"Everything you saw here today, every word you heard—do not mention it to anyone."
Lynn's gaze swept across everyone's face, including Ygritte, who was still trembling.
"Not even to Lord Commander Mormont."
"And the horn, don't mention that either. Is that clear?"
Jon was speechless.
If Mormont knew about this, Lynn would likely be burned at the stake as a heretic on the spot. In his eyes, Lynn was his brother; he couldn't let that happen.
"But... but why did that devil..."
Ygritte's voice was tearful as she pointed at Lynn, then at the direction where the Night King vanished.
"Why did he give you that thing? What is your relationship with him?"
"I think you've been controlled by him!"
"Or maybe you're already dead!"
Lynn laughed despite himself. It seemed this wild girl was genuinely panicked.
"Relax, I'm perfectly fine."
What kind of answer is that?
Ygritte felt like she was going mad!
This Southerner's mind was harder to fathom than the weather beyond the Wall.
"Let's move."
Lynn didn't explain further, turning to walk down the mountain.
"Frostfangs. You lead the way."
Ygritte shuddered, the fear on her face deepening.
"I told you, that's forbidden ground!"
"The Old Gods will devour our souls!"
"Then you can stay here and wait to die," Lynn said without looking back.
Ygritte gritted her teeth, watching that tall back. She waved her fists frantically, as if she could beat Lynn to death through the air.
But in the end, she resigned herself to fate and followed.
She would rather have her soul devoured by the Old Gods than be left alone on this damned mountaintop.
The atmosphere in the group was even more oppressive than before.
In their eyes, Lynn had just completed a mysterious transaction with the legendary Demon King.
Jon was heavy-hearted.
Several times he wanted to speak, but didn't know what to ask.
"Stop thinking about it."
Lynn's voice suddenly sounded beside him.
"If you can't figure it out, just keep it in your heart for now."
"But I just feel..."
"Feel like I sold my soul to the devil?"
Lynn smiled.
"If selling my soul could buy victory, I wouldn't mind in the slightest."
Jon looked at Lynn's profile; there was no hint of jest there.
The group turned northwest.
Heading toward the Frostfang mountains, which in legends were endless and sharp as the fangs of a giant beast.
Although Ygritte was full of resistance, as a Free Folk raised beyond the Wall, her ability to navigate far exceeded these "crows."
She led them around dangerous glacial crevasses and beast lairs, though every step was taken with trepidation.
Two days later, they arrived at a vast ice field.
"Caw—"
A raucous caw came from overhead.
Everyone looked up to see a crow perched on a withered weirwood tree not far away.
The crow was a size larger than an ordinary raven. most eerie of all, it had three eyes.
The third eye was right in the center of its forehead, shining with a light of wisdom.
"A three-eyed crow..."
Ygritte's voice trembled. Instinctively, she nocked an arrow, wanting to shoot the crow down.
"Hey!"
Lynn hurriedly stopped her.
The three-eyed crow abandoned the thought of fleeing.
It tilted its head, looked at Lynn, seemingly confirming something.
Then, it took flight, flying a dozen meters in one direction, landing, looking back at them, and cawing again.
Lynn understood; it was leading the way.
Ygritte's face was as white as snow.
Everything in the legends was coming true. She felt her legs going weak.
That feeling of weakness was exactly the same as when she lay in Lynn's arms.
"It's over... we're all done for... the Old Gods sent their messenger to collect us..."
"Shut up."
Lynn glared at her.
Following behind the crow, he walked forward without hesitation.
Guided by the three-eyed crow, the group walked for most of another day.
The scenery began to turn strange.
More and more weirwood trees appeared around them, forming a dense white forest.
Carved into every tree was a human face crying tears of red sap. Thousands of faces watched them silently in the quiet forest.
Finally, the crow stopped in front of a massive cliff face.
At the base of the cliff was a cave entrance half-buried in snow, pitch-black and bottomless.
The crow flew into the cave and disappeared.
"This is it."
Lynn looked at the entrance.
"I... I'm not going in!"
Ygritte backed away repeatedly.
"Beat me to death, but I won't go in!"
Lynn ignored her and walked straight toward the cave.
Jon gritted his teeth and followed.
The remaining three rangers looked at each other. Finally, fear of the unknown triumphed over everything else, and they stayed put.
Lynn said nothing, simply leading Jon into the cave.
Ygritte hesitated outside for a long time. Finally, she stomped her foot, cursing under her breath, and followed them in.
She was afraid of those strange things, but she was even more afraid of being left alone outside.
Only by following Lynn did she feel a sense of security.
The interior of the cave was more spacious than imagined, and not dark.
Moss growing on the cave walls emitted a soft white light, illuminating the entire passage.
A faint, ethereal singing echoed in the air.
The voice didn't belong to a human; it was empty and ancient, as if ringing directly in the depths of the soul.
After walking for about several hundred meters, the space opened up.
It was a massive underground cavern, the ceiling lost in shadow.
Countless glowing plants grew here. In the center was an indescribably huge weirwood tree.
Its roots were like giant pythons, occupying the entire floor of the cavern, even piercing through the stone walls to merge with the mountain itself.
"Old Gods above..."
Jon was utterly dumbfounded.
And beneath the giant tree stood several small figures.
They only came up to Lynn's waist. Their skin was like dappled bark, and they had golden-green, cat-like pupils.
They were not human.
Children of the Forest.
A female Child of the Forest, the leader, stepped forward.
Her hair was like tangled vines, adorned with a few small white flowers that never wilted.
She examined Lynn with those massive pupils, then spoke.
What came out was not human language, but a melody as crisp as wind chimes.
Lynn didn't understand it, but he could feel there was no malice in the song, only an inquiry.
"Who are you?"
Jon asked warily.
The female Child of the Forest tilted her head, seeming to understand his words.
She spoke again.
This time, her voice changed to the Common Tongue of Westeros. Though somewhat rough, it was clearly intelligible.
"Leaf."
She introduced herself.
"We are the first singers of this land."
Her gaze bypassed Jon, looking straight at Lynn.
"We have been waiting for you, the Last Skinchanger."
Skinchanger?
Jon looked at Lynn in confusion.
Lynn's heart jolted.
They knew about his ability.
"Take me to see him." Lynn got straight to the point.
"He is waiting for you too."
Leaf nodded.
"For a long time."
She turned and walked toward the roots of the giant tree.
Between the tangled roots, there was a naturally formed passage.
Lynn followed. Jon and Ygritte subconsciously followed behind.
At the end of the passage, the light grew dim.
They arrived in the core tree hollow of the weirwood.
Here, countless thick roots wove together to form a throne.
Upon the throne sat an old man.
He was so thin he was nothing but bones, his skin like dried parchment.
Countless tiny roots grew from the throne, piercing his body, merging with his flesh and blood.
He had only one eye; the other socket was empty.
A blood-red root grew out of the empty socket, trailing down his cheek.
He seemed to have sat here for a thousand years, long since becoming one with this ancient weirwood.
He was the Greenseer, the Three-Eyed Raven, and also Brynden Rivers.
When he saw Lynn, he actually smiled.
"You have finally come."