“ROOOAR——!!!”
The sudden shockwave erupted along the ground, shaking snow clumps from frozen branches to patter down like rain.
The horses that had been advancing moments earlier instantly froze into icy statues in the snowfield.
“Fuck!” Shen Taotao nearly dropped her steamed bun into the snowdrift, her face turning pale. “The coal we threw earlier woke the hibernating Xiong Xiazi! Run…”
The last word “run” caught in her throat.
Thirty paces ahead, behind a collapsed snow slope, a moving mountain of flesh suddenly surged upward – nearly ten feet of brown fur advancing through the snow and ice.
“Shi… Shi Ren Xiong!” Zhang Xun’s voice cracked with terror.
The giant bear rose on its hind legs, tree-trunk thick forelimbs slamming the snow. The shockwave spread across the ice crust to their feet.
“Split up!” Xie Yunjing’s military order was faster than an unsheathed blade. His Xuan Tie Bian already drawn, he kicked his warhorse fiercely. The steed neighed as it cut across to the rear of the formation.
Too late!
The giant bear lunged forward, snow spraying thirty feet high as its dark shadow pounced on the guard at the rear.
The young guard hadn’t even time to draw his sword. His horse shattered like an eggshell under the bear’s paw with a sickening “CRACK!”
Horse collapsed, man flew – his body tumbling like a broken sack through the snow, dragging a ten-foot blood trail.
The cavalry formation shattered into chaos.
“Xie Yi…!” Xie Yunjing’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets. He watched helplessly as the guard who’d served him twenty years crashed into the snow like a broken kite, one leg shattered. The giant paw raised for a second bloody strike, aiming directly for Xie Yi’s head!
Xie Yunjing grabbed and threw – Shen Taotao spun through the air before crashing in front of Zhang Xun’s saddle. “Take her away!” Then his figure became lightning tearing through the snow curtain.
Xie Yunjing practically threw himself from the saddle, crashing into Xie Yi.
The bear’s paw carrying immense force grazed past Xie Yunjing’s shoulder.
“RIP!”
The wolfskin coat tore like paper, three deep bone-revealing gashes ripped open. A waterfall of blood instantly soaked half his cloak.
“Master, go—!” Xie Yi screamed through bloody foam, pushing up with his only intact left leg. “This subordinate will hold the beast! Take the brothers and… go!” Shattered leg bone pierced through his clothes, gleaming white and horrifying.
The answer came as the Xuan Tie Bian suddenly tightened around the bear’s neck.
“If we die, you die after me.” Xie Yunjing’s arm muscles tightened like steel cables, the iron whip digging deep into the brown bear’s neck fur.
The enraged beast thrashed wildly. Xie Yunjing’s feet, planted in snow, plowed two deep trenches through the ice crust. Blood gushed from beneath his feet, steaming hot into the snow.
The brown bear went completely berserk! Its foul-smelling maw descended toward Xie Yunjing’s head, fangs stopping just three inches from his throat. The scalding rotten breath made his vision darken.
“Duck—!” A sharp cry pierced the blizzard.
Xie Yunjing instinctively dropped!
“SWOOSH! THUD!”
An arrow reeking of pungent black oil grazed past the hair at his nape, striking deep into the bear’s neck.
The oil-soaked cloth wrapped around the shaft ignited upon contact with heat.
“Gurgle… roar…” Strange noises squeezed from the bear’s throat.
“BOOM!!!”
Flames erupted from deep within the giant bear’s throat. Its eyes, ears, mouth, and nose became volcanic vents spewing pillars of fire. Melted fat mixed with flesh and bone sizzled and spattered.
The charred bear corpse collapsed like a falling city tower, throwing up waves of snow, melting all accumulation within thirty feet.
The surviving Xie Yi dragged his broken leg to kowtow heavily beside the burning bear carcass. His forehead struck the frozen earth with hammer-like blows: “Lady Xie… life-saving grace!”
His bloodied forehead pressed against the ice: “This subordinate… kowtows in our prince’s stead!”
Shen Taotao quickly waved her hands in refusal. She had only thought of how the Huo Jian could kill the giant bear, but it was Zhang Xun who had shot the arrow.
Xie Yunjing rose, leaning on his iron whip. His wolfskin coat was soaked with bear blood, yet a speck of steamed bun crumbs from Shen Taotao’s hand still clung to his face.
He stared at the girl’s oil-stained, grimy face. The firelight danced across her mud-smeared cheeks, illuminating her blazing eyes—bright enough to tear through the frigid northern night.
The wind and snow howled across the silent wilderness.
Xie Yunjing stood by the bear’s carcass, propped up by his long whip. A large, dark brown stain spread over the torn shoulder of his coat, indistinguishable whether it was bear’s blood or his own.
His bloodied hand suddenly lifted—not to wipe the grime from his face, but to gently brush a slender burn mark on Shen Taotao’s cheek, left by a stray spark. His calloused fingertips were scorching, tainted with blood and tar, yet his touch was astonishingly steady, as if polishing a rare treasure.
“Back to the relay station!” he finally spoke, his voice hoarse like metal scraping against metal. His black cloak swept up abruptly, swirling with the scents of smoke, fire, and snow, enveloping Shen Taotao completely.
Darkness descended, thick with the smells of blood, char, and the cold metallic rust from his body. Just as Shen Taotao struggled, a soft, slightly damp sensation suddenly touched her blood-streaked temple.
It was fleeting—light and swift.
Like a snowflake melting on scorching iron.
Through the heavy wolfskin coat and bloodstained cloak, no one could see what had happened.
Only Shen Taotao remained frozen in the darkness, pressed forcibly against his chest.
The burning wound on her forehead stung sharply in the wind, a pain that pierced to the core. Yet that transient warmth had seared through the blizzard like a branding iron.