The westernmost fringe of the Snow Domain, a Natural Crystal Mine Valley.
All around grew exotic, rare flora, their surfaces swirling with faint traces of magical light. Fine crystal ore dust blanketed the ground like common sand, gleaming under the warm daylight. The earth seemed transformed into a flowing river of stars.
To reach this place, one must:
First: Lure away the Mutant White Bear colony living around ‘Tranquil Lake’;
Second: Dive into the lake, swim to the bottom, and find a hidden underwater cave within a thick patch of kelp;
Third: …Traverse the cave beneath the lakebed, swim a hundred and fifty meters straight, then surface. Only then would one discover this hidden paradise, a place untouched by human footsteps.
The steps weren’t complicated, but this was, after all, the “corner of the continent.” And besides… who in their right mind would ever conceive that beneath Tranquil Lake—inhabited by those dangerous Mutant White Bears—there was a “cave”? This wasn’t an adventure puzzle game!!
Yet all of this was information Weilin had told Reki.
Which raised the question: How in the world did Weilin know about it?!!!
Reki had come to a profound realization: constantly obsessing over the things Weilin possessed was purely an exercise in self-torment.
Regardless, this place was an absolutely safe and comfortable haven for the White Mice. Which was precisely why Weilin had asked Reki to bring them here.
#
“White… chan… Little White.”
Amidst the soft calling of her name, Elizabeth groggily awoke. She pushed herself up slightly, rubbed her eyes, and as her gradually focusing vision revealed the figure before her, Elizabeth’s body froze. Her gaze quivered…
“Wah!—…Little Hong!”
The girl opened her arms wide and lunged into the embrace of the red-haired White Mouse loli called “Little Hong.” Over the past month, to earn ten thousand Gold Coins, Elizabeth had endured countless hardships, blood, tears, and life-threatening dangers. This moment of reunion with the person she missed most, coupled with the daily torment of worry, nearly overwhelmed her, threatening to bring tears and sobs rushing forth…
“It’s okay if Little White cries. Everything’s over now… You’ve worked so hard these past days.”
The White Mouse, Hongyan Lumi, gently patted Elizabeth’s shoulder, smiling.
But Elizabeth had always been strong-willed. Even if Little Hong said it was okay, Elizabeth wouldn’t allow herself to truly cry.
“Everyone… is everyone alright…?”
After all, she was the ‘Matriarch’ who bore the heavy responsibility of leading their entire race. A ‘Matriarch’ had no tears.
“Mhm, not a single one is missing,” Little Hong nodded in reply. “We might have been ‘goods’ bought and sold, but the people in the Cloudstride Merchant Guild were very kind. Especially Lady Reki, she took special… care of everyone…”
“Lady Reki truly is a very good person…” Elizabeth agreed softly.
But a strange, eerie light of confusion and bewilderment began to fill the girl’s seemingly lost gaze.
She had almost been crying tears of joy moments ago, but now her emotions suddenly felt… off, somehow.
Pulling away from Little Hong, Elizabeth surveyed her surroundings. She found herself lying inside a makeshift crystal hut. Gazing out the window, she could see familiar figures of her kinfolk; their voices and sounds of playful chasing drifted in from outside…
“Well, since Little White is awake, I’ll go call everyone to gather right away,” Little Hong said.
Elizabeth’s gaze remained fixed on the strange, extraordinary sight outside the window: a landscape covered in crystal ore. She suddenly asked, out of the blue, “How did everyone… escape from the Cloudstride Merchant Guild?”
“Huh? What is Little White talking about…? We didn’t escape…” Little Hong tilted her head slightly, studying the confused, dawning bewilderment on Elizabeth’s face. She couldn’t help but let out a surprised “Eh.” “…Isn’t that what happened? Or is it… Has Little White lost her memory?”
Elizabeth: “…”
“Lady Reki also told us it was Little White who discovered this Crystal Mine Valley all by herself. To redeem us all, you didn’t hesitate to give half of this valley—worth ten million Gold Coins—to the Cloudstride Merchant Guild… White… chan… truly, none of us know how to ever thank you enough. The only thing we can do is give you our absolute obedience, until death, and entrust our very lives to you…”
Elizabeth: “…”
“Speaking of which, when did Little White get a new outfit? Oh, and this hair ribbon is so cute… who helped tie it on you?”
(A smaller voice)
“Little White… why are you crying…?”
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