110 Following the Path of Floating Driftwood (1/2)

The north wind plows through the air. Making all living creatures tremble. All leaves that had not yet fallen were coated in a translucent layer of frost, whose icicles shone in what little light there was. The woods had sounds of eerie blows, as every blade of grass flowed in the direction of the blowing wind.

Dots of green eyes lining the mountains, as though waiting for the right moment to pounce. Their presence and breathing seemed halted, whereas their glowing eyes scanned the surrounding area, silently waiting.

The wind blew through a worn-down cottage, giving the little girl inside a chill. Xue'er was laying on a bed of crude straw, wrapped up in the fresh bolts of cloth she recently bought in the city. Her grip tightened around the furball that was accompanying her. She very much seemed to desire to squeeze every drop of warmth possible from the furball. Yet the small ball did not seem too opposed to it either, purring in delight.

The cottage could barely be considered inhabitable, as there was a hole in the roof. It had gone unrepaired from the time the little bird had crashed through. What a weak roof it indeed was that it could not bear the weight of a single baby chick.

Xue'er somewhat liked the hole in the roof, as from within the comfort of the cottage she could see the stars in the night sky. It was a strange feeling that sleeping under the open night sky gave her, but she did not oppose it.

After a while, silent steps echoed, muffled by the sounds of wind. As the steps got closer, the dotting of green glowing eyes scattered in all directions. As though there a more ferocious predator ready to hunt them down.

Within the worn down cottage, there were sounds of muffled struggles. Some small animal had been tightly wrapped in strong bolts of cloth and whining incessantly trying to break free but to no avail.

The owner of the cottage had already left at a moment's notice. Now wandering the woods in the middle of the night.

The nights in the forest were moonless, with trees that stood tall, reaching as far as the high hills and covering the soil beneath. There was not a single path that could be followed. Rather, many unthreaded paths concealed by brush and dead foliage accumulated from past years.

The small figure must have walked for what seemed miles, before arriving at a small winding river. The sounds of water were humble as the clear water flowed downwards. The stream did not seem to lead anywhere particular, but there was this nudging feeling to follow it.

And so she did. The stream was a clear path reflecting moonlight, leading towards a large mountain. A large mountain that seemed to be the most ordinary landmark one would expect to see in a barren land.

A barren mountain, a long winding river, under the desolate moonlight.

The figure let out a breath, but no frost cloud came out. There was driftwood that flowed with the current. Without much of a thought, the figure lept onto a piece of floating driftwood. The weight that should have been too much for a piece of driftwood to bear did not sink, on the contrary, it floated without change. The added figure balanced perfectly above the floating driftwood and drifted along with the slow current of the river.

The path of flowing driftwood led to a dark dark overpass. Xue'er craned her neck to see the gray rocks overhead, which upon grew long strands of winding leaves that hung down loosely, creating a veil. The cascading leaves brought with it a light scent of withered flowers.