Huo Zhan Bai’s eyes revealed his fierce resistance, but his body, under the control of the eye technique, moved against his will. His hand, gripped by an invisible force, mimicked Tong’s movements, holding the Moxun Sword and inching it toward his throat.
Snow Falcon, Snow Falcon! he called out in his mind. It’s been gone so long, why hasn’t it returned yet?
“Farewell, Seventh Master,” Tong murmured, a wicked smile curling at the corners of his lips. Suddenly, with a twist of his wrist, he made a sharp slashing motion toward his own throat!
Uncontrollably, Moxun flashed in a deadly arc, slicing toward its wielder’s throat.
“Caw—!” Suddenly, a sharp cry pierced through the cold wind and snow.
Tong let out a startled exclamation, unable to dodge in time, as a sharp pain exploded in his hand. Blood welled up from his wound and quickly froze into crimson beads of ice.
A white bird swooped down through the wind and snow, unexpectedly attacking him, its sharp beak piercing through his hand.
Then, like a streak of white light, it landed on Huo Zhan Bai’s shoulder.
A hawk? Despite the unexpected attack, Tong remained composed. Clutching his wounded hand, he breathed heavily, but his gaze never left Huo Zhan Bai’s eyes. As long as he didn’t break the curse, Huo Zhan Bai couldn’t escape.
However, despite Tong's constant mental pressure on Huo Zhan Bai, the figure frozen in the snow suddenly moved!
It was as if an inner strength had awakened, beginning to wrest control of the body from the external force. Gritting his teeth, Huo Zhan Bai slowly moved his hand, pushing the Moxun Sword away from his throat.
This time, it was Tong's turn to look shocked.
How was this possible? After being struck head-on by the Soul Enchantment technique, how could someone under its control still resist?
There was no time to think. Knowing he couldn’t let his opponent recover, the assassin Tong immediately lunged forward, his short sword aimed at Huo Zhan Bai’s heart. But with a sharp "clang," blood splattered once again from his hand as his grip faltered.
The Moxun Sword had intercepted just in time, blocking Tong's strike.
The force of the impact sent snow flying up from the ground, momentarily obscuring both of their visions. The strength of that collision was too much for their already severely injured bodies to bear. The eerie glow in Tong's eyes instantly faded as he was thrown back more than ten meters. Blood erupted from his shattered chest, splattering onto the snow in large crimson blooms, and he fell motionless.
The Dragon Blood Pearl slipped from his hand, flying into the snow several meters away.
Huo Zhan Bai staggered to his feet, his body covered in snow, panting heavily.
The Snow Falcon was still perched on his shoulder, its sharp beak having pierced into the acupoint at his shoulder, embedding nearly an inch deep. It was this intelligent bird’s timely attack, the searing pain it caused, that had broken his paralysis and allowed him to block Tong’s final strike.
It was finally over.
Leaning on his sword for support, Huo Zhan Bai staggered over to the snow, bending down to search for the pearl. Finally, he grasped the Dragon Blood Pearl in his hand. But his vision remained blurred, not just from the snowflakes but from countless shimmering lights swirling around him, like remnants of illusions obstructing his view. What… what was this? Was it the lingering effect of the eye technique?
He clenched the pearl tightly, intending to confirm his opponent’s death. But just as the wind blew past, his exhausted body nearly collapsed.
“Caw!” The Snow Falcon pulled its bloodstained beak out and let out a sharp cry.
Huo Zhan Bai understood—it was urging him to leave immediately and head to the Medicine Master's Valley.
The wind and snow were growing stronger, almost knocking him over as he stood shakily with his sword. Now that the battle was over, the full extent of his injuries hit him like a wave, making his head spin. If he didn’t leave soon… he would surely die in this desolate fir forest, where no one would ever find him.
He no longer bothered to confirm his opponent’s death. Mustering all his remaining strength, he turned and stumbled in the direction he needed to go.
After all, since entering the martial world at the age of fifteen, he rarely had the habit of killing his opponents to the last.
Snow continued to fall silently through the fir forest, accumulating more than a foot deep in no time. The pure white blanket gradually covered the bloodstains and buried the thirteen bodies strewn across the forest floor.
The towering fir trees stood like black-gray tombstones, pointing toward the cold grey sky.
—
White. White. And more white.
Ever since leaving the fir forest, there had been only one color in sight.
He had no idea how long he had been trudging through the knee-deep snow, nor where he was. All he could do was keep walking in one direction, step by step. Overhead, the sharp cries of birds occasionally echoed—that was the Snow Falcon guiding him from above.
His lungs felt like they were burning, each breath stabbing him with pain. His vision grew more blurred, and the swirling snowflakes seemed to turn into living creatures, unfurling their wings and floating through the air, accompanied by countless shifting illusions.
“Hah… hehe, hehe… Brother Huo, I’m right here!”
Suddenly, a beautiful face appeared among the snowflakes, laughing playfully at him. “Silly, come catch me! If you catch me, I’ll marry you.”
Qiu Shui? Was that Qiu Shui's voice?… Wasn’t she supposed to be in Lin’an? How could she be here?
Could it be… could it be that Mo’er’s condition had worsened again?
He took a big step forward, reaching out to grab the red-clad woman in the snow. But the intense pain in his knees and ribs made his vision go black. In a flash, the smiling face was swallowed by the swirling snow.
In his rush, his exhausted body could no longer support him, and after three more steps, he collapsed to the ground.
Yet, in his palm, he still tightly grasped the Dragon Blood Pearl he had risked his life to obtain.
“Caw—caw.” The Snow Falcon circled in the snowstorm, glancing at the distant valley that had just begun to reveal itself, and called out several times. It then looked down at its master, who had collapsed again, growing increasingly anxious as it flapped its wings and landed on his back.
“Crunch.” The sharp beak pierced once more into Huo Zhan Bai’s battered shoulder, trying to wake him with the sharp pain.
But this time, the man merely shuddered and could no longer rise.
Days of combat and relentless pursuit had drained every ounce of his strength.
“Caw! Caw!” The Snow Falcon’s beak dripped with fresh blood as its claws anxiously scratched at Huo Zhan Bai’s shoulder, leaving deep marks. Yet, realizing its master could no longer respond, the bird hesitated for a moment before finally spreading its wings and flying off, darting like lightning toward the lush valley ahead.
The cold snow gradually buried his face, and all he could see was a blinding white. Amid the whiteness, he could vaguely hear someone laughing or singing.
“Huo Zhan Bai, I wish I had never met you.”
Suddenly, the woman’s face appeared again in the snow, but this time she was wearing white mourning clothes, sitting by a brazier and glaring at him with hatred. The white was the color of funeral garb, and behind her was the black of mourning hall curtains. Her eyes were filled with an unbearable grief, cold and distant, carrying deep despair and hostility. He stood frozen in place.
"Qiu Shui… Qiu Shui. Back then, when I caught you, I thought I could hold on to you for a lifetime. So why… why did you marry into the Xu family? After all these years, have you ever truly forgiven me?"
He wanted to ask her, wanted to reach out and wipe away the tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, but before his fingertips could touch her cheek, she quietly retreated into the snow. She withdrew so swiftly, like a white butterfly spreading its wings, vanishing into the ice and snow in an instant.
He lay there on the vast desolate plain, gradually being buried by the snow, feeling as if both his past and future were fading into a blank void.
He began to mutter a name—one unfamiliar to him but his only hope of salvation.
But why hadn't that money-grubbing, lustful woman come yet? To leave him stranded like this—wasn't the joke going a bit too far? He muttered as his consciousness faded away into the snow.
Unnoticed by him, a faint rustling sound came from somewhere in the distance.
—It was the sound of something slowly crawling across the snow.
“Jingling...”
The snow was still falling heavily, but amidst the wind, there came the faint, crisp sound of silver bells, melodious and clear. The sound came from the distant valley, leaping quickly across the snow-covered plains.
A soft sedan chair descended onto the snow, with silver bells hanging from its four corners, ringing sharply in the wind and snow.
“Hmm, no one's here.” The first to step out was a maid dressed in green, no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, her figure graceful and her face delicate.
“Lü-er, the Snow Falcon never leads us astray,” a lazy voice answered from inside the sedan. “Go look around.”
“Yes.” The four maids silently lifted the curtains, holding them open. Inside the sedan sat a beautiful woman dressed in purple, warming herself with a gilded handwarmer. A purple jade hairpin adorned her hair as she spoke lazily, “That guy… he’s collapsed halfway again this year. Always making us come out to fetch him—it’s really a hassle. Hmph, next time, I should charge him double the fee.”
“I’m afraid the Seventh Master won’t be able to pay, and might have to compensate with himself instead,” Lü-er giggled, though she didn’t dare delay and immediately began searching the snow carefully.
“Caw—!” A white figure swooped down, screeching as it landed in the snow, its claws scratching out a piece of fabric. With a firm tug, the snow fell away, revealing the stiff form of a person lying on the ground.
“Here! He’s here!” Lü-er called out, bending down to lift the person up.
“….” The person’s eyes were barely open. Seeing the newcomers, his lips moved weakly.
“Don’t move him!” But before Lü-er could respond, the lazy-sounding valley master had already darted over, pushing the maid aside with a stern look. Her first action was to bend down and place her fingers on the man’s neck.
What’s going on?
Having served the valley master for years, Lü-er had learned a bit about medicine. Taking one look at the man's condition, she was startled. In all her years assisting with diagnoses, she had never seen someone with so many, or such severe, injuries!
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