They were almost driven off the ship.

Well, it doesn't matter. Just like the niggers don't want to see the white devil, they don't want to walk with pirates anymore.

They walked forward on the frozen mud flat covered with snow, one foot deep and one foot, supporting each other. Although the sky was a little clear, the cold wind was so cold that most people who had been in the midsummer kingdom for a long time could not bear it. The white air exhaled by the alchemist obscured his vision, and his eyes were blurred. He could not see the road, and found that he could not feel the existence of his hands and feet at all.

"I'm so cold." Namelia's petite body shivered, her face was red from the cold, and she could hardly walk. "Yahan, I'm cold." Her appearance is pitiful.

The captain of the guard picked her up and wrapped her in his clothes. The one he was frozen was replaced by him. But even the strongest warrior could not last long. They hadn't had a good meal, let alone a rest all night. Each of them was at the end of their might, walking against the wind in the frenzy cold wind in the north.

"Where should we go, Evila?"

The rolling mountains blocking them present colorful and magnificent scenery in the dim sunlight. However, for them, the exhausted travelers, it is an insurmountable barrier.

"Go to the north," Evila said, "continue."

"How do we go through? There are large mountains in front of us." Li Ou asked back, "Do you want us to climb over them?"

"Don't cross the mountains and hills." Evila retracted her gaze and exhaled. "If I remember correctly, there is a small village near Dolphin Bay, just below the foot of the mountain." She pointed ahead.

Li Ou looked out to see the frozen tundra. The frozen tundra continued to stretch out, and there was no end at first sight. There was no life here, only a faint forest line at the foot of the mist mountain. He didn't know what those people made a living, but hoped that her memory had not made any mistakes. He prayed. They really couldn't stand more trouble.

They walked slowly, staggering among the mud and countless stones. It was not until the sky was dark that they finally found the shadow of the wooden arrow tower in the arms of a sharp cliff.

Thank goodness.

They couldn't help but speed up their pace. Around them, there were continuous ice and snow mountains. However, among the dark moss, a compacted black soil road mixed with gravel was particularly conspicuous. The clear and fresh ruts on them were not stingy with the gifts of the gods.

The village is right in front of you.

Surprisingly, the wooden gate of this remote mountain village was closed tightly, and the militia on the arrow tower looked at them hostilely, and put arrows on the longbow in his hand. He seemed to be extra cautious about them and guard against them. It was as if... they were bandits, robbers, and their enemies.

"Stop!" the militia wrapped in thick fur shouted at them, aiming at them with a longbow. "Otherwise I'll shoot an arrow!"

Although the familiar words had a strong accent, they were enough to make them cry. However, the other party's appearance did not look like a welcoming gesture at all. He stood on the arrow tower, as if he wanted to sound the alarm bell.

"What happened here?" Li Ou asked.

"Don't move forward!" The militia screamed nervously, and the howling cold wind circled, pulling his voice echoing over the mountain village. "This is not something you should know! I said, stop!"

Li Ou raised his hands and signaled that he was not hostile.

The militia gasped heavily, and the bowstrings were tense. "Who are you? Report your name."

Who are they? "A group of refugees." Li Ou pointed to him with a wry smile. "Among us there are both men and women, each with injuries and serious illnesses. Do we look like robbers like this?" He pulled his clothes to show the other person. He was wearing a mess, colorful clothes and torn blankets. "No matter how you look at it, we are like the one who was robbed."

Indeed, they were dusty and their eyes were dull. The sleepiness and fatigue were obvious. The militia hung down their bows and arrows. "But...but, there are so many of you." He said embarrassedly.

"Okay, let's go in." Evilla begged, "we need rest, doctors, or pastors."

The other party looked at them for a long time. "Keep your weapons in hand." He finally said, "Don't play any tricks under our noses. Open the door and let them in."

The door slowly opened with a creaking sound, and what caught my eye was low, thick houses made of wooden stakes and frozen earth. The architectural style here was completely different from the midsummer country, but the white-skinned faces were enough to make them feel friendly. The people in the small village at the foot of the mountain showed a sense of alertness and alienation towards their arrival. They looked at them from a distance from the roadside, with curiosity and uneasiness in their eyes, and inexplicably hostility.

“Is there a hotel here?”

"Yes." The militia leading the way, or monitoring them, replied. "Follow this road, and there is a saw-wood inn next to a sentinel pine. But the village chief should want to see you first."

"I'll go see him with you." Leo said, and ordered others to settle in the hotel, "I'll come back to find you soon."

They walked a short distance, and several wooden houses with triangular roofs looked particularly eye-catching in the low rammed earth houses. According to the militia leading the way, the village chief lived in one of them, while the other belonged to the respected elders in the village.

"Here," Evila asked, "Is there a church in Andal Church here?"

"There is a small church." The militia pointed in a direction that was contrary to the houses. "There is a small square behind it, and there is a wooden statue that you will not miss. But instead of counting on the priest, you might as well go and ask a doctor. Your companions seem to need to be conditioned rather than inexplicable magic."

Li Ou followed behind the militia. He knocked on the door, and then an old voice sounded inside. "Come in." The militia pushed open the door, "Get in." He said.

Butter candles were lit in the room, and a pot was packed on the fire in the middle of the hall, filled with water, and a bottle of wine was warming. The air was filled with the fragrance of dried meat. A white-haired old man sat by the fire and heard the sound made by Leo, and he raised his head.

"Ah, traveler." The village chief's face was covered with wrinkles and age spots, but his speech was clear and his voice was loud. "You are welcome to guests from afar." He said, "Sit, please feel free."

Leo sat down opposite him, and the village chief poured him a glass of wine.

"Thank you." He picked up the wine glass and took a sip. The hot temperature and strong burning sensation spread from his mouth along his throat to his abdomen, dispelling the bone-bone chill. He sighed with satisfaction and put down the cup.

The village chief filled him with wine again. "Where are you from?" His eyes flashed with wisdom. "We have not had guests here for a long time. The heavy snow blocked the mountain road - that is the only way we enter and exit. You are not like refugees, right? Our guests."

Knowing that he could not hide it from the old man in front of him, Li Ou had to choose to tell the truth. "We come from the sea." He sighed, "The storm destroyed everything, we were thrown off the boat and fend for ourselves."

"I smelled it." The old man smiled satisfied. "Your bodies smelled fishy. Your experience was sad and worthy of sympathy. But how did you find this place? It's too far from the beach......The swamp and mud will make people crazy."

"Some of us can know the way." Li Ou suddenly felt that the village chief looked at him and became less trustworthy, full of doubts and vigilance. "She is a bachelor. She has been here."

"Bachelor?" the village chief nodded, "She is a lady? Where is she now?"

"She went to visit the priest of the church." Leo replied, "Some of my companions were injured, and some were suffering from cold."

"Yes." The old man replied in a muffled voice.

Firewood crackled, and Mars jumped out of the fire pit from time to time, and then fell on the stone bricks to extinguish. The room was as warm as spring, and the rising smoke was extremely lazy, making people drowsy.

After a moment of silence, Li Ou spoke, "Old sir, I have a problem."

"Tell me." The village chief nodded, "I know everything."

He moved his butt in the chair and straightened his body. "What are you guarding against?" he asked, "Is something going on here?"

The old man chuckled, "You are two problems."

"But they only need a common answer," said Leo.

"Well." The old man was silent for a while, as if thinking about how to answer. "As you can see," he spoke hesitantly, "In snowy days, there are always some wild beasts that are about to starve and freeze to death wandering around the village, ready to eat the lonely people at any time. They are deadly and they are never full..."

He looked at it around and Leo clearly realized. "...I admit that sometimes humans are more unbearable than wild animals, but bandits will make you feel like they are facing a great enemy, and bandits can force you to gather all the resistance forces." Leo commented, "But none of you did this. You are just scrutinizing us and interrogating strangers from outside."

The village chief no longer had a good tone, "You are thinking too much, the guest." He said coldly.

"Your intentions are too obvious," Leo pointed out.

The old man said nothing.

"It seems uneasy here. Everyone here has a special look." He said, "There is more uneasy than hostility, and the worry is obvious. Some things must be related to strangers who come by chance?"

"You have a pair of keen eyes." After a long silence, the old man finally spoke. But he did not respond to Leo's doubts positively. "Curiosity is of no benefit to you, guest. However, since you want to know the whole story, let me see the 'bachelor' you said first." The old man grabbed the crutch next to him and stood up tremblingly. He stared at Leo's eyes and said with a warning, "If she is really a bachelor, then I will have countless confusions waiting for answers like you. I will answer your question carefully until then."
Chapter completed!