mesbooks 0043 Bokai Village
0043 Bokai Village
Starting from Kokot village, we traveled for half a month, changing trucks and taking boats.
Snowflakes drifted down from the dim sky.
Li Ai wiped the frost-covered car window and looked out, where a misty, white mountain range appeared in the distance.
"Achoo!"
A sneeze echoed through the carriage.
Qingtian, sitting in the corner, stared blankly at the string of bluish snot on her palm.
"You didn't listen to advice, and now you've caught a cold."
"No, this little bit of cold is nothing."
On a sunny day, cross your arms tightly against your body and close your eyes tightly.
Before long, the brown fur covering its body quickly grew outwards a little more.
"Adaptive monsterization... then why not cover the hands with fur?"
"That would affect how I use my phone."
Qingtian raised her hand and waved it, revealing a POOPa5proMax phone encased in a pig bristle phone case.
"Alright, but after the last transfer, we'll be entering an extremely cold region. Even if your fur can thicken to keep you warm, I suggest you get used to it first."
Shortly after, the truck stopped at a cargo transfer station.
There are large piles of iron ore and ice crystals here. Several trucks, all made of thick black fur and resembling mammoths, are parked here preparing to return.
Li Ai speculated that if they were to continue deeper, even if the coachman and the herbivorous dragon were covered with the thickest felt, they would not be able to go any further.
The drivers and merchants here, aside from all wearing thick cotton-padded coats, follow the same rules as those in Kokot Village when it comes to taking hunters.
The only downside is that the wagons used to transport ore are quite dirty.
After searching for a long time, Li Ai finally found a truck that was used to transport snow mountain grass and fur.
While guiding everyone to pedal, it was noticed that Qingtian had already put on her cotton-padded coat.
"Don't misunderstand, I saw everyone was wearing them, so I just followed suit."
Sunny explained.
"Great, it suits you perfectly."
As the car drove off, the howling wind quickly drowned out all other sounds.
Not only could they not chat with the driver, but even warnings after encountering danger could only be conveyed by banging on the carriage.
The stove used for heating also needs to be replenished with charcoal frequently.
Time passed slowly, the sky darkened further, and night fell.
After a long night, clear skies arrived with the morning light.
The snow-covered mountainsides are like frosting.
While the driver was feeding the fodder, Li Ai got out of the carriage and took a deep breath. The cool, refreshing air entered her body and instantly invigorated her.
"We'll be entering the village in a bit. If you get off here, will you be able to manage on your own?"
Li Ai asked.
"The title of 'Twin Devils of the Business World' isn't given lightly; don't underestimate me."
After Qingtian finished speaking, she jumped off the bus.
The first time she stepped on the snow with her hooves, the sensation was so novel that she jumped and laughed.
"Then don't stray too far from the business path. If there's danger, send your location. Don't act rashly in any situation."
"Okay!"
As Qingtian spoke, she started running and happily ran away.
The truck entered Bokai Village, where a giant swallow-shaped rock, resembling a small mountain, was placed at the entrance.
An old woman from the dragon race, wearing glasses, was starting a fire under the boulder.
Li Ai recognized the man as the village chief of Bokai Village.
After getting off the ambulance in the center of the village, villagers were clearing away the snow that had accumulated overnight.
In front of one of the large two-story buildings, the hanging signboard was covered with frost and snow, but Li Ai still recognized at a glance that this was the local hunters' guild.
Pushing open the heavy door and stepping inside, a warm breeze greets you.
The many hunters in the hall were either crowded in front of the notice board or sitting around the round table drinking. Apart from their armor and cotton-padded clothes, which made them look bulky and heavy, they did not look much different from the Kokot Village branch.
Because of the cotton-padded coat, Li Ai's already robust figure appeared even more muscular.
His tall and imposing figure drew the attention of the hunters inside the house.
But once enough interest is piqued and the heart-shaped badge worn on the other person's chest is seen, deep doubts immediately arise.
Li Ai could understand that, at the suggestion of Village Chief Alvin, the Love Hunters guild headquarters had indeed been reopened, and documents had been sent to guilds in various regions.
However, since there is only one, many people are unaware of the existence of the Love Hunter, let alone understand what the other party does.
Upon arriving at the counter, he was greeted by Heather, the receptionist in green.
After the Snow White Rabbit Beast and the consultation request were presented, the receptionist Heather was a little confused. However, under Li Ai's guidance and after confirmation through the relevant headquarters documents, she immediately recognized Li Ai's hunter identity.
"Could I stay at the guild for two days before heading out hunting? Senior Sikorei has been hunting Tigrex for three days now, and should be back in two more days at most."
Heather offered advice.
"Alright, I also plan to familiarize myself with the environment first... Did Senior Sikorei have such a relaxed time hunting the Tigrex?"
Judging from Heather's tone, Li Ai felt that hunting Tigrex was as easy for her as hunting Velocidrome herself.
"No, not really. In the past, because of the presence of the Udon, avalanches would frequently occur in the snow mountain, which would delay the journey by blocking the roads. Now that the Udon has been hunted, the return time can be predicted based on the target's habitat in the snow mountain."
"Is the only factor that could influence someone's ability to hunt a Tigrex...?"
Li Ai thought to herself that this Xikerui was far too formidable.
"Heather! 20 Snow Mountain Grass stalks! Let's go over there and have a drink first."
A large hand placed a bundle of grass, still covered in frost, onto the counter.
Li Ai felt that the voice sounded somewhat familiar.
"All you brothers do is drink! You'll never become five-star hunters!"
Seeing this, Heather clenched her fist and said with great dissatisfaction.
"I'm sorry, please don't mind. I'll find you a room on the second floor right now."
"Are these two hunters Erhao and Dawei?"
Li Ai asked tentatively.
"Do you know them?"
Heather asked in surprise.
"We shared a truck and had a great time in Kokot village... I'll have a drink too."
As Li Ai spoke, she left the counter and walked towards the round table.
"It's my third brother!"
"Li Ai, what happened to your body?!"
"You're pretty good, kid. You're a three-star hunter now!"
...
Amid the two brothers' exclamations of surprise, the three began to drink and chat happily.
"So this love hunter is also an alcoholic..."
Seeing this, Heather could only sigh and rub her forehead in exasperation.
After receiving supplies from the guild, familiarize yourself with the village, buy chili peppers at the general store to make hot drinks, and study the snow mountain map at night.
After a night of drinking with the two brothers, Li Ai's first day in Bokai Village quickly came to a fulfilling end.
The next day, after visiting the mine and farm behind the village in the morning, Kabu said the rescue team wanted to visit the famous mysterious cave in Pokai village.
"I can pay for the entrance fee, but I won't go."
"I heard that the black greatsword left behind by the dragonkin ancestors inside the cave can regenerate and heal itself, and it also drops magical black fragments. Aren't you going to go see it?"
Kabu couldn't understand.
After all, even if you're not a hunter, you'd definitely want to see this kind of thing.
Li Ai couldn't say that the scales used to forge that black greatsword came from Miss Mira's body, something she didn't want to touch at all.
"That giant sword is dark and ominous. You can go... but tell everyone not to pick up anything."
"Okay, meow."
After Kabu finished speaking, he led the rescue team of Ailus and set off with great enthusiasm.
"Speaking of the dragon-man ancestor who founded Pokai Village, how exactly did he collect such a massive amount of Miss Mira's scales to forge this greatsword?"
Li Ai felt that collecting the fallen scales was definitely not realistic.
But if we're talking about completing the hunt, Miss Mira is now alive, yet she's become a taboo subject that can't be mentioned.
Perhaps some things happened back then that were not recorded in history.
After borrowing the hunting report of the Bakuro from the counter, Li Ai returned to her room on the second floor of the guild.
I was going to take a closer look, but I finished reading it in just a few minutes.
Aside from recording the tragic casualties of the hunters stationed in Pokai Village and the desperate hunt of the Urouge by the enraged Sikorui, there are no further details.
"Could it be that the investigator in charge of observation and recording also died in the line of duty... But even so, this report is still too brief."
Li Ai had read the hunting report of the Hero Squad [Tian Cang, Di Ying]. In order to provide other hunters with more reference for hunting this subspecies of fire dragon, every detail would be as detailed as possible.
Apart from the part dictated by Instructor Lang, there isn't much distortion.
"The reports that are included by the local guilds must be the most comprehensive ones. It seems there's something going on here."
Thinking about the fact that "monsters can turn into humans" was one of the things that Xike Rui consulted, Li Ai became more and more convinced of her deduction.
"But what's with this love and relationship counseling... I see, it's a smokescreen. Xikore is the first hunter about to reach the Seven Star level, how could she not find a partner? The reason she offered this counseling is to use the monster-transformation-into-human story as a cover."
After researching the consultation that might take place tomorrow, Li Ai felt almost certain that she would receive two payments.
The next day, the sky was overcast. After a brief two-day break, the cold wind carrying frost and snow swept across the land once again.
The weather was clearly not a good time to go hunting, so many hunters chose to wait in the warm guild hall.
Around noon, the front door was suddenly pushed open.
Once the person who opened the door was identified, the noisy hall immediately quieted down.
A female hunter dressed in heavy silver armor walked in.
This heavy armor not only has a strange design with many protrusions on the surface, but also has sharp, serrated spikes on the edges.
This meant that it was no longer possible to layer a cotton coat on top, but the hunter's upright posture and agile gait meant that he couldn't feel the slightest bit of cold from the other person.
As they approached the counter, the icy aura emanating from their armor and weapons caused the candlelight and oil lamp flames to flicker.
Many hunters in the vicinity couldn't help but shiver.
"Heather, the absolute strongman commission has been completed. Please help with the verification, thank you."
The female hunter placed the commission on the counter.
"Yes, Senior Xikerui!... Your consultation request has been accepted and someone has arrived in the village. His name is Li Ai."
Heather reminded her.
"That's fast enough, but this kind of consultation needs to be done in a quiet place. Let the other person come to my house."
"OK!"
"Is there still no information about that Tigrex with its abnormally proliferating forelimbs?"
"Investigators have been monitoring this for the past few months, but they haven't found any trace of it after such a long time, so they speculate that he or she escaped."
After reviewing the intelligence records, Heather provided an answer.
"Thank you for your trouble... Does the person who accepted the commission seem reliable?"
"Yes, but in the initial contact, you may feel a little different from other hunters, and it will take some time to get used to it."
Heather tried her best to describe it.
"Since he's a hunter, that makes things easier."
After saying that, Sikeri pushed back the large money bag that Heather had counted out at the counter.
"Add these to the compensation for fallen hunters."
"But..."
Heather looked troubled, clearly unable to make the decision regarding the distribution of the compensation.
"Don't worry, I spoke with the village chief at the village entrance, and she will help distribute them."
At this moment, the Palico wearing the Totoro armor at the entrance was wiping the frost off its body.
"Going home so soon, meow?"
Ailu's questioning tone revealed her dissatisfaction, but she still quickly pushed open the guild door.
"The professional who helped me is here; I'll do a little house cleaning."
As the doors closed, the temperature in the hall quickly rose, and the noise returned.
Li Ai received news of Xi Kerui's return and went to the address provided.
The house where the other party lives is diagonally opposite the guild.
Before I could even get close enough to knock, two Elru ran out.
One was carrying a bundle of firewood, and the other was holding a basket of burning coals as they were about to enter the house.
"You're the one who accepted the consultation request, right, meow?"
"I asked, Ailu, who was carrying the basket."
"I did nothing wrong."
"Please come in, meow~"
As she spoke, Ailu deftly kicked the door open with her cat paws.
Li Ai walked into the house and saw a large wooden storage box, a huge bed, and a notice board that showed the cats' work shifts.
Aside from being slightly messy, the interior layout is the same as most solitary hunters.
After pouring the burning coals from the basket into the stove, Ailu introduced herself as Diamond and led Li Ai to the square table.
After clearing away the plates and bowls left over from the meal, Diamond replaced the tablecloth with a new one and then shouted loudly, "Sicori! The guests are here, meow!"
Soon, the curtain at the kitchen door was lifted, and a woman dressed only in plain clothes walked out.
The other person was in his early thirties, with a handsome and lively face, but unfortunately, a three-toed claw mark that almost disfigured his face covered his right cheek.
Although hunters take pride in their wounds, such severe injuries to the face still look too gruesome.
"Your name is Li Ai, right... I must say, this medal doesn't look ordinary."
Sikeri looked at the Love Hunter Medal that Li Ai was wearing and nodded in approval.
"I will not let you down. Since you have paid for this, I will definitely use my expertise to provide a professional answer."
"It's so great to talk to hunters. I was worried that a scholar would come and we would each talk our own thing, and in the end neither of us would understand the other."
After Sikeri finished speaking, he sat down on the other side of the square table, and Ailu quickly poured two cups of hot drinks.
"Where to begin...?"
"Let's start with the monster transforming into a human, senior."
Li Ai offered a suggestion, since the other one was just a smokescreen.
"This one...that's fine too."
"Let's begin."
As Li Ai spoke, she took out the borrowed report on hunting the Benglong.
Sikeri stroked his chin, a look of surprise on his face, and said, "You really are a professional."