Misentering Furnace Village

Unsurprisingly, I woke up again, but the scene before me wasn't Shurima; instead, it was a frozen wasteland. 🍧♣ ♠😺

I quickly checked my right hand and found that the Hextech Device was still there, as was the goggles on my head.

So I'm still Ezreal, but how did I suddenly end up in Freljord?

Was I reborn after death, or did something unexpected happen? It seems the only answer is to go to Shurima and find Sivir.

I was wearing a thick leather coat, and I was wrapped up very warmly inside, but it still couldn't keep out the biting cold wind of Freljord.

Why did I have to travel here of all places? Looking at the endless snowfields all around me, I don't know if I can make it out alive.

Opening the map on my Hextech Device, I realized I was almost at Frosthold; no wonder it was so cold.

I set my location to the Avarosa tribe in the south, intending to go and take a look.

The Hextech Device allows me to move quickly, but there's a recharge interval of a few minutes, so it's not very fast overall, but it saves stamina.

After traveling for most of the day, the Hextech map suddenly stopped working, and all the locations on it disappeared!

At this moment, I noticed that the scenery in front of me had changed: it was still in the snowfield, but there were several towering mountains not far ahead, rising abruptly as if from the flat ground.

These mountains weren't there just now. Was it due to magical interference?

Since we don't know which way to go, let's just climb the mountain and take a look!

I headed towards the mountain and soon discovered two people ahead of me. I was overjoyed, as I hadn't seen a single animal since I woke up.

However, to be on the safe side, it's best to be careful; anyone who can be found in this kind of environment is definitely not an ordinary person!

As I got closer, I heard the two arguing, and the brown-haired girl was none other than Huo Su!

She was only wearing a single layer of clothing in the freezing cold, revealing her stunning figure. The People of Furnace Village were truly unrestrained.

The person she was arguing with was a man who looked older and was dressed very well.

"I will not marry Ban Banlut! Your persuasion is useless!"

"You're almost forty, how can you still be so willful? No way, you're getting married next week!"

"I don't!"

"If you insist on refusing, then I'll have no choice but to kick you Hearth-Home!"

So this is Hearth-Home!

No wonder my device malfunctioned; it turns out I entered a barrier.

After all, not just anyone can enter this kind of place; perhaps my frequent use of Hextech Prototype caused some kind of malfunction.

But that's not the point. The man just said that Huo Su is almost forty years old. What's going on?

I once heard her mention that she was twenty-nine years old, and that she had already established the Light Organization at that time.

The joint war hasn't even started yet, so she should be around twenty years old, right?

Did my rebirth involve both a change of location and a crossing of time?

At this moment, Huo Su stamped her foot. "Fine, I'll leave! I'll never come back!"

That would be best!

The man was very indifferent; he left after speaking, leaving Huo Su squatting on the ground crying.

I waited until the man was far away before quietly approaching. Huo Su heard the noise, quickly stood up, drew his sword, and pointed it at me.

"Who are you! What are you doing in Hearth-Home!"

"My name is Ezreal. Are outsiders not welcome here?"

"Certainly!"

"Then what are you doing here? I just heard you've been expelled from Hearth-Home, we're in the same boat now."

Upon hearing my words, Huo Su lowered his sword, and a sorrowful expression returned to his face.

"That's right, this place has nothing to do with me anymore, do as you please."

"Actually, I'm not a bad person. I'm just an explorer who stumbled upon this place by chance. Could you tell me, a stranger, about what happened to you?"

Are you really willing to listen?

"Of course, otherwise why would I ask you?"

You're so kind!

Huo Su suddenly became happy, which confused me completely.

This isn't something to be happy about, is it? After hearing her explanation, I finally understood why:

The People of Furnace Village a tradition of arranged marriages by their parents.

In other words, the marriage arranged by the parents cannot be disobeyed by either party; otherwise, they will be driven Hearth-Home.

The man just now was Huo Su's father, Gugunir. He had arranged a marriage for Huo Su, but she disagreed.

Because she has someone she likes, and I know that person: Jergente.

I used to think that Huo Su and Jergente were siblings, but it turns out they were just childhood friends with a good relationship.

Jergente was a young talent from the Hearth-Home, excelling in both forging skills and martial arts.

In Hearth-Home, being proficient in just one thing is enough to be very popular, let alone being proficient in both. Therefore, he has countless suitors, and Huo Su is just the most inconspicuous one.

Just like a little girl liking her idol, there's nothing wrong with that. But unlike other suitors, Huo Su's father is the current clan chief of Hearth-Home.

This identity not only failed to bring her any convenience, but instead caused her a lot of trouble.

The chieftain of Hearth-Home is usually the most skilled person, including those skilled in forging and martial arts, Gugunir is no exception.

Unfortunately Huo Su was of mediocre talent, excelling in neither aspect. Because of this, she suffered a lot of ridicule and strange looks from others since childhood.

However, Huo Su didn't care and continued to work hard in her own way until recently when some people started saying that she wanted to use her father's reputation to win over Jergente.

When this news reached Gugunir, he didn't investigate whether it was true or not, but instead arranged a marriage for Huo Su, probably hoping to dispel the rumors in this way.

Huo Su had no friends and no one to confide in about what had happened, so she was exceptionally happy to learn that I was willing to listen.

Now that she has poured out her heart, she looks sad again, and I don't know how to comfort her.

"You'd rather leave Hearth-Home than marry that guy named Ban Banlut, right?"

"Yeah, I've barely even met him. I don't know how I'll live after we get married."

"Are you... really almost forty?"

"Hmm, thirty-eight years old, why?"

Huo Su's appearance is no different from before; she really is almost forty years old!

Moreover, she has a very youthful personality, perhaps because she lives in a secluded place and is quite naive!

"Uh... it's nothing, you don't look like it. Have you ever left Hearth-Home?"

"I left, but only went out for a short while, and came back not long after."

"Not long after? Do you know about the Void Wars?"

"What Void War? I don't know what you're talking about. I've only been gone for about two days."

Huo Su didn't know about the Void War! How could this be? She should have experienced it by now. Could this barrier really withstand all attacks?

I became increasingly puzzled, and I could only find out the reason after I left this place.