Xu Da Lie raised his eyebrows, looking at Qing Xia with confusion and some disbelief, saying, “Is what A Mo Ye said true?”

“Mmm,” Qing Xia replied faintly, unwilling to elaborate, “Let’s go back first. We’ll talk as we walk.”

Xu Da Lie didn’t know Qing Xia’s capabilities. When they first met, Qing Xia had been with a group of horse bandits, and there hadn’t been any opportunity for her to take action. He had long felt that Qing Xia wasn’t an ordinary Han woman, but seeing she didn’t want to discuss it, he didn’t ask further. In a short while, the group returned to the village. Aunt Duo Yi Hua stood at the village entrance, and upon seeing them, burst into tears, hugging A Mo Ye and refusing to let go.

After a busy half day, Qing Xia gave some instructions and returned to her tent on the snowy slope. Just as she stepped onto the snow field, she saw someone standing in front of her tent – a person in a blue fur coat, tall and young, carefully examining the red flag Qing Xia had hung on her tent. Qing Xia’s heart trembled with excitement as she tentatively said softly, “Yang Feng?”

Hearing the voice, the person turned around. He had a handsome face with refined features and short beard on his chin, appearing to be in his late twenties, but his face was completely unfamiliar.

“Might you be Miss Qing Xia?”

A magnetic voice slowly spoke. Qing Xia’s heart instantly sank to the depths. Looking at the man’s handsome face, she nodded politely, “I am. May I ask who you are? How do you know my name, and how did you know to find me here?”

“I was commissioned by a young master to come to Bailang County beyond the pass to find a Miss Qing Xia and bring her a message.”

Qing Xia frowned, asking with some urgency, “Commissioned by whom? What’s his name? What does he look like? How old is he? What message? Is he injured?”

The man smiled faintly, saying softly, “Miss needn’t worry. He’s well and uninjured, though he looked somewhat weary. That young master didn’t leave his name. He’s handsome, about twenty-something years old. He asked me to tell the miss that he has business to attend to now, and she should wait for him beyond the pass. At most a year or two, at least three to five months – he will definitely return to meet with the miss.”

“Business?” Qing Xia’s brow furrowed slightly as she said softly, “Did he say what kind of business?”

The man shook his head slightly, smiling, “No.”

“Oh,” Qing Xia nodded, feeling a trace of disappointment and sourness in her heart. But then she thought that at least this proved Yang Feng wasn’t dead or captured, which was good news. After thinking, she asked, “When did he commission you? Are you friends? About what time was this?”

The man replied, “I’m an escort from White Horse Escort Agency in Qixia City. I received this commission yesterday morning.”

“Qixia City?” Qing Xia’s brow immediately furrowed tightly. What kind of business could make Yang Feng travel all the way to Qin’s northernmost city without having time to come see her?

“Miss, I’ve delivered the message. I take my leave.”

Qing Xia quickly replied politely, “Thank you, sir.”

The man descended the snowy slope and rode away. Qing Xia sighed softly, puzzled. It seemed for now, she could only continue staying here and wait for Yang Feng to return.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed, and tomorrow would be New Year’s Eve.

It seemed that no matter how history changed, the national custom of celebrating New Year remained unchanged.

In the morning, Ban Bu Er and Na Ke Duo came together to invite Qing Xia for dinner at their house that evening, which Qing Xia readily agreed to.

Since that incident, Aunt Duo Yi Hua’s family had been even more courteous to Qing Xia, bringing her food almost daily or inviting her to eat at their house. Under A Mo Ye’s propaganda, Qing Xia had instantly become a peerless master with unparalleled martial arts. Ban Bu Er and Na Ke Duo pestered Qing Xia daily, wanting her to teach them kung fu. Unable to bear the constant pestering, Qing Xia taught them some freestyle fighting moves. In just a few days, the two boys made rapid progress and won every fight with neighboring children.

Xu Da Lie was rather strange though. Since returning, he spent all day going into the mountains. Qing Xia tried to dissuade him several times, but seeing he wouldn’t listen, she had no choice but to send word to the Xi Hei horse bandits on Han Da Yuan, asking them to watch the movements of the Mu Lian people.

In the evening, Qing Xia sat at her doorway weaving a double heart knot – one of her few hobbies. Back in modern times, whenever she was free, she would weave various Chinese knots. A comrade from the Military Intelligence Division knew how to make over fifty types of Chinese knots, weaving them with divine skill – supposedly the result of over thirty years of practice. But Qing Xia mastered all her techniques in just two short months, which became legendary in their division.

“Qing Xia!” Xu Da Lie’s voice suddenly rang out. Qing Xia looked up to see Xu Da Lie on horseback, galloping wildly across the snow field. Soon he reached the bottom of the snowy slope. With agile movements, he jumped down from his horse and ran up quickly, carrying a small creature that was still jumping and struggling. Qing Xia looked carefully and saw it was a completely snow-white fox.

“Qing Xia, this is for you!”

Xu Da Lie’s smile was like warm early spring sunshine, his white teeth flashing dazzlingly in the sunlight. Looking at the constantly struggling little white fox, Qing Xia felt her scalp tingling and quickly said, “Who told you to catch it? Hurry up and let it go.”

“Why let it go? I raided over a dozen fox dens to find this completely white one. Seeing you like it, I’m giving it to you.”

Qing Xia frowned, saying, “Who told you I liked this?”

“Enough talk, come on, I’ll take you somewhere.” Putting the fox in a rabbit cage, Xu Da Lie grabbed Qing Xia’s hand and said loudly, “Let’s go! If we wait much longer, it’ll be too late.”

Qing Xia quickly put down what she was holding, nearly stumbling as Xu Da Lie pulled her along, calling out loudly, “Where are we going? Xu Da Lie, wait up!”

On the boundless snow field, everything was white. Heaven and earth seemed to merge together, all a holy white color.

Standing here, one felt as if they were the only person left between heaven and earth. The frontier was like this – heaven and earth were vast, uninhabited, with air so fresh you wanted to pull your lungs out of your chest to breathe directly. Riding on horseback, Qing Xia looked at the vast snow field, breathing deeply. Suddenly she felt all worldly turmoil, war, bloodshed, and killing had left her far behind, and the whole world had quieted down.

Several white eagles flew across the sky. The setting sun was like blood, the evening clouds like fire. As the sun set in the west, the entire snowy plain was touched with a hint of rouge-like charm, carrying the faint blush of a woman’s vermillion lips. Between the cloud layers, brilliant streaks of color burst forth like swimming fish in the ocean, flashing with golden waves. The whole heaven and earth was filled with vast halos of light, purple and red, with flowing colors for thousands of miles.

Qing Xia smiled, and all the anxiety and unrest long hidden in her heart vanished in this moment. She slowly turned to look at Xu Da Lie riding beside her, smiling as she said, “Xu Da Lie, thank you for bringing me here. I’m very happy.”

Xu Da Lie smiled brilliantly. Perhaps living in the vast frontier made Xu Da Lie’s smile always so pure.

The people here were all straightforward in their loves and hates, without so many conspiracies and calculations, without so much deception and mutual wariness between people. This was something Qing Xia had never experienced in either her past or present life. Having seen too much darkness in human hearts, suddenly coming here, she felt her heart peaceful like distant mountains and light waters. In the haze, she actually began to think about staying here forever.

Perhaps she really lacked ambition.

Qing Xia’s mouth corners lifted slightly, but what she sought had always been just a quiet space to survive.

Without war, without bloodshed, without treacherous hearts, and without so many profound loves and hatreds.

“Qing Xia!” Xu Da Lie suddenly looked steadily at Qing Xia, smiling as he spoke.

“Hmm?” Qing Xia raised an eyebrow slightly, “What?”

“This is for you.” Xu Da Lie suddenly pulled out a wooden box from his sleeve – a small square box wrapped in layers of silk cloth. Qing Xia couldn’t help but feel curious, wondering what could be so precious. In this northern land, a piece of silk was worth more than an entire hide.

“For me?” Qing Xia pointed to her own face, asking.

“Mmm.”

Layer by layer, she opened the silk cloth and finally saw the pine wood box. Qing Xia solemnly opened the lid and saw a snow-white flower lying quietly inside, crystal clear and white, emanating a faint fragrance with an elegant freshness. Qing Xia’s heart skipped a beat, immediately sensing something amiss, though she still smiled and said, “Xu Da Lie, thank you. I like it very much.”

On the snow-white plains, a fresh breeze blew gently. Against the fiery red sky, free white birds spread their wings.

Xu Da Lie’s gaze held an inexplicable intensity. He stared closely at Qing Xia and suddenly said, “Qing Xia, I like you. I don’t want you to live so lonely anymore. Didn’t you say you liked my home? That you liked my little brothers and sisters, liked the hand-grabbed meat Mother makes? Then marry me. Let me take care of you. From now on, my brothers and sisters will be your brothers and sisters, my mother will be your mother. I will definitely treat you well for life, never bully you, and keep you happy for all eternity.”

Despite being mentally prepared, Qing Xia was still stunned, not knowing what to say.

Seeing Qing Xia’s silence, Xu Da Lie suddenly spurred his horse closer, took Qing Xia’s hand, and said softly, “The moment I saw you, I knew you had suffered much. Though the interior is prosperous, life there isn’t free – you can’t hunt or herd horses, and wars rage year after year. Stay here with me. We’ll herd horses beyond the pass and hunt in the mountains together. Wouldn’t that be good?”