He looked at the huge prism-shaped Ice Cone standing nearby, like a coordinate, reminding them that it was time to leave.
He stopped the treatment in his hands, stood up, and said to Shion.
"Let's go."
His words were still brief, and he turned around and squatted down to wait for the other party.
But Shion saw that the other party was injured, so he wanted to refuse him behind his back, and was ready to suggest that he should walk for a while.
Seeing the unquestionable look in his eyes, he could only happily jump on his back.
Wait for Ning Xue to carry Shion on his back and continue moving in the direction of Land of Swamps.
Shion can clearly feel that compared to the speed before, his speed is much slower now, and his steps are also unnoticeably heavy.
Each step he took, although still steady, lost the lightness and added the sluggishness of excessive consumption.
The sun sets, and the sky is dyed a warm orange-red.
"It's a waste of time. We won't arrive until tomorrow. Let's rest here." Ning Xue stopped when he saw a relatively good place and decided to spend the night here.
The view here is relatively hidden, and you can observe the path below.
Ning Xue summoned the backpack prepared by Ashitaba, and then summoned his own backpack to rummage around, moving a little slower than usual.
He rummaged in his bag for a while and took out an old, slightly worn mask.
The style of the mask was completely different from the one he shattered. It looked like it was bought casually on the roadside, and there were some minor scratches on the edges.
He examined it carefully and set it aside, apparently intending to put it on again the next morning.
Shion watched him do this silently without disturbing him.
She helped pick up some dry firewood and piled them together.
Ning Xue After setting up the tent, he quickly went to the firewood and lit the bonfire.
When the orange-red Kakkō jumped again, it dispelled the chill of the night and brightened the tired faces of the two people.
After a simple dinner, the two sat by the fire to rest.
Ning Xue was leaning against a tree, still looking a little pale under the light of Kakkō. He closed his eyes and seemed to be seizing the time to recover.
And Shion's eyes could not help but drift into the distance.
Although she could no longer see it, she knew that there were huge ice crystals standing in that direction.
She finally couldn't help it and asked softly.
"Um... how long can it be trapped like that?"
Ning Xue did not open his eyes, his voice was tired. "A few days."
"In a few days... will it come out and continue to hunt us?" Shion was a little worried.
"No." Ning Xue answered affirmatively, and finally opened his eyelids. His pure white eyes looked particularly calm under Kakkō.
"By the time it struggles out on its own, the Mōryō power that forcibly mixed it and supported its form should have been exhausted.
I have seen that that power will not grow naturally, and will slowly disappear over time. By the time he can come out, he will have already been exhausted, and his body will definitely have a backlash... and he will definitely die."
His tone was calm, stating an established fact.
Shion nodded, feeling a little calmer.
She was silent for a moment, but the shocking scene during the day came to mind again.
The big dog's huge body, its tacit cooperation with Ning Xue, and its rich voice that can be heard even from a long distance, and the words it shouts.
"Fujiwara Clan's boy..."
"Hyuga Clan's little devil..."
These two titles were swirling and colliding in her mind.
She looked at the old mask Ning Xue Ning Xue put aside, and then at Kakkō his special pair of pure Byakugan eyes that could not be concealed even though they were tired.
Curiosity seized her again. This time, she considered the words and spoke cautiously and tentatively.
"That... big white dog, it keeps calling you Fujiwara boy."
Ning Xue said "hmm", which was regarded as a response, without any unnecessary expression.
Shion paused and continued.
"But, that monster during the day... it recognized your eyes and said you were Hyuga Clan."
She observed Ning Xue's reaction and saw that he still had his eyes closed, but his brows moved almost imperceptibly.
She took a deep breath and asked the question she had been thinking about for a long time.
"So... your name is actually Hyuga Fujiwara?"
The fire made a soft "crackling" sound.
Ning Xue slowly opened her eyes, and those pure white eyes turned to her, reflecting the beating flames, but there was no warmth.
He didn't answer immediately, just looked at her quietly.
After a few seconds of silence, he shook his head, his voice clear and calm:
"No."
The denial was very straightforward, with no explanation or anything to add.
Shion was startled for a moment. "Then...?"
Ning Xue has closed his eyes again, tilted his head back slightly, leaned against the tree trunk, and gestured to end the conversation.
"I said, the name is not important."
He whispered the last thing, more like talking to himself, the last sound blending into the rising night wind.
"Go to sleep. We have to go on a journey tomorrow."
Shion looked at his tired and alienated silhouette and swallowed back his subsequent questions.
She knew that this was the boundary that he didn't want to talk about.
Not Hyuga Fujiwara.
So what exactly is "Fujiwara"? What does "Hyuga" represent?
Snow Wolf Do you know his eyes? If you know, why do you still call him that?
Instead of diminishing, the questions are increasing.
She tightened some of the outer clothes around her body, regretting why she was wearing such a suit, and then got into the tent.
She didn't sleep peacefully that night, not only because she was curious about Ning Xue's life experience, but also because of the battle during the day.
Ferocious monsters, blocked rock thorns, roaring dogs, towering water columns, and extremely cold ice.
All of this overturned her understanding of strength and combat in the past fifteen years.