The two held hands as they walked through the streets at night, neither of them speaking.
The next day, the four of them headed to the ruins where they had once been transported from Kandewen.
Mel, Kiriri, Mei, and Arian moved quickly.
For most of the mountain paths, Mel had to carry Kiriri on his back.
Farther north in the mountains, there were fiercer beasts, making it a dangerous place even for Martial Artists.
The mountains were thick with vegetation and brimming with spring. If one had not known about this place beforehand, it would have been impossible to imagine how dangerous it was.
They spotted the ruined village from afar. Stone walls lay scattered outside, while the wooden houses within had been reduced to broken frames, with grass sprouting from their roofs.
The instant Kiriri saw the village, her eyes lit up. It was very similar to the village in the Northern Snowfield that she had investigated before, the one that had vanished due to a magical disaster.
The timing matched as well, though there were no living people left in this village now.
Quite a few people had already explored these ruins. Finding anything useful now would probably be very difficult.
"Mel, look around and see if there's anything left." Kiriri slipped down from Mel's back.
They searched carefully ahead, using the sword in hand to clear away the weeds. Before reaching the village, they found a fallen stone stele.
Mel set the stele upright and carefully brushed away the dirt covering it, discovering that the carved writing had not faded.
Steles erected outside villages were generally used to mark the village's name.
Kiriri's gaze fell upon the stele, and she nodded seriously. "That's right. This should be the vanished place in the Northern Snowfield. Do you remember