The corpse of that foremost mountain cat brushed past the branches piled at the cave entrance and rolled into the group of cats outside, causing these beasts with glowing eyes to stir about. After sensing the danger, they all bared their teeth.

But it was still snowing outside.

Warm places to shelter from the snow were hard to find. None were willing to leave just like that. They only moved with soundless steps, seemingly searching for an opportunity to enter.

Mountain wildcats were different from domesticated house cats. Each one had sharp claws and fangs. Their gloomy posture as they paced back and forth at the cave entrance was simply chilling and sent shivers down one’s spine.

But the fate of their companion also made them wary.

Jiang Xuening stood in confrontation with them. Cold sweat had already seeped densely across her back. After standing for a while, even her calves trembled from excessive tension.

No.

Continuing this stalemate was absolutely not a solution.

She had to drive these beasts away.

In deep mountain forests, where human traces were rare.

According to what marketplace peddlers and common folk said, wild beasts feared fire.

Jiang Xuening gripped the blade between her fingers tightly, but her gaze quietly shifted to look at the still-burning fire pile in the cave. Then, gritting her teeth, she swiftly pulled out a vigorously burning stick from it and swung it directly at the wildcats surrounding the cave entrance!

The scorching temperature instantly drew near.

Almost all the wildcats arched their backs at the moment she advanced, scattering to the sides.

But there were still a few that couldn’t dodge in time. Their fur was singed by the burning flames, their skin scalded by the red-hot wooden stick. They immediately shrieked sharply and fled far away.

How could a few cats contend with a human?

After suffering pain, no matter how fierce they were, they no longer dared advance another step.

Jiang Xuening drove them further with the burning stick.

They had already retreated outside. With the wind blowing and snow freezing, they ultimately realized they could not enter this cave. After crying out a few more times unwillingly, they slowly dispersed. In the blink of an eye, there were no more traces on the snowy ground—they must have gone to seek other shelter from wind and snow.

After such heart-stopping danger, peace finally returned.

Jiang Xuening panted violently, wanting to walk back, but somehow standing there, she simply couldn’t move a step, as if her entire body had been nailed to the ground.

Until a hand suddenly gripped her arm and pulled her body over.

It was as if a ball of fire burned in Xie Wei’s chest.

One hand cupped the back of her head, pressing her into his embrace. He buried his head and kissed her deeply, licking her lips, prying open her teeth, invading like a scalding ball of fire, yet tensed with a blood-pumping suppression and viciousness.

Jiang Xuening’s mind went completely blank.

Xie Wei was like a wild beast devouring her, murmuring: “I’m rotten to the core—why are you so softhearted?”

Her senses hadn’t yet returned. By the time she was startled awake by this forceful invasion, she had already become prey bound by his arms, unable to break free, trapped in confusion and chaos.

Earlier when Xie Wei sat by the fire, his lips and fingers carried a layer of warm residual heat. However, pressed close now, Jiang Xuening felt this warmth hadn’t penetrated deeply, because from the depths of his body, only a coldness slowly emanated.

Such an ardent kiss, yet it made one shudder.

He pressed tightly against her skin, drawing out her warmth.

The burning stick in her hand was seized and thrown down by him, but that blade was still between her fingers.

Too tense, Jiang Xuening had forgotten to put it down.

It seemed that only by gripping it tightly like this could she be safe.

Yet Xie Wei’s fingers moved down along her wrist, bit by bit prying open her curled, nearly spasmodic fingers, forcibly digging the blade out with effort.

But she gripped it far too tightly.

Her palm had even been pressed with a red mark.

Xie Wei’s kiss thus became somewhat lighter, somewhat gentler. His deep, quiet pupils gazed at her as he coaxed softly: “It’s all right now. Give me the blade.”

Tears rolled down without warning.

Jiang Xuening began to tremble.

He finally pried the short blade from between her fingers and cast it to the ground. Supporting her dark hair, he let her forehead drop to rest against his chest, carrying the lingering shock of collapse. Her thin shoulders gently heaved as she cried in a lowered voice.

Xie Wei stood quietly, blinking, suddenly thinking: If they could be trapped in the mountains forever for a lifetime and never leave, that would be fine too.

Yet almost simultaneously with this thought arising, another voice shrieked hysterically at him—

How dare you?

How dare you!

With your ill-fated path, your sinking and struggling torment, your half-life of striving, not even qualified to sleep and dream, with your deep blood feud yet unrequited—how dare you have such thoughts?

No matter how bold Jiang Xuening was, it was only in palace intrigue and marketplace squabbles. She had never encountered such strange and terrifying things as mountain cats howling at night.

Only after calming down did she realize she was scared to death.

After crying for a good while, she pushed Xie Wei away and went back to sit by the fire to add kindling, still hiccupping with sobs.

The scene had an indescribable absurdity.

Xie Wei slowly smiled.

Seeing this, Jiang Xuening raised a branch in her hand and struck the ground, fiercely saying to him: “What are you laughing at? Someone who’s even afraid of cats—do you have the right to laugh? If it weren’t for this auntie here, you would have been torn to pieces by them long ago!”

Xie Wei thought she had a childish temper and didn’t argue back.

He only picked up the section of branch she’d broken and threw it into the fire.

Jiang Xuening wiped her face. Thinking back to earlier made her feel wronged, and she shed more tears. After crying until it was light outside, feeling her stomach empty, she simply pulled out the bamboo pole threaded with the wild rabbit and handed it directly to Xie Wei, saying irritably: “I’m hungry.”

Food had always been Xie Wei’s responsibility.

He said nothing and took it.

The two roasted a rabbit.

Jiang Xuening ate a lot as if venting her anger, but Xie Wei seemed to have little appetite, putting it down after eating two pieces of meat.

The snow outside seemed much lighter, with only some snow powder still drifting.

A vast expanse of white covered the mountains and wilderness.

Neither many birds in flight nor many beasts could be seen.

After eating, Jiang Xuening frowned, taking a branch to calculate on the ground how long their food could last, how long the firewood could burn. Recalling the situation on the Tatar side during this time, in a blink she thought of Shen Zhiyi’s matter.

The branch scratching on the ground suddenly stopped.

She turned to look at Xie Wei, hesitating before asking: “Earlier you all said Yan Lin had already rushed ahead to the border to find a way to rescue Her Highness. But what method exactly? We’ve been delayed midway—will it affect things?”

Xie Wei sat there seemingly lost in thought and didn’t answer.

Jiang Xuening had intended to repeat her question, but as she rose to walk toward the seated Xie Wei, she suddenly felt something was wrong. What was wrong? A flash of thought in her mind—looking at Xie Wei again, she finally realized—

He was actually sitting there watching the snow!

The vast white snowy ground gave one a sense of empty desolation. The skylight fell and was reflected by the snow, all cast into his eyes.

Xie Wei was as silent as a statue.

Yet Jiang Xuening suddenly felt an inexplicable unease, even more intense than her earlier confrontation with the wildcats. She called out: “Sir.”

Without turning his head, Xie Wei said: “The impact isn’t great.”

But Jiang Xuening no longer cared about the answer to her question. She only recalled that terrible speculation You Fangying had revealed in her previous life. Watching Xie Wei’s posture still gazing outside, her voice already carried a trace of barely perceptible fear: “Xie Wei!”

Xie Wei asked her: “What’s wrong?”

She was simply afraid. Stepping forward, she directly pulled him, not letting him look outside anymore: “Stop looking!”

Xie Wei gazed at her, distant light and shadow drifting through his pupils, yet he asked: “Do you know something?”

Jiang Xuening’s heart pounded like drums: “Know—know what?”

Xie Wei smiled and said: “If you don’t know, then what are you afraid of?”

Jiang Xuening forced herself to stay calm: “I’m not afraid.”

So Xie Wei reached out his hand, following along her jaw to slowly rest on the side of her neck. His slightly cool palm pressed tightly against her translucent skin, sensing that surging pulse, and said flatly: “Liar.”

Jiang Xuening shuddered and swatted his hand away, pressing her slightly open collar tight. She retreated backward, even carrying a hint of thin anger, putting on a fierce front while weak inside as she said: “Are you sick?!”

But Xie Wei had nothing more to say.

He truly didn’t look at the snow again, only lightly leaning against the cave wall to rest.

At first, Jiang Xuening didn’t notice anything unusual.

By the second day, she discovered that the suppressed coughing that occasionally rang out in her dreams was actually not a dream.

Xie Wei began coughing.

In such cold weather, his complexion paled at a speed visible to the naked eye.

On the third day, he burned nearly half a piece of roebuck meat.

Also on this day, after she filled the water pouch with snow to melt, she handed it to Xie Wei, but he didn’t catch it accurately, pausing before getting it in hand.

At that moment, Jiang Xuening felt cold air drilling into the crevices of her bones.

Those eyes of Xie Wei’s truly showed no obvious abnormality. He slowly took a sip of water and said to her: “Now I’m already useless. If I were you and smart enough, I should take the supplies and find a day when the snow stops to leave far away.”

Jiang Xuening thought, why was this person like this?

She dared not reveal any excess emotion, only saying: “Do you want to die here?”

Xie Wei coughed once more. The smile at his lips gently rippled as he said: “What’s wrong with dying here?”

At least better than becoming a pawn in someone’s hands.

Life by one’s own will, death by one’s own will.

Yet Jiang Xuening felt as if in a trance, as if in a dream. Looking at this calm and ordinary person before her eyes, she actually felt a tremendous sorrow surge up, filling her completely.

This was a Xie Wei she had never seen in two lifetimes.

But how could it be?

How could Xie Wei be like this…

She stepped back, her chest feeling as if pressed by an enormous stone, unable to catch her breath.

So she turned and walked directly out of the cave.

Only after the biting cold wind outside blew against her face did that breath gradually ease.

From beginning to end, Xie Wei sat there without moving. He slowly stoppered the water pouch and set it gently aside.

He thought, if she really left, that would be good.

But before long, footsteps approached again, entering the cave. She said coldly: “The snow outside has stopped. The sun came out. The weather will warm up quickly. We’ll be able to set out soon.”

Xie Wei smiled almost imperceptibly—how could he believe her?

It’s not cold when it snows; it’s cold when the snow melts.

If the sun truly came out with snow still piled all over the mountains, the coming days would be even harder.

Jiang Xuening didn’t mention leaving at all, as if she had never heard Xie Wei’s words.

From this day on, she did the roasting.

Only sometimes it was overcooked, sometimes undercooked. It always took several attempts before she could smoothly get food into their mouths.

Xie Wei didn’t complain.

But perhaps he lacked the energy to complain.

His coughing became increasingly severe as the weather grew colder. Eventually he developed a fever. Every time he closed his eyes, demons and monsters ran rampant, evil spirits reigned.

Sometimes it was the innocent, fearful eyes of those children imprisoned together; sometimes it was the mountain-like swords of Prince Pingnan and the Heavenly Doctrine rebels…

The face of that evil Daoist twisted with fury.

They tied him to the city wall, placing a blade to his neck, intending to use his life to coerce those below the city to retreat.

Then there were vast armies, mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Someone called to him from the depths of fate.

So he walked toward that direction.

But another hand reached out from the void, gripping him tightly, making each step he took feel like treading on blade tips, boiling in an oil cauldron. He so wanted to cry out loudly.

Save me—

Yet there was no sound from him between heaven and earth.

He was like a wandering ghost, bearing a shell destined for destruction, struggling until covered in wounds, yet relying on that single breath to lurk in the darkness and spy!

A voice came urgently from deep within the vast fog, shouting at him: “Live, survive, survive!”

Another voice hid in the darkness, cackling eerily: “You should have died long ago! It’s so bitter, so painful—why don’t you go die?!”

Why don’t you go die?

Why don’t you go die?

Why don’t you go die?!

That devil wandered in nightmares, growing from deep within his shell like a giant net binding his soul.

He had no blade, no sword.

And no one could hear his voice.

Until in this境地 境地 境地境地境地境地境地境地境地境地where he could see nothing and hear nothing, an ice-cold hand lightly rested on his wrist. Xie Wei felt a tremor and finally escaped from that oppressive dreamscape.

He gripped this hand tightly!

Jiang Xuening had originally wanted to check his pulse. Seeing his consciousness already muddled, unable to distinguish day from night, how could she have expected such a sudden change? For a moment her heartbeat stopped abruptly as she exclaimed: “You’re awake?”

His fingers used too much force, gripping her painfully, so she struggled somewhat forcefully.

Yet he gripped even tighter: “Where are you going?”

His hoarse voice was extremely low, making one’s heart jump with fright.

It was currently deep into the night.

Even burning sparingly, the firewood they’d gathered was down to only a few sticks by now.

The flames on the fire pile were extremely dim.

Even their outlines couldn’t be illuminated clearly.

That unease surfaced once more from the bottom of Jiang Xuening’s heart. She could feel his eyes locking onto her, yet she said calmly: “I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here.”

Xie Wei said: “You’re a little liar, constantly lying.”

His five fingers deeply wedged into her finger spaces, forcibly clasping their two hands tightly together. Deep in his pupils, calm as the deep sea, a long-dormant madness vaguely accumulated. He pinched her chin and kissed her forcefully, as if in punishment.

This was a violent kiss carrying the scent of blood.

He bit through her lips, rolling with that fishy sweetness of fresh blood, pressing against her tongue, carrying a kind of extreme release that left her unable to breathe, nearly suffocating.

Jiang Xuening was frightened by him.

In the darkness her chest heaved, while he towered over her, suppressing and looking down at her.

Xie Wei’s thumb forcefully rubbed across her damaged lip corner, until he saw a trace of pain appear in her eyes, then slowly withdrew his force and asked her: “Why do you like Zhang Zhe? He knows nothing. Only I can read you.”

His hoarse voice was like spring catkins drifting.

Yet falling into Jiang Xuening’s ears, it stirred waves of trembling within her.

She finally perceived it—beneath this saint’s shell, decay and darkness had been deeply hidden for who knows how many years. That cramped forbearance, that morbid obsession…

Xie Wei pressed her against the rock wall, tightly against a sheet of cold.

Yet warm lips followed along her ear, falling to the side of her neck.

His other palm quietly gripped her slender neck, covering that fragile throat: “Do you know what I most want to do right now?”

Jiang Xuening felt something scorching hot fall into the hollow of her neck, flowing downward.

She trembled because of it.

Yet Xie Wei pressed against her ear as if delirious, saying: “I want to kill you.”

Once, he thought his heart was an impregnable fortress.

He slowly tightened his palm but didn’t turn to look even once at her expression in this moment. His voice, cold to the depths, was steeped in despair yet carried a kind of bewitchment—though whether bewitching her or himself was unclear: “Jiang Xuening, right here, die together with me, all right?”

Jiang Xuening slowly closed her eyes.

In that moment, she actually found this person she’d feared for half a lifetime hateful, pitiful, even pathetic!

She wanted to slap him, to make him properly wake up.

Yet tears flowed down.

His ardent, mad emotions swept her within, making her recall those difficult days of the past. Her throat seemed blocked by something, nearly choking as she said: “No good. Xie Ju’an, not good at all. I’m the one who saved you. This life isn’t yours—it’s mine! I haven’t agreed yet…”

Don’t be a coward.

Don’t make me look down on you.