Chapter 615: 90. Half Broken is Not Broken (Two in One)
“Our hometown is situated on the middle slopes of Sema Snow Mountain, constructed entirely against rock cliffs. That’s why we’ve been jumping and walking through the cold mountains since childhood, which makes us a bit stronger…”
“Why don’t they migrate further into or out of Sema Snow Mountain? There are plains below the mountain, and it seems the environment inside Sema Snow Mountain is much better.”
Sitting on a stack of boxes fashioned into a chair, Sheep-man Parfait watched as Fisher gently touched her hard skin. His actions weren’t inappropriate, even the doctors in the Northern Realm were more heavy-handed than him, and for Parfait, who had always worked outdoors, there was nothing to be embarrassed about… as long as she didn’t look at Fisher’s face.
Even she, a Sheep-man, felt shy when a handsome gentleman intently stared at her body.
“Ah, it seems that indeed there were others who moved away, but not from our village, from other villages. But they say staying where we are is a rule set by our ancestors, and wandering around doesn’t seem quite right. If my father hadn’t sent me out to work, I guess I’d still be in the village.”
Fisher was calmly taking notes when Valentina, behind him, buried herself deeply into her thick, warm clothing. Her legs were numb, not moving at all, shaking uncontrollably from the cold. Heidlin, standing beside her, couldn’t bear to watch but knew the young lady’s temperament well enough not to speak out. Instead, she silently closed the doors and windows behind her to keep out more of the chilling wind.
“It’s not that simple, the demi-human races near Sema Snow Mountain have strict territorial divisions. Heading below Parfait’s village, you’d find the very xenophobic Snow Fox Species, and going deeper into Sema Snow Mountain is very dangerous… Every year, many outsiders and locals disappear inside Sema Snow Mountain, and few races truly survive there. As for why there are Sheep-men migrating, it probably has to do with the avalanches that occurred in Sema Snow Mountain before.”
Even freezing cold, Valentina chimed in to explain for Fisher after hearing his conversation with Parfait, as Parfait clearly didn’t understand much about these matters.
Valentina kept her body covered, interestingly, her legs seemed to have no sensation at all, and when she shivered, only her upper body moved, which made her shivering look somewhat amusing.
“It was said that about a decade ago, a massive avalanche occurred in Sema Snow Mountain, submerging many races living both within and around the mountain. Unfortunately, I was just born around that time and don’t know what exactly happened.”
After Fisher had gained a certain understanding of the ecological distribution of the demi-human races near Sema Snow Mountain, he glanced at Valentina’s severely shaking body and suggested,
“The weather outside is really too cold, why don’t you go down and rest? Don’t worry, I won’t do anything strange to this Sheep-man… Besides, you are already in poor health, it would be bad if something happened.”
Originally, Valentina seemed a bit tempted by Fisher’s words, but after hearing his last remark, her expression fell, and she quickly became unhappy, perfectly exemplifying the mood swings of young girls. She just shook her head and said,
“It’s okay, I can still help you answer some questions you’re unclear about… Didn’t I just tell you about Sema Snow Mountain?”
“… Let Heidlin go down and get you another coat.”
Fisher glanced at Heidlin standing behind Valentina, and Heidlin, agreeing, took off her own coat and draped it over Valentina. As soon as she took off the coat, she inhaled sharply from the cold, her body starting to shake, and she quickly covered herself and ran outside,
“Miss, wear mine first so you won’t catch a cold. I’ll go down and put on another coat and come back up! Brr! It’s so cold!”
Now wrapped in two coats, Valentina looked like an oversized penguin, her white hair peeking out from the tightly wrapped clothing, her cheeks red from the cold as she peeked out from inside her clothes, turning back to watch Heidlin run off quickly.
But soon, because the coat wasn’t put on properly, she awkwardly shook her head, which unexpectedly caused Heidlin’s loosely draped coat to tumble to the ground.
The cold wind rushed in again, and Valentina shivered even more. She tried to pick up the coat from the ground, but her legs were as immobile as icy parts. Clenching her teeth, she strained her upper body downward but couldn’t reach the coat.
Just as Parfait was about to move, Fisher sighed and walked over to her wheelchair, picked up the coat, and after dusting it off, draped it back over Valentina.
This time, Fisher tied the front knots to prevent it from falling off again, and then he stepped back, satisfied as he looked at Valentina who resembled a penguin once more.
She and Fisher exchanged glances, and she uncomfortably shook her head again, pausing for two seconds before saying somewhat sheepishly,
“My hair… it’s a bit tight, help me loosen it a bit.”