Chapter 3 – The Monster

Bingyou’s expression remained as calm as ever, without the slightest ripple.

A soul that had already died… afraid of the cold?

Mu Shuiqi curled up on the ground, completely paralyzed, her body numb and stiff. With what little awareness she had left, she heard Yi Yao’s words. Had she already died?

No. She couldn’t accept it. She had just been thinking about going home. And Cui Mengmeng’s whereabouts were still unknown. She couldn’t die—not yet, not like this.

“Tomb Lord, this is too strange,” Yi Yao said, frowning. “If she were truly a spirit, how could she still possess the sensations of the living—so terrified of the cold to this degree?”
For thousands of years he had assisted the Tomb Lord in managing the souls of the Frozen Tomb, yet never had he encountered such a case.

A dead person behaving like the living—able to feel warmth and cold—and yet, her essence was undeniably that of the dead. The departed should be free from mortal suffering, untouched by sickness, heat, or chill.

Bingyou stayed silent. Even for him, who had overseen the Frozen Tomb for tens of thousands of years, this was the first time he had faced such a troublesome soul.

Yi Yao thought carefully. If they ignored her, what if she caused trouble in the future? Yet if they allowed her into the Tomb too easily, with her unknown origins, she might stir up turmoil that would trouble the Lord. He could not guess what decision the Tomb Lord would make.

“Give her the Frostbane Ice,” Bingyou finally ordered. “Enter, or leave—let her decide for herself.”

He extended one hand, palm facing upward. In an instant, a small crystalline flask filled with Frostbane Ice appeared in his palm. Handing it to Yi Yao, Bingyou vanished without a trace.

Mu Shuiqi lay trembling on the ground, her body stiff and immobile.

Her lips had turned darker than Bingyou’s violet robes, her face pale as snow.

Yi Yao fed her the Frostbane Ice and said:
“This is a medicine crafted personally by the Tomb Lord. Any mortal who consumes it can resist the deadly cold of the Frozen Tomb. Once you’ve taken it, you may go wherever you please. Best that you return to where you came from.”

With that, Yi Yao turned and disappeared into the sky.

The Frostbane Ice was refined from Frostbane Grass of the Tomb and the waters of the Lake of Purple Despair—extremely rare and precious.

The Frozen Tomb was the coldest place in the world. Within it, Bingyou cultivated hundreds of unique herbs, each with miraculous properties unlike any found elsewhere.

After swallowing the Frostbane Ice, Mu Shuiqi slowly felt warmth returning to her body.

When she opened her eyes again, no one was there. All she remembered was what they had told her: Return to where you came from.

Had she survived? She pushed herself up with renewed strength.

She wanted to go home. But how? She didn’t know. All she could do was take one step at a time.

By now, dusk was falling.

Tiny spirit insects rose from the Lake of Purple Despair, glowing with strange orange light, illuminating the forest around her. Like fireflies, they cloaked the wilderness in a veil of mystery.

Mu Shuiqi walked for what felt like hours, until midnight, yet she still had not left the forest surrounding the lake. This primeval woodland was endless.

Exhausted and starving, she finally gave in. She plucked some unknown red fruit from a nearby branch and ate it, half-afraid she might collapse from poison at any moment. But hunger left her no choice.

This forest was unlike that of Sacred Snow Mountain—everything here looked as though carved from ice. She couldn’t tell whether it was formed by nature or human hands.

Either way, this place was filled with strangeness. Those two people she’d met in the day didn’t seem human at all—they looked more like gods.

But she had always believed in atheism. No gods, no spirits.

It was all too strange. She couldn’t explain what she had experienced today.

She had to find Cui Mengmeng quickly. Then maybe, somehow, they could return home together.

At dawn, she finally emerged from the forest. Before her stretched a vast, wild grassland at the foot of the icy mountains. In the distance, rolling green hills extended endlessly toward the horizon.

How long will I have to walk before I find my way out? Where was Yicheng? Could this be the other side of Sacred Snow Mountain? Had she gone the wrong way?

She had heard that beyond the mountain lay another city. At the very least, she should see its silhouette. But here, there was only boundless green—nothing else.

In the distance, she spotted a small lake, its waters clear and shimmering. Thirsty beyond endurance, she pushed herself to run toward it.

Seeing how clean the water was, she plunged her face into it and drank deeply. Then she splashed her face, feeling instantly refreshed.

Suddenly, with a deafening roar, the once calm water erupted—something enormous burst out of the lake.

“Ah—!” She caught a glimpse of the monster and her legs gave out. In terror, she turned to flee.