Before she could see clearly, she felt someone plummet beside her with a thud, head-first, tumbling past her and landing with a smack in the courtyard below.

As for herself, her waist tightened as if caught by something. She flipped in midair and continued falling, then her waist ached… she was stuck.

Looking down, she found herself quite unluckily landed on a rooftop, her waist tied with white silk that had caught on an open skylight. In the courtyard below, Nan Jin lay sprawled in a position absolutely unsuitable for her—arms and legs akimbo, looking heavily injured, so much so that this great master couldn’t get up for a while.

Jing Hengbo’s head began spinning again—it seemed Nan Jin’s escape plan had failed, having been pulled down by someone below using a white sash. As expected, those two people in this courtyard had considerable skills. She just didn’t know whether it was that ice-cold young woman who had acted, or that disabled person.

She leaned over to check on Nan Jin. Since they’d already been discovered anyway, it didn’t matter if those below knew, so she called out, “Are you alright?”

Nan Jin lay on the ground, staring straight up at the sky without answering. Looking at her, Jing Hengbo felt that expressionless face somehow had eyes that were… heartbreakingly anguished.

She fell silent for a moment.

What had happened?

One sash had brought down two people, with Nan Jin obviously falling harder, bounced far away. It had a sense of “punishment” about it…

But hanging here neither up nor down wouldn’t work either, and it looked like rain was coming. There was no movement below—that pair of crazy master and servant seemed planning to just leave her hanging there.

She struggled a bit. With both hands bound, jumping out was impossible; she could only slide down.

She waved her hand, sending a stone flying to strike the skylight’s edge. Roof tiles shattered and she dropped down with a whoosh.

The moment she fell, she saw steam filling the room and belatedly remembered that someone had been bringing water for a bath earlier.

No lamps were lit in the room. Water vapor rose like clouds and mist. In the dim light, she seemed to vaguely glimpse a figure flash by—slender, jade-white, with crystalline skin and bones. In that stunning glimpse, water droplets rolled like diamonds on long, elegant legs…

Then there was a thud behind the screen, as if someone had hit the bed.

The next instant, “splash”—she fell into the bathtub.

The moment she fell in, she instinctively threw her hands outward, afraid of encountering the chest of a naked man or woman.

She encountered nothing—the bathtub was empty.

The bathwater was still hot, giving off a faint medicinal scent that wasn’t unpleasant. The hot water felt very comfortable, as if all her pores were opening. Warmth flowed through her body, and that dizzy feeling from the poison smoke in her head dissipated considerably. For a moment she was actually reluctant to leave, lingering in the bathtub.

Her eyes wandered around, trying to see clearly where the person was. Just then, lanterns were suddenly hung in the courtyard. The lamplight shone through the window screens into the room in a hazy glow, perfectly illuminating the screen opposite.

Her eyes suddenly went straight.

Behind the screen, someone was getting dressed…

Getting dressed was nothing unusual—she’d seen people dress before, and there was still a screen between them. But this person’s manner of dressing was too strange.

The clothes hung on the screen—a loose white sleeping robe. The person moved a finger and the clothes slid down. With another flick of the finger, the clothes flew up, spread open in the air, and settled down from above. From start to finish, except for finger movements, the person’s entire body never moved.

The lamplight hit the screen, casting his silhouette—though seated, his form appeared slender and refined, slightly thin but with condensed, solid lines. From shoulder to waist, not an inch could be added or subtracted. She suddenly remembered that glimpse earlier of skin and body glistening with water droplets…

Jing Hengbo stared blankly at that silhouette, her mind constantly recalling Gong Yin’s physique. In her memory, she didn’t seem to have ever seen him very clearly…

Suddenly the light dimmed and the beautiful male form disappeared—the courtyard lanterns had been extinguished.

The moment the lights went out, wind rushed urgently and footsteps swept in like wind. Jing Hengbo turned back to see a white shadow flash as Nan Jin appeared in the doorway.

Just as Jing Hengbo was about to greet her, a figure flashed behind Nan Jin. A snow-white palm chopped fiercely toward her shoulder—that young woman was on Nan Jin’s shoulder, revealing half a frowning face. Her expression was somewhat strange, but her strike showed no mercy.

Nan Jin’s counter-strike was equally unhesitating. She flipped her body and struck back with a palm. With a thunderous sound, door curtain beads scattered in all directions, even the doorframe trembling. The young woman seemed unable to match her and flipped backward out of sight.

Nan Jin paid her no attention and rushed in with an arrow-like step. Seeing her like this, Jing Hengbo naturally understood she’d come to rescue her. Thinking of the mysterious master who had remained silent in the room, she urgently warned, “Mingzhu, watch out behind the screen!”

At this moment Nan Jin was rushing to the bathtub, just raising her hand with blue light flashing between her fingers. Hearing Jing Hengbo’s words, she couldn’t help but pause.

In that pause, her palm failed to strike down in time. Behind the screen came a soft sound, then white light flashed straight toward Nan Jin.

Seeing Nan Jin actually spacing out at this moment, Jing Hengbo grew anxious and shoulder-checked her. With water already on the ground, Nan Jin slid back two steps from this collision. Only then did Jing Hengbo’s voice arrive: “Watch out! What are you spacing out for! The person here is formidable—don’t save me, just run!”

“Ding.” With a soft sound, something fell from Nan Jin to the ground. Jing Hengbo glanced over and only vaguely saw a flash of blue-green light. She paused, and when she looked again, water had flowed over the ground and the thing had suddenly disappeared.

Nan Jin seemed to be spacing out again. Suddenly the screen cracked, and both Nan Jin and Jing Hengbo looked up sharply. Before their eyes, white light flashed again like snow lightning, like rushing thunder, striking directly at both their faces. The white light came too fast, so that in an instant Jing Hengbo felt as if heavy snow was suddenly falling before her eyes. In her entire field of vision, everything else retreated, leaving only that vast expanse of white.

Remembering how that white light had shown no mercy toward Nan Jin earlier, Jing Hengbo pushed her away: “Get out!”

Nan Jin suddenly turned to look at her, raised her hand with a faint light flashing between her fingers, slashing toward Jing Hengbo’s wrist pulse!

Jing Hengbo’s heart sank.

At such close distance, there was no time to think or dodge. She could already feel bone-penetrating coldness on her hand.

“Snap.” With a soft sound, the pale yellow sinew rope broke and fell. Jing Hengbo’s hands loosened.

With her hands freed, she was also stunned. Seeing the white light rushing toward Nan Jin, she instinctively reached out to catch it. Nan Jin cried “Ah!” loudly, shouting: “Don’t…”

The moment Jing Hengbo reached out, she regretted it. That white thing was wet, and from the whooshing sound as it swung over, she could tell it was filled with true force, hard as iron and stone. Using her hand to directly block it would probably get her hand broken.

But it was too late to withdraw her hand. With a “smack,” Nan Jin closed her eyes.

Jing Hengbo kept her eyes wide open, looking at the suddenly soft white fabric—it was just a long piece of white cloth, like a bath towel. The previous fierce hardness was gone, and it softly wrapped around her hand once. Suddenly a great force surged, and her body flew up.

Nan Jin opened her eyes and looked up, watching Jing Hengbo’s form fly over her head, black long hair flowing up and swaying dark arcs behind her.

Behind them, the bathtub suddenly toppled, hot water rushing out. The rushing hot water instantly turned into a large sheet of ice and snow, crashing into her back and forcibly pushing her out the door. She fell onto the courtyard ground, covered head to toe with ice and snow fragments.

She didn’t get up, lying in the muddy ground with her head hanging down, her medium-length hair scattered messily on her back, glistening with water—like tears.

In the courtyard, that young woman stood there, gazing at her coldly and indifferently, slowly rubbing her just-injured wrist.

Nan Jin paid her no attention and showed no sign of guilt, slowly getting up and looking up at the star-flickering sky.

Behind her, the young woman said coldly: “Giving up?”

Nan Jin still said nothing. The young woman gave a cold laugh: “Isn’t it ridiculous? You’ve tried to kill her again and again, yet she warns you again and again. He’s tried to save her again and again, yet she keeps coming to save you.”

Nan Jin seemed to tremble.

Her usually straight back now seemed slightly hunched. The night filled the emptiness, and her figure embedded in the darkness held several parts loneliness.

The young woman stopped talking too, sighing softly. At this moment her heart was also full of complex emotions, understanding Nan Jin’s actions but not knowing how to resolve this complicated human situation.

After a long while, she heard Nan Jin ask softly: “What kind of person is she, really?”

…

Jing Hengbo had flown up.

The next instant, “bang”—she crashed through the screen and into a chest, knocking that person backward to fall against the wall, body slightly tilted.

She knew that with this momentum, she would undoubtedly knock down the person behind the screen. But she hadn’t expected that the skin her face pressed against would be so delicate and smooth, still bearing slight moisture, with wet droplets falling on her face, slowly sliding down her cheek. Following that downward path instinctively, she saw the wide-open sleeping robe collar where buttons hadn’t been fastened in time. Being knocked open like this by her, a line of spring beauty was now exposed almost to the abdomen. She could even see the other person’s smooth abdominal muscles and faintly visible Adonis belt…

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, she instinctively reached out to help pull his clothes together. He moved slightly, and she stopped her hand, hurriedly raising her eyes upward to see a smooth chin with precise, delicate lines, slowly condensing water droplets. She stared fixedly as the moisture condensed bit by bit into a crystal clear drop that sparkled in the darkness. Someone’s breathing suddenly became unsteady—or was someone involuntarily trembling slightly? That water drop quivered, trembling. She didn’t know why she stared so intently, but somehow couldn’t move her gaze away. Her lips unconsciously parted slightly…

“Pop.” The sound was actually so low as to be nearly inaudible, yet to both their ears it was like thunder. Her lips and teeth felt cool, and her mind went blank—that drop, that drop…

That drop of water had fallen into her mouth?

The water condensed from the moisture left from his bath had dripped into her mouth?

If it were anyone else, she would definitely find it disgusting. At this moment she was only shocked, her mind hazy as if suddenly covered with a layer of clouds and mist. Through that mist, someone appeared and disappeared, every inch of their outline shockingly familiar yet unable to be assembled into a complete figure.

For a moment she didn’t know whether to open or close her mouth. The person in front of her had been looking up all this time, but now suddenly lowered his head. She was actually nervous, instinctively closing her eyes, immediately feeling a clear, serene aura approaching. He really was lowering his head, and she could feel him slowly lowering it, very slowly, as if this were an extremely difficult movement. That clear yet intense masculine scent approached inch by inch. His wet hair hung down first, cool and moist as it brushed her face. She had a premonition that the next step would be his lips. Somehow her heart began to flutter, and she couldn’t help wondering what his lips would be like—slightly cool, soft, like an evening breeze carrying snow from mountain peaks with that pure, elegant fragrance…

She suddenly wanted to see him.

She opened her eyes, but the other person seemed able to guess her thoughts. Her vision went dark as a white cloth settled over her eyes. Annoyed, she reached up to pull it away, but her body was suddenly pushed back. She tilted her head back to see a white silk strip hooked onto the roof as his body was being lifted up.

His entire body seemed unable to move much, only able to rely on the silk strip to drag his body along.

She raised her hand and threw her dagger, aiming to cut the white silk.

He merely flicked his finger slightly and the dagger flew away. In the dark room, the transparently thin dagger flashed like a beauty’s glance, briefly illuminating his eyes in midair—distant and bright as stars.

Jing Hengbo leaped up, trying to grab his legs, but only caught a piece of ice-cold clothing corner before falling heavily onto the couch due to the restraints on her feet.

The couch had no soft mattress or brocade covers, only a hard mat that made her face ache where it hit. She didn’t get up again, pressing against that cold mat and carefully searching for that familiar yet strange scent. After a long while, she murmured dreamlike: “Is it you…”

…

Ji Kingdom was a famous highland nation in Dahuang, with eighty percent of its territory being highland. At the northern highland’s end lay snow mountains. Legend had it that a hundred years ago, many otherworldly sects had established themselves there. But because those snow mountains didn’t belong to Ji Kingdom’s territory, and because those legends were too powerful and mysterious, few people approached that area.

In fact, the Changlong Snow Mountains where the Nine Heavens Gate was located stretched across Ji Kingdom, Fushui, and Liuli territories. But for the same reasons, the snow mountains and the land within nearly a thousand li around their base had long become a no-man’s land, belonging to no nation or tribe.

Scattered across this thousand-li territory were quite a few villages and towns. With no national governance, they had lived self-sufficiently for a hundred years.

When sunlight rose from beyond the snow mountains and reached the northernmost nameless small village on the northern highland, it was already nearly noon. Wisps of cooking smoke began rising throughout the village.

The place with the most concentrated cooking smoke was the house of Yang the Big Household, the village’s wealthiest man. His compound had almost become a small village itself—crude but vast walls enclosing half the village’s land. It was said this Yang the Big Household had once caught the eye of highland masters from the snow mountains and specifically handled affairs for them, gradually accumulating wealth and becoming a local tyrant in the village.

However, this village tyrant had recently moved his entire family to the ancestral shrine in a village corner, because distinguished guests had come to his home. The guests brought many followers, filling the entire large residence, forcing the homeowner to live outside.

The Yang family wasn’t the only one disturbed. Recently, all the young women in the village had seemed different from usual.

As soon as daylight brightened, household doors opened one by one. Young women carrying bamboo baskets stepped lightly from their homes, followed by nagging mothers.

“Oh Spring Girl, why wash clothes so early? The water’s cold!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine—morning water is clean!”

“Hey Chrysanthemum, today’s vegetables are already shelled—no need to wash!”

“Shelled ones need washing too, or my nails will get dirty!”

“Er Ya, you just washed those clothes clean last night—why are you taking them to the water again!”

“Oh really? I forgot! Then I’ll wash them once more!”

…

The shouting from various households joined together, but couldn’t stop the young women’s steps. The mothers, unable to argue or catch up, could only lean against their door frames, glare at Yang family’s compound walls, and spit angrily: “It’s all because of that mysteriously appeared young man, bewitching all the village girls until they’ve lost their souls!”

By the clear stream, a long row of girls had early occupied the best positions, chattering like orioles and swallows, their smiles full of spring radiance. In the center of the young women, a corner of black hemp clothing was visible. That person seemed to be washing vegetables, crouched on a blue stone with sleeves rolled high. Young women kept washing clothes while secretly glancing at his slender fingers and delicate wrist bones.

A silvery-white plump fish danced in that man’s hands. In moments it was cleaned inside and out with scales removed, his technique extremely skillful. He seemed very good-tempered, working while chatting and laughing with the girls.

“Speaking of how wealthy families eat, it’s not just chicken, duck, fish, and meat. As they say, ‘food should be refined, minced meat should be fine.’ Take frogs, for instance,” he pointed to the water bottom. “Wealthy families only eat the frog’s belly, stir-fried in lard and sesame oil—fresh and crisp. Dozens of frogs barely make one dish. There’s another method called ‘soaked frogs.’ A large vat is filled with salt water and various seasonings, wooden strips are placed inside, then live frogs are added. The frogs won’t jump into the salt water, so naturally they cling to the wooden strips. Then the vat opening is sealed. After several months it’s reopened—the frogs have long since dried to death on the wooden strips. They’re then removed and steamed. It’s said the taste is delicious with all five flavors…”

The young women exclaimed in amazement, showing expressions of “how cruel,” yet their eyes sparkled—whether for this cruel cooking method or the storyteller’s beauty.

The commotion flew into the deep compound, where various women coming and going also craned their necks toward that direction.

In the compound’s deepest part stood the tallest building—originally just a watchtower. After the distinguished guests arrived, because they liked the open scenery here, it was simply converted into living quarters.

At this moment, a white-robed woman in floor-length dress stood high in the tower.

Before her window stretched blue sky with floating clouds, and beyond the clouds, the snow mountains’ white peaks.

Her gaze rested on those peaks, several parts loathing, several parts unwillingness, several parts fury, and several parts cold hatred.

That was her place of glory and also her place of shame. A year ago she had walked down from those snow mountains carrying hopes of reclaiming royal power. Though she achieved her wish, she couldn’t long occupy Di Ge and was even chased thousands of li by a mere boy. Having finally returned to the snow mountains in sorry state, she unexpectedly encountered another unforeseen accident.

Her gaze slowly withdrew from the snow mountains and fell on the stream, where heads clustered together. Without looking, she knew that at the crowd’s center was that most popular man, Yelu Qi.

Thinking of this person, her gaze couldn’t help but darken with complex emotions.

After capturing Yelu Qi, she had taken a fancy to his bone structure and originally wanted to use him to develop drug-enhanced soldiers. Her current “people” had special abilities but no intelligence. She had always wanted to create someone who retained intelligence yet was absolutely loyal to her while possessing unlimited special abilities, to serve as the commanding general of her superhuman army. This person was right before her eyes, yet for some inexplicable reasons, it still hadn’t been achieved.

Initially, Pei Shu had pursued too closely with no time to act. Later, after returning to the snow mountains, anomalies occurred. In that critical moment, it was actually Yelu Qi who first noticed something wrong and warned her, allowing her to escape disaster. After this incident, the idea of transforming him was naturally shelved for a while. After several relocations, now hiding in this small village, she thought constantly of reclaiming the snow mountain’s authority and the Di Ge throne. Achieving the latter required the former’s power, so that idea of “transforming this person into a peerless master” had quietly surfaced again.

Her gaze swept over Yelu Qi’s black hair in the distance, seeing many white clothing corners faintly visible under the willows by the clear stream. Her eyes couldn’t help but grow colder.

After she conceived this idea, she discovered that somehow, the people around her—especially the female disciples from the snow mountains—were all intentionally or unintentionally protecting Yelu Qi, even her personal maid.

Thinking carefully, it wasn’t strange. Yelu Qi was handsome and charming, gentle in nature, considerate to others, could cook excellent dishes, and handle all manner of tasks efficiently. These snow mountain disciples, accustomed to their lofty positions on the mountain, were unskilled in mundane affairs. After descending the mountain, they proved incompetent in various matters, appearing quite clumsy. Fortunately Yelu Qi seemed to know everything and understand everything. Such talent and capability—no wonder these originally proud fairy-like women had quietly sprouted romantic feelings.

Xu Pingran’s delicate eyebrows unconsciously furrowed lightly.

Girlish romantic feelings!

Heaven knew she most detested such utterly superfluous things!

When women fall in love, they often act foolishly!

She glanced again at the bottom, at those hiding white skirt hems—pure colors that couldn’t hide those pink romantic thoughts.

Her fingers had somehow fallen to the window frame. “Crack”—with a soft sound, half the wooden window was gone, wood chips flying up then disappearing instantly.

Xu Pingran’s eyes had become as cold as the distant snow mountains.

No.

This Yelu Qi could not be kept any longer!

Otherwise trouble would come sooner or later!

…

By the clear stream, Yelu Qi tossed a freshly cleaned fish into the basket, seemingly casually turning to glance at that distant tall building.

From this distance, he felt he could still sense that woman’s cold, sinister gaze.

His lips curved in a shallow smile.

She was about to lose patience, wasn’t she?

In this past year and more, he’d had opportunities to leave but ultimately stayed, waiting for this woman—waiting for when she would lose patience.

Suddenly the girls beside him scattered in all directions. He looked up to see someone in the distance carrying a huge basin approaching. Seeing that person, the girls fled like seeing a ghost, hurriedly lifting their skirts and escaping from his side.

As the person approached, he could see it was also a woman, except the wooden basin on her head was twice her size.

She walked upstream, set down the basin with a bang, and the wild game inside came tumbling out—wild sheep, wild rabbits, roe deer, wild chickens… a whole pile, all fresh and unwashed, blood water immediately flowing downstream with a rush, dyeing half the stream red.

This behavior was quite arrogant and domineering, yet none of the girls dared speak up. They all quietly made sympathetic gestures to Yelu Qi, telling him to leave quickly.

Yelu Qi was also packing his things—the stream water was now unusable. The entire village knew that when this person came to wash her wild game, no one else in the village should think of using the water.

A wild chicken floated downstream. Yelu Qi stared at it, seeming to consider whether to pick it up or ignore it. Yesterday when he picked one up intending to return it to the owner, he was accused of trying to steal.

After thinking a moment, he decided it was better to pretend not to see it.

The wild chicken continued downstream. Over there, the woman saw it at a glance and cursed loudly: “Are you dead? Seeing my things fall and not helping to pick them up—what good are your perfectly good hands and feet? Let me break one of them!”

She angrily stood up, one hand on her hip, one finger pointing at Yelu Qi’s nose, feet planted on a pile of dead beasts, skirt stained half-way with fresh blood, magnificent and imposing in the sunlight like a female overlord.

Sunlight fell on her face with its half-covering eyepatch—yet that face was delicate and pretty.

Yelu Xunru.