Chen Lin stood on the ridge, gazing at the two utterly different regions, lost in thought.
The ridge beneath his feet was not high. By rights, it could not have caused such a drastic difference in temperature, so this had to be a supernatural phenomenon. That meant the Abandoned Land was not truly an ordinary plane.
The reason he could not use supernatural powers was that some sort of restriction had been imposed on them.
"Whew!"
Tutu took a deep breath, looking as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"We finally escaped. Once we enter the Mysterious District, the Black Eagle Guard won't dare pursue us. We're safe."
"Are we?"
Chen Lin glanced at him.
"You sound so certain. Does the ruler of this place have a grudge against Black Eagle Country?"
"Not exactly."
Tutu gazed into the distance.
He walked onto the snow-covered slope as he slowly began to explain.
"Because once you enter the Mysterious Domain, you become tainted with misfortune. The longer you stay, the worse it gets. As soon as you leave the region, you encounter inexplicable dangers, and it's hard to survive. Even the people around you get caught up in it, so nobody wants to enter."
"And yet you brought me here."
Chen Lin tightened his grip on his saber's hilt and stared coldly at him.
Only revealing this now made it obvious that Tutu had been using him. Although he had intended to visit the Sixth District anyway, being used still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"I had no other choice."
Tutu's voice carried an apologetic note.
"I'm an imperial prince of Yue Country, and I shoulder the duty of restoring my nation. Everyone we planted in Black Eagle Country died a terrible death to get me out.