Chapter 56: Farewell, Snowfall.

Seeing Yi Yeyu awaken, Yi Zheng hurried forward to help her sit up.

"Are you alright?"

"I remember being struck through the stomach by that giant python, and then I died..." Yi Yeyu spoke as she lowered her head to look at the spot where she had been pierced. Astonishingly, there was no wound at all. She couldn't resist touching it, yet felt nothing amiss—not even the faintest scar.

However, her clothes, still torn with a hole and stained with blood around the injury, bore clear witness that the attack was no illusion.

"You really should thank Miss Xueluo. She was the one who saved you!" Yi Zheng had barely finished speaking when he turned to Xueluo and expressed his gratitude.

"Miss Xueluo?" Yi Yeyu was momentarily puzzled. She didn’t recall such a person among the hunters who had come this time. As she focused on Xueluo, her gaze fell upon her right hand.

After staring at Xueluo's hand for a while, she finally spoke, "I remember your hand—it was you who pulled me out from that darkness. Thank you!"

"No need to thank me. Mr. Lin Huang once saved me; it was at his request that I intervened," Xueluo replied, her face softened by a gentle smile, quite different from how she treated others.

"Lin Huang, thank you!" Yi Yeyu looked at him in surprise.

"As long as you’re safe," Lin Huang said with a smile and a nod.

"Sir, may I speak with you privately?" Xueluo turned and addressed Lin Huang quietly.

"I’ll step away for a moment," Lin Huang said to Yi Yeyu and Yi Zheng before following her.

With a wave of her hand, Xueluo led Lin Huang and the Ice King onto a massive boulder.

She walked straight to the edge of the stone and sat down, patting the spot beside her. "Please, sit."

Lin Huang, without any reservation, sat down next to her. The Ice King stood a short distance behind them.

Above, two moons—one red, one violet—cast a gentle glow, as if two layers of colored silk veiled the earth in a dreamlike haze.

"Miss Xueluo, you’ll be leaving soon, won’t you?" Lin Huang asked, breaking the silence as she gazed at the moonlight.

"Yes, it’s time to go," Xueluo nodded softly. "I’ve watched the moons of this world for too long."

"When do you plan to depart? I’d like to see you off," Lin Huang hesitated before asking.

"We’ll leave soon," Xueluo’s answer surprised him.

Lin Huang nodded lightly, uncertain how to continue the conversation.

"Sir, there’s a question I don’t know if I should ask." After a brief silence, Xueluo suddenly turned toward him, her expression solemn.

"Go ahead, it’s alright. I’ll answer as best I can." Lin Huang turned to meet her gaze, but quickly looked away.

"Do you think it’s right or wrong for a deity and a human to fall in love?" Xueluo's question was candid; in truth, it had troubled her for over seven centuries.

"Love itself knows no right or wrong. If you love someone, but the outcome is unfortunate, that doesn’t mean love itself is bad—only that you met the wrong person. As for deities and humans, if they truly love each other, I don’t see why it shouldn’t be possible."

Finding the topic heavy, Lin Huang shifted the tone and shared the story of Emperor Sorrowwind.

"I once read a story about a man named Sorrowwind. He fell in love with women of many races and fathered children with them, eventually giving rise to many different races..."

Xueluo listened, bewildered. "Didn’t his actions meet with opposition?"

"If you believe something is right and are determined to do it, why worry about others’ opinions?" Lin Huang smiled. "Of course, Sorrowwind is just a fictional character. Whether such people exist in reality, I couldn’t say."

"After hearing you, sir, I finally see things more clearly." Xueluo pondered deeply, her eyes brightening.

"What are your plans next?" she suddenly asked.

"I’ll register as a hunter, then work toward advancing to the Black Iron rank. After this trip, those tasks will keep me busy for a while. As for the future, I’ll strive toward transcendence, I suppose." Lin Huang had no idea how long it would take to reach transcendence; it seemed pointless to speak of anything farther. He knew little of this world, so he could only proceed step by step. Only by making each step solid could he hope to go far.

They sat on the boulder and talked for a long time. Below, Yi Zheng watched with growing unease.

"I used to think Lin Huang was a pretty honest guy, but now, I’m not so sure I’d trust him with my sister," he muttered.

"What are you saying?!" Yi Yeyu pinched his arm hard.

"I’m just being honest. Why pinch me? That Miss Xueluo is such a beauty, and looks even younger than you—and stronger, at least transcendent. If you’re not careful, she might snatch Lin Huang away."

Yi Zheng and the others hadn’t noticed that Xueluo and the Ice King weren’t human; they simply assumed they were powerful transcendent humans.

"Go to hell!" Yi Yeyu nearly exploded.

On the boulder, Lin Huang and Xueluo’s conversation was drawing to a close.

"There’s just a little left to do here, and then we’ll leave," Xueluo said, rising to her feet.

"Is there something unfinished?" Lin Huang also stood, curiosity in his voice.

"I need to erase the memories of me and Little Bing from everyone’s minds, and rearrange the scene of the battle," Xueluo explained, glancing at Lin Huang. "Also, they witnessed you slay millions of monsters—that scene must be wiped from their minds as well. For your safety, this must not be known by others."

"Though I don’t know how you control the power of divine punishment, even the gods of your race would covet it. Unless it’s a matter of life and death, don’t use it. If the gods discover it, they’ll stop at nothing to seize it from you." As Xueluo spoke, her expression was more serious than ever.

"Alright, I understand!"

Lin Huang hadn’t expected that such power—hidden in a single card of annihilation—would be coveted even by gods.

"I’ll erase their memories now, and fill the blanks with new ones," Xueluo said. As she spoke, snow began to fall from the sky.

Just as everyone wondered at the sudden snowfall, hunters and residents alike collapsed wherever they were.

The Ice King left briefly, then returned carrying a young man.

"The new memory I’m giving them is this: a transcendent human arrived just in time, fought fiercely with the Undying Black Serpent, rescued everyone, and the beast horde retreated after the serpent was slain," Xueluo explained, then instructed, "Little Bing, you fought this man earlier—use his fighting style to fake the battle marks. As for the beast horde’s traces, I’ll erase them with snow."

It was the height of summer, yet snow fell thick and fast. In the canyon, only Lin Huang, Xueluo, and the Ice King remained standing.

The Ice King quickly finished arranging the battle scene. The snow continued to fall, transforming the world into a pure white realm. Under the twin moons, the night was exceptionally beautiful.

"Sir, it’s time for us to leave." Xueluo stood on the boulder, just two meters away from Lin Huang, tilting her head with a gentle smile.

In this snowy, moonlit night, she stood barefoot, like a spirit of ice and snow—exquisite and beautiful.

Lin Huang nodded slightly and waved to her, "Farewell, Xueluo."

"Farewell, sir."

Xueluo waved back, then, together with the Ice King, stepped into the air.

As they rose a hundred meters above ground, Xueluo waved her hand toward the void. A giant phantom eye slowly formed in midair.

Moments later, the eye opened, revealing an icy white pupil—like the eye of a god gazing down from the heavens.

Xueluo and the Ice King stepped inside. The enormous eye slowly closed, and the two vanished completely.

Only when the phantom eye in the sky finally faded did Lin Huang withdraw his gaze, murmuring in his heart, "Farewell, Xueluo..."