Chapter 124: Unconscious on the Peak of Snow Mountain

The sun shined on the Snow Mountain as if a white blanket was covering it. However, the little warmth from the sunlight was unable to melt the thick snow, nor could it warm Xiao Xi’s trembling body.

Xiao Xi walked in the snow. Her pace started to slow down, her fingers froze and her eyesight became a little blurry. Am I tired? Or I’m just too cold? She could not tell the difference. She looked to the mountain in the distance and continued moving forward.

A silhouette followed her from behind and saw a layer of white snow accumulated on the dry wood on her back. Every step of hers seemed so tough, but she was so persistent to continue walking. Surprise flashed across his eyes, as if probably never expected a young girl to have such perserverance. She’s doing this, just for her master?

The silhouette followed Xiao Xi. Was he counting how long it will take for her to fall?

With so little clothes walking in the Snow Mountain, if a person does not have a lot of internal force, he is unable to hold on for so long. Not to mention that this young girl is weak, being able to persist until now is not an easy feat.

Time passed and the sun set. The snow seemed to be covered with a layer of colorful clothing. Xiao Xi saw the ice sculpture not far away, and smiled slightly at the corner of her mouth.

She had finally reached.

When Ling Er’s eyes caught Xiao Xi carrying the bundle of firewood, it wormed out of the snow and ran towards Xiao Xi’s direction.

“Squeak squeak squeak…”

Ling Er saw the blood and wounds on Xiao Xi’s hands froze to ice and it’s eyes were full of worries. However, Xiao Xi ignored it and walked toward Zi Yi while carrying the firewood. She wanted to place the firewood down, only to realise that her fingers were frozen and she was unable to move it.

“Ling Er, come and help me bite the vine.”

Ling Er’s ears moved and it crawled up along Xiao Xi’s legs. It then bit the vines that were tied to her body, making the dry firewood fall to the ground. At the same time, Xiao Xi fell to the ground with her head spinning. The cold and tiredness caught up to her and she passed out.

Ling Er came out from Xiao Xi’s arms and started squeaking after seeing Xiao Xi unconscious on the ground.

However, the young girl lying on the snow was too tired to hear Ling Er’s sound.

The silhouette walked over and saw the young girl on the ground. He crouched down slowly and placed his fingers under her nose. Her breath was weak. He then bent over and carried the young girl up. Surprise flashed across his eyes when he saw Ling Er on the floor. He glanced at the transparent ice seal and saw nothing inside.

The silhouette was lost in his thoughts. His gaze fell onto the firewood on the floor. Could it be… Xiao Xi’s master is stuck inside the ice seal?

His eyes were startled, and he felt that the body of the young girl in her arms gradually become stiff. He frowned, took off his thick robe, and wrapped the young girl in it.

Nothing can happen to the person who the master wants.

Ling Er did not stop the man, most probably knowing that no one can save Xiao Xi now except for the person in front of him.

It followed the man down the mountain, but the man was too fast. Ling Er followed him but lost him halfway.

At the bottom of the Snow Mountain.

The man pushed the curtain aside and placed Xiao Xi who was wrapped in his arms into the carriage, “My lord, she is unconscious.”

The man in white robe hugged Xiao Xi towards him. He looked at Xiao Xi’s frozen and discolored face and her close eyelashes that were as white as hoarfrost and frowned. He touched her frozen face with his fingers and the cold rushed into his finger.

So cold.

“An Ye, faster start up a fire.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Nan Gongyin took off the thick robe off the young girl and looked at her hand full of scars. The blood and wounds that were frozen into ice pricked his eyes.

Does she not want these hands anymore?

Nan Gongyin blamed the unconscious little girl in his heart. He took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve, dug out some ointment, applied it to his palm and rubbed his palms together. He then covered the young girl’s hands which were in a terrible state with his palms. It felt as if his palms were covering ice cubes. Slowly, the ice cubes in his palms started to melt and the ointment started to rub into the wound on her hands.

After a while.

“My lord the fire is ready.” An Ye’s voice came from outside the carriage.

Nan Gongyin picked up the unconscious girl in his arms and stepped out of the carriage.

An Ye saw the young girl covered with Nan Gongyin’s mink cape and a weird look flashed across his eyes. He walked up,” My lord, your body is not too good, let me do it!”

An Ye meant to let him carry Xiao Xi.

“No worries.”

Nan Gongyin carried Xiao Xi and walked toward the fire. He sat on the mat laid by An Ye, and used his finger to wrap a strand of hair behind her ear and covered half of her cold face with his palm.

An Ye stood next to Nan Gongyin and saw all of his gentle actions towards the young girl. He said, “My lord, she carried the firewood to the top of the mountain. On the peak of the mountain, there was a one-person tall ice seal on it but there was nothing inside. According to Xiao Xi’s behavior, she looked like she wanted to light the firewood on fire to melt the ice.”

An Ye paused and continued, “At the bottom of the mountain, Xiao Xi kept talking about saving her master. Master, do you think the master Xiao Xi wants to save is in the ice seal?”

A little fox can change into a human. Her master is definitely someone extraordinary. An ordinary person is unable to see him, this is not impossible.

Nan Gongyin’s frown tightened, and the cold little face in his palm gradually warmed up. He removed his palm and placed it on the other half of her face.

“She carried those firewood and went all the way to the top of the snow mountain?”

Nan Gongyin’s voice sounded calm, but deep down in his heart, he was shocked.

She wore such little clothing and carried so much firewood. An average burly man might not even be able to do it, so how did she carry it up the Snow Mountain?

“Yes my lord. She continued walking until she reached the ice seal, untied the firewood on her back and passed out.”

Nan Gongyin’s fingers shook fiercely. He could not keep his gaze off the young girl in his arms whose eyes were closed tightly. She was so quiet she felt like a sleeping porcelain doll. Who is able to guess that she has such strong perseverance?

Upon seeing half of Xiao Xi’s face regain color, An Ye was startled, “My lord, your body is weak. Why are you using your internal force to warm her up?”

“She is still a weak girl. If I do not use my internal force to keep her warm, I’m afraid she will die here.”

“Master, you can ask me to do such a trivial matter instead.” An Ye kneeled beside Nan Gongyin and stretched his hands out, “Let me use my internal force to warm her up.”

Nan Gongyin glanced at the An Ye’s said lightly, “No need. I have already warmed her meridians.”

An Ye was startled and worried, “My lord, your body…”

“I am fine.”

Being too tired and exhausted, Xiao Xi woke up after sleeping for a day and a night.

Xiao Xi’s eyelashes trembled. When she opened her eyes, she saw a familiar handsome face.

Nan Gongyin?

Xiao Xi’s mind was muddled. She opened her mouth, “Why are you here?”

“If it weren’t for me, you would have died on the peak of the Snow Mountain yesterday.”

Xiao Xi thought of Zi Yi who was on the top of the Snow Mountain, and was her heart skipped a beat but it was soon suppressed down. Nan Gongyin is unable to see Zi Yi. Even if he went to the top of Snow Mountain, he still won’t know the existence of Zi Yi.

“Did you save me?” Xiao Xi looked at Nan Gongyin and said, “Is your body feeling better now?”

“If you can make me less worried, my body will recover faster.”

Nan Gongyin looked at Xiao Xi, and those cold eyes became gentle, as if it could absorb a person’s heart.

Xiao Xi’s heart trembled, and her face blushed red. His concern for her was expressed in such a straightforward way and she felt her heartbeat getting faster.

“Xi’er, I thought if I sent you to the Regent House, you would be able to live perfectly fine. It doesn’t seem to be the case now. You went to the peak of the Snow Mountain alone. If anything happens to you, what do you want me to do?”

Xiao Xi shook her head and wanted to tell Nan Gongyin that she was living a good life at the Regent House. It was not what he thought it was. After hearing Nan Gongyin’s last sentence, a warm current gushed into Xiao Xi’s heart, making her heart tremble.

This feeling was unexplainable, even Xiao Xi could not control it.

“It’s not what you think.”

Xiao Xi shook her head and looked away. She did not dare to look at his captivating eyes. She suddenly found out that she was in his arms. Being slightly surprised, she moved away from his arms but kept her in his arms by hugging her by her waist.

“Xi’er, to this day, are you still protecting Feng Lingran?” Nan Gongyin’s voice was cold. “You were nearly killed on the top of the Snow Mountain, but where is Feng Lingran? He’s leading his troops to attack Kyushu City. Does he even care if you’re alive or dead?”

Nan Gongyin’s words made Xiao Xi feel a little uncomfortable. This incident had nothing to do with Feng Lingran. She didn’t tell Feng Lingran and ran all the way to Zi Yi. Even if she died on the top of the Snow Mountain, she herself was to blame.

“Nan Gongyin, you saved my life and I am grateful to you, but this matter has nothing to do with Feng Lingran. As the regent of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it is not wrong for him to attack Kyushu City. Me coming to the Snow Mountain is my business. Don’t involve him in this.”

Nan Gongyin saw the young girl in her arms defending Feng Lingran and discomfort flashed across his eyes.

“Fine. This has nothing to do with him.”

Nan Gongyin ended his sentence and his long expression was cold.

Xiao Xi frowned. She felt Nan Gongyin’s chest undulating slightly, and seemed to feel the anger in him.

What is he angry about? Does he care about her?

Xiao Xi waved the weird thoughts out of her mind. She looked at the wounds of her hand that had scarred and was exuding a faint medicine scent. Nan Gongyin helped her to put on medicine?

“Nan Gongyin, can you please let me go first?”

Xiao Xi blushed. She could not control her heart when she was in his arms. If she had not understood her heart long ago, she might have thought that she had fallen for Nan Gongyin.

Nan Gongyin gradually let go of the young girl in his arms, and saw the young girl moving around, preparing to jump off the carriage.

“Do you still want to die on the peak of Snow Mountain?”

His warmth disappeared, and his voice turned cold as if he had changed into a different person.

Xiao Xi was stunned. She felt Nan Gongyin’s haze on her and touched her nose, “When I was born, my dad went to a fortune teller for a fortune telling. The fortune teller said that I will live a tough life. Even if I die, I might even come back to life.”

Before this, she thought it was just a joke from her dad. Now she really believes that she lives a tough life.

Xiao Xi jumped off the carriage and shivered when she saw the snow-capped Snow Mountain in the distance.

It’s cold.

Xiao Xi glanced at herself. With such thin clothes, is she supposed to hike up Snow Mountain like this?