavern, bypassing the stone pillars to reach the hall, he was greeted not only by the warm air waves but also by the noisy shouts of the crowd.

Only the bored bartender at the front desk cast a wait-and-see look.

Xu Nan took off the cloak on his body, shook off the snow, ordered a glass of juice, and sat down at the bar inadvertently.

It was already midnight, but the fabulous nightlife in the tavern had clearly just begun.

The air was filled with the smell of inferior perfumes and the sour smell of burning coal.

He couldn't help but twist his nose and force himself to accept the chaotic atmosphere.

"Your juice, I'm sorry I couldn't find it fresh." The bartender shrugged.

Xu Nan took the glass of juice and took a sip lightly, forcing himself not to frown.

It really doesn't taste good.

However, with the embarrassing material condition of the Lookout Fortress, it really can't ask for too much.

But Xu Nan's desire to relax was also disappointed.

He's coming out to breathe.

After flipping through five or six books with thousands of pages thick, the drowsy Xu Nan chose to give up.

Evelyn slept soundly. This was thanks to the mild hypnotic powder hidden in the water that Xu Nan handed her.

She needed a good night's sleep.

And Xu Nan, who originally wanted to take advantage of this time to find the relevant information of the Atsam family, almost didn't fall asleep in the end.

Considering that these books are all ancient books, once swallowed, there will be no second one, so he can only shake his head and run out to breathe.

Evelyn's clues and the messages he got out of Elliot's mouth don't make a complete puzzle.

And more news about Atsam, even the gossip system of Paradise Lost, does not involve too much specific information - this is normal, Paradise Lost is not a panacea after all.

In order to get more information before the celebration began tomorrow afternoon, Xu Nan could only run out on his own, trying to find out something from the mouths of the local people.

But now, sitting in the tavern and feeling the noisy atmosphere, Xu Nan could only smile bitterly.

He felt sick all over.

At this moment, he could clearly feel the aura that permeated his own air that was out of place in the entire tavern.

"Well, I'm not a spy at all."

He smiled bitterly in his heart.

There is no news from Qin Lele's side, which makes Xu Nan a little worried. His instincts told it that the Chilling Day Celebration and the Mind Eater Charm in Eliot's hand must have an internal logical connection, but he just didn't find it.

"It's all here, but you still have to try it."

After drinking the juice in one go, he cheered himself up.

"What's going on over there?" He tossed a silver coin at the bar and asked casually.

The bartender took it neatly, wiped it casually, and stuffed it into his pocket, but his expression became a little more restrained:

"That's the honeysuckle rat's arena."

"Everybody is there to have some fun. The rules of competition are simple, run along the track, from the start to the finish, whoever is faster is the winner. Winner takes all. ”

"You can buy your own honeysuckle rat to race, but you can't feed it messy medicine. Boss York doesn't allow that to happen, and there was a foreigner last month......"

Under the bartender's chattering narration, Xu Nan roughly understood the rules.

The honeysuckle rat is a very small rodent, generally only finger long and two fingers wide. It was very hardy and had very little flesh on it, but during the famine years, many Kutlin people would still run into underground caves to find honeysuckle nests.

Honeysuckle rats are very fertile and can run at average speeds, but since someone invented the game and put it into practice, the business of the Silver Needle Tavern has more than doubled, and the orphans of the slums have a new daily task: catching the honeysuckle rat.

A strong honeysuckle rat can be sold for a high price in the Silver Needle Tavern, and the stronger it is, the more popular it is, even if the money paid is not proportional to the benefits that may be obtained, but there are also gamblers who are willing to pay.

Xu Nan leaned over and watched the game with the taste.

For him, who has experienced the baptism of various wonderful programs on the earth, it is actually not wonderful at all.

But for the people who have paid real money and experienced the thrilling race at the table, it is undoubtedly an audio-visual feast.

At the referee's whistle.

A gray honeysuckle rat came out on top and knocked off the pennant at the finish line, causing everyone to scold angrily.

The owner of the honeysuckle rat was holding a cage in one hand and a chip in the other, smiling from ear to ear. The gray honeysuckle rat got into the cage and was immediately stuffed with several handfuls of rations.

The people at the table walked away dejectedly.

The next round is said to start in fifteen minutes.

The rest of the people left, just Xu Nan stood there, and suddenly a few sharp-eyed people ran over to sell the honeysuckle rat in their hands, Xu Nan hadn't said a few words to them, suddenly, there was a sound of pushing the door outside the tavern door, and then heavy footsteps.

Several young men dressed in blue walked in.

Their clothes were covered with snow, and they looked like they had been walking in the snow for at least a few hours, and their whole body was frozen; But their expressions were enjoyable.

Most of the men in blue sat far away from the fireplace, they ordered some water and bread, and they didn't eat much.

After this group of blue-clothed people walked in, Xu Nan could clearly feel that the atmosphere had become a little different.

"Dog in Blue!"

Someone cursed in a low voice.

The blue-clad people turned a blind eye, and after they had finished their food, they asked the bartender for two bunks, and hurried out of the hall.

"Who are they?"

Xu Nan was a little curious, and grabbed a spectator casually and asked.

The man was stunned for a moment, and replied vaguely:

"It's the Blue Cult...... Am I grass? How are you? ”

Xu Nan looked at it, and the other party had an expression like a ghost, which made Xu Nan also surprised inexplicably, and thought that he had accidentally crossed back into Wildfire City!

"Gray?" He was also shocked.

Gray couldn't help but roll his eyes: "Why are you everywhere?" ”

"What are you doing at Lookout Fortress?"

Xu Nan looked at Gray, and suddenly had a clever plan, pulling him to sit next to him:

"Don't worry, let's talk slowly."

Gray looked vigilant: "What do you want to do?" ”

Xu Nan said with relief:

"Don't be afraid, I'll pay."

Gray was suddenly relieved: "You didn't say it earlier. ”

The two of them hooked their arms and walked to the booth next to them.

Only a few guys carrying cages and selling honeysuckle rats were left dumbfounded.

……

"You came here on Geralt's job of hiring you? How long have you been gone? ”

On the booth, a glass of high-strength spirits and a cup of higher-strength coffee were placed in front of the two of them.

Xu Nan warmed his hands with coffee, and it was a little funny to think about it.

I didn't expect to meet acquaintances from Wildfire City here.

"Don't mention it." Gray said wistfully: "I haven't touched a woman for more than two weeks. ”

Xu Nan smiled and said, "So, Geralt is also here?" Did he go to his teacher? ”

Gray nodded: "It's that guy who deceived Lao Tzu." ”

"I thought that he had been a pastor for so many years, at least a little oily and watery, who knew that he was a poor bastard, and he almost couldn't even afford Lao Tzu's employment fee."

Xu Nan laughed dryly, not believing this statement at all.

In Transcendental Vision, Gray's mood changes reveal that he is lying.

"So, you have changed a little." Xu Nan sighed: "I'm very happy for you and have my own friends." ”

Gray raised an eyebrow, as if to refute, but soon, he shook his head and laughed at himself:

"Friends? Sort of. Geralt, that guy, really is the dumbest idiot I've ever seen. ”

Unable to discern the authenticity of the letter, he insisted on risking his way through the remnants of the First Mountain Range...... I don't know what to say. Believe me, if it weren't for me, he would have become the dung of some beast. ”

"Damn, the more you talk about it, that idiot is going to his teacher now, and I have to investigate the background of those blue-clad dogs for him!"

Xu Nan's heart moved:

"The dog in blue?"

"Is it the men in blue?"

Gray nodded: "It's those young people in blue clothes with strange expressions. I don't know where they got so much blue dye......"

Xu Nan nodded thoughtfully.

Gray's investigative ability, he had already learned about it, and it was normal for Geralt to ask him to investigate these strange men in blue.

"So, what about your findings? Can you share it with me? ”

Xu Nan asked.

Gray hesitated for a moment, and said briskly:

"You're not an outsider anyway."

At that moment, he lowered his voice and began to confide in Xu Nan with his investigation results, along with the encounters along the way, half-stating and half-complaining.

……

After Gray and his party entered the Lookout Fortress, they immediately went to find Quelras's traces.

Following Lansel's instructions, they found the inner city, only to be told that preparations were in place for the festival and that outsiders could not enter.

Even if Geralt called Quelas's name, it would be the same.

Xu Nan guessed that it was probably because of Elliot's plan that the inner city had increased its vigilance.

In desperation, they had no choice but to leave temporarily.

Along the way, they met quite a few men in blue, who seemed to be operating in the city under the guise of the Church of the Ice Goddess.

Most of the residents don't like these men in blue.

Probably remembering those things in Tasar, Geralt suddenly asked Gray to investigate the origin of the man in blue.

He and the black cat were waiting for the teacher's reply at the hotel, after all, although the city gate guards did not allow them to enter, they should still do the reporting work.

Gray went straight to investigate the man in blue.

As a high-level mercenary who has been in the rivers and lakes for a long time, Gray's investigative methods are naturally unquestionable.

Before meeting Xu Nan, he had just completed the preliminary investigation.

These blue-clad men are all Ice Wind Collars, that is, Kutlins.

They preach the banner of the goddess of ice and snow, and their methods and actions are very aggressive, and they do not even pay attention to the moderate followers, and often do some very exaggerated things.

They are known as the "Blue Coat Cult". Because they invariably chose blue clothes as a uniform uniform.

This is quite similar to the blue and white uniform of the Church of the Ice Goddess, but it is not the same.

The leader of the Blue Coat is a woman named the Sparrow, who lives in Snowy City. It is also the birthplace of the Blue Coat Cult.

It is said that the control of the Blue Coat Sect in Snow Plains City is already very terrifying, and even the city lord there is also a follower of the Blue Coat Sect.

The teachings of the Blue Coat believe that with the onset of winter, the goddess of ice and snow is about to enter the age of domination, and that the wrath, cruelty, and ferocity that have been dormant in her body are about to awaken, and that only by imitating these qualities can she gain the favor of the goddess.

They have twisted the teachings of the Church of the Ice Goddess to a certain extent, but they have always believed that they believe in the true goddess.

Hearing this, Xu Nan couldn't help but have a word in his mind: heresy.

I didn't expect that within the Ice and Snow Goddess Church, a fanatical faction like the Blue Coat Sect would develop; What I didn't expect was that these members were actually Kutlin people who had resisted the invasion of the Goddess Sect for generations!

It seems that because of the relative distance, someone has done enough work on intelligence, so that until now, the headquarters of the Church of the Ice and Snow Goddess has not noticed the problem.

In fact, according to Gray's investigation, the entire area north of the Snow Mountain Pass is already under the control of the Blue Coat Sect.

Even the Ice Wind Collar, who has always resisted the goddess, has a large number of young people who have thrown themselves into the Blue Coat Sect and engaged in some irrational behavior. It's just that the Ice Wind Territory is on the verge of demon territory, and it may be invaded at any time, so it maintains a state of semi-war all year round, and the blue-clothed cultists can't make too much trouble under the control of the army.

The Blue Coat have been moving a lot lately, taking over the temple of Tasar, which originally belonged to the moderate faction, and it is said that they wanted to restore the original miracle of the goddess because they had discovered it there.

……

"I didn't expect Queiras to be Geralt's teacher."

According to Evelyn's description, Quelas is also a quasi-legendary magician, and Geralt ...... Just a crappy pastor. ”

"The gap between the master and the apprentice is too big, right?"

Xu Nan was a little puzzled: "Could it be that Quelas didn't teach Geralt his true skills?" ”

Gray shrugged.

According to Gray, Quelas is a moderate member of the church and should be very resistant to the Blue Coats.

Could such a powerful sorcerer just allow a dangerous force like the Blue Cloak Sect to spread in the Ice Wind Realm?

Xu Nan had more doubts in his heart.

"Where's Geralt?" He asked casually.

"We made an appointment to meet at the Muffin Hotel." Gray stretched:

"He doesn't know if he's seen his teacher now. I've done my job anyway. ”

"It's time to go back to sleep."

Before he finished speaking, he was pulled by Xu Nan:

"Wait."

"You've got to do me a favor."

Gray yawned sleepily: "Give the money first." ”

Whoa!

A handful of gold nuggets appeared out of thin air.

Gray's eyes were almost glazed with gold.

"What a job!"

He asked.

"I want you to find out if any ill-intentioned loiterers have infiltrated this fortress recently, and they may be targeting the characters of tomorrow's celebration."

"The celebration starts in the afternoon, you still have time, just let me know before the celebration starts."

Xu Nan said quickly.

If he wants to know the movements of possible people in the Shadow Realm, he must have an expert.

He thought about it carefully, except for being handsome, he was really not good in other aspects.

Gray swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and said with red eyes:

"Deal!"

"What else?"

Seeing that Xu Nan didn't look like he was leaving, Gray asked strangely.

"Well, where's the Muffin Hotel?"

Xu Nan asked a little embarrassedly:

"I'm new to the city, too, and I'd like to see Geralt if I have time."

……