The Book of Hibernation

When Winter Thistle woke up, the laboratory was quiet, with no lights on and the door ajar.There were a few cuckoo cries in the courtyard, and it should be early in the morning.

There is a reclining chair in the corner of the laboratory, which was placed by Kanai, saying that it is convenient for taking a nap.Winter Thistle never took a nap in the laboratory, and Kanai rarely used the laboratory, so the recliner became a shelf with a lot of sundries on it.

Now Winter Thistle woke up lying on a bench.When he turned his head, he saw that all the sundries had been placed on the workbench next to him, neatly arranged.

In fact, there is no need to place them so carefully, those are not very important things.Otherwise, he and Kanai wouldn't have piled them on the bench.

After clearing her mind a little, Dong Ji slowly sat up.He was wrapped in his own clothes, with a fur cloak wrapped around him.At the end of the bench was his fanny pack, with a new belt beside it.Apparently it had been put by Aldine, the old one had been severed with a dagger.

Winter Thistle put on her clothes in silence and wrapped her cloak around her.He was so calm that he surprised himself, he wasn't wronged or scared, and he didn't seem to have any other negative emotions, just tired.

He stood up, walked to his usual workbench, and sat down again.In fact, he doesn't know why he has to sit here specially, it seems that he is used to it, and sitting in the accustomed position will make him feel more at ease.

He stayed like this for a while.There were footsteps outside the door.

Winter Thistle looked up.Even in the dim light, and only the silhouette of the visitor could be seen, he could recognize Aldin.

Aldin pushed open the door, what seemed to be a tray in his hand.He saw the winter thistle moved from the bench to the workbench, so he stopped by the door without going in, and put the tray on the low cabinet by the door.

"I brought you some water and food. Put it here." Aldin said.

Winter Thistle nodded.The room is so dark, I don't know if Aldin can see it.

Aldin didn't say anything immediately, just stood at the door like this.Winter Ji sat where she was, looked down at her hands, and didn't speak.

After a while, Aldin asked: "After leaving Harbor City, do you plan to go back to your hometown?"

Winter Ji muttered: "Why do you ask this, I can't leave again."

"Ask whatever you want, and you don't need to answer," Aldin said. "Before you leave, remove the defense authority. I don't understand these things, so it should be possible to operate in this laboratory, right? You can do it yourself."

Dong Ji first gave an "um", then he suddenly realized something, and slowly raised his head.

"What do you mean..." he asked, "You mean, I can go?"

"You can go. But not now," Arden said.

"When will it be?"

"I'll leave after packing up properly. If I have to do it today, at least I have to wait until dawn."

This answer surprised Winter Thistle.He hesitated and asked: "That is to say, I can leave Harbor City? You won't stop me?"

"Yes." Aldin replied clearly, "Since you are not suitable for Harbor City... then forget it."

Winter Thistle was a little surprised.Judging from Aldin's appearance before, he thought that he would not be able to leave in a short time.

"Why do you ask me where I'm going?" said Winter Thistle.

Aldin said: "It's mainly about your luggage. If you can determine where you are going, you can hand over the large luggage to the caravan. Don't worry, I don't need your specific address, just tell me that there are bigger ones nearby." The name of the town is good. I will ask the caravan team passing by to bring things and store them at the local station. When you are settled, you can find time to go to the station slowly to get them."

Winter Thistle said, "No. I don't have any big luggage."

"What elemental instrument did you ask for before, and you didn't take it away?"

"Element Refining Instrument? I don't bring it. I don't need it for ordinary small-scale experiments, and I probably won't do large-scale arcane defense for people in the future." There is a thick stack of leather-bound suture books on the table , Winter Ji patted them, and said: "If you really need it in the future, you can find other refiners to do the work. I have some special methods here, and I have written them down, so the refiner can use them for reference."

Aldin asked: "Why? I mean, why not do arcane defense in the future?"

Winter Thistle said: "To me, those are already very skilled spells and techniques, and it doesn't matter whoever they are to operate them. I'll do the same thing a hundred times again, so it doesn't make any sense."

Aldin nodded: "I probably understand."

There was another silence between the two.After a while, Aldin said: "Let's do this first. I asked someone to prepare hot water in the bedroom, and you can wash up when it's convenient for you. Then... just prepare your luggage yourself, and I'll go to rest."

"it is good."

After Winter Thistle finished answering, Aldin stared at him for a while, then turned and left.

After Aldin left, a long time later, Winter Thistle wrapped in a fur cloak walked to the low cabinet at the door, looking at the things in the tray.There were jugs and cups, and the two familiar pastries.

The number of good dream cakes he likes is relatively large, and there are only two good morning cakes that he thinks are too sweet.

Winter Ji thought that he would reject these things, but he didn't.He picked up two pieces and ate them, and they were as delicious as ever.

Then he wrapped his clothes tightly and went back to his residence.As Aldin said, hot water has indeed been prepared in the bathtub in the bathroom, and towels and a full set of clean clothes are also placed at the door.

Winter Thistle took a bath, changed clothes, and picked out a few cloaks from the closet that were suitable for long journeys.During this process, he has been avoiding the full-length mirror, not daring to look in the mirror, not daring to look at the marks left on him by those things.

He traded back his old old boots.It is only old shoes that are suitable for long-distance trekking.Just in case, he took another pair of ankle boots, fastened them with drawstrings, and hung them from his pack.

In addition to these, the more important ones are some necessary spell-casting materials.He had it when he came out of the lab.Unlike other traveling mages, he doesn't need to bring any books, which saves a lot of effort.

When he first arrived in Harbor City, some of his clothes were too worn out and had already been thrown somewhere.Now he's ready to leave, with everything new except his boots.

Winter Thistle does not object to taking away the belongings that should be brought, he comes to work, and these are what he deserves.Even if he was in a bad mood before, he wouldn't be naive enough to get paid to make trouble.

However, he doesn't plan to bring too much.Even if some things are valuable, he doesn't want to take them away.

For example, the night blue robe that Aldin gave him at the beginning, the double-layer yarn material is too delicate, and the texture of the polarized light is too gorgeous, he will never wear it in the future, so he will not wear it.

Another example is the ring used to prove his identity, which he left on the small round table in the bedroom.He is no longer a mage at the Chamber of Commerce.

Every time he packed up something, he put the wrapped package outside the door.In the end, everything was settled, and when I went out to have a look, I still had a lot of things, and it was a bit hard to go on the road like this.

Winter Thistle recalled that when he and Ryan traveled together, both of them brought a lot of things, and even the types of items were more complicated than now, even a small pot for picnic... At that time, he didn't feel anything Many, why do you see such a large number now?Thinking about it carefully, it was probably because Ryan was there at that time, and Ryan could carry most of the luggage by himself, while Winter Thistle only carried some spell-casting supplies with him.If they catch up with money, they can also temporarily buy a small mule. If they don't need it, they can sell it at the next market place.

This idea inspired Winter Thistle.When he got to the outskirts, he could go to the farmhouse where he stayed overnight and buy a mule from them.

He tried to carry all the luggage, a large package, two backpacks of different sizes, and some small sundries.It's okay, if the distance is not long, he can still move it.

It was getting late now, Winter Thistle had packed everything up, and the eastern sky was just beginning to brighten.

He carried his luggage, walked through the courtyard, and walked all the way to the gate of the mansion.He didn't meet Aldin, but met the two guards he was familiar with.

Those two were not guards, they were more like bodyguards and thugs.Now the nursing home is not here, only the two of them are waiting at the door, probably Aldin called them here.

Sure enough, when Dongji approached, the red-haired man took the initiative to meet him: "You set off so early! It's just dawn!"

The black-haired guard pursed his lips, as if he was not satisfied with his companion's words.He also stepped forward and explained: "We will take you for a while until you reach the foothold of the next big town."

"No need, I can do it myself," Winter Thistle said.

"Master, we do not recommend that you go through the hilly forest alone, there may be various dangers along the way."

"I can handle it myself. If Aldin orders you to follow me, don't make it difficult. Go find him now, and I will tell him in person."

The two guards looked at each other, and the black-haired guard sighed.

The red-haired man shrugged: "If I win, I don't need the money, just buy me a drink."

Winter Thistle laughed.It turned out that the two bet on his reaction.

During these days in Harbor City, although these two were not considered friends, they got along well with him, and he didn't dislike them.Since they are still in the mood to bet and joke, it means that Aldin did not force them to complete the task too harshly, which is good.

Two guards sent Dong Ji out of the gate, but Dong Ji was about to leave when she heard a whistle.He turned around a little puzzled.

The whistle was played by the black-haired one. As soon as the whistle was blown, the sound of horseshoes came from behind the corner of the street, and a saddled gray horse came slowly.

"Dew?" Winter Thistle wasn't sure if it was dew at first, but after he unconsciously pronounced the name, the horse approached him, bowed its head to him, and lightly touched his robe with its nose.It does appear to be dew.

The red-haired guard sighed: "It seems that not only you remember it, but it also remembers you!"

"I can't take it with me," said Winter Thistle.

The black-haired guard said: "Master Aldin specifically asked that if you really don't want us to escort you, we will respect your wishes. But I hope you must bring dew, it will definitely help you a lot."

"It's useless for me to carry it. I don't know how to ride a horse."

"You can walk if you want, and let Dew help you carry things."

Winter Thistle shook her head: "Mules are good at long-distance transport, and horses are not good at it. Let's not bully Dew."

The black-haired warrior patted Lushui's strong neck: "Master Mage, you don't have much luggage, and it's less than a person's weight, which may be lighter than you. For Lushui, this little thing is not a burden. Nowhere near as mule-carrying. But...with all due respect, if you're carrying them yourself, you won't be able to walk very far."

In fact, he was right.Just during the time of negotiating with them, Winter Thistle's shoulders were already sore and sore from the weight of the backpack.

The red-haired one also said: "You can carry two of you with Lushui. And if there is any danger on the road, you can just climb on the horse's back. It knows how to run quickly without being forced. This is incomparable to a mule. You There is no need to worry about food and grass, it knows what it can eat in the wilderness, and when it comes to the city, go to the post station to feed it.”

But Winter Thistle still refused.It's not for other reasons, but mainly because he also likes dew, and he really can't bear to bring it to suffer.

He turned and left, and the two guards didn't try to persuade him any more, they just stood at the door and watched him off.

After Winter Thistle walked for a short distance, she immediately heard the light sound of horseshoes coming from behind.Turning around, Lushui followed.

He looked at the two guards, who didn't speak, not even make a sound.The red-haired one spread his hands and shook his head, indicating that he hadn't done anything.

Winter Thistle tried to drive the dew away, but the dew insisted on following him.He simply ignored it and walked forward at a faster pace. Dew followed all the way, even where there were steps.

Before they knew it, they came to the entrance of an alley with several continuous stone steps.

From here, you can continue to walk towards the city gate; from here, you can climb up the steps to a high platform overlooking the pier.

Dongji suddenly wanted to take a look on the high platform.Now the sky is much brighter, he has only seen the lights at night, but he has not seen the pier and the sea in the morning.

Winter Ji put the luggage on the ground, and said to Lushui who was following behind, "I'll go and see, don't follow." After speaking, he realized that horses probably couldn't understand such complicated words...

When he walked up the steps, Lushui really just waited there, neither following him nor turning back.It also took a few steps forward, protecting Winter Thistle's luggage between its body and the wall.

It seems that although it can't understand language, it can understand people's looks and gestures, as well as the emotions in people's voices.

Winter Thistle's original plan was this way: go to the outskirts to find that farmer's family, buy a mule with money, keep the dew, let them bring the dew back to Harbor City, and return it to Aldin.But now he suddenly couldn't bear it anymore, and was also afraid that the dew would not be used to it in the hands of strangers.

Also, although that farmer's family is simple and kind, they haven't had much contact with people in Harbor City. What if they are deceived and let other people buy the dew...

So Winter Thistle decided to go with the dew.Take it safely to the edge of the Sea of ​​Trees.At that time, if I really don't need it anymore, I will send it to the outpost of the sea elves.Pure blood elves have always been in harmony with animals, they will not ignore the dew, and they will definitely take good care of it.

Winter Thistle walked with her head down, thinking about the future for Dew.After climbing onto the high platform, I looked up and saw a familiar figure beside the wall.

Aldin stood there, looking at the sea from afar.He heard footsteps behind him and turned his head slowly.

Seeing Winter Thistle, Aldin was not surprised, but just smiled.

Winter Thistle walked to him and looked towards the pier against the morning wind.During the day, it was gray and it was hard to see anything clearly, but the sea under the rising sun was very beautiful, like multi-layered colored gauze shining with rhinestone luster.

"Have you brought the dew?" asked Aldin.

"Well. Actually, I don't want to take it, but it follows me all the way."

Aldin said: "It likes you very much. The last time you fell off while riding a horse, it must remember, and it will take better care of you in the future."

Winter Thistle took a deep breath.The cold air in the morning makes the nasal cavity feel a little uncomfortable, but it can clear the mind.

"I want to see what it's like here in the morning," said Winter Thistle, "I've seen it, and then I'm going."

"Okay." Aldin simply replied.

Just as Winter Ji was about to leave, Aldin suddenly asked, "Do you regret coming to Harbor City?"

Winter Thistle smiled and asked back: "If you hadn't recruited me and Ryan back then, maybe everything would be different now. What about you, do you regret it?"

Aldin didn't answer.He suddenly stretched out his hand, took Winter Thistle into his arms, and hugged it tightly to his chest.

Winter Thistle didn't resist, and closed her eyes, gently hugging Aldin's back.

Aldin bowed his head and kissed the Winter Thistle again.When those things happened yesterday, there was no kiss between them, and now it seems to make up for the affection that should have been at that time.

After a while, the two separated, Dongji's face was reddish, and his breathing was a little messy.

The two nodded to each other and turned around.

Winter Thistle went down the stone steps, fastened her luggage in the dewy saddle, and walked out on the way out of the city.

Aldin stayed on the high platform, looking at the early morning of Harbor City.