As soon as it went down my throat, my face burned, and I felt lightheaded. By the time I returned to the tent, I collapsed into a deep sleep. In a haze, it felt like my body was being lifted, a cold breeze sweeping over me. In an instant, it became warm again, and I was laid down on a soft cushion. I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids were heavy, and a faint itch spread across my face, mixed with the lingering warmth and alcohol in the air.
“Mi Jia… you look so beautiful when you’re drunk…” A warm, soft drop fell at the corner of my eye. “You pretend not to recognize me, have you forgotten me? It’s fine if you have. This is my retribution.”
The wetness touched my face, seeping into my lips, it was salty.
I was in a daze, unable to tell whether I was dreaming or awake.
Who is Mi Jia? And who is speaking? Why does this name sound so familiar?
Suddenly, my lips were covered by something soft, and it seemed as if a cluster of flames spread from the tip of the tongue, igniting my already hot body. I couldn’t help but bend my waist and raise my head to breathe. I felt a burning sensation in my chest and a sharp pain as if I was bitten. I woke up suddenly and found that the king was covering me with his clothes in disarray and my pants were taken off.
“Your-Your Majesty!”
I was so ashamed and frightened that I kicked him in the stomach. The king fell to the ground unexpectedly. Without caring about anything else, I pulled up my pants and crawled out of the tent but was strangled around the waist again.
“Don’t be afraid, don’t run. I have missed you once and don’t want to miss you a second time…” He kissed my neck, pressed me down, and tore off my pants.
“Your Majesty, you’ve got the wrong person…” I was so scared that I started crying, but he covered my mouth.
“I approached you at first because I hated him, but later, I really fell in love with you. After going through so much trouble, I finally found you before my ninth brother… I will make it up to you, Mi Jia. Even if you are a man, I will make you my queen.”
“Umm!”
My pants were pulled down to my knees. I struggled hard and twisted my waist, but I had drunk too much and had no strength. My waist and hips were lifted up again.
“Mi Jia, be mine, I will treat you well…”
Suddenly a sharp whistle came from far away, and the whole tent seemed to be hit by something. With a fluttering sound, a group of white shadows suddenly rushed in.
The hand on my waist loosened, I broke free from the restraint, turned around and looked, and saw a big bird with red and white feathers spread its wings and block my way. It was the one I saw the day before.
I pulled up my pants and crawled out of the tent.
The wind and snow outside were howling, much more violent than before, and almost blew me away. The soldiers were busy reinforcing the tents, and someone exclaimed, “Who is coming from the hillside?”
I looked in the direction the soldier pointed and saw a cloaked figure swooping down on horseback, followed by two or three snow wolves. ‘Buzz—’, a series of loud horn sounds came from behind me, and someone shouted, “Prepare bows and arrows, protect His Majesty!”
That figure in the cloak suddenly pulled down his hat and shouted, “Don’t blow the horn under the snowy mountains!”
“Wait, isn’t that the Saint Lord?”
Before the latter finished speaking, there was a loud bang, and I saw the rolling white snow collapsing from the mountain top like a flood behind the figure in the distance. My heart fell into the abyss, and I instinctively ran towards him, but in the blink of an eye, the figure was annihilated, and the snow wave rushed over my head in an instant. Before I could react, I was washed away like a leaf and was swallowed by the huge white wave in an instant. My head hit something, and my eyes went black.
“Awoo—”
While dazed, I heard the low howl of a wolf.
I struggled to open my heavy eyelids, startled by the pair of eerie green eyes before me — it was a wolf, a snow wolf. Though not large, it could easily devour me. As I moved, I realized half of my body was buried in the snow, leaving me unable to escape. For a moment, I thought my end had come, but to my surprise, the snow wolf kept digging at the ground with its front paws, its head pushing against the snow as though it was trying to help free me, showing no intention of eating me.
The scene of the avalanche flashed through my mind, and I suddenly remembered that at that time, there seemed to be several of these snow wolves following the Saint Lord. Did he raise them?
Where is the Saint Lord? And where are the king and his men?
Looking around, it was now evening, and all I could see was a vast expanse of white. I found myself in a valley, surrounded by the rolling mountains. In the distance, the outline of the palace could be seen atop a mountain peak. But as they say, “A mountain looks closer than it really is.” At this distance, if I were to walk on foot, it would likely take me a whole day and night to reach it and I still won’t be able to reach.
Not far off, there were several pointed mounds, seemingly the outlines of tents. I hurriedly dug my legs out of the snow, and the snow wolf, showing a surprising understanding, lay on top of me, using its body heat to warm my frozen legs. After a while, my legs finally regained feeling.
I hugged it gratefully. “Thank you.”
It licked my hand and then nuzzled me with its nose.
I asked it, “Where is your master? Is he nearby?”
It let out an “awoo,” its ears drooping down, clearly indicating a no.
I leaned on the wolf and struggled to get up, walking toward the shape that resembled a tent. I dug a few times and soon uncovered a half-dead horse and the framework of the tent, buried under the snow. The snow wolf immediately seemed to sense something, and it darted under the tent. I bent down and followed, and as soon as I entered, I saw a person half-buried in the snow — it was the king.
I struggled to drag him out and checked his breath, he was still alive. I let out a sigh of relief, noticing his thin clothing. It seemed he hadn’t had time to dress properly inside the tent. If this continued, he might freeze to death. I gently patted his face, which had turned as pale as paper, then pulled him into my arms, pressing him close to the snow wolf. I called his name several times, and finally, he slowly opened his eyes.
“Jia…” His eyes were dazed, and he murmured in a trance.
I remembered what had happened in the tent, and a sense of resentment surged in me. How could a king take advantage of someone in such a vulnerable position? I was furious and almost wished I could slap this foolish ruler across the face a few times. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Seeing him in such a precarious state, hanging on to life by a thread, I couldn’t bear it. So, I reluctantly pinched his pressure point to try and rouse him.
After a moment of pinching, he finally woke up, staring at me in a daze.
“It really is you,” he said, his voice still hazy. “I thought I was dreaming.”
“Your Majesty, you’ve mistaken me for someone else. My name is Tai Xue, not the person you’re referring to.” I said.
He smiled lightly, not taking it to heart. “Call yourself whatever you want, I like it either way.”
His words were so cheesy that I was left speechless, but the weather was freezing, and we were both scantily clothed. There was no other way but to huddle together for warmth, and there was no escaping it.
“Just like before, the scent on you is clean and pure, even more so than the smell of snow. Now, this name really suits you.”
I didn’t respond, my mind kept drifting back to the scene during the avalanche, and I looked around, hoping to catch sight of the Saint Lord.
I heard a few suppressed coughs, as if being forced back.
“You’re looking for Ninth Brother, aren’t you? Don’t worry, Ninth Brother doesn’t die so easily.”
“Is Your Majesty not at all concerned about the safety of the Saint Lord?” I asked instinctively. “Aren’t you… brothers?”
He snorted and laughed, “Yes, he’s my brother, but he’s never shown any pity for me, so why should I worry about him? Besides, he has the undying golden body to protect him. Why should I be concerned?”
I knew this involved royal secrets, yet I couldn’t help but ask, “Your Majesty, you are of the highest esteem, already a king of the nation. Why would you still need the pity of your brother?”
He laughed, coughing as he did, but didn’t answer my question. Instead, he looked towards the tent, saying, “There should be a heater inside the tent, with firestones. I wonder if they were swept down as well.”
“Really?” I was suddenly alert and scrambled into the tent, searching through the snow. Sure enough, I found a heater containing firestones and charcoal. I hurriedly lit the heater, but when I crawled back out of the tent, I saw that the king had collapsed, already unconscious.
“Your Majesty!” I patted his face, unsure of what to do next, when suddenly, a sharp howl echoed from afar, growing closer and closer.
This… I looked up and saw a white figure swoop down from above — it’s the red-headed bird. It circled once before flying toward the west. The snow wolf beside me howled and leapt three feet high, running toward the west. Following its path, I saw a figure in a cloak riding a large snow wolf galloping toward us, his robes fluttering in the wind.
In an instant, he had reached close, leapt off the wolf’s back, and landed right in front of me.
Hidden beneath the shadow of his hat, his blue eyes looked down at me, the rims of his eyes reddened and his breathing heavy, as if he had been riding through the snowstorm for hours, with ice accumulating on his cloak. We stared at each other for a moment, frozen in place. His gaze moved from the top down, inch by inch, as if inspecting me, finally landing on the person who was uncomfortable in my arms.
