dark moon

Chapter 174 Strange Behavior
There was no sound of crackling wood, no sound of roaring flames. Just like yesterday, there was no open flame in the smoky fire, and only thin smoke came out from the gaps in the whitened wood. Before it could rise upward, it was already blown away by the breeze.

The smoke was so thin that no one noticed anything wrong just now. It was Xiuer who inadvertently glanced at the fire when he was giving the task at the end, and happened to see a wisp of smoke being blown away by the wind. Anomalies to the fire.

Where there is smoke, there is fire, even if it is a dark fire. After burning for a day and a night, theoretically speaking, it is impossible for a fire of the size in front of you to continue to burn, but the facts seen with the eyes prove that the fire There are still fire elements stirring in the pile, and smoke is steaming.

"Don't touch, don't move."

As soon as Shuer's words came out, the figure beside him shook. Duck had appeared beside the fire. The red rose in his hand turned into a lance and was about to extend it into the fire.Xiuer's prompt came just in time. The lance stopped in mid-air before it reached the fire. It was less than half a meter away from the fire. It is estimated that if it were one second later, the dry wood burned in the fire would have been Got picked off.

"Remember, if you find any abnormality, don't touch it." Shuer said thoughtfully, keeping his eyes on the fire, "And I was really asking just now, is there any way to keep the fire burning all day and night? ?”

He really didn't know that although he had rich experience in chasing shadows and had a lot of experience as a local mercenary in Parvatiga, it was impossible for a person to be good at all fields. Such experience in survival in the wild was not something Shuer could do. Very understanding.Of course, he still has a lot of theoretical knowledge, but theory is not equal to reality. There are too many practical skills that are not found in books, so he must ask clearly.

The two people in front of me are the best people to ask.

Dak started out as a lone mercenary at the lowest level. He spent many times more time in the wilderness than in the city. He has very exquisite survival skills in the wild. Linda is a very smart girl. If she dares to risk her life and go into the wilderness, she must have done it beforehand. I know a lot of wilderness knowledge, so it is definitely right to ask the two of them.

"It will be difficult if no one adds fuel." The two people gave similar answers. "The best way to create warning smoke on the grassland in late autumn is to add dried and re-moistened herbivore dung to the woodpile. But even if At the maximum ratio, adding wet feces one to one can only guarantee normal smoking for four to five hours at most.”

"Indeed, there will be lingering smoke afterwards, which is caused by the fire element burning the moist fuel. But as the fuel is exhausted, the fire element will quickly dissipate, and the temperature will decrease accordingly, and soon it will be too low to be enough. Let the fire continue to smoke. According to my experience, from the time the fire is lit to the end of the smoke, it can last up to ten hours. If it is longer, there will be problems."

"Actually, there are some tricky ways to extend the smoking time." Darke added, "But that will not exceed fourteen hours of smoking time, which is the limit I know."

"Yes, I understand." Xiuer has circled around the fire several times. Most of the fire has been burned out, but there are still weak fluctuations of the fire element, hidden deep in the fire. I know what these fire elements rely on to keep themselves alive, but it is the residual energy of these elements that causes the continuous generation of smoke.

"The temperature... still remains." Dak didn't touch the fire, but just put his hand next to the fire to feel it. He also noticed the abnormal gathering of fire elements, so he checked it through means other than energy perception, "This The state is like that of a fire that has just been burning for three or four hours."

"It shouldn't be. In three or four hours, the smoke will be much thicker than now." Shuer asked puzzledly, "It looks like it will stop at any time like this, and it won't last more than three or four hours."

"You don't understand this. Your question is actually the crux of the problem." Dak finally found the opportunity to despise Shuer. Unfortunately, the occasion was not suitable, otherwise he could have found ten thousand sarcastic words without If you don't understand a sentence like this, you'll be fine, "The activity of the fire elements here is limited. They can only maintain this intensity of activity, so the smoke is so light."

"Huh? It's restricted? That is to say, because the activity intensity is suppressed, the smoking time of the fire is extended? Did someone do this on purpose?"

"Yes, it can continue to smoke until now because the activity of the fire element has been suppressed." Dak nodded, but immediately shook his head and said, "But, human? Haha, I'm afraid it may not be made by humans."

As soon as these words were spoken, Linda behind her trembled subconsciously. At the strange disappearance scene, facing the strange smoldering fire, it was hard not to feel creepy when hearing Duck's words, especially someone like Linda who had no self-control. This is especially true for people who maintain their abilities.

"I misunderstood. I'm not referring to something extraneous. I mean this is not man-made, but a certain phenomenon." Dak also realized that his words were a bit scary, and quickly added, "I don't know how to explain it, just like ...By the way, just like this reaction should have been completed within two hours, but it was inexplicably stretched ten times, and the completion time became twenty hours. Therefore, the phenomenon manifested was that the activity of the elements decreased, reflecting The effect is weakening, well, as we can see."

"Is there any way to artificially create a similar phenomenon?"

"Are you kidding," Dak sneered, "This extends time many times. Even gods can't control time. Do you think any mortal can do it?"

"I'm just asking casually." He avoided Duck's accusation in an understatement. Shuer's eyes wandered back and forth between the door and the fire. He tapped his fingers on his thigh and pondered for a while before he smiled to himself. , sighed and said, "I understand, it was me who made the fuss."

"Huh?" Dak couldn't help but open his mouth. What nonsense was he talking about? How could such a strange phenomenon be considered a big fuss?
"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Shuer shook his head and said, "It seems that this is not the medium I am looking for. Let's continue. Pay more attention to similar situations, remember not to touch them, and finally meet at the designated place." Unfortunately, abnormality The situation was not easy to discover, and subsequent searches yielded little results.

Although the three of them had searched very carefully, the camp was still the same, clean, neat, and organized. It was difficult to find anything wrong without human contact.

Perhaps because of the upcoming departure, even the living area where many tents were set up was not messy at all. The only thing that seemed a bit messy was the most gorgeous tent.

"This is the residence of the noble you mentioned." In fact, this is not a question. Except for the powerful and wealthy nobles, few people will use this kind of flashy tent during their journey. In addition to being stylish and gorgeous, it has no additional meaning for the journey. In terms of practicality, it is not as good as an ordinary tent. At least an ordinary tent is lighter.Of course, if they are rich and willing, Shuuer is not qualified to take care of them. Apart from maliciously imagining how many gold coins he can get by stealing and selling the tent, there is nothing he can do.

"Huh?" After walking around the noble tent, Shuer suddenly stopped, "Are there any children in the team?"

No wonder he asked this question. Although the tent was neatly tidied, Shuer had a good eye and saw children's toys in several places. In the corners of the tent, he also found graffiti left by children.

"Ah? Oh, yes." Linda was stunned and nodded quickly, "There are three children."

"There are actually three more?" What a hell, you brought your children to such a dangerous wilderness, and you actually took three of them with you at one time.Xiure curled his lips, not considering that he was also taking three underage children around the world. He muttered dissatisfiedly, "They are still not afraid of danger."

"Three, the young son of the nobleman, his steward's daughter, and a man in the caravan. His wife died not long before departure. He could not leave the child alone at home, so he could only beg Leinster to let him He brought the child with him." Linda explained, "Normally there are no children in the team, this time it can only be said to be a special situation."

"It seems you know a lot." Xiu'er said with a half-smile, "You've learned very clearly."

"Oh, Lord Priest, this is a matter of life and death. If you don't keep track of the situation at all times, wouldn't you be irresponsible for your own life? Besides, the roles we play are not so glorious. Only by fully understanding each other and not annoying people can we Follow along smoothly." Without any intention of concealing her purpose, Linda bluntly stated her plan, "Besides, I actually like children very much, so when I see children in the team, I ask more about them. For a moment.”

"Like children?"

"Yes." Linda lowered her gaze unconsciously, hiding the emotions in her eyes, but the loneliness and regret in the last glance could not escape Shuer's eyes.

"Haha, let's talk about some things later. Let's solve the immediate trouble first."

Before he knew it, he had already reached the agreed place, which was the tent that Xiu Er deliberately avoided yesterday.Similarly, there is no sign of living beings passing by here. The three of them left several marks nearby yesterday, obvious and not obvious, and in different forms.It can be said that as long as there is something that moves, it will inevitably cause damage to the mark if it wants to pass by. Do you want to leave no trace?That's too much to look down on these mercenaries who face danger and death all day long.

"Dak, how are you?" As soon as they arrived at the agreed place, they saw Dak walking from another area in the distance. The look on his face was not good, and he obviously didn't gain anything.

Sure enough, Dak shook his head and said gloomily: "I found nothing."

"It's okay, it's expected." Xiuer smiled faintly, "Don't be disappointed, isn't there a final area that hasn't been searched yet?"

"There's something wrong with you." Of course Linda couldn't see it, but Dak was different. He discovered Xiure's anomaly very sensitively, "There's something very wrong. Tell me, did you think of something?"

"Hehehehe."

(End of this chapter)