The Book of Hibernation

Dongji woke up, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the soft light in the room, and he thought it was just dawn in a trance.

He turned over and wanted to continue sleeping, when he suddenly saw the smoky purple gauze curtain and the beige plush carpet on the floor beside the bed.

He woke up instantly, stood up suddenly, and then fell back on the bed because of dizziness.

He was lying on his back, looking at the top of the bed curtain.There is a wrought iron ring in the middle of the top, and a small cloth bag is hung on it.

Inside the bag is aconite. Many people in the southeastern region like to hang this kind of thing at home. It is said that it can dispel evil. In fact, it can't dispel anything. It is similar to eating maltose during the Winter Solstice Festival. It is just a custom and has no practical use.

Winter Thistle stared at the small cloth bag, thinking about aconite... the thoughts in her mind were the same as aconite, and had no practical use.

He was just deliberately distracted, thinking about what he saw, and trying his best to avoid thinking about what happened last night.

In fact, it is not "last night", strictly speaking, it should be this morning.

But the more he avoided thinking about it, the easier it was for him to think about it.As his mind became clearer and his memory and body senses became more vivid, Dongji gradually didn't dare to look at the top of the bed tent—because such a perspective would remind him of things before he fell asleep...

At that time, his gaze was also like this, looking over Al's shoulder, looking at the small ornaments hanging on the top of the bed curtain, watching it shake slightly, and his thoughts gradually became empty...

Winter Thistle wiped her face and got up quickly.

The clothes I wore yesterday are not by the bed, and the house robes have gone missing.Wrapped in a thin quilt, he slowly got up, stepped on the carpet with bare feet, and when he slowly stood up, there were some tiny and secret feelings on his body, reminding him of what happened before again.

He looked around. There was no one in the room, and Aldin seemed to have left.Great, so he doesn't have to face Aldin in a situation like this.

The winter thistle feels hot from the neck to the base of the ears, and one side of the forehead is also a little hot...but why only one side?

There was an oval silver mirror in the room. Winter Thistle walked over wrapped in a quilt and saw himself in the mirror, and realized that this weird feeling was not because of shame...but because his forehead and one brow bone were swollen stand up.

It was the place where Ryan hit yesterday.The skin was scratched a little, but the swelling was not serious, and it didn't hurt much.

Yesterday, the red-haired female guest directly applied the medicine to him, and she dropped some later. Judging from the current traces, Aldin should have applied some medicine to him while he was asleep.

Winter Thistle looked at himself in the mirror: his expression was sluggish, his hair was disheveled, his forehead was a little swollen, his eyelids were red and swollen, and there were a few pale bruises on his neck... He quickly ran away from the mirror, the face in the mirror was so strange to scare him.

After looking away, he happened to see a rattan storage basket at his feet.Inside the basket was a set of light-colored clothes, neatly folded, with a hair ribbon on top, the color of which had obviously been intentionally matched to the clothes.

But he doesn't really want to wear it now.He didn't feel refreshed, and he wanted to wash up first.

He didn't have time to take a closer look at the room yesterday, so he wandered around for a while before finally finding the toilet cubicle.

The compartment door has a latch and can be locked from the direction of the bedroom.At first Winter Thistle did not understand why.

After entering, he found that the cubicle was as big as a guest room, with not only a small area for toileting, but also a specially separated bathtub.There is a small door on the wall next to the bath, which seems to be used for servants to enter and exit, and it can be locked.

It was only then that Winter Thistle understood what was going on with the spring outside: when the small door was not locked, the servant could come in and tidy up the bathroom at any time, but could not enter the master's bedroom.

Winter Ji knelt down and touched the water in the bath, and the temperature turned out to be just right.Not only did this not make him comfortable, but it made him shiver, so he hurriedly looked around to see if there were other people around.

After confirming that there were no servants in the bathroom, he went to lock all the places that could be locked, and then threw away the sheets with confidence.

He was not used to the luxurious and thoughtful environment, but the hot water and the salt soap with plant aroma were really good and could soothe his mind.

After immersing her whole body in hot water, Dong Ji thought about what happened yesterday in a trance.

He destroyed one close relationship with his own hands, and suddenly created another, more intimate connection with someone else.

Suddenly, too many things rose in his heart.

A little fear, a little warmth, wavering and self-blame, remorse and doubt, sourness and tenderness...

Winter Thistle could not help but sigh.These feelings are like this room.So strange, so overwhelming.

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

In the afternoon, Dong Ji packed herself up and went directly to the laboratory.

He drank some water in the room and didn't dare to look for food for fear of meeting Aldin.

The road to the lab was not smooth.Dongji walked out of the room, only to realize that she was not in the guest room, but in an unfamiliar area.

He was drunk yesterday and was carried by Aldin directly, and he didn't remember the way at all.

Aldine's mansion is a huge courtyard, and Winter Thistle has not yet walked through it.

The small stone building where the banquet hall is located is relatively tall and can be seen from a distance.If you go there, you can use it as a reference to find the laboratory.

But Winter Thistle is afraid of meeting Aldin, so she doesn't dare to go... If they meet, what should he say?What would Aldin say to him?

They will meet sooner or later, it is impossible to hide all the time, but Winter Thistle just dare not go.

He found an excuse for himself: It happened suddenly, I just need time to clear my mind...

Winter Thistle strolled slowly in the lushly planted courtyard, and finally met a maid who was passing by in a hurry, and finally asked the correct direction of the laboratory.

At the door of the laboratory, a wooden stool stood in front of the door, and a rattan basket with a cover was placed on the stool.

Its location was too obvious, obviously deliberately blocking it so that Winter Thistle could see it.

Winter Thistle lifted the lid suspiciously, and inside the rattan basket were napkins and a lunch.Pumpkin pie, cold-smoked fish fillets, butter with toasted bread, corresponding cutlery, and apple cider in corked glass bottles.

There is a small piece of paper tied to the juice bottle, which says: Since food is not allowed in the laboratory, you can stand at the door and eat it for me.

He turned the small card over, and on the back was written smaller words: Of course, you don't have to force yourself to finish eating.If there are leftovers, someone will come and clean them up.If it is not enough, ask the servant to send it again.Don't stop eating, starvation is strictly prohibited in the laboratory.

The size of the card is small, and the words are getting more and more crowded, and the font of the final signature is almost squeezed out of space.

The inscription read crookedly: Such a vicious message obviously came from Kanai.

The tone of the message was indeed severe, but Dongji laughed.He had seen Kanai's spell notes, and Kanai's handwriting was much more beautiful than this.

Winter Thistle took a bite of the pumpkin pie first.The correct eating etiquette is to eat the main course first, and then the dessert, but there are no noble rules in Aldin's mansion, so you can do whatever you want.

The winter thistle literally ate lunch standing at the door.He also looked around while eating, always suspecting that Aldin might be watching him secretly nearby.

It was quiet near the laboratory in the afternoon, except for the occasional sound of the breeze shaking the leaves.

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

It seems that life is on the right track, but Winter Thistle is still very unsteady.There are holes everywhere in my heart, none of which have been filled.

Something about the morning, something about midnight, about the pier, about good and evil, about Aldine, about Ryan, about the future...

Because her thoughts were too messy, Winter Thistle shook her head, and decided to simply abandon them and devote herself to the work in the laboratory.

Before I knew it, an afternoon passed like this.Aldin came once in the middle, stood at the door and looked at Dongji, but didn't come in, Dongji turned his back to him, and didn't realize it.

In fact, Winter Ji is rarely so selfless, he is the type who is very good at "half-hearted".

When he was young, he assisted Jinye in doing things. He could recite the basic pattern of the analysis circle while making medicine, and Jinye also listened to it while designing the formula.

After getting older, winter thistle can think about the ratio of a certain preparation in the experiment while cooking, and at the same time keep an eye on the situation of Ryan and Lilana. Lilana may have a sudden breathlessness, and Ryan may crawl to He fell off the bed.

For a long time, he basically lived like this.He had suspected more than once that maybe it was because he was distracted by non-magical things all day long, so he could only reproduce his mother's technology, but his own creative ideas had no breakthroughs and failed frequently.

Later he felt that my mother is a pure-blooded elf, older than me now, and spends more time than me, so I can't be in a hurry.

One day in the future, I will also have a laboratory of my own, and I will not have to worry about food, clothing, shelter, transportation, or being hurt by evil people... Then I can do what I want to do with peace of mind.

Now this laboratory is not owned by Winter Thistle, but by Kanai, but Kanai rarely uses it.Other than that, Winter Thistle's wish had almost come true.

It was so beautiful, but Dongji didn't dare to think about it.

I dare not think about whether this is the life I want, dare not indulge, dare not be proud.

Until the sun went down, Winter Thistle never left the laboratory.

Someone opened the door heavily, and Winter Thistle was a little nervous, but when he turned around and saw that it was Kanai, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Kanai walked in, picked up the experimental records and sat aside to look through them, occasionally asking a few details he didn't understand.He said nothing of yesterday, nor of Aldine, for which Winter Thistle was very grateful to him.

After Winter Thistle was done with the work at hand, Kanai called him to him and talked about the simplified enchanting techniques that Winter Thistle had used.

When Winter Thistle and Ryan first arrived in Harbor City, Kanai went to check Ryan's sword and found this special enchantment method on the sword.

This skill is a shocking change.It makes it easier to enchant weapons, and even lowers the cost of money. It is also more flexible in later maintenance, and can also be superimposed with traditional enchanting methods.

Quite a few people in spellcasting circles have heard of this technique, but it's only anecdotal, and no one has seen anyone actually do it.

Before meeting Aldin and Kanai, Winter Thistle never advertised her craft.He only secretly improved his younger brother's weapons, and never served outsiders.After all, he is also afraid of getting into trouble.

His worry was right. This technology would not only shock many spellcasters, but it might also cause shocks in various kingdoms and city-states.

Now, under the arrangement of Kanai and Aldin, Winter Thistle has used this technique many times.

Not long ago, the guards of the border city of San Dilian tried a small amount of enchanted arrows, all of which came from the foundry of the chamber of commerce, using the "simplified enchantment" method from Winter Thistle.

This batch of arrows is a test product, and the quantity is extremely small.There are two reasons. One is because Winter Thistle is the only spell caster, and they can't do much. The other is that they can't make a high-profile announcement that they have mastered "Haman's Spellbook", so they must be cautious and test it first.

Ordinary soldiers of the archers didn't know the difference between these arrows.Only those whom Ardine trusts know about it.

If this skill is to be used gradually, Dongji cannot be the only one who masters it.In order to produce military weapons, the Enchanting Weapon Workshop must be activated. Winter Thistle needs to cooperate with various workshops and recruit apprentices.

Sooner or later, the other leaders of the Chamber of Commerce will definitely know about Winter Thistle, and the chief of the Chamber of Commerce will also notice him.

When Kanai talked about this, Winter Thistle immediately said: "Everything is as good as your arrangements, and I will cooperate. I just do what I am good at."

Kanai said: "The specific matters of the workshop and apprenticeship are arranged by us, and you really don't need to be distracted by this. It's just that there is one thing I must talk to you and listen to your thoughts."

"What's the matter?"

"About Bellos Jr., the current chief of the chamber of commerce. You've heard of this person before. Maybe you think he's a distant figure...in fact, he's not. Maybe you will meet soon, and by then, You need to deal directly with this person."

Winter Thistle nodded, he could understand why Kanai specifically talked about this matter.

The previous chief planner killed Harman, and the current chief Bellos Jr. is the son of the murderer behind the scenes.

Winter Thistle said: "I said my attitude about 19 years ago, and my attitude has not changed now. I have never met Harman, he is a stranger to me, and I still know , At least half of his achievements do not belong to him... What happened to him really makes me sad, but other than that, I don't have much other emotions. Lord Kanai, if I really care about these things, how can I Maybe take the initiative to defect to the chamber of commerce?"

As he spoke, he showed an expression of sudden realization: "I understand...it's because my attitude towards my relatives is too cold, so it seems fake instead? But...but I can't convince you, after all, even I feel It's weird..."

Kanai shook her head slightly.

He looked a little impatient... Winter Thistle lowered her head, stole a glance at Kanai, and then stared uneasily at her clasped hands.

"No, you misunderstood what I meant," Kanai said after sorting out the language, "I'm not so forgetful, of course I remember what you said. I want to say that the problem is not your thoughts, It's about Bellows Jr.'s thinking."

"What happened to his thoughts?" Winter Thistle asked.

"You have no hostility towards him, so what about him towards you? Maybe he doesn't mind, maybe he will target you everywhere... It's hard to say."

Winter Ji said: "Is it necessary for him to be hostile to me? Even if there is hatred, it shouldn't be the son of the murderer who hates the son of the dead... It doesn't make sense either emotionally or rationally."

Kanai sighed: "Of course it doesn't make sense. The problem is that the human heart is not magic. Even the most complicated magic, we can analyze its operating laws, but the human heart is not like this, and the human heart has no rules to follow."

Winter Ji asked: "I understand what you mean...then what should I do specifically?"

Kanai said: "As long as you stay in the Chamber of Commerce, you will have to deal with the chief one day. This is unavoidable. I just raised the negative possibility, but things don't necessarily develop like this. Maybe he doesn't care about you. It’s better if you think about it. You just need to pay more attention to yourself, and you don’t have to be too afraid.”

Winter Thistle nodded.He understood that "the human heart is not magic", but he didn't quite understand what Kanai wanted to remind him...

Kanai didn't say anything clearly, it was more like trying to scare him deliberately.

Of course Winter Thistle did not express this idea.

"One more thing," Kanai's expression relaxed a little, "you can open your palm, you can use both hands."

Winter Ji opened her hand as she said.Kanai took out a small scroll the size of a finger. After unfolding, the frame just covered Winter Thistle's palm.

Kanai covered Winter Thistle's hand with the scroll, put her own hand on the scroll, and said a short incantation.

The spell lit up the runes on the scroll's paper, they flashed a few times, then went out.

Winter Thistle felt a pain in his palm, a very slight pain, like being stung by a bug. He subconsciously wanted to withdraw his hand, but Kanai clasped his wrist with the other hand.

Although the specific function is unknown, Winter Thistle can decipher some information from the spell pronunciation and scroll runes.Judging from the rune structure, it should be some type of magic protection authority transfer, not a harmful spell.

After casting the spell, Kanai said: "This is the complete control over the magic protection of the laboratory and the entire street. In the future, you can not only come in and out freely, but also control all the magic protection here, you can revoke or add runes, and you can adjust it. Protection level...is the same authority as mine."

Winter Thistle asked in surprise, "The laboratory and...the whole street?"

Kanai said: "In fact, there is more than one street. I mean the entire area where the mansion is located, as well as the extension of the area. Also, I will also hand over the management of the almshouse market to you."

"What?" Winter Thistle was even more surprised, "Why?"

Kanai didn't answer right away. He took out a prepared document from the drawer, dipped the quill in ink, added a few words and signatures of arcane characters at the end of the document, and handed it to Winter Thistle.

Winter Thistle didn't pick it up, so Kanai stood up and walked to him, and put the paper in his hand.

Kanai smiled and said: "Don't worry. The merchants in the market are very obedient. They cherish the opportunity to do business and will not make trouble for you. Even if there is any trouble, it will be resolved by Aldin and the city hall. But they are not spellcasters after all, there are so many magic items in the market, some things they don’t understand, and they still need a trustworthy mage to participate in the management.”

Winter Thistle glanced at the paper.There is only one market manager in name, and Kanai did not share the authority with him, but gave him the authority completely.

Kanai saw his doubts and explained: "I'm going to leave Harbor City for a while recently, it's a matter of the Austrian Federation. I'm going to the Academy, and I may have to go to several places for meetings or something During this period of time, many things have to be entrusted to you."

"Why did you leave it to me?" Winter Thistle was a little flustered.

Kanai said: "Who else is a spellcaster who has certain abilities and is trusted by Aldin?"

These words made Winter Ji's face a little hot.

Kanai smiled, and patted Winter Thistle's shoulder: "Don't be afraid, you don't need to take the initiative to do anything. If you have anything, just ask Aldin, you are just assisting him."