soul stone

[Entrance stone. 】

Da He slightly moved his high-grade gray abdomen, found a more comfortable position, raised his head and closed his eyes to enjoy the noon sun.

[Entrance stone? 】

[The person you are looking for, where possible.entrance stone. 】

【Sorry, I don't understand what you mean, Mr. Taiga. 】

[The days are getting shorter and shorter.Cherish the sunshine.Come and bask in the sun, too?Wearing so much, I can't get sun at all. 】

Dahe turned his head, his trembling beard shining brightly in the white light.

【That's not okay. 】Xue Ye shook his head, 【People are not as able to endure severe cold as you, Mr. Dahe.If you take off your clothes, you will freeze to death. 】

The seal squinted at the little girl.After a while, adjust your neck, raise your head to face the sun again, and close your eyes.

[In that case, I won't tell you what the entrance stone is all about. 】

【This is difficult.If you don't take off your clothes, you won't find the person you're looking for, and if you take off your clothes, you will freeze to death.If you're dead, there's no point in knowing more.Right, Mr. Taiga? 】

[Can't die. ] Dahe said without looking back, 【I will save you. 】

[Will you save me? 】

[Yes, you can rest assured.Saving lives is a seal's bounden duty. 】

【Vocation? 】Xue Ye opened her eyes wide, then shook her head, 【How is it possible.People will hunt you down! 】

Dahe put the lower half of his neck on the ice, looking very leisurely.

[It is not so much a vocation as an instinct.Even though he knew he might be killed, he couldn't help but want to step forward to help.This is the relationship between us and you people.How should I put it, it's a bit like fate...] After a pause, it said again, 【Hey, fate, do you understand? 】

Xue Ye nodded.

【However, this is the first time to hear fate mentioned by something other than human beings.It felt incredible.You know a lot. 】

[That's because I often bask in the sun. 】

【Hey? 】

[When basking in the sun, keep your head empty.Thinking of nothing is the same thing as thinking of everything. 】

【Well. 】

【You seem to understand. 】

【perhaps. 】

[The reason why I have an impression of the person named Jin is because he was the first person who took the initiative to talk to me.Naturally, he couldn't understand what he said, but he heard the word "Jin" repeatedly, which was probably his name.But it was really talking to me, and nothing else.That's why I wasn't too surprised when I heard you talk. 】

Xue Ye recalled Dahe's reaction when he first spoke to him.That doesn't seem to be called "not much surprise".

[Okay, take off your clothes quickly and lie down on the ice. 】 Dahe urged.

[...Okay, I believe you. 】

Saying that, Xue Ye untied the scarf that was wrapped until only her eyes were exposed, took off her thick fur coat, and threw it beside the big river.A gust of cold air poured into the neckline, making her gasp.

[Hurry up, if you continue like this, you will really freeze to death! 】

Xue Ye closed her lips tightly and lay down beside Da He, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

[Very well, soon you will be speechless.I will come to save you then, don't worry. 】

Xue Ye opened her eyes wide, pressed her forehead against the ice, and exhaled white air like a ghost in the morning, disappearing without a trace.

Da He silently looked down at her, until no expression could be seen from her face, then moved his forelegs to get close to her, and hugged Xue Ye tightly in his arms.Its fur is very warm, and its body temperature gradually recovered in the snowy night.She got up quickly, put on her heavy coat again, and wrapped her scarf around her.

[It's been a long time since I've saved someone like this, it feels really good! ] Dahe said with satisfaction, 【How about you, do you feel good? 】

Xue Ye clasped her arms tightly, bouncing around in place non-stop.

【It's just... like dying once. 】

【That's right.Every time I save someone, I am prepared to die by human hands.Do it anyway. 】

【The satisfaction you get from saving lives outweighs the terror of death. 】

【good. ] Dahe turned his head to look at her, 【You are only so young, you already have a decent way of speaking.not simple. 】

[Please tell me about the entrance stone. 】

Dahe glanced at the breathing hole, as if confirming the escape route.

[It is the stone that enters the center.the center of the island.When he saw Kim, he was looking for the stone.Unlike you, he doesn't understand me, and I don't understand his.So he found it by himself, and built a stone house near the entrance stone. 】

[The center of this island...is he looking for something? 】

[This is not clear.But by feeling, he must be waiting for something. 】

【What are you waiting for? 】

[You have to ask yourself. 】

Looking at the sky on a snowy night.A few pieces of hard gray clouds piled up near the horizon, like the stone brick corridor in a monastery, wrapping you coldly and wordlessly.

[It's getting dark, let's find Jin's stone house next time.Mr. Dahe, I'll come back tomorrow.Thank you very much for today. 】

【You're afraid you won't be able to come tomorrow. 】

【Hey? 】

[Winter is here. 】

After finishing speaking, Dahe moved his short and fat forelimbs and plunged into the breathing hole without even saying goodbye.

Xue Ye watched silently for a while, then turned and left.After walking a few steps, the sky turned from blue to gray, and the icy wind mixed with heavy snowflakes swept across the coastline.When she returned to the igloo, she could no longer support her body and fainted on the ground.Aunt Mei turned over with her in her arms, and found that her forehead was hot and her skin was hot, but her teeth were chattering as if she was extremely cold, and her whole body was shaking.

The golden retriever Maze sniffed close to her face, then crouched at her feet, keeping her warm with his body heat.

Waking up in the snowy night.It was pitch black all around.Aunt May and Yemoza's sleeping breathing could be heard clearly.

[You are awake. 】

【Mazars?Did it wake you up? 】

[The old dog sleeps lightly.How are you feeling? 】

【Ah, much better.Sweating and drenching all over.Could you get me a towel? 】

Maze brought a towel and lay down around Xue Ye's thin body to prevent her from catching cold while wiping her sweat.

【How long did I sleep? 】

[Since you started sleeping until now, Maze, I have eaten a total of seven meals. 】

[More than two days? 】

[Eat only two meals a day. 】

[Three and a half days... No wonder I feel hungry after sleeping for so long. 】

Xue Ye took off the wet underwear, put on the other set she brought, put on the sweater, got out of bed, and put on the thick fur coat and boots.

【want to go out?It's so late...]

[Something is calling me.Do you hear me?It's not loud, but it's nearby. 】

Mazer pricked up her ears and looked around.

【No, Mazars, I didn't hear anything. 】

[Anyway, I'll go out and have a look.Wait here for me. 】

When speaking, Xue Ye was already fully dressed, only a pair of eyes were exposed from the whole body.The moment I went out, the biting cold wind pierced through the gaps in the clothes like needles.She closed her eyes reflexively, listening to the weak signal received in her heart.It was a language that only she could hear, it was the language of some other animal that did not belong to humans or dogs, and after some incredible conversion, it went beyond the barriers of space and consciousness to reach her heart.It sounded like the buzzing whisper of fish with wide-eyed eyes, gills and lips opening and closing in vain, waiting to be gutted after suffocation.The difference is that the dying murmurs of the fish are sickly and desperate. Although this voice is weak, it is lonely and clear, without any sense of uneasiness.

【who is it?Where are you? 】

Xue Ye tried to talk to this voice, but there was no reply.The sound continues, fading in intensity at a slow and constant rate, as a train pulls into a station.Xue Ye walked around the snow house, step by step to confirm the location of the sound source.Her eyes gradually got used to the darkness, and she saw a mass of black shadows on the open space for drying animal skins and drying fish behind the house.

【Are you calling me? 】

The sound stopped suddenly, like pressing the pause button.A black silence permeated the air.Xue Ye squatted down, trying to distinguish its outline, but the light was too dim, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see clearly.

At this moment, the voice said: [It can be said so. 】

【What's the matter?You seem weak. 】

【I'm dying. 】It was motionless, with a calm tone, as if it had already been mentally prepared.

【Are you caught by Aunt Mei and the others? 】

[A human child.He was lying on the ice and was about to freeze to death, so I went to save him—suddenly he opened his eyes, took out a long, pointed thing from behind, stabbed my tail, and then stabbed me on the stomach several times.Then I was tied up with a thick and long rope and dragged here. 】

Xue Ye wanted to take a deep breath, but her airway was sore by the cold air, so she exhaled hastily.

[You are Mr. Seal, right?A Mr. Seal, who loves to bask in the sun, said before, 'When the seal saves people, it is ready to die at the hands of humans. 'He said it was your fate. 】

[Well said.I also like to bask in the sun. 】

[Winter is here.The sun is on the other side of the world. 】

[I don't know where the sun is in the world, I only know that there is no sun to bask in in winter.It's hard without the sun, especially in the dark, on the ice, as it is now.I am not afraid of death, but I also want to choose a less painful way to die.Do you understand the feeling of freezing to death? 】

【clear. 】Xue Ye nodded, 【Once she almost froze to death in the snow. 】

[That's easy to handle,] the seal seemed very happy, [Kill me, hurry up! 】

[...Mr. Seal, are you serious? 】

[Worry!How can a dying seal be in the mood to joke!Now, there should be a long pointy thing on the ground next to you, just use that to kill me, understand?You have to be quick and ruthless, don't be sloppy like that child, causing me pain until now. 】

As Xue Ye said, she found the harpoon used to kill the seals.She squatted beside the seal, holding the fork in her right hand, took off the glove with her left hand, and groped down its neck.Feeling the vibration of the heart at the fingertips, the right hand was raised, and the harpoon plunged into the soft fur of the seal.The seal gurgled a few mouthfuls of blood, twisted and struggled a few times on the ice, and soon stopped moving.Xue Ye pulled out the fork and threw it aside, picked up the gloves, stood up and silently looked at the seal body whose outline could not be discerned.The feeling of warm liquid came from the nerve endings of the left hand.Warm quickly turns cold to freezing.Xue Ye rubbed off the ice flakes on the back of her hands, put on her gloves, went back to the igloo, and crawled into bed as if exhausted.

At noon the next day, with no more than an hour of precious sunlight, Aunt Mei and her son went outside to clean up the prey they caught yesterday, and unexpectedly found it dead.They skillfully skinned the seals and cut off the fresh meat.The guest had just returned from a high fever and hadn't eaten for more than three days, so he urgently needed nutritional supplements.

"I'm really sorry to bother you all."

Aunt May was taken aback.At some point, Xue Ye was already standing behind her, staring at the seal skins drying on the rack.One side is like a black Milky Way under a dark gray sky, and the other side is like a light gray cloud that is about to snow.She knew the original owner of this skin, three days ago.

"Hey, why did you come out? It's cold outside, hurry up and get in the house to rest!"

"It's on me and my mother!" The half-squatting Samoyed turned his head and grinned honestly.

The sun quickly set on the other side of the horizon invisible.It's dinner time again.

"Fresh seal meat, you're welcome, eat more. Haven't had hot soup for a long time?"

The little girl hugged the golden retriever, scooped up a piece of meat, and swallowed it with the hot soup.She was really hungry, and a big bowl of broth was enough to eat.

That night, when the others fell asleep, Xue Ye was fully dressed like last night, went out, walked to a far corner at the back of the house, squatted down, and vomited.Everything I ate today was vomited up.

【Go out again? 】 Mazars lay at his feet and asked, 【What happened? 】

【nothing.I just thought, whether fish or seals, as long as they are food, they cannot escape the fate of being eaten. 】

[If you don't eat, you will die. 】

Xue Ye nodded.

In the dark silence, the air seems to have added an inexplicable weight, and the whole body quietly falls like snowflakes.She was lying in the thick snowdrift, Xia Tian fainted by her hand.The whole body could not move, and the soul seemed to be frozen together.The soul condenses into a tiny dense nucleus within the body, leaving a hollow shell that echoes the cold winter wind.

Very cold and very hungry.

【I won't talk to food anymore. ] She shook her head.