Alice in the Land of Steam

Lingge agreed to Songtaya's proposal without thinking too much. After all, it would not do them any harm. As for the selection of personnel, since it was their first meeting, he did not want to cause any misunderstandings, so he decided to bring only a few people: himself, Saint Xia Liya, Nevi, Shino, and Alice who insisted on going with him.

In addition, Songtaya made a special request.

"Can you take the Sun Snow with you?" She looked at Xino eagerly, her eyes full of expectation and desire: "As long as you can prove that you are the master of Sun Snow, the elders and leaders will definitely choose to believe you, because those who can be recognized by Sun Snow are not bad people."

Linger also looked at Xino. The young knight smiled and nodded, and thoughtfully found an excuse for her: "That's no problem. I just want to take Brandi out for a walk to help digest the food. However, I'm curious, in the legends of you Shatoto people, does the sun snow really have such an important meaning?"

"of course!"

Songtaya crossed her arms and spoke in a deep voice like a little adult: "Sun Snow is the essence of snow and ice, and it is the most noble and pure symbol in the world. It is said that the Father of Mountains shaped their shapes with unmelting ice, and gave them souls with the first snowflakes that fell on the earth in early winter, and then sent them to every high mountain to convey his oracles. In other words, Sun Snow represents the will of the Great Father of Mountains, do you understand?"

Everyone looked at each other in silence.

To be honest, they are not followers of the Mountain Father and don't really understand it, but it can be compared to the status of the photon elves in Voodoo doctrine, which is a spiritual symbol and a totem-like existence.

Songtaya was still talking: "... As the spirit of ice and the darling of snow, Sun Snow itself is the purest symbol in the world, so it will only be associated with the purest things. In the mortal world, it is the noble and spotless snow mountain; in life, it is the clear and flawless soul. In every snow mountain that is blessed by the father of mountains and has not been polluted by the world, there will be a tribe of Sun Snow, silently guarding the purity of the mountain and the earth. If a person with a flawless soul can climb the snow mountain by his own strength, he will be recognized by them. But such people are really rare. Even among us Xia Toto people, they have not appeared for a long time. According to the elders, the person who was recognized by Sun Snow recently seems to be an earthling in a country called White Wall. He is called something... White Knight... What is it?"

She forgot about it halfway through her speech and started scratching her head. Hirono suppressed his laughter and kindly reminded her, "White Knight Hiberton?"

"Yes, that's right, that's the name!" Songtaya's eyes lit up and she nodded repeatedly: "The elders said that he is a rare righteous man on earth. He has saved many lives and is worthy of the recognition of Sun Snow. But I heard that it was because his family had a good relationship with the Sun Snow tribe that he took a shortcut. Otherwise, Joan of Arc also saved many people, so why didn't she become the master of Sun Snow?"

Songtaya criticized indignantly, disdaining such crooked practices, but perhaps with a hint of envy. Then she looked up at Xino and said seriously, "You are different, my beautiful sister. I believe you must have earned the recognition of Sun Snow through your own efforts. Maybe in the future, you will become more powerful than the White Knight Hibernton?"

Everyone couldn't bear to watch this conversation, and Alice's mouth kept twitching, as if she would burst into laughter anytime she couldn't help it. Only Shino lost her smile, and her expression became as serious as Songtaya's. She solemnly promised the girl, "Thank you for your encouragement, Songtaya. I will work hard in the future and will never let you down."

"Yes!" Songtaya nodded vigorously, her cheeks flushed, and asked again: "By the way, I still don't know your name, sister?"

Actually, you don’t know our names either, why do you only ask hers?

Everyone complained in their hearts, but Xino reached out and ruffled her short black hair, and replied: "Xino, my name is Xino, please give me your advice, Songtaya."

She did not reveal her last name, perhaps in her heart she really hoped that she could be recognized by Taiyangxue based on her personal will and character, as Songtaya said, rather than relying on the influence of her family - even if she could not do it now, she hoped to do it in the future.

"Xino?" Songtaya seemed to be thinking: "Then sister, you and Sun Snow are indeed very compatible. Maybe it's destined?"

Shino was startled: "Why?"

"Because in the language of the mountain people, 'Shino' means snowflakes." Songtaya also deliberately emphasized: "It is in the language of all mountain people."

Just like there are many branches of animism, the Xiatoto people are just one of the mountain people. Different ethnic groups in the mountain people are often separated by only a mountain range, and their languages, cultures and customs are completely different. However, in the languages ​​of all mountain people, the word "Shino" means snowflakes, which is an amazing coincidence.

The girl was silent. Somehow, she suddenly thought of her parents, the man who was gentle all his life but was called a "paranoid", and the woman who was cheered by everyone but finally chose family. They were on the golf course of Chardolly Manor, teaching the young girl how to swing the racket, how to serve, and how to gain happiness from this peaceful life... The young foal was watching this scene outside the golf course, and the smile on the girl's face was deeply imprinted in his eyes. Perhaps it was from that time that she recognized Xino.

Because she saw the purest smile in the world.

Often, parents' painstaking efforts are not reflected until many years later in an unintentional remark from a stranger, but it seems a little too late.

Xinuo raised her head and took a deep breath. When she lowered her head again, her face had returned to normal. She chuckled and said, "That's indeed quite a coincidence."

Songtaya agreed with that, and then she came forward and said with a playful smile: "By the way, sister Xinuo, do you know that the name 'Songtaya' actually means cloud in the language of the mountain people, so the sun snow and I are actually quite destined to be together. Can you let me ride it for a while? Don't worry, I will never do anything. I will just ride it for a while and return it to you right away!"

She made the promise with great dignity, but her true thoughts were already obvious.

I thought we hit it off right away, but I didn't expect you just wanted to ride my horse?
Xinuo didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but she didn't refuse directly. After all, she had a good impression of this Xia Toto girl, so she said, "As long as Brandi doesn't object."

"Great!!!" Songtaya cheered.

……

After that, Lingge and his companions had a simple lunch, and then, led by Songtaya, they prepared to go to the temporary camp of the Wusu tribe. When they went out again, the weather was better, there was no snow outside, and the sky was pure blue, reflecting the white snow on the mountains and the lush cedar forests. Each color was pure and bright, but they were very harmonious when combined together, giving people the feeling of walking in a colorful oil painting, blurring the boundary between reality and fairy tales.

The snow scenery of the Eastern Alps is well-deserved, no wonder it has become the most acclaimed tourist destination in the Northern Ashgabat belt.

Looking up from the height of the mountainside, you can see three peaks in the northwest, blocking the road from Mount Osor to the depths of the Eastern Alps. Although the three peaks are not as tall and majestic as Mount Osor, they are also quite steep. They are the Vichi Mountains, including Mount Big Vichi, Mount Small Vichi, and Mount Vichi-Bakala.

The Great Vichi Mountain and the Small Vichi Mountain guard the two sides, forming a natural grand gateway, while the Vichi-Bakala Mountain is located right in the middle of the gateway. It is actually a collective name for the two mountains, namely the Vichi Mountain and the Bakala Mountain. In the past, if the Shatoto people living in the Osor Mountains encountered a snowstorm, they would follow the steep ice-covered snow valley, cross the Vichi Mountain, enter the Bakala Mountain to take shelter, and return after the snowstorm subsided. Over time, they got used to putting the two mountains side by side.

All of the mountains mentioned above belong to the Heide Mountain Range, that is, the Heide in Heideblosburg, the traditional territory of the Wusu tribe.

Along the way, everyone saw how well Songtaya, as a local mountain dweller, could adapt to the snowy mountain environment. After getting Brandi's consent, she happily rode it for a short distance, but she dismounted and walked halfway up the mountain, and she deliberately walked in front. In her words, this was her duty as a hunter.

The hunters of the mountain tribe are not only hunters, but also excellent warriors and the most covert scouts. Even an underage girl like Songtaya, after receiving special hunter training, can flexibly use tools such as hooks, rope buckles and ice picks to walk on snowfields, pine forests, cliffs, mountain trails and even frozen cliffs as if they were flat ground. She can even hang on the cliff with just one hand and the other hand on her forehead. Her sensitive eyes pass through the vast snow-capped mountains and carefully observe the celestial phenomena in the distance to judge whether the next climate will interfere with the tribe’s migration process or lead to frequent activities of wild beasts.

In addition, Songtaya also showed amazing intuition and hunting skills. When passing through a large cedar forest on the way, there was clearly no unusual movement, but she took the initiative to stop and gestured to everyone to keep quiet, then lowered her body, adjusted her breathing to maintain an even rhythm, and slowly moved to a large cedar tree like a snow leopard preparing for hunting, and gently took off the longbow behind her, aimed at the seemingly empty snow field, and her eyes suddenly became sharp.

Whoosh!
As soon as his fingers loosened, the silver bowstring vibrated the air with a sharp clanging sound, and the pale bone arrow flashed through the woods like a flash of lightning, piercing the prey's head in an instant. The little creature, which thought it was hiding well, did not react until the sharp arrow pierced its head and wanted to escape, but it just ran forward for a distance by instinct before finally losing consciousness and falling powerlessly in the snow.

Sontaya put away her bow and arrow, leaped to the prey in a few leaps in the woods, and picked it up effortlessly - just like the countess had once held her in her hands. When she returned to everyone, she had a happy expression on her face.

"It's a Chatal ferret." She held up the prey in her hand and showed it to everyone. "Dad... uh, the leader said that a complete ferret skin like this can be sold for at least three hundred talols."

Tarol is the currency of the Mountain Fortress. Because the Mountain Fortress is the most powerful and internationally influential country in the northern Ashok Mountains, almost all nearby countries use Tarol as their national currency. In the international financial system, 300 Tarol is equivalent to 133 gold pounds. In other words, the harvest of a hunting trip by the Shatto girl is equivalent to Lingge's annual salary.

Lingge was too lazy to comment on her behavior of occasionally letting things slip and trying to cover up something. He looked at the Chatal ferret in the girl's hand and found that the arrow just went through its eyes without hurting its fur. He couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

This ferret was only the size of two palms, with snow-white fur all over its body and an extremely alert temperament. Even the countess might not have noticed it lying motionless in the snow. However, Sontaya was able to approach it without it noticing and accurately pierce its eye with an arrow. What an amazing skill!
The young man couldn't help but ask, "Are all the hunters in your Wusu tribe at this level?"

Songtaya wrapped some snow with leaves of a large cedar tree, put the blood of the ferret's body in it, tied it tightly with the rope she carried with her, and hung it on her belt. This was the simplest way to deal with the prey. The ice and snow under her feet were all stained red by blood, which was gradually flowing out. It looked quite scary, but the girl Xia Toto didn't care. She glanced back at Ling Ge and said, "How is this possible! The leader said that even in the mountain tribe, only the most experienced and agile hunters can hunt them. In our Wusu tribe, there will never be more than twenty hunters like this!"

Are you a yeti, with all those fingers?

But think about it, if all mountain hunters are of this level, they can make a fortune just by hunting Chatar ferrets, why would they hide in the snowy mountains and become nomads? So far, I have not heard of any animal protection organization accusing the mountain people of destroying the ecological balance, so Songtaya should not be lying.

Alice came up to him and said sarcastically, "So you are lucky?"

"Nonsense!" Songtaya was furious and pointed out righteously: "I rely on my strength! Because I am one of the best hunters in the mountain tribe, and the only one among the younger generation of the Wusu tribe!"

Alice still doubted: "You are still a minor, where do you get your strength from?"

"Because I have the blessing of the Great Father of the Mountain! He recognized my piety and gave me the power to be omnipotent in the snowy mountains! Hunting is just the most insignificant power of the Great Father of the Mountain!"

The voice of the Xia Toto girl was firm and unquestionable.

Alice shrugged helplessly: Well, there's nothing to say to religious people.

However, Lingge looked at Songtaya deeply, as if thinking about something.

This familiar situation reminded him of someone. (End of this chapter)