Chapter LXXXV - The Road Through Snow
Shen Li left the capital before sunrise.
No grand farewell.
No ceremony.
No palace spectators.
Only snow.
Only silence.
Only the long road north.
-
The relief caravan stretched across the frozen road like a silver ribbon.
Medicine wagons. Supply carts. Military relief provisions.
Officially, Princess Rui traveled to oversee aid for soldiers' families.
Unofficially-
she was traveling to her husband.
Dangerous motivation.
Very dangerous motivation.
-
Qingyu sat inside the carriage looking nervous.
The Black Sparrow rode outside.
Which somehow made everyone even more nervous.
Reasonable reaction.
Because an infamous assassin casually escorting a relief mission felt deeply unnatural.
Then Qingyu peeked through the carriage curtain.
Immediately regretted it.
The Black Sparrow was staring back.
Expressionless.
Terrifying.
Qingyu dropped the curtain instantly.
Shen Li nearly smiled.
Almost.
-
Three days into the journey-
the first storm arrived.
A real winter storm.
The kind that swallowed roads.
The kind that buried tracks.
The kind soldiers feared.
Snow hammered the caravan relentlessly.
Visibility vanished.
The lead wagons disappeared behind white curtains.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Then a scout rode back urgently.
"Princess Consort!"
"The mountain pass ahead is blocked!"
Silence.
The caravan halted.
The storm worsened.
And suddenly-
the journey became much longer.
-
Far north-
Prince Rui received the weather reports at sunset.
And immediately became unbearable.
Even worse than usual.
The commanders watched him pace.
Pace.
Then pace some more.
Hopeless.
Absolutely hopeless.
Finally General Han sighed.
"Your Highness."
Prince Rui looked up.
Coldly.
The general continued anyway.
Brave man.
"Princess Rui has survived snow before."
"Not this snow."
"Princess Rui has guards."
"Not enough guards."
"Princess Rui-"
"Is traveling through mountains."
Silence.
The general surrendered immediately.
Wise decision.
Because Prince Rui had reached a stage beyond reason.
Again.
-
That evening another letter arrived.
Shen Li opened it beside a camp lantern.
And immediately laughed softly.
Because the first line read:
Princess Rui,
This prince received weather reports.
The next line:
This prince dislikes weather.
Hopeless.
Absolutely hopeless.
The letter continued:
Snow is unreasonable.
Mountains are unreasonable.
Distance is unreasonable.
Please return safely so this prince may complain directly to you.
The warmth inside her chest hurt.
In the best possible way.
Then her gaze reached the final paragraph.
And softened.
Princess Rui,
This prince realized something today.
Every victory feels smaller when you aren't there to hear about it first.
- Rui
Silence.
Outside, snow battered the camp.
Inside-
Shen Li reread the sentence twice.
Then three times.
Dangerous habit.
Very dangerous habit.
-
That same night-
the Black Sparrow sat alone beyond the caravan perimeter.
Watching.
Listening.
Waiting.
The storm concealed everything.
Perfect conditions for an ambush.
Which meant-
someone would eventually try.
Then suddenly-
she heard it.
A sound.
Tiny.
Wrong.
Steel against leather.
Not caravan guards.
Not relief workers.
Someone else.
The assassin's eyes narrowed instantly.
Dangerously.
Then she disappeared into the snow.
Like a ghost.
Like a shadow.
Like the legend she once was.
-
Minutes later-
three men emerged from the blizzard.
Hidden.
Armed.
Moving toward the relief caravan.
Professional.
Dangerous.
Assassins.
The first never saw her.
The second barely had time to react.
The third tried to run.
Mistake.
Huge mistake.
Because moments later-
the Black Sparrow stood alone again.
Snow drifting around her.
Three bodies hidden beneath white silence.
And one realization settling coldly into her chest:
They weren't targeting the relief supplies.
They were targeting Shen Li.
Again.
-
Far away-
Prince Rui woke suddenly.
Again.
The nightmare.
Again.
Only this time-
he saw snow.
Endless snow.
And Shen Li standing alone within it.
Then he heard her voice.
Faint.
Distant.
Calling his name.
Prince Rui sat upright immediately.
Breathing hard.
The feeling lingered.
Wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Then before dawn-
he summoned his fastest cavalry captain.
The bewildered officer arrived moments later.
"Your Highness?"
Prince Rui was already reaching for his cloak.
His sword.
His horse.
Then calmly-
far too calmly-
he said:
"We're riding south."
The officer froze.
"The entire army?"
"No."
Silence.
Then:
"Just this prince."
Absolute silence.
Because somewhere in the snow-
his instincts were screaming again.
And Prince Rui had learned long ago:
Ignoring them always cost blood. ??????