A Strange Girl

According to the map, we'll be heading down the mountain soon; there will be many villages there. 😲♞ ✋♖

At first, I was very curious about how the Freljord people survived in the freezing cold. It was clear that relying solely on hunting to feed so many people was unreliable.

Looking at the map, I realized that there is a continuous mountain range between Noxus and Freljord. Because the mountains are gentle, it gives the impression that the entire Freljord is an ice field.

In fact, once you cross this mountain range, you'll find vast tracts of fertile land. Many places are low-lying like the Northern Plains Basin, making them perfectly habitable.

Of course, the far north is a land of ice and snow.

We are currently in southern Freljord, and the faction marked on the map is the Winter's Claw.

I remember Jeram saying that his berserker tribe was part of the Winter's Claw, but he didn't know the exact location.

However, I don't plan to contact him. If war breaks out between the two sides, I'll be in a dilemma again.

As we approached the village, the temperature rose slightly above that of the snowfield, and the area was not only home to hardy plants but also to blooming flowers.

Snow is something that can make people happy, but after walking through the snowfield for several days in a row, I was dizzy and lightheaded. Seeing these few unknown little flowers at this moment brought me extraordinary joy.

The houses here are very low, seemingly out of place with the people's size, and the walls are very thick, which can not only protect against the cold wind but also keep out wild animals.

When we arrived, it seemed like people were celebrating a festival; a bonfire was lit in the center of the village, adding warmth to the desolate evening.

People gathered together, arguing loudly, making a lively scene as if they were discussing something.

"Let's go say hello. It would be great if they could offer us a place to stay." These past few days living in a tent have been very difficult for me.

"I think it's great in the tent, warm and relaxing," Riven said, looking quite content.

People are always hostile towards strangers, and the people here were no exception. They were very wary when they saw two foreigners carrying weapons approaching.

"Who are you people, and what are you doing here?"

"We're explorers, just passing through, and would like to buy some food to take with us and rest for the night. Is that alright?"

"Strangers are not welcome here, you should leave." The people refused decisively, leaving no room for negotiation, which seemed to be their usual practice.

I glanced at Riven and waved my hand. "Let's go. Looks like we'll have to stay in the tent again."

"That suits me perfectly!"

Just as we were about to leave, a scream suddenly came from the center of the crowd. It was the voice of a little girl. Because the crowd was so tightly packed, we couldn't see what was happening inside.

Riven stopped in her tracks, and someone immediately urged us, "Hurry up and move along!"

I winked at her, pulled her away, and got back onto our oxcart.

"Why are you pulling me? They clearly didn't do anything good."

"This has nothing to do with us. Have you forgotten what Tam said? Avoid trouble if you can."

Riven looked at me sullenly without answering, and I knew she was unhappy. "Okay, let's sneak back and see what happened when it gets a little darker."

"I knew you weren't a cold-blooded person, hehe."

→

I pinched her nose, pretended to ride away on the Ironhorn Bull, and waited for the people who were following us to return before giving the bull's tail a hard tug. It cooperated perfectly and didn't move.

The night was exceptionally dark in the north, which made our stealth operation very smooth. The campfire in the village was still burning, and no one had gone home yet.

Riven and I climbed two tall black pine trees and found the little girl in the crowd:

Her clothes were very thin, and her skin was the color of snow; only the firelight made her appear less pale.

She was clearly not from here, because the little girl's hair was shiny, while the villagers' hair was dirty and messy, as rough as hay, which was to be expected in such a cold place.

The little girl was tied to a wooden stake, and two elderly people stood in front of her, chanting something incessantly. Every now and then, they would wave a torch in front of the little girl, and she would scream, just like before. It seemed that this ritual had been going on for a long time.

The discussion has never stopped, and based on words like "witch," "evil," and "calamity," it's not hard to infer that they are performing some kind of ritual.

In such desolate and remote places, it's easy for things like this to happen. People arbitrarily attribute strange phenomena around them to so-called heresy, even things like children.

After the trial lasted for a while, the two elderly people left, waving to someone nearby, and then two young people came over.

One of the young men was holding a torch, and the other was carrying a wooden bucket. It wasn't until he poured the contents of the bucket onto the little girl that I realized it might be fuel.

They want to burn this girl alive!

Before the young man could throw the torch, Riven and I jumped down at the same time. She blocked the crowd, and I cut the rope, picked up the little girl, and ran.

The crowd instantly erupted into chaos, and we took advantage of the darkness to escape to the oxcart. This was a snowy plain, making it difficult for them to find us.

"Are you alright?" I asked, noticing the little girl was only dressed in thin clothes. I quickly wrapped her up in the tent.

"It's okay, I'm not cold." The little girl remained calm, neither shrinking from the howling wind nor trembling with fear.

"You were just startled by the torch and screamed, how come you're so calm now? You're not an ordinary person, are you?"

"I'm just afraid of fire. Who are you people, and why are you here?"

The little girl didn't reveal her identity; instead, she asked us questions. She looked to be only about ten years old, yet she was as cautious as an adult.

"We're adventurers, traveling around. We've heard for a long time that Freljord is dangerous, but we didn't expect to encounter something like this so soon after arriving. By the way, my name is Yasuo, and this is my partner Riven."

"You two are going to risk your lives driving an oxcart? There's a limit to lying, isn't there?"

This little guy is quite difficult to handle. He has such an adorable face, how come he suddenly became so annoying? "Fine, it seems you're not planning on communicating properly. Well then, you'd better watch out."

I packed up the tent, put the little girl on the snow, called Riven, and prepared to leave. It seemed I had gotten myself into trouble tonight.

"Wait, you're just leaving like this? What if I get caught and taken back? Or eaten by wild animals?"

"Little sister, you know how to be scared?"

"I'm not stupid, why wouldn't I be afraid?"

"Then I'll give you one more chance. What's your name? Why were you arrested?"