The Book of Hibernation

Winter Thistle has been busy for the past few days.He kept himself busy on purpose, because he would start thinking wildly when he was free, so he tried his best to find something for himself to do.

That night, Winter Ji went to the poorhouse market.

The guards outside the almshouse had long known him, and had heard that he was the present manager.After he got off the carriage, those people bowed to him, Dong Ji habitually wanted to return the salute, but luckily held back in time.

After arriving inside the underground market, Winter Thistle was much more relaxed.The vendors here don't go into the city, and don't understand the succession of managers. Although they recognize Winter Thistle's ring, they don't know that he is the manager. They only think that he is an ordinary spellcaster protected by the chamber of commerce.

Recently, an exploration team broke into a swamp ruins and brought out a lot of valuable things from it.These things couldn't enter the formal business houses, and all flowed into the underground market of the almshouse.

Winter Thistle has some interest in these things, especially a moss-covered bookcase.

The stall owner who sells things is one of the members of the exploration team.He said that no one had ever opened the bookcase for fear of a curse, and he did not know what was inside.

Winter Thistle observed it. Judging from the style of the book case and the engraved text, it has a long history. It should not contain spell books, but observation and experience records about elements, which should be written by ancient warlocks.

This thing is of little value to ordinary mages, but it is still worth studying for refiners.

When Winter Ji asked the stall owner, another mage walked by and asked if the book case was for sale, and directly quoted a very high price.

The stall owner looked at another mage, then at Winter Thistle, and his gaze stayed on the ring on Winter Thistle's thumb.

He recognized that this ring came from the Chamber of Commerce in Harbor City, but the price given by another mage was very generous. If it was sold to him, it would be much more cost-effective than selling it to the Chamber of Commerce, but he didn't want to refute the Chamber of Commerce's face...

Dongji saw the concern of the stall owner and was a little embarrassed.He's not good at dealing with situations like this.

Another sorcerer looked at Winter Thistle, not only did he not reject it, but he was also pleasantly surprised: "I really didn't expect others to take a fancy to this thing! Good evening, sir."

Winter Thistle nodded slightly to the mage, and only then noticed the other's appearance.

This mage was wearing a traveling cloak. He was tall and thin. From his face, he was not very old, maybe not more than 30 years old, but his long hair was messy gray and white, like someone over half a century old.

This appearance may seem a little strange when walking on the street outside, but it is not a strange thing among spellcasters.There are many spellcasters with special appearance in the market.

As far as Winter Thistle knows, there are several kinds of spellcasters who often have abnormal appearances: necromancers who specialize in the direction of body transformation, or toxicology researchers, or they may not be mages at all, but rely on blood genetic talents to respond to elements People, also known as warlocks.

At this moment, the gray-haired mage first asked, "Are you a warlock?"

Winter Ji froze for a moment: "I'm not... I'm a mage who studies the direction of enchantment."

"Oh, I'm sorry, because you are a bit good-looking and easy to talk to, I thought you were a warlock."

Winter Thistle wondered secretly, and didn't know whether this person liked warlocks or belittled warlocks.

This person's temperament is really not like a mage... His words are too casual.The mages in the underground market usually don't chat, let alone ask people if they are warlocks.

It's okay for Winter Thistle to be so good-tempered. If you encounter that kind of vicious mage, this sentence is enough for him to apply for a spell duel with you.

In addition to not calling a mage a warlock, there is an unwritten rule in the underground market: don't say your own name, and don't take the initiative to ask others' names.

Even if some people already know each other, they will not show their real names here.If you need to address someone, just use a nickname.

So, the grey-haired mage introduced himself: "My friends call me Wu Yun, nice to meet you."

The nickname "Dark Cloud" is easy to understand, and must refer to his gray hair.But Winter Ji doesn't need to introduce himself anymore. Wherever he goes, people call him "half-elf".

Wu Yun said to him: "Half-elf, I thought of a solution just now. We might as well open this box first, see if the contents inside are of value, and then decide who will buy it."

Winter Thistle said: "May I ask, what do you think is in the bookcase?"

Wu Yun said: "I think it is a body part of a magician warlock, such as a strand of hair, a finger, or at least a nail, or even a placenta left by a female warlock. I specialize in the study of purgatory elements. If the bookcase Li is such an item, I hope you will give it to me."

Winter Thistle shook her head: "I think it contains a manuscript about observing elements. And it's not left by a magician, but a dragon-born warlock."

"Why?" Wu Yun asked.

Winter Thistle pointed to the inscription on the outside of the book case: "These warnings and curses do refer to purgatory, but the text is written in the ancient elf language. In ancient times, there were many dragon-born warlocks among the elves, and most of the demon-born warlocks were humans. , and mostly illiterate, unlikely to speak Elvish."

Wu Yun had a "teachable" expression on his face, and then asked the stall owner if he could open the bookcase in advance.

The stall owner said yes, anyway, the bookcase itself is not of much value, and the spellcasters all want the contents.But when driving, he has to stay away first.

Wu Yun took out a square piece of suede, with protective runes written on the four sides of the square.He placed the book case in the center, first performed the disenchantment on the book case, and then took out an amethyst pendulum to detect the curse. After making sure it was safe, he carefully removed the wax rope and opened the case.

Winter Thistle watches the clouds.Wu Yun's movements are very skillful, but he doesn't follow the basic operating procedures in the details of his techniques, relying more on his own experience.

From this point, it can be seen that he is the kind of adventurer who travels everywhere, not the research type who sits in the laboratory.

This person always gave Winter Ji a strange feeling, but Dong Ji couldn't tell what was wrong.

Opening the book case, Dongji guessed right, it was really a manuscript, not a stump.

Dragonborn warlocks will leave research notes like mages, while many magician warlocks are illiterate. The way they pass on knowledge is to leave stumps and use spells to keep them fresh, so that future generations can use the stumps to analyze the power in their bodies.

So, Wu Yun covered the box and gave Winter Thistle with both hands.

Winter Thistle thanked him, and when he took the box, Wu Yun obviously stared at the ring on Winter Thistle's thumb, and raised his eyebrows.

"Will you come tomorrow?" Wu Yun asked.

Winter Thistle said, "It may not be tomorrow, but I come here often."

Wu Yun said: "You can find me when you come. I usually wander around the area where antiquities are bought and sold. I also often participate in the exploration of ruins and have obtained a lot of interesting things. Some of them are useless to me, but say You might be interested."

Winter Thistle agreed.The two walked side by side for a while, and when they reached a fork, Wu Yun said that he was going to the other side of the area, and said goodbye to Winter Thistle, and said that he was very happy to make a lovely half-elf mage friend.

Before parting, Wu Yun looked left and right to make sure that no one was approaching them, and made a gesture towards Dong Ji: "By the way, there is something I have to remind you..."

Winter Thistle thought he was going to talk about the market, so she moved closer to hear what he had to say.

Wu Yun bent slightly, and whispered in Winter Thistle's ear, "Put on tighter clothes from now on, especially under the hood and at the neckline. You may not be able to see it when you look in the mirror, but people taller than you can see it."

Dong Ji froze for a moment, not knowing what this person was talking about.He is not a woman, what can be seen?

Suddenly, he realized that what the dark cloud was referring to was obviously the slight bruise near his collarbone, even below the collarbone... It was left by Aldin not long ago, and it hasn't faded away yet.

There was no mark on Winter Thistle's neck, probably because Aldin also wanted to avoid embarrassment for him, so he avoided it on purpose.The bruises that would make thistle blush are on the collarbone and a little lower.

After finishing speaking, the dark cloud retreated, bowed his body, and turned into another passage.

Winter Thistle's face and neck were hot, and she immediately pulled the collar of her robe tight, and grabbed the hood and piled it around her neck.

The dark cloud is taller than him, and many people passing by in the market are taller than him.After that day, when he was sitting in the laboratory, Kanai also walked close to him... Did they all see it?

Winter Thistle hurried through the crowd to get a few pre-arranged test materials, then stopped wandering, left the stone castle and returned to the carriage.

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

Back at the mansion, Winter Thistle didn't go anywhere, and plunged into the laboratory again.

He rarely saw Aldin these days.Of course it wasn't because Aldin was too busy, but because Winter Thistle avoided it on purpose.

It's not that I don't want to see him... Mainly because I don't have the face to see him.Dongji also knew that it was ridiculous for him to be like this, but he couldn't help it... This was the first time he accepted such an intimate relationship. Although he understood the reason, he was still ashamed to face it.

While sitting in the laboratory tidying up things, Dong Ji thought of the mage named Wu Yun in the market.He hoped this guy wasn't another March, another bunch of weird troubles.

At this time, he suddenly remembered: I am the manager of the market, and I can check the records of the people entering the market!

The market does not accept purely unfamiliar sellers. It is okay to buy things, but if you want to sell goods, you must be recommended by acquaintances.The market does not register specific names, but it will register the identity and purpose of each person, and record every entry and exit, in case of special circumstances.

Wu Yun said that he also participated in the exploration team and obtained ancient relics, so maybe his identity will be recorded.

Winter Thistle has been to the market many times, but each time she has never seen anyone with gray hair and a young face.If Wu Yun came here recently, it should be easy to find records about him.

Winter Thistle walked to Kanai's desk and found a drawer for market materials on a low cabinet beside it.

The drawer was protected, and unauthorized personnel could not open it. With a slight pull of the winter thistle, the drawer opened. As Kanai said, the winter thistle is already the manager of the market.

There is a piece of blank parchment in the drawer, and a hollow crystal ball the size of an apricot. The interior of the crystal ball is covered with tiny runes. Hold it above the blank parchment and supplement it with a password, and the crystal ball will turn the corresponding Text projected on parchment.

Winter Thistle searched for a long time, and finally found the description about the dark cloud.

It turned out that this person was still an old customer, not a recent arrival.He had been to the poorhouse market many years ago, much earlier than Winter Thistle's arrival in Harbor City. He often left for a long time, only to come back in the past few days.

Wu Yun claims to be "specializing in the study of purgatory elements", so it sounds like he is engaged in alien studies.But in the records, he claimed to be an enchanter, and he came from the high-level training institute on the Five Towers Peninsula. Because he was found to have purchased embargoed materials, he had to defect from the division.

Winter Ji had never been to the Five Towers Peninsula, but knew that they turned a blind eye to embargoed materials there, far less strict than Hilda Academy.

What kind of taboo material did this person use, even the Five Towers Peninsula can't tolerate him?

Also, the Five Towers Peninsula is a place for high-level arcane scholars to study, not a junior academy for apprentices.There are almost all scholar-type mages there. The average age of human mages is very old, and they are basically old scholars.

Although Wu Yun's hair is gray, his face is very young. He has the aura of an adventurer mage all over him, and he really doesn't look like he is from the Five Towers Peninsula.

When he continued to search, Dong Ji found another thing that surprised him: this Wu Yun probably knew San Yue, and even introduced her to others.

Sanyue didn't mention the dark clouds, which is quite normal.In the market, the referrer does not need to be very close to the referee. The mages support each other, usually out of sympathy.Especially those mages of the taboo school, because they are often excluded, they are sometimes very united.

What is really puzzling is that upon closer inspection, Wu Yun's transaction records are somewhat abnormal.

Take March as an example, she hasn't been to the market for a long time, but she has bought and sold some things.And Wu Yun had been to the market a long time ago, and during such a long period of time, almost every time he went in and out was empty-handed.

Could it be that Wu Yun is too poor and rarely buys things that can attract attention?Or is he buying and selling skills, not physical items?

All of the above things made Winter Thistle feel a little strange, but none of them were really big things to worry about.

If there was anything suspicious about Wu Yun, Kanai should have noticed him long ago... Thinking of this, Dong Ji felt a little relieved.

At this time, someone patted him from behind.Dongji was startled at first, but before turning around, she immediately guessed who it was.

Who else... who can enter this laboratory casually and walk silently, must be Aldin.

Aldin leaned against the bookcase behind, and he didn't know how long he had been here.

Dong Ji looked at him, pursed her lips, not knowing what to say.

"Are you hiding from me on purpose?" Aldin asked bluntly.

Dong Ji opened his mouth slightly, and was about to say "I didn't have it" out of habit, when he suddenly thought that there is no need to lie about this kind of thing, since Aldin knows everything anyway...

So he changed his tune and said, "Yes."

"You admit to avoiding me?"

"Yes... I don't know what to say to you..."

Aldin saw him lowering his head and his voice getting quieter, so he couldn't help laughing: "What's the matter? Look at your frightened expression. We didn't do anything bad."

As he spoke, he leaned over and kissed Winter Thistle's forehead.

Winter Thistle was sitting, he shrugged his shoulders, subconsciously wanting to move.Aldin pushed him down on the chair, pinched his chin, and pecked his lips again.

Winter Thistle quickly lowered her head: "It can't be in the laboratory..."

"Kanike never said that kissing is not allowed in the laboratory. I'm pretty sure he didn't. You can't fool me."

Aldin saw the parchment and the crystal ball on the table, and asked, "Are you checking what's going on in the market? Is there any problem over there?"

Winter Thistle is very grateful for this topic, as long as he can talk about something serious, he can talk properly: "It's nothing. I saw some strangers today, and now I've found out. By the way, Lord Aldin, you have seen a man named Wu Yun Mage?"

Aldin said: "I don't know their names very well. After all, I am not a spellcaster, and I don't go to the market many times. Kanai is more familiar with them."

"Is Master Kanai still busy?"

"Didn't he leave Harbor City? Didn't he tell you?"

"Oh... I know, I just didn't expect that he hasn't come back yet." Dongji thought for a while and asked again, "Then have you seen a young man with gray hair in Harbor City? It's a man, tall and thin , looks like a Sandenian, with black eyes, and his face looks very young, maybe in his 20s or 30s, but his hair is gray and gray like that of old people."

Winter Thistle noticed that Aldin's eyes narrowed slightly.

I don't know if it's because he feels strange about this appearance, or because he recalls something.

Aldin thought for a moment, and said: "Young, with less graying hair... I have seen this kind of person, in recent years and before, and I have seen more than one. So I don't know if I have seen you This man. Did he do anything noteworthy?"

"No, I just met at the market and communicated with him about spells," Dong Ji said, "I'm afraid I'll provoke some dangerous people again, and make things difficult for you and Lord Kanai."

Aldin asked: "Are you sure this person is a mage?"

"It should be right. I saw him cast a spell."

Aldin nodded, said nothing more, and immediately put the topic down.

Winter Thistle feels unnatural intuitively, but can't say anything.

Aldine took Winter Thistle's hand, put it to his mouth, and kissed the knuckles.Winter Thistle was embarrassed to sit, so she stood up quickly, and Aldin just took this opportunity to get close to him, and pulled him into his arms.

From the opponent's actions, Dongji immediately sensed the meaning.

He quickly whispered, "In the laboratory..."

"I know," Aldin interrupted him, "Anyway, Kanai isn't here, so it's fine. But don't worry, I won't deliberately annoy him like this."

After speaking, Aldin rubbed Winter Thistle's hair and let him go.

Aldin said to ask Winter Ji to go to the small meeting hall later, to talk to him about something.From his tone, it seemed that he had something serious to discuss, and Dongji couldn't shirk it.

After speaking, Aldin left the laboratory first, and asked Winter Thistle to slowly pack up the spell-casting items.

Winter Ji took some time to sort out everything in the laboratory, and obediently rushed to the small meeting room.

Seen from a distance under the vines in the garden, the door was ajar, the inside was very dark, there were no candles lit, and the servants were not around.

Dongji was puzzled for a moment, and carefully recalled whether he had made a mistake. Could it be that what Aldin just mentioned was not the small meeting hall, but the banquet hall or other places?

As soon as he walked into the corridor, someone grabbed his wrist.

Aldin flashed out from behind the stone pillar, trapping Winter Thistle between his arms and the stone pillar.

Winter Thistle's heart stopped beating, she bit her lip, a little flustered.

Aldin smiled, put his lips to his ear and said, "I have been hiding from me for so long, and now I have to pay the debt?"