Chapter 641 [Unarrived Spring]

The Rime Forest was exceptionally cold at night. Stepping abruptly from the warm house into the outdoors, tiny droplets of water immediately condensed on the surface of the [Darkscale Coiled Guard], freezing into a layer of sparkling white frost at a visible rate.

Crafted primarily from exotic serpent scale, it possessed material traits entirely different from ordinary metal.

A simple shake of his forearm, without needing much force, sent the condensed frost pattering down, leaving the shield's surface pristine and mark-free.

The girl named Sarah walked ahead. Despite the thick layers of clothing she wore to ward off the cold, her steps were remarkably light.

The immense pressure from the half-orc adventurer and the village chief, accompanied by the sound of the closing door, was dispelled by the outdoor chill, right along with the lingering warmth of the hearth on her skin.

"Thank you for helping me out, sir!"

Sarah turned around with a generous, bright smile, thanking the black-haired adventurer before her with genuine sincerity.

Back in the house, she hadn't dared to speak a single word. Her mind had been so overtaxed by the high pressure from the adventurers that her focus had scattered and her body had trembled.

But now that she had truly left the cabin and her senses had returned, Sarah realized it was this young, stern-faced, black-haired adventurer who had bailed her out.

He waved a hand at the girl, gesturing for her not to worry about it.

Xia Nan held a piece of fragrant flatbread that still steamed in the cold night, having snagged it from his table just before leaving.

He tore off a small piece and waved it in front of the nose of the Winter Wolf Fanny, who had followed him outside, as if asking if she wanted a bite.

Seeing Fanny twitch her nose before shaking her head vigorously, showing absolutely no interest, he dismissed the idea of sharing.

He raised the small piece of flatbread to his mouth and took a bite.

As he chewed, his dark eyes glanced up at the sky. A crescent moon hung there, unobscured by clouds, exceptionally bright against the backdrop of the night and the stars. 'The weather is nice,' he thought, figuring he wouldn't need to worry too much about the climate for his operations over the next couple of days.

Then he withdrew his gaze, letting it fall back onto the girl before him.

Truthfully, he had intervened for the girl in front of the half-orc, Gank, because his own personality and values differed from those of some adventurers in this world.

However, Xia Nan did not agree with Sarah's decision to enter that room at all.

After all, not every adventurer possessed the moral compass of a modern society from a past life like he did.

With a lack of oversight and the inflation of individual power, whether or not one unleashed their desires depended entirely on their own conscience and bottom line.

This much was obvious from the fact that Sarah was the only young woman they had seen since Xia Nan and his group had entered the village.

Furthermore, judging by the reactions of the village chief and the surrounding peasant women when the girl entered the room, it was clear she hadn't received her elders' permission.

Under such circumstances, Sarah's act of stepping into that room was practically akin to willingly handing her life over to the adventurers inside.

It was only because Xia Nan was present, and the Sulfur Dragon Breath squad had some semblance of rules.

Otherwise, an old, frail village chief and a few peasant women wouldn't have been able to stop powerful adventurers, who spent their days slaughtering monsters, from doing whatever they pleased.

In Xia Nan's eyes, the girl's actions had been incredibly reckless, even a bit foolish.

Even though he had lent a hand against the half-orc, it was entirely because he hadn't wanted to see the situation deteriorate; his impression of Sarah had actually dropped a few notches.

At the same time, Xia Nan couldn't help but feel a bit curious as to why she had taken such a massive risk to enter the room.

On the other hand, in the eyes of fellow adventurers, his current attire marked him instantly as a veteran, an elite professional not to be underestimated.

Yet, to ordinary people who couldn't discern gear quality, the blood-like crimson sheen of his [Scarlet Thorn] armor, combined with his own deep, oppressive aura—forged by combat techniques like [Fang Hunt] and his past experiences—would only evoke inexplicable fear.

Not to mention the large, ferocious wolf beast standing by his side.

Ordinary people would usually avoid him at all costs, let alone approach him willingly.

He casually ruffled Fanny's head and asked, "You seem quite interested in Fanny?"

"You are a good person, sir." Sarah's gaze shifted from Xia Nan to the Winter Wolf Fanny beside him. "My father told me that anyone who can keep company with wild beasts can't be a bad person."

'That's hardly a given...' Xia Nan thought to himself, though he didn't voice it aloud.

"She's a Winter Wolf, right?"

Knowing Fanny disliked strangers approaching, the girl slowly squatted down where she stood, hugging her knees. Her bright, clear eyes stared at the wolf, her expression somewhat dazed. "Her mane is even cleaner and more translucent than the ice crystals in the forest."

"I heard my father say before that the first time he met my mother was when he was hunting on a snowfield that seemed forever covered in frost."

"I heard that many snow-white wolves, larger than caravan packhorses, lived there. They could run tirelessly through endless blizzards for three days and three nights without sleep."

'Winter wolves... a mother... a snowfield...'

Although Sarah didn't state it explicitly, the wealth of reading experience Xia Nan had accumulated from various media in his past life allowed him to guess why the girl was so interested in Fanny—to the point of braving such high risks to enter the room.

It had just been a casual question; he had no real interest in digging deeper.

In contrast, another piece of information revealed in Sarah's words caught his attention.

"Hunting?" Xia Nan suddenly asked.

"Your father is a hunter in the village?"

Sarah nodded.

"The one who previously acted as a guide for the adventurer squad that got attacked by the banshee?"

It was as if a keyword had been triggered. Hearing the word "banshee," Sarah's attentive expression suddenly faltered.

Then, she nodded hesitantly.

"Yes, Mr. Xia Nan."

Xia Nan's eyes flickered. He hadn't expected to actually find the key figure just from a casual question.

"What do you know about that banshee?" he pressed.

However, Sarah didn't answer as directly as before.

The genuine smile that had beamed on her face gradually faded, replaced by an indescribable inner conflict.

She remained in her squatting posture, but the focus in her eyes, originally centered on Fanny, slowly drifted and scattered.

Her fingers unconsciously tugged at her cuffs. After a long while, she slowly spoke. "I... I don't know, Mr. Xia Nan."

"Dad... Dad was injured when he came back. He lay in bed for many days and still hasn't fully recovered."

The concealment in her words didn't require any transcendent Perception to detect; just a little bit of social experience made it glaringly obvious.

Coupled with the village chief's previous behavior when questioned...

Xia Nan couldn't help but furrow his brow.

He thought about pressing for a few more answers, but looking at Sarah, who had at some point lowered her head to stare silently at the ground, he reconsidered.

After some thought, he decided not to give her a hard time for now.

Regardless, according to the village chief, Sarah's father—the hunter who had been in close contact with both the banshee and the attacked adventurer squad—would return to the village tomorrow.

When the time came, he could just confirm any questions directly with the person involved. There was no need to beat around the bush.

"It's getting late. Go on home, I won't walk you back," Xia Nan said.

He only needed four to six hours of rest a day. Although night had fallen, it was still far too early for his bedtime.

Xia Nan planned to use this opportunity to familiarize himself a bit more with the terrain around the village, and head to the spot he had scoped out during his afternoon hunt for some routine pre-sleep training.

Seeing that he didn't intend to probe deeper into the topic, Sarah visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Standing up, a genuine smile resurfaced on her face as she thanked him one last time before departing. "I still want to thank you for your help today, Mr. Xia Nan."

"You are an adventurer worthy of respect—much better than the ones in the house, or the ones from half a month ago!"

With that, Sarah turned to leave.

But after taking just two steps, she suddenly stopped, as if recalling something.

Just looking at her back, one could sense the girl's inner conflict.

She paused for a moment, then, as if making up her mind, stamped her foot on the ground.

Turning around, she took quick, short steps and jogged back.

"This... is for you."

Looking at Xia Nan's confused eyes, Sarah pulled something from her clothes and shoved it directly into his hand.

He noticed that the moment she handed the item to him, the hesitation and conflict on her face dissolved into a relieved ease.

Without waiting for his reply, she turned and hurried away.

Somewhat baffled, Xia Nan withdrew his gaze from her figure as it gradually vanished into the night.

He looked down at his palm.

What met his eyes was a simple, handcrafted bracelet.

Its main body was a tight cord woven from plant fibers. It was dark brown in color, with obvious signs of wear on its surface.

Its only decorations, dotted among the fibers of the cord, were seven thumb-sized, pristine little flowers, completely translucent as if carved from frost.

Having long formed muscle memory for unfamiliar gear and items, Xia Nan subconsciously focused his attention.

The next second, translucent text appeared before his eyes.

[Unarrived Spring]

Type: Bracelet. Description:

An ordinary bracelet carefully woven together. It possesses no magical effects, yet it still remembers that long, quiet winter for someone.

Note: "Mother said the ice crystal flowers absorbed all the chill of winter, and thus could bloom in spring."

The golden finger Xia Nan possessed theoretically allowed him to see the Attribute Panels of almost all items and props around him.

Even for an old pitchfork used daily by a farmer or a cheap, heavily patched linen shirt, as long as he concentrated, he could summon their information panels.

He had realized this early on, back when he had first transmigrated into this world and tried to use his golden finger to find hidden gems in shops.

Naturally, these ordinary sundries weren't even considered the lowest grade of common white gear, let alone possess any special effects.

Xia Nan didn't have the time or energy to read through the fragments of text in their [Description] or [Note] sections to learn about the past of some ordinary person—someone he might never meet in his life, someone he didn't even know was still alive, let alone where they were or what they did for a living.

Summoning their Attribute Panels was utterly meaningless.

But right now, as his quest gradually hit a bottleneck and the behavior of the surrounding villagers grew increasingly suspicious, the information displayed on the Attribute Panel of this seemingly ordinary bracelet—which indeed lacked any special effects, yet was somehow connected to his quest—might just provide some clues.

"Ice crystal flower?"

His eyes swept over the bracelet's [Note] section.

Long before setting out, back when he was gathering intel about his destination in Bloodcast Keep, he had heard this name.

It was a plant unique to the vicinity of the Rime Forest.

Its defining characteristic was that once it bloomed, it would never wither.

To some extent, it possessed a lifespan rivaling that of the dragon race.

However, there was one prerequisite.

The ambient temperature around the flower could not exceed the Rime Forest's normal climate.

Which was roughly negative three degrees.

Once the air temperature around an ice crystal flower exceeded that limit, even for just a tenth of a second, it would melt into ice water seven days later, just like a snowflake.

Honestly, this condition wasn't particularly harsh in a world where transcendent powers existed.

It didn't even require outstanding arcane expertise; just a Mage Apprentice who had recently started out would have countless ways to preserve and transport it.

But at the end of the day, the ice crystal flower was just an ordinary species.

It possessed no special effects, nor had it ever been chosen by any alchemist for a potion recipe. Even its appearance, aside from its crystal-clear texture like crystallized ice, had nothing else to commend it.

There was no point in preserving it to take away, or in researching how to cultivate it in warmer regions.

Therefore, this flower was confined to the Northlands and its surrounding areas, becoming a specialty plant of the region.

Even Xia Nan only knew its name and properties because he had read up on the monsters inhabiting the Rime Forest region, a few notable species of which fed on this plant.

Could this specialty flower of the Rime Hills be connected to the banshee he was tracking?

And what did this ice crystal flower bracelet given by Sarah have to do with the villagers' inexplicable secrecy toward his group?

Thoughts swirled through Xia Nan's mind.

After pondering for a moment, he ultimately decided to trust his instincts. He slipped the bracelet named [Unarrived Spring] onto his left wrist, hoping it would offer him some kind of help in the near future.