She knelt on the ice, gazing at him in silence. Suddenly, a deep weariness and clarity washed over her — Xue Huai, I know, you will never wake again… I understood that the moment I handed the purple jade hairpin to Huo Zhan Bai. But the dead are gone, and the living… I cannot abandon them. I must leave this place, cross the snowy plains, and head to Kunlun… perhaps never to return.
You’ve slept alone in this icy water for so many years… do you feel lonely?
Perhaps Huo Zhan Bai was right. I shouldn’t hold on to you like this. I should let you go, let you find release and reincarnate sooner.
She leaned closer to the ice, looking at the person beneath. The bitter cold seeped into her bones, triggering a violent fit of coughing. The lantern in her hand wobbled, casting brilliant reflections on the ice.
A hand gently pressed between her shoulder blades, and a wave of warmth silently flowed into her. She immediately felt as if her whole body were bathed in a spring breeze.
“It’s cold at night,” a calm, gentle voice spoke from behind her. “Master Xue, take care of your health.”
She slowly stood up, standing on the ice for a long time before quietly saying, “Tomorrow, before we leave, help me take Xue Huai with us.”
Miao Feng nodded silently, watching her turn with her lantern and walk toward the Summer Garden — her steps were so light they didn’t disturb a single snowflake, as if she were a ghost in the cold night. There must be something very important to her hidden in this lake.
He cast one last glance at the frozen boy beneath the ice. A fleeting sigh passed across his eternally smiling face. Slowly, Miao Feng knelt, raised his hand, and mimed cutting the ice with his palm. It was as though flames ignited on his hand, and his palm effortlessly sliced through the thick layer of ice.
With a crack, the body beneath the water floated to the surface.
Miao Feng took off his cloak and wrapped it around the boy’s lifelike body.
The next day, they departed from the Apothecary Valley as planned.
It had been many years since the Valley Master had left the valley, and Lü-er and Shuanghong were both extremely anxious, insisting on accompanying her. However, Xue Zi Ye refused without hesitation — how could she let these young girls follow her into the dangers of the Grand Light Palace?
Left with no choice, the maids put all their effort into preparing her travel gear.
When Xue Zi Ye stepped out of the valley and saw the luxurious carriage pulled by eight horses and the pile of items packed inside, she widened her eyes in surprise: coats, shawls, hand warmers, charcoal, flint, food, medicine pouches… all kinds of items were neatly arranged.
“Do you think I’m opening a general store?” She lifted an assortment of coats and a jangling string of hand warmers from the carriage, both amused and exasperated. “Five hand warmers? Silly girls, you might as well pack up the entire Apothecary Valley!”
The maids glanced at each other and made faces.
“These things won’t be needed — all of you, listen carefully to Aunt Ning’s instructions and do what you’re supposed to do,” Xue Zi Ye tossed the pile of items back into Lü-er’s arms, then turned to Miao Feng and lowered her voice. “Help me bring Xue Huai… can you?”
“At your command, Master,” Miao Feng bowed deeply. Before the maids could react, he had already disappeared with a light tap of his toes.
In a matter of moments, he returned from the lakeside, carrying a bundle wrapped in a cloak. With a swift movement, he leaped onto the carriage, gently placing the bundle inside.
“Xue Huai…” Xue Zi Ye murmured, lifting a corner of the cloak to gaze at the cold face beneath. “We’re going home.”
The maids gasped in astonishment, staring at the body wrapped inside the cloak, hardly believing their eyes — was this not the boy who had been frozen beneath the lake for all these years? How long had it been? And now, the Valley Master had dug him out of the ice?
“Oh, Lü-er, don’t forget what I told you!” Just before stepping into the carriage, Xue Zi Ye turned to remind her, a faint smile playing on her lips. The maids hadn’t even had time to respond before Miao Feng leaped onto the carriage, cracked the whip, and they sped away.
In an instant, the carriage rolled over the snow, disappearing into the swirling storm at the valley’s entrance.
Thousands of miles away, a white bird flew over the capital, its wings beating furiously through the wind and snow, heading north.
The wind was strong, the snow was heavy. The cloth tied to the bird’s leg fluttered wildly in the wind, like a gray handkerchief of fate.
The next day at sunset, they had crossed the snowy plains along the Mo River and reached the snow-covered official road.
Near a rundown post station, Xue Zi Ye signaled Miao Feng to stop the carriage.
“Here,” she said, lifting the heavy curtain and coughing lightly, as she struggled to carry the figure wrapped in the cloak out of the carriage.
“Let me,” Miao Feng jumped down, extending his arms to take the body from her. He glanced at the desolate village by the roadside — an abandoned settlement, empty for many years, most of the wooden houses collapsed under the weight of the snow. The wind howled through the deserted village, producing sharp, eerie sounds.
He turned around, holding the body, and as he looked at the ruined village, a flash of recognition lit up his eyes.
— Could it really be this place?
Xue Zi Ye supported herself on his shoulder as she descended from the carriage. Standing by the dead fir tree next to the post station, she gazed at it silently for a moment, then trudged through knee-deep snow, making her way with difficulty toward the village.
Miao Feng followed her in silence, arriving at the clearing on the north side of the village.
There, faint mounds covered the ground, marking the village's cemetery.
After the catastrophe twelve years ago, her master had brought her back here, carefully gathering the remains of every villager. They had all been laid to rest in this ancestral burial ground, reunited in the soil of their homeland — except for Xue Huai, who remained beneath the ice, still asleep. He must have been so lonely.
"Let's bury him here." She gazed at the ground for a moment, then began coughing violently, covering her mouth. She pulled a dagger from her sleeve and started digging.
But the earth, frozen for years, was as hard as iron. She used all her strength, but only managed to poke a faint white mark into the frozen soil.
“Let me,” Miao Feng offered, not wanting to waste time. He bent down beside her and extended his hand — without any tools. Yet, the solid frozen ground cracked under his palm as easily as tofu. With just one strike, the earth split open a foot deep.
“Get away! I’ll do it myself!” she snapped angrily, pushing him aside and redoubling her efforts to stab at the earth with her dagger.
Miao Feng looked at her silently, saying nothing. He simply placed his hands on the ground.
Warm energy surged from his palms, seeping silently into the earth, gradually thawing the ancient frozen soil inch by inch.
Xue Zi Ye continued stabbing the ground with all her strength, coughing all the while. At first, the earth was as hard as iron, but as she dug further, the soil beneath her dagger began to soften. With each stroke, it became easier. An hour later, an eight-foot-long, three-foot-wide grave had been dug.
She knelt in the snow, utterly exhausted, and carefully lowered Xue Huai into the pit.
Her hands trembled as she scattered the loose soil over him. The dirt, mixed with snow, gradually covered his pale face — she bit her lip and stared at that familiar face without blinking. Once the next handful of soil fell, she would never see him again... No one would ever take her to see the northern lights again, no one would lift her from the dark, icy river when she fell.
The dream she had clung to for more than ten years, the words that had been spoken, the promises made — all of it would end completely after this moment. From now on, she had no reason to avoid facing reality.
The wind and snow cut like knives. Exhausted, she stood up in a daze, and suddenly everything went black.
"Careful!"
When she awoke, she was already inside the moving carriage, gently rocking as it rolled over the snow.
Miao Feng hadn’t wasted a moment. He had immediately resumed the journey. It seemed the illness of that devil on Kunlun Mountain had grown dangerously urgent. The wind howled outside, and as she opened her eyes, she stared blankly at the ceiling for a long time. The glass lantern above swayed gently. She felt cold all over, as if icy needles were piercing her very bones.
So... my body really is this weak now?
In her dazed state, she suddenly heard a faint tune coming from outside, carried by the snow—
“...The brambles cover the vines, the lián creeps over the wilds. My love is gone from this place. Who will be with him? Only loneliness! The summer days are long, the winter nights bitter cold. After a hundred years, we will rest together. The winter nights are long, the summer days pass slowly. After a hundred years, we will return to our home.”
In that instant, it was as though a sharp sword pierced her heart. The tears that hadn’t fallen during the burial suddenly streamed down her face. In that moment, accompanied by the music, she broke into uncontrollable sobs. Wasn’t that Ge Sheng, the ancient poem describing a woman burying the one she loved?
“The brambles cover the vines, lián grass grows over the hills. My beloved lies here. Who will keep him company? Only loneliness. The summer days are long, the winter nights bitter cold. After a hundred years, I will lie here with you.”
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