Mu Linger remained stunned for a while until she finally muttered, “Jin Zi, if this is a debt then I’ll just pay it.”
“If I’m not the person you hope for, then consider me a debt collector,” Jin Zi took her hand and grasped it tightly. “I told you a long time ago, I just need a clean woman.”
Mu Lingerl lowered her head and said nothing.
Feng Ying had no idea what they were talking about, but her heart chilled at the sight of Jin Zi holding Mu Linger’s hand. “Ling Ge, are you really not coming back with me because of that woman? Do you know your parents have nearly gone mad looking for you these years?”
“Lead the way!” Jin Zi said without bothering to explain.
“You’re bringing her with you?” Feng Ying huffed.
“Don’t worry,” Jin Zi answered. “If we really have a marriage contract, I’ll wed you after you bring me back.”
“And her? What do you mean by this?” Feng Ying asked. This damned girl is too much in the way.
“Are you going or not?” Jin Zi enunciated word by word, his patience clearly spent. Feng Ying met his sinister eyes and felt a trace of fear.
“Going!” She didn’t dare delay. “We’ll take a path through the rear mountains.” She could only take this one step at a time. The path to Mysterious Continent was still long, so she’d definitely claim Ling Ge before then and kill Mu Linger along the way.
As soon as she mentioned a pathway, Jin Zi knew how she got up the mountain. These three snow mountains were located on the border between Wintercrow Country and Northern Li. The sunny side faced Northern Li while the shady side faced Wintercrow. Even so, neither nation did much with the peaks because they were unconquerable. If there was a path through these mountains, she probably made it herself from the Wintercrow side. Beyond the borders of both countries in the north was an endless ice sea.
After establishing Great Qin, Long Feiye had set up heavily guarded barriers at several mountain passes bordering Northern Li. It would be difficult for any Mysterious Continent people to cross through. This woman must have used the junction between Wintercrow Country and Ice Sea to enter Cloud Realm Continent. There were no customs station there, making it easy for anyone to enter or exit.
With Feng Ying leading the way, Jin Zi and Mu Linger followed. The snow leopards and wolves had scattered while the ten tigers and Big White brought up the rear. Somehow, Big White had run off during the night and returned with a body full of clean white fur, making him look especially holy and noble. He had no idea what happened between his master and Miss Linger, but he was very happy to see his master holding Miss Linger the entire trip. They took a detour from the sunny side to the shady side of the mountain and gradually overlooked the vast snow-covered grasslands of Wintercrow Country below them.
Jin Zi subconsciously stopped and seemed distracted as he gazed at the expanse of Ice Sea beyond that. He and Xu Donglin hadn’t entered Wintercrow Country borders while tracking down the secret passage. This was his first time returning to the country after leaving it. His countless yearning for freedom were related to this land and its vast grasslands, blue skies, and white clouds. Who would have thought he’d return to see gloomy skies and endless snow? Or that it’d be in the company of a woman who made him lose all logic? Or that this place wasn’t his homeland at all?
Feng Ying saw that Jin Zi had stopped and said, “I have a way to get down the mountain with the road I made. We’ll reach Mysterious Continent crossing Ice Sea via Wintercrow Country.”
Jin Zi finally recovered his wits and asked, “The shady side of the mountain is steeper and covered in heavy snows. How did you make a path?”
Thanks to their steepness, there was no border pass here, though a few small custom gates existed at the mountain base. If there really was a way to get to Wintercrow Country here, then this would become a second secret passage. After all, it was easy enough to enter Great Qin once one climbed the snowy mountains. Perhaps he’d gotten used to official life in Northern Li, but Jin Zi privately filed away the information in his mind to tell Long Feiye when he came back. He was clearly supposed to be tracking down his birth origins and homeland, but still considered coming back. Even he himself didn’t discover the contradiction in his thoughts.
Mu Linger had lifted her eyes to observed the snowy plains as well. She didn’t speak but dropped her head in silence once more.
“I worked off the path made by those who came before me. Let’s go.” Feng Ying didn’t explain but brought Jin Zi to a path atop the peak before he understood. This passage was opened up from top to bottom and had a large section that required sliding down the ice and snow. It was obvious that Jun Yixie had opened up a secret passage here that connected Northern Li with Wintercrow Country. Perhaps he was trying to avoid the border guards of Wintercrow Country, or perhaps he was hiding from the Northern Li emperor’s eyes. Jin Zi didn’t guess much since the man was already dead, Northern Li long fallen, and the full reasons now pointless.
He didn’t even ask Feng Ying about other things, so the woman remained mute. Occasionally she’d shoot looks at Mu Linger, her head full of bad ideas. The three of them trekked down the path from morning til night before finally stopping by the edge of a large, steep slope. Feng Ying walked to a sled placed aside it and said, “I spent an entire day to climb up here, but it’ll take a second to get down. Let’s hurry before it gets dark, we can borrow lodgings from shepherds at the base.”
Jin Zi looked at the sled icily and asked, “Do you know how?”
“Of course I do, it’s very easy. Don’t you? I can teach you,” Feng Ying said hastily.
But Jin Zi ignored her and said again, “Answer me!”
He was directing his question to Mu Linger. She seemed to be lost in thought and didn’t react until Jin Zi tightened his grip, looking confused.
“Do you know how to ride this thing?” Jin Zi said bad-temperedly, but remained patient.
Mu Linger didn’t speak, only shook her head. Feng Ying sneered privately. Even if she doesn’t, so what? All of these sleds are single-person rides. It’s impossible for them to support two people’s weight. I have to kill Mu Linger on this slope!
But Jin Zi simply borrowed a sword from her, split down a tree, and cut out a moderate length of wood just big enough to fit two people. He didn’t explain a word to Feng Ying before dragging Mu Linger to sit on the wood with him. The two of them slid down the peak while Feng Ying angrily stomped her foot and quickly chased after them on her own sled.
At first the speed was slow so Mu Linger didn’t feel much, but it soon picked up until her heart began to race. She was sitting in the front with Jin Zi holding on tightly behind her, but the sheer speeds still scared her
“Ahhhhhh!” she couldn’t help shrieking and shut her eyes. The more she shouted, the tighter Jin Zi held onto her. He wished he could embed this woman into his arms and never let go.
Amidst her screams, he muttered, “Linger, sorry. In the end, I still forced you. I admit it, I need you or else!”
Mu Linger didn’t reply because his words were completely swallowed by her yells and the whistling wind.
How wonderful it’d be if this slope lasted forever? But even the longest road would reach its end, much less a slope. Soon they slid down the mountain and into a forest covered in snow and ice. Feng Ying followed closely and saw Jin Zi clinging to Mu Linger. At last, she felt jealousy in her heart! Originally she just wanted to grab this man for the power over Black Forest, but she realized she actually wanted him from the bottom of her heart. She couldn’t tolerate that damned Mu Linger!
Mu Linger had shrunk into a ball in Jin Zi’s arms, still lost in the throes of panic. He held her tight and still seemed lost in her warmth. They sat there in peace and quiet, a separate world all by themselves, before Feng Ying quickly broke up the beautiful scene.
“Hurry and get moving, or else we’ll freeze to death tonight!” she urged and added, “You better not bring those tigers or no herdsmen will want to take you in.”
Jin Zi was still ignoring her, but Mu Linger slowly opened her eyes and discovered she was safely on ground. She let out a long breath and realized she was being held tightly in Jin Zi’s arms. She wanted to speak, but swallowed her words. So what if she did? The more she talked, the more they’d argue. She didn’t pay attention to Feng Ying standing on the side either but remained with her head bowed like a mute.
“Did you guys hear me? Let’s get going already?” Feng Ying was furious and reached out to push Mu Linger when Jin Zi’s intense look stopped her. He released Mu Linger and pulled her to her feet.
Feng Ying pouted and gave Jin Zi a look of aggrieve dissatisfaction, but Jin Zi just pretended not to see. He dismissed all the tigers and said, “Lead the way.”
The three of them spent two hours to reach civilization when it was already late night. The herdsmen were hospitable but there was no extra space, so they had to ask Jin Zi to live in the tent for firewood. An old matron took out the family’s best sheepskin and laid it on some dry hay, then brought and spread out some bedding. She smiled and said, “Young master, rest assured that this is very warm. These two ladies can sleep in our female quarters. Tomorrow, I’ll make you all some laobing to eat.”
Feng Ying was thrilled because she knew her chance had come. But Jin Zi grabbed Mu Linger and said, “She’ll sleep with me.”
The matron gave Mu Linger a dubious look, then saw Jin Zi’s unpleasant expression and didn’t dare pry. She nodded and walked away. That was when Feng Ying lost it. “You…you two! Ling Ge, how could you do this? I’m at least your fiancée, you…”
“We’ll set off at daybreak tomorrow. You can get out now,” Jin Zi cut her off.
“You, what do you take me as? If you’re like this, I won’t take you back! I’ll go myself!” Feng Ying huffed as she ran out. She thought Jin Zi would chase her, but he simply slammed the door in her face.
No matter how many lies, plots, or thoughts were astir, they were useless before someone who simply didn’t care. At least, Jin Zi’s cold face revealed nothing. His door slam cut off Feng Ying’s chance to try her venomous schemes again and jolted Mu Linger to her senses. She slowly looked towards the shut wooden door before her stiff body froze even further and even began to quake.
What does Jin Zi want to do?
