Door-to-Door

Qin Guo'er was gone.

After leaving just that one sentence, she vanished without a trace.

Along with all those bodies on the ground.

If it weren’t for the lingering pain in Yang An’s neck and stomach, and that gleaming golden dagger still lying in the snow,

He would have thought everything that just happened was nothing but an illusion.

He climbed out of the snow pit.

Tentatively, Yang An called out to the surroundings, “Princess, Your Highness! Are you still there?”

After waiting for a while with no response,

He nearly burst with frustration and cursed angrily, “Damn woman! Just you wait! If I ever get you in my hands, I’ll tear you to pieces—”

Suddenly, a cold wind swept by, rustling the green pine branches.

A few flakes of white snow drifted down.

The chill crawling down Yang An’s spine made him quickly change his tone, “I’ve only ever heard tales of the princess’s breathtaking beauty, but seeing her today, she’s a million times more stunning than the world’s rumors!”

“Even the celestial fairies in the heavens cannot compare to Her Highness!”

“Not only is the princess beautiful, she’s kind and merciful! I’d gladly die for her, even if I’m just a lowly man!”

He shamelessly flattered her for a good while.

When the wind finally died down,

And there was still no sign of movement,

Yang An finally breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his brow.

He dared not continue cursing anymore.

He ran back to the edge of the snow pit, where the lifeless black eagle still lay. He jumped down and searched beneath the bird.

Soon, he found the eagle’s last remaining egg!

Unfortunately,

Having fallen from such a great height, the egg was already shattered, its yolk spilled across the snow. Yang An wasted no time and drank the remaining yolk inside the shell, then ate the snow soaked with the egg’s nourishment.

With the vitality from the egg yolk,

Yang An’s wounds eased considerably, and he regained much of his strength.

“At dawn tomorrow, I have to go to the princess’s mansion to meet my death.”

“Time is running out. I must hurry back home before the sun sets.”

Yang An took a deep breath and tried to lift the black eagle, about ten meters long. The moment he gripped it, he realized it weighed several thousand pounds.

It was impossible for him to carry it.

He didn’t force it. Instead, he picked up the golden dagger Qin Guo’er had left behind and began to roughly butcher the giant eagle, cutting off two hundred pounds of the best meat.

He tied the bundle tightly with rope.

Looking at the eagle’s carcass, still heavy with meat, Yang An said, “It’s too wasteful to leave this for wild beasts. Even if I never get to eat it, I’ll bury it for my sister and brother-in-law.”

With that thought, Yang An pushed snow to fill the pit.

He stomped on it several times to make sure no trace remained, no scent left behind.

Then, carrying the two hundred pounds of meat on his back, he took a deep breath of the dry, cold air and set off on the journey home.

Yang An didn’t notice that not far away, atop a nearby hill, the Phoenix Carriage had not yet left. Sitting inside was Princess Anle, watching him gradually disappear into the distance.

A teal figure flew over,

And knelt deeply before Qin Guo’er.

“Reporting to the princess, the bodies of Lin Hao and the others have been dealt with. No traces remain,” Lan, head of the eight maidservants representing the four seasons and the plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, respectfully reported.

“Hm.”

Qin Guo’er signaled for her to rise.

Lan and Manman returned together to Qin Guo'er’s side. Following her gaze, they spotted Yang An. Lan asked with a hint of doubt, “Princess, you’re usually so cautious in everything you do. Why spare this man’s life? And he’s foul-mouthed and reckless—aren’t you afraid he might blab about Lin Hao’s matter?”

“A servant thinks he should be executed on the spot!”

Qin Guo'er replied indifferently, “Who killed that worm from the Lin Family? It was this little hunter. What does that have to do with me? Where could he possibly spill secrets to? To Lin Yeping, who’s already dead by his own hand?”

Lan considered it and found some truth in her words.

Still, she insisted, “But… keeping this hunter around is ultimately a risk.”

Watching Yang An’s figure fade into the snowstorm,

Qin Guo'er lightly tapped her vermilion lips, then chuckled softly, “If he runs off, that’s definitely a risk. But if he obediently comes to meet his end, now that would be interesting.”

Lan had served Qin Guo'er for many years.

Though not as clever as her mistress,

she could still grasp some of her thoughts and exclaimed in surprise, “Princess, could it be… you want to train him?! But he’s a man, and you hate men the most!”

By now, Yang An had completely vanished into the blizzard.

Qin Guo'er withdrew her gaze.

Lounging lazily on the phoenix carriage, she shook the ankle that Yang An had just held, her eyes darkening with a sly smile. “When did I ever say I wanted to train that dog? He’s crossed me too many times already. Tomorrow morning, he’ll be dead.”

That was the princess’s true nature. Lan breathed a sigh of relief.

Returning to more pressing matters,

“Princess, although we handled Lin Hao’s affair cleanly, it won’t be long before Lin Yeping finds out. Should we report this to the Sacred One first? Given how fond the Sacred One is of you, she’ll surely rain down thunder and punish the two severely.”

Mentioning the Sacred One,

the joyful expression that had been on Qin Guo'er’s face moments ago vanished completely.

Colder than the pale ground on Yunling Mountain.

“The Sacred One fond of me? Ha. This trip to Yunzhou was arranged by the Sacred One herself.” Qin Guo'er ruffled the head of her little maid Manman and said, “Manman, do you think she already knew about Lin Yeping and Father’s schemes? Maybe that’s why she deliberately sent me to Yunzhou?”

Manman didn’t understand what Qin Guo'er meant,

only habitually nodded in obedience.

Lan, however, broke out in a cold sweat, “Princess, are you saying the Sacred One deliberately used you as a pawn, tossing you into Yunzhou to bait Lin Yeping and Prince Jing—two big fish?”

“Not just that.”

Having seen through everything long ago, Qin Guo'er spoke calmly, “The Sacred One inherited the throne, but the most opposition she’s faced over the years has come from the Qin clan. She’s been waiting for an excuse to cleanse the entire clan.”

“Poor Father and Lin Yeping, those two fools.”

“They actually thought they could use me as a smokescreen to deceive the Sacred One, playing some game of trickery and disguise. Around Chang’an City, there are probably already eighteen layers of traps set, just waiting for them to blunder right in.”

“When the time comes, that old lady will just use the excuse of my foolish father’s rebellion to set fire to the Zong family, wiping out all opposition to her in one fell swoop, and even more…”

A cold glint flashed in Qin Guo’er’s eyes.

She had no mood to continue listening.

Lan’s face had turned pale, her whole body trembling with lingering fear. It wasn’t hard for her to imagine the tragic fate Qin Guo’er would suffer if she fell into the trap.

Lan’s eyes reddened slightly as she called out with concern, “Princess…”

Qin Guo’er barely paid her any mind. She had long since grown used to the cold-hearted cruelty of the imperial family — after all, even her own father scheming against his biological daughter had happened to her not long ago.

What was there left to be shocked by?

“Family, huh~”

What should have been a light laugh escaped Qin Guo’er’s lips, but then her thoughts turned to Yang An.

She remembered the words he had said when she had him under her heel: ‘As long as my family lives, I am willing to die.’

Qin Guo’er’s expression darkened a few shades.

“Lan, do you think what that little hunter said is true? Could he really be willing to give his life for his family?”

“I don’t know.”

Lan shook her head, then puffed out her ample chest in a show of loyalty: “But this servant is willing to give her life for the princess!”

Qin Guo’er glanced at the conspicuous curve at Lan’s chest.

Then she looked down at her own.

Though far surpassing ordinary women, it still didn’t match Lan’s.

Trying to straighten her own chest, she still couldn’t compete. In a fit of anger, Qin Guo’er snapped, “Who told you to puff it up? Put it away! Shameless thing!”

Lan let out a weak “Oh,” quietly deflating herself.

“From now on, don’t you dare straighten your back in front of me!”

“Oh.”

Only after Lan’s figure was no longer more impressive than her own did Qin Guo’er settle down, folding her delicate jade-like arms and saying coldly, “If that little hunter dares to lie to me, don’t just think his sister and brother-in-law will die — everyone in Yunzhou City connected to him won’t live to see another day.”

Beneath her calm words,

A murderous intent so chilling it could freeze the surrounding snow and ice radiated from her!

The conversation continued.

About fifteen minutes later, two figures dressed in green stepped through the snow. They were Qiu’er and Dong’er, who had already removed their masks to reveal their true faces: round eyes, round faces — unmistakably a pair of adorable twin sisters.

Seeing them return,

Qin Guo’er, who had long wanted to raise a snow leopard servant, quickly asked, “Where’s the snow leopard servant? Bring it out so I can see it!”

Following orders, Dong’er took the snow leopard servant out from a storage pouch and presented it.

As Qin Guo’er reached out to take it, she caught sight of its appearance and her face fell with embarrassment. Her outstretched hand hesitated.

The so-called most beautiful fierce beast in the world—

The snow leopard servant was completely hairless, its skin wrinkled and saggy, with an unsightly pinkish hue.

Utterly hideous!

“This is the snow leopard servant!?”

Qin Guo’er couldn’t accept it. “Wasn’t the snow leopard servant supposed to be the most beautiful fierce beast in the world? Its fur as white as snow? What is this thing? Did you catch the wrong one?”

Just like its name,

Qiu’er and Dong’er’s personalities were as cold and harsh as the autumn and winter winds. Without expression, they replied in unison, “Reporting to the princess, this snow leopard servant was just born. We believe it will look better once its fur grows in.”

“Is that so?”

Qin Guo’er reluctantly accepted this explanation.

Lan glanced sideways at Dong'er, who was subtly puffing out her chest. She replied in a tone neither warm nor cold, “Lan looks like she’s good at raising things. Since Dong'er has entrusted the snow marten slave to her, she’ll take care of it from now on.”

Lan felt targeted by the princess.

Looking at the ugly little snow marten slave.

She hugged it pitifully in her arms, not daring to complain even a little.

“Return to the mansion.”

Everything had been taken care of.

At the command of Princess Anle, two azure phoenixes spread their wings, their feathers shimmering with mystical light, radiant like the dawn. They lifted the phoenix carriage and the accompanying eight maidservants into the clouds.

…

The sky darkened, nightfall approaching.

In Yunzhou City, at the Li Family’s residence in Wanshou Lane.

“It’s this late already, why hasn’t he come back?”

“All the arrows at home are gone. Er Lang must have gone up Yun Ridge Mountain! Why is he so disobedient? If something happens to him, how am I supposed to live? When he gets back, I’ll beat him to death!”

Yang Ning gripped the rolling pin, pacing anxiously.

Li Yan, lying weakly on the sickbed, could tell even with his toes that Yang An had gone into the mountains to gather medicine for him.

Feeling both touched and worried, he said, “We can’t wait any longer. The heavy snow has sealed the mountain; every extra moment we wait is an added risk. If he runs into a fierce beast, it’ll be trouble. Ning, hurry and take this silver to find Old Hunter Zheng!”

“At this time of year, he’s the only one brave enough to go up the mountain. Beg him to rescue Er Lang!”

“But that silver is your last money for medicine,” Yang Ning bit her lip tightly.

Li Yan said, “Save Er Lang first. If anything happens to him, I won’t even have the face to live anymore. Go quickly!”

Just as Yang Ning grabbed the silver to leave,

*Knock, knock, knock.*

Suddenly, a knock sounded at the courtyard gate.

The couple exchanged a glance. “Er Lang’s back!?”

Yang Ning’s joy burst forth as she hurried to open the door.

“Er—”

But as soon as the door opened,

Yang Ning’s voice of surprise stuck in her throat.

There was no sign of Yang An outside.

Instead, a group of ruffians wielding clubs stood there. In their midst was a middle-aged man wearing a black dog-head felt hat, with a conspicuous scar running across his nose.

Yang Ning recognized him.

The owner of Wang’s Money Shop.

Wang Gou'er.

Known for his ruthlessness and fierce reputation.

The people of Yunzhou City mostly called him Gouye.

Gouye sized up Yang Ning from head to toe, then smiled, “Madam Li, it’s been days since I last saw you. You’ve only grown more beautiful.”