Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 660 - 24 Snowfield_1

Chapter 660: Chapter 24 Snowfield_1

The snowfield after the blizzard was inconceivable to those who had never seen it before. When the vast plain was completely covered with accumulated snow, all one could see was an endless sheet of white. The blue sky, pure and clear, seemed as if it had been washed by water. Beneath the blue sky was a limitless white landscape that lent the world an unparalleled purity, a purity untainted by any evil. Far off, at the unreachable horizon, the mountains, likewise covered with snow, stood tall. The white land and the white mountains melted into each other, extending into the hazy edges of one’s vision. The afterglow of the setting sun cast upon the distant mountains adorned their snowy peaks with a pale red veil. This dim, ephemeral light added a touch of fairy-tale-like mystery to the mountains.

On the white snowfield, as smooth as a mirror, a few solitary dead trees occasionally stretched out from the snow. The oddly-shaped dry tree branches reached desperately toward the sky. Some pieces of brown bark, revealing themselves from the snow covering them, brought a touch of color to the vast white expanse. Further away, several evergreen conifers still retained their green foliage. The branches, laden with heavy snow, drooped under its weight, nodding in the air. With each dip, some snow would fall, making it seem as though a flurry of snow was falling beneath the tree.

A few white creatures, brushing off the thick snow atop them, poked their heads out of their warm nests. Shaking off the snow sticking to their smooth fur, they glanced at the outside world with curiosity. This group of youngsters, under their parents’ watchful eyes, crawled out of the snow in a line. They wriggled around in the soft snow, happily searching for the hidden treasures of food beneath the snow. Not far off, on a tree branch, a small bird of prey sat stationary, its white feathers blending into the snow to a point where one couldn’t distinguish its form from the snow around it. The bird was as still as a stone. If not for its eyes, which followed the scurrying creatures, it was hard to imagine that it was a living creature at all.

Although the blizzard had passed, the piercing cold wind occasionally blew across the snowfield. The chilling wind whirled up squalls of snow and ice pellets that howled past. The sunlight began to gradually dim, reducing the brightness of the snowfield. But squinting into the distance, several black spots rapidly approached from afar. The black spots moved extremely fast without any obstruction, sprinting in a straight line. In the blink of an eye, they drew close enough that their outlines could be discerned.

The seven shadows were, as one could guess, the six members of the adventure team, along with the burly Mackervillain. But from their appearances alone, it was hard to recognize their usual features. The six adventurers were once again wrapped snugly in thick coats, making them look enormously puffy. Their eyes were shielded beneath glasses, and while their faces were not wrapped in warm wool, they were protected with thick scarves. As for Mackervillain, one wouldn’t guess that he was in a snowfield. Thanks to the grace of his faith, the Dragon Worshipper exhibited no fear of the cold. Despite being clad in thin attire, he ran energetically across the snowfield, his forearms and shins even exposed to the wind as if it were a warm summer day. Each of them balanced on two slender skis, gliding swiftly across the smooth surface of the snow, leaving long tracks in their wake. The seven people formed an arrowhead formation with Mackervillain taking the lead. The rest of them hung back to his left and right. Pannis and Catherine, the most proficient skiers, took the rear, ready to catch any of them who might stumble and fall behind. But after a day’s experience, everyone had become relatively skilled. They skied the whole path without any mishaps.

With a "swoosh" in an open area, Mackervillain decelerated abruptly, halting sideways on the snowfield. Although the others reacted promptly, they overshot him by a little distance before managing to stop smoothly. They then adjusted their direction and slowly slid back to him.

"It’s about time." Mackervillain’s voice was slow and deep, echoing like the resonance in a cave, "If we kick on any longer, we won’t be able to see our surroundings clearly. That would definitely lead us to lose our way. Getting lost in a snowfield is rumored to be as dreadful as getting lost in a desert, especially in this area. Once you wander off this course, it’s tough to spot any landmarks in the surrounding snowfields, and eventually, you might freeze or starve in the snowfield. So let us rest here for the night, and we’ll continue our journey after daybreak. The dawn breaks relatively early here in the snowfield and won’t delay us for more than ten hours."

"Alright then, let’s set up camp here." Catherine looked around. The area was very open and indeed, an excellent place to set up camp on the snowfield, "I’m curious how your Dragon Worshipper tribe usually spends the night in a snowfield. Do they follow the same routine as us?"

"Ca~da~" Instead of responding directly, Mackervillain turned around and headed toward an unoccupied spot. Inhaling deeply, he spat out two syllables. As if having an uncanny power, these two syllables led to an explosion within the accumulated snow, scattering it in all directions and leaving a meter-deep crater in the snow. Mackervillain jumped into the crater, patting down the surrounding snow of the pit with great force. With that, he remarked, "We spend the night right here, laying down animal skins on the ground. If it snows, we just build a snow-shielding roof out of tree branches overhead. It’s quite convenient."

"You guys surely don’t fear the cold." Catherine pressed her temples, sighing, "If we spend the night this way, we’d be half-frozen to death even in a sleeping bag with a bonfire, let alone without one. No, let’s stick to our method."

The method, Catherine referred to, wasn’t tricky at all. Simply put, they were using snow and magic to build a house. Catherine and Pannis quickly cleared out a spacious area with shovels. They then piled up the snow around the empty space, patting it down to create a twenty-centimeter-thick ring-shaped wall base. Afterward, following the base, they loaded more snow onto it layer by layer, solidifying each layer to extend the wall upward in an inward curve until the circular wall joined at the top, sealing the opening—thus creating a dome-shaped snow-house. After the main structure was built, they cut a half-meter high entrance in the wall for people to crawl in and out and carved a small window for ventilation on the opposite side of the wall. Lastly, they dug a deep hole in the center of the house to serve as a fire pit, for warming and cooking later on.

Once they had done everything, Catherine and Pannis stepped away, letting Vivian take over the next steps. The young mage, tired after a whole day’s work, didn’t want to venture into large-scale spells. So, she casually took out two blue potions and threw them toward the top of the snow hut. The crystal bottles shattered on the roof and she formed several magical seals in her hands. The blue liquid, guided by the magic, flowed down the arched walls of the snow house, slowly seeping into the compacted snow walls. Once the liquid had spread sufficiently, Vivian slapped the wall casually. The snow walls instantly froze under the influence of the alchemy potion, turning the snow house into an ice house in an instant.

"Hold on." Catherine suddenly reached out and felt Vivian’s ankles and wrists through her clothes, frowning: "I’ve told you several times that you should always feel the temperature in your hands and feet, but you don’t listen. Look now, the effect of the crystal shards is wearing off fast. We will know when to change it once we feel cold but you cannot feel it. You might freeze your hands and feet without even knowing."

"Aaaaah, I get it." Vivian clutched her head and started to run: "Spare me, big sis, I will change the shards right away, just stop nagging. Lina! Pannis! Freya! Quick, save me."

"Serves you right." Lina, still holding her book while standing on the sled, sneered: "Dear sis, you shouldn’t have reminded her. When she gets frostbite and cries, it’s on her. I won’t treat her."

"Humph, I forgot you’re like this now. We’ll settle this later." Vivian glared at Lina, angrily took off her gloves, inserted a few more crystal shards into them and the boots, then crawled into the newly built ice house, refusing to come out. Catherine laughed wryly, and followed inside.

"The room is quite large." Pannis said to Mackervillain: "Come in, it’s safer if we all stick together."

"Thank you." Not one to refuse, Mackervillain nodded to Pannis and went inside the ice house. It was quite spacious. The girls who had entered first had laid out animal skins on the ice floor. They had placed the Crystal Energy stove in the center of a pit, and then settled around the edge. They took off their thick coats and gloves, lit the Crystal Energy stove, allowing the flame to warm their cold hands and feet.

"The weather is really cold." Freya had a comparatively better upbringing and despite her hard work to adapt to the harsh conditions during adventures over the years, she was still struggling in the extreme weather. But she only alluded to her discomfort once she could finally relax. At any other time, she would endure it, which was why the other girls in the adventure team were fond of this genuine noble girl. She took off her gloves and brought her chubby hands to the Crystal Energy stove, repeatedly warming them until she was comfortable and muttered, "I can’t imagine how comfortable it would be if, in this kind of weather, we could enjoy a bowl of hearty soup around the stove. What do you think, dear Mr. Pannis?"

"Ah," Pannis sighed: "If you want me to start cooking just say it directly."

"Of course I can’t just straight up ask for it." Freya cupped her hands across her chest, her eyes twinkling with anticipation, and said in a soft voice: "It’s us on the cold snow field, our lives are hard and dependent on each other. And every time we return home after sunset, you serve me a warm bowl of soup, and then we snuggle ... oh."

"Did you just write us off as dead people?" Vivian snapped unusually contemptuously when she was hit on the head: "Wake up from your dream, stupid." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please consider voting for it on qidian.com. Your support means the world to me. Mobile users can read on m.qidian.com.)