Snow fell like silent daggers, biting against their skin as Xia Baiyu and Mu Zheyuan trudged through the white void. The
storm had swallowed the mountain, leaving them wandering in search of a
cave any kind of shelter. But there was nothing. Just snow. Endless, cruel
snow.
"Zheyuan… I'm tired. Can we
stop for a while?" Baiyu's voice trembled as much as her
frozen body.
Zheyuan turned, heart sinking at the sight of her
pale, blue-tinged face. Her lips were chapped. Her steps faltered. She looked
like she could collapse any second.
"Baiyu, just a little more. I
think there's a cave up ahead. We can rest there."
She leaned against him, arm slung around his
shoulders. Her legs dragged as they walked.
"Zheyuan… no—brother… I'm
sorry…"
Zheyuan glanced at her, confused. Her eyes were
glassy. Her voice wavered.
"If I hadn't run away… we
wouldn't be in this mess."
She stopped, forcing him to halt as well. Her eyes welled with tears.
"I was so stupid to believe
them. Stupid enough to want to end my life because of that bastard."
She started to sob. Her voice cracked like ice under pressure.
"Brother… do you know why I came to this mountain in the first place? I had a dream. I was standing in front of an old, abandoned temple. I heard someone calling me. And when I looked around… I saw her. A woman. She looked just like me. But
she wasn't me. The voices whispered her name… Daiyu. That's how I knew she was real. Not a reflection. I thought… maybe
she could help me."
She chuckled bitterly through her tears. Zheyuan didn't speak. He just let her talk.
"Thank you, brother… for everything. Even though we're only step-siblings, you always treated me with kindness. I never deserved it."
Zheyuan clenched his jaw, then muttered, "Stop blabbering. Once we're safe, I'll help you get revenge. I promise."
His voice turned sharp with anger. "Damn it… how dare they? Your best friend and your fiancé? You gave him everything… and he still betrayed you."
Her sobs grew louder, but her body grew weaker. The fire of hatred burned inside her, but her limbs had no strength to carry it.
Zheyuan sighed. He looked down at his stepsister with pity. She had always kept her distance cold, proud, unwilling to let anyone take their mother's place. And yet… he had always protected her, quietly, from the shadows. And now, there might be no time left to show her
that he truly cared.
"If only… if only I got a second chance to live… I'd make things right. I'd want to see Mom and Dad
again. I don't want to be blind like that ever again…"
Zheyuan finally spoke, voice tight with emotion.
"What are you saying? Don't
talk like that. We're getting out of here. I swear. You'll get your second
chance. I won't let anything happen to you. I'm here. I'll always be here."
But fate didn't care about promises.
Hours passed. The wind howled louder. Snow
thickened. Suddenly, Zheyuan felt the weight against his shoulder shift then
vanish.
"Baiyu?!"
She had collapsed into the snow. Her face was ghostly pale. Her eyes were shut. Her body still.
"Baiyu! Wake up! Don't scare
me!" He knelt, checking her wrist no pulse.
Panic struck. His eyes reddened. His heart screamed denial.
He picked her up and carried her, staggering forward through the snow, tears freezing on his cheeks.
Just as the sun began to sink, a strange figure appeared in front of him.
A woman. Middle-aged, dressed in a flowing white Hanfu embroidered with a nine-tailed fox. She held a basket of fresh herbs in the middle of a snowstorm.
"Oh my… what happened to you
two?" she asked, calm as the snowfall.
Zheyuan froze. Was she even
real? A ghost? A spirit?
He hesitated before stammering, "W-we're lost. Please… my sister… she's not breathing. Please help her."
The woman pointed to a trail of glowing stand lights ahead.
"Follow those. They'll take
you to the temple. Someone can help you there. But hurry."
He nodded, carried Baiyu forward then looked back.
She was gone.
His throat tightened. He didn't have time to think. He followed the lights. At the end of the trail, a temple appeared—ancient and
worn by time.
He laid Baiyu gently on the stone floor. Checked her pulse again.
Still nothing.
His body trembled as he held her cold hand.
"No… please. Wake up. You said
you wanted to make things right. I promised you… sob… please… don't leave like
this…"
Then—
A voice echoed through the temple. Cold. Regal.
"Who are you? Why are you trespassing in my temple?"
Zheyuan turned, eyes wide. A figure stood before him. Young. Unnaturally beautiful. Dressed in flowing black Hanfu. Her long
white hair danced in the wind. And behind her black wings like a phoenix in mourning.
Her eyes, dark as night, bore into him.
He trembled. "W-who are you…?"
"It doesn't concern you."
He swallowed. Demon? No he didn't dare say it aloud.
She seemed to read his thoughts.
"I am no demon. I am a dark
fairy. One that should never be disturbed."
His heart thudded.
Dark fairy…
He had read about them. Creatures of old. Harbingers of calamity.
Still, he dared to ask
"Please… can you help her?"
She blinked, startled.
"Do I look like a fairy godmother to you? Why should I help a dying human?"
"Please… she had regrets. She doesn't deserve to die like this. I'll do anything. Just name the price."
She stared at him. Then at Baiyu. Something in her
expression flickered.
"Very well. But the price is your soul. Become my slave, forever. Are you willing?"
Zheyuan hesitated then nodded. "Yes. I am."
She smirked. "Interesting. What's your name, human?"
"Mu Zheyuan."
"Then it's nice to meet you,
Zheyuan. I'm Daiyu."
Suddenly, the temple groaned as wind howled through shattered windows. Candles extinguished. The sky darkened.
"With the spell I cast, I shall fulfill this human's
wish. The price has been paid. The promise shall not be broken. No force shall undo this fate… until I, the one who should be avoided, say so."
Light burst from Baiyu's body. Zheyuan's vision
blurred. His knees gave way. And then—
Darkness.
Daiyu staggered, her body weakening. Her vision faded.
"Why… am I… getting weaker…? This isn't… how it should be…"
And then just before she collapsed she heard a
whisper, soft as snow:
"Now you have your chance, Daiyu.
Step out of the darkness."