The snow fell harder, nearly blinding her.
Thud.
Something landed in front of her. Xu Songhe struggled to lift her head and saw the bow that had just been used to shoot the pursuers. It had fallen apart, its pieces sticking out of the ground, the string snapped in two.
A jolt of surprise shot through her. She had thought it must be some incredibly powerful weapon to fend off so many people. Instead, it was just an ordinary bow made of branches—and it didn’t even have arrows. The things that had brought those men down were just a few leaves.
She swallowed hard, realizing she had vastly underestimated the man’s combat skills.
A dark figure descended from above. A cool, detached voice drifted past her ear:
“Still not getting up? Is kneeling in the snow really that comfortable?”
Xu Songhe paused, then looked up to meet a pair of smiling eyes.
The sense of crisis from her narrow escape had barely faded. Before she could even say “thank you,” he asked nonchalantly, “Did you lead those people here?”
“N-no,” Xu Songhe stammered, catching a glimpse of murderous intent in his eyes.
She scrambled to grab the corner of his robe, her words tripping over each other. “I don’t know them. I didn’t know they were looking for you.”
Besides, if they were looking for him, why would they capture her?
Xu Songhe kept the thought to herself.
The fabric she had been clutching slipped from her palm as a hand suddenly clamped down on her shoulder. A sharp, stinging pain radiated through her.
She dared not move, only tilting her head back slightly and gazing up at him with wide eyes.
“Is that so?”
The young man’s voice was flat, giving no hint whether he believed her or not. He slowly released her shoulder.
Before Xu Songhe could even catch her breath, he looked back at her. “You saw me kill all those people. What do you think about that?”
Xu Songhe paused, then answered without thinking twice. “I think… you’re kind of pitiful.”
Her voice softened, and her head drooped. Snowflakes clung to her eyelashes, making them look like wet butterfly wings.
A flicker of confusion crossed the young man’s face, and his voice turned even colder. “They’re the ones dead, yet you pity me?”
He tightened his grip on her shoulder again, the pain making her breath hitch.
Xu Songhe held back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes as she struggled to speak. “You didn’t do anything to them, yet they all tried to kill you. If your magic had been any weaker, you might not have been able to handle them.”
“How do you know I didn’t do anything?”
“At least that’s how it looked to me. I just feel like you’re a good person.”
He tilted his head, his piercing gaze lingering on her face as he searched her eyes for a single flaw in her words.
Finally, he released his grip on her shoulder and casually brushed the snow from his clothes. “Fine. What did you come to see me for?”
Now that he’d finally brought up her purpose, Xu Songhe blanked for a moment before remembering why she was there.
She quickly stood up, dusted off her hands, and pulled out the set of keys she’d been cradling in her arms, dangling them in front of him. “It’s too dangerous out here. See? There were so many people trying to capture you just now. Come home with me. You’ll be safe there.”
After all, I have a house now, she thought, a proud little smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
“Home?”
Qi Wuyang’s gaze swept from the keys back to her face. He frowned slightly, the word seemingly incomprehensible to him.
“Mhm,” she nodded eagerly like a little rabbit, her smile brightening as snow fell all around them. “Husband, have you forgotten? I told you I’ll always be on your side.”
Meeting her expectant gaze, Qi Wuyang didn’t agree, nor did he refuse. He simply turned around and walked away in the opposite direction, leaving her behind.
“Husband, where are you going?”
Xu Songhe hurried to keep up with him. But the snow beneath her feet felt ice-cold, and her legs felt as heavy as lead, making every step a struggle.
Qi Wuyang stopped and looked back, his gaze sweeping right past her. “They’ll be awake soon. If you don’t get inside now, you’ll lose your chance.”
What?
Xu Songhe followed his gaze back the way they had come. The two guards who had been blocking the city gate were still unconscious, but there was no telling when they would wake up.
“Aren’t you coming with me?” she asked cautiously.
He didn’t answer. With a flick of his sleeve, the snow on the ground swirled into the air. By the time she could see clearly again, his figure was already disappearing into the shadows cast by the trees.
If I keep chasing him, will he get annoyed?
Better to know when to stop, Xu Songhe thought. Winning him over isn’t something I can rush. I’ll just go back and get settled. Maybe one day he’ll change his mind and come find me.
Besides, her earlier words had been incredibly foolish. Who could possibly threaten a powerhouse like him?
Resigning herself, Xu Songhe turned around. While the two guards were still out cold, she quickly slipped back inside.
“How could a perfectly good horse suddenly run wild? Find out who’s behind this—now!”
As she passed the same street again, a familiar voice caught her ear. Turning, she saw the arrogant young master from the wine shop—the same one who had knocked her over with his carriage earlier.
He was fuming, while his guards stood before him with their heads bowed, not daring to utter a word.
Less trouble is better, Xu Songhe thought, lowering her head and slipping away.
Gripping the bunch of keys, she wove past a variety of shops before stopping in front of a small house.
She opened the door and shook the snow from her clothes. The moment she stepped inside, the snow began to fall even harder.
Though the house was small, it was fully furnished.
The sect must be quite wealthy, Xu Songhe mused, to hand over a whole house in one go.
After tidying up briefly, she lay back in a wooden chair and watched the snow drift past the window, observing the few passersby hurrying along under their umbrellas. Being from the South, she had never seen snow before, and the sight fascinated her.
The clothes she wore were far too thin for the weather. She lit the stove, and only then did her frozen face begin to warm up.
Glancing at a large wardrobe in the corner, she rose and walked over, hoping to find something. When she pulled open the doors, she froze in surprise.
It was packed with clothes.
Xu Songhe nearly cried out loud. She felt like kneeling and kowtowing to Young Master Zhuo in gratitude.
After rummaging through the wardrobe for a while, she finally chose a pale yellow jacket embroidered with plum blossoms, stuffed full of cotton, and slipped it on.
By the time she returned to the window, the street was empty.
It makes sense, she thought. Who would be out in this kind of snow?
Xu Songhe leaned back in her chair, the exhaustion of the past few days finally beginning to ebb. She let her mind wander over everything that had happened since she arrived here.
She even wondered if she had never died at all, and if this was all just a dream.
Fine, she admitted to herself. I just can’t accept the fact that I’m never going home.
She had been mysteriously transported to this world and encountered a man the system called her “future husband.”
Though she still didn’t even know his name, he had saved her several times. If destiny ever brought them together again, she was determined to repay the favor.
Her gaze drifted with the snowflakes outside, eventually settling on a group of dark figures in the distance.
Wait, she realized. Didn’t everyone go home?
The sky was darkening, and the howling wind battered the window like a demon’s wail. On the distant, undulating mountain peaks, the twilight sky had faded into a lifeless gray.
Her train of thought snapped.
Xu Songhe rubbed her aching arms and decided to lie down on the bed, rather than keep wondering why anyone would still be out in this weather. But suddenly, the voices of those figures drifted through the window and reached her ears:
“Search every inch! The sect leader’s orders are clear—ten taels of silver to whoever captures Qi Wuyang and his accomplices!”
Through the blurred glass, she saw the fierce-looking leader barking orders at his subordinates. Even from a distance, his words were perfectly clear.
In the middle of the night, in the middle of a snowfall… what other poor soul is unlucky enough to get captured today?
Xu Songhe breathed on the windowpane to clear the condensation, her feet still swinging restlessly as she sat in the chair.
A flash of white light crossed her vision. Thinking it was a trick of the light, she rubbed her eyes. When she looked again, she saw the men—swords drawn—heading straight for her.
What the hell? Don’t tell me they’re coming for me!
A chill ran down her spine. Xu Songhe bolted to her feet, but in those few seconds of panic, they had already drawn closer.
She yanked the curtains shut, blew out the candle, and prayed the illusion of an empty room would fool the pursuers.
But it was too late. They’d already spotted her at the window.
The flimsy wooden table offered no protection. The door was kicked open with a crash. Xu Songhe scrambled backward, her heart trembling at the cold glint of the blades.
Before she could think, she turned to run to the inner room and lock the door. But a sudden grip tightened around her neck, and in an instant, her feet left the floor, dangling in mid-air.
It was the fierce-looking soldier. He had hoisted her up by the scruff of her neck.
“Put me down—what… what do you want?”
Her throat felt as if a stone had been shoved into it, making it impossible to breathe.
A cold object pressed against her neck. A rough voice demanded, “Speak! Where is that bastard Qi Wuyang?”
“I… I don’t know who you’re…”
Xu Songhe felt herself choking. She used her last ounce of strength to claw at the massive hand, but it was useless.
A sharp pain shot through her knees, bringing her back to her senses. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw were bloodstains on the floor. The entire room seemed to spin.
Her neck throbbed with pain, and she could barely keep her head up. She felt arms lift her from the sides, but she had no strength to fight back. She knew struggling was useless, and her heart sank.
The home she had worked so hard to secure was now a complete mess, every possible hiding spot ransacked and turned upside down.
The soldier continued to roar, refusing to give up. “Don’t miss a single stone! We will find him today!”
The hem of her dress was shredded against the floor, and blood seeped into the pristine white snow. The freezing flakes stung her wounds, and each breath she took carried a sickening metallic scent.
Xu Songhe struggled to open her mouth, trying to find a way to breathe, but a biting wind tore into her throat, nearly choking her unconscious.
She didn’t know where they were taking her.
When she finally managed to open her eyes again, her wrists were bound tight with iron chains, her body dangling in the air. Her head slumped forward, and she saw her cotton-padded jacket torn and shredded, hanging from her shoulders like lifeless, withered petals.
“Tell me where he is, and I’ll let you go.”
Xu Songhe’s eyelids flickered. She lifted her head and noticed another man.
He wore a mask and held a long whip. As it lashed down, the rushing wind whipped past her ear like a pair of sharp knives scraping against her skin.
Xu Songhe wasn’t sure if her ears were still attached.
She couldn’t see his expression beneath the mask, but she heard his cold laugh.
The whip in his hand gleamed with a dangerous light. “Think carefully. Are you really going to take my lashes for that villain Qi Wuyang?”
Xu Songhe was too weak to even speak. “I have no idea… who that man is.”
“Still lying?” The man’s voice grew sharp and rushed, as if he were losing his patience. “Didn’t he just kill several of my disciples to save you? Tell me where he is, and I’ll let you down. How does that sound?”
She would have told him if she knew, but she truly didn’t.
Besides, the man before her was a textbook example of a novel’s villain—the kind who would break his word in a heartbeat.
Since she couldn’t escape anyway, her fear suddenly vanished. She gazed at him, her voice a mere thread. “If you let me down… will I be alive or dead?”
[Host, don’t worry,] a voice rang through her mind, audible only to her.
[Your future husband is bound to you through the Heart-to-Heart Connection Function. He showed up for you the last two times; he will definitely come to rescue you this time.]
Xu Songhe’s fingers twitched. She couldn’t tell if the voice was trustworthy.
But then, the sound of something scraping against the floor echoed through the silence. The heavy prison doors swung open, and a figure emerged into the light.
Xu Songhe’s heart hammered against her ribs. A fierce, renewed will to survive flooded her with a sudden surge of joy.