Soon, they reached the end of the snowfield, in the opposite direction of Snowflake Castle, and a vast Ocean filled their sight. It appeared to be the Northern Ocean from reality, the coldest ocean of the whole world, located to the far north of the Northern Realm.
Before them, the surface of the Northern Ocean, due to a slight rise in temperature, began to lt and was dotted with chunks of fragnted ice, each reflecting the Sun in the sky, looking extrely beautiful.
"We’ve arrived; this is the place..."
Valentina was simply too tired to run anymore, so she sat down gracefully on the snow in front of the ocean, patted a spot next to her, and gestured for Fisher to sit down.
Fisher dropped down beside her without any fuss. Although his way of sitting with knees hugged was a bit rough compared to her, in this dream at this mont, there were only the two of them. Valentina certainly didn’t mind how he crossed his legs to sit.
After Fisher had seated himself, they didn’t talk, only quietly watched the beautiful expanse of ocean before them. Occasionally, the sound of sea birds, the collision of ice chunks, and Valentina’s breathing mingled in the air until, after a while, her breathing gradually steadied. Then she stared blankly at the beautiful ocean before her and asked Fisher,
"Is it beautiful here?"
"Yes, it’s very beautiful."
Valentina hugged her knees a bit tighter and then rested her head on her knees. This relaxed posture allowed her to comfortably close her eyes, as if trying to feel the wind from the ocean’s surface, but since this was a dream after all, she felt nothing. So in the next mont, she opened her eyes again and said with a hint of amusent,
"Actually, Fisher, you might have noticed too, the farther away from the fortress, it seems there’s nothing but snowy land. Because I’ve never personally been north of the fortress before, I naturally don’t know what the scenery there is like... In reality, this ocean should be several days’ walking distance from Snowflake Fortress, but I’ve never seen it personally. It’s only because I have photos left by my mother that I know what the Northern Ocean looks like."
Fisher looked at the ocean, vivid and spectacular before his eyes, and then turned to look back at the land, which seed to be nothing but white snow; he suddenly understood. Since she had never personally been there, she couldn’t reveal in the dream what its landscape should look like.
As he took this in, Valentina’s voice continued beside him,
"Since I was young, the idea that my life wouldn’t last long has been instilled in . For a very long ti, I thought everyone could only live to thirty years old, everyone had so form of disability. It wasn’t until the perfectly healthy Heidlin was assigned by my family to serve , that I realized, we were the special ones."
"However, I don’t feel it’s unfair; instead, I cherish others’ kindness towards . My parents’ care, Helldor’s teaching, Heidlin’s ticulous concern, my partners’ sincere treatnt, and even your support... I want to repay a hundredfold those who have made happy, I want to free my family’s lineage from the bondage of disease, I want to let Helldor live a bit longer, I want to make Heidlin’s life easier, I want to see all my partners be better rewarded."
"Because of this, I’m also full of concerns. I worry that my disability might hold you back, so even if it is a false pretense, I have to make myself seem as reliable and calm as possible..."
Fisher turned to her beautiful profile, her expression as calm and reliable as ever, but in the periphery of her eyes, Fisher glimpsed warmth sufficient to stir hearts. He asked her,
"So, earlier when I told you I still have to climb Snow Mountain and reach the Wutong Tree, was that why you subconsciously thought about what you could do to help , right? You want to repay for the help I’ve provided during this ti?"
Valentina slowly straightened her legs that she had been hugging, and the black hem of her dress spread out on the ground in a fan shape, covering her thighs. She leaned back on her hands, tilting her head slightly,
"Yes, because you see, Fisher, have I really done anything for you during this journey? On the contrary, it’s you who have been accommodating and helping . I can feel that you have no desire for the mundane wealth and power and only when providing you with so demi-human subjects for your research do I see a hint of satisfaction in your eyes, which sotis makes feel quite guilty."
"Especially why, when it’s you who has to ascend the Wutong Tree, you still asked if I had any desires to devote everything to achieve sothing. Why do you still want to take to the Wutong Tree to help grasp that sliver of hope for survival?"
As Fisher listened, he propped his cheek with one hand and sighed,
"Valentina, do you really not find it tiring to think and live like this?"
"Tiring? Why..."
Fisher was still looking at the ocean before him, the quiet surface making his voice all the clearer,
"I an, while giving and receiving can provide a good foundation for relationships, constantly calculating exactly how to repay others’ kindness a hundred tis might betray the very intentions of those who’ve bestowed these kindnesses upon you... Whether it’s your parents, Helldor, or even Heidlin, perhaps they never thought about repaynt when they silently supported you. To repay as a asure of their treasure might be too disvalued, wouldn’t you say?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers