Finally, the carriage was arranged in a sheltered empty room at the relay station, so Xiao Huan didn’t need to leave the carriage to sleep. After discussing what needed to be done with Su Qian and Shi Yan, I returned to the carriage. Xiao Huan’s breathing was soft and peaceful as he slept deeply.

Half his face was buried in shadow, his nose straight, his eyelashes resting gently together with a slight curl. My gaze lingered greedily on his face as the candle burned with a steady hiss, its flame frozen without the slightest tremor as if time itself had stopped. I stared at his face, unwilling to look away even slightly. He was sleeping very deeply, almost like unconsciousness.

Suddenly I realized it was only natural that he hadn’t noticed Hong Qing secretly passing messages to me. In his current condition, forgets about perceiving the subtle details around him – even maintaining consciousness for a short while each day must be extremely difficult. Unable to control his consciousness, struggling to survive each moment – living like this, must it not be exhausting?

After hesitating briefly, I stood up and walked softly to him, kneeling and leaning forward to gently press my lips against his. His lips were very soft, with a slightly cool temperature. He had no awareness of it, continuing to sleep deeply.

I lay down beside him fully clothed, resting my head lightly on the edge of the fur quilt, and quickly fell asleep after closing my eyes. When I woke up, the carriage was already moving, swaying slightly as it traveled.

I opened my eyes to find my head resting on a silver fox fur cushion, and I felt warmly comfortable – someone had covered me with a lynx fur quilt. I sat up and saw that on the other side of the carriage, Xiao Huan was wearing a snow fox cloak, bent over a small table writing something by the brightened lamplight.

The carriage jolted slightly, and he coughed softly, one hand steadying the paper as he focused intently on his writing, progressing very slowly.

This moment was truly lazy and peaceful. I lay on my side, propping my head up with my arm as I watched him. “Master, has anyone ever told you that you’re very handsome?”

He paused his writing and turned to look at me, his deep eyes carrying a faint mistiness as he smiled: “Why do you ask that?”

I shook my head: “Xiao Qianqing is so beautiful, but when you stand next to him, people don’t know whether they should look at him more or look at you more. Doesn’t that mean you’re very handsome too?”

He seemed to find it somewhat amusing: “I’ve never paid attention to such things.”

I raised my eyebrows: “Oh? How could you not have noticed?” Then suddenly remembered: “Ah right… when we first met in Jiangnan, my first words to you were ‘Who are you?’ and my second words were ‘You’re really handsome.'” Saying this made me laugh: “My eyes were practically glued to your face then, wasn’t I just like a female demon?”

He smiled and shook his head: “Not quite a female demon. At that time, I was wondering if this little girl thought I was some kind of food she was planning to swallow whole.”

I burst out laughing: “Planning to swallow someone whole, and that’s not like a female demon?”

I paused, then smiled: “Master, come to think of it, you were the first truly handsome man I’d ever seen. What I felt for you then was more like infatuation, wasn’t it?”

He seemed surprised by my words, made a small sound of acknowledgment, and smiled slightly but didn’t respond further.

I sat up and looked up at him: “Master… can we make love one more time?”

He suddenly looked up, startled.

I smiled at him: “This time you’ve come… you’re prepared to die, aren’t you? For the past year, I’ve been lying to everyone that I’m with a child, but you know that I’m not carrying your baby. If you don’t make it back this time, I’d like to at least leave some bloodline for the Xiao family’s Vermilion Bird branch.”

His expression remained unchanged, still silent.

Just when I thought he wouldn’t agree, he suddenly said: “Alright.” He smiled slightly, his face still snow-white, a trace of warmth at the corners of his lips. “I’m not comfortable during the day, would tonight be acceptable?”

“Yes,” I quickly replied, any time would be fine.

He smiled again and said nothing more, turning back to pick up the brush from the table and continuing to write very slowly on the Xuan paper before him. He had barely written a few strokes when his hand holding the brush trembled, his shoulders shaking slightly as he coughed up a mouthful of blood onto the paper.

The deep red blood spread quickly across the snow-white paper. Unlike the purplish-black stagnant blood he usually coughed up, this blood was pure red, as bright as vermilion, strikingly beautiful.

Terrified, I felt my whole body go cold and hurried over to support him: “Master, what’s wrong?”

He shook his head, coughing lightly as he smiled: “It’s nothing.” He crumpled up the blood-stained paper and tossed it aside, still smiling, “What a shame about that paper, I’ll have to write it again.”

He was smiling, but for some reason, looking at his faint smile, I felt a tightness in my chest.

Seeing that the ink in the inkstone on the table was almost congealed, I hurriedly added water and ground more ink.

He steadied himself against the small table to rest briefly, then pulled out a new sheet of paper from the small rack embedded in the carriage wall and laid it out on the table. I brought him the freshly ground ink, and he dipped his brush, coughing softly as he began writing again stroke by stroke.

He was writing about various matters concerning the Phoenix Pavilion, from the total number of money houses and silver shops in various locations to the temperaments and preferences of each hall master and altar master, recording everything in detail. He filled an entire sheet of Xuan paper with the small regular script, writing for two or three hours. During this time, he had two severe coughing fits, but when I asked him to rest, he just smiled and shook his head.

By the time he finished writing and went to sleep, it was afternoon. The snow continued falling, and our carriage moved slowly, stopping at a relay station for a while at noon before continuing.

We faced two more ambushes along the way, but the assassins in these attacks weren’t particularly skilled. Their level hadn’t improved much, and they were quickly subdued without disturbing Xiao Huan.

Traveling this way, we reached another town before dusk.

The carriage stopped in front of the relay station. While Xiao Huan was resting, I went out to find Su Qian.

This woman looked me up and down before saying: “It’s one thing to sleep with Master at night, but to stick close to him even during the day – are you just the Pavilion Master’s disciple?”

By now, everyone knew that the relationship between master and disciple was just a joke.

But without these identities as cover, neither Xiao Huan nor I would know how to face each other.

I forced a smile: “He’s barely eaten anything all day. Could you help me find a clay pot? I want to make some porridge.”

Su Qian stopped teasing me and turned to go.

After getting the clay pot, I found a small charcoal stove in the relay station and placed the pot, half-filled with clear melted snow, on the charcoal fire. I used nothing but a handful of fragrant rice, which I washed before putting in the pot.

The flames danced in the red clay stove, and the clean fragrance of rice gradually seeped out from under the pot lid.

A shadow appeared beside me – Su Qian had sat down on a low stool by the small stove at some point: “How is the Pavilion Master today?”

I shook my head: “Still coughing, coughed up blood once.”

Su Qian sighed: “Actually, you should be here. Before you came, even when he was very ill, he wouldn’t let anyone else into the carriage.”

I watched the bright red flames, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked: “What happened to Brother Xiao’s eyes?”

Su Qian smiled: “I thought you hadn’t noticed.”

“I didn’t notice at first, but later I saw,” I smiled slightly, “even writing is such a struggle for him.”

“In those days before you left for the capital, he would occasionally lose sight of things before him,” Su Qian answered directly, “Master Li said it’s the result of poison attacking his system, and it will get progressively worse.”

I made a soft sound of acknowledgment. No wonder those deep eyes always seemed covered by a faint mist, no wonder these past two days when he looked at me, he always had to focus so intently to see.

Su Qian suddenly spoke: “I was once a disciple of the Tianshan Sect.”

Last time at the palace, Li Mingshang had mentioned she was connected to the Tianshan Elder, but although I found it a bit strange at the time, I hadn’t asked further. Now that she brought it up herself, I listened attentively.

“Disciples of the Tianshan Sect must fight with their fellow disciples from a young age. If you’re too weak, you’ll be killed.” Su Qian’s voice was flat as if she were talking about someone else’s story. “I disliked it there, so I ran away, but I was recognized as a Tianshan disciple and hunted by the martial artists of the Central Plains. The Pavilion Master saved me. At that time, he was still alone. After he revived me, he stared at me for a long while before asking if I wanted to become a master of the jianghu with him.”

Xiao Huan must have been gathering his strength then, to use against the Lingbi Sect’s forces. Su Qian was probably the first person he recruited.

Su Qian’s lips curved slightly as she continued: “Of course I said yes. Tianshan’s disciples worship strength. The Pavilion Master is the only person I’ve ever met who might be able to defeat my mother.”

Seeing my surprised look, she said: “The Tianshan Elder is my mother, but even as her daughter, I was treated no differently from ordinary disciples on Tianshan, still having to kill fellow disciples to gain status.”

“Without the Pavilion Master, there would be no Su Qian of today.” She stood up as she said this, looking down at me. “So remember, the Pavilion Master doesn’t belong to you alone now. You’d better not let anything happen to him while he’s with you.”

That threat was quite severe. I smiled and nodded: “Alright, I understand.”

When the porridge was ready, I ladled it into a wooden bowl and carried it into the carriage.

I placed the bowl on the small table in the carriage and supported Xiao Huan’s shoulders to help him sit up.

As I helped him up, his eyelashes fluttered and he opened his eyes, coughing softly a few times before smiling at me: “Cang Cang, has night fallen?”

“It’s still early,” seeing his expression was still good, I helped him lean against the bedding and picked up the bowl, smiling mischievously, “Master, you ask if night has fallen as soon as you open your mouth – could it be you’re getting impatient?”

He was slightly startled, then smiled through his light coughing: “If you think it’s acceptable, we could start now.”

Not even blushing or showing shyness, speaking so calmly about starting now? My face suddenly grew hot instead. I cleared my throat, “You need to eat something first,” then winked at him, “I’m saying, you’re so weak – you won’t faint halfway through, will you? That would be awkward for me.”

He laughed softly through his coughs: “I’ll do my best.”

Do his best? Was there no other meaning in those words? My face grew hotter… How did he gain the upper hand with just two calm sentences? Making me the flustered one now?

Stay calm! I took a secret breath and smiled brightly: “Since the Pavilion Master says so, I’m reassured.”

Not daring to try teasing him with words anymore, I quickly moved the porridge bowl in front of him: “Please eat some porridge.”

He frowned slightly, looking at the well-cooked plain porridge before him. He still seemed to have no appetite, coughing slightly before saying: “You can put it down.”

I set it down, knowing this porridge would certainly just be left to cool and then thrown away.

I didn’t care what he thought. I scooped up a spoonful of porridge, blew on it to cool it down, and tested it against my lips. Finding the temperature suitable, I brought it to his lips: “Just eat a little, don’t force yourself.”

Only then did he lower his head to take a bite. I wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief as I fed him the rest of the white porridge. I smiled: “Was it to your taste? What would you like to eat? Just plain porridge like this? Or would it be better with some seasonings?”

He seemed surprised: “You cooked the porridge?”

I looked up with a smile: “How was it? Not bad craftsmanship, right?”

He nodded, smiling: “It was acceptable.”

I smiled and pushed the medicine bowl in front of him: “This needs to be finished too!”

A flash of undisguised panic crossed his face – sure enough, he still feared bitterness the most.

Watching him finally finish the bowl of medicine with great difficulty and furrowed brows, I took both bowls outside to wash them clean, then brought in the hot water and washing cloth I had prepared earlier. Setting down the basin, I smiled at him: “Will you undress yourself, or shall I do it?”

He was startled for a moment, then shook his head slightly and quickly began undoing his clothes himself, lowering his eyelashes as he did so, a faint blush rising to his face.

Holding back my laughter, I soaked the white cotton cloth in the hot water until it was thoroughly heated, then wrung it out until it was half-dry. Starting from his neck, I began wiping his body bit by bit. As I wiped, I thought about how he couldn’t bathe properly during the journey and wondered who had been helping him wash each day, so I asked: “Who has been helping you wash these past few days?”

He didn’t quite understand why I was asking this, and answered softly: “I did it myself, with Shi Yan’s help.”

I suddenly realized something: “Shi Yan has been with you since you were very young, before you ascended the throne, right?”

He nodded: “Shi Yan was the attendant father sent to accompany me in martial arts training. We’ve always been together.”

I wrung out the washing cloth fiercely. This Shi Yan, who looked so honest, had been taking advantage of Xiao Huan so quietly all this time.

As I carefully wiped his body, my face gradually began to burn. In the lamplight, his skin was very smooth, his body could be called perfect, except for that scar on his chest. A long, fierce line – the one I had left when I stabbed him that year.

It was from that time on that the misunderstandings between us grew deeper and deeper… Apart from brief moments of sweetness, there were only painful memories.

So what I’m asking for now… isn’t too much, is it?

Taking off my own clothes and washing myself clean with fresh water, I turned and lay against his chest, letting my nose tip lightly trace over his collarbone, Adam’s apple, chin, and jawline, finally stopping by his earlobe as I smiled silently: “My nose is a bit cold, isn’t it?”

He nodded slightly, his arms encircling my waist.

I took a light breath: “Shall we begin?”

He nodded again, gently, as if afraid of shattering something.

My arms held his back tightly, his chest radiating a faint, distant warmth.

No more hesitation – I raised my head and pressed against his lips, our tongues intertwining as my breath gradually grew thin. My heart pounded as if it would burst from my chest with each beat.

My hands moved frantically across his chest, traveling downward.

He caught my wrist, his eyes covering mine, beneath the misty depths of his dark pupils was a brilliance like the starry night, filling my entire field of vision.

My body was slowly laid flat as his cool fingertips traced over my neck, moving gently downward, my loose hair spreading across my shoulders.

His arms encircled my waist, light kisses trailing down my neck like scattered sunlight, creating ripples that warmed my entire body.

Holding his body, I smiled, my voice seeming aflame, somewhat hoarse: “Won’t you get tired?”

He didn’t speak, just threaded his fingers through my hair and gently drew me into his embrace.

Even the corners of my eyes grew moist as I tightened my arms around his neck. Every time I embraced him, I would tremble, as if beyond my control, my body would begin to shake, as though my very soul was trembling.

I must have been so afraid of losing him, so afraid every single time.

Pressing my face tightly against his chest, the raised scar there pressing against my cheek, I smiled softly and closed my eyes. At this moment, except for the sound of his and my breathing, everything in heaven and earth was still, even the heavy snow falling outside the carriage made no sound.

There was only the thin warmth in our embrace, gradually expanding, slowly surrounding body and mind, filling this silent space, expanding to infinity.

Could this silent snowy night last just a little longer?

I slowly opened my eyes in his arms, kissed his tightly closed eyes, and he frowned slightly but remained in deep sleep.

Last night’s lovemaking had actually been very gentle, but he was already exhausted and had been sleeping deeply ever since.

Getting up and walking to the carriage door, it was truly quiet outside. I poked my head out through the leather curtain, cool snowflakes landing on the tip of my nose. As far as the eye could see was an endless snowy wilderness stretching to the horizon.

There wasn’t a single person – apart from the sound of snowflakes drifting down and horses munching on fodder, the vast empty snowfield was completely peaceful.

We weren’t outside the town’s relay station, nor were we on the road to Bogda Peak. I didn’t know where this place was either.

Last night, I had simply asked Su Qian to wait until Xiao Huan was sound asleep, then take plenty of food and horse fodder and drive our carriage to the deepest part of the Gobi Desert.

The continuously falling snow could best erase our tracks. By now, the wheel tracks we’d left along the way had completely vanished. The desert was the best hiding place – even the most skilled trackers would find it difficult to locate us in such a vast expanse of the Gobi, and the most crucial issue of water for desert survival could be easily solved thanks to the snow covering the ground.

Su Qian and the others would use another carriage to maintain the appearance that Xiao Huan was still with them, continuing toward Bogda Peak to draw all attacks, while Xiao Huan and I would rest peacefully in this place until the heavy snow stopped and the water source disappeared.

I raised my lips in a silent smile. For a very long time, as long as the snow didn’t stop, I could be with him – days and nights, dozens of hours, countless moments, for so very long.

There was a rustling sound behind me – Xiao Huan seemed to have finally awakened. He came to the door and reached to lift the leather curtain: “It’s so quiet, haven’t we set out yet?”

Without turning around, I imperiously pressed his hand back: “It’s cold outside, you’re not allowed out.”

He suddenly seemed to understand something and reached out his hand again: “Cang Cang, this isn’t the relay station – where are we?”

I continued to press his hand back: “I said it’s cold outside, no coming out! From now on, you’re my male consort, and you’re not allowed to have any opinions!”

I raised my head, looking at the silently falling snow across the sky, and suddenly smiled: “Brother Xiao, why is it that such cold snowflakes, falling so quietly, can make you feel they’re so gentle, like tenderness scattered down from the sky – so abundant, and so warm.”

A large sandstone rock stood lonely on the Gobi plain, and our carriage was parked in its shelter from the wind.

Wisps of white smoke rose, climbing slowly through the falling snow. I turned over the meat skewers roasting over the charcoal fire – this was already the fifth one.

Our carriage was stocked with various ingredients; I had even found some fresh meat.

So I started a charcoal fire and skewered pieces of lamb to make kebabs. The first few skewers were either too old or too tough, but since food couldn’t be wasted, I had swallowed them all. Now with this fifth skewer, the color was slowly turning golden, and the fragrant meat aroma wafted out – it finally showed promise of success.

Behind me, the carriage’s leather curtain lifted, and Xiao Huan’s voice came with a smile: “Had enough of your meat craving? How well did my brushwork?”

While turning the meat, I gave a disdainful “hmph”: What a petty person – just because I couldn’t find anything to skewer the meat with and had dismantled one of his brushes to make a skewer, did he have to keep bringing it up? Even if it was a Huzhou purple bamboo wolf hair brush.

While grumbling internally, my hands didn’t slow down. Seeing shiny oil drops falling from the kebab, I sprinkled on some salt and seasonings, gave it another turn, and declared it done.

I took a bite first – the taste was both fresh and tender, so good I almost swallowed my tongue.

I quickly carried the kebab over, presenting it like a treasure in front of Xiao Huan: “This one’s delicious, quick, take a bite!”

He smiled: “The oil is hot, be careful not to burn your hands.” Then he opened his mouth and tore off a piece of meat at an angle, chewing slowly.

Watching his elegant eating manner that could be admired at any time, I couldn’t help but laugh.

He looked at me, and only after swallowing the meat in his mouth did he ask: “What is it?”

I laughed until my eyes nearly closed: “I suddenly remembered last winter at Kumul, it must have been so hard for you to pretend to be someone like Zhao Fugui, acting so crude must have been quite difficult, right?”

He also smiled: “Acting that way made it least likely for people to notice.”

I shook my head playfully: “My male consort is more refined than me and more beautiful than me – why do I feel like I’m more like the man here?”

A sudden sharp flick hit my forehead – Xiao Huan hated it most when people compared his looks to women’s. Both angry and amused, he said: “What nonsense, a young lady shouldn’t learn to be so glib.”

I rubbed my head: “I understand, Master, Pavilion Master…” While chattering, I quickly encouraged him to eat two more pieces while they were still hot, only taking the last piece back to bite into myself.

It was gone in two chews, not even enough to get stuck between my teeth. I smacked my lips – now that I had one successful experience, time to roast more.

Just as I was about to turn around, I suddenly struck several vital points on Xiao Huan’s chest with lightning-fast precision. After finishing, I grinned at him: “My forehead still hurts from where you hit it earlier. Got your strength back? The pressure points must be loosening up, right? If you hadn’t reminded me, I would have forgotten it was time to seal them again.”

How could Xiao Huan possibly stay with me willingly? That morning when he woke up and learned that Su Qian and the others were encountering enemies on his behalf, he immediately wanted to catch up with them. Fortunately, I had sealed his pressure points when he wasn’t paying attention, managing to stop him.

Though I might be lacking in other martial arts skills, my master was famous in the jianghu for his unique pressure point techniques, and I had learned at least twenty or thirty percent of his skills. Moreover, my master’s technique was unique – unless I released the points myself or twelve hours passed for them to naturally unlock, there was no way to undo them. Even though Xiao Huan was angry enough to faint, there was nothing he could do.

These past two days, I had been resealing his pressure points every twelve hours. With his internal energy sealed, Xiao Huan could move normally, but it was impossible for him to secretly chase after Su Qian and the others.

However, after a few days without the exhaustion of travel, his health had improved somewhat. He coughed less frequently, no longer coughed up blood, and the mistiness in his eyes had grown fainter than before.

Seeing my smug expression, Xiao Huan looked both amused and exasperated: “You…”

I smiled at him and turned back to continue roasting meat on the charcoal stove.

Before I could even skewer the meat, there was a rustling of clothes behind me as Xiao Huan came down from the carriage and stood beside me.

I turned my head and, without even looking, snapped: “It’s freezing outside, get back in!”

His slightly cool fingers touched my forehead as he smiled: “It’s red – does it hurt?”

I turned to look at him: “Yes, it hurts.”

He smiled and bent down to look at the charcoal fire, but when the smoke rose, he couldn’t help coughing several times.

I quickly turned around to urge him: “You’ve just started getting better, don’t run around! Hurry back inside!”

He smiled: “It’s fine.” Moving his face away from the fire, he asked, “Would you like some stewed lamb?”

My eyes lit up: “Yes! But I don’t know how to make it.”

He smiled: “Go get the pot.”

When he said he would make stewed lamb, I hadn’t expected he really would.

When the clay pot was uncovered, a mouth-watering aroma wafted out. I eagerly scooped up a piece of lamb and put it in my mouth, chewing despite the heat as I said to Xiao Huan sitting opposite: “Delicious! Who taught you this skill?”

He smiled, watching me eat the meat without any pretense of manners, but didn’t pick up his chopsticks: “Master Li liked to bring raw meat to the Palace of Heart Cultivation to find me. We would send everyone else away, cook a pot of meat, and drink together.”

I clicked my tongue: “Secretly cooking meat and drinking – don’t tell me you had a clay pot for cooking meat hidden under your imperial desk in the Palace of Heart Cultivation?”

He smiled and shook his head: “No.” Then quickly added, “The pot and stove were hidden under my bed in the East Warm Chamber.”

I burst out laughing: “Under the bed… When we return to the palace, I must find that clay pot.”

He also smiled, picked up a piece of lamb and slowly chewed it, then put down his chopsticks with a smile: “Missing a few seasonings, it’s not quite the same taste as before.”

I smiled and asked: “You and Master Li are very close, aren’t you?”

He nodded and smiled: “Though Master Li is Father’s sworn brother, I’ve always thought of him as my elder brother.” He paused, then smiled again, “Before I set out for Tianshan this time, he couldn’t persuade me to stay, and in his anger, he smashed his medicine box right in front of me – he must have been truly furious.”

I sighed and muttered: “If I were him, I would have smashed the medicine box on your head.”

He heard this and laughed softly, ignoring my comment.

I chuckled, then suddenly remembered something and got up to press on his shoulders: “Wait here, I’ll go find some wine.”

Finding the leather flask I had brought, I heated the remaining half-flask of strong wine over the stove. When it was thoroughly warmed, I poured it into a silver cup and brought it into the carriage, smiling at Xiao Huan: “Pity it’s not your favorite Bamboo Leaf Green wine, but it’s quite strong – can you drink some?”

He smiled and nodded, taking the cup from my hand and bringing it to his lips for a sip. Though he coughed several times afterward, he smiled: “It’s good wine.”

“It is good wine,” I snatched the cup back and placed it in front of myself, “Having meat and wine, that’s good enough.” I cleared my throat, “Drinking too much will harm your body, then you won’t be able to perform tonight.”

Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow and smiled: “Don’t worry, I can still fulfill my duties as your male consort responsibly.”

Although I often had the words “male consort” on my lips, hearing him say it himself was still somewhat awkward. I lifted my face and made a vague sound of acknowledgment before quickly lowering my head to focus on the meat and wine.

Suddenly a cool hand covered the top of my head. I stopped eating and looked up, meeting his eyes with their faint mist. I smiled: “What are you doing?”

He paused briefly, then smiled: “Cang Cang, you’re only infatuated with my looks, aren’t you?”

I grinned at him: “Yes.” Putting down my chopsticks, I reached across the table to hold his head and kissed his pale thin lips, “I’m just infatuated with you, that’s all.”

He frowned, gazing at me silently, then turned his head away with a slight smile: “Cang Cang, is there anything you want to do?”

I was startled, not understanding why he suddenly asked this, so I smiled: “What kind of things?”

He smiled: “Things you want to do purely for yourself, without any other considerations – are there such things?”

I nodded and thought carefully: “Can it be anything? Not like practicing martial arts or being a good empress, but something completely unambitious – is that allowed too?”

He smiled and nodded: “That’s fine.”

I thought for a moment: “I quite like the Phoenix Pavilion. Compared to the imperial palace, I prefer the jianghu. I think just staying in the jianghu, eating meat and drinking wine, doing what makes me happiest – that makes me very happy. So if I could choose, I’d want to stay with the Phoenix Pavilion.”

He pondered for a moment, then looked up at me: “Cang Cang, if you were to become the next Master of the Phoenix Pavilion, would you like that?”

I froze for a moment. I had only meant staying with the Phoenix Pavilion, doing the things I’d always wanted to do – being a righteous hero, living freely in the jianghu.

But Xiao Huan had suddenly placed before me this organization with over ten thousand disciples and influence spanning the realm.

Yet ideas began flooding my mind – being free alone was good, but if I could command the Phoenix Pavilion, I could do even more of what I wanted, transform it into the kind of jianghu sect I would prefer.

“Of course I would like it.” As I said these words, even I found it incredible – I had never imagined that one day I would become the leader of a jianghu organization.

His misty dark pupils brightened, and he smiled, lifting the corners of his lips: “Very good, I’ve been worried about who would succeed as Master of the Phoenix Pavilion.”

I hesitated, remembering the paper he had written a few days ago listing the various matters of the Phoenix Pavilion, and along with it came the memory of that striking bright red blood on the snow-white paper.

He added with another smile: “Cang Cang, I hope you can do what you truly want to do.”

When he said this, I suddenly remembered back in the Kumul camp, when I had argued with Kumul and seemingly casually said “No one has ever asked me what I really want to do.” At that time, Xiao Huan was disguised as Zhao Fugui and was in the tent – he must have heard those words, and he had remembered them all this time.

The steam rising from the clay pot misted my eyes, raising a white fog before them. I nodded randomly and lowered my head to continue eating the lamb.

When Xiao Huan’s eyes were good, he would read sometimes. We lay together every night, sometimes making love, sometimes doing nothing but holding each other until dawn.

The days passed one by one, and outside the carriage, the heavy snow continued without pause. The accumulated snow gradually buried half the carriage wheels, with snowflakes dancing wildly as darkness enveloped heaven and earth as if the end of days had come.