The sudden sound of submachine gunfire echoed through the skies, completely exposing the strange and shifting presence hidden beneath the forest.
Out of nowhere came a burst of wild noise, and naturally, the people in the mountains were quite frightened.
The smell of blood in the air grew heavier, and in such extreme cold, the back mountain still bordered an undeveloped area.
I’m afraid it might easily attract things that shouldn’t appear.
Fortunately, thanks to the gunfire, the crowd that had been chasing and blocking them all surged off in the direction of the shots.
Under these circumstances, the number of people they encountered kept decreasing.
Li Li walked with some difficulty on the icy surface. After trekking through snow for so long, her shoes and socks were already soaked.
The thick snow boots now felt heavy, and every step was a struggle. Her feet had long since gone numb from the cold.
She exhaled a long breath of white mist, and white frost clung to her eyelashes.
“Can you still hold on?” the man beside her asked.
Li Li braced herself and exhaled a breath of white mist. “Of course. If you can still hold on, why wouldn’t I?”
Seeing the girl’s stubborn expression, a trace of admiration appeared on Xiao Yan’s stern face.
To avoid the pursuers, a half-hour journey was forcibly stretched into more than an hour of winding through the mountains.
In the extreme cold, she didn’t utter a single word of complaint, biting her teeth and pressing forward.
Even if she was raised a bit spoiled, she still had the ability to judge the situation—knew when to act and when not to. It’s just that her temper was a little stubborn.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The sound of continuous gunfire came from afar, and Li Li turned to look.
“Do you think reinforcements are coming?”
Such intense, continuous gunfire hadn’t occurred earlier—there must be someone else here now.
The dagger in Xiao Yan’s hand gleamed coldly. After carefully stripping the bark, he wrapped the tip of the stick with a square cloth and handed it over.
“Take it.”
Seeing what he handed over, Li Li glanced at the bandaged wound on his body. “You should take care of yourself. You’re already like this and still worried I can’t walk?”
“You’re a girl,” Xiao Yan replied, his face still cold.
The painstakingly carved stick was tossed to the ground, her face saying “take it or leave it.”
Li Li could only pick it up and support herself as she walked forward. “You still haven’t answered me—do you think someone’s come to rescue us?”
“Us?” Xiao Yan glanced over.
Li Li spoke to herself, “I’ve been gone so long—my sister must’ve noticed. Maybe the people behind us were sent by her to rescue me.”
When people are in hardship, they often tend to think of beautiful things.
For example, her hands and feet were frozen stiff now, nearly unable to walk out, and the only person she could rely on was injured too.
Naturally, she hoped that someone stronger would come and lead her out of this predicament.
“How likely do you think it is that your sister knows you’re here?” Xiao Yan strode forward.
Li Li thought for a moment. “Every night before bed, my sister checks if I’ve kicked off the blanket. When I left tonight, she even said she’d wait for me to come back.”
If she hasn’t returned by the agreed time, Li Ruobing will definitely take action.
“Don’t get your hopes up. Whether your sister knows you’re here is uncertain—but what makes you think the people you meet will be on your side?”
Right now, this forest is a mess. Besides the Mo family’s people, it’s likely mixed with forces from all sides.
That place is a mess, a total cesspool. Do they really want to go back?
They’d probably be torn apart—nothing left but scraps.
What matters most now is getting out—while they’re all busy fighting.
“How much longer do we have to walk?” Li Li asked, staring into the endless white.
She kept feeling like the stream underfoot would never end—like no matter how far she walked, it just kept going.
“If nothing goes wrong, twenty minutes.”
She was too tired to even laugh, but part of her still wanted to point out: he’d said that thirty minutes ago.
This number hasn’t changed at all.
No telling how much farther they’d have to go before they were free of this place.
Her feet were numb with cold now. If she couldn’t get herself out soon, it’d be over.
At this rate, she is going to freeze to death out here. Might as well be an ice statue.
They’d finally made it to the end of the stream. Xiao Yan leaned forward for a look, and just as expected—even the ski resort was under heavy guard.
He crouched behind the tree with Li Li. In the frozen white expanse, the black-clad guards at the intersection were impossible to miss.
“I’ll go hold them off in a bit. You take the chance to run—don’t look back,” Xiao Yan instructed the person beside him.
Li Li gave a nod, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.
A strange tension surrounded them. Xiao Yan tightened the scarf around his wound with one hand.
He let go of the cloth he’d been biting, raised his hand, and carefully counted the people across from him.
“One… two…”
There were ten people in total, all guarding the only entrance. Just looking at them made one’s heart sink.
“Stick close. Don’t wander off."
They hadn’t even moved when the flood of black-clad men began pouring in—dozens, maybe more. Li Li could only gape at the sheer number.
With that many people flooding in, it’s clear they’re here to reinforce the guard.
“The young hall master has given orders—guard this place well. Not even a fly is allowed out. If you see anyone suspicious, eliminate them. No need to report.”
There had only been ten guards before—now, in an instant, that number had multiplied tenfold.
The level of security made it clear—something was seriously wrong.
Li Li stared at the scene, dumbfounded. “What do we do now?”
Rushing forward means death. Turning back means death too.
In this freezing world of snow and ice, they had to break through—no matter what.
“If only I had Wen Li’s skills,” Li Li muttered with a sigh.
Back in Ningzhou, she had seen with her own eyes how Wen Li and Xia Chen dealt with those people—without so much as a change in expression.
And Wen Li could also treat illnesses and save lives—rumor has it, the poisons she developed were just as formidable.
If someone threw out a handful of poison powder right now, wouldn’t all these people just collapse and be left at their mercy?
She could only blame herself for being too useless—at a time like this, she really was just waiting to be slaughtered.
Xiao Yan glanced back, then looked ahead. He could only try to circle around the cluster of guards and find a weak spot—somewhere with fewer people to attack.
Only this way could they have a sliver of hope to break through.
“Let’s circle around again,” Li Li said, looking up at Xiao Yan.
He was a little stunned. He’d thought she was already exhausted and would start crying and refusing to take another detour—but unexpectedly, she was still willing to go.
“Let’s keep going. I’ve got this strong feeling someone’s on their way to help us,” Li Li said.
The young girl in front held his hand confidently, trudging backward through the snow with difficulty
Li Li didn’t really know why she was so sure—someone was definitely coming to save her.
The sound of machine guns in the distance was getting closer. Anyone with a sense of danger wouldn’t dare approach right now.
“Is this the way to the undeveloped zone?” Li Li asked, glancing ahead.
This path leads into the entire undeveloped region of North Mountain—150,000 hectares of mysterious wilderness.
This place is covered in snow year-round, with short days and long nights. Country G has sent countless expeditions in, hoping to collect plant and animal specimens.
But they only ever made it to the outer mountains before pulling back. As for the braver teams who went deeper in—many never came back.
To put it bluntly, this place is no different from a death zone.
Xiao Yan was struggling to support her as they walked. “We’re just passing through,” he said. “We’re not going in.”
Out there, it was a fight against people. But once inside this place, it became a struggle purely against nature.
Unknown dangers are everywhere, but the ecosystem here remains untouched.
The core region of North Mountain still follows the purest laws of nature, unchanged for centuries. It’s a forbidden zone for many plants and animals—and for humans too.
“Don’t worry. Once I get out, I’ll tell Grandma and make sure you’re well rewarded.”
Li Li said those words like giving the man a shot of adrenaline.
Xiao Yan, expressionless, kept pulling her forward and replied, “This is what Miss Li ought to do.”
It’s good that you can still talk. If it gets to the point where you can’t even speak, then it’s really over.
After walking some distance, the two of them reached the gorge at the mountain pass and ran into a group of people coming out from within.
Go through this gorge, and you’ll enter the undeveloped region of North Mountain.
These people were well-trained, moving in perfect sync. Half their faces were hidden behind black square scarves, making them look extremely mysterious.
The one in the lead looked at the two of them, slowly extending a hand from beneath the black cloak and pointing at Li Li.
“Who are you?”
Xiao Yan stepped forward, shielding her behind him, his face cold as he stared at the people nearby.
They wore identical outfits—cotton jackets designed for warmth and mobility. The most striking feature was the emblem on their chests, marked with a unique pattern.
These people weren’t Mo Xiao’s, nor were they Jiang Yunhao’s.
“General, no need to worry about who they are. Isn’t it said that using women as bait works best? We were just wondering where to find one.” The man beside the leader looked at Li Li, eyes gleaming coldly.
It really was getting something without any effort.
“Would you two mind coming with us?” The man raised his hand, the dark muzzle of his gun aimed at Li Li and Xiao Yan.
Not only did they have overwhelming numbers, but even their weapons were the latest models.
In this situation, they could only raise their hands and surrender.
They were speaking one of the most obscure languages from Continent D. Xiao Yan couldn’t really understand it, but he instinctively raised his hands.
“This woman is useful. Just kill the man.”
The man beside the leader spoke.
Li Li was fluent in many languages, so she naturally understood the sentence clearly.
“You can’t kill him!”
The leader looked at Li Li, his golden eyebrows especially striking. “You speak La?”
This time, Li Li truly felt grateful—she’d always liked strange and unusual things since childhood, and she’d learned languages during the golden period.
She had four language teachers and studied the four most widely spoken languages across the continent.
Of course, she was very interested in this obscure language too, and pestered Li Langhua to find her a teacher
Learning more is always a good thing, so Li Langhua agreed to her request.
She hadn’t used La in a long time—never expected it would come in handy now.
“You must give us a reason not to kill this man,” the leader said, his gaze settling on Li Li.
“If you kill him, I’ll kill myself—clutching a corpse. I wonder if that’s still of any use to you?”
A cold glint flashed in the leader’s eyes. The man beside him shouted and moved to strike.
But he raised a hand and stopped him.
“I’ll agree to your request, but you’d better not try anything else—otherwise, it’ll be kill without mercy!”
Since she’s meant to be bait, naturally she should stay alive—and in good condition.
Soon, one of the men behind the leader came forward and removed all the weapons from Xiao Yan. Then he took out a rope he carried and tied the two of them together at the waist.
Just before entering the valley, Li Li stayed alert and squeezed out a bit of the fluorescent paint she carried
“What did they say to you?” Xiao Yan glanced sideways at the person beside him.
“They told us to behave and follow them—otherwise, they’ll kill us,” Li Li said, looking at Xiao Yan.
It really is hard to move forward—caught between a rock and a hard place.
Xiao Yan stared at the man ahead. He was tall, and hidden beneath a black cloak, extremely mysterious.
He had seen that medal before—and more than once.
At this moment, these people tied him and Li Li up and took them into the mountains—what exactly was their purpose?
“Don’t act rashly. Let’s see what they’re really up to.” Xiao Yan raised his hand and gave Li Li a reassuring pat.
“They said they want to use me as bait.” Li Li looked at him, puzzled.
It’s not like they’re going fishing—so why is she the bait
A cold glint flashed in Xiao Yan’s eyes. “Bait?"
.........
They kept chasing deeper along Senluan’s trail—Xia Chen and Fei Ran had no idea how many times they’d reloaded their machine guns.
More and more people rushed over along the way. Upon closer inspection, they were all from the Mo family.
The more people Mo Xiao sent out, the more it proved he had something to hide.
It’s the middle of the night, deep in the forest—what secrets could there possibly be?
“Boss, look ahead!” Xia Chen raised his gun, pointing at a few sneaky-looking men standing beneath the birch trees across from them.
Unlike the gun-wielding attackers they’d encountered along the way, those men were crouching stealthily on the ground, holding a map in their hands.
“Take them down. Leave one alive,” Wen Li ordered.
Xia Chen nodded, and his gun precisely hit the man in the center of his leg.
The bullet tore through flesh, dragging blood with it. The man collapsed to the ground in pain.
The man beside him quickly became alert, but before he could raise his hand, Xia Chen had already aimed at his head.
“If anyone moves again, I’ll shoot you full of holes.” Xia Chen walked over slowly and deliberately.
Wen Li took two steps forward, but before she could reach the man, someone beside her grabbed her.
“Wait.” His hand shot out, stopping them mid-step.
He found a rock and pulled the person down to sit—Wen Li ended up right on his lap.
“What are you doing?” Wen Li was pressed down to sit on the man’s lap.
Fu Yuxiu moved downward beneath her down jacket, precisely gripping the girl’s slender calf and continuing lower.
Wen Li grabbed his hand, quickly leaned in to the man’s ear, and warned, “So many people are watching. If you dare mess around, just wait and see how I deal with you.”
The man leaned in, his high-bridged nose brushing against her fair cheek. His large hand moved downward, precisely landing on her snow-dampened pant leg.
When Wen Li left the house, she was wearing cotton socks. The soles were fine for now, but the part around her ankles was already soaked.
His hand touched something cold—her whole ankle was icy to the touch.
“Don’t move. Change your socks before going over.” Fu Yuxiu said as he expertly took off her shoes and socks.
Her fair, jade-like foot was exposed to the air, and was quickly pulled into the man’s arms to be warmed.
He had already taken off his black fur gloves, and now pressed Wen Li’s feet against the open chest of his coat.
Without changing expression, he pulled out a pair of identical cotton socks from his pocket.
“When did you bring those?” Wen Li looked at him.
He actually brought a pair of socks she wears.
“Some people don’t listen. When I go out, don’t I have to be prepared for everything? What’s so strange about a pair of socks?”
As he spoke, he lowered his head and carefully put the socks on Wen Li.
The man crouching on the ground looked up, only to have Xia Chen tap his head with the muzzle of his gun.
“What are you looking at? Never seen people in love before?”
A voice brimming with strength and unshakable conviction.
The man crouching on the ground was speechless. In the middle of the night, deep in the snowy forest, these two had come here to fall in love—what a peculiar hobby.
With the new socks on, Wen Li got to her feet. The chill around her ankles had faded, replaced by a gentle warmth.
“All right, feeling warmer now?” Fu Yuxiu said, rubbing her head.
Wen Li nodded with satisfaction. The man leaned in, his handsome face close to hers, and his eyelashes brushed her cheek—it tickled a little.
“Starting to think your boyfriend’s actually pretty useful, huh?”
Wen Li smiled and gently pinched that incomparably handsome face—then gave it a rewarding squeeze.
At least I don’t regret it.”
Hearing that, the man’s smile widened. He leaned in and kissed her. “Little heartless thing.”
“Miss Wen, this is the map they were holding.” Fei Ran respectfully handed over the item he’d retrieved.
Wen Li unfolded the map. In a place like North Mountain, modern technology wasn’t much use.
No survey team has ever entered the core of North Mountain, so the map they’re using is the oldest version.
“Which group are you with?” Wen Li looked at the few of them.
The man crouching on the ground spoke honestly. “We’re from North City's White Water Hall.”
Li family’s people—sneaking around here in the dead of night—what could they possibly be up to?
“That map was found on the Mo family people. We heard they were heading into the mountains to look for something, so our young hall master told us to follow.”
This man spoke without holding anything back.
Wen Li looked down at the map in her hands, spread it out in front of Fu Yuxiu, and said, “Take a look.”
The Mo family is heading into North Mountain—what could they possibly be looking for?
The Li and Mo families have been in North City for so many years—they can’t not know how dangerous this place is. And yet, they still sent people into the mountains.
What they’re looking for definitely isn’t something ordinary.
“Tie them up first, then throw them over."
The most urgent task is to find Li Li first.
Up along the creek, near the ski resort, it was quiet. The guards were still patrolling diligently.
The footprints we found show they took a detour.
“Boss, something’s glowing over there!” Xia Chen pointed across.
The group moved west along the stream and soon saw faint glowing dots stretching forward across the snow.
“It’s pigment,” Feiran said after examining the color.
Of everyone in the forest, the only one who would be carrying pigment is Li Li.
“They’re heading toward the canyon—the one at North Mountain entrance!” Feiran looked into the distance.
For no apparent reason—what would Li Li be doing in North Mountain?
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