Outside the central castle of North City, inside a two-story wooden house, Zhe Zilin rubbed his hands together and lit the brazier.
Because of the barrier around the castle that blocked out most of the cold, this was the first time he had truly felt the harshness of a northern morning.
The firewood in the brazier burned, finally bringing some warmth into the room. He sat to the side and boiled some water.
Ailia had gone early in the morning to recite mourning prayers for the King of the North. For the next three days, she would need to stay by the King of the North’s side day and night so that his soul could rest in peace.
Zhe Zilin did not know whether the castle provided meals for Ailia. He had made some meat soup and planned to bring it to her.
He put on his plain robe, touched his intact fake beard, picked up the meat soup, and headed toward the castle.
At the constantly busy castle entrance, Airigo stopped him.
“What are you doing, outsider?”
Zhe Zilin glanced at the stream of people freely entering and exiting beside him, then looked at Airigo. With a smile, he lifted the freshly cooked meat soup.
“I’m bringing food to Lady Witch.”
Airigo opened the lid and sniffed. The aroma made him frown. Since Zhe Zilin was half a head taller than him, he had to look up.
“Look into my eyes. You’d better not be lying.”
Zhe Zilin’s smile did not fade. He teased, “Do you like exchanging glances with me that much? Or have you fallen in love with me?”
“Let me think. We only met for the first time last night. Love at first sight!?”
Airigo’s expression changed. He seemed unable to believe that Zhe Zilin would say such words to tease him. He took a step back.
“Are you… flirting with me?”
Zhe Zilin let out a pfft and laughed. Hearing such words come from the serious-faced Airigo made it feel even more absurdly contrasting.
Afraid that the other party might take it seriously, he quickly waved his hand.
“Of course not. Aren’t you supposed to be able to read people from their eyes? There’s no affection in my eyes at all.”
Airigo’s hand rested on his sword hilt. Suddenly, without warning, he threw a punch at Zhe Zilin.
His entire suit of armor clanked. The punch came without any warning.
Zhe Zilin retreated half a step and dodged to the side. The fist brushed past the tip of his nose.
He had prepared himself for a conflict with this strange-tempered knight. Strangely, however, the other party did not attack again.
Airigo threatened, “You’d better not make fun of me.”
He glared at Zhe Zilin and forcefully snatched the meat soup from his hands.
“No one is allowed to disturb the King of the North’s peace. I will deliver it to the witch.”
Zhe Zilin was dissatisfied. He gripped the container tightly and confronted Airigo.
“They can go in, but I can’t?”
“Why? Because I teased you?”
Airigo’s expression was serious, seeming somewhat annoyed. “They are preparing the funeral for the King of the North. You are an outsider and are not allowed to enter.”
With that, he used force to snatch the meat soup from Zhe Zilin’s hands and turned to walk into the castle.
As one of the world’s most powerful witches, Ailia did not receive the corresponding respect in North City. From Airigo’s words and actions, it was clear he held prejudice against her.
Although he did not know why, it seemed he would not be able to enter the castle for the next three days.
When it was mealtime, he could only deliver the food to the entrance and have Airigo bring it to Ailia.
Zhe Zilin turned and left, returning to the wooden house not far away.
This was the residence the King of the North had built for Ailia. Because Ailia usually lived inside the castle, there was not much firewood in the wooden house. If he wanted to sleep without freezing at night, Zhe Zilin would have to go gather some dry wood.
The temperature in the North dropped sharply at night. If he could not keep a fire burning all night to stay warm, there was a risk of freezing to death.
Zhe Zilin took out the Dragon Slayer from his luggage and wrapped the scabbard with white cloth. Holding it in his arms, he walked toward the outside of the city.
On the way here, he had seen people bringing dry firewood into the city from outside. He left the city, planning to use the Dragon Slayer to cut some easily flammable tree trunks.
The cold wind was biting. Snow occasionally drifted down from the sky.
Zhe Zilin rubbed his frozen hands and walked into the forest against the wind and frost.
It was so cold that even half-orcs and ogres probably did not want to come out.
A thick layer of snow covered the forest floor. When he stepped down, it went past his ankles.
Every step required pulling his foot out of the snow, which was extremely exhausting. Combined with the thin, cold air, an ordinary person probably could not walk more than a few li.
Zhe Zilin’s Strength and Agility, far exceeding those of ordinary people, meant he did not start panting after just a few steps. Since all the good firewood near the city gate had already been collected by others, he had to go deeper.
After walking about three or four li — a distance ordinary people could not reach — dry firewood finally became more abundant.
Zhe Zilin was as happy as if he had found treasure. He bent down to pick up the wood.
It was hard to imagine that in a magical world with dragons, Ice Demons, half-orcs, and the like, how difficult ordinary people’s lives must be. Added to the bitter cold of the North, he now understood why northerners had such heavy ruthlessness in them. It was only natural.
If he had to live here for his entire life, he would probably go mad on some snowy night.
Whenever he thought like this, Zhe Zilin felt strangely fortunate that he had Ailia by his side.
Even if a giant dragon were standing in front of him right now, as long as Ailia was beside him, he would have complete confidence.
While thinking this, he unconsciously walked farther and farther. The firewood on his back also grew heavier and heavier.
When he came back to his senses, he turned around and could no longer see the walls of North City.
Crap! I went too far.
Zhe Zilin glanced at the eerily quiet forest. His hand gripped the sword hilt as he immediately started walking back.
Ailia was not by his side. If he encountered half-orcs and ogres again, one or two he could still handle, but three or more and even escaping would be difficult.
Thud thud thud.
Suddenly, a series of sounds came from behind him.
Zhe Zilin did not stop walking and looked back.
The more you fear something, the more likely it is to appear. Five half-orcs holding broken swords were running toward him like madmen.
Run!
That was the only thought in Zhe Zilin’s mind. He immediately picked up the firewood and sprinted.
While running, he kept looking back to check the distance between them. What slightly reassured him was that the half-orcs were still quite far behind.
“One-Eye, it’s all your fault! Everything is your fault!”
“What’s my fault? If you hadn’t wanted to find some excitement, would we be getting chased?!”
The voices of the half-orcs behind him felt strangely familiar. Zhe Zilin turned to take a closer look.
It was actually the same five half-orcs who had tried to kill him by sneaking into the castle.
I don’t remember provoking them. Why are they still chasing me all the way here!?
After running a few li, Zhe Zilin realized that the half-orcs did not seem to recognize him. They looked more like they were fleeing for their lives.
Soon, his suspicion was confirmed.
Behind the half-orcs, a group of mounted soldiers were rapidly closing in.
In an instant, they surrounded all the half-orcs. Seeing this, Zhe Zilin stopped and panted heavily.
Carrying dozens of pounds of firewood while sprinting through the snow had truly consumed a lot of his stamina.
He sat on the pile of firewood and quietly watched. Behind the encirclement, a golden-haired girl slowly rode forward on horseback.
“Princess, these half-orcs were the ones who set up the ambush.”
Osha glanced at the half-orcs. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Zhe Zilin not far away and looked over.
Griet saw this and explained, “That person is probably here to gather firewood.”
Osha gripped the reins and rode her horse closer to Zhe Zilin.
She looked him up and down and noticed the longsword wrapped in white cloth at his waist.
“Why is your sword wrapped in white cloth?”
Zhe Zilin casually made up an excuse. “For grip.”
Osha suddenly frowned. The moment Zhe Zilin spoke, she felt a sense of familiarity. She immediately dismounted and squatted down to look at Zhe Zilin’s face.
“Ed?”