I opened my eyes in the darkness of my own spirit. I couldn’t say it was fun to be sent here against my will, but I also had very little strength to resist as I was right now, and if Bai Jing was right, I did not have much time either.If this snow storm continued, I would most certainly die here, and the rest of our caravan would not be able to proceed. And from the sound of it, there were a lot of things Feng Sha was not telling me about. I had already known of this, and the fact that he was hiding something from me, but I had simply been waiting for him to speak up on his own terms. Circumstances no longer left that as an option.I stepped across the darkness and moved rapidly. The tree was not far this time, and it did not take me long to find my way here. The divine tree remained just in front of me, and I could sense Feng Sha’s spirit residing inside it. I walked up the tree and looked up at the spirit.“Hey,” I said, raising my hand as if greeting a friend. The spirit didn’t re

I opened my eyes for the third time in the cave. I can’t say I felt too happy about being here for so long, but complaining about some stupid assassins wasn’t going to help me much either. The spirit sat nearby, a fire still burning near me, but it was distinctly starting to die. The temperature had plummeted far enough that a thin layer of ice covered the entire surface inside the cave now, and I wasn’t sure the presence of another winter spirit so near me was helping with things either.“What has the Divine One said?” Bai Jing asked, showing a rare display of emotion as concern and hope lingered across her face.“He’ll help us, but I need to do something first before he can,” I said, glancing sideways. The mini version of me was still running around, helping take care of me. There was a constant stream of Chi connecting it to me, but it was faint enough that it wouldn’t hurt me, even in my current state. “I need you two to gather some material for me. I need to upgrade the doll,” I

I struggled to count how many days had passed since the assassin had attacked me. Six? Seven? I could no longer tell. The fire that used to burn in the cave was gone now, the cold outside too deadly to traverse and the snow had already buried any wood I could’ve found nearby that would be usable. If not for me melting the ice at the entrance every day I’m pretty sure this cave would’ve been buried under snow as well. I wondered how everyone else was doing. They would’ve most certainly tried searching for me once they woke up, and given the assassin was dead, I was reasonably sure they did wake up. But this weather was… difficult. Even someone like the Lord would struggle to find me.I had found my hope growing about that impossible prospect, that by some miracle they would find me, but it was ultimately just my exhaustion speaking. I had given more than I had to give and now, only the bare remnants remained. I stood in front of a mud statue of myself now, as I slowly crafted and sculp

“Sister, it is I, Bai Jing. You are free now. We are free. Please, return to me,” the spirit said. For a moment, the storm calmed down, and Yuan saw rationality returning to the spirit’s eyes as she looked at Bai Jing.“You need to stop this storm! The assassin is dead, you’re free!” Yuan shouted. The spirit’s eyes went to him as he spoke, anger returning to her face as the winds howled once more.“Humans. It is always humans. You try to capture us, you try to tame winter. We will show you what we are. The darkest night that saps those who dare.”The winds swirled, as all of a sudden, the temperature plummeted. Sharp gusts of wind hurtled against Yuan, nearly pushing him back through the snow. His skin dried and began to crack, his blood freezing before it could flow out of his skin, dropping like red crystals onto the ground.“Listen to me! We’re not here to harm you!” Yuan shouted, but the spirit no longer seemed to be hearing. The winds howled with greater intensity than ever, as Y

I opened my eyes, finding a warm blanket covering my body. My memories felt fuzzy, like my memories were coming from two separate perspectives colliding into one. I looked at the roof above me and heard the fire crackling nearby keeping the insides warm. There was something warm grabbing me nearby as well, and as I raised my head, I saw Flee sleeping with her head on the side of the bed I slept on.As I rose, my movement stirred Flee awake. She opened her blurry eyes, rubbing them for a moment, before freezing mid motion as she saw me.“Great Master!” she exclaimed, leaping onto me with a hug.“Yeah, it’s me Flee,” as I grabbed her, stopping her from tackling me off the bed. Flee held me in a tight embrace clutching me as if afraid to let go.“Flee missed you,” she said.“I missed you too,” I replied, gently patting Flee’s head as I smiled. The questions swirling in my head retreated for a moment, as I simply soaked into the moment. A moment later a click sounded from the door and I s