Chapter LXXXVI - Through the Blizzard
The storm became a wall.
A living thing.
Cold. Hungry. Relentless.
For two days, the relief caravan barely moved.
Snow buried roads faster than workers could clear them.
Wagons stalled.
Horses struggled.
Visibility vanished entirely.
And somewhere inside that endless white wilderness—
danger waited.
—
Shen Li stood beside the lead wagon beneath heavy furs while relief workers discussed alternate routes.
The wind howled around them.
Yet despite the conditions—
her thoughts remained fixed elsewhere.
North.
Always north.
Toward Prince Rui.
Then suddenly—
the Black Sparrow appeared beside her.
Silent as ever.
The assassin's expression looked unusually grim.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"Three men."
Shen Li turned immediately.
The Black Sparrow continued:
"Professional killers."
"Not bandits."
Silence.
Because that confirmed what everyone feared.
The attacks hadn't stopped.
They had simply followed her north.
Then Shen Li quietly asked:
"Did they reveal anything?"
The Black Sparrow shook her head.
"Nothing useful."
Then after a pause:
"They expected your route."
The winter air seemed colder instantly.
Because that meant one thing.
Another leak.
Somewhere.
Someone still provided information.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
—
Far north—
Prince Rui ignored reason completely.
Again.
The cavalry captain watched helplessly as his commander prepared a personal escort force.
Not an army.
Just enough riders to travel quickly.
Too quickly.
Dangerously quickly.
Then General Han finally exploded.
"Your Highness has lost his mind."
Prince Rui looked up calmly.
"Correct."
The admission stunned everyone.
The general stared.
Prince Rui continued:
"This prince accepted that days ago."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then:
"The army remains secure."
"The frontier remains stable."
His eyes darkened.
"Princess Rui is traveling through a blizzard while assassins hunt her."
Nobody had a counterargument.
Because unfortunately—
that sounded serious.
Very serious.
Then Prince Rui mounted his horse.
The generals exchanged exhausted looks.
Hopeless.
Absolutely hopeless.
One commander sighed.
"His Highness rode toward twenty thousand enemy soldiers without hesitation."
General Han nodded.
Then looked toward the southern road.
"Love is clearly more dangerous."
—
That evening—
the blizzard worsened.
The relief caravan finally stopped completely.
There would be no travel tonight.
The roads had disappeared.
Buried beneath white silence.
Inside the largest tent, Shen Li reviewed maps beside a lantern.
The Black Sparrow sat nearby sharpening a dagger.
A deeply unsettling sound.
Then suddenly—
the assassin stopped.
Instantly.
The movement made Shen Li look up.
Because predators only froze for reasons.
Bad reasons.
Then the Black Sparrow slowly stood.
Her eyes narrowed.
Dangerously.
"Someone's here."
Silence.
Outside, the storm roared.
Nothing else.
No footsteps.
No voices.
Yet somehow—
Shen Li believed her immediately.
Then a scream echoed through the camp.
The entire tent exploded into motion.
—
Chaos.
Absolute chaos.
Workers ran.
Guards shouted.
Horses panicked.
The blizzard swallowed everything.
Perfect conditions for an attack.
Perfect conditions for murder.
Then another scream.
Closer this time.
Shen Li moved immediately.
The Black Sparrow moved faster.
The assassin vanished into the snow before anyone could stop her.
Meanwhile guards formed around Shen Li.
Protective circle.
Steel drawn.
Ready.
Then suddenly—
an arrow struck the ground inches away.
Silence.
Because that arrow wasn't aimed at the guards.
It was aimed at Shen Li.
The attack had begun.
—
Far away—
Prince Rui's horse suddenly reared.
The animal nearly threw its rider.
The cavalry escort immediately halted.
Concerned.
Confused.
But Prince Rui barely noticed.
Because a familiar feeling had slammed into his chest.
Wrong.
Terribly wrong.
The same feeling before battles.
The same feeling before disasters.
The same feeling before bloodshed.
Then without hesitation—
he drove his horse forward.
Faster.
Harder.
Dangerously fast.
The cavalry captain shouted behind him.
Ignored immediately.
Because Prince Rui knew.
Not how.
Not why.
Only knew.
Shen Li was in danger.
Again.
And this time—
he was close enough to do something about it.
—
Back inside the blizzard—
a figure emerged from the snow.
Then another.
Then another.
Black-clad assassins.
Not three this time.
Not five.
Many.
Far too many.
The guards tightened formation immediately.
Steel flashed.
The storm swallowed the battlefield forming around them.
Then Shen Li realized something chilling.
This wasn't an assassination.
It was an abduction.
They wanted her alive.
And somewhere beyond the swirling snow—
a voice quietly laughed.
A voice neither Shen Li nor the guards recognized.
But the Black Sparrow did.
Immediately.
Her face lost all color.
For the first time.
Ever.
Then softly—
almost disbelievingly—
she whispered:
"Impossible..."
Because the man stepping through the storm should have been dead.
Seven years dead.
And yet—
he was here.
Waiting.
For Shen Li.
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