Watching the crowd running from the direction of the Broken Tower, Jon instinctively felt that something was wrong.
Before he could even mentally curse his luck, he saw people rushing toward the castle, carrying Bran with them.
And that mischievous boy who loved to climb showed no signs of waking up, no matter how much he was jostled by the crowd.
[Stop looking. You can't escape what's coming. This is Bran's fate. That is why you need to rewrite everything known, even if it's just for yourself.]
Hearing the prompt in his head, for the first time, Jon felt that this dog of a System wasn't so annoying. At the very least, in this strange world of Ice and Fire, both he and the System were showing their true colors.
Pushing this absurd thought aside, as the transmigrator walked toward the castle, he changed his mindset.
If some things were destined not to change, why exhaust himself trying to maintain the status quo?
Since this was a rare journey, he should just let go and experience it fully.
Having figured this out, Jon instantly felt a weight lift from his heart. The shackles of caution that he had always worn seemed to loosen a bit at this moment.
For the next few days, everyone fell into silence.
Even the Imp spent his time quietly reading in his room, doing nothing else.
As for Jon, he took some time to see his Uncle Benjen.
The man of the Night's Watch invited Jon to join their ranks as usual, bluntly stating that Snow wasn't suited for the humid and hot King's Landing.
The transmigrator didn't object to this advice. He just understood equally well that he currently lacked the power to defy Robert.
During this time, he also tried to discuss the matter with Lord Eddard, but the man was deep in grief over his nearly lost son and had no mind for such things.
So in the end, the only one left to keep Jon company was Ghost.
At this moment, Snow was boredly petting the direwolf, various doubts flashing through his mind.
Bran's incident taught him a lot. He didn't even need to think hard to guess that this was the work of Jaime and Cersei.
As for what exactly happened, the transmigrator couldn't confront them face-to-face, but he could be sure of one thing: his little brother definitely hadn't listened to his warning.
Because several servants had collectively witnessed Bran falling from the Broken Tower.
When people heard the piercing scream, the boy was already falling through the air.
Unless the Seven Gods descended at that moment, no one could have saved Bran from his fate.
So in the end, it seemed no one could escape the play of the gods, himself included.
Looking at it this way, Jon actually stopped worrying too much. Presumably, before heading South to King's Landing, his path would be clearly arranged for him too.
Thinking of this, Snow couldn't help but look up at the ancient weirwood tree behind him.
The crimson leaves shaded the entire garden, and the face on the trunk seemed to look upon the world with indifference.
The reason Jon came here, besides escaping the noisy castle and the grieving Catelyn, was to spy on powers beyond this world.
After all, in other dimensions, legends were just baseless fantasies.
But in the world of Ice and Fire, the beings closely connected to the weirwoods were the Greenseers.
And both truly existed in legend and reality simultaneously!
It was precisely because he knew this that Jon came to patrol under the tree, looking for any chance to enhance his abilities.
During this time, he had called up the interface more than once, trying to activate the One-Click Auto-Pilot.
However, aside from receiving the same prompt, this dog of a System had no other reaction.
[Detected that everything is proceeding according to plan. Please stay tuned...]
Seeing no feedback, Jon could only silently close the interface and get up to pack his bags.
This afternoon, everyone would depart for the South, himself included.
Accompanying him were the two girls, Sansa and Arya.
Their luggage already filled two whole carriages.
In contrast, Jon had nothing but some seasonal clothes; no extra items at all.
Perhaps Lord Eddard had considered this, but Bran's accident had interrupted everything, so Jon could only prepare for departure in the simplest way possible.
However, before leaving, he steeled himself and walked into Catelyn's line of sight. Ignoring the woman's venomous glare, he slowly knelt before Bran's bed and sighed.
"My dear brother, why did you have to go there? You promised me... It's all this damn fate's fault!"
"Also, I'm about to leave for King's Landing. They say the walls there are comparable to the Wall at the edge of the world. When you wake up, come find me."
After rambling through this, Jon straightened up to leave, meeting Catelyn's disgusted and complicated gaze.
Seeing the bastard's eyes sweep over her, Catelyn looked at Jon's tall, strong figure, and her eyes erupted with undisguised malice.
"Get out of here! Why wasn't it you who died?"
Normally, the transmigrator wouldn't have bothered with such a vicious curse.
But perhaps leaving gave him courage, or maybe it was to vent years of unfair treatment, Snow retorted without mercy.
"Why should it be me? Besides, Bran is still alive. One day, you will regret your viciousness today and be punished for it!"
As he blurted this out, even Jon couldn't believe it. He seemed a bit rude.
Of course, that wasn't what worried him.
Instead, he worried that the information revealed in his words might expose him.
Fortunately, the grieving mother only took it as the bastard defying her. So, apart from surprise, she said nothing more.
When Snow walked down the stairs, he ran straight into Robb coming up.
The two looked at each other silently for a long time, then nodded and went their separate ways without a word.
However, just as Jon was about to walk away, Robb suddenly turned and shouted to him.
"I'm sorry for how things have been lately. It's up to you to protect Father now..."
Hearing Robb actively dissolve the awkwardness, Snow suddenly felt much lighter inside.
"Hah, you be careful too. Don't go dying early."
Although he didn't look back, he raised a hand and waved it, signaling that he didn't take it to heart, then walked outside.
After the transmigrator hung his bags on his horse, a voice that sounded incredibly wise came from beside him.
"Looks like I'll be heading to the Wall before you. Is there anything you need me to do for you?"
The Imp's tone was as humorous as ever, but his words carried a hint of "see you later."
Hearing him say this, Jon suddenly remembered that he actually did have a favor to ask.
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