Chapter 54

A Snowball Fight

Xie Que Shan did not sleep the whole night.

The informant from the back mountain had come under the cover of night, reporting that, during the conversation between Xie Sui An and Prince Ling’an, they had learned that a new leader had emerged in the Candlelight Division.

It was likely that the person was Song Muchuan. Indeed, he had chosen to stand against Xie Que Shan.

The reason he had allowed Xie Sui An to go to the back mountain was to confirm his suspicions about Song Muchuan. He hadn’t expected that Prince Ling’an would be so careless and mention Pang Yu’s matter.

The more Xie Sui An hated him, the more the Qi people trusted him. A harmonious Xie family was not what the Qi wanted to see.

He thought that his earlier questioning should have served as a wake-up call for Xie Sui An. After all, if she had encountered an agent planted by the Qi people instead of him, the location of Prince Ling’an’s hideout might have been exposed.

He wondered how far someone as emotionally transparent as Xie Sui An could go on this path.

Fortunately, Nan Yi was sharp. A thought suddenly crossed his mind.

At first, she was just a pawn he used occasionally to resolve difficult situations, but over time, they had developed a kind of tacit understanding. She was a good piece on his chessboard—so good that... he had even developed a slight reliance on her.

His mind was filled with countless thoughts. He wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting there when he suddenly heard the chirping of birds outside the window, realizing that it was already dawn.

He opened the window to let the stale air that had filled the room all night escape, only to find someone standing outside.

The person seemed to have hesitated for a while. There was frost in her hair, and just as she was about to leave, she heard the sound of the window opening and looked up.

The night was still lingering in her eyes, but her gaze was clear and pure, as though a single drop of dew had settled within them. The dew was so insignificant that it gently rolled off and landed on his heart, causing a soft ripple.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit of joy.

But his face remained calm, his gaze on her, waiting for her to speak.

After a moment of hesitation, she asked, “You won’t harm Song Muchuan, will you?”

Xie Que Shan’s eyes darkened, but she could not see the emotion swirling within them. The warmth from the room seemed to spill through the window, clouding her perception.

Suddenly, he smiled. His smile was captivating, like glaciers melting, withered trees sprouting new life, and the brilliance of youth unexpectedly blooming on a face usually filled with careful calculation.

Yet, his words were chillingly cold: “I gave him a chance, but he didn’t listen.”

Nan Yi froze, forgetting to blink.

There was real anger in his voice. But the anger came out of nowhere.

Song Muchuan, Pang Yu, Xie Sui An, Third Uncle, even Second Sister... All the people close to him were tangled up in this. He had too many moments of secrecy she should not have seen. He had allowed those moments to exist, allowed her to quietly observe, but he would not allow her to pity him or to interfere.

What kind of path he walked, how he treated those around him—how dared she, with what standing, ask him such a question?

What was her relationship with Song Muchuan, that she had the audacity to ask him such a thing?

He tilted his head, a faint smile still on his lips: “He insisted on opposing me. What else could I do? I won’t kill him, but I will make him suffer humiliation at the hands of the Qi people. He will not be able to live, but he won’t be able to die either. I will break his spine, inch by inch. Everything he cares about, I will destroy, one by one…”

Nan Yi stood there, stunned.

He’s so cruel.

She didn’t want to listen to him at all. Nan Yi turned her head and walked away, not even knowing where she found the courage to do so.

Xie Que Shan’s voice abruptly stopped, and he forced the rest of his words back—was she slapping him in the face?

Had she lost her mind, or had he?

He opened his mouth, wanting to reprimand her and shout her back. But wouldn’t that just show that he cared, that he was in the wrong?

His mind went blank for a moment as he stared at her retreating figure. He suddenly realized that this girl, who used to walk with a furtive glance and slinking gait, had unknowingly straightened her back and walked with such dignity.

She crouched down, fiddling with something, and then, with a puffed-up face, she turned around and threw a snowball at him with all her might.

He was so surprised that he forgot to dodge.

The snowball she threw was precise and fierce, hitting him square in the face, leaving him utterly disheveled.

There was a brief moment of silence before Xie Que Shan gritted his teeth and wiped his face. The crushed snow smeared across his skin, making him look like an old man.

But beneath his white eyebrows, his eyes shone with an astonishing light, one that even seemed to drown the morning light.

A wave of undisguised killing intent surged around him.

Nan Yi stood her ground, looking back at him defiantly. But her momentum was crushed by his pressure, and she felt her legs weaken, panic creeping in.

She blinked rapidly, turned, and fled.

He jumped out of the window to chase her.

Xie Que Shan grabbed her by the collar as if she were a small chicken, yanking her back. He grabbed a handful of snow and stuffed it down the back of her neck.

“You treacherous thing! Who allowed you to survive? To strike me for the sake of an outsider?”

He was always very composed and rarely spoke so bluntly, so it was clear that he was truly furious.

Nan Yi screamed as the snow chilled her back, and she didn’t know where she found the strength to break free. Instinctively, she shoved him away, bent down, grabbed a handful of snow, and hurled it at him.

“Xie Que Shan, you’re the real treacherous dog! What have your family and friends ever done to wrong you! Who doesn’t have some painful past! Only you’re so pretentious! Only you want to take revenge on everyone!”

When it comes to throwing insults, Nan Yi, a street-smart little rascal, had never lost to anyone.

“Ha, so you want to be my target for revenge, huh?” Xie Que Shan, enraged, smirked. Taking advantage of his height, he grabbed a handful of snow from a tree branch and molded it into a solid snowball in his hand. “A worthless life is still a worthless life. No matter how well I treat you, it can’t shut your mouth.”

He swung his arm and threw the snowball, but Nan Yi immediately dodged. She was then hit squarely on the head by a second snowball, realizing the first throw had been a feint.

Her hairpin had been knocked loose, and snow covered her body, leaving her with nowhere to hide.

Nan Yi gritted her teeth: “Come on, if you have the guts, kill me! Otherwise, just wait, you bastard!”

Xie Que Shan bent down to pick up more snow. Taking the opportunity, Nan Yi charged and threw another snowball at him. They rolled around in the snow, their battle turning into a wild melee.

No tricks, no martial arts, they didn’t care about anything except using both hands to throw snow, even pulling snow off the low wall around them.

This was close combat, the most primal human action. Beneath layers of clothing, emotions were being released.

Anger and resentment.

She was angry, angry at his cruel nature, while he felt wronged. This sense of injustice ran so deep that even he hadn’t realized it, and whenever it emerged, it masked itself as malice.

Suddenly, his movements stopped. He realized, without knowing when it had happened, that he had pinned her down in the snow, haphazardly trying to bury snow on her face. His half-body leaned over hers as her hands scrambled to gather snow from the ground.

Her messy hair fell over her face, her clothes hung loosely, and her breath made the fabric shift with each exhale. The yellow ribbon on her waist had come undone, half of it now like a resting butterfly. For the first time, he noticed how graceful her waist was.

The warm mist of his breath lightly brushed against her face. Through hazy eyes, he gazed at her.

She was about to throw a snowball at his head, but her motion froze. The pose was ambiguous.

Her grip loosened, and the snowball rolled away. The person who had been snarling and fighting now seemed lost.

All sensations returned. Her back pressed against the cold snow, while his body lay warm against hers.

It was a bit cold.

Instinctively, her hand, still hanging in the air, reached for the back of his neck, the warmest spot.

Her cold fingers, having just touched the snow, sent a shiver through his back. A strange sensation flowed through him, his muscles tightening in response, as though bracing under her touch.

At that moment, he was impossibly docile.

He stared at her, lost in thought, but the view was blurry. He exhaled softly, and the tender breeze brushed across his eyes. Crystal snowflakes drifted off her eyelashes.

Her clear eyes seemed to reveal emotions flowing between them.

Like an unknown black beast lurking beneath a glacier, it slowly pressed toward them. Just as it seemed to break through the ice, he suddenly turned, falling onto the snow beside her, and lay there quietly, looking up at the sky.

Everything stopped.

But it was exhilarating, and all grudges disappeared.

Nan Yi waited for her racing heart to slow down before gently turning to look at his profile.

“I know. Pang Yu died by his own sword. You tried to save him, you wanted to let him go when the time was right. And about Song Mucuan, you don’t want to hurt him, do you?”

He kept his eyes on the sky and didn’t respond.

“I won’t tell Xie Xiaoliu,” she said seriously.

He smiled, a clean smile, turning his face to look at her, but his eyes were full of sorrow.

“You know many of my secrets.”

“So what? Are you going to kill me?”

Today, her courage seemed unusually great.

He reached out to brush the snow from her face. As a martial artist, his palm quickly warmed up, and where his hand touched, it felt like wildfire scorching dry grass.

He said, “Don’t betray me.”

A betrayer, yet he repeatedly told her not to betray him.

Nan Yi’s smile slowly faded, eventually freezing into a stiff curve. She realized that Xie Que Shan was serious.

But what does betrayal really mean? She had lied many times, helping others deceive him—was that betrayal? She tried to understand him, but deep down, she could never fully side with him... does that count as betrayal?

At any moment, she would prioritize her own life. If there came a time when she had no choice but to betray him, would that be considered betrayal?

She began to seriously contemplate this question, only to realize she had no solid answer.

“My mercy is given only once.”

The morning bell tolled, its sound echoing over Lidu Prefecture.

It felt like an omen, signaling the start of that obscure game of escape again. He had merely conditionally pardoned her.

Once she crossed the line, if he caught her, there would be no redemption.