The Book of Hibernation

Before going out, Ryan looked at the other four cells.

These cells were so silent that if anyone was inside, they were probably either dead or passed out.

Ryan took the bunch of keys and decided to send Dorin out first, and then come back alone to check the situation in other cells.

Lane took out the masking agent.There was only one serving of masking agent left, and he hadn't used it yet, so he always carried it with him.He told Duolin how to use it, and asked Duolin to use it quickly.

Dorin asked, "What about you?"

"When I go out, I just pretend nothing happened. And you can't be seen."

After all, Ryan began to help Dorin apply the topical part.Duo Lin held the medicine for internal use, but still hesitated.

Ryan urged him to take the medicine, and Dorin asked, "Your brother made this, didn't he?"

"Yes, this potion is very useful," Ryan said, "don't be afraid, it has no toxicity and no side effects. I used it not long ago, and it was all made from the same batch. Don't worry. Winter thistle is here Excellent in terms of it.”

Dorin looked at the medicine in his hand, at Ryan, and at the guard who was still unconscious, looking hesitant to speak.

In the end, he sighed softly, didn't say much, and took the medicine obediently.

Ryan didn't understand what he was worried about, he only understood that he was not used to using this kind of medicine.

Before leaving the basement, Ryan took off his smock and helped Doring cover him.Dorin refused a few times, saying that no one could see him anyway, and Ryan insisted that he put it on, not to cover the damaged clothes, but to resist the night wind.

After walking out of the house, Ryan did not continue to support Dorin, but kept a short distance from him.

Ryan didn't use masking agent himself, he was afraid that being too close to Dorin would increase the possibility of others seeing Dorin.

When he could see the gate of the mansion, Ryan stopped and told Dorin the next arrangement: "You go out alone first, turn right on the street, and go until there are three forked paths. Waiting for me by the side of the road."

Dorin asked why, Ryan just urged him to leave quickly, and he returned to the depths of the courtyard.

Ryan returned the same way and walked into the dungeon just now again.He kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, and if the guards had woken up, maybe he would have faced more enemies.

Judging from the situation outside the big house, the guards should not be awake yet.The whole mansion was very quiet, and there was no tension at all.

After entering the dungeon, Ryan was stunned.

The fallen guards were all gone.If they woke up, they should go out to ask for help, and a group of thugs should start patrolling privately... Why is it still so quiet outside, no one came to the dungeon to check the situation?

Looking at the cell, he was even more surprised.Not only were the guards gone, but the four originally locked cells in the dungeon were also opened.

The remaining four cells were locked when he sent Dorin away.Now the doors of these four rooms are all open, and Ryan stands at the door, and by the candlelight, he can see the iron chains, shackles, wooden shackles... and the blood stains on the stone bricks and straw on the ground.

Whoever was held in these four cells, their injuries should be much more serious than Dorin's.

Ryan couldn't figure it out, he just knew he couldn't stay for long.Dolin is still waiting for him at the appointed place. If he doesn't go, in case Dolin turns back again, all previous efforts will be in vain.

So Ryan quietly left the dungeon again, went to the garden bushes to retrieve the armor he had taken off, and then slipped skillfully to the stables.

He knew very well that what he was doing now was stealing... Stealing was a crime.Ryan secretly made a decision that after everything subsides in the future, he will definitely return the horse, go to the temple to repent, and confess all this to the instructor after the tour period is over, so that the temple will give him the punishment he deserves.

In the stable, he saw Dew at first sight, but hesitated whether to take Dew away.

Dew is of course the best.They rode very well together, surpassing all the horses he had worked with before in his riding practice.But Ryan couldn't bear it if he wanted to take it away.

Regardless of how the anaconda is, at least his livestock can eat and drink, and their quality of life is much better than those horses that follow adventurers all over the world.

He walked on, trying to lead the other horses.At this time, Lushui poked his head out from the fence and took the initiative to hug him.

Lane turned to pet it, and it rested its head on Lane.

"Do you want to come with me?" Ryan asked softly.

Dew pressed her chest against the fence, tilted her head, and looked at the saddle hanging on the wall at the end of the stable.

===========================

Dorin walked slowly, and finally reached the position Ryan said.The masking agent worked, and the guards at the mansion's gate ignored him completely.

Under the night in the harbor city, there were occasional figures of refugees on the street. Duo Lin walked directly in front of them, but they didn't see anything.

After waiting for a long time, Dorin heard the sound of horseshoes.The moonlight was bright tonight, and Dorin could recognize Ryan from a distance.

The moonlight sprinkled on his shoulder armor and breastplate, coating him with a layer of holy silver, and even the golden hair shone with silver, like a god covering a mortal with a veil.

Ryan was unable to find Dorin directly due to the effect of the masking agent.Dorin took the initiative to step forward, touched the dew, and then touched Ryan's hand.

In doing so, Ryan saw him too.Lane helped him onto the horse as well, and made him sit in front of him.

When Ryan and Winter Thistle rode together, Winter Thistle always sat in the back. If he sat in the front, it would block Ryan's view.But Dorin's stature is smaller, and he can be completely nestled in the arms of humans. Ryan also feels that this is more stable and more convenient to protect him.

"Where are you going next?" Ryan asked.

Doring said, "Go to the fishing port. There may be some companions hiding there. I must look for them."

The horses began to trot, and Dorin looked sideways at Lane.Ryan asked what was wrong, and Dorin frowned slightly and said, "If you leave with me, you can't go back."

"It's okay, I should have gone too," Ryan said.

He added silently in his heart: And winter thistle.After I've settled the woods, I'll have to come back and take the winter thistles away.The winter thistle cannot stay in this place either.

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"Bird of Return" is the largest and most luxurious station in Harbor City.Most of the people who come here to stay here are wealthy businessmen or envoys from various countries, rather than ordinary travelers.A few days here, plus arranging a dinner for guests, would cost enough to buy a ferry.

Kanai told Winter Thistle earlier that they were going to meet allies from the Adventurer's Guild here.

In Winter Thistle's imagination, adventurers who lived on exploration should be similar to mercenaries, basically looking disheartened. It's hard to imagine that they would live in such a luxurious inn.

The guild messenger is a chubby middle-aged man with his wife, a son and a daughter.He booked a single-family house in the courtyard of the post station and used the first floor to entertain guests.

It is said that this person was once a mage, had studied at Hilda Academy, and had listened to the same teacher as Kanai.Today, Kanai still looks like a spellcaster, but this senior looks like an ordinary businessman no matter what.

The dinner was not formal, and there was no red tape. It seemed that the people of Sandonia didn't like to imitate noble etiquette, and preferred to eat and drink casually, and hired a few musicians and singers to play and sing.

Winter Thistle liked the lively atmosphere at first, but as the time got later and later, he gradually became a little bored.

He couldn't drink much, and when it was almost midnight, he sat in the corner of the hall without saying a word, listening to the sound of the lute in the distance.

Gradually, he felt... In fact, he didn't need it at all.

What Kanai told him was: Since the other party is also a mage and a member of the Adventurer's Guild, he hopes that Winter Thistle, who is a refiner, will also be present.

But the actual situation is: Aldin, Kanai and that person didn't talk about spells at all, they talked about sugar, soap fat, olive oil, new trade routes, troubles caused by pirates, the shipping agreement between Harbor City and another city, hunters The trend of the guild, the current size of the exploration team, etc...

They occasionally talked about the plantation, involving the plants needed for several magic potions, and this was the only topic that had something to do with the refiner.

Under Kanai's recommendation, Dong Ji also said a few words, and after the topic turned to business, Dong Ji retreated back to the corner silently.

Sometimes, Aldin quietly looked aside and found that Winter Thistle was actually chatting with the messenger's child.

The little boy was seven or eight years old, pretending to be a little adult, and was discussing the grammar of the common language of elves with Winter Thistle; the little girl looked to be about three years old, and she was sitting next to her brother, staring at Winter Thistle She stretched out her hand several times to grab it, but her brother stopped her every time.

Aldin couldn't help snickering.Half-elves do not have the obvious alien feeling of pure-blooded elves, but they have cute little pointed ears, no wonder even children like them.

Winter Thistle raised her head and met Aldin's gaze.

Aldin raised his glass to him, and Winter Thistle wanted to raise his glass in return, but there was no glass in hand.Sensitive to what he needed, the little boy slipped his cup of cheese into Winter Thistle's hand.

Aldin in the distance burst out laughing, and Winter Thistle looked at Aldin and smiled and held up the cheese to him.

Before I knew it, it was the middle of the night.The employment of singers and musicians was over, and the messenger's wife returned to the guest room with her child.

The guild envoy was flushed from drinking, and his eyes were obviously slack. Kanai also drank the same wine, but he was not drunk at all.

Aldin gestured to Winter Thistle, telling him to stand up and leave the hall with himself.Kanai and the envoy had to chat a few more words.

The garden in the station is brightly lit, and each lamp uses lighting metal instead of a hot open flame.Winter Ji couldn't help but feel that although the cost of lighting metal is not as high as that of the eternal flame, it is still a lot of money to put so many together and light it up every day.

Aldin asked him, "Why do you keep staring at the lamp?"

After Winter Thistle expressed his thoughts, Aldin smiled and said, "We also have them at home. Only the lanterns outside the gate are open fire lanterns, and there are also such lanterns in the garden where there are many trees. Haven't you observed it?"

The two of them happened to be standing under a row of hanging lamps. Winter Thistle raised her head and found that Aldin's face was also slightly red. After all, he also drank a lot of wine.

Winter Thistle took out a thumb-sized glass bottle: ""Master Aldin, try this. "

"What is it?" Aldin pulled out the cork. He thought it was smelling salts to help refresh the brain, but in fact there were tiny particles in it, exuding a slightly sour plant smell.

Winter Thistle said, "You're not too drunk, just take one pill."

Aldin asked: "Is this not an ordinary hangover drug?"

"Well... it's not actually a hangover medicine. It's a protective potion. When making some special spell-casting materials, the refiner will take it to resist the slight poison emitted during the brewing process. But it happens to be a hangover cure, and it can completely cure the hangover. Counteracts the effects of alcohol on the body."

Aldin suddenly realized: "Did you give Kanai this medicine before coming here?"

"Master Kanai took two pills one after another."

"No wonder, he usually can't drink so much." Aldin said, but changed the small bottle to Winter Thistle, "You save it, I don't need this kind of thing."

Winter Ji said: "It doesn't matter, this medicine is easy to make, the materials are not expensive, and the production method is not troublesome."

"No, I'm not afraid of trouble for you," Aldin said with a smile, "The feeling of being slightly drunk is obviously very comfortable, why should I let it disappear so quickly?"

Winter Thistle retracted the vial while secretly watching Aldin.

Not only his cheeks, but also the skin on Aldin's neck and chest under his open neckline was slightly red.The combination of such a skin color and the blue-black python tattoo reminded Dong Ji of the bloodstains when the tattoo was made, and it was a bit uncomfortable to think about it.

Aldin asked him: "We had dinner together the day we first applied. I saw that you also drank a lot of wine, and your face was very red. Did you feel bad that day?"

Dong Ji shook her head: "It's not that uncomfortable. It's just... my mind is in a state of insecurity, and I can't concentrate on anything. I probably don't know how to enjoy it."

Aldin said: "You don't know how to enjoy yourself...you are very self-aware. I think you haven't been very relaxed tonight. You have been watching others' words and expressions there. You really have nothing to do. You even go to help people raise their children."

Winter Thistle said: "The young master said that he is learning Elvish recently, so he asked me."

"Do you think that we don't need to bring you here at all, and you have no use here?"

Aldine was right, Winter Thistle thought so.But he still habitually defended: "I came voluntarily, as long as you need it..."

Aldean said, "I didn't bring you here because I needed you. You're so cute, don't you see we've been talking nonsense tonight?"

When he said this, Dongji was a little puzzled.

Aldin smiled and said: "That person is Kanai's old friend, and I also have some business cooperation with me. Today we are not talking about serious business, people, apart from business affairs, we occasionally get together just to connect with each other Get together, have a chat, brag, and enjoy all kinds of good things. He has brought his wife and children, why do you still think we are talking about business?"

It was only then that Dong Ji realized that indeed... If this was a meeting with a clear purpose, then why would the other party bring their family members with them.

Aldin continued: "When you encounter such occasions in the future, you should relax a bit and don't be so cautious. I brought you here for no other reason. I don't have any specific needs, I just want to take you with me."

Winter Ji bowed her head in embarrassment: "It's because I have too little experience."

Aldin said: "It's not because of lack of knowledge, but because you are too used to being a servant."

Winter Thistle said, "I have no experience as a servant..."

Aldin said: "My mind is always thinking about how to make others comfortable, how to help others, how to serve others, what is this if it is not a servant?"

No one has ever said that about winter thistle.Winter Thistle vaguely felt that what Aldin said was wrong, but she didn't know how to refute it, let alone whether to refute it.

A subtle feeling arose in Dong Ji's heart, neither angry nor touched; neither positive nor negative... It was too difficult to describe, even he couldn't understand it.

"Winter Thistle, you know," Aldin said as he walked out with Winter Thistle, "take the drinking thing for example. If you force yourself to drink for some purpose, it's torture Of course, it will be uncomfortable for yourself. But as long as you don’t torture yourself, but enjoy it voluntarily, it will not be uncomfortable, but comfortable.”

Dongji didn't know how to answer the words for a moment, so she nodded in agreement.

The two walked out of the station together.Winter Thistle’s ankle sprain has healed a lot, and I still wear crutches today for safety’s sake.He supported the cane on one side, and he could hold Aldin on the other side for strength.

At the beginning, he didn't dare to rely too much on it, but instead walked even more strenuously in order to maintain his posture.

Aldin could feel it, so he held Winter Thistle tighter, making it increasingly difficult for him to use crutches, and he could only rely on himself for support.

So, before he knew it, the crutch was just held in Winter Thistle's hand, and it no longer had any effect.

When they were almost at the end of the garden, they looked up and saw the moon just in time through the leaves.

Tonight is a full moon.It's a pity that the garden of the post station is full of colorful halos, completely depriving the moon itself of its splendor.