The old man by the fire couldn''t bear to be coaxed and cleared his throat.

    Ah, let me tell you a story. This story is not what I have experienced, but a story engraved on a gravel in the boundless desert. OK, please find a place to sit down. We''re going to start.

    How big is the world? Will the sea on the continental margin lead to the edge of the world? What we don''t know is that people in this world only know that the world in their eyes is bounded. The northern Longji mountain range separates the boundless ice sheet from the rich land. It is said that there are no living things on the ice field. There are only dead bones and wandering souls hobbling in the ice and snow. This is the boundary between civilization and barbarism. The towering Longji mountain range, like a high wall, strongly divides the two worlds. All the energy and energy is in the south of the mountains, but in the north, there is only snow.

    But is it true? The ice guards guarding the Longji mountains have been spreading various terrible legends about the north since ancient times. Among them, there are savages, dragons, magicians and so on. What is hidden under the white curtain of flying snow? However, there is an iron rule handed down as a dogma in the succession of frost guards. It is said that every recruit of frost guards must remember this ancient maxim, which is more important than anything else. As for the content of this ancient motto, it is probably like this

    When a man in a gray robe comes from the snow in the north, don''t refuse any of his requests, absolutely not.

    Frost guards have always been puzzled by this ancient motto. However, generations of commanders have insisted that soldiers remember this ancient motto. No matter how the generations in the south of the mountain range change, the time on Longji mountain seems to be a frozen crystal, always staying at a certain time point in history.

    The top of Dragon Ridge is the name of a tavern. Of course, it is not built on the top of Longji mountain. However, it is said that its boss, the dead ex frost guard veteran, once climbed there. It was not long before he had to leave his post as a frost guard because of an accident that broke his legs and opened the tavern at the foot of the mountain. Because of the legendary experience of the old man and the reason that he had been a frost guard, both the residents of the small town at the foot of the mountain and the frost guards on duty are willing to order a large glass of ale here and have a chat and brag. It can be said that if you ask the town where you can see the frost guards, the people in the town will surely let you come to the top of Dragon Ridge.

    Now, the owner of this tavern has become the granddaughter of the old soldier. People who often come to call her the boss''s wife. Although she is only in her twenties, she is already very capable. She handles all the major and minor affairs in the tavern in an orderly manner. With her red hair and beautiful face, the owner''s wife has become the dream lover of almost all young people in the town. However, because of her grandfather''s influence, the frost guards watched her grow up and treated her like brothers or uncles. Even if those with bad intentions want to pretend to be drunk and take advantage of the boss''s wife, they are all taken by the soldiers on vacation One was thrown out of the pub. However, according to the rumors in the market, the proprietress''s skill is very powerful. Maybe it''s because she mixed with these ice guards since she was a child. Some people claim to have witnessed the landlady knocking down two drunken ice guards with her bare hands.

    The morning is always the most free time for business at the top of Longji. The general pub is not open at this time. However, since this is also one of the few restaurants in the town, some early farmers will come back to eat something around noon. So the landlady will start to clean up the tables and chairs in the morning and check the inventory again. Generally speaking, no one will come at this time. Even the girls who come to work here will come to work at the earliest afternoon. Today, however, an unexpected guest has upset the proprietress''s plan.

    "Hello, a cup of hot milk and some food." Said a man in a black robe standing at the counter. His voice was low, small, and a little hoarse. And his face is deeply buried in the shadow of his hood, making people invisible.

    "All right. Please find a place to sit down and I''ll deliver it." The landlady replied. Although she had some curiosity about the stranger, as a tavern owner, there were some things she couldn''t show.

    The man nodded and sat down at a table against the wall. While the landlady was cooking food, the rest of her eyes could not help looking at the strange man. After sitting on the chair, the black robed man lowered his head and stopped doing more actions, which made it impossible to see whether he was meditating, dazed or simply resting. It''s very quiet. The black man feels like a plant. Although his black robe had been damaged and stained with a lot of stains and snow marks, he did not appear to be flustered or tired at all. His movements were elegant and calm. This is the temperament never seen by the landlady who has never left Longji mountains.

    Before long, the landlady brought the food and milk to the man on a tray made of oak.

    "Thank you." The man said, and then began to eat, from the beginning to the end did not mean to take off the hood.

    "It''s strange that he spoke so softly just now?" The landlady returned to the counter with the tray in her arms, frowned and whispered to herself.

    The black robed man ate very fast, but did not make any noise. The landlady guessed that he must have received a good education, probably from a businessman or scholar''s family. As for the nobility, our poor town has not had a decent aristocrat for years. Soon, the man finished the food in front of him, and he went to the counter in silence."Ah, three Urals in all." The proprietress looked up fiercely and saw the person in front of the counter to be frightened and then said.

    The man took out a silver coin from the inside of his robe and put it on the counter. The generous robe covered his hand, and the landlady missed the last detail of his identity.

    "Don''t change it." With that, the man in black left the tavern.

    "Er The landlady stared at the silver coin on the counter for a long time. She knew what it was. However, as far as she knew, the value of the silver coin was far more than three Urals. She could not believe that anyone would pay for a simple meal in a pub with such a currency. However, after a short period of surprise, she quickly collected the silver coin and looked around nervously in case anyone saw it. She had made up her mind to return it to him the next time she saw him. However, a lot of times, when you make up your mind what to do next time, next time, it will not give you a chance, right?

    The landlady put away the tableware on the table and went to the door of the tavern to check the time. However, when she came to the door, she saw only the dark clouds all over the sky.

    "Blizzard, coming." The landlady looked at the sky and murmured.

    ………………

    Baian is a frost guard. Frost guards are not affiliated to any country or religion. They are the legacy and watchman of history. Legend has it that once in a very old generation, there was a king in the north. The king took his army of ice to the South and turned all the places he had passed into frozen soil. After the defeated people retreated to Longji mountain range, they used this natural danger to repel the king''s attacks. And then, it''s a seesaw attack and defense. The documents handed down do not know how long this offensive and defensive campaign lasted, perhaps several years, decades, or hundreds of thousands of years. In short, one day, the dark clouds on the Longji mountains suddenly dispersed, and the snow stopped. No one ever saw the king and his army again. But those who dare to explore North never come back. The frozen soil in the North has never thawed, but the weather is much better than before. People gave up reclaiming the lost land and concentrated on managing the land in the south. Only those who once lived in the north of the mountain range and didn''t want to go south were left on the Longji mountain. They don''t want to stay away from their hometown. They believe that one day the frozen soil in their hometown will thaw and the curse of the king will disperse, so that they can return home. They are watching, while watching the hometown, while also wary of the king will return. Over time, frost guards became their name. Longji mountain became their territory. Now all species in the south, whether humans, elves, dwarfs or giants, call them northerners.

    As a northerner, Bai''an is proud to join the frost guard. In fact, for many years, the work of frost guard is far less dangerous and hard than that in the past, and the defensive works built by generations of guards almost run through the whole Longji mountains. The guards only need to maintain these posts regularly and then watch them in shifts. With their stubbornness and persistence, northerners are watching the north of the mountains. Even though the years have changed, they are still waiting for the thaw of their ancestors'' hometown and their return to their homeland.

    "Hoo..." With a breath of white cold air, Bai''an looks at the sky covered with dark clouds. People familiar with the North know that this is the omen of the coming of a snowstorm. Although the king of ice and snow has disappeared, the cold curse left by him makes everyone never forget his existence. Even here, if children don''t sleep at night, their parents will move out of the king to scare them.

    Looking at the candle in the nearby tower, it was very close to the shift. I''ll go to the top of Longji for dinner today. Well, I''d like to order a whole roast deer chop and a large glass of ale. I''ll pour honey on the deer chops and put on the barbecue sauce specially made by the tavern.

    "Siliu" unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and Baian stopped his delusion. And at this time, he seemed to see something, in the north. At first, he thought that he was wrong, but soon, when the light of fire rose to the sky, Baian was sure that he was not wrong. What was that? What brings a fireball to the sky? He quickly took out the military telescope and looked at the source of the fireball. Then, he saw a figure. A figure in a grey robe.

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