Among the cultivators arriving at the foot of Baiyue Mountain, the story of the strange death of one of Fenguan's heroes is spreading. Li Yanyu, who was once a student of Chen Yuntai. During the battle at the top of Baiyue Mountain, he sacrificed his life to save his fellow students and prevent further bloodshed.

Later, when they decided to send him to the next world with dignity, and finally searched for Li Yanyu's body in the snow, it turned out that nothing remained but traces of blood. Then a fierce storm erupted, and everyone went down the mountain in unison, without even finding Li Yanyu's sword.

The details of Li Yanyu's death are not known for certain. But more than a year passed and nothing was found. And even someone with the most developed spiritual core would not have been able to survive such a blizzard for even a week! For this reason, the witnesses agreed to call him a hero posthumously, and they stopped making the ice-cold porridge out of his bones, leaving them to enjoy the cold.

It was said that Li Yanyu was a handsome young man whose sword showed no mercy to his enemies, and whose heroic heart had long been conquered by the desire to do justice and protect the righteous. His comrades said he had crystal-brown eyes, and when you looked into them, you saw your true self, with all your sins behind you. It's hard to put into words, but his name was now associated with a brave, strong and loyal man who fought on the side of good.

But the whole story also scared anyone who wanted to climb the mountain and thought of doing something bad. Who knows, maybe Li Yanyu will rise from the dead, grab you by the face, and rip out those thoughts along with your brain? In other words, over the years, only a few people have come to the mountain of their own free will, despite their love for the great hero Li Yanyu!

And yet, as always, the exception was the Xinxian Clan, which was located right in the middle of the white and cold snow-covered slopes, and of which Li Yanyu had once been an adept. Every two years, a group of clan recruits would climb the mountain under the supervision of one of the elders, where they would spend a week meditating and another week hardening their bodies. And sometimes they could forage for herbs, a list of which was given to them by local healers. And through frost, blizzards and snowdrifts, the cultivators walked along the white slopes that stretched to the edge of the realm...

"To this whole story I would like to add that Li Yanyu would be the second to give his soul to the sleeping dragon Baiyue. This will not be important to you, and you will forget this particular theory of mine. But do you remember Lin Xue? The one who was the first grandmaster of the Xinxian Clan?" The old master who was leading the group rubbed his goatee with a smile.

"..."

We get it, you're just going to give us a history lesson. Once again.

On the white snow, where the sun's rays jumped, a group of young people were relaxing. Almost all of them had a sharp sword and thick sacks on their shoulders, giving off a magical warmth. Some were fiddling with old tin cans, trying to light lanterns.

Laughter and flattery could be heard among the younger students, while the old master's voice caught the attention of the others.

"Hadn't he defeated the dragon himself? Grandmaster Liu told us about it in class. Because the dragon became Lin Xue's servant, we can now use techniques like Dragon's Footprints and Dragon's Roar," the oldest student in the group could not believe it. Like the others born in the cold mountains, he had heard this story since childhood, so he knew it like the back of his hand. Besides, everyone in the Xinxian Clan sometimes doubted the old man's sanity simply because of his fanaticism.

"In the Baiyue Mountains, on top of Mount Baiyue, there lived a dragon named Baiyue... He was the lord of a hundred mountains and would not give himself to a human even after death," Old Tao looked at each student and smiled, "Maybe Lin Xue was his descendant, or he gave him his soul when they first met, or the dragon himself tricked him, it is not really known. Your beliefs are worthless, but this old man believes that the first Grandmaster gave the Supreme Dragon something important so that he could live a quiet life in the Snow Realm. And what is more important to us humans than the soul? It makes us who we are, gives us life, weaves our destiny with us..." 

This time the walk had to be short because it was not planned from the beginning. This year Xuanhua was hit by heavy snowstorms, and the usual methods of overcoming them were no longer effective.

As a result, the nearby Xinxian Clan had to go into the mountains to collect the glowing Huo grass, which was the main catalyst for making heat-releasing mechanisms. No new students were taken this time — only those who had been to the mountains at least once went.

A group of about a dozen students in navy blue capes had just crossed the pass and were heading for the ice caves. One of the guides was an old healer called Tao, who loved to tell stories and legends, old and new. He wore a white cloak, the colour reminding us of his position as an elder and a great master. In addition to the elders, white cloaks could be worn by their personal disciples or those who were academically gifted. The other company wore dark colours so that if they got lost, they would be easy to find in the white snow.

"Ha-ha! I see you still believe in your fairy tales! Another man in a white robe emerged from the bushes. The road is clear, but I suggest we take a detour, otherwise there will be an icy river right below us. And I don't think anyone wants to test Old Tao's theory about soul transfer… No offence."

He shook off his cloak and shook off the snow. Tao smiled and waved his hand, causing all the students' lanterns to shine brighter.

"Shall we go now, Elder Kuaishan?"

"Yes. If we don't hurry, we'll have to spend the night here, out in the open. I don't think anyone wants that, do they?" he smiled as he approached the group. With his left hand he helped some of them with the lanterns, and soon the clearing was bathed in an eerie light. The sun had already set, so the group obeyed in silence.

Elder Kuaishan, despite his youthful appearance, was a highly respected sorcerer, perhaps older than his healer friend. This was not the name of the deceptive young man, of course, but it had become a common name among his students and many of his friends. Who else could disappear from sight when they had to take responsibility? Only Elder Kuaishan, of course!

A few minutes later, the group was on their way, listening to the stories of the now elderly Kuaishan. According to him, they had already travelled most of the way, and all they had to do was find the entrance to the cave, where their curiosity would grow. He himself was an open person, cheerful and straightforward, but he had no ego... The students already knew how he had won numerous battles, climbed dozens of mountains and saved hundreds of people. Now they also knew how he took care of his late wife every day, their first dates and their gardens, of which she was proud until her death. And all this was from his own mouth, and it seemed that it would be passed on to others for a long time to come.

On the other hand, this particular person was among the eleven 'Eternal Lords'. The clan's new adherents always tried to get into his team for training because of this, and then complained and ran away to other teachers. Elder Kuaishan was, of course, a strong cultivator, but he was no different in terms of responsibility for his students. If thirty newcomers came to him at the beginning of the year, at the end of the year, God willing, only five of them would remain, the rest would voluntarily leave for other Xinxian masters, if not for another clan.

"...and we used to come here on swords before the Space Commission restricted air travel," Master Tao looked at his short blade at his waist, "and sword competitions… They used to be held here more often, too."

"If we are to recall the times before these laws, I must remind you that in those days we used to climb the mountain just for fun. Do you remember how Liu Chengwei fell into the frozen river? No one has ever been able to fall as smoothly as she did." Kuaishan smiled, urging his followers on with his left hand.

"The esteemed Grandmaster was the first in many ways, and you always remember only her early years here. What will the younger generation think of her?"

"Only the best, of course. She had always been capable, and even now, despite everything, she could have become one of the Eternal Lords if she hadn't been at the head of the clan."

The group had just finished climbing the slope. If they kept going, they could reach the top and fly to it on one sword. And if they turned to another, barely visible path, they could reach a fork, each leading to a labyrinth of caves in the mountain itself.

Kuaishan stopped the crowd and asked everyone to pay attention to Master Tao as he slowly walked towards the fork. His friend simply closed his eyes and spoke quickly to his followers:

"According to the legend, Baiyue hid in these caves, and for the safety of the people and himself, he made a labyrinth at the entrance. He himself flew through it, while the people always came out at the foot of the mountain because of the dragon's magic. We just need to get to the caves, get some grass and come back."

"What if we get lost? I heard that some students got lost here a few years ago…" one of the students beside him asked. He was a young healer with little or no combat experience, so his fear was justified.

"That is why the elders always remind us to walk with them in a group, and this year Master Tao came with us, he will find you even if you are blind! Another impatient boy rolls his eyes. The glowing grass stops glowing after midnight, so if we don't hurry, we'll definitely get lost."

"He's right," Kuaishan walked back to them with a light stride, "I think we should all split up. The main path to the cave isn't usable right now, so we'll take the other two. Old Tao will lead one group and I will lead the other. Split up so that you have students who practice medicine and those who are ready with sword and head."

A young man named Yun Wang, who had been encouraging the others, led Elder Kuaishan's group, taking what he called 'a poor coward' with him. The other disciples quickly chose their sides, and after a few words, they all went their separate ways.

"We have no time before midnight is further away than the dawn. As long as your lanterns have spiritual energy, we can still search for herbs even after they fall asleep..." The elder looked back at the other path until Tao's back disappeared behind the ice wall.

It was dusk in the mountains, the last rays of the sun hiding behind the white blankets of snow.

After a while, having passed a dozen bends, the party quietly reached the first hall. It was one of the largest caves in the mountain, so everyone could fill their sacks halfway at once. But now, to everyone's surprise, there was barely enough shiny herb to fill two sacks. All the other herbs were under a thick layer of ice, which was unacceptable for mountain plants. This was despite the fact that Huo's radiance would have melted it in a few minutes.

"Is the beast created by Li Yan'yue preventing us from collecting Baiyue's curiosities?" someone said sarcastically, holding a blade of grass up to the ice and then squealing in pain. "The Visionary Chu was right! The ice is coming down from the peaks, and summer is fading into oblivion..."

"It's not the season," Kuaishan interrupted the whining, shrugging his shoulders. He glanced around the area and, after drawing a few conclusions, turned to his followers, who had already lost their earlier enthusiasm for the journey. Apart from old Chu's prophecy? He even arched an eyebrow and let his hair out from under his hood.

The previously shy follower stepped out from behind Yun Wang and looked at the magical ice with interest. After a moment's thought, he said:

"I want to, Elder! Doesn't this remind you of a part of the Contract Spell?"

"The Contract?" Yun Wang denied it, but he also thought about it... "However, if you don't mean the bloodline, even that won't help much here..."

"..."

Could it be something else?

The magic of the contract, or agreement to be precise, had two branches. The first, the simplest and most popular, was similar to an ordinary verbal agreement. There was an active party who had to keep his word, for example to buy ten swords from a master to settle a debt, and a receptive party who had to receive the fulfilment of that word. If the first party fails to keep its word, it is forever muzzled. Unless, of course, the Minfeng Commission settles the matter.

Or there is the Blood Pact, a subset of the Spell Pact, which can be even more complicated and tricky. It was created many years ago on the territory of the Xinxian Clan, and the punishment for breaking the terms of the pact was different from the traditional wrapping in living ice.

To this day, this spell is only used on thieves who have been released early, or simply on those who have done something terrible despite the ban, but its use is still extremely rare. Living ice was alive because it preserved the life and body of the captive, then melted of its own accord, releasing the victim like a fly from a net. The ice could also be transferred to the body of a third party who wished to free the captive.

But living ice could only be applied to living people. No magical ice would ever wrap itself around anything other than a human, especially not Huo Grass, which had the ability to melt such things.

"Probably. I wouldn't advise you to touch the ice. Perhaps Liu Han'an's group will examine it later," the elder touched the curiosity with his hand, covering it with a protective layer of ice. Indeed, the ice moved from the curiosity to his fingertips as if it were alive. However, when he took his hand away, the 'living' layer disappeared. "Yun Xiang, your version may be correct."

"Thank you, Elder!" the young man cheered up and raised his fist in the air.

"Shall we continue?" Yun Wang said impatiently. "If we don't hurry and collect the right amount of grass, the city will go completely mad."

Kuaishan stood up, easily brushing the protective ice from his hand. He looked at his apprentice and shrugged his shoulders again:

"Of course, it's not the season, but you're right, Yun Wang: we have to fill our bags. Let's go to the other halls and see what's going on. Everyone, please don't go too far!"

But the situation there was even worse. After going around the caves known to the elders, they collected less than half of the sacks, which was... a very bad catch. And they were not allowed to go deeper, because it was not a good idea to lead a crowd of students into a labyrinth. So, after the last hall, Kuaishan stopped the group for a break before they left the mountain.

In addition to the fact that the herbs they had gathered were few and far between, it seemed to everyone that there was less heat and light coming from them than usual. Could it be that the frost in the city was affecting the situation in the mountains? Or was it the other way round? Or perhaps it was someone's magic?

Unfortunately, without thinking of the consequences, while the disciples were resting and talking to the elder, two of them separated from the crowd and slowly left the cave. They took their empty bags and a lantern that was about to go out.

"Brother, slow down," the first whispered, stumbling over a rock, but didn't stop.

"It's you who's crawling like a turtle. We don't have much time, and if we don't pick something now, while we still can, we'll be stuck here. Forever, if you like, just like Li Yanyu."

The cowardly tortoise had to keep quiet. They quickly passed through several empty halls on their way to the opening of the room. In order not to get lost, they had to make markers and keep going, speeding up. They managed to pick a few flowers, but then things got worse — in the next halls, almost everything was covered in ice. It seemed as if they were approaching the icy heart of the mountain — the cold penetrated the cloaks and there was nothing but ice around.

After another ice hall, Yun Wang punched the wall in anger. The ice cracked a little from the impact, but nothing changed. His companion saw that it was no use and tried to bring her back:

"How many times do I have to tell you, there is no more Huo Grass there than in the other halls! Even the Elder doesn't know why, so is it because you're the one who's going to look for it that the situation will change? Brother, don't you…"

"Do you want your mother to freeze to death and fall ill? Huh, Xiang-er?" The young man turned sharply towards the other, showing a face full of anger.

Yun Xiang grimaced after being called by his first name.

"No, but… we can find another solution. What will happen to her if her two sons get lost in the mountains? We've been wandering for a long time, we should go back and…" he stopped quietly.

"Then the clan will give her some money to live on for a while! That's the solution, don't you see?" Yun Wang, who also saw the failure of his plan, began to get furious. "A little more time and we can at least delay her illness. Do you want to stop right now, Xiang-er?" He almost shouted the last words into his brother's ears as he approached him.

"You're driving us all to the grave… Our mother needs living sons, not tablets sent from the clan because we're dead!" Yun Xiang replied after a pause, raising his head proudly.

"How can you understand…"

"Understand that you are making things worse? Right now, brother!"

"…"

Little rascal!

Perhaps he was about to say something else, but now he had a delicious punch in the face. Yun Wang was still furious, maybe because of the truth, or maybe just because he was unable to control the situation, and now he would not take pity on his blood brother.

This had always been the case between them, so neither of them would probably be offended by a fight or some bad words in their direction. However, the clashes over their sick mother were probably the only thing that could cause such a reaction.

The first pre-emptive fist to the face was followed by a second, but Yun Xiang was able to dodge it. He slowly backed away from his brother, trying to calm him down:

"At least don't use violence in the caves, you can beat me up later! Do you really want to die? I do not!"

But who can calm a man down when his pride has been stripped away in such a way? Yun Xiang continued to move away, defending himself with weak stances due to a simple lack of strength. So, Yun Wang, bursting with energy, kicked his foot and prepared for another kick, one of those taught by the elders when the hall they were in shook. Another kick, and another, this time something shattered, seemingly nearby. When all was quiet, Yun Xiang took a breath to calm himself, and finally turned and started walking as far away from his brother as possible.

"That's enough. If you do something like that again, we'll…"

He didn't get to finish, as the ground crunched beneath his feet. Luckily, they didn't fall too far and nobody was hurt. I was interested in something else…

"I... I hadn't seen this hall on the map. We literally had to be on the ground floor. And… what is this anyway?" Yun Wang, who had been wrapped first, looked at the high walls and ceiling where the ghostly light was coming from. Fortunately, he calmed down, even though he gave his brother an angry look.

His attention was drawn to a huge chunk of ice that appeared to be the severed tip of an iceberg. Several layers of snow had accumulated on top of it, making it impossible to see what was inside, although the pieces of ice that could be seen were as clear as water in early spring in the western lands.

The younger adept, completely ignoring his brother, approached and tried to wipe his hands along the ice walls. It did not work well, but just as he was about to spit and walk away, his eyes caught sight of something red peeking through the ice. Yun Xiang started to shovel the snow more intensely when Yun Wang came to help, showing off his talent for Wind Tricks, which he had been taught by one of the local Wind Chamber tamers.

With a single correct wave of his hand, a cold wind enveloped the hall, blowing snow off the ice and almost deliberately falling towards Yun Xiang. He simply rolled his eyes, just as Elder Liu's daughter had done when she learned this from a certain 'Foster Brother Li'. Soon, everyone who was not too lazy inherited this habit, although the Elder always said with a motherly look that no one would repeat it the way the eponymous Brother Li did.

As for the ice, there were no herbs, animals, spirits, or even monsters in it, as Yun Wang might have secretly hoped. And the ice was simple, definitely not alive, although it was probably old, at least three years old. The bare tree trunks around it surrounded it like an altar, their crooked branches bent downward, distorted with grief. Another light breeze blew through the room, as if whispering a prayer, they were saying to each other. In the midst of the grey painting, the same red spot stood out, like a drop of blood on the fur of an arctic fox hiding among the lazy bushes in the thicket of a snowy forest.

"Venerable Lord Lin Xue, what have you done…" The younger man stepped away from the boulder, his eyes wide.

"For this is something even Old Meng would not forgive again...," Yun Wang finished for his brother, standing behind him. "So, this is what the prophecy of the Longyao is all about."

It seemed to be a fresco that had been painted by generations gone by. But everything made it real: a falling man in red silk with wild meihua plums embroidered with gold thread, pieces of swords and snow flying around. The stranger froze in mid-air, his hand reaching up, hoping to get rescued. The other hand dropped the sword, which fell beneath its owner, the pointed tip of the blade almost reaching the ground. And the stranger's face froze, not in fear or despair, but in a malevolent grimace. It was as if the ice were about to crack, and the hall that had become his prison would be illuminated by an unknown fury directed at the one who had not reached out in return.