Once his figure disappeared beyond the gate, she sat in the water, lost in thought for a while longer before slowly standing up. With a splash, Xiao Jing hurried to her side, unfolding the purple robe to wrap around her body. Xue Zi Ye took a cloth towel and began wringing the water from her wet hair.
The butterflies resting on the tree branches fluttered into the air, filling the sky with bursts of vibrant color, as if the water itself had ignited into a display of fireworks.
Watching the thriving and lively scene of the Summer Pavilion, Xue Zi Ye suddenly let out a soft, silent sigh.
What should I do?
All that meticulous research had only yielded one prescription that could prolong Mo’er’s life by another three months. But what would she tell Huo Zhan Bai when those three months passed?
And... as for Ming Jie’s gold-needle brain seal, she still hadn’t found any solution at all...
Exhausted and dispirited, she raised her head, gazing at the countless butterflies flitting across the surface of the water, feeling a sudden pang of envy for these beautiful creatures, whose short lives were free of worry. If only she could fly away with them.
In the northern sky, a faint pale blue hue appeared.
Mohe was known as the northernmost place on earth, but what lay beyond it?
In the village of Mojia, Xue Huai had once told her an ancient legend of their clan. It was said that beyond the frozen river, across the snow-covered plains stretching for a thousand li, there was an endless ocean of ice.
There, in the true far north, the sky was filled with shifting, colorful lights over the icy sea—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet—dancing in the sky like a dream.
Xue Huai… When we were fourteen, we gazed upon the North Star from the frozen river and made a wish, promising to one day cross the snowfield together and see the magical lights of the far north.
Are you now waiting for me beneath that aurora?
But alas, these butterflies can never fly across the icy sea.
* * *
After drinking the medicine brewed by Ning Yi, Xue Zi Ye felt much better by evening. Her breathing was smooth, and the cold in her limbs had subsided. Restless as usual, she began walking around the valley with Lü-er by her side.
First, she stopped by the Winter Pavilion to check on Huo Zhan Bai and his bird. As expected, he was obediently resting, leaving her with no reason to scold him. She simply took his pulse, prescribed a calming tonic, and instructed Lü-er to stay behind and take care of him.
After teasing the snow hawk for a bit, she stood to leave but paused by the door. “Mo’er’s medicine is being prepared. It will be ready in seven days. You still have time to return before the deadline.”
She stood by the door, speaking without turning her head. Huo Zhan Bai couldn’t see her expression.
By the time he snapped out of his joy, that figure in purple had already disappeared into the snowy night.
Why did she feel so lonely? She walked alone through the fragrant herb garden, carrying a glass lamp, lost in thought. This time, she had truly done everything in her power. If she still couldn't cure Mo'er’s illness, then there really was nothing more she could do.
Eight years had passed, and in that monotonous and cold life, he had become the only spark of color. His yearly visits had slowly become the one event she looked forward to — though most of the time they ended up bickering, teasing, and drinking.
Each time after he left, she would instruct the servants to bury new wine jars in the snow, waiting for their next meeting the following year.
But this time, she could no longer deceive herself.
She couldn’t even imagine what would happen if she failed to save Mo'er this time. Would Huo Zhan Bai come back to kill her?
Sighing, she lifted her head to glance at the snow-filled night sky, suddenly feeling the weight and helplessness of life. It was as though an inescapable web covered the heavens, trapping the fate of everyone beneath it.
As she passed by the Autumn Pavilion, she suddenly remembered the patient she had sealed, blocking his Ren and Du meridians. A slight tremor ran through her. Because of her own health issues, she hadn’t checked on Ming Jie for two days.
Unable to resist, she veered off the main path and headed toward the Autumn Pavilion.
But just as she turned, she froze.
Was this a dream? On the frozen lake, a figure stood silently, draped in long robes, gazing down at the icy water. From a distance, the silhouette was so familiar, like the person who had been asleep beneath the ice for years had suddenly awakened and returned to this world in the snowy night.
— "Xue Huai?" — she whispered softly, afraid to shatter the illusion. She cautiously approached the lake.
In the moonless night, the endless snow blurred the face she had longed to see.
— "Xue Huai!" — she could no longer contain her excitement and ran toward the snow-covered lake. — "Wait for me!"
— "Xiao Ye..." — The figure on the ice turned, seeing the woman running toward him with the lantern. He sighed softly and extended his hand, calling out in a low voice, — "Is it really you?"
She threw herself into his arms. It felt solid and warm, like a dream that was too real to believe.
Since when had he grown so tall? He could now hold her in his arms with just one hand.
— "It's really you..." — he murmured, pulling her closer as if afraid she would melt away like snow. — "Am I dreaming? How... how has it been more than ten years already?"
However, the voice, vaguely familiar, made her freeze.
No—no! This voice… this voice was...
— "I feel like I had a dream. When I woke up, everyone was dead… Xue Huai, the clan leader, Hegu… all of them were dead..." — The voice above her head sighed deeply, like the wind howling past. — "Only you remained... only you, Xiao Ye jie (older sister), only you. It feels like I’ve been dreaming."
— "Ming Jie!" — she finally raised her head and, upon seeing his face, cried out in shock.
The pale, handsome face, illuminated by the snow’s glow, bore the elegant and sharp features characteristic of the Mojia clan. His features bore a striking resemblance to Xue Huai’s — the typical appearance of the Mojia people. But his eyes, a melancholy light blue, looked like bottomless lakes.
— "Ming Jie?" — She stared at him in disbelief. — "You… you mean you’ve already…"
— "Yes, I remember everything now." He took a deep breath, gazing at the snow-covered night sky. — "Xiao Ye jie, I’ve remembered everything. I forced the golden needle out."
— "That’s wonderful!" She saw the golden needle between his fingers, overwhelmed with joy. — "That’s wonderful… Ming Jie!"
She reached out to check the Baihui point at the top of his head, discovering that the needle was indeed gone. — "That’s wonderful!"
— "Xue Huai... did he die while trying to escape with you?" He bent down, gazing at the boy frozen beneath the ice — a boy who still appeared fifteen or sixteen, with features that resembled his own. Ming Jie murmured, — "That night, those people attacked. I saw the two of you holding hands, running on the ice river… I called out, but suddenly, you fell in…"
Through the thick ice, he stared at his childhood friend, his eyes shifting to a sorrowful blue.
— "Xiao Ye jie... after that, I couldn’t remember you anymore..." His voice was filled with confusion, and a dangerous violet hue flickered in his eyes. — "It’s like I was trapped in a long dream… where I killed countless people."
— "Ming Jie." Xue Zi Ye, overwhelmed by the emotions of the past suddenly crashing over her, tightened her grip on his hand. As she did, she noticed the scars covering his arms, a testament to the untold suffering he had endured.
— "Who?" — She gritted her teeth, her usually calm eyes now flashing with fierce anger. — "Who killed them? Who destroyed the village? Who turned you into this?!"
Ming Jie turned his head slightly, looking at the face beneath the ice for a moment. His eyes flickered with countless emotions before settling into cold resolve.
— "It was the bandits by the Black Water River," — he said coldly. — "Those damned thieves."
* * *
The wind came from outside the valley, and the snow fell from the night sky.
The lake was half-frozen, covered in snow, while steam rose from the other half, like hundreds of white veils gently rising into the air.
They stood on the ice in silence, and time passed without notice.
— "Those bandits came for the Dragon Blood Pearl stored in the village," — Ming Jie said, still gazing at the face beneath the ice. — "They burned the houses, killed the adults... and took the rest of us children. We were sold off, eventually taken to the Bright Palace, where they sealed my memories... and trained us to be killers in the Shura grounds."
She looked at Xue Huai’s face, frozen in time twelve years ago, and remembered the blood-soaked night. The stabbing pain in her chest made her cough violently. All this, for a single Dragon Blood Pearl. Just for that, they had destroyed an entire village, taken countless lives, and ruined the lives of the three of them!
— "Ming Jie… Ming Jie…" She grasped her childhood friend’s hand, her voice trembling. — "Were all the children from the village taken to the Bright Palace too?… Were you the only one who survived?"
He didn’t say a word, only gave a slight nod.
She had heard of the assassins trained by the Grand Light Palace of Kunlun Mountain, who had terrorized both the Western Regions and Central Plains for a century—but she could never imagine the harshness of the training in the Shura Grounds for those children.
— "I was even ordered to fight against my own people—I killed all my companions just to survive." He raised his head, gazing at the snow falling from the sky, his face expressionless. — "It’s been over ten years. I have no past, no family, no ties to this world—I’ve survived only as a dog raised by the Sect Leader."
His calm recounting was like a river flowing beneath the ice, devoid of ripples.
Yet, the undercurrent of his words sent a chill through Xue Zi Ye’s heart. Her hand began to tremble. — "Then, this time… when you fought Huo Zhan Bai, it was because… you had received an order from the Sect Leader?"
— "Yes." A faint purple hue flickered in Ming Jie’s eyes as he paused before speaking again. — "The Sect Leader discovered another Dragon Blood Pearl in Qilian and ordered me to retrieve it."
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