"Why are you called Xiaohong?"

  "Because my mom said, the humbler the name, the easier it is to raise... But I'm a girl, so the name can't be too humble, I need to keep some dignity."

  ***

  "Brother Chaoshen, are you really... a spy from another country?"

  "Who said that?"

  "Rumors from the neighborhood, they say it came from the County Office."

  "Then which country do you think I'm a spy for?"

  "I think... you don't look like a spy."

  "Why?"

  "Because if you were a spy, Liu Jinshi would be eager to catch you!"

  "Haha, that makes sense, it really does."

  ***

  "Oh, right, Xiaohong, in front of others, don't say 'Liu Jinshi' by name, others call him County Lord, so you should too."

  "Okay... Brother Chaoshen, can you hum that tune again?"

  ***

  In the abandoned temple, Wen Chaoshen stared at the boiling pot, the water reflecting the scene of him and Si Xiaohong sitting on the small stone bridge.

  He was lost in thought.

  In the few rexed and pleasant memories Wen Chaoshen had, Si Xiaohong was like a stone suddenly thrown into the water.

  Quick and unexpected.

  When with Si Xiaohong, Wen Chaoshen could temporarily forget some heavy, real-world matters.

  Tonight was colder than usual, yet Wen Chaoshen lingered in the temple for an extra half-hour, until the snow water in the pot boiled dry, until the firewood turned to ash, he finally used two dry sticks to pick up the nearly boiled frog in the pot and ate it bit by bit.

  This half-hour of reminiscing was a special privilege he gave to Si Xiaohong.

  Not for that bowl of braised meat, nor for the music from two months ago.

  But for the reflection of a human figure in the girl's clear eyes.

  When Si Xiaohong looked at him, he could always find a familiar yet unfamiliar person in her eyes.

  That was his true self.

  So, after eating the frog, Wen Chaoshen began sharpening his knife again.

  Sharpening a knife on the coldest snowy night.

  "Not much time left, to die like a human."

  Wen Chaoshen said to himself.

  As the bde scraped against the whetstone, the cold seeped into his bones with the sound.

  His whole body trembled, except for the hand sharpening the knife.

  The sharper the knife, the less Wen Chaoshen trusted Liu Jinshi.

  He wanted to live more than anyone because he had died once, and those who have died once fear death more.

  But for the past three years, Wen Chaoshen seemed to have been preparing for death.

  ***

  Who knows how long had passed when a fke of snow drifted in from outside the temple, startling Wen Chaoshen from his sharpening.

  When he looked up, he saw a person wrapped in bck standing at the temple entrance.

  The person held a sword in one hand, eyes cold as ice, the aura emanating from him made Wen Chaoshen unable to move.

  In the past three years, Wen Chaoshen had never encountered a martial artist from the Martial World, nor did he know how terrifying they could be, thinking they were probably like some heroes from wuxia novels, but the Man in Bck standing before him made Wen Chaoshen suddenly realize he was wrong.

  Just standing there, the Man in Bck's presence was suffocating.

  Wen Chaoshen had no doubt that if the Man in Bck wanted to kill him, it would be as easy as squashing an ant.

  But why would such a person suddenly appear in Kuhai Town?

  "Kid, I'm looking for someone..."

  The Man in Bck spoke, his voice hoarse.

  "Have you seen a woman recently, with an oval face, somewhat thin, about eight feet tall, should have many scars from weapons on her body..."

  In this world, one foot is approximately equivalent to twenty to twenty-two centimeters in the previous life, eight feet tall, about one meter sixty to one meter eighty, matching A Shui's height, plus the Man in Bck's st sentence, made Wen Chaoshen basically certain that this person was looking for A Shui.

  "A woman did come by a few days ago, not sure if it's the one you're looking for, she didn't say anything when asked, then left on her own."

  Wen Chaoshen didn't completely hide the truth, but he didn't reveal everything either.

  The person was clearly looking for trouble, he couldn't show any connection with A Shui, lest he invite disaster.

  The Man in Bck, upon hearing this, asked again: "Which direction did she go?"

  Wen Chaoshen thought for a moment: "I wasn't there when she left, but if she's as badly injured as you say, she might have gone to the county city to heal, or found a fast horse and headed east towards Zhao Kingdom across the wastend.

  But this year, the snow in Qi Kingdom came too quickly, covering the wastend knee-deep, her chances of going to Zhao Kingdom are slim, even if she could endure, the horse couldn't."

  The Man in Bck's gaze was sharp, silent, the thumb of his sword hand had already pushed the sword from its sheath.

  The sound was light, but unpleasant.

  Wen Chaoshen gripped the sharpened machete, looked up at the Man in Bck, and said: "Are you going to kill me?"

  The Man in Bck did not avoid the question: "Silence a witness."

  Wen Chaoshen's breathing quickened slightly, he asked: "No room for negotiation?"

  The Man in Bck's sword was drawn three inches, the cold light on it bringing the biting chill of the snow outside into the temple.

  "Generally speaking, there's room for negotiation between people.

  Living like this, you're worse than the cats and dogs in the county city, if I were you, I'd be ashamed to the point of suicide, how can you speak of negotiation?"

  Wen Chaoshen, holding the machete, eyes fixed on the Man in Bck, showed no fear: "Then come."

  Seeing Wen Chaoshen dare to face him with a knife, the Man in Bck's gaze grew colder, feeling insulted, he struck without hesitation, even more ruthlessly.

  The first sword strike aimed directly at Wen Chaoshen's arm holding the knife.

  He wanted Wen Chaoshen to know the gap between them, then let him die with fear and regret.

  The Man in Bck's sword was extraordinarily fast, Wen Chaoshen could see the down feathers on birds' wings in autumn, but couldn't see the Man in Bck's sword swing.

  But Wen Chaoshen still swung his knife by instinct.

  He didn't pn to live, he just wanted to strike once before dying.

  A strike full of courage, leaving no room for retreat.

  In the instant wrapped in death, Wen Chaoshen actually ughed, the polished machete reflecting half of his profile, showing the courage only a cornered beast possesses.

  This strike, though the sword was fast, though the knife was slow.

  Yet the Man in Bck's sword didn't hit Wen Chaoshen, Wen Chaoshen's knife successfully struck the Man in Bck's arm.

  The sparks from the bde seemed real, burning the wound hot, the Man in Bck's eyes widened, as pain spread, he realized his arm, mixed with blood, had fallen to the ground.

  "How... is this possible?"

  He muttered, suddenly looking behind him!

  A woman with a leg covered in snow stood there, standing in the hazy snow, quietly watching him.

  Earlier, a snowball had burst through the blizzard, hitting his sword arm, causing the sword meant to strike Wen Chaoshen to hit only air.

  "…"

  The Man in Bck said nothing, the second knife had already struck from behind.

  Still Wen Chaoshen's chaotic knife.

  Though the Man in Bck didn't look back, his body had already made a dodge.

  The woman in the snow unched a second snowball.

  Whoosh—

  The snowball hit the Man in Bck's leg, causing a brief pause.

  It was this brief pause that allowed Wen Chaoshen's knife to strike the Man in Bck's neck, hot blood gushed from the wound, the Man in Bck's eyes widened, moments ter, his body slumped to the ground.

  Wen Chaoshen's strike was extremely fierce, the Man in Bck's protective energy was broken by the snowball, how could his flesh and blood neck withstand such a desperate strike?

  His head was almost split in half, only a yer of skin and flesh holding it, after his body fell, the light in his eyes quickly dimmed.

  Finally, only the flickering fmes from the fire remained in his pupils.

  Wen Chaoshen, covered in blood, colpsed to the ground, half-kneeling before the Man in Bck's corpse, gasping for air, his hand holding the knife trembling violently.

  A Shui entered the temple, shook off the snow, came to Wen Chaoshen, and asked: "Do you still have strength?"

  Wen Chaoshen, breathing heavily, replied: "For what?"

  A Shui pointed at the Man in Bck's corpse: "You killed him, you bury him."

  Wen Chaoshen ignored her, sat down on the ground, leaning his back against the statue's base, his voice trembling, not knowing if it was from the cold or the aftermath of killing.

  "He came for you, I really shouldn't have saved you, almost got killed."

  A Shui replied matter-of-factly: "You should have saved me, if you hadn't, you'd really be dead."

  Wen Chaoshen remained silent, just focused on catching his breath, unable to refute A Shui's words.

  "Was it you helping me just now? This guy is ridiculously stupid, you're so powerful, how dare he come looking for you."

  A Shui squatted by the Man in Bck's corpse, searching, she found a special jade pendant from his waist, tied with a bck cord, the pendant had a river pattern, exquisitely crafted, with the words 'Wangchuan' engraved on the back.

  "He's not alone."

  A Shui spoke calmly.

  "Also, my head is worth a lot, more than you can imagine."

  Wen Chaoshen was stunned, then asked: "Why?"

  A Shui met his gaze, a hint of pity and coldness fshed in her eyes: "Because of my surname."

  Wen Chaoshen said: "A surname can be worth so much?"

  A Shui took the jade pendant, pced it in the pocket of her thin, tattered clothes.

  "But this surname, burned for seven days and nights and still wasn't completely gone. Do you think... it's worth something?"