chsdbacks Chapter 485
Chapter 485
Chapter 485
Unbeknownst to Lei Guanwang, Xia Chi had taken other photos as well.
He photographed the old man who had waited for him for sixty years, and the villagers who, although they no longer recognized him, were still waiting for him to return.
They also took a picture of the Crassula ovata squatting in the snow looking at the flowers.
The video was edited that evening.
Xia Chi sat by the fireplace, his Rotom phone floating beside him, the light from the screen reflecting on his face.
The Crested King was already asleep, curled up in the little nest that Kanna had made for it.
Ice Six-Tail lay beside it, its six tails covering its paws, fast asleep.
Snow Boy nestled in the arms of Ice Six-Tail, Sneeze Bear hugged its own tail, and Ice Treasure leaned against the edge of its little nest. The little guys huddled together like a pile of fluffy snowballs.
Xia Chi glanced at them, a slight smile playing on her lips, then continued editing.
He didn't use any fancy special effects, didn't add any sentimental music, and didn't even add any narration.
He simply arranged the footage he captured during the day in chronological order.
From the moment the crowned violet walked out the door alone, to the moment it stood in front of the old man, to the moment it walked around the village all day, to the moment it squatted in the snow looking at that flower.
The scene was very quiet, so quiet that you could hear the sound of snow falling.
Finally, he added a line at the end of the film.
"It is waiting for spring, and spring is waiting for it too."
The video was released late at night.
Xia Chi did not repost it using her own account, but instead used the account "Lady Crown King - Official" to share this vlog.
It was sent out.
The caption was just one sentence: "Today, it bloomed a flower."
Then he turned off his phone, crawled into bed, and went to sleep.
What he didn't know was that the video had over a million views within ten minutes of being posted.
[The grandmother who waited for decades said she goes to the temple to wait every year... I cried so hard!]
It thought no one remembered it, but some people remembered, some waited a lifetime.
Is this the power of faith...? Not out of fear, not out of self-interest, but simply because of remembrance, simply because of love...?
[No, please stop crying, I got some Calyrex in my eye, waaaaah...]
After the first radiant flower bloomed, Frozen Village changed.
It's not the kind of change that happens overnight, but rather the kind of change that feels like someone is gently pushing time forward.
First, another flower appeared next to that one.
Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth...
They peeked out from the snow, timid and small, but each one bloomed earnestly.
Those lands that had been frozen for hundreds of years finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Tiny grass shoots sprouted from the snow cracks, and the entire village's open space was tinged with a light green.
Then there are trees.
The old tree at the village entrance, according to Connor's grandmother, was already there when she was a child; its branches were bare, like a forgotten skeleton.
Now new buds are sprouting from its branches, almost transparent in the sunlight.
Kanna stood under the tree, holding Little Nebula, looking up at it.
Curious, I asked, "Does it bear fruit?"
The Crowned Crane stood beside her, its large head slightly raised, looking at the new buds as if it were looking at an old friend.
"Yes."
The Crowned Queen said softly, "But we'll have to wait until next year."
"Then let's pick them together next year!"
The Crowned King did not speak, but simply nodded slightly.
Next year...
This word hasn't been used for a very, very long time.
For hundreds of years, its sense of time has been stagnant.
There is no difference between yesterday and today, and there is no difference between today and tomorrow.
Every day is filled with snow, a white expanse of waiting.
But it's different now.
Next year, the tree will bear fruit.
It's already looking forward to next year.
The changes in Dongning Village don't stop there.
Even the snow that never melts has begun to melt.
Drop by drop, it's as if someone is warming this land little by little with their body heat.
The icicles on the eaves began to drip water, making a tinkling sound.
Kanna placed an iron basin under the eaves and listened to the sound of water droplets hitting the bottom of the basin, saying it sounded like music.
Xia Chi leaned against the door frame, watching all this, and suddenly a line of poetry came to mind.
"Suddenly, like a spring breeze overnight, thousands of pear trees burst into bloom."
No, there are no pear blossoms here.
There was grass, flowers, new buds on trees, raindrops under the eaves, and Connor's laughter.
He raised his phone and Rotom took a picture.
Rotom asked in a low voice, "Aren't you going to send it out, Rotom?"
"Not issuing it."
Xia Chi said, "Keep it for yourself."
Rotom documented these changes in Frozen Village and edited them into a second vlog.
As expected, the video went viral, and the number of fans of the Queen of the Beauties exceeded ten million in just a few days.
While the "legendary elf playing on social media" gimmick exists, the most important reason for such an exaggerated increase in fans is...
Or perhaps it's the genuine emotion conveyed within.
Naturally, the energy within the Crown King's body was also increasing day by day.
On the third day, it stood at the village entrance and waved its right hand.
This time, it's not a flower, not a clump of grass, not a tree.
The snow on the entire hillside melted at the same time, revealing the dark brown soil underneath.
Seeds that had been dormant for hundreds of years seemed to have heard a call and sprouted from the soil one after another.
Grass shoots, flower buds, and vines grow wildly under the sun, like a fast-forwarded painting.
Greenery spreads from the village entrance to the hillside, and from the foot of the mountain to the distance.
Kanna's mouth dropped open, and she almost dropped the bowl in her hand.
"Grandma, Grandma, come out and see!"
The old man walked out with his cane, stood at the door, looked at the lush green hillside, and tears silently slid down his wrinkled face.
"I'm back..."
She murmured, "The village from before... has returned..."
"
The Crowned King stood there, its large head slightly lowered.
It had used up most of its energy, but it didn't care.
It was all worth it.
Xia Chi stood behind it, her Rotom phone quietly recording everything beside her.
He didn't speak or disturb, but simply captured the moment in the camera lens.
The frozen village has come back to life.
As the days went by, Dongning Village changed day by day.
The village has become more populated, and even more wild elves have appeared.
It wasn't just the people who were born in Dongning Village who returned; their children did too.
Connor became the leader of the children, leading them to pick flowers on the hillside and telling stories under the old tree.
She told the story of the Crested Beetle, how it protected the land in the wind and snow, how it exhausted its strength, how it was forgotten, and how it brought spring back.
The children listened intently, their eyes sparkling.
"Lord Rachelon is amazing!"
"I want to be a trainer when I grow up!"
The Crowned King stood not far away, pretending not to hear, but its large head was slightly raised, and the curve of its mouth betrayed it.
Xia Chi leaned against a tree, watching this scene, and a strange feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.
Just a few months ago, this place was completely deserted.
The streets were deserted, the houses were dilapidated, and even the Pokémon Centers were closed.
What now?
Children run on the grass, the elderly bask in the sun at their doorsteps, and wisps of smoke rise from the chimneys.
And all of this was because of a turnip.
"Crown of Lace"
Xia Chi suddenly spoke.
The Crowned King turned his head, his small eyes asking a question.
"Are you strong enough to find those two horses now?"
King Lace Crown paused for a moment, then nodded.
"That should be enough."
Xia Chi nodded and said, "Then let's do it tomorrow."
The Queen of the Lace Crown looked at him, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
Xia Chi knew what this guy was thinking, but still deliberately asked, "What's wrong? Do you have something to do tomorrow?"
"It's nothing."
The Crowned King turned his head and looked at the distant snowfield. "I'm just... a little nervous."
Xia Chi smiled slightly.
"They've waited for you for hundreds of years, they won't mind waiting one more day."
The Crowned King did not reply, but simply gazed into the distance.
The next morning, before dawn, Xia Chi woke up.
I wasn't woken up by the Rotom alarm on my phone, but by a strange intuition.
He opened his eyes and saw that the Crowned King was already standing at the door, with his back to him, looking out at the snowfield.
"So early?"
Xia Chi yawned, climbed out of bed, and tucked the blanket around Pengpeng, who was still sleeping.
Although, given the little one's constitution, they're unlikely to catch a cold...
"It's getting late."
The Crowned King replied, "The sun has already risen."
Xia Chi walked to its side and looked in the direction of its self-illumination.
The distant snowfield shimmered with a faint golden hue in the morning light, like a crumpled piece of silk.
Further away, there are continuous snow-capped mountains, their peaks covered in snow that never melts and glitters in the sunlight.
That was deep within the Crown Snowfield, the place where the Snowstorm Horse and the Spirit Horse slept.
After breakfast, Xia Chi and Lei Guan Wang set off to the depths of the Crown Snowfield to search for his two beloved horses.
He didn't bring many elves with him.
Aside from Milton, which is used for riding, there are only Meowth and Dragonite.
Latias stayed at Kanna's house to take care of the Ice Vulpix and the others.
Victini and Hoopa did come along, but the two little guys were more there to play than to help.
Bictini floated on Xia Chi's shoulder, her little face full of excitement.
Hupa kept moving in and out of the ring, never still for a moment.
Given Milton's speed, it wouldn't take him long to cross the entire Crown Snowfield.
After flying for about a few minutes, the Crowned King suddenly shouted, "It's right below!"
Xia Chi nodded, signaling Lao Mi to begin the descent.
This place is different from the Dongning Village.
There was no grass, no flowers, only a vast expanse of white snow stretching to the horizon.
The Crowned Queen stopped and looked around.
"This is it."
Xia Chi looked around but saw nothing, so she asked curiously, "Where are they?"
"Sleeping."
The Crowned King said, "They are sleeping under the snow, waiting for me to wake them."
It crouched down and produced several seeds from who-knows-where.
It had prepared that specially last night. Bictini asked curiously what it was, but it stammered and brushed her off.
Xia Chi was slightly taken aback, then realized something.
"These are... seeds of ice radish and black radish?"
This storyline exists in the game; Snowstorm Horse and Worldly Horse both love to eat these two kinds of carrots.
They can be used to lure the two horses out.
The Queen of the Lace Crown asked in surprise, "You actually knew that?"
Xia Chi Wubian said, "I already know you exist, how could I not know the favorite food of your two beloved horses?"
Without much thought, the Crowned King nodded, then used its claws to dig a few small holes in the ground, put the seeds in, and covered them with soil.
Then, it stood up and raised its right hand.
A ray of green light spilled from the fingertips and landed on the excavated land.
In just a moment, the seed began to sprout.
Tender green shoots emerge from the soil and grow at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The leaves unfolded, the stems grew taller, and in less than a minute, several radishes had grown.
The green leaves swayed gently in the wind, revealing half of the vine buried in the soil.
Xia Chi curiously used his waveguide power to sense it, but couldn't detect any special or strange energy.
This thing... can it really attract Snowstorm Horse and World Wanderer?
Time passed by, second by second.
The crown daisy squatted there, motionless, like a statue, its green buds trembling slightly in the wind.
After an unknown amount of time, the snow-covered ground began to move.
As if something was moving beneath the snow, a white shadow rapidly approached from a distance, leaving a shallow mark on the snow surface.
The Crowned King raised his head, his eyes narrowed.
The shadow stopped not far from them.
The snow surface bulged up, then suddenly cracked open—
A magnificent white horse rose from the snow.
Its entire body is snow-white, and its mane shines like ice crystals, reflecting dazzling light in the sunlight.
Snowstorm Horse.
It stood there, watching the Crowned King.
The bewilderment in her icy blue eyes turned into surprise, and then into something Xia Chi couldn't describe in words.
It was a reunion that had been waited for far too long.
"Hiss—"
It let out a long hiss, the sound echoing across the snowfield, causing the snow on the branches to fall in a rustling sound.
Immediately, the Snowstorm Horse galloped towards the Crowned Horse.
The snowstorm horse wasn't fast, but every step was extremely steady. Its mane stretched into a white line in the wind, and a thin layer of ice formed on the snow where its hooves trod.
It abruptly stopped a few steps away from the Brilliant Flower, lowered its head, and breathed its cold breath onto the Brilliant Flower's buds.
The Crowned King stretched out its paw and gently touched its nose.
"I'm back."
The snowstorm horse let out another long neigh, this time even louder, as if the entire snowfield was trembling.
It nuzzled its head against its flower bud, like a spoiled child.
The Crowned King was jostled and lost its balance, landing hard on its backside in the snow. But it wasn't angry; it just smiled and patted the Snowstorm Horse's head with its paw.
"Alright, alright, I'm back now."
It pulled a radish that looked like it was made of ice from the ground and handed it to the Snowstorm Horse.
Snowstorm Horse lowered its head and sniffed, then took a bite of the radish and chewed it crunchily.
After finishing its meal, it nudged the crested king's paw with its nose, its meaning quite clear.
Is there any more? Give me some more!
"have."
The Crowned King tiptoed and patted the Snowstorm Horse's head, then handed it another one, saying, "Don't rush, they're all yours."
The snowstorm horse ate happily, its tail swishing back and forth, its mane fluttering in the wind, radiating joy.
Xia Chi, watching from the side, couldn't help but smile.
He remembered that in the game, the Rathalos needed to use the tethering reins to tame the Blizzard again.
At that time, he felt that the plot was somewhat illogical.
How could a benevolent king like Calyx need a rope to connect him to his beloved horse?
Indeed, the situation in the real world is more reasonable.