When the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the white wolf and Luo Xian, their shadows gradually lengthened. According to the guidance of some local villagers, the road under the feet of the two has changed from a road in the wilderness to a path in the mountains and forests.

Further on, the terrain decreased, and although the trees began to thin, the soil beneath their feet began to become muddy, and even the horses' hooves became more and more difficult to advance in such terrain, indicating that they had reached the target humpback swamp.

The changeable terrain made the two white wolves have to stop and rest.

Seeing that the sun is about to set below the horizon, the range visible to the naked eye is getting narrower and narrower. In a seemingly peaceful but dangerous area like a quagmire, no one would choose to travel at night without the necessary embarrassment.

Because of the complex terrain here, the dangers lurking in the depths are incalculable.

Beasts, corpse-eating creatures, fog demons, miasma, swamps, quagmires, and countless mosquitoes, flies, and poisonous insects are all barriers that prevent ordinary people and armies from entering. Horses, in particular, travel in mud pools that are one foot deep and one foot shallow, and if they are not careful, they will be drowned in muddy water buried deep under the turf.

The white wolf is naturally an expert in survival in the wild, and without figuring out the distribution of roads, stop and build a campfire to rest for the night, and then continue tomorrow.

It's full of low trees and endless vines, mud and waterholes, and it's easy to get lost even in the daytime without the right references. Not to mention in the misty nights, where some of the references that seem obvious during the day are hidden and difficult to find, and it is definitely the right thing to do to camp by the side of a dry road.

The beating light of the fire reflected in the faces of the two men, and in front of them lay several bottles of fruit wine, and a large piece of cured pork was worn on the firewood. More than a dozen knives were cut on it and sprinkled with various spices. Luo Xian turned the direction of the pork being grilled by the fire from time to time, and there were already bursts of meat aroma.

Geralt sat aside and removed the two swords from his back, one of which he drew and carefully washed and wiped. As a demon hunter, taking care of your weapons and equipment is the most basic skill so that you can get their help when necessary.

The forest is filled with mist, but the night sky is exceptionally clear, and the stars converge into colorful patterns and twinkle in the night, making people feel comfortable at a glance.

"What do you do when you're not adventurous?" Luo Xian asked.

"Hunting, fishing, or picking some wild fruits to make your own wine, and then calling a few friends to drink and play cards, and when you get drunk, go back to your soft bed and fall asleep, and when you wake up and repeat the above things, you can feel that time seems to be moving slowly. ”

"The life of the nobility, do you have servants?"

"No, our lives are very long, and ordinary people are very short, and the ones I just mentioned sound beautiful, but in fact they have to be carried out because of saving money. Once the money is not enough, we will go out and travel around the continent to find something to do to make money. ”

"What do you have to spend money on? I think you get paid a lot, almost as much as an average person can do it for a year. ”

"Demon hunters rely on their bodies, swordsmanship, potions, and alchemy bombs to deal with monsters and enemies, many of which require alchemy materials, and are not cheap in the first place, plus the cost of building and maintaining weapons and armor. I can say that most of the time, the pockets of demon hunters are empty. ”

Everyone envies the life of rangers and mercenaries who spend money without blinking, but no one thinks about how their money comes from, if they don't go down the evil path, it is cut out with a sword, and if they survive, they will have money to spend, and if they die, they will not have to spend money.

Pork is roasted here, tomatoes, potatoes, green onions, wild ginger and mushrooms are stewed in the pot there, peppers and peppers are essential, of course, for Luo Xian, it is only for the satisfaction of the palate.

It's not stewed directly with water, but stewed after being fried in chicken fat first, and there are some cut peppers next to it, and only put it in when it's about to come out of the pot, and the whole pot exudes a strong vegetable fragrance. Drink a bowl of it, enough to offset the oiliness of the barbecue.

The white wolf is also very satisfied with Luo Xian, his arrival has greatly improved the quality of his wild camping food, and he used to almost heat the cooked food bought in the hotel directly on the fire. If you spend too much time in the wilderness, sometimes the food you prepare will go bad, and you will have to eat some raw animal meat, so you will try to shorten the time you spend in the wilderness.

However, it seems that after meeting Luo Xian, there were several nights when I spent myself outside, and it was not bad to be accompanied by the food he made.

After eating and drinking, Geralt habitually began to meditate. Since learning the method of mental warfare, Geralt has been like this almost every night, and he has become accustomed to using meditation instead of sleep, which has made his condensation time and intensity skyrocket.

Luo Xian slept on the ground wrapped in a blanket, the ground around him had already been roasted, and within three feet of the ground was warmed by the fire, and it was very comfortable to sleep on, neither wet nor dry, like a quilt underneath.

The two of them did not speak, and the only thing around them was the occasional crackling of the campfire, the rustle of leaves whipped by the night wind, and the chirping of various unknown insects and the howls of wild beasts in the distance.

These sounds are especially clear in the quiet of the night, but they are the best lullaby before going to bed.

The two of them enjoyed a rare night of tranquility, and nothing happened for the night, and just like that, the sun began to slowly appear, and the quiet swamp was still covered with mist, which was all too common in the swamp area.

Luo first used the bonfire to tear up the leftover meat from last night and cook the broth, a few pieces of bread, and a hot and fragrant broth, this is the breakfast for the two.

After everything was cleaned up, the two rode slowly into the depths of the path, and it didn't take long for them to find traces of human activity.

It is a wooden bridge built by humans, and a rugged woodcut statue is erected on a stone altar.

The statue is more than one person tall and seems to have been carved directly from a large section of wood.

Luo Xian felt that the statue was very artistic. An old woman with a disheveled head, with several teeth missing from her mouth, had a big belly that looked like she was pregnant, and held an unknown rattan cane in her hand.

The wood carving is not fine, and many places are rough curves formed by a few knives or axes, but it gives people an indescribable temptation, as if it is lifelike.

Flowers, cheese, wine, and some rotten meat were placed on the altar, and it seems that people often come to worship the statue.

"It should have been two days, not from the depths of the swamp, but from outside the wetland, it should be ordinary civilians. "It's time for Detective Geralt to put his detective skills to good use again. With the help of beast-like insight, it is possible to observe traces that are unimaginable to ordinary people.

Luo Xian naturally trusted his companion's judgment, and the two decided to march along the wooden bridge to the depths of the swamp.

The road was winding and patchy in many places, and for about two hours on horseback, the road became less and less visible, and sometimes Geralt had to stop and observe for a while before he could continue to determine the direction.

It was here that the two smelled a sweet smell.

"Sweetness, fragrance, lavender, cinnamon, laurel, apple, mulberry..."Luo Xian recounted the smell he smelled.

"Gingerbread, candy, chestnut rolls, cakes, crackers..."Geralt immediately added the source of these flavors.

Almost all of them were dim sum at aristocratic tables.

"Dim sum trail?" the two of them instantly thought of this word mentioned in the book "Lady in the Forest".

Sure enough, the two continued in the direction where the scent had come from, and it wasn't long before some low shrubs appeared on both sides of the path.

These shrubs are not tall, only about one meter three or four, and the average child can reach the top of it on tiptoe. These shrubs can't really be called shrubs, because they have no leaves, just bare branches, and they are covered with all kinds of sweets and snacks that can be touched by reaching out.

Not to mention children, even adults, in this hungry and full era, they can't help but reach out and taste the tempting deliciousness.

"Don't eat them, there's something wrong with these things. Geralt stopped with a cold face, and then bent down and reached out to take a piece of red and white toffee from the low bush, put it in the glove, and gently crushed it.

At first, the pieces of these candies remained normal, but unfortunately, after they were broken, it didn't take long for these residues to transform into wriggling white worms, which made people sick to watch, let alone eat.

"Witchcraft, these candies are all witchcraft-mixed food changes, so it can be said to be magic potions. Geralt shook his palms and tossed the disgusting white worms away.

"You may not have seen wizards, they have a lot of magical sorcery, many of them look beautiful, but in fact..." Geralt was worried that his companion would be bewitched by the wizard, so he prepared to take precautions.

Luo Xian nodded, "Thank you for the reminder." The trail reminds me of a story from my side, and there seems to be some similarities between them. ”

"Oh, what's the story, can you tell me?"

"A story called Candy House was written by a couple of writers named the Brothers Grimm. ”

"Candy House":

Because the family was so poor, the father's new wife proposed that the husband throw the two children born to his former wife into the forest.

At first, the husband did not agree, but under the pressure of the new wife, he had to agree.

The brother and sister eavesdropped on their parents' conversation at night and were very sad.

The wise brother ran out into the yard while his parents were asleep, picked up a lot of small stones and put them in the pockets of his and his sister's clothes.

The next day, the couple took them to the forest. The elder brother quietly threw down some small stones along the way as a sign to go home and recognize the way.

"You wait here, let's go chop wood. The parents said.

The brother and sister sat on the grass and played, and before they knew it, they fell asleep. By the time I woke up, it was already dark. The younger sister was so frightened that she began to cry, and the elder brother took the weeping sister and walked home following the mark of the pebble.

When the two finally got home, Dad was very happy, but Mom kept her face calm.

Only a few days later, my brother heard the new mother say to his father, "This time, we must make sure that they can't come back." ”

At night, the elder brother wanted to pick up pebbles, but the door was locked by the new mother.

The next day, in the same way, the elder brother had to use bread instead of pebbles and scatter them along the road. Unexpectedly, the bread was eaten by the birds foraging in the forest.

When it got dark, the brother and sister couldn't find any trace of breadcrumbs.

"What should I do?"

"I'm so hungry!"

The brother and sister wandered in the forest hungry, and the younger sister couldn't help but cry again.

Finally, turning around, the two of them found a house made of all kinds of sweets and biscuits in the forest, and the hungry brother and sister could not hold back, and rushed over and ate them in large gulps.

"Who's gnawing on my house?"

"We are lost children in the forest. ”

A noble lady came out of the house and gently inquired about the origin of her brother and sister, but her eyes were not good and she could not see clearly.

"Poor boy, come in and get something to eat. There's a lot of good food in the house, stop gnawing at my house. ”

The noble lady invited the brother and sister into the house, and after they had eaten their fill, she let them sleep in a beautiful and comfortable bed, and it was not long before the tired brother and sister fell asleep.

"Hey, hey, hey... It worked!"

It turned out that your lady was a man-eating witch, "Well, the boy is fatter, so let's eat him first." ”

The next day, the elder brother was locked up in a large box, and the younger sister was forced to bring food to the elder brother.

"Take this to your brother to eat, and I'll eat him if you get fatter." Go quickly!"

My sister was so frightened that she cried, but it was useless to cry. The witch also ordered her to do all kinds of chores, and scolded non-stop when she had a little rest.

The witch would come to see her brother every day and touch his fingers to see if he had gained any weight, but the brother was very clever and always held out the chicken bones he had eaten for her to touch.

Finally, one day, the witch couldn't wait any longer, and shouted, "Don't wait, make a fire now, I'm going to eat your brother today!"

The witch ordered her sister to light the fire and went to find the cauldron herself.

"My brother is going to be eaten," the younger sister thought sadly, looking at a large pot of water, "I might have known that I might have died in the forest with my brother." ”

My sister was anxious, but she didn't know what to do.

The witch has bad eyes, so she asks her sister to see if the water is boiling after a while.

At this time, my sister suddenly thought of a good way, or she could save her brother and herself.

So she asked the witch, "How do you know if the water is boiling?" ”

"What! A girl can't even look at the water boiling, haven't you ever cooked anything at home?"

"Nope!"

"Okay! I'll see for myself. You stupid thing, if you eat your brother, the next one will eat you!" the witch believed her sister's words, and then approached the pot and looked at the pot carefully, because her eyes were not good, and she relied on it very closely.

At this time, my sister used all her strength to slam into the witch from behind. The witch was defenseless and fell into the hot pot.

"Oops! Burned me. The witch screamed a few times and died.

The younger sister happily ran to open the box, rescued the brother, and told the brother about the process.

"Sister, you are so brave!"

"No, brother, you're smart!" the brother and sister comforted each other.

The witch died, the crisis was resolved, and the two happily ran around the house and found a basement. In the basement, they found another large chest full of gold coins and jewelry.

"Let's take some home. My brother suggested.

The younger sister found a large pocket, and the brother and sister filled it with gold coins and jewels, and took turns carrying the pocket and set off, of course, without forgetting to bring food.

Finally, they walked out of the forest, and it could be a big river in front of them, and there was no bridge on the river, and there were no boats on the bank, what should they do?

There happened to be a large mallard swimming in the river, so the brother and sister called out to the duck.

As if they understood, the ducks swam over and carried them across the river.

In the distance, they saw their home.

Unexpectedly, the ruthless new mother died of illness.

The siblings then lived happily with their father.

......

After Luo Xian finished telling the story, Geralt smiled rarely, "Let me say that their father is not a good thing, and a father who really loves his children can abandon them." Thank you, Luo Xian, your story is very interesting, full of wisdom and allegorical meaning. ”

Luo Xian remembered that Geralt was looking for Healy all over the world, and he was afraid that he was a daughter?

"The Lady in the Forest also mentions that if you want to ask a witch for help, you need to bring a young and innocent child and make the right sacrifice, and this path full of fake snacks reminds me of this story. It seems that the witch in the forest is probably not a good person. ”

"Hopefully, but our goal is to find Anna, and if we can find her, and if we can confirm that the witch is really eating children, we will kill her. Geralt set the tone for the visit.

The two continued their journey deeper into the swamp.

With such obvious signs, they no longer have to worry about getting lost. It's no wonder it's called the "Dim Sum Trail", and both sides of the road are filled with endless gingerbread and sweets. These delicious foods are in stark contrast to the mud that exudes moisture and the smell of decay next to them.

At the end of the "dim sum trail", the delicious gingerbread and colourful sweets are gone, replaced by a few thatched wooden houses, the middle one is relatively tall, about two stories high, and looks like a church.

Immediately afterward, there was a nursery rhyme in my ears, and it seemed that a group of children were playing nearby.

"The dog got into the kitchen and stole a large piece of meat. A boy sang.

The cook tied its legs and beat it. Then a little girl's voice picked up again.

The cook drained its blood and stripped it of its fur. "Changed a boy's voice.

"Haha laugh and say hello, this sausage meat is awesome!"

"The cook is a stupid murderer and shouldn't eat puppies. ”

"Now let's make a fire and roast him!"

"1, 2, 3, it's your turn to get the tinder!"

Luo Xian and Geralt glanced at each other, and it seemed that they had found the right place.