Whispering Poems

Chapter 3286 Competition and Betting

Shade was unable to immediately respond to Professor Reinhardt's words. After all, he and the witch were only friends now.
"Then you and Elder Harald."

"Elder Harald asked me the same question at that time. It was in the summer after my leg injury healed. We talked on the way to the Wheel of Time City. I gave the same answer as you did. Yes, exactly the same. Now I fully understand the elder's attitude and complicated feelings towards me back then."

He looked out the window at the vast and majestic snow-capped mountains under the blue sky and white clouds:

"It's as if fate has come full circle. While I'm celebrating my luck, I can see myself becoming the person I was before. Of course, there are some differences between you and me. I didn't have your confidence back then. I was six years older than Claire's mother. I had just become a lecturer with a very low salary. I didn't have any connections in the college and it was hard to get class hours. It was also difficult to apply for funding and projects for liberal arts majors."

He coughed, interrupting his recollection of his youthful embarrassment:

"After living on this island for so many years, I have more or less begun to believe in fate. I won't say much about your relationship with Claire. I am much more reasonable than my old father-in-law more than 20 years ago. Ahem, don't tell anyone about this. This is a private conversation between us.

In short, go to the snowy mountains to investigate on your own. If you believe in fate, fate will reveal its secrets to you. But remember that fate is a double-edged sword. Everything has a price, and everything has meaning. "

Professor Reinhardt's answer to Shad was not just these specious words. Before Shad stood up, he talked about the "Ice and Snow Castle" mentioned by the ranger Old Haman, and told Shad that in addition to Old Haman, two other people had seen it in the past three hundred years, and the location was in the southeast of a similar snow-capped mountain.

He circled the approximate location on the map, which was the starting point for Shad to conduct a comprehensive investigation after completing the commission from the Fatu people. However, since the ice castle was mentioned, Shad inevitably thought of Chloe.

Since he had already encountered the echoes left by Chloe on the snowy mountain, if the ice castle really existed, Shade still hoped that the castle was related to Chloe.

It was only two o'clock in the afternoon when Shad finished talking with Professor Reinhardt. When Shad left the study and went downstairs, Mrs. Reinhardt was packing large and small bags of bread, vegetables and various foods for her daughter to take to the Harpoon Inn to eat:

"You can live at home, or even with your grandfather. Why do you have to live in a hotel? Don't you have a home here?"

The witch couldn't answer directly, so she turned to Shade and looked for help. Shade smiled and helped her take the packed food, and then turned them all into toys in front of Mrs. Reinhardt.

This surprised Mrs. Reinhart very much, and she said that if she could do this, she would no longer have to drive "Little Larry" (the family's donkey) to the dock to transport goods.

After leaving Reinhardt's house, the two discussed and went up the mountain together to the small hall in the mountain to retrieve the magic sword whose soul had been sealed and whose "mother consciousness" had been cut off. They were lucky, or the sealing ritual jointly performed by Priest Augustus and Doctor Schneider seemed to be effective, and the magic sword hidden in the wall by Shade using the "mud into stone" technique was not taken away.

After Shade took it out and swung it a few times, he felt that he could use this sword as his "main weapon" on Fatumonster Island before the devil showed up.

"The ritual says there are nine magic swords on the island. The Church of the Sun has one, and you have one. So there are seven remaining magic swords. That number of magic swords should be enough for His Excellency the Sun Emblem to handle."

Miss Rhinehart was optimistic about this, but Shade thought of the big snake that night:
"The premise is that no new magic sword is created."

It was still early, so Shade planned to go to the southeast of Snow Mountain with Miss Reinhardt to see if there really was something like an "ice castle" near the circle drawn by Professor Reinhardt. He himself had no hope, and was planning to go there and take a look, and return to town directly if there was no result. And Claire Reinhardt would naturally not refuse to go around with Shade again.

Miss Owl, who had been following them in the air all the way, certainly didn't like the low temperature in the snowy mountains, and was also very happy that they didn't stay on the snowy mountains for too long.

"How about we have a competition? Let's start from here together and see who can reach the destination first."

After walking out of the small auditorium, the girl in a good mood suggested with a smile.

"Sooner than going down the mountain? Of course."

Xia De thought about it and didn't refuse, but Miss Reinhart said again:
"Since it's a competition, there has to be something to bet on. If I win, how about you stay and have dinner with us tonight?"

The owl standing on the roof of the small auditorium rolled its eyes in a very human way and decided to write down this sentence so that it could be used in the future when portraying a very proactive girl.

"What if I win?"

Xia De asked, and the girl with platinum blonde hair smiled and said:
"Then I allow you to call me by my first name from now on."

Miss Owl shook her wings and flew up. Shade watched it circling nearby, and the witch said before Shade could answer:

"Just kidding, if you win, I can take you to an important banquet next week."

"A party? In the Wheel of Time?"

"Yes, Grand Duke Lagerson has decided to hold the meeting to mediate the relationship between Carsenrick and Delarion on the island of Fatumunster instead of on the coast. Among the representatives of Carsenrick, there is a marquis's wife who was my classmate in college, so I have also received an invitation to the welcome party next week."

Xia De just didn't expect that the Marquise also studied mineralogy:
"This party sounds interesting, so what are the rules of the game?"

"There are no rules. You can use any means. I'll be leaving now. See you later."

As she spoke, she leaped up and turned into a stream of golden light and flew down the mountain. Shade sighed, then also jumped into the air and turned into a cat. Then the owl swooped down like a hunting eagle and grabbed Shade the cat in the air, carrying him down the mountain.

Of course, Flora changed the owl's fur color in the snowy mountains to prevent it from being discovered. Now the round-faced owl is snow-white:
"Claire is such a silly girl. I wanted to see how you captured her, but now it looks like she got into your backpack on her own."

Miss Owl commented, and Shade Cat felt very guilty about this:

"I think it's better to tell her the truth as soon as possible."

"How can that be? Vanessa and Sylvia can play, and so can I - Shad, shut up and be careful of the wind, I'm going to speed up."

The 12th-level Transfiguration Master glowed in the air until he turned into a unicorn carrying a cat, and then he turned into a beam of light and rushed down the mountain. Although the Great Witch of the Sun was very strong, she could never beat the 12th-level unicorn in terms of speed.

"Ang~"

A white light seemed to appear in the woods below the mountain. That light was caused by the appearance of the "unicorn".

Of course, this "match" ended with the victory of Shade, who had a mount. After the two met in the woods, Miss Reinhardt was not disappointed and did not even ask Shade what means he used:
"If you lose, you lose. The specific time of the dinner has not been announced yet. I will tell you when it is confirmed next week. Now let's go. I am not familiar with the nearby forest, but it doesn't look like there is an ice castle here."

"Strong Spatial Perception" did not find any spatial anomalies here. The two people walking through the cedar forest looked more like they were taking a walk together than looking for something.

The rugged mountains covered with snow were completely different from the Vista Woods. Watching the sun sinking towards the west little by little while walking, Shade suddenly felt an indescribable melancholy.

While exploring the woods, they talked about the "poetry fragment". Combining the first snake skin, the text found on the snake skin by the Fatu people 500 years ago, and this fragment, it is not difficult to see that the story of "fate" is a story of fighting for the position of "protagonist", and obtaining the snake skin is the first step to enter the story.

At this point, Miss Reinhart felt that she had wasted the snake skin:
"It's not that we can't become the Chosen Ones, but the Speaker said that the chances of a Great Witch becoming the Chosen One are very, very low. It's almost like everyone else has to die before it's our turn. I should have let you or Stella try earlier. You look so special, and Stella has her own unique talent, but I'm just a 'minor supporting role'."

She was still angry about this matter. Xia De smiled and shook his head, carefully avoiding the branches that were covered with crystal snow.
"The story of fate has just begun. Everything is possible. Let's not say such things. But have there always been so many strange things on the island where you live? I have been on this island for a week, and the things I have encountered that can be investigated have almost filled up the entire notebook."

"I didn't feel this place was strange when I was a kid. My hometown has always been peaceful and tranquil in my memory. I think it's because the material world as a whole has been a bit unstable in the past two years."

She said softly, and then suddenly asked:

"Is it my illusion? What is that in front?"

Xia De, who had turned around to talk to her, also looked forward. In the far distance of the cedar forest, there was a blurry white light that almost blended into the background of the forest:
"I saw it too. Wait, is this what the old ranger saw? Did we really bump into each other at once?"

"Stop talking so much, just catch up and take a look."