Since that New Year's Day, Qinghe County has sold more firecrackers than any other county to this day, because the townsfolk all say the Ying Family was visited by the Nian beast.
Some adults would scare their children by saying, "If you don’t behave, the Nian beast will come to eat you."
Zou Yongfeng had clearly been frightened by such warnings. He glanced around and lowered his voice:
"A few months ago, when I passed by the Ying Family’s old residence, I saw a huge, enormous shadow."
"It looked a bit like the Nian beast from the stories adults used to scare us with. Since the New Year was approaching, my family and I hurriedly moved away."
"The Nian beast?"
Li Mo frowned, feeling the small hand in his palm growing colder. He gently rubbed it, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t warm it up.
It was so cold that Li Mo shuddered.
His gaze flickered toward Ying Bing, only to find her eyes unfocused, her expression as pale as spring snow.
A distant memory suddenly assaulted Li Mo.
It was Little Ice Cube.
When she first arrived at the Li residence as a child, she would lock herself in her room all day, only coming out occasionally for meals. Whenever she heard loud noises, a trace of fear would flicker in her eyes—her expression back then was exactly the same as it was now.
Not just cold, but also hollow.
During that time, the Li residence was unusually chilly, and even the snow melted later than in other households.
"Ice Cube, let’s go home."
"...Mm. Okay."
Li Mo bid farewell to Zou Yongfeng with a smile, promising to visit for the baby’s full-month celebration, then turned to leave with Ice Cube.
Looking back, he saw the desolate ruins of the Ying Family’s riverside estate, its lifeless remnants standing in stark contrast to the festive New Year atmosphere.
......
Once home, Ying Bing ate dinner and retreated to her room without coming out again. Though she softly assured Li Mo that she was fine and just needed rest, he couldn’t help but sink into thought while eating.
What exactly happened to the Ying Family back then?
She remained silent, and he didn’t press further.
The unusual scene caught Gu Xueqin’s attention:
"Son, what’s going on with you two?"
Li Mo shook his head. "Nothing. We ran into Fengzi today."
"Did he say he saw something at the Ying Family’s old residence?" Li Dalong interjected.
"You knew about this, Dad?"
"What do you think your father does for a living? That day, he came to the county office to report it, reeking of alcohol—probably drunk."
Li Dalong scoffed. "Fengzi’s always been a bit of a madman. I took some men to check, and there wasn’t even a ghost there."
Had Fengzi just been drunk and mistaken what he saw? But even so, moving away seemed excessive...
In truth, Li Mo had already used his Heavenly Eye of Fate that afternoon and found nothing unusual in Zou Yongfeng’s recent experiences.
He didn’t ask his father whether he had seen anything that day—Li Dalong had recounted the incident over meals several times already. Besides, by the time his father arrived with the men, it was too late.
The only one who had truly witnessed everything was Ice Cube.
Li Mo glanced up at the opposite room. Tonight, not even a flicker of candlelight could be seen.
Was Ice Cube not cultivating?
......
Midnight.
The pitch-black bedroom door creaked open softly.
A certain young thief—Li Mo—slipped inside.
As soon as he entered, he saw Ying Bing lying on the bed, her sleeping face anything but peaceful. Her delicate brows were tightly knit, and fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead, her hair clinging to her snow-white neck.
Was she... having a nightmare?
Heavenly Eye of Fate, activate.
[Name: Ying Bing]
[Age: 17]
[Constitution: Lunar Phoenix Body of Supreme Yin]
[Cultivation: Observing Divinity—Five Apertures]
[Fate: Red (Bears the Emperor’s Bone, with ice as her destiny and autumn waters as her spirit. Possesses the bearing of a Heavenly Phoenix.)]
[Evaluation: A life fraught with calamities, yet always escaping unscathed. Though her wings are still tender, when the winds of change arrive, she will soar above the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, a phoenix reigning over all realms.]
[Recent Experience: Haunted by nightmares.]
Li Mo attempted to channel Lunar Radiance, a soothing moonlight that could calm the mind, but even this failed to ease the furrow between her brows.
"What now?"
The young genius frowned, then suddenly recalled the second layer of the Phoenix’s Cry Over Heaven’s Marsh—Soul Resonance, where spirits intertwine.
Ice Cube had once used this method to help him break through a bottleneck.
If he used it now... could he enter her dream?
But it also meant sharing her nightmare. If Ice Cube couldn’t wake, neither would he...
"Bound by karma, life and death intertwined..."
Li Mo murmured, gripping her icy hand.
Phoenix’s Cry Over Heaven’s Marsh—activate!
The next moment, he fell asleep instantly, collapsing face-first into Ice Cube’s embrace. But he had no time to savor the softness or fragrance—his breathing had already steadied into deep slumber.
Li Mo’s consciousness cleared, and the scent of firecracker smoke filled the air.
He opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings, and froze.
A spacious ancestral hall. From its stone steps, he could see the rushing waters of Qinghe River, crowded with people coming and going.
But the sky was streaked with floating ash, casting a gray, snow-like haze over everything.
This was a place long reduced to ashes, a place that no longer existed—the ancestral hall of the Ying Family Estate.
"Little one, who might you be?"
The gatekeeper asked.
"I’m..."
Li Mo stared at his own small, childish hands and murmured,
"I’m Li Mo, son of County Captain Li..."
"And what brings you here?"
"I’m... I’m here to find... Ice Cu—to find Ying Bing!"
The confusion in Li Mo’s eyes vanished—he remembered everything now.
The gatekeeper didn’t think much of it, assuming the county captain’s child had simply come to visit a playmate for the New Year.
"Go on in, then. Miss Bing’s whereabouts are unknown at the moment, but you’re welcome to look around."
"Thank you, uncle."
Little Li Mo nodded obediently and stepped into the Ying Family’s ancestral hall.
The fact that they owned an entire estate on the outskirts of the city spoke to their prominence as an influential clan. Even their ancestral hall was grand.
At the moment, a lively banquet was underway before the hall, with cups clinking and laughter ringing—yet the pervasive gray haze lent a hollow quality to the vibrant scene.
Li Mo scanned the crowd but didn’t spot Little Ice Cube.
Instead, he saw a couple seated at the head table, chatting with those around them.
"Uncle Ying, Auntie, Happy New Year."
Li Mo stepped forward to greet them.
These were Ying Bing’s parents.
"Ah, Brother Li’s child?"
Ying Xuliang looked down and smiled, pulling a red envelope from his sleeve.
"Happy New Year. Are your parents here as well?"
"They’re at home. I came to play with Sister Bing."
Li Mo’s voice was bright and cheerful, pleasing to the ear.
Beside Ying Xuliang, a woman with delicate features said,
"Bing’er is unwell. Once she recovers, Auntie will bring her to visit."
This must have been the year Ice Cube’s constitution first manifested, subjecting her to relentless icy torment.
Li Mo thought for a moment and said,
"Then can I go see Sister Bing? I promise I won’t disturb her."
A scholarly elder nearby, resembling a tutor, immediately scolded:
"You... you little troublemaker! Up to no good again, aren’t you?"
"?"
Li Mo was taken aback when he spotted the person who had spoken.
It was that schoolteacher—the very same one whose face had been covered in tally marks during his afternoon nap just "a few days ago"...
Never had he imagined that memories long buried could come back to haunt him like this.
......