Chapter 62: The First Snow and a Startling Discovery

Another dozen days had passed, and the weather grew steadily colder. The Remote Sword Sect, nestled beside a vast marsh, was soon enveloped by rich moisture and damp chill, bringing the first snow of early winter.

Flurries drifted down, blanketing the continuous mountain peaks in a pristine white.

On Danxia Peak, two young girls were squatting in the snow, heads bent, busily tinkering with something.

“Hmm… I think this is about right.”

Hua Xiangrong clapped her small hands, stepped back a few paces, and then placed her hands on her hips, scrutinizing her ‘masterpiece’.

Today, she wore a goose-yellow, stand-collared, front-opening jacket, its body embroidered with pink and white peach blossoms.

The collar and cuffs were trimmed with a fluffy white fleece, and she paired it with a thick, gradient pink embroidered horse-face skirt.

Her double bun hairstyle was adorned with fuzzy pink and white floral hair accessories, giving her a lively and innocent appearance.

“Rongrong, what have you piled up here?”

Ning Sixteen, who was nearby, leaned in curiously.

She, too, wore a stand-collared, front-opening jacket today, though hers was a light beige. Over it, she donned a matching plush vest, also edged with white fleece and embroidered with delicate white flowers.

She wore a thick, padded beige embroidered cotton skirt.

Her long, light-gold hair was intricately braided and pinned with yellow and white velvet flowers. A pair of long, light-gold rabbit ears stood tall on her head, drawing particular attention.

“This is you and me, of course!”

Hua Xiangrong lifted her chin, stating matter-of-factly.

“This…”

Ning Sixteen gazed at the two snow lumps before her—which could, perhaps, barely be considered snowmen.

Their bodies were uneven and loose; the stone eyes were set at different heights; the ‘smiles’ drawn with red ink were large and crooked, looking rather frightening.

Their branch arms were one long and one short, with their two ‘hands’ clasped together, as if shaking hands.

With effort, one could only discern who one of them represented by the long ears pinched onto its snow-lump head.

“Rongrong, perhaps… should I try to tidy them up?”

Ning Sixteen suggested softly.

‘Hmm… alright!’

Hua Xiangrong, evidently aware that her ‘masterpiece’ was quite an eyesore on Danxia Peak, nodded readily.

“Little Pomegranate, you can do it! If you need any materials, I’ll get them for you!”

“Mm!”

Ning Sixteen nodded emphatically. Gazing at the two snow lumps representing her and Hua Xiangrong, her eyes filled with earnest determination, as if she had made a crucial decision.

***

After a flurry of activity.

“Wow! Little Pomegranate! You’re amazing! The snowmen are so beautiful now!”

Hua Xiangrong couldn’t help but let out a surprised cheer, looking at the two completely transformed snowmen.

Indeed, they weren’t just transformed; they had been utterly rebuilt.

The snowman on the left had plump, snow-made double buns, its stone eyes curved into crescent moons, and its mouth, cut from a red cloth strip, was wide open, smiling with great festive joy.

The snowman on the right wore a pair of long, pinched rabbit ears, its red button eyes slightly curved, wearing a docile, gentle smile.

The two little snowmen had their short branch arms tightly linked, their snow-lump bodies pressed close, appearing adorably innocent and sweet.

“Actually… it’s not that amazing! It’s still thanks to your help, Rongrong.”

Hearing the praise, Ning Sixteen, who was always prone to shyness, blushed faintly, and her long ears unconsciously intertwined.

“Oh, you’re just too humble! You built them all yourself; I didn’t help at all.” Hua Xiangrong shook her head, reaching out to take her hand.

“Come on! Let’s go find Sister Li Lian and borrow a Memory Stone to capture them and preserve them well!”

“Mm!”

‘To capture them’—according to Hua Xiangrong, this meant preserving images with a Memory Stone. Ning Sixteen had long grown accustomed to hearing novel terms from her good friend and didn’t ask further at this moment.

***

“I’m going to take it now~~~ Come on, Little Pomegranate, strike a pose with me!”

Having properly set up the Memory Stone, Hua Xiangrong excitedly pulled Ning Sixteen to sit side-by-side in front of the snowmen, flashing a peace sign.

Though Ning Sixteen didn’t understand the gesture, she imitated her, making the sign towards the snowmen. The two girls sat very close, and she could even smell the faint, sweet floral fragrance on Hua Xiangrong.

“Three, three, three, cheese!”

After shouting this peculiar slogan, Hua Xiangrong bounced enthusiastically towards the Memory Stone.

Ning Sixteen watched her friend’s joyful back as she ran to check the Memory Stone, a single thought lingering in her mind:

‘Rongrong smells… so good.’

She didn’t know why, but she just wanted to be a little closer to her, even closer.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a small patch of dark red on the snow—it was where Hua Xiangrong had just been sitting. The color didn’t look like paint used for snowmen; it looked like…

Blood?

Ning Sixteen’s heart tightened. She immediately turned to look at Hua Xiangrong’s back. She saw a small patch of striking crimson seeping onto the hip area of the girl’s pink horse-face skirt, making it incredibly conspicuous.

“Rongrong! Quick, come with me! I’ll take you to Elder Ji!”

“Eh? Eh?!”

Hua Xiangrong was holding the Memory Stone, delightedly reviewing the images they had just captured, when her wrist was suddenly yanked.

Turning her head, she saw it was the usually gentle Ning Sixteen, who, with an unknown surge of strength, was pulling her up the mountain.

“Little Pomegranate, slow down!”

Hua Xiangrong let herself be pulled, her face full of bewilderment.

Inside the alchemy room, a grim woman cloaked in black sat before an ancient brass alchemy furnace. The alchemical fire blazed beneath the furnace. She sat cross-legged, her hand seals constantly shifting, murmuring incantations.

‘Hmm, this batch of Essence-Stabilizing Spirit-Nourishing Pills… should be almost ready.’

Ji Ling focused intently on the furnace, silently calculating the time, her hand seals becoming increasingly swift.

“Elder Ji! Elder Ji! Help! You must save Rongrong!”

A frantic cry, accompanied by a flurry of hurried footsteps, echoed through the room.

Immediately after, a small figure with long ears, dragging another pink figure, burst inside. Ji Ling’s concentration wavered, and her hand, forming a seal, trembled slightly—

“Boom!”

The alchemy furnace suddenly exploded! She swiftly flicked her sleeve, and a spiritual energy barrier instantly unfurled, barely blocking the scattering air currents and pill dregs.

“What… exactly are you two doing here?”

Ji Ling stood up, her face dark, and walked over to the two stunned little girls. Her already somber expression, now intensified, exuded an even more chilling aura.

“Th-that… Elder Ji… I’m sorry!”

Ning Sixteen’s long ears instantly drooped. She bowed, trembling, to apologize, then quickly looked up, her eyes welling with tears.

“Wuwuwu… Elder Ji… I’m sorry… but, but Rongrong… wuwuwu… please, quickly save Rongrong!”

Only then did Ji Ling turn her gaze to Hua Xiangrong, who was equally startled, standing beside her.

‘Save her life?’

She quickly stepped forward, reaching out to take Hua Xiangrong’s wrist pulse. A moment later, Ji Ling’s expression turned peculiar.

“Save her life? She’s perfectly fine!” she said irritably.

“Wuwu… but… Rongrong is bleeding a lot from down there…”

Ning Sixteen was still sobbing. Hua Xiangrong, however, was even more bewildered.

‘Bleeding? When?’

Having been too engrossed in play, she now vaguely felt a stickiness below. Reaching behind, her fingertip touched a dark red stain.

“Wah! I really am bleeding! Elder Ji, quickly save me!”

Looking at yet another panicked little girl, Ji Ling was both annoyed and amused.

“What bleeding and saving your life! That’s just your monthly flow!”