CHAPTER 1333: CHAPTER 1334 SUSPICIOUS ACTIONS

"Now this feels like a true wilderness adventure~"

The wind howled, striking against the windows and creating bursts of noise. From time to time, a chill wind would sneak through unknown cracks, making the thick curtains billow.

Qi Chen gave Feng Yuan a deadpan look and said,

"You’re not planning to spend the night here, are you?"

"Depending on the situation. If it gets too late, staying here overnight might actually be the better choice."

Scanning their surroundings, Feng Yuan clapped his hands and looked toward Yang Hongzhi and the others, saying,

"So, what do you think? Interested in investigating the situation with these hot springs?"

"You suspect there’s something off?"

Veronia looked at Feng Yuan in confusion. The latter nodded, gazing at their unusual surroundings, and replied,

"These hot springs shouldn’t have disappeared so abruptly, no matter the circumstances. Also, the lodge owner’s behavior was suspicious—they shut the lodge down entirely rather than exploring other solutions."

"Surely there’s no major issue, right?"

Yang Hongzhi asked anxiously. There seemed to be a deeper mystery behind all this. Agunas swished his tail and remarked,

"Your suspicions may be too far-fetched... but how exactly do you plan to investigate?"

"Let’s head to the hot spring pool. There might be some useful clues over there."

Following Feng Yuan’s suggestion, the group walked down the corridor to the outdoor hot spring pool located behind the lodge. Visibility was poor amidst the blizzard, but they could still make out the uniqueness of the site. The semicircular stone barrier encircling the pool raised its surface to align visually with the cliff’s edge, creating the illusion of soaking in a hot spring at the precipice. Veronia examined the carved stone fountainhead and commented,

"Is the hot spring water pumped up from underground?"

"Doesn’t seem like it. Huh? What’s that?"

Looking around, Feng Yuan suddenly noticed a peculiar object. He walked over to inspect it and discovered a crystalline petal resembling ice. Narrowing his eyes, he suspiciously scanned the area.

"This looks like a petal from the Small Ice Flower. Are there Small Ice Flowers here?"

Agunas glanced around curiously. Small Ice Flowers, as water-element spirit beasts that lived in perennial snow-covered regions, weren’t especially unusual in a place like this. However,

despite their snowbound association and icy appearance, Small Ice Flowers were notably one of the few snow-dwelling spirit beasts that feared the cold. Their habitats always coincided with geothermal resources, aligning neatly with the hot springs’ conditions.

That said, Small Ice Flowers were not typically friendly toward humans—why would they appear here? Wait! Could it be...

Gazing at the lodge, Agunas seemed to piece something together. Seeing Agunas glance his way, Feng Yuan shook his head and said,

"Unlikely. When the lodge was built, they must’ve assessed the environment here. If Small Ice Flowers were already residing in the area, construction wouldn’t have been allowed."

Judging from the building’s style, Feng Yuan could deduce that the lodge’s proprietor was likely a prominent noble from Drochkar. Old aristocratic families from Drochkar had a renowned reputation for respecting wild spirit beasts. Ignoring the original habitat of Small Ice Flowers to build a hot spring lodge? That would be entirely out of character for their proud heritage.

Agunas stroked his chin thoughtfully and said,

"That’s true. But what’s with these Small Ice Flowers? Could they have migrated here from elsewhere?"

"Possibly. But if the hot springs have disappeared, how are the Small Ice Flowers still surviving here?"

Reflecting on this, Feng Yuan found the situation increasingly perplexing. If the hot springs were gone, the geothermal resources here should no longer suffice to sustain the Small Ice Flowers.

Although their reactions might not show it outwardly, the temperature was already crushingly low. Fortunately, Feng Yuan and Qi Chen were wearing the Wolf God’s Ritual Robes, which had exceptional insulation capabilities, allowing them to remain unfazed by the blizzard. Feng Yuan glanced at Xiao Ji, who was shivering slightly, then turned his gaze to Pomiti, who was shielded under Big Cat’s wings.

Perhaps due to the frigid cold, Big Cat had instinctively scooped Pomiti up under its wings, much like cradling a book. Pomiti didn’t seem particularly bothered by this, instead looking around curiously.

Even the Flower Leaf Tree Three Spirit Beasts, despite the protection of the Seistal Stele, huddled together in the chill and tailed closely behind Ah Mu. Xiao Hei burrowed next to Xiao Hui, visibly shivering from the cold.

"Now that you mention it, that does seem strange..."

At this point, Agunas also noticed the spirit beasts acting out of sorts. Waving a claw, a few fireballs appeared and hovered in the air, instantly warming the surrounding area. Cotton, perched in Dou Yanlan’s arms, poked its head out to look at the fireballs, yawned, and waved its tail before reaching out a paw as if trying to catch them.

Jumping into the dried-up hot spring pool, Feng Yuan found that a layer of snow had already accumulated at the bottom. Noticing something unusual about the stone slabs beneath his feet, Feng Yuan summoned a wind sphere in his hand. The black sphere howled as it cleared away the snow, revealing stone slabs faintly glimmering with a metallic sheen. Feng Yuan stared in amazement and said to Yang Hongzhi,

"If this place wasn’t abandoned, you could’ve soaked in a hot spring here with Xiao Hui. Such a shame."

Perplexed, Xiao Hui looked at Feng Yuan, not understanding what he meant. The open space outside the hot spring pool was indeed quite expansive, as Xiao Hui otherwise wouldn’t have been able to move around freely.

Yang Hongzhi jumped into the pool and examined the snow-covered stone slabs. He said,

"This... looks like the unique metallic stone slabs from the Omeilia Region, doesn’t it? I remember these being ridiculously expensive, yet they’re just left here..."

Though already laid out in the hot spring pool, Yang Hongzhi couldn’t help but feel puzzled when he recalled their value. If it were up to him, he’d have found a way to pry them up and reuse them, rather than letting them rot away unnoticed in the snowy mountains.

"Are they something extraordinary?"

Qi Chen looked at Dou Yanlan, puzzled. Dou Yanlan thought for a moment before nodding and said,

"Yes, metallic stone slabs from Omeilia are quite unique. Despite their metallic shine on the surface, they’re actually specialized stone internally. But their strength is truly incredible—not even a massive spirit beast like Xiao Hui could easily crush them."

"So, they’re just unbreakable?"

Qi Chen blinked in confusion. Dou Yanlan smiled faintly and elaborated,

"Not just that. The arenas used in the Alliance’s large-scale Beast Tamer tournaments use these metallic stone slabs as their foundation before layering additional structures. Think about how strong they must be."

"That’s... incredible."

Recalling the nearly indestructible arenas from the tournaments, Qi Chen was amazed as he examined the hot spring site. To think this place was constructed with similar materials—it was sheer extravagance!

"Of course, the arenas use top-tier, handpicked slabs with extra protective enhancements. Even so, the ones here are impressive enough. Honestly, I feel tempted to dig these up and take them home~"

Feng Yuan’s remark earned an exasperated eye-roll from Agunas, who said,

"Don’t get carried away. If you really want some, we can find a way to get you a few. Don’t go around pilfering from here..."

Though the lodge was abandoned, it wasn’t exactly ownerless. Strictly speaking, taking anything from here would still count as theft.

"Hehe~ just kidding."

Scratching his head, Feng Yuan chuckled as he looked at the large hot spring pool wistfully. If the place weren’t in ruins, it would’ve been a great spot to relax—especially with Xiao Hui. Feng Yuan was already imagining all sorts of playful scenarios with Xiao Hui.

Noticing Feng Yuan’s mischievous gaze, Xiao Hui shifted to face away from him. This guy’s expression seemed off, and Najia watched Feng Yuan curiously, unsure what was on his mind.

After circling the hot spring pool and finding nothing noteworthy, Feng Yuan climbed out. Qi Chen assumed he was finally bored and ready to leave, but to everyone’s surprise, Feng Yuan pointed toward the adjacent cliffside and said,

"Over there—that seems to be where the water supply facilities are. Should we check it out?"

Exchanging glances with Dou Yanlan, the two smiled wryly. They didn’t think there was anything special about the place, but since Feng Yuan was interested, there was no harm in tagging along. Just before leaving, Dou Yanlan held Qi Chen’s hand and released a paper crane near the cliff’s edge. Watching it get swept away into the blizzard, Qi Chen tightened his grip on Dou Yanlan’s hand.