“Uh, um.”
Thinking of his crazy behavior just now, I dared not do anything rash, so I just sat there quietly.
Curled up in his arms, I secretly wiped away my tears and also dared not say a single word.
He seemed very angry and stopped talking to me. He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. His lower body became soft and hard again, soft and hard again, repeating this several times before it slowly subsided.
I sat on his lap, feeling very uncomfortable and extremely tormented. I don’t know how long I endured it. When his breathing calmed down and I couldn’t feel anything under my body anymore, I began to feel sleepy.
Before I knew it, I fell asleep in his arms.
In a daze, I was awakened by a low roar. As soon as I opened my eyes, my mouth was covered before I could say anything. The Saint Lord made a gesture to keep quiet and stared outside the tent.
I heard chaotic footsteps and dog barking around me, as if many people were coming. I was cheered up. Could it be reinforcements from the palace?
“They’re not equipped with the palace bell, so they’re not from the palace.” The Saint Lord whispered and opened the curtain a little. The firelight flickered outside. I looked outside and vaguely saw dozens of people holding torches. My heart tightened.
—It can’t be bandits or refugees, right?
“It is said that the secret treasure of the Tusheng Sect is hidden nearby. Is it true? Now there is an avalanche, where can we find it?”
“Hey, these seem to be the bodies of soldiers, look at what they are wearing!”
“The secret treasure of the Tusheng Sect must be nearby!”
There were discussions one after another, and one voice was so rough that it was particularly piercing:
“Hurry up and say it! If you don’t, Laozi[mfn]I, used in an arrogant way[/mfn] will kill you, the devil cultist!”
Another voice trembled and said, “Spare my life! In-in this valley, the secret treasure is located. There is a forest of camellia trees. The other trees are just like ordinary trees. There is only one tree in the middle. It blooms all year round and is evergreen. The secret treasure is buried under the tree!”
I peeked through the gap and found in the light of the fire that there was a priest in red among the crowd, with his arms grabbed by two big men on his left and right. It was obvious that he was being held hostage.
Are they bandits who are here to look for treasure? I started to feel uneasy and saw that the Saint Lord also frowned. The snow wolf growled softly, staring outside the tent, ready to attack, but he held its neck and shook his head to stop it. But in the blink of an eye, the dog’s barking was approaching, as if it had smelled us. The Saint Lord took off his outer robe and wrapped me up, holding me and lying on the wolf’s back: “You are light, it can take you away. I will go out to lead them away. You can come out again at dawn.”
“How can that be possible?” I struggled, “These people are obviously here for the Tusheng Sect, and you are the Saint Lord of the sect!”
“Be obedient.” He whispered and immediately got out of the tent, and I heard shouting from all sides outside: “There is still a survivor here! Blue eyes… is he a foreigner?”
“Saint-Saint Lord!”
“Saint Lord?”
Outside the curtain, a tall and strong man looked up and down at the Saint Lord with a torchlight: “That’s right, blue eyes, white skin… This is the Saint Lord of the Demon Cult! It’s really hard to find him…” He laughed loudly, “Hurry up and tie him up for me!”
The Saint Lord did not move at all, allowing several people to rush over and tie him up.
The snow wolf pricked up its ears and panted, seeming to want to rush out, but still endured obediently. My heartstrings were tense, and his words “obedient” were still ringing in my ears. I knew I should listen to him and go back to the palace to seek help, but my feet were rooted to the ground, staring at his elegant back in only a close-fitting undergarment, unable to move.
“It’s just as the rumors say, more beautiful than women…” The burly man holding the torch looked at his face, smiled, and even reached out to touch his face.
I immediately felt like I had swallowed a fly, and my fingers clenched uncontrollably.
“Big Brother, Saint Lord is not a bad guy, he helped me!”
“Yes, if it’s not for him, our child…”
“Shut up! How can the Saint Lord of the Demon Cult be a good person? Do you really think he is a pure white lotus that is untainted by the mud? Ah, bah!” The strong man spat on the ground, and there was a response from all around, drowning out the weak voice just now like a tide, “That’s right!” “This Saint Lord is usually worshipped as a god by these evil cultists. He is practicing Taoism by stepping on the corpses of our relatives!” “Kill him!”
“Kill him? Isn’t that too easy for him?” The sturdy man grabbed the Saint Lord’s chin and said, “The Saint Lord of the Demon Cult must know where the secret treasure of the sect is. You come and lead us to find it!”
“I don’t know what secret treasures the sect has,” The Saint Lord’s voice was cold and calm, like falling snow, making the surroundings quiet for a moment. “But I know where the forest you are looking for is, just follow me.”
“Then lead the way!” The sturdy man pushed him, and the Saint Lord turned and walked in the opposite direction of the palace. The sturdy man held the rope in his hand and hit him on the back. The Saint Lord paused, and he went further and pinched the Saint Lord’s waist!
A nameless anger rose up from the bottom of my heart. I grabbed a ball of snow and squeezed it tightly and was about to rush out, but the snow wolf held my hand down with its claw.
“You!” I was startled, and the snow wolf grabbed my neck again and pressed me under it.
I didn’t expect it to be so human. I was both moved and anxious. I whispered, “Those bandits must hate the Tusheng Sect so much, and they will not let the Saint Lord go even if they find the secret treasure. We can’t abandon the Saint Lord. What’s more, the Saint Lord is so beautiful. The bandit leader…”
I clenched my teeth. The snow wolf breathed heavily, and the hot air sprayed into my collar. I turned my head to look at it. Its ice-blue eyes moved to my face, but it still didn’t let me go.
At this moment, I felt that its eyes were very similar to those of the Saint Lord, captivating.
And I remember that before, the wolf’s eyes seemed to be gray, dog-like, innocent, and loyal.
I was stunned, and a strange feeling came into my mind. I looked outside again, and the fire had gone far away, and the figure of the Saint Lord could no longer be seen. The snow wolf licked my earlobe, which frightened me. It then moved its heavy body, and its huge wolf head reached under me, and it lifted me onto its back, stood up, and shook its fur.
As soon as it got out of the tent, it ran wildly towards the mountain where the palace was located.
I looked back and saw the little flames getting farther and farther away. For some reason, a thought came to my mind — I can’t leave him like this.
I gritted my teeth, jumped off the wolf’s back, fell into the snow, and rolled a long way away.
With an “awoo”, a white shadow jumped in front of me and grabbed my collar. I turned over and held its head. I found that its eyes had turned back to silver-gray and its look was different. But I didn’t care about its strangeness at the moment. I hurriedly said, “Little Wolf, go back and report the news. I will go find the Saint Lord!”
It roared, dug the ground with its front paws, and dragged me backwards by the back of my collar. I tore off the part of my neck that it had bitten, and ran towards the direction of the flickering fire in the distance.
After running a few steps, I heard the sound of panting. Looking back, the little wolf caught up with me but did not stop me. Instead, it ran to my side. I understood what it meant and sat on it. The little wolf carried me, quietly like a flash of lightning, not far behind the group of people, and went straight into the narrow part of the valley. Further ahead was a forest. Because of the heavy snow, from a distance, it looked like a field of jade trees, but they were all branches without leaves. I didn’t know if the tree that never withered in all seasons really existed.
After entering the forest, it was inconvenient to walk fast, so I got off the wolf’s back and walked slowly. It was almost dawn, and it was the coldest time. Although I was wrapped in the outer robe given to me by the Saint Lord, I was still shivering with cold. I dared not think about how cold the Saint Lord would be wearing only an undergarment.
Thinking of this, my heart ached. I saw that the group of people in front of me seemed to be very cold, so they stopped and made a bonfire.
“Damn, how big is this forest? We’ve been here for hours already. Are we lost? Are you going in circles on purpose?” I followed the sound and saw the burly man lifting the Saint Lord’s chin with a stick by the fire. “If you dare to play tricks on me, I’ll skin you alive! Don’t you demon cultists love skinning people the most? I’ll skin their Saint Lord and hang him up like a kite so that your gods can have a good look!”
“Do you have a grudge against the Tusheng Sect?” The Saint Lord was not annoyed at all and asked in a deep voice.
“Laozi’s wife, who was engaged to me since childhood, was kidnapped after they asked for her birth date and horoscope!”
“And my elder sister too!”
“My only child was so pitiful…”
“Damn the demon cult, damn the evil god!”
Dozens of young men around also threw their arms and shouted. I don’t know why, but my heart was shaken. But under the firelight, I saw that the Saint Lord remained silent but slowly stood up… and then knelt down in front of them.
He lowered himself to the ground, his head buried deep in the snow.
“The sins of my cult cannot be forgiven by heaven, I shall redeem it for eternity.”
My heart jolted, and the pain was unbearable.
There was silence all around for a moment, and someone stood up and kicked the Saint Lord on the back: “Who wanted you to be so hypocritical! If you kowtow and confess your guilt, can you give me my sister’s life back?”
“Didn’t you say you nearly became a god? Why don’t you teach my son how to bring the dead back to life?”
“Everyone said that you have divine blood. If cutting off your flesh and blood can be exchanged for my little sister, I will cut you into pieces immediately! My poor little sister — alive, she’s nowhere to be found; dead, there’s no body to be seen!”
I was just about to rush forward when I saw a thin figure dash to the bonfire and throw themselves onto the Saint Lord. “Big Brother! My younger brother is still alive, all thanks to the Saint Lord! It was the Saint Lord who swapped him and many other children with death-row prisoners and smuggled them out of the palace in chamber pots!”
“Get lost!” The burly men, clearly blinded by rage, kicked the frail man off the Holy Lord without hesitation and began beating him mercilessly. Unable to stand it any longer, I charged toward the bonfire, while the snow wolf shot forward like an arrow loosed from its string.
