Qing Xia’s laughter was like warm spring sunshine, instantly dispelling the cold atmosphere in the room. The man with closed eyes also gradually began to smile, his grin expanding until he could no longer maintain his imperial composure and began laughing out loud as well.
The ice age had passed, the alarm was lifted. Da Huang, hiding in the corner, suddenly howled and ran out joyfully. But the spot where it was standing had no carpet. Its feet slipped, and in its extreme joy came sorrow—it tumbled flat on its back with all four legs in the air.
Seeing this, Chu Li and Qing Xia burst into laughter together, their smiles full of malicious schadenfreude.
Qing Xia tore off a piece of meat and put it in her mouth. After chewing twice, she felt her mouth filled with savory flavor. After thinking for a moment, she crawled over to Chu Li’s side, sitting shoulder to shoulder with him. She tore off a large piece of lean meat, held it to his mouth, bumped his shoulder, and called out, “Here.”
After all their quarreling and fighting, now that the storm had passed and the atmosphere was harmonious, Chu Li smiled and lowered his head, opening his mouth to eat it. This time neither of them felt any discomfort—instead, they had gained a sense of comradeship from sharing hardships together.
“Woof! Woof!” Da Huang suddenly twisted its round, chubby head, its four little paws constantly bouncing on the ground, lifting its neck toward Qing Xia and howling loudly.
Qing Xia was in a good mood now and didn’t want to starve to death this only native resident who knew the way. She tore off a piece and threw it toward Da Huang. Despite its best efforts, Da Huang couldn’t jump very high and still let the meat slice fall to the ground. It obediently ran over to eat it, then started calling out to Qing Xia again.
“You should do this.” Qing Xia gestured to Da Huang with both hands clasped in a bow, saying, “This means ‘thank you’—it shows politeness.”
Da Huang was quite clever and immediately stood on its two hind legs. But it was too fat and its little legs too short—they couldn’t touch each other at all. It could only make virtual gestures of thanks in midair. Seeing this, Qing Xia and Chu Li burst into laughter, swaying back and forth. In such a miserable desperate situation, in such a dangerous environment, two adults and one small beast of unknown species were finding joy in their suffering, which was actually quite delightful.
This day was what northerners commonly called “sanjiu bingfu”—the coldest days of the year. In this deep, dark ravine, a powerful hurricane that wouldn’t appear on land for hundreds of years was blowing. The freezing temperature dropped to minus seventy or eighty degrees—no living creature could hope to survive in such an environment. But in a narrow little ice house on the hurricane’s inevitable path, bursts of heartfelt laughter could be heard.
The gale raged for an entire night. When morning came, heaven and earth were completely silent. The gentle morning sunlight was soft and leisurely. Qing Xia stood on the vast earth in white fur robes, her appearance pretty and charming, looking up at the high cliff walls, her bright black eyes like brilliant stars. Suddenly, from her bulging hood emerged a snow-white small beast only the size of a palm. The little creature was round and plump like a small dog, with green eyes, but its pair of ears stood high like those of a white rabbit. The little beast placed its two front paws on Qing Xia’s shoulders, raising its tiny head to look upward along with Qing Xia, appearing very absorbed.
“Let’s go.” A cold man in white fur suddenly passed by from the side, carrying a silver spear with a small bundle made of animal hide hanging from it.
Qing Xia was slightly startled, then reacted and hurriedly followed with quick steps. Even after walking far away, she frequently turned back to look at the snow-white ice house behind them. Da Huang lay on her shoulder, calling out as if very reluctant to leave.
The climate in the ravine was strange and unpredictable. Now the temperature was only around minus twenty degrees or so—compared to last night, it was simply as warm as spring.
“Da Huang.” Qing Xia grabbed the little beast by the scruff of its neck, lifting it into midair, and said crisply, “No being lazy—lead the way! If you’re still like yesterday today, there’ll be no dinner tonight.”
The little beast immediately whimpered pitifully, rubbed its nose with its paws, then spread its four little legs and began running through the snow.
After walking for half a day, strange things happened again. The solid ice on both sides gradually disappeared, and the temperature gradually warmed up. Cold winds no longer gathered in midair—instead, wisps of rising mist appeared. Qing Xia and Chu Li were greatly alarmed and became even more vigilant. The climate in this deep ravine was strange and complex—it was better to be careful and cautious.
As the temperature gradually rose, the animal fur clothing finally became unwearable. The two took off their clothes, wrapped them in bundles, and carefully walked forward.
A touch of green suddenly appeared before their eyes. Qing Xia’s spirits lifted. Having walked on the white snowy plains for so long, her eyes were almost getting snow blindness. Suddenly seeing green now, she couldn’t help but let out a soft exclamation.
The accumulated snow on both sides had completely receded. The steep ridges on both sides had jagged strange rocks with reddish soil mixed in between. Some deep green moss grew along the cliff walls, carrying threads of moist, fresh fragrance. Walking along this way, the terrain gradually became lower, extending northward. Qing Xia frowned tightly, wondering if this place actually led all the way to the northern plains.
Just as she was thinking, the entire ravine suddenly became narrow, as if suddenly crushed by a god’s palm, barely allowing one person to enter sideways.
Qing Xia and Chu Li looked at each other, secretly on guard. Da Huang stood at the entrance, looking up at the two and calling loudly, then turned and walked into the narrow crevice before stopping and looking back to beckon them.
Qing Xia drew her dagger and held it in her hand, saying in a deep voice, “Follow me.”
Chu Li raised an eyebrow, and the long spear in his hand immediately crossed in front of Qing Xia, easily pushing her aside and stepping into the crevice.
Qing Xia looked at Chu Li’s upright back. Just as she was about to step forward to follow, suddenly a thin, tall back appeared in her mind. After not seeing him for two days, believing she had perished at the bottom of the valley, what would he be thinking? With his condition and having suffered such serious injuries, would he be alright? Thinking of this, it was as if tens of thousands of sharp thorns pierced her heart together, making it almost impossible to breathe.
“What’s wrong?” A deep voice sounded ahead. Chu Li turned back, looking at Qing Xia’s pale face, frowning and speaking in a deep voice.
Qing Xia was interrupted by him. She smiled weakly and said softly, “It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
Underfoot was fine flowing sand, as soft as a golden beach by the sea. Qing Xia frowned tightly, increasingly feeling this place was unfathomably deep. The crevice was dark with no light, only weak rays from above slowly penetrating. After walking just a few steps, they discovered the path behind them became increasingly distant and hazy, while ahead was all thick fog that completely enveloped their figures.
Qing Xia reached to her waist, lit a fire starter, and handed it to Chu Li. The surrounding fog became increasingly thick—the faint firelight could barely penetrate it. Both of them were as blind as if their eyes were open, becoming even more careful and cautious.
Suddenly, Chu Li’s body stiffened. He let out a muffled grunt and stopped. Qing Xia immediately sensed something was wrong, quickly grabbing his shoulder and saying in a deep voice, “What’s the matter?”
Chu Li seemed to shake his head slightly, but with the thick fog pervading, even with fire lit, they couldn’t see clearly. After a long while, they heard Chu Li say in a deep voice, “Follow me, keep your feet close to the ground.”
Qing Xia could only hear splashing sounds immediately ringing in her ears. She tentatively extended her foot, took off those thick animal furs, and her senses became more acute. She immediately discovered the ground was full of sharp spikes. Chu Li walked ahead, keeping his feet close to the ground, kicking down all those spikes to carve out a path for Qing Xia.
“Chu Li,” Qing Xia was slightly alarmed and suddenly called out. Hearing this, Chu Li stopped and turned back. Though they couldn’t see his face in the white fog, Qing Xia could still imagine the contours of his features and his calm expression. The words asking if he was injured suddenly couldn’t come out. She just took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, “Be careful.”
“Mm.” Chu Li responded, suddenly reaching out his hand and saying, “Come.”
Qing Xia was slightly stunned. Qin Zhiyan’s gentle, serene face instantly appeared before her eyes, like a cool stream sweeping away her recent anxiety and panic. She unconsciously stepped back, her palm gradually clenching into a fist.
Seeing her lack of movement, Chu Li thought she couldn’t see his gesture due to the thick fog. He bent down and grabbed Qing Xia’s hand, wanting to pull her forward.
However, in just an instant, the man’s handsome brows lightly furrowed, because in the center of his palm was clearly an ice-cold but tightly clenched fist.
Warm wind blew through the crevice and over both of them. Chu Li’s eyes gradually narrowed. On that sandy wasteland, on White Deer Plain, outside the Southern Chu military camp, the shadow of that man in silver-white armor appeared before his eyes once again. A trace of intense hatred and undisguisable pain immediately slipped through his eyes under the cover of white fog. Almost viciously, he pried open Qing Xia’s fingers one by one, then gripped them tightly in his hand, saying in a deep voice, “Follow me!”
The gloomy man walked ahead while Qing Xia was dragged by him, slowly following.
However, in such a deathly silent journey, Da Huang suddenly cried out sharply, its voice carrying obvious panic and warning. Qing Xia and Chu Li were both battle-hardened people who immediately grabbed their weapons and rushed forward.
Two explosive sounds rang out—”Bang! Bang!”—green light flashed repeatedly, air waves surged, and bright cold gleams suddenly rose in the white fog. Almost at the same instant, Qing Xia and Chu Li both flashed forward, charging into it like lightning.
Light and shadow flickered, force struck violently. In the white fog they were blind even with eyes open, only feeling their breathing instantly halt as enormous force came rushing toward them like an avalanche. The crevice was narrow, and for a moment they couldn’t even see the enemy’s figure clearly. Even at its widest point, this crevice only allowed two people to walk side by side. With three people fighting fiercely here, every exchange was measured in hairsbreadths, full of dangerous situations and thrilling beyond measure.
Qing Xia cried out delicately and threw the willow-leaf throwing knives in her hand. Three throwing knives danced through the wind, each aimed directly at the enemy’s vital points. However, only banging sounds echoed in their ears without even a single sound of penetrating flesh. Qing Xia was greatly alarmed—could the opponent actually be wearing top-quality armor made of sharp raw iron? At such close distance, even Chu Li’s top-quality black armor should have been penetrated.