"Mother, are you leaving?"
Mida lifted her small head, looking up at Aina as she asked.
"Yes, I'm going out for a walk with your father," Aina replied.
"When will you be back?"
"Maybe in a year, or perhaps in ten." Aina's answer was vague, as if she had said nothing at all.
"Oh... what about me?"
"You'll stay here and watch the house. The Snow Realm needs your care too." Aina patted Mida's head. "If you miss us, you can come find us occasionally... just don’t make too much of a commotion."
As if joking—there was no way they’d bring this child along for Xia Lun’s and her romantic honeymoon.
Mida obediently nodded. She wasn’t Aina’s biological child, and she knew that well.
But even if she were, she’d probably receive the same treatment.
Xia Lun pushed open the wooden door, and a frigid gust of wind and snow rushed in.
"Mida," Aina called softly.
Mida trotted out the door, then leaped into the air, transforming into a frost dragon. With a resounding roar, the blizzard scattered, and the thick dark clouds above parted like theater curtains, revealing a radiant sun.
Sunlight spilled onto the snowfield, shimmering with diamond-like brilliance.
Xia Lun stood atop the towering Sacred Peak of the Snow Realm, taking in the view before stretching lazily.
This... was the world a thousand years later.
The fiery passion that had long faded from Xia Lun’s heart now began to rekindle. For the first time in ages, he felt anticipation again.
Aina took Xia Lun’s hand. "Let’s go."
Behind them, Mida waved expressionlessly. "Safe travels... Father, Mother."
...
Surrounded by an endless white expanse, Aina hummed a simple melody as she held Xia Lun’s hand, cheerful as a young girl on her first spring outing.
"Aina... there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask for a while."
"Oh? Go ahead, I’ll answer anything for you." Aina leaned closer.
"Well... it’s nothing major, just about my body." Xia Lun looked down at his hands.
"Aina... overindulgence isn’t good for you," Aina gently chided, shaking her head. "And we’re not exactly in the best place for that right now. Let’s wait until we reach a town, and then tonight, we can—"
"Ahem." Xia Lun lightly patted Aina’s back.
After all this time, Aina had changed so much.
It was... incredible.
"You’ve misunderstood, Aina. What I meant was—what’s up with my middle fingers?"
Xia Lun spread his fingers before Aina. While the rest appeared normal, his two middle fingers had an unusually smooth, jade-like sheen, as if meticulously polished.
"Is there a problem?" A faint blush colored Aina’s cheeks.
"Ah... but these two fingers are clearly different, right?" Xia Lun argued.
His current body had been personally crafted by Aina—there shouldn’t be any flaws like this.
"Xia Lun... did you know? I prepared this body for you over nine hundred and ninety years ago."
Within a decade of his death, Aina had already reconstructed his body?
Xia Lun was deeply moved, but he still didn’t understand what Aina was implying.
"Thank you," Xia Lun said sincerely.
"Idiot..." Aina’s voice was barely a whisper.
Xia Lun pretended not to hear. "Huh? Aina?"
"Blockhead. Filthy pervert." Aina scolded under her breath.
"Did I say something wrong?" Xia Lun chuckled awkwardly, still confused, though he caught a glimpse of the Aina from long ago in her expression.
"Listen well, Xia Lun." Aina cupped his face, revealing a hint of her former domineering demeanor as the Demon King. "I am a healthy woman, and you are my husband. If you still don’t understand what happened over the past thousand years and keep pestering me with questions, I’ll dig out your brain, wash it thoroughly, and put it back in."
Xia Lun stared blankly at his two unnaturally smooth middle fingers, their pads slightly wrinkled, like skin after a long, hot bath.
Suddenly, a surge of heat rushed to his head—and then, blood gushed from his nose as he stiffly collapsed onto the snow like a lifeless corpse.
Splat—splat—splat—
His nosebleed erupted like a crimson fountain.
Aina crouched in front of him and poked his cheek with a slender finger. "Your second life is my gift to you—a debt you can never repay... my hero."
"I think I hear the Demon King’s temptation," Xia Lun muttered, wiping the blood from his face as he slowly sat up.
"Oh? Will you refuse me, Hero?"
"Hah." Xia Lun grasped Aina’s hand. "As a hero... I’ll face any challenge."
...
Lake Village.
"The blizzard has stopped!"
"It’s clearing up!"
"Praise the Snow God!"
The villagers emerged from their snow houses in high spirits. Adults busied themselves with work, while children frolicked freely in the snow.
Anana, already mature for her age, helped her parents with chores.
Her father was butchering the ice wolves and snow hares from their recent hunt, while her mother boiled water and treated the pelts with special medicine. Anana laid out the treated pelts near the fire to dry.
Once dried, these pelts would be transported by Lake Village’s merchant convoy to the Yalan Empire, fetching a good price.
In return, the convoy would bring back spices, rice, flint, and other daily necessities.
As for the excess meat, her mother would turn it into sausages and jerky.
"Anana... you don’t need to do this. Go to school and learn your letters," her father said, wiping blood from his forehead with the back of his hand. "I’ll finish this quickly."
"Understood..."
Anana hurried toward the schoolhouse.
The school was near the village entrance, where a tall watchtower stood guard against beasts and monsters.
"Hmm?"
Anana squinted as she gazed at the vast, pristine ice fields beyond the village.
Two small black dots appeared in the distance.
Travelers, perhaps.
How rare—visitors seldom came to this frozen wasteland.
The last time Anana saw outsiders was... well, actually just yesterday, when Mr. Wolund left and gave her a gemstone. Her mother had even turned it into a necklace, which now hung around her neck, filling her with warmth.
Lost in thought, Anana snapped back to reality only to find the two figures already at Lake Village’s entrance.
Had she spaced out for that long? She felt a flicker of surprise.
The next moment, the strangers stood right before her.