Xuefeng

Waking up, I looked around and realized that I was lying down inside a moving carriage. Yang Zi was sitting beside me but her eyes were outside the window. I didn't see Shen Du inside the carriage.

Noticing that I was awake, Yang Zi turned around, her eyes roaming all over me.

"You're finally awake," she said. Her voice was calm, unlike the last time in the Inn.

Talking about the Inn...

"How long have I slept?" I asked her.

"Today is the fifth day," Shen Du replied from the outside.

'The fifth day?' I thought inwardly with a frown. How come I slept for so long.

"You should be lucky that you're already awake," Yang Zi said, noticing the frown on my face. "Considering the fact that you took what you weren't supposed to take and also that attack from those demons."

It was understandable that I almost got killed by demons but what was she talking about.

What was the first part all about?

"What did I take?" I asked her.

Yang Zi narrowed her eyes slightly, leaning forward just a little.

She reached into the inner fold of her robe and pulled out a tiny jade bottle—the same kind I saw days ago.

"Do you remember seeing this?" she asked, turning it in her palm.

I shook my head slowly. I could not tell her that I saw anything like that on that day.

"I threw a pill from this bottle the day we killed that cat demon," she said. "It was supposed to be disposed of—it had... side effects. Dangerous ones. Only those trained by Qingyao Valley are allowed to take it, and even then, only under strict conditions."

She looked at me pointedly now.

"And you somehow swallowed it."

My heart skipped.

Yes, I swallowed that... And so?

"Why would a healing pill be that dangerous?" I asked.

She scoffed quietly. "Because it's not just a healing pill. It's the Yùguǐ Zǐhuā Dān—a spirit root awakening pill refined from a corrupted demon plant. A Qingyao forbidden-grade elixir."

I stared at her.

"Awakening... spirit root?"

"Yes. And violently so." Her voice dropped lower now. "That pill has killed more people than it's ever helped. You should've burned from the inside out. Or your spirit should've collapsed."

She folded her arms and leaned back. "But you didn't. Somehow… you survived."

From outside, Shen Du added, "More than survived. The qi you released forced even the demon envoys to retreat. Do you even know what kind of spiritual root you have now?"

I didn't respond.

I didn't know anything.

All I know is that I now feel exceptionally lightweighted inside. There was no other special feelings which kind of makes me wonder if the so-called pill is truly worth the reputation she was giving it.

Yang Zi tilted her head slightly. "It's not just any spiritual root, Mu Quinn. It's rare. Corrupted... and sacred. A contradiction that shouldn't exist."

She stared at me as if trying to solve a puzzle.

Then she added quietly, "What exactly are you?"

A heavy sigh escaped my lips as I mumbled. "Just a mere side character trying to survive in a strange world."

"Did you say something?" She asked me, squinting her eyes.

"Nothing," I replied.

"I asked —"

"Yes, I heard you. I am nothing but a magicless adopted son."

At my reply, she fell silent and I kind of liked it. What was she expecting to hear?

"We'll arrive at Muluo City soon," Shen Du said from the outside.

Xuefeng City... I almost forgot my main goal — the frost flower — the only thing my life depends on right now.

"Hey, Mu Quinn," Shen Du called me.

"Yes?"

"Where are you heading to?" Shen Du asked me.

"Xuefeng City," I replied and Yang Zi turned and glanced at me. "What is the matter?" I asked her.

"Why do you go to Xuefeng City?" She asked me in reply.

"It's none of your business," I replied.

"What a good way to talk after being saved by us," she scoffed but I said nothing.

It was Shen Du who spoke afterwards.

"Well, after Muluo City, you get Xuefeng. We won't be escorting you there."

"I do not need escorts," I mumbled.

After that, the rest of the journey was rather quiet. We soon got to Muluo City and we went our separate ways.

With the money I had, I ate and paid for a place to pass the night. The next morning, I hired a carriage that will take me to Xuefeng City and immediately, I left.

The road to Xuefeng City was long, but the silence inside the carriage was longer.

I leaned back against the worn wood, my hands trembling slightly in my lap— it was fear.

Fear of not succeeding and ending up dead in a strange world.

The coldness in me had grown stronger. My heart beat slower. My breaths were shallower. My body, lighter... but too light. As if something within me was unraveling.

Just a few weeks left.

The frost flower of Xuefeng Valley—the only thing that could save me—bloomed once every thousand years. And as fate would have it, it was blooming now… and maybe not again until long after I was dead.

I couldn't afford another detour. Another setback or another injury.

I was dying.

And no one knew but me and Lady Mu.

The journey stretched on into dusk. Snow began to fall, though it wasn't supposed to be winter here. The driver glanced nervously at the mist-covered road ahead.

"Are you sure about this path, young master?" he asked. "The closer we get to the valley, the stranger the weather becomes. The locals say spirits roam there."

"I didn't hire you for ghost stories," I said flatly.

He didn't speak again.

By midnight, we arrived at the outer rim of Xuefeng City—a cold, hushed place built against the base of the mountain range. The streets were nearly empty, snow gathering on rooftops and railings. Lanterns flickered dimly in the mist.

I paid the driver and stepped off.

A freezing wind cut across my skin like thin blades. The cold didn't bother me as much now, though. My heart had grown colder.

I found a shabby inn, paid for a room, and lay down without eating. Sleep didn't come easy. My mind kept racing with thoughts I didn't want to face.

What if the frost flower was already taken?

What if someone else got to it first?

What if… I never made it back?

-------

Before dawn the next day, I left the city walls on foot.

Xuefeng Valley was said to be a cold place—a hidden mountain veil where only those with dying qi could pass through the boundary. I didn't know if that was true, but if it was... maybe this cold heart of mine was the only ticket in.

The wind grew fiercer as I climbed.

Snow blasted against my clothes, and I wrapped my coat tighter around me. My legs ached. My body felt like it was made of glass. Each breath burned. But I didn't stop.

At one point, I collapsed against a rock, coughing blood into the snow. It steamed as it hit the ground, and I wiped it with my sleeve.

Then I saw it—far ahead, nestled between two frozen peaks:

A blue light.

I staggered forward.

There, in the middle of a frozen lake surrounded by icy vines and mist—a single flower stood upright. Its petals shimmered like crystal. Its stem glowed faintly.

I took out the drawing given to me by Lady Mu and compared the one drawn on it with the one I was seeing.

The frost flower.

They looked exactly the same.

I stepped onto the ice, the cracks echoing beneath me. One wrong move, and I'd fall through.

Just a few more steps.

But then—

"He's here."

A voice in the mist.

My head snapped toward it.

From the shadows between the rocks, three figures emerged, cloaked in black, their faces covered with demon bone masks.

One of them raised a hand, and my entire body screamed in protest as a wave of dark qi pinned me to the ice.

"Mu Quinn..." the lead figure hissed. "We were told to retrieve your body after you fail. But you made it further than expected. Pity."

I struggled to move, but I couldn't lift a finger. I could feel my life force slipping away, my heartbeat slowing.

I'm so close… just a few steps more…

Then suddenly—

A pulse from my chest.

Violet light.

The Yùguǐ Zǐhuā Dān—it was reacting again.

My skin burned cold. My veins glowed faintly beneath the surface. The mark on my palm reawakened, pulsing like a heartbeat.

One of the masked demons stumbled back.

"He's not normal. Retreat! RETREA—"

Too late.

The ice exploded in a wave of light.

The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness again... was the frost flower trembling in the wind... and the scent of winter blooming all around me.