"Crack!" The sharp beak pecked into the heavily wounded shoulder once again, attempting to wake up the dying man with intense pain.
However, this time, the person only trembled slightly and could no longer get up.
Days of battles and travels had exhausted all his strength.
"Caw!" The snow vulture's beak was bloody, and its claws anxiously scratched at Huo Zhanbai's shoulder, leaving bloody traces. However, upon realizing that its master truly couldn't respond anymore, it hesitated for a moment, then spread its wings and flew away, swiftly disappearing into the lush valley ahead.
The cold snow gradually covered his face, and the surroundings became a vast expanse of white, where laughter or songs could faintly be heard.
"Huo Zhanbai, I really wish I never knew you."
Suddenly, the face of the woman appeared again in the snow. She wore a white mourning dress, staring at him with hatred by the brazier—white, the color of mourning, against the black background of the funeral hall. Her eyes were filled with bone-deep sorrow, cold to the point of being unfamiliar, with deep despair and hostility. He stood there, stunned.
Qiushui... Qiushui. When I caught you back then, I thought I could hold onto you for a lifetime. But why... why did you have to marry into the Xu family? After so many years, have you truly forgiven me?
He wanted to ask her, to reach out and wipe away the tears at the corner of her eyes. However, as his fingertips touched her cheek, she silently retreated into the snow. She retreated so quickly, like a white butterfly with spread wings, melting into the ice and snow in an instant.
Lying on the vast wilderness, buried by the falling snow, he felt his past and future gradually becoming blank.
He began to murmur the name of a stranger—the only salvation he could rely on.
But, that greedy and lascivious dead woman, why hadn't she come yet? Playing a joke by standing him up at this moment... murmuring, he lost consciousness in the snow.
Unbeknownst to him, in the distance, there was a faint sound of crawling in the snow.
"Ding ling ling..."
The snow remained heavy, but through the wind, a distant silvery bell-like sound came, crisp and pleasant. The sound floated from a valley in the distance, swiftly approaching the snowy plain.
A soft sedan landed on the snow, and the silver bells on its corners jingled in the snowy wind.
"Hey, no one's here." The green-clothed maidservant who walked ahead was only sixteen or seventeen, slender and beautiful.
"Lü'er, Snow Vulture won't lead us the wrong way." A lazy voice responded from inside the sedan, "Go and check."
"Yes." Four maidservants silently opened the curtains, hung them properly, and stepped back. In the sedan, a woman in purple robes held a purple-gold hand warmer for warmth, a purple jade hairpin in her hair, lazily speaking, "That guy, this year must have fallen asleep halfway again. Always making us come out to meet him, it's really troublesome—hmph, the consultation fee for next time should be doubled."
"I'm afraid Young Master Seven won't be able to afford it, and he might end up paying with his body?" Lü'er smiled while covering her mouth, starting to search carefully in the snow.
"Ga!" A white figure suddenly flew in, screeching as it landed on the snow. Its claws scratched accurately at a piece of clothing, tearing it open and revealing a motionless figure beneath. With a strong tug, snow fluttered down, exposing a person lying stiff in the snow.
"Ah, here he is!" Lü'er said, bending down to help the person.
The person, however, still had a thread of consciousness, and upon seeing the newcomer, faintly moved his lips.
"Don't move him!" The wind stirred, and the lazy valley master had already arrived at the side. She pushed aside the maidservant and looked at the injured man with a cold and stern gaze. Her first action was to bend down and place her fingers on his neck.
Why?
Lü'er, who had followed the valley master for many years, had learned some basic medical knowledge. Seeing the man's condition, she was shocked. After years of accompanying the valley master in consultations, she had never seen a person with so many and such deep wounds all over their body!
Wounds large and small covered his entire body. The blood had coagulated, and the exposed skin had turned purple.
"This guy... is not dead yet," after standing still in the wind for a long time, the valley master finally released her fingers.
The man lying in the snow lifted his eyes, as if recognizing who was in front of him. A faint smile appeared, and his lips moved weakly, sighing softly, "Ah... it's you?"
He used the last bit of his strength to place his left hand in hers, then confidently lost consciousness.
"It's good that he's not dead," said the valley master, sighing, taking another step back, and coughing while pressing on her chest. She was a lone snow snipe, facing the twelve Silver Wings alone, and had thirteen major wounds after the four-way battle in the Qilian Mountains.
But, this should be the last one, right?
If she doesn't hurry to Medicine Valley, she might not be able to hold on.