Chapter 386: Snowy Mountains

Arthur could only pat her head lightly as she cried. He didn"t think that seekers, in their spiritual bodies, can cry. And it felt as if Hana"s existence was growing stronger, as her tears disappeared into her skin after rolling down her face. 

"Are you really... going to help me? I don"t want to disappear. I don"t want to, Mister," she cried, and the tears didn"t cease. Arthur could tell the fear she had toward her parents. 

"I"ll help you, but you need to be brave first. You need to go back to your house and wait for me. Tell me how to find you, and I"ll make sure to be there to take you." Arthur pushed forward, but the little girl was hesitant. "I know it"s scary, but you won"t get anywhere if you stay here." 

Hana nodded silently, and Arthur heard a meow behind him. He turned to see the cat looking at him with approval. However, it seems that he was the only one capable of hearing it. 

"What are you, exactly?" Arthur asked in his mind. The cat stared at him before looking in a particular direction. Arthur followed its gaze to see an island covered in snow. 

"We have arrived at your destination, boy!" 

The stone man appeared on top of the upper deck and gave a heartily laugh. Arthur looked at the island where the bookkeeper was and felt his journey in the Spirits Realm nearing its end. After this, he would go back to Hidden City and finish what he started. 

***

"Why are you here?" Arthur asked the monk who stood beside him. The ship was approaching the coast. None of the islands had any docks, so the ship got close to either the highlands or a beach. 

"Oh, I remembered that I have some business in the snowy mountains." Lin Zhao gave a blatant lie, but it"s not like Arthur could ask him not to leave the ship. 

"Suit yourself," Arthur shrugged as he looked around. After a while of waiting, Hana came running from around the corner. 

"I said goodbye to everyone!" Hana said as she looked at Arthur. "Let"s go, Mister!" 

"You are quick to trust him, shortie," the monk said, and Arthur couldn"t help but agree. 

Since Hana needed to contract a spirit, Arthur wanted to find her a powerful one to help her. The fact that a child was in the Skyey World was abnormal, proving Hana"s potential.

"Spirits love Mister, so I can trust him!" 

"It is true that spirits, other than Abyssal Spirits, only love the kindhearted," Lin Zhao said with a smile, his grey and ashen mustache waving in the wind. "Some would argue that such kindness was abnormal." 

"I get that a lot," as he said that, Arthur remembered the fight he had with Miko in the trial. She tried to warn him, but he was too idealistic to listen. The last time he saw her was in Jerano, and her confession was still fresh in his mind. 

Arthur couldn"t reciprocate her feelings, not yet. But, before he did, he needed to spend a lot of time with her, which they didn"t do after the trial. 

"What do you seek in the snowy mountains?" Lin Zhao asked as the ship came to a stop. Arthur glanced his way and weighed his options. 

"The bookkeeper," Arthur answered as he jumped on the railing. His chains floated beside him before darting toward the highland, impaling themselves to the snowy cliff. "Your hand, young miss." 

Hana giggled as she grabbed his hand. Arthur carried her up, and the chains took them across the sky, leaving the speechless monk behind. 

"What... wait for me!" Lin Zhao jumped after them and began climbing the cliff. Hana laughed again as the two landed on the edge of the snowy highland. They used their spiritual powers to shield them from the cold. 

"Should we leave him behind?" Arthur asked the young girl as he looked at the monk climbing after them. However, Hana shook her head. 

"Lin Zhao is a good person," she said with confidence. "I saw him help many seekers and teach them ways to grow stronger. However, he never left the ship, so..." 

Hearing her words, Arthur was intrigued. He decided to wait for the monk to climb before he began looking for the bookkeeper. The monk finally reached the highland with a labored breath. 

"Those chains... are cheating..." Lin Zhao breathed in and out. Then, to Arthur"s amazement, he began recovering spiritual energy rapidly, restoring his previous state. Feeling his interest, Lin Zhao straightened his back with pride. "Have you decided to be my disciple?" 

"You need to keep up first, old man." Arthur shook his head as he sent his chains toward the middle of the island again. 

"Wait!" Lin Zhao panicked, but Arthur flew again after his chains attached to high and frosty trees. 

The monk ran after them as Hana cheered him on. Arthur smiled at the friendly atmosphere as they traveled deeper into the island. He stopped when they reached the snowy mountains, only to find them filled with seekers of white color. 

"Ha... ha..." Lin Zhao arrived later to find Arthur looking around the mountain range. They were halfway up a mountain, looking down on the valley of wandering seekers.

"Are these the brave knights?" 

"Brave knights?" Lin Zhao was confused before he looked at the valley. "Oh, it"s the Spirits Division." 

"The Spirits Division?" Arthur asked as he began walking down the mountain. 

"A seeker I met a year ago said that the snowy mountains were full of knights from the Spirits Division. They were here to contract ice spirits to fight against the trolls attacking their kingdom." 

"That makes sense," Arthur nodded. "Let"s hope they know where the Bookkeeper is," he walked while carrying Hana and the monk walking behind him. 

"The bookkeeper, huh?" Lin Zhao pondered. "I never thought it would be here, as its location is always changing. So how did you know that it was here?" 

"Someone told me." The image of the Deity of Seas and her face appeared in Arthur"s mind, desperate and full of recognition. 

"What do you seek it for?" 

"You talk too much for a monk," Arthur was speechless. "Aren"t your bunch supposed to be secluded and reclusive?" 

"Those are the boring monks," Lin Zhao shook his head as he held his mustache, caressing it. "I believe that half of the truth lies in oneself, and the other half is one we find in others." 

"That explains a lot about who you are," Arthur said as they reached the base of the mountain. "Stop the chit-chat, and let"s focus on finding the bookkeeper." 

"A great deflect of the topic, I"m guessing the reason that you seek the bookkeeper is one you want to avoid." 

"Guess all you want," Arthur scowled and began regretting allowing the monk to travel with them. 

If this were Alka or Earth, he wouldn"t allow a prying stranger to follow him and annoy him with his questions. However, this was the Spirits Realm, where the only danger was Abyssal Spirits. 

They found the first seeker after a while of walking. The seeker was holding a sword made of light, which was a trait Arthur never saw before. 

"They have practiced the sword arts enough for the sword to be a part of their spiritual bodies," Lin Zhao admired. "A sign of sword mastery: the swordless art." 

"Now I understand why the bookkeeper was interested in their story," Arthur said in awe. "Let"s ask him, as the bookkeeper must have talked to him before." 

As they got near, the knight turned their way. It was an ethereal man holding a sword, his aura being the sharpest Arthur felt since he came to the Spirits Realm. 

"Ere nee?" The knight spoke a language Arthur didn"t know, and he lamented that he didn"t have a rune for communication or information intake. 

"Ave kin se na," Lin Zhao replied. The knight turned his way, and the conversation began. The knight then pointed toward the highest mountain on the island. 

"He says that the bookkeeper went toward the highest summit," the monk explained to Arthur. "The storyteller asked it a few questions before going after the strongest seeker to ask it as well." 

"What is it trying to do?"

"To record the best story or something like that." Lin Zhao shrugged. "I met the bookkeeper on Gwynevere once before. An odd ent.i.ty, only interested in heroic tales and betrayals." 

"Betrayals, huh?" Arthur pondered. "Let"s go up. Can you thank him for me?" Arthur asked the monk to relay his intent, to which he did. 

They resumed their journey toward the highest summit. The temperature kept decreasing, and the group had to use their spiritual energy to fend off the cold. 

The cold was spiritual as well, so it could affect their spiritual bodies. So Arthur decided to surround the group with his chains, and they worked to fend off the cold.