The snow swirled ethereally, bleaching the world until only a stark white remained. Bai Shi and Melina had once again set foot in the Consecrated Snowfield. They were in the same dilapidated hut where they had previously found a site of grace. Tucked between the mountains, the blizzard here was far more forgiving than the blinding whiteout of the open plains. Still, the cold was relentless, and the snow was just as impossibly deep. Melina exhaled, watching with a sense of novelty as her warm breath crystallized into frost in the biting wind. Bai Shi reached out and gently brushed the snowflakes from her hair, only for new ones to immediately take their place. Melina gave her head a little shake, flinging the snow away. Seeing her move like a puppy shaking off water, Bai Shi smiled and asked: Melina tilted her head, gazing up at the sky. The snowflakes continued their ceaseless descent, their weight a clear reminder of the chill. In the distance, the blizzard was so dense that it swallowed all sight. “I’m fine. It’s not too cold.” “After all, the clothes we’re wearing are much thicker than usual.” Both Bai Shi and Melina were now wrapped in thick, fur-lined cloaks that covered their bodies completely. These garments had been specially crafted for their journey to the Consecrated Snowfield, made from the heavy pelt of a Runebear, their surprising thickness providing a reassuring warmth. This cloak alone was enough to ward off most of the cold’s effects. As for the faint chill that seeped through the gaps, Bai Shi and Melina’s physical constitutions were more than enough to ignore it. Besides that, they had brought other provisions as well. For instance, there were snacks like crab eggs that warmed the body from the inside out, and strips of robust white jerky that increased cold resistance. Some time ago, Prawn Bro from the Liurnia of the Lakes had moved his small shop to the area behind the lines occupied by the Stormveil army, where he now sold his prawns and crabs. Most of the crab eggs they had were purchased from him. In addition, they had a drink concocted from Arteria Leaf and Herba, which also helped them defy the cold after being consumed. Thinking of their ample preparations, Bai Shi nodded, feeling at ease. He followed Melina's gaze out into the storm. “The blizzards of the Consecrated Snowfield are as wild as ever.” Fire bloomed in Bai Shi’s hand, evaporating all the ice and snow on the shack’s floor. He then took out the map of the Consecrated Snowfield that Leda had given him and spread it on the floorboards. Melina had already worked her magic on this map, temporarily linking it to the one they had drawn together, causing the sites of grace they had touched to appear on it. Bai Shi glanced at it, getting a rough idea of his position. This place was very close to the secret path leading from the grand lift into the Consecrated Snowfield, and was likewise situated in the middle of the fog-shrouded area. Their position was roughly in the lower-right section of the snowfield, near the cliff face that separated the mountaintops from the plains. Knowing his direction, Bai Shi then took out the golden branch. The moment he did, the branch shot out a straight golden line, pointing directly into the blizzard before him. With their path clear, Bai Shi summoned Torrent, and he and Melina mounted him, one in front of the other. Melina wrapped her arms around Bai Shi’s waist, and the two of them slowly vanished into the boundless, swirling snow. Far away, in Stormveil Castle. Irena rode in a carriage pulled by a draconic beast, entering the gates of Stormveil under the protection of several soldiers. She had already removed the cloth bandage from her eyes, replacing it with a light veil that concealed the upper half of her face. Her eyes were open, and they shimmered with a strange, profound brilliance. If Hakan were here, he would surely find them familiar, for they were identical to the eyes of the pixie. Irena curiously pulled back the carriage curtain, taking in the sights of the city around her. This was the first time she had seen the true face of Stormveil. Through the pixie's power, Irena now possessed a complete field of vision with no blind spots—a world of sight she had never known before. And the pixie who had granted her this power was currently flitting about the carriage, clamoring to be let outside to fly. The pixie was wonderful in every way, except that her disposition was far too different from a human’s. “Lilianna, just wait a little longer.” “After Sir Bai Shi has met you, he can decide whether or not you can fly around freely.” Pixies had, after all, been absent from the lives of the people of the Lands Between for a very long time. Apart from the famous tale of the Blue Dancer pixie imparting the Flowing Sword Arts, there were almost no other records. Irena had scoured every book in Castle Morne’s collection, only to find a few useless mentions. Under the circumstances, Irena felt it best to let Bai Shi meet the pixie first before deciding how to handle her. The pixie named Lilianna flew to Irena's head. “Pixies are such astonishingly perfect creatures. To think there’d come a day when I can’t even show my face.” “You know, now that you have a pixie’s power, you don’t have to ask for anyone’s permission.” “But since you asked, I suppose I’ll wait a little longer~” Irena let out a sigh of relief. It didn't really matter if she ignored her anyway. Lilianna would soon forget her desire to fly about and fixate on something else entirely. The carriage came to a stop. “Miss Irena, we’ve arrived.” Irena leaped lightly from the carriage and walked briskly into the reception hall. Before long, Lanslet pushed open the door and entered. As she was Castellan Edgar’s daughter, Lanslet had made a point to find time to receive her personally. However, upon seeing Irena again after so long, Lanslet found it hard to believe this was the same girl he had met before. Through her veil, he could see that her eyes were now open. Other than that, Irena’s appearance hadn’t changed much; she had simply grown a little more mature. But something deeper about her seemed to have fundamentally shifted. “Miss Irena, you can see now?” Irena matched the voice to the figures in her memory and identified the speaker. Seeing that it wasn't Bai Shi, she felt a flicker of disappointment, but she couldn't neglect her manners. Irena stood and performed a very ladylike curtsy. “Should I say, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you?” Lanslet chuckled and sat down. “My apologies. I know you’re probably here to see Lord Bai Shi, but he’s not in the castle at the moment.” “I don't know what business brings you here, but I can make the arrangements for you first.” Irena pointed to Lilianna, who was zipping around the room, inspecting all sorts of objects. Only then did Lanslet notice the tiny creature, and he jumped in surprise. Until Irena pointed her out, he hadn't even realized there was such a thing darting all over the room. Was it some kind of cognitive block? Or was its presence being erased? “This is the pixie, Lilianna.” Upon hearing the word "pixie," Lanslet immediately understood. Bai Shi had mentioned her to him before, telling him to be on the lookout. He never thought the pixie would find Miss Irena. He had to report this to Lord Bai Shi at once. “I see. Please wait a moment.” In front of Irena, Lanslet took out the glintstone Bai Shi had issued for communication. After successfully casting a spell to activate the item, the two waited, but there was no response from Bai Shi’s end. Lanslet shrugged, looking a bit helpless. “Well... apologies. It seems he’s temporarily unreachable.” “Lord Bai Shi traveled to the Consecrated Snowfield, in the far north of the Lands Between. We have the entire continent between us.” “I’m afraid the distance is too great, and there are too many obstacles in the way, preventing contact.” Irena was slightly disappointed but knew the situation couldn't be helped. She nodded obediently. “It’s alright. In that case, I will stay in Stormveil for a while.” “Coincidentally, I’ve been wanting to get to know Stormveil better.” After some time traveling, Bai Shi and Melina encountered several Wandering Nobles in the blizzard. Two of the undead nobles held torches, while the others were clustered together in the snowstorm. As they drew closer, Bai Shi saw that they were gathered around a person. At the center, an undead figure was sunk deep in the snow, half of its body buried. The other undead nobles were helpless, futilely clawing at the surrounding snow with their bare hands. But the falling snow was faster than they were, and their efforts could barely maintain a stalemate. By the looks of it, they hadn't been here for just a day or two; it might have been months. After all, the undead no longer needed to eat or drink. Even death held no sway over them. Ashmi’s voice rang in Bai Shi’s mind: ‘Host, the one in the middle seems to be a Mimic Tear, from the same origin as me!’ Bai Shi nodded. So this was the place. In the game, there was a lone Mimic Tear in the Consecrated Snowfield, disguised as an undead, buried in the snow. If a player accidentally killed this undead in the game, it would transform into a Runebear. And it would be a Consecrated Snowfield-level Runebear. Many had been caught off guard here, tragically swatted to death by the Runebear king. Bai Shi approached and casually freed the tear. Larval Tears were not uncommon in the Lands Between; one could easily collect over twenty in a single playthrough. There was no need to kill this Mimic Tear. The undead Tear had a different light in its eyes compared to the other hollows. After being rescued, it took the initiative to approach. It reached out its hand as if in thanks and touched Bai Shi. Bai Shi didn’t feel anything and had no idea what was happening, but Ashmi cried out in surprise. ‘Ah, Host! It seems to be transferring some information to me!’ ‘It looks like its experiences while traveling the Lands Between... It’s so long, just how long has it been wandering?!’ ‘Give me a few days to digest it all. Maybe I’ll find some information that interests you.’ ‘Hmm, maybe I can learn more about human customs from this, too.’ Bai Shi blinked, surprised that tears could communicate in such a way. If they could communicate, then the one before him might be a source of information. “By the way, Ashmi, ask him if he’s willing to work for me.” Bai Shi was very tempted to recruit a few Mimic Tears to act as guards; the sense of security would be off the charts. Ashmi tried to communicate, but the undead-shaped Mimic Tear shook its head repeatedly before turning to leave with the other undead. ‘Sorry, Host. It said it wants to stay with its companions. They’re apparently looking for a place called the Haligtree.’ ‘Although it doesn’t know where that is, it still wants to follow them.’ Bai Shi nodded. There was no need to force it. But then, another question occurred to him. “Why didn't it just transform to get itself out of that predicament earlier?” Ashmi seemed unsure how to answer and began searching through the information the other tear had transmitted. ‘It seems it was afraid the undead would discover that it’s different from them.’ Bai Shi was a little taken aback. It seemed that Mimic Tear had a mind almost on par with a human’s. Mimic Tears imitated others to gain sentience. Yet, after gaining sentience, it became unwilling to reveal its differences from them, having come to see them as companions. Perhaps that was what it feared, even if those undead had long lost their consciousness. They continued onward. After a while, they suddenly spotted a conspicuous, fallen ancient tree trunk ahead. This massive tree trunk was leaning against a slope of snow and rock. These ancient trees had stone-like trunks, devoid of any branches or leaves, bearing no resemblance to plants. They could also be found in the world below. Looking at the fallen trunk, Bai Shi suddenly remembered there was supposed to be a Somber Smithing Stone [9] here. He wondered if it was still around. On the trunk slanting against the hillside, he saw two lightning orbs and a corpse. The two lightning orbs confirmed his location; this was the spot. Bai Shi dispersed the two orbs, walked over to check, and was surprised to find the smithing stone still there. Just as Bai Shi was about to leave, Melina tugged on his cloak. She pointed down at their feet. Underneath the tree stump was a small, sheltered space, protected from the wind. Within it was a human figure, completely covered in snow, but the rising and falling of its chest proved it was alive. “Should we go take a look?” Melina asked, looking at Bai Shi. Bai Shi stared at the person below for a few moments, considered it, and decided it was worth investigating. “Alright. Are you coming down with me?” Melina shook her head. “There’s a smell that I don’t particularly like...” Bai Shi sniffed the air intently but could smell nothing besides the cold wind. “Fine, then. Wait here for a bit.” Bai Shi leaped directly from the top of the trunk, landing in front of the figure. Even with Bai Shi landing right beside him, the person showed no reaction. He was dressed in tattered clothes, looking like a scavenger. Bai Shi looked closer and realized that the man was actually sleeping soundly, leaning against the tree stump. He clearly possessed some unique skills, or he wouldn’t be able to rest so leisurely in this environment. Now that he was closer, Bai Shi also knew what scent Melina had been talking about. There was a strong smell of alcohol here. Bai Shi called out to him a couple of times, rousing him from his sleep. The man opened his eyes. Upon seeing Bai Shi—or more accurately, upon seeing the golden glow emanating from the branch on Bai Shi's person—his expression filled with amazement. “Oh! It’s the radiance of Lord Miquella!” “You’re one of the guided, too! It seems we’re on the same path.” Bai Shi was surprised by his words, but on second thought, it wasn't entirely out of place. The Consecrated Snowfield was Miquella’s territory, so it made sense that some of his followers would be out exploring. “You can assume as much.” “So what are you doing here? Freezing to death?” The somewhat scruffy-looking fellow before him rubbed his red nose. “Haha, don’t you worry.” “Until I can follow in the footsteps of those two great lords, this monk won’t die so easily.” “To survive in the snowfield, you need to drink! It’s good stuff, warms the body right up.” “Since we’re fellow travelers, I’ll share some with you. A time this cold calls for some wine!” At the mention of wine, Bai Shi’s expression suddenly changed. He finally remembered the likely identity of the man before him. In the game's cut content, there was a character named 'Wine-Drunk' Riko. He was a follower of St. Trina, who had been tracking the trail of a blood conspiracy. That cut questline also directly revealed the relationship between Miquella and St. Trina. It had been a long time since he had been transported here, so Bai Shi couldn’t remember all the details of the cut content clearly. However, he seemed to recall that the final point of this character’s quest was in the snowfield. How was he already here? Googlᴇ search 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝔫𝔢𝔱 Had he been recruited by Leda and her group and brought up here? After all, they must have had a way to travel to the Consecrated Snowfield. Bai Shi waved his hand, not accepting the wine he was offered. No need to take risks with a stranger you've just met. Especially since Bai Shi knew he possessed a special kind of wine that, when drunk, would make one spill secrets. Seeing Bai Shi’s refusal, Riko chuckled, opened his container of wine, and took a huge gulp. After the long drink, his skin flushed red, and you could even see steam rising from him. Having had his drink, Riko began to speak, as if to himself: “This humble monk, I only truly love wine.” “Wine is a wonderful thing. It lets you experience the joys and splendors of life.” “I was just thinking of resting a bit, but before I knew it, I was drinking heavily.” “And just like that, I got drunk again without realizing it.” Bai Shi looked at the swirling snow, not knowing what to say. Even if he had drunk wine that warmed the body, sleeping here was simply courting death. “Haha! You seem to have things to do and aren't keen on chatting with me.” “That’s fair. Everyone has secrets locked deep in their heart, after all!” “Well then, this monk should be on his way. Since we are fellow travelers, we shall meet again if fate allows.” Bai Shi nodded. If possible, he could try to get some of that special wine from him later. It might have unexpected uses. Riko hadn’t gone far when Bai Shi saw the giant, spectral form of a Dragonkin Soldier appear. With a strange cry, it slammed him into the snow with one swipe of its claw. Today, my roommate and I fought a life-and-death battle with a mouse. The little rascal brazenly scurried in right in front of us. After over an hour of classic, fruitless effort, we gave up and ordered some mousetraps...