Xiao Xian wanted to step forward to help, but Zhou Ziang gestured to stop him. The white-haired big dog originally had no intention of harming anyone. It just gently grasped Zhou Ziang’s hand with its mouth and tugged him outside.
Seeing the big dog’s strange behavior, the little girl forcefully clutched its thick furry neck and tried to drag it back. However, the dog’s size and strength were several tis that of the little girl; despite her considerable effort, she couldn’t budge the big dog in the slightest.
A peculiar scene unfolded inside the room; the big dog was trying to lead Zhou Ziang outside, while the little girl was attempting to pull the white-haired big dog back in. Xiao Xian was left staring, unsure which side to follow.
Just as the impasse continued, the firmly shut door was blown open by a fierce snow wind, and a "snowman" walked in.
A bona fide "snow" man, with white hair and white boots—if it weren’t for the steam lting the snow around his nose and eyes, Xiao Xian might truly have thought he had encountered a demon.
As soon as the little girl saw the newcor, she excitedly pounced on him like a fledgling leaving the nest and rushed into the "snowman"’s arms, showing indescribable affection.
It seed that the adult of the house had returned. Xiao Xian and Zhou Ziang exchanged glances, and the big dog also stopped its tugging, whimpering as if calling out to the "snowman."
"Ba Dong, Xiao Que, we have guests at ho, why don’t you offer them a proper welco," the man grandiosely wiped his face clean, revealing a wide and rugged complexion.
So the little Korean girl’s na was "Xiao Que." Over the past few days accompanying Xiao Xian and the others, she had been silent. But now with her "father" present, she truly turned into a little sparrow, chirping incessantly.
Xiao Xian watched her and couldn’t help but smile; she truly was just a child.
To Xiao Xian’s surprise, the visitor was actually a Han person. His face was ageless. He wasn’t particularly tall; at around 1.75 ters, he was considered short by Northeastern standards. His hair and beard were long as if they hadn’t been trimd for a long while.
What he wore could hardly be called clothes, but a cloak stitched together from various animal skins. The cloak was hung with icicle fragnts and had several large tears.
Upon seeing strangers in the house, the man didn’t act surprised. He casually waved at Xiao Que, and the little girl imdiately went to heat up the leftover potato soup.
It looked like the little girl was already accustod to the man’s routine and had guessed he would return tonight, as a large potful of soup had been left over from dinner.
Zhou Ziang beca vigilant. This man... His gaze fell on the wide-open door; outside, a snowstorm raged, and night had completely fallen. The newcor had no guiding lights nor leading dogs, and no footprints were visible where he had co. Could this man, almost like a ghost, have arrived riding on the wind?
"Young man, stop looking. However you got here, that’s how I got here," the Han man threw his frozen stiff animal skin cloak onto the ground with a sound like stones clattering.
"Who is this senior?" Even Zhou Ziang was uncertain what to call the man, resorting to the general term "senior."
Whatever else, one thing was certain—at least this person knew more about the mountain than Xiao Xian and the others.
After Xiao Que served the reheated soup, the man ate leisurely. Contrasting his rough and hearty entrance, his eating was quite refined, thodical, and without a trace of sound. By the end, his soup bowl was also clean.
"Well fed and watered, are you folks from the i Family?" The man’s abrupt inquiry made both Xiao Xian and Zhou Ziang change their expressions.
"Who are you? Do you know Master i, I an Senior i Nian," Xiao Xian said with renewed hope. She had been at Changbai Mountain for several days without any news of i Nian. Now that this stranger had asked about the i Family, he must know sothing.
"Master i? The i Family hasn’t died out?" The man gave Xiao Xian a sidelong glance, though most of his attention remained on Zhou Ziang, particularly on the ice blade fragnt he held tightly.
The male stare-off made Xiao Xian feel severely overlooked.
"Senior, I’m the one asking questions. I am the successor of the i Family. Please tell , what exactly has happened to Master i?" Xiao Xian didn’t find much of a trace of Spiritual Power on the beast-like man, but she knew that the more profound a person’s Spiritual Power, the better they could conceal themselves. She had already experienced this with Zhou Ziang.
"That really is unfortunate; it seems the i Family is fated to decline," the man indifferently threw the cloak into the stove. "I had thought i Nian incessantly talked about so remarkable prodigy, turns out it’s just a little girl who hasn’t even reached the Gold Grade."
The animal skin cloak made a "sizzling" sound in the stove, yet, oddly, it didn’t burn up but simply lted away the snow.
The deliberate sarcasm didn’t ignite Xiao Xian’s anger; on the contrary, she cald down, "Tell , what exactly happened to Master i?" Xiao Xian sensed sothing from the man’s attitude, but she still insisted on asking.
"Do you really want to know?" The beast-like man chuckled sinisterly, "Well, I’m going to tell you, so listen well—i Nian is dead." (To be continued. If you like this work, please co to Qidian (qidian) to cast your recomndation ticket, monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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