The Book of Hibernation

The servants soon brought the doctor.The doctor, a woman in her sixties, whose clinic was sheltered by merchants, had dealt with the Ardin brothers several times.After Kanai returned to Harbor City, she also checked Kanai's leg injury.

The doctor had a bad face when he entered the room, as if he had foreseen Kanai's current situation.Winter Thistle and Simon were outside the bedroom while she examined Kanai.

After a while, the doctor came out.She said Kanai had a fever, was very weak and had a worsening leg injury.

Winter Ji asked, Kanai has been injured for a while, and she was able to walk before, why is it getting worse now?The doctor said that Kanai's injury was not treated well at the beginning. The bones were not fixed at all, and he did not take medication in time. Not only was he not treated properly during the most critical period, but he was also working hard all the time. In fact, his body did not recover at all.A while ago, he didn't use a cane, and walked directly with his injured leg. It is said that this is impossible. He should have used some methods of mages. On the surface, the leg can support the pillar, but the injury has not really improved.

This is completely consistent with Winter Thistle's judgment.Winter Thistle has long noticed that Kanai often uses force field spells to immobilize the wound, creating the illusion that he has recovered.But the spell wasn't real healing, and his leg didn't stay still, the wound continued to be stressed.

If things go on like this, Kanai's legs may not be able to recover as before, and if inflammation and other diseases attack repeatedly, it may even cause more serious problems.

The doctor prescribed some medicine and suggested that Kanai should stay in the clinic for a while, or send someone from the clinic to take care of Kanai.Dongji couldn't decide on this matter, so she said that if necessary, she would contact her again.

When sending the doctor out, Simon volunteered to help get the medicine, and Winter Thistle sighed and agreed.

Simon probably wanted to sneak away quickly, and Winter Thistle didn't expect him to get the medicine back.Anyway, the doctor's clinic is not far away, and the medicine can be fetched by a servant.

After arranging other things, Winter Thistle returned to Kanai.

In fact, this was the first time he saw Kanai's bedroom. The size and layout of this room were the same as Aldin's residence, but the interior was more concise, less messy, and the atmosphere of life was a bit weak.

There are no curtains around Kanai's bed, and even the top of the bed has been removed. It can be seen that he doesn't like hanging things by the bed, and prefers simplicity and transparency.Winter Thistle prepared water for Kanai and placed it on the low cabinet next to the bed, then went back to the laboratory, brought some smoked medicine bags that could help calm the spirit, and placed it next to Kanai's pillow.

Kanai's demeanor was indeed relaxed, and he seemed to be sleeping more soundly.The doctor re-fixed Kanai's injured leg. Winter Thistle looked at his leg and couldn't help shaking her head and sighing.

Based on his understanding of Kanai, these fixtures will be removed after Kanai regains consciousness, and it is estimated that others will not be able to persuade him.

What if Aldin asked Kanai to rest?Maybe it will be useful.But Winter Thistle didn't want to talk to Aldine about it.When Aldin sees Kanai, he will make his own judgment.

Just as Dong Ji was about to leave, she suddenly heard a soft call from behind:

"elder brother……"

Winter Thistle was stunned for a moment, then slowly turned around and walked back to Kanai.Kanai whispered "Brother" again, obviously talking in sleep.

In Winter Thistle's memory, Kanai seldom used the title "brother" to Aldin.People are more fragile when they are sick. Kanai probably dreamed about something from his childhood.

Winter Thistle sat down by the bed, put one hand on Tie Kanai's forehead, and touched his own forehead with the other, wanting to see if his fever had subsided.At this time, Kanai muttered softly again: "Brother... I'm fine..."

This "brother" with a nasal sound made Dong Ji go back to the past in a daze.

At that time, Ryan was still young, he had been sick, and he was in a daze with a high fever, and he called him like this... an inexplicable feeling came to his heart.

Winter Thistle also understood that Kanai felt someone touch him in a drowsy state, and his mind was still confused, unable to distinguish between dreams and reality, past and present, so he thought that the person touching his forehead was Aldin.

When a child is sick and uncomfortable, it is more common to call "Mom" unconsciously.A child called "Brother" at such a moment, which means that they are two brothers who depend on each other for life. The elder brother is his only support, and the parents only exist in memory.

It was the same way with Winter Thistle and Lion.

Winter Thistle gently stroked Kanai's hair, just like when he used to comfort Ryan.Then, he heard Kanai mutter something again, the voice was too low for him to hear clearly.

Winter Thistle moved closer and asked Kanai softly if she needed anything.Kanai didn't wake up, so he couldn't answer Dongji's question. When he spoke again, Dongji finally heard his dream words clearly: "...I won't be a burden..."

"What?" Winter Ji didn't understand this sentence.

Kanai said softly again: "I don't regret it..."

Winter Thistle wiped Kanai's face and neck with a towel dipped in cold water.Kanai was silent for a while, just as Dongji thought he was fast asleep, he started talking in sleep again: "I really don't regret it..."

"No regrets, no regrets." Winter Thistle didn't know what it meant, but she answered along with Kanai.

When people talk in their sleep, they can often question and answer people who are awake, although they may not realize it at all.After hearing Winter Thistle's answer, Kanai's slightly frowned eyebrows relaxed a little, and her expression was much more relaxed than before.

He muttered a bunch of words again, and his pronunciation became more and more ambiguous. Winter Thistle really couldn't understand, so he just answered with "um".

Looking at Kanai's sleeping face, Winter Thistle couldn't help comparing him to Ryan.Ryan called his brother in a daze when he was sick, but he didn't often talk in sleep. He always slept well and couldn't even remember any dreams he had.

On the contrary, Dongji herself had talked in her sleep, and Ryan mentioned it many times when they lived together.As for the content of the sleep talk, Ryan couldn't repeat it. He said that he either couldn't hear clearly, or even if he could hear clearly, it was a bunch of experiment content, which he couldn't understand.

Dong Ji suddenly thought that if she talked in her sleep again in the near future, Aldin would probably be the first to hear it.But Aldin didn't mention it to him.

He was suddenly a little curious, wondering if Aldin could talk in his sleep.If so, what would you say.

Do you talk about your childhood like Kanai, or say a bunch of business words that others don't understand.

After a while, Kanai finally stopped talking, and the sound of breathing became even and heavy, and it seemed that he had slept more soundly.

Winter Thistle stood up and was about to leave, but when she turned around, she saw Simon.Not only did Simon not escape, but he hurried back.

Simon stood by the outer partition, poking his head here, not daring to come in.Dong Ji saw him, and he quickly raised the cardboard box in his hand, showing a flattering smile.

Winter Thistle walked over and took the medicine box from Simon.There are several different medicines in the carton, a glass flat bottle with black liquid medicine, a dropper bottle with thick mint-colored liquid, two paper packets with herbs that need to be brewed, and one with topical ointment tin box of oil.At the bottom is a long sticky note, which states the usage and dosage of each medicine.It seems that Simon really went to the clinic to help get the medicine.

When Winter Thistle was roughly checking the medicines, Simon stood aside and waited for him with his head bowed, with a very humble smile and worries written in his eyes.

This expression made Dongji a little helpless.He wanted to say to Simon: What is the use of you acting like this to me?If you run away directly, I have no right to arrest you; if you are diligent, I will not go to Aldin to praise you... Anyway, I will leave here in the future.

Of course, Winter Thistle didn't say that.Even if he said it, Simon might not understand what he meant, and he might think that he was being modest and polite, but he would be more diligent and courteous instead.

Kanai needs quiet, the room is not the place for conversation.Winter Thistle left the medicine in the room, and winked at Simon, who immediately followed him out knowingly.

After going out, Simon quickly explained: "Kanai's room didn't close the door, so I came in directly. He was sleeping, and I couldn't speak loudly, so I stood there and waited. I never eavesdropped on purpose."

"I understand." Dong Ji actually didn't bother to understand.

Winter Thistle walked towards the laboratory, and Simon continued to follow.After thinking for a moment, Simon said again: "But I have to admit, I did hear part of it... well, it was something Kanai said."

After finishing speaking, he sighed and shook his head again and again, obviously hesitant to speak.

Winter Thistle was really curious about Kanai's dream talk, he said, "Kanai seems to be talking to Aldin."

"Yes," Simon said, "Actually... I can kind of guess the meaning of his words...Of course, he didn't say it directly, it's just my guess..."

"Why do you know everything?" Dong Ji looked back at him, although her tone was a bit impatient, her pace gradually slowed down.

Sensing Winter Thistle's interest in this matter, Simon looked around to make sure no servants had passed by, and then said, "It's a shame to say that. After all, I used to work for 'Little Bellos'. At that time we looked up information about Al Some things about the Ding brothers. Of course, I didn’t check it alone, I just participated... Actually these things are irrelevant, and it’s useless to check them. I didn’t remember much at first, but I heard Kanai’s report today Dream talk, I think of it..."

Winter Thistle sighed, and stopped under a camphor tree: "What do you think Kanai is talking about?"

Simon understood that Winter Thistle thought he was wordy, and urged him to get straight to the point.So he hurriedly continued: "I think Kanai's words like 'I won't be a burden' and 'I don't regret it later' have something to do with their childhood experiences. I heard... I heard that Aldin almost took the card away. Sell ​​it."

Winter Thistle frowned.

Simon quickly continued: "Of course, I said 'almost sold', so of course it didn't sell."

He briefly talked about what he had heard before.

The Aldin brothers' hometown is a medium-sized town in the southwest of Sandonia.Their parents passed away unexpectedly very early. Although they left some properties and fields, the two brothers were too young to understand these things at that time. Those properties had long since fallen into the hands of others. Method.

In order to make a living, they left the small town and went to a nearby county town.Aldin, who was the older brother, found several odd jobs so that his younger brother could stay in the enlightenment school for a while.

Someone in the county heard about the situation of the brothers, so they asked someone to take the initiative to find the elder brother and offered to buy the younger brother.Several different people have come to inquire, some are locals who want to have children, and some are human traffickers wandering around.

There was a carpenter in the town, and Aldin had worked in his house.Back then, the old carpenter persuaded Aldin that it would be better for him to sell his brother, so that he could relax a lot.

In Sandonia, children over the age of ten can go out to work and earn money, and they are basically regarded as half adults, but children aged five or six are not allowed, they are still too small to do work, and they are just a mouth to eat .This age is still relatively easy to sell, if it is older, no good people will want the boy.

Not only the carpenter persuaded Aldin, but also the owner of the orchard outside the town, and introduced several buyers who were said to be trustworthy.

The young Kanai must have known these things too, when these people were looking for his brother.Not avoiding him on purpose.

There were too many people who came to persuade him, and then Aldin refused to let Kanai go to the enlightenment school again.I heard from the carpenter that Kanai had a quarrel about it when he was a child. Kanai didn’t understand it, but the carpenter could understand Aldin’s intentions—in case someone who wanted to buy a child moved his mind, he might directly If Kanai is abducted, then the elder brother will lose his life and wealth.

After a while, one day, a caravan passed by in the town. Among them was an old man who ran a magic item business and needed a cheaper scribe.Aldin took the initiative to take his younger brother to find him. When the old man heard that the child could read and write arcane characters, he happily accepted Kanai.

The people in the town thought that Aldin was finally willing to sell his brother, but not only Kanai left, but Aldin also left the town.After the two brothers left, they never went back, and the people in the town didn't know what happened afterwards.

Over the years, there are still people in the town who remember these old events, but they are located in a remote place, and the news is relatively closed, and they don't know that Aldin is no longer what it used to be.When the Chamber of Commerce sent people to inquire about these things, they didn't mention the current status of the brothers.

After hearing Simon's words, Winter Thistle fell into deep thought.After a while he asked: "Who did you inquire about these things?"

Simon said: "In fact, many people know it. For example, when Aldin was in charge of entering the chamber of commerce, and when Kanai entered the academy, they all needed to submit basic personal resumes. Some people visited their hometowns based on their resumes. Oh, And that witch Deris, do you know her? She used to be a mercenary with Aldin, and she has heard some old things. If you want to ask, these things are actually not difficult to find out, after all, their identities It’s not a secret, there’s no need to hide it.”

It's not a secret, there's no need to hide it.

Winter Thistle never knew what even Simon and Deliss knew.

Winter Thistle laughed dumbly.He didn't blame others, he just wanted to laugh at himself.

Thinking about it now, he never thought of talking about this with Aldin.It's not that I didn't dare to ask, but that I wasn't really curious at all.

Yesterday Aldin asked him what was between them.Winter Thistle couldn't answer.Of course, he still couldn't answer today.But he realized why he couldn't answer.

I'm afraid, he never really wanted to get close to Aldin from the very beginning.

It was precisely because he had no real intention to get close that he could easily trust Aldin.No matter what the problem is, let Aldin deal with it. All he needs is a stable and safe laboratory.He is not involved in anything important, and he accepts no responsibility.

Whether it's about the Elf Rescue Team, the quarrel between Ryan and him, the details of the trial, and the tragedies of those mercenaries... He dodges backwards time and time again, evading predicaments, evading choices, and telling himself " I just want to do what a refiner should do"...Knowing that I am not the same kind of person as Aldin, I still want to maintain this subtle distance, so that I can get what I want and be able to treat everything. Stay out of it.

However, the voice of questioning in his heart could not completely disappear.It gradually increased and is now deafening.

"How could this be..." Dong Ji smiled wryly and shook her head.

Simon asked what he was talking about, but he didn't hear Simon's words at all, so he didn't answer.Simon didn't dare to ask again.

"How did I become like this..."

Winter Thistle muttered to herself and raised her head, looking at patches of mottled sky through the lush branches and leaves in the courtyard.