305 Complete Darkness (1/2)

Li Xueyue realized exactly what a fool she had been for not stopping in any of the other towns she had seen along the way.

On a few occasions, she had come across signs pointing towards the different villages. But after her first encounter with the bandit town, she was too hesitant to venture anywhere else except to head in the direction towards Hanjian's capital to the best of her abilities.

Now that the rain was coming down more heavily and nipping at her skin like arrows, she had finally understood the stupidity of her paranoia.

”You scaredy cat,” she chided herself.

If she had swallowed her fear earlier and stopped by a town, she wouldn't be stuck inside of this tiny cave, shivering to death.

Her teeth clattered from the frosty cold. She had barely managed to start a fire with the howling wind, but now the flames were growing smaller.

Li Xueyue didn't have any other kindling to stoke the fire. The sticks outside the cave would be soaking wet, and throwing them into the fire wouldn't help at all.

Heiyue quietly snuggled against her. The poor thing. Even with his coat of fur, he was shivering from the cold. His large body couldn't be warmed up by such a pathetic fire.

”I'm sorry, Heiyue,” she whispered whilst using one hand to hug her upper arm, and the other to caress her horse.

He had folded his legs and was now seated upon the ground, but didn't show signs of sleeping any time soon.

Li Xueyue didn't anticipate the rain to worsen so quickly. One minute it was a soft drizzle and the next, the droplets beat down upon them like cannonballs. She bit her bottom lip when her stomach growled in protest.

”I should've eaten more before leaving the Palace...” Li Xueyue muttered.

They had traveled for at least a day on their own now, and neither of them had a proper meal. She wanted to eat a few wild berries found in the forest, but was unsure if they were safe to eat. What if they were poisonous?

But the spoiled Heiyue, who usually ate the best quality of feeds, was actually well-behaved.

Heiyue had nipped and chewed at the grass in the forest to fill his stomach. She knew a horse's favorite pastime was snacking on grass, but Heiyue was different.

Prior to this travel, the pampered horse would refuse to eat anything but the premium blend of food given to him.

Li Xueyue reached into Heiyue's saddle, hoping to find some sort of treat for him. If she had brought a fruit, that would be better than nothing. Disappointment filled her when her fingers touched the rimmed edges of the coins inside and nothing else.

”The one time money can't solve my problems,” Li Xueyue groaned.

Without warning, she let out a sneeze that startled Heiyue. His ears were on high alert, set off by the unexpected noise.

”I-it's just me,” Li Xueyue sniffed. She continued to stroke his head until he went back to lay it down.

”Oh no—” she gasped when the flame became smaller than the size of her hand.