"Surprised, my dear?"
Xia Lun could feel the legs wrapped around his waist tightening slowly.
"Goddess... you seem quite concerned about that person?" Aina pressed her forehead against Xia Lun's, her faint smile still lingering, but he caught a whiff of something dangerous in the air.
"After all... the Goddess was once my benefactor. She granted me power, made me a hero, and changed my life..." Xia Lun answered honestly.
"Oh?" Aina's crimson pupils gleamed faintly as an indescribable smirk curled at the corner of her lips. "So what do you plan to do now? Kill me to avenge your benefactor, O Hero?"
"Don’t say such things, Aina... You are my wife. I could never harm you." Xia Lun met her gaze calmly.
"The Goddess gave me power to oppose you, to protect humanity from the demons... And I’ve already done that—though in a different way. Throughout my limited lifespan, no war has broken out between demons and humans... So I’ve fulfilled my duty and repaid my debt to the Goddess."
"Hah, hah-ka, hah-kaka—" After a brief silence, Aina threw back her slender swan-like neck and let out a peculiar, almost whimsical laugh. "I see, so that’s how it is! So that’s what you think, Xia Lun."
"Is there something wrong with that?" Xia Lun was puzzled by her sudden amusement.
"Nothing at all. Your answer was perfect, Xia Lun... Yes, that’s exactly it. That wretched Goddess merely used you as a tool against me. But now, you belong to me."
Xia Lun could tell Aina was genuinely pleased—otherwise, she wouldn’t have referred to herself as "this one."
With a faint, sticky sound and a whisper of wind, two blood-red bat wings unfurled behind her once more. "Good, excellent. This one is most satisfied with your answer... You shall be rewarded, my hero..."
The warm crimson wings enveloped them again, forming a translucent cocoon as they tumbled onto the bed.
...
The frozen, snowbound wilderness was no place for humans—it was the domain of snow spirits. Yet the precious resources hidden within the icy expanse still drew countless adventurers and explorers.
Men die for wealth, birds perish for food. And so, those who sought eternal ice, crystalline snow lotuses, or the pelts of snow wolves and ice bears settled here, gradually forming small villages.
Lake Village was one of the few human settlements in the snowbound lands, nestled in the southeastern region, close to the borders of the Yalan Empire.
"Mother, when will Father return?"
Inside a sturdy snow hut, ten-year-old Anana looked up at her mother.
"Soon... He’ll be back soon..." Her mother patted Anana’s head gently.
Peering through the transparent ice window, Anana watched the howling blizzard outside. The trembling of her mother’s hands only deepened the unease in her heart.
"Be a good girl, don’t worry. Have faith in your father... He’s strong. Nothing will happen to him." Her mother tightened the gray fur coat around Anana. "Go to sleep now. By morning, he’ll surely be home..."
"The patrol is back!"
Someone’s shout rang outside.
Her mother’s face lit up with joy as she hastily threw on a thick cloak and rushed to the door.
"I’ll go greet your father. Stay inside—it’s too windy out."
Anana nodded obediently, relief washing over her.
Soon, her father and mother returned, and Anana rushed forward with a bright smile.
"Father!"
"Oh, Anana! Praise the Snow God, I’ve returned safely." After peeling off his frozen, armor-like outer robe, her father scooped her up into his arms.
Only then did Anana notice the man standing behind her parents.
He was a gray-haired middle-aged man, tall and well-built—though still slightly shorter than her father, who stood nearly two meters tall.
Yet his features were far more refined and handsome compared to her father’s ruggedness.
What surprised Anana most was that in such bitter cold, this man wore only a thin mage’s robe, as if he needed no protection from the elements.
"Sir... Aren’t you cold dressed like that?" Anana couldn’t help but ask.
The man chuckled. "My robe is enchanted with warming magic, little one. I don’t feel the cold."
"This is Master Wolund, a great mage from the Yalan Empire," her father said humbly. "Thanks to him, we survived the blizzard under his magic’s protection."
Then he turned to her mother. "Dear, bring out all the cured sausages from last year. Master Wolund wishes to purchase them."
Though puzzled, her mother complied immediately.
Wolund held out a glowing red gem, but her father quickly refused. "You saved our lives, Master. We can’t possibly accept payment."
"Then consider it a gift for the child." Wolund pressed the gem into Anana’s hands.
Before her astonished eyes, the pile of sausages her mother carried vanished the moment they touched Wolund’s hands.
Anana stared at the gem in her palm—a smooth, walnut-sized stone radiating warmth.
"Well, I must be going." Wolund waved them off before they could protest. Without even opening the door, his figure disappeared from the snow hut.
Out in the frozen wilderness, a streak of red flame flashed past, leaving a scorched trail in the snow.
In moments, Wolund arrived before a towering mountain.
This was the heart of the snowbound lands—Sacred Peak, the very place the villagers of Lake Village claimed was the dwelling of the Snow God.
BOOM—
From the mountainside, a pair of colossal wings unfurled, blotting out the sky. Then, amid a mighty gale, a hundred-meter-long frost dragon descended before Wolund.
"Long time no see, Wolund." The dragon’s voice, crisp and almost childlike, was at odds with its majestic form.
"Long time no see, Mida." Wolund tilted his head up, speaking as casually as if chatting with an old friend. "This isn’t the best way to talk."
A flash of blue light later, a timid-looking girl of about twelve or thirteen stood before him.
Wolund produced the sausages he’d taken from Anana’s home, and Mida dug in without hesitation.
"I’m here to see Aina..."
Mida took a bite and nodded. "I know. But your timing isn’t great."