Farewell 4

"The humans…" She fiddled her fingers nervously. "You all have been saying how they were all evil, wicked and malicious."

Ling Wenfu blinked and contemplated. Well, it was partly his fault. He was so anxious about her plan in the beginning that he couldn't help but scare her a bit. He didn't know that the Princess would take it to heart until now. Judging from her reckless behavior, he thought that she would surely brush him off as a joke.

Placating a child was never his forte as his own daughter were one of a kind. That wild girl was never afraid of anything and she wasn't a crybaby either so he only knew how to discipline. At that moment, he was lost on how to comfort her.

Luckily, Fang Daxia stepped in and assured her. "It's all but a rumor, Princess. Just like how we all consists of good and evil, the humans too. Not all of them are evil, you might find that some of them were kind and compassionate like the people around you."

"Really?"

He nodded. "I can attest to that."

At last, Ouyang Xueqing bid her farewell to Ling Wenfu and ventured into the forest with Fang Daxia. The man was so quiet that she couldn't help but sneak a few glances. "Do you go often to the human mainland?"

"Not really." He answered steadfastly. "I have only been there thrice."

Thrice! It was already amazing how Ling Wenfu could mobilized his people back and forth between mainlands and build his power slowly there, but now it was more amazing to hear from someone who had stepped out more than once.

She couldn't hold back her curiosity and asked. "How is it there?"

"It isn't that much different from how it is here."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes." He agreed lightly and her tense nerves loosened a bit but then he decided to drop a bomb on her head. "As long as no one discover who we really are."

A chill ran down her spine and she nodded. That's right. Identity. The most important thing was keeping her identity a secret. No one should know that she's a beast!

About that case, she was kind of relieved though. She felt that it didn't posed much of a problem because she couldn't even transform into her beast form yet so there was no way for her identity to be discovered.

She surely didn't have any idea at all about how her beast form had been showing twice before her adulthood ceremony had even started.

Her thoughts were filled with flowers and pink bubbles as she hopped deeper to the forest cheerfully. The forest were getting denser the more they walked. The sunlight that peeked through the leaves reduced drastically and the atmosphere was cold and chilly.

"We are getting closer to Forbidden Ice Mountain." Fang Daxia explained. "That's why it will get colder. Ahead of us, the land will be covered by snow."

Ouyang Xueqing marveled at the new revelation. She had heard of Forbidden Ice Mountain where the protective array was, the mountain was supposedly covered by snow all year long without melting. In that mountain was tons of hidden treasure troves waiting to be discovered, but because the Ice Dragon was guarding the mountain, there had been no one who dared to try.

Well, except the Second Prince that had gift her the Spring Fruit on her third birthday. She laughed blankly. Even until now she could vividly remembered the ferocious bees that stung her as if they were mortal enemies.

"Are you okay, Princess?"

She snapped out from her reverie and found out that her lips were slightly trembling from the biting cold. Even her breath was foggy. She grinned excitedly. "Of course I am. Don't forget that I am a beast, this mere coldness is nothing!"

At that split second, she was certain that there was a ghost of smile hovering above his lips. But when she blinked, it disappeared and his usual deadpan look remained. "I see. That's good because the journey ahead will be tougher."

She gulped. "…Tougher?"

"Yes. For the teleportation array to not be discovered, we have planted it slightly beyond Sheng Li's protective array. The array was formidable and full of deadly traps." She nodded knowingly. "But rest assured because we have get rid of the traps so that you will have a smooth journey to the transportation array."

Ouyang Xueqing mulled at his words. So that's what took them one week to prepare. Certainly she didn't dare to underestimate the threat level of the array that was created by Sheng Li's own hands. By that point, her admiration rose toward them.

"Being able to do everything secretly for this long, you are amazing."

He accepted her praise humbly. "That's what is expected from us."

They arrived at the edge of the land where was clearly separated by green weeds and white snow. The land in front of her eyes were covered by snow as far as her eyes could reach. The distinction was so clear as if there were someone that drew a line on the ground.

"We have arrived at the boundary of the protective array."

Ouyang Xueqing stared at the ground in awe. "So that means, if I take one step forward, I will be entering the array."

"You're right." He nodded. "Let's go."

She braced herself and took that one step that would change her fate forever. Precisely at the moment her whole body was into the array, the atmosphere abruptly changed. The temperature dropped drastically until her eyelashes were covered with frost, and her skin was turning red from the chilliness. The wind was blowing wildly in all direction, it was a bit difficult to open her eyes.

So, this was what laid beyond the protective array.

The ground was spanned white and the trees were barren of leaves, the thick trunks covered in snow were giving her the feeling of loneliness and emptiness. There wasn't any sign of life in that land.

"We have to walk a bit." Fang Daxia have to raise his voice to speak. He offered his hand which she took willingly. Clutching onto his hand, she shuddered from the wind caressing her skin and walk through the snow with determination.

With every step she took, her feet burrowed into the snow and her footprints were trailed along the way. The snow was getting heavier and thicker to the point where it reached her calf.

Fang Daxia glanced at her small figure sideways. There was confusion within his sharp eyes. The Princess was stronger than he thought. For normal beast, the first experience they felt when they entered the protective array was akin to hell.

Not only the temperature but also the air was laced with poisonous mist that could freeze the airway and harden the veins. When he recalled his first time when he fainted no more than five seconds inside the array, the Princess was considered remarkable.

She didn't look like she suffered some kind of pain. But for safety measures, he still asked. "Princess, are you okay?"

She nodded with chattered teeth. "O—Of course! Why would I not be?"