The Book of Hibernation

So many days have passed, and Winter Ji has never mentioned the matter of leaving again.

If he didn't mention it, Aldin certainly wouldn't mention it either, so just pretend nothing happened.

On the penultimate day of the escort team's departure, Dongji had walked out of the mansion once.

Aldin took the carriage with him to the Harbor City Temple.At the same time, the Western Suburb Workshop also sent a team of carriages to transport the last batch of repaired enchanted artifacts.

There is a small green hill near the temple and the cemetery. The gentle area behind the hill is the knight barracks and training ground.Today, the supplies and carriages of the escort team are parked inside.

On the parade ground, Winter Thistle saw many of the same people she had seen at City Hall, in addition to the workshop staff and a large group of Templar knights.For example, the Patriarch, the Archon, and some mages from the Austrian Federation.Seeing that the escort team was about to leave, they needed to check the prison car, weapons and other tools several times.

Winter Thistle used to be a dangerous sinner, but now people treat him with more courtesy, and even the consuls began to call him "Master".Winter Ji didn't bring up the past, but treated them politely and communicated very smoothly.It was as if there had never been any unhappiness between us.

On the way back and forth, Aldin and Winter Thistle sat together in the carriage, chatting casually from time to time.It wasn't very intimate, but it wasn't awkward either.

Although it was the first time in a long time to go out, Winter Ji didn't show any joy on her face.

He didn't even bother to open the curtains, as if he had no interest in the city at all.

At first they were chatting about the workshop in the western suburbs.There are also refiners in the workshop. They have asked Winter Thistle for many things. Winter Thistle wrote them many spell-casting instructions and taught them a few new skills.

The workshop is responsible for making enchanted artifacts for the frontier. After finishing the work of the temple, they still can't relax, and the demand for spell-casting materials will continue to increase. Aldin must worry about them in this regard.

Therefore, "Western Suburb Workshop" has become a rare common topic between Aldin and Winter Thistle.

After the topic about the workshop came to an end, the two fell into silence again.

When he was approaching his home, Aldin suddenly mentioned: "The escort team will set off in five days, but I can't send them off in person. I will travel far away to the capital the day after tomorrow."

"A meeting in charge of the chamber of commerce?" Dong Ji asked.

"Yes. Did Kanai tell you?"

"Yes, he mentioned it before going to the clinic."

Aldin nodded and continued: "The chamber of commerce has always had five managers, and one cannot be vacant for a long time. Now that the situation in all aspects has stabilized, we need to elect a new fifth manager. Not only the existing four managers To participate in the talks, the leaders of our various business firms will also participate. This matter will probably take a long time, and I will definitely not be able to come back within a day or two. Conservatively, it will take at least ten days to go."

Dong Ji said: "The escort team won't be able to return in a short time. I estimate that they will need about 20 days for a one-way trip? If the whole journey is rushed, it will definitely be faster, but it should not be necessary."

Aldin frowned slightly.

Winter Ji's answer seemed to be out of line with what he said.He was talking about going out for a meeting and not coming back for a while, while Dong Ji was talking about the escort team.

Aldin thought for a while, and then simply continued on the topic of Winter Thistle: "It does take a long time for the escort team. Including the necessary rest, it takes at least two months to go back and forth. But we don't need to wait so long. Once they After successfully arriving at White Lake City, you can release the letter eagle from the temple of White Lake City. The letter eagle needs to transfer once in the city, and change a batch of eagles. It should only take two or three days to send the news back. Harbor City can rest assured after receiving the news It doesn't matter how long the escort team stays in White Lake City."

Winter Thistle said, "This is a smooth situation. If they encounter an accident along the way..."

"Of course there are risks," Aldin said, "but with so many people they sent, it shouldn't be a big problem."

He observed Dong Ji who was sitting beside him. Dong Ji was leaning on the seat cushion very relaxedly, with one arm resting on the window frame, and his brows were slightly furrowed, as if he was really worried about the risks on the road.

Aldin said: "If there is an accident, some of the knights will immediately rush to the nearest chamber of commerce station on the road. There are professional messengers and letter eagles in the station, and they can ask for help from nearby city-states as soon as possible, mobilize reinforcements, or pass the news Send back to the Temple of Harbor City. This road is really troublesome, and there is a lack of temple knight barracks along the way, so we discussed with the temple, and the chamber of commerce provided some help, mainly to help them ensure smooth communication."

Dong Ji asked: "Can't the chamber of commerce send some mercenaries? Let the mercenaries follow them directly. It would be better to have more people."

Aldin said: "It's a pity. If they choose to leave the country from San Dilian, then I can really arrange mercenaries, but they have to go to the south of Sandonia, and I don't have enough manpower there, so I really can't do it. If you must participate, you need to discuss cooperation with many people, and it is impossible to negotiate in a short time... Alas, the various issues in the middle are very complicated, and you can't explain it clearly. In short, we can't send so many people. And the temple will not accept this kind of help, a team of temple knights, and a team of mercenaries to protect it, it is really unreasonable."

"Why can't you justify it?" Dongji muttered, "Is it a matter of honor? What's the use of saving face..."

Aldin put his arms around Winter Thistle and rubbed his hair with a smile.

"No, I didn't express it accurately," Aldin said, "I said it too frivolously. In fact, it's not just a matter of face, but because since the escort is a necromancer, it's best not to bring too many ordinary Soldiers. Mainly the temple knights, and bring two or three priests and mages. This is almost enough. Ordinary mercenaries basically have no arcane defense ability, and have not received long-term divine blessings. They are very easy to be killed. The healer's blasphemous spells erode it. If the mercenaries are really controlled by the enemy, they will instead become puppets and be used to attack the temple knights. So it is not necessarily good to have more people."

Dong Ji thought for a moment, then nodded slowly, her brows never loosened.

He sighed: "That's right... I am obviously a mage, but I didn't think of this at all. No wonder you are in charge of the chamber of commerce."

Aldin said with a smile: "Don't look at me talking about 'arcane defense' and 'blasphemy'. In fact, I only know these concepts, but I don't know what they are. I am not a spellcaster, but because of my identity I have come into contact with many spellcasters. It’s like... secretly telling you, I have dozens of fleets under my command, but I don’t know how to sail.”

Winter Thistle laughed.Aldin seldom saw him smile recently, so he couldn't help but keep staring at him.

Dong Ji noticed the gaze, put away her smile, and lowered her head slightly.

Aldin decided not to deliberately tease him, so that he would not be more embarrassed, but it was better to concentrate on talking about business.

"You seem to be worried about the escort team," Aldin said.

Winter Thistle said, "Of course."

"The prison car has dual defenses of magic and arcane, and you handled the arcane part. Don't you have confidence?"

"If you only consider the effect of enchanting, I dare say that it can be guaranteed that the dark cloud will never escape from the prison car... But the problem is, I don't know what kind of enemy the escort team will encounter, it is almost unpredictable."

Aldin said: "Well, I am also very worried about this. The dark clouds should not make any waves. I am mainly worried that other necromancers will be involved, such as that Irene Tal, that is, March."

Thinking of March, Aldin couldn't help sighing secretly.When he saw her for the first time, he felt that this person would cause a lot of trouble sooner or later.It's a pity I couldn't get rid of her in the first place.

Winter Thistle said, "Actually, I'm not very afraid of March's magic."

"Oh?"

"She is a very capable mage, and she is really dangerous with two swearers. But even so, what she has to face is a group of heavily armed temple knights, and a few priests With the mage... if she really wants to rob the prison car, her chances of winning are not great. What I worry about is that maybe she won't go head-to-head like this... Maybe she can think of some weirder and darker ways..."

While talking, Dong Ji shook her head, closed her eyes, and pinched the center of her eyebrows with her fingers: "I don't know either. I'm just worried, but I can't explain why."

In fact, Aldin also has concerns in this regard.To this end, he had many discussions with the consul, the patriarch, and the captain of the knights.

He didn't object to the current arrangement, but he still insisted on his previous suggestion: Let them go northwest, leave the country from San Dilian, and then the two temples will be responsible for the escort, and finally throw the monster directly to the Otarot Temple.

Otarot is the god of silence, and she is one of the three gods with Lady Day. Although there are differences between the two beliefs, there is no conflict or disagreement.There's nothing wrong with handing over monsters to them, it's appropriate, safe, and convenient.But no one else agrees.

First of all, the Great White Temple disagreed.They were unwilling to hand over the achievements of catching this rare monster to others, and they were also unwilling to let the monster get too close to the north, for fear that it would have a better chance of meeting its accomplices.

Secondly, the consul and the local patriarch also disagreed.They analyzed it very clearly: it was an order from the Great Temple to go to White Lake City, and it has nothing to do with them after leaving the country.If you insist on going northwest, if an accident occurs, then the person who came up with this idea will be responsible for the accident.

Of course, Aldin also understood the stakes. After thinking about it carefully, he let them go. Anyway, this was not something he led.

Aldin suddenly remembered something, and asked, "Dong Ji, based on your knowledge of March, if she really went to save Wu Yun and succeeded, would she come back to Harbor City?"

Winter Thistle asked, "What can she do when she comes back?"

"I don't know. I don't know her as well as you, so I'm asking you."

Winter Thistle thought for a while and said, "She may not come back. There is nothing she wants here anymore. But...Wu Yun might want to come back."

Aldin nodded: "I think so too. Once Wuyun is free, he will probably sneak into Harbor City again. Because he wants you."

"This kind of situation shouldn't happen. Once the knight can't control the dark clouds, then..." Winter Thistle stopped in the middle of her speech.

He couldn't speak the second half of the sentence.

Aldin was still waiting for him to finish.

Winter Ji changed his tune and continued: "Because of this concern, even if the equipment for the escort team has been delivered, the Western Suburb Workshop and the Almshouse Market will still be busy for a while. We still have to make the secret locks for the city hall , as well as preset arcane props that automatically detect undead creatures."

Aldin nodded: "Thank you for your hard work. Normally I shouldn't leave during this period, but the internal affairs of the Chamber of Commerce are also very important, and I must attend in person. After I go out, this mansion will be handed over to you. At that time, if The workshop needs you for something, you can call the carriage and go directly there."

"Can I go out?" Winter Thistle was a little surprised.

Aldin said: "Yes. But remember to get on the carriage inside the gate, go straight back and forth, and don't get off the carriage halfway."

"Oh...meaning they still see me as a prisoner. I'm going to maintain the illusion that I'm still locked up somewhere and not able to move around freely."

"Yes."

"So many people have seen me, who can hide this?"

Aldin said: "It's mainly to hide the truth from the capital. The courtiers of the capital believe that you are guilty. Although you don't have to be punished, you must also accept a certain degree of punishment. Harbor City has a lot of people. If you run around and get caught See, the news might spread to the capital. Also, it is to hide from the Austrian Law Federation. It is not completely concealed from them. Many of them know that you have been let go, but not everyone knows, nor Not everyone supports letting you go. Face tricks must be done enough."

Dong Ji asked: "Then if you let me go out by myself, aren't you afraid that I will run around without authorization?"

Aldean said, "You know what to do. I trust you."

Winter Thistle smiled and nodded.

Aldin silently took one of his hands, put it on his knee, interlocked his fingers, and shook it a little harder.It's like emphasizing the previous sentence "I believe in you".

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

A day later, Aldin left Harbor City as planned, and went to the capital to attend the internal meeting of the Ten Sails Street Chamber of Commerce.

It was early in the morning, and the genius was dim.

Aldin went to knock on the door of Winter Thistle's room, kissed the sleepy-eyed Winter Thistle, and then officially set off.

The surrounding area was still very quiet in the early morning.Winter Ji stood in the stone corridor, and could hear the sound of cars and horses fading away.He stood for a while before returning to the bedroom, lay down, and then couldn't sleep.

Nor can it be blamed on Aldin for disturbing the sweet dreams.According to Dong Ji's previous living habits, he should have woken up at this time.

In recent days, his sleeping condition has become worse and worse. He often tosses and turns at night, his eyes are sore, but his mind is very clear, and he often can't fall asleep until midnight.

Since she couldn't continue to fall asleep, Winter Thistle simply got up and went to the laboratory.

As long as he sits in front of the workbench, he can forget all complicated emotions and let his body and mind return to the present moment.

From today, Aldin and Kanai are no longer in the mansion.Throughout the whole day, no one would bother Winter Thistle.

I don't know how long I've been busy, and when the matter at hand came to an end, Dong Ji felt a little hungry.

He went out and opened the door, and the servants put breakfast and lunch on the stool by the door.Now that the weather is cold, although the food is not afraid of spoilage, it becomes cold and hard, making it hard to swallow.

Winter Thistle picked out a piece of scone that could still be pinched, and while eating it, she walked to the servant's room, and asked the coachman to prepare the carriage, and he was going out.

When the coachman parked the carriage at the entrance of the courtyard, two people rode on horses and rushed from the side door to the main entrance of the courtyard, intending to go out with Winter Thistle.

The two looked familiar.One with black hair and one with red hair, they were the two house guards who accompanied Winter Ji out many times.

The black-haired man talked less, while the red-haired one was as expressive as ever.So Winter Thistle learned during the conversation that Aldin had told them in advance to continue serving as Winter Thistle's guards, and to go with Winter Thistle wherever she went.

Winter Thistle smiled, it seemed that Aldin was not completely at ease with him, and was still worried about him running around alone.

But of course he didn't run around.

On the first day Aldin left, Winter Thistle went to the workshop in the evening, and went to the poorhouse market in the evening.

Although he doesn't care much about the market anymore, as a spellcaster, he is still yearning for the various spellcasting items here.

Judging from the number of merchants and tents, the scale of the market is not as good as before, but it has initially recovered its prosperity.In the market, Winter Thistle put on a hood, hid her ears, and secretly took off the ring that Aldin gave him.He suspected that a few spellcasters and merchants could still recognize him. They didn't make any noise, but looked at him a little differently.

When leaving, Dongji walked to the door of the poorhouse, and met a familiar face—a widow who worked in the poorhouse.When the incident happened here, she quickly explained the ins and outs to Dong Ji, and gave Dong Ji time to prepare mentally, but she never asked about things she shouldn't know.

This man was obviously more than just a carer.Among the nurses, there was probably more than one person like her.

Not only do they take care of the elderly and orphans, but those mages should also take care of them.

Winter Thistle nodded to her.With these people around, he shouldn't need to worry about the market.

In the past two or three days, Dongji went to the western suburbs workshop for the rest of her trips, except for a trip to the market.

The two guards were a bit shadowy on the way to the workshop. Last time they killed their horses and robbed the carriage on the way. Now every time they pass by, they have to ask the driver to slow down. They ride in front of each other. , extremely vigilant.

Of course, everything was safe these few times, without any accidents.For the guards, the only pain is that they have to wait for a long time outside the workshop every time, which is a bit boring.

Winter Thistle gets along well with the mages in the workshop, and those mages not only communicate with him about the collaboration items, but also pester him for advice on various issues.

Then, came the last day—the next day was the day for the escort team to set off.

The exact time of departure is uncertain and only those involved will know.For this reason, Harbor City also declared martial law from tonight to tomorrow to avoid residents gathering to watch.

Winter Thistle went to the workshop at noon the day before, and after leaving, he asked the coachman to go to Dr. Pate's clinic, saying that he would go to see Kanai.

At the clinic, Winter Thistle failed to see Kanai.Doctors said Kanai left at noon today.

The doctor also said that after these few days of professional care, Kanai's physical condition has improved significantly, so he decided to go home and continue to recuperate, wait a few days to see if the condition is good, and then consider whether to ask a doctor to take care of him at home .

Dr. Pate asked Winter Thistle: "Why, didn't Lord Kanai come home?"

Winter Ji shook her head: "No... I also know that he is going to leave the clinic. But today I was in the western suburbs all day and I was not at home, so I don't know that he has already left the clinic... At this moment, I still want to come Pick him up..."

Dr. Pate knew that Winter Thistle was a mage of the Chamber of Commerce.She told Dong Ji, "The patient's fever has completely subsided, and he is in good spirits. He should be fine when he goes home. It's just... the condition of his legs is really not optimistic. It was delayed for too long, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to recover in the future. He I am definitely not willing to accept this fact, so I have been avoiding it and resisting treatment. This is quite naive, but I can understand him. I heard that you mages can understand each other better. You should persuade him some things, maybe It's more effective than communication between brothers. You need to persuade Lord Kanai more."

Winter Ji agreed to her and hurriedly left the clinic.

The coachman and guards were outside the clinic. They knew that Winter Thistle wanted to visit Kanai, but they didn't hear his conversation with the doctor.

Winter Thistle got into the carriage, and a chill ran down his back, making his fingers numb and his body limp.

Kanai should have gone to the temple.Tomorrow, he will leave Harbor City with the escort team.

From today onwards, Winter Ji can actually leave Harbor City.He could feel that the restrictions on him were already very loose, and it was not difficult to get rid of these two guards.

But he has already made a decision, he will not leave for the time being, at least until the news of the escort team's triumphant return.

He had a clear premonition that during the days of waiting for the news, he couldn't help fantasizing about the worst every day, and he couldn't fall asleep every night.