Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 298 Is this someone you have seen before?

After leaving the secret passage, everyone stepped into a valley full of vitality.

What came into view was a green shadow, coming from the lush forests in the valley. The sunlight shone through the gaps between the treetops and fell on the clearings in the forest covered with colorful petals and leaves, like sparkling gems. Linger took a quick look and found that the trees growing here were the most common species in Leisenburg, and they were available all year round: spring ivy, summer cherry, autumn chestnut and winter cedar. These plants that should have bloomed in different seasons seemed to violate the laws of nature and wantonly flaunted their vitality. The rustling sound of the swaying branches and leaves was like a harmonious movement, setting off a peaceful atmosphere.

The ground is covered with gorgeous primroses. These primroses, which play an important role in the folk culture of Leisenburg, are the "miracles of seven colors" mentioned by the poet Heide in his collection of poems. Under the shade of trees, at the roots of trees, in the shadows, and even in the gaps between the rock wall and the ground, you can see them growing in clusters and blooming in full. The small petals squeeze each other, the light green is vibrant and green, the tender yellow is sunny, the pure white is elegant and noble... The seven-color flowerbeds bloom along the direction of the valley and spread endlessly. This scene easily reminds people of the poetic description of Hor Mel in his work "Ten Years of Travel":
"…The country road is full of fields on both sides, extending from the suburban park to the many small villages in the west of the city. I saw a woman walking on the seven-colored path paved with gravel and petals, and a farmer bending down to the ground. If these two figures appear in the paintings of the museum, they may be quite appropriate… These beautiful primroses comfort all the wastes on the ancient wilderness of Salia, making the wilderness like the Assyrian paradise of love and the fields like the courtyard of prosperous miracles."

Olvera was already murmuring, and it seemed that she had also read this extensive and beautiful travelogue, so she could express the same emotion when facing the same scene.

Not only her, but everyone was deeply shocked. It was hard to imagine that beneath the abyss rift where the wind was howling and it was terrifying, there was such a beautiful wonderland hidden.

How should I describe this feeling? Like my favorite fairy tale when I was a child, I strayed into the paradise of fairies with Meryl, or followed Sully to explore the fairyland in the painting?

"It's so beautiful." Only Metien's exclamation was the simplest and most sincere.

Ling Ge came back to his senses and said to the others, "Let's go."

Everyone walked along the direction of the primrose garden, enjoying the beautiful scenery. Perhaps because no one had disturbed it for too long, the vegetation here was so lush that it made people feel like they were back in the forest of primitive times. Under the wildly growing primroses were some low shrubs and ferns, and the bottom layer was humus accumulated from the decay of fallen leaves and petals. Stepping on it felt like stepping on a thick carpet.

Similar crystals are floating everywhere in the forest. Some are visible at a glance, while others are hidden deep and may not be found without careful searching. The irregularly distributed crystals form a unique landscape.

But it was not completely without gain. She told her companions that when her hands approached the crystals, she felt the wind, and the direction of the wind seemed to be heading towards the sky.

"What is that?" Alice, who liked to look around, pointed to a place in the forest and said. Everyone followed her gaze and saw a colorless crystal floating in the air. It was in the shape of a hexagonal prism with smooth corners on the top and bottom. It looked like a man-made object, but also like some kind of naturally produced mineral.

The lamb followed behind its owner, stretched out its nose to sniff the primrose petals that were so close to it, but after thinking it over again and again, it finally did not take a bite, probably because it did not want its appetite to destroy the harmonious atmosphere here.

After walking forward for a few more minutes, the vegetation coverage showed obvious differences. The seven-colored primroses and other low-lying plants such as ferns and shrubs continued to spread forward, covering the black fertile soil. However, the taller trees such as spring ivy seemed to have been artificially marked with a dividing line, and they all stopped here, resulting in a large open space in front. Lingge pushed aside the bunch of tree lilies that blocked the way and saw the open space. At the same time, he also saw the windmill tower in the center of the open space.

Alice tried to grab the crystals with her hands, but the other party seemed to have noticed and dodged them nimbly. The golden-haired maid didn't believe it and tried several more times, using methods such as sneak attacks, blocking, and pretending to pass by and suddenly attacking when you are not paying attention, but she failed in every attempt and finally gave up in disappointment.

Linger looked up thoughtfully, but through the densely packed canopy, he could only see bright light, not the strong winds that daunted treasure hunters and explorers. It seemed that the valley bottom and the surface were in two different worlds, which was amazing.

Its structure is similar to that of the windmill tower in the Windmill Village ruins, both are cylindrical and narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, but this one is taller, probably close to 20 meters. Moreover, its walls, spire, and the huge windmill on top are all painted white, which reminds people of those pure white windmills that appear only in fairy tales, standing on the edge of civilization.

In other words, are the turbulent winds in the rift actually the result of these crystals?

The winter cedar is the tallest and strongest of the four tree species. Its roots often break through the ground and bulge up thickly, forming a structure similar to an arch, so people have to bend down to walk under it. From a close distance, you can see dense angiosperms climbing on the roots, and disturbed spiders, lizards and other small insects flee from them; the exposed rocks are covered with mosses and lichens, and the branches of the ivy wood are entangled with the accompanying green ivy. A large bunch of vine-like plants hangs from the branches of the autumn chestnut. The huge leaves are like curtains, and make a crackling sound when Lingge separates them with his hands.

In addition to the windmill tower, the empty primrose field also has several broad tree stumps, an old well, and a piece of farmland that has been reclaimed by humans, but nothing is planted, so it has been occupied by weeds. Further away, there is a row of wooden fences that block the way to the deeper part of the valley. The fences are entangled with wisteria, hanging vines and morning glories.

This peaceful and harmonious farm scene was slightly different from what everyone imagined. It seemed that it was more suitable to appear in a countryside somewhere in the Avion area, rather than in this remote and unknown valley.

"Do angels live in this place?" Metien asked curiously. Alice nodded seriously: "Yes, I think so."

Saint Xia Liya looked at Ling Ge and whispered: "There is a strange fate in this house, but... it is also familiar."

It means there is someone in the house.

As for the familiarity she mentioned, maybe it was because they were both young queens?

So they were on the right track.

The original intention was to avoid the fight between animists and the united religious groups, but he accidentally embarked on the right path. The coincidences and strangeness of fate were all reflected in this.

Linger sighed a little, then said to his companions, "Let's go and take a look."

"No problem!" Alice clenched her fists, full of confidence: "Here I will rely on my love and justice!"

Ghosts believe.

Everyone was too lazy to pay attention to her and followed Ling Ge towards the windmill tower house. When they arrived in front of the house, they found that its bottom floor was actually slightly higher than the ground. There was a white base about one-third of a meter high built below. It was previously hidden by the lush primroses and was not visible. It was like a lighthouse in the past, supporting this white windmill giant. Three white stone steps led to the base. The old wooden door was closed, and it looked like it was not ready to welcome uninvited guests.

Lingge stretched out his hand and knocked on the door lightly, making a clanging sound.

no respond.

He knocked twice more, and the person inside seemed to have just woken up and realized that a guest had come to visit. She was silent for a moment, and then said in a listless tone, "Come in."

The voice sounded a little hoarse and full of decadence. No matter which adjective was used, it seemed to be far from the ideal angel image.

The girls looked at each other in bewilderment. Lingge ignored their inner feelings and pushed the door open after getting a response. He immediately took in the scene in the room.

Surprisingly, it was pretty shabby.

In other words, there was nothing, not even furniture, only a spotless brick floor, a spiral stone staircase leading to the upper level, a window that looked like it was formed by digging out the bricks used to build the wall, letting in light from the outside world, and a girl sitting on the floor by the window, leaning against the wall, hugging her knees and tilting her head to look at these uninvited guests.

When Lingge saw the girl's face, he was stunned.

"what!"

Alice exclaimed from behind: "Why is it you!?"

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)