Wen Chaoshen's st words were like a sharp sword piercing into one's chest. A Shui pursed her lips and was lost in thought for a long time. Eventually, she stopped meeting Wen Chaoshen's gaze, turning her head to look at the wind and snow outside. Her pupils reflected countless snowfkes rushing in the gale as she said: "Kuhai County is prosperous, yet as the local magistrate, he cannot tolerate a single refugee. Truly detestable."

  Wen Chaoshen picked up two dry branches from the ground, skewered a well-cooked frog, and began to eat slowly.

  The frog meat was tender, and even without seasoning, it became the most delicious food on this snowy night.

  "It's the first time... I've heard... Kuhai County... is prosperous..."

  His voice was muffled.

  "The only one truly prosperous... is probably Magistrate Liu Jinshi.

  As for the common people, many are so poor they can barely survive. Hunter Zhang, who used to live in the west of the city, was the most renowned hunter in Kuhai County over a decade ago. He could capture a tiger single-handedly. What a glorious sight, something many wouldn't dare to do or even imagine in their lifetime... And now, such a glorious person has fallen to the point of eating frogs from the mud like me."

  A flicker of light fshed deep in A Shui's eyes, and her tone carried a hint of urgency: "That's not right. Kuhai County clearly has favorable weather and stable security. The people live in peace and work happily. How could it be..."

  Wen Chaoshen chewed the frog bones thoroughly and swallowed.

  "Where did you get your information?"

  A Shui opened her mouth but suddenly stopped. After a moment of silence, she only said: "A friend."

  Wen Chaoshen ughed, and after ughing, he said: "Then you should stay away from this friend in the future.

  Full of lies, you might not even know if he sells you one day."

  A Shui remained expressionless, lost in her thoughts. After Wen Chaoshen finished the two frogs in the pot, he got up and walked outside the abandoned temple, using the snow piled on the steps to wash his hands.

  "I left one for you to make soup. I'm heading back."

  A Shui thought of something and asked casually: "Did you make the tattered clothes on that bck dog?"

  Wen Chaoshen didn't turn his head, and his voice gradually faded away: "Back then, Lord Dog brought me here. It saved my life. I can't watch it freeze to death in this snow.

  Considering this fate, you were also saved by Lord Dog."

  A Shui watched Wen Chaoshen's bck silhouette disappear into the vast snow, lost in thought for a while. Then she served herself a bowl of soup and slowly drank it...

  ***

  The next day, the snow hadn't stopped. Wen Chaoshen endured another night with the bedding left by the old hunter. He left the treehouse early, intending to try his luck by the ditch again.

  When passing by the small stone bridge today, Wen Chaoshen saw a dark figure there. Upon approaching, he found it was the old hunter.

  The old hunter was covered in white frost, seemingly having stood on the stone bridge for a while, with some common digging tools on him.

  When their eyes met, Wen Chaoshen spoke: "Aunt Mi didn't have any adverse reactions after eating st night, did she?"

  The old hunter mumbled a vague "hmm," looking at Wen Chaoshen as if he wanted to say something. His lips moved, but he couldn't speak.

  Wen Chaoshen understood everything from the old hunter's demeanor.

  The old hunter intended to join him in digging for frogs, but he couldn't bring himself to ask, feeling it was beneath him.

  Hunter Zhang was considered top-tier among his peers in Kuhai County, having lived a life of glory with remarkable achievements. Many peers and juniors regarded him as a goal and role model. Now, he had fallen to the point of asking a refugee for advice on how to catch frogs to eat.

  Such an act was tantamount to discarding the pride and dignity he had built over the past decades.

  Hunter Zhang was a proud man, something Wen Chaoshen never doubted.

  The only thing that could make him compromise was his wife, who had accompanied him for most of his life.

  "There's snow today, so don't get your hopes up too high. These things aren't as easy to find as you might think.

  I used to go two or three days without finding a frog to eat, but if there are two of us, maybe the situation will be better."

  Wen Chaoshen took the silent Hunter Zhang to search for frogs, sharing his experience and the essence of finding them.

  The other was not an ordinary person but a keen-sensed hunter.

  Though he was old, some things ingrained in his bones wouldn't be easily lost.

  With the old hunter's help, their search area expanded threefold today, and their efficiency improved, managing to dig up twelve frogs.

  Their luck wasn't as good as the previous day, but they harvested more.

  At sunset, Hunter Zhang's frost-lined, wrinkled, dark face rarely showed a sense of vigor. He carefully counted the frogs in the snakeskin bag, over and over, counting three times in total. Finally, he took out half for Wen Chaoshen, who only accepted four.

  In reality, he had only found three today; the rest were all dug up by Hunter Zhang.

  Wen Chaoshen didn't know if there was some beginner's luck like in fishing, or if Hunter Zhang, being a seasoned hunter for decades, indeed had skills and sharpness he couldn't match. In the end, he didn't accept the two frogs Hunter Zhang insisted on giving him, only advising Hunter Zhang to eat sparingly, as they might not find frogs every day. The uneaten frogs should be buried in the snow, as they would wake from hibernation once warmed.

  After parting, Wen Chaoshen returned to the abandoned temple.

  Today, A Shui was gone. Whether she had left or gone to the county city was unknown. After she left, the dipidated temple returned to its usual desotion. Wen Chaoshen breathed a sigh of relief and, as usual, made a pot of soup with the frogs.

  During this time, he checked a corner of the temple, where the well-sharpened woodcutting knife was still stored.

  After eating the frogs, Wen Chaoshen counted the days on his fingers and muttered to the flying snow outside the temple: "It's almost New Year."

  A thousand years ago, this world had only one dynasty. After the death of the Spring and Autumn Emperor, the world split into four countries: Southern Qi, Northern Yan, Eastern Zhao, and Western Chen.

  To achieve unification, the four countries waged wars for years, refusing to yield to each other.

  Until over five hundred years ago, cultivators of the Celestial Realm from each country joined forces to finally quell the wars. The kings of the four countries signed a treaty, establishing the era name "Yong'an."

  Thus, the wars ceased.

  However, Wen Chaoshen sometimes felt that perhaps he would have lived with more dignity in the chaotic times of war than now.

  After finishing, he returned to the treehouse.

  For the next four days, he didn't see A Shui.

  Wen Chaoshen considered this a good thing, as it meant either A Shui had found her parents or she had left. In any case, she was gone, and so was the trouble. He no longer had to share his precious food with this mysterious and dangerous woman.

  On New Year's Eve, the snowstorm was particurly fierce and cold. Wen Chaoshen nearly froze to death on his way back, having stayed outside the county city to listen to the New Year celebration firecrackers.

  When he returned to the temple to start a fire, his legs trembled uncontrolbly. It took three bowls of hot soup to finally warm up.

  Once warm, Wen Chaoshen rested against the stone statue, mentally rehearsing how he would confront Magistrate Liu Jinshi next month to demand his identity. If the magistrate refused, how could he deal with him?

  Whether to cut horizontally or vertically, two cuts or three, the neck or the belly... These were things to think about in advance. Although Wen Chaoshen had never killed anyone, he knew life and death could be decided in an instant. Liu Jinshi would surely have ckeys eager to please by his side. A moment's hesitation, and the opportunity might be lost.

  He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice the increasingly clear footsteps in the snow behind him.

  It wasn't until a crisp female voice sounded that he was finally pulled back to reality.

  "Chaoshen, are you there?"

  Wen Chaoshen turned around and saw a petite girl in a red fur coat, wrapped in a yer of sheepskin bnket, standing at the temple entrance. She pursed her lips, her delicate face turned pale by the biting wind and snow. Upon seeing Wen Chaoshen, the girl's eyes lit up, and she smiled broadly, quickly running to sit by the fire behind the stone statue.

  As the sheepskin bnket spread out, snowfkes fell to the ground, but they soon melted into nothingness in the firelight.

  "It's New Year's today. What are you doing here?"

  Wen Chaoshen stared at the girl across the fire, surprised.

  The girl pced a food basket in front of Wen Chaoshen, rubbed her cold little hands, and with a hint of timidity and innocence on her face, she whispered:

  "Yes, it's New Year's today. Mom let everyone rest and even paid for me and the sisters to have braised pork. I secretly packed some to bring..."

  She looked at Wen Chaoshen's eyes, flickering with firelight, suddenly nervous, forgetting what to say next. Her face turned a shade of red from embarrassment. Finally, she took a deep breath, gnced aside, and spread her white, tender hands toward the food basket:

  "Anyway... please have some."