Chapter 245

Chapter 245: Snowman

A peaceful night's sleep.

When Ji Huan woke up early in the morning, he felt exceptionally refreshed. He had been traveling tirelessly for days, first on a train and then in a beast-drawn carriage. Even with his young and robust constitution, he couldn't endure it indefinitely. Yesterday was a rare respite, and he had immediately fallen into a deep slumber.

They were staying in a luxurious suite. Despite the frigid cold outside, the room was equipped with excellent heating facilities. When Ji Huan woke up, his bare skin touching the soft sheets, his eyes still closed, his sense of smell awakened first, detecting the distinctive scent of the hot spring city in the air. For a fleeting moment, he thought he had returned to his hometown.

It was his hometown in Ye Falar, the small town named Badat—

Until his leg touched another smooth and soft skin.

Feeling a weight on his abdomen, Ji Huan reached down to touch it. Then, his hand was clasped by another hand resting on his stomach.

Dry, strong, and perpetually cool to the touch—this was Ajin's hand.

Only at this moment did Ji Huan truly come to his senses.

He quietly got out of bed and paused when he saw the marks on his body. Without missing a beat, he casually picked up a bathrobe from the side and put it on.

Unconsciously turning his head towards the other person on the bed, Ji Huan's body stiffened further: The person he had thought was still sleeping had somehow woken up. Not only that, he was currently propped up on the bed with his dark eyes fixed intently on Ji Huan, not even blinking.

Fortunately, he was already accustomed to Hei Dan's antics—Ji Huan thought to himself as he calmly tied the sash of his bathrobe.

Pulling back the curtains, he saw a blanket of snow outside. Snowflakes larger than goose feathers struck the window, creating a small white circle around the edges while leaving the center completely unobstructed and clear.

It looked extremely cold.

The heavy snow obstructed visibility and distorted the sense of time. It was impossible to tell what hour it was by the daylight, so Ji Huan eventually walked over to the sofa to check the clock. He was slightly surprised by the time displayed:

"It's already noon."

"Mm," came a low response from the man beneath the white sheets.

Ji Huan hurried to the bathroom to freshen up.

By the time he finished and tidied himself up, Hei Dan had been brought over from the adjacent room by Grandfather.

Hei Dan had slept well too. The little monster, as usual, woke up before the roosters. Apparently, when Grandfather had awakened, Hei Dan had already recited a new poem by heart (← Jiujiu's homework for him ︿(￣︶￣)︿).

When Ajin woke up, Hei Dan accompanied him to the hotel's restaurant for breakfast, followed by a morning spent building snowmen outside the door.

This was the true essence of youthful vitality!

There was no restaurant here; meals could be ordered by phone, with the servers delivering them directly to the rooms. After a hearty meal, Ji Huan confirmed that all the guards were in their respective rooms. He then instructed the monsters not to venture out and to wait quietly in their rooms. At 4 PM, Ajin received a call from Mr. Nieye.

"Everyone can now gather in the lobby."

Perked up, Ji Huan double-checked his family's attire and luggage before stepping out.

The once-desolate lobby, which had only a front desk attendant, was now bustling with numerous monsters who had arrived early. They stood or sat, occupying most of the space.

Despite the crowd, the hall was eerily quiet, save for the soft music playing from a corner. This contrast made the scene seem surreal.

One could easily discern who came together based on their proximity. Monsters traveling as a group stood close, while strangers maintained an invisible wall between them, keeping a distinct distance.

This was the manifestation of the monsters' territorial awareness.

Back then, Ajin had kept a similar distance from Ji Huan. Close proximity between unfamiliar monsters would trigger their sense of danger.

When Ji Huan and his group of creatures entered the hall, every creature present turned their gaze towards them.

Ji Huan accepted their scrutiny with equanimity and returned their stares directly. Taking this opportunity, he finally observed all the creatures in the hall:

Aside from their group, there were six sets of creatures in the room:

Two of them had come alone. One occupied the largest sofa in the hall, with no other creature daring to approach him. This was an exceptionally muscular creature, with snow-white skin, blue eyes, and a long scar stretching from his left forehead down to his chest. He wasn't dressed conservatively like the others; instead, he wore only a thin leather tunic that exposed half of his chest. Every part of his body was significantly larger than that of an average creature - his oversized head, his huge fists... However, what surprised Ji Huan more than his imposing appearance was the sword slung across his back.

In line with his understanding of creatures, they did use blades but rarely weapons. Those who did wield weapons tended to be creatures with weak original forms or... creatures whose original form resembled a human.

Sliding his gaze away from that creature, Ji Huan mentally noted him;

The other solitary creature was tucked away in an inconspicuous corner, concealed beneath layers of thick furs. Ji Huan couldn't see his face, and if not for sensing his initial stare beforehand, he might not have noticed the creature's presence at all!

Aside from these two, the remaining four groups were more ordinary: One was a tall, average-sized female creature who occupied one of the single sofas. Though she was also dressed in fur, her attire was intricately designed, accentuating rather than hiding her curves.

Around this female creature were six creatures of varying heights, all of whom appeared ordinary in both attire and demeanor.

The composition of the last two groups of monsters was identical to theirs: a lead monster accompanied by a retinue of guards. These guards appeared far more capable than their employers, clearly functioning as bodyguards.

Sure enough, the two leading monsters from those groups approached Nieye as soon as they saw him.

"Oh my! Nieye, you've actually come in person this year. That's quite unusual. Aren't you usually content to stay in Pulwanda?" said one of them, a taller and thinner monster with a smile.

"Well, this year I wanted to bring a friend along to broaden his horizons. My friend hasn't found a suitable magical beast in Pulwanda," Nieye replied with an amiable smile.

"Ah? So you're willing to visit us old friends for the sake of a new one? Let me see... This handsome monster behind you must be your new companion, right?" chimed in a shorter, plumper monster, also approaching them.

Allowing them to inspect him, Ajin smiled faintly and shook hands with each of the two demons in turn.

Then, the four largest groups of demons gathered together.

Huddling around the last empty sofa, the quartet of demons engaged in conversation. Upon hearing that Ajin had come from the west, not only did the other two demons look his way, but so did the other demons in the hall.

Their interest piqued even more when they learned that Ajin was seeking to acquire powerful magical beasts at a high price for use as a foundation.

However, this was not an appropriate place for an in-depth discussion. Just as all the demons had assembled, another demon suddenly appeared at the entrance of the inn.

None had noticed when he had appeared there. In fact, if not for the gentle tap on the door as a signal, not a single monster inside the room would have been aware of his presence!

It was an incredibly peculiar monster: it was entirely covered in snowflakes, and at first glance, Ji Huan even mistook it for a snowman!

Indeed, the other figure resembled a snowman, his face devoid of any features save for a solitary nose, which was made from a red BoBo—a vegetable akin to a carrot, available in red, yellow, and blue hues—stuck firmly in place.

Ji Huan was pulled by Hei Dan to admire the fruit of his labor from the entire morning: this is probably what the snowman that Hei Dan had meticulously crafted looked like!

Hei Dan, too, was evidently taken aback by the monster's appearance. Clinging to Jiujiu's calf, the little creature stared unblinkingly at the "snowman."

However, it seemed that only their side of the monsters was surprised (Mr. Nieye also appeared slightly taken aback), while the rest remained unperturbed.

Upon noticing the snowman, both monsters seated on the sofa stood up. As the snowman waved at them, led by the female monster, the creatures inside the hall began to exit towards the door.

Exiting the hotel, they found the entrance of the opposite hotel swinging open as well. A slightly shorter snowman emerged from that establishment, accompanied by another group of monsters.

This time, not only Hei Dan but Ji Huan too was left stunned: these two snowmen... seemed to be the ones Hei Dan had constructed earlier that morning.

Ji Huan glanced at Hei Dan in his arms, who promptly nodded affirmatively to Jiujiu.

The cousins exchanged glances, and while Ji Huan found the situation peculiar, Hei Dan clearly found it amusing.

In the midst of a blizzard, they followed two silent snowmen, embarking on a long journey across the snow. The snowmen didn't lead them along the path they had taken the previous day but took an alternative route. Having spent a short time in this city, Ji Huan wasn't well-versed in its terrain; he vaguely recalled that there seemed to be no road here yesterday.

Unbeknownst to them, they had left all structures behind, now trekking through an endless white expanse of snow. The snow was so heavy that only the trail left by the snowmen served as a path. As the leading snowman grew larger during their journey, eventually transforming into a colossal giant snowman, its ever-expanding silhouette became the sole beacon for the monsters in the midst of the blinding snowfall.

After about an hour, Ji Huan felt as if they were no longer traversing a snowfield. Surrounded by towering white walls of snow on either side, they were now walking within a channel carved out by the snowmen's bodies, buried deep beneath the accumulated snow.

At this point, Ji Huan mused, if anyone looked out from the city, they would likely be unable to see their figures anymore.

Fatigued, Ji Huan struggled to keep up, but fortunately, Crystal, the strongest among the three pack animals, voluntarily shifted into her beast form, carrying both him and Hei Dan on her back.

The other two pack beasts were dispatched by Ajin to assist Mr. Nieye, who had also reached his limit.

As for Ajin, he persisted on foot. At this moment, only a colossal Snowman stood between them and the path ahead. Unbeknownst to them, they had inadvertently taken the lead of the entire group.