"Xiao Man, I finally found you."
Snow fell soundlessly, and wind swept across the mountain ridges.
Gu Shen reached out and loosely held the small, trembling figure, gently patting Xiao Man on the back.
"Xiao Man..."
He had thought about it for a long time, with a thousand words in his heart.
In the end, Gu Shen merely reached out, wiped away the little girl's tears, then smiled and said two words.
"Don't cry."
Xiao Man took a deep breath.
Gu Shen turned around and shielded the little one behind him.
He felt his torn sleeve being gently tugged. A cautious, nervous voice sounded. "Gu Shen... he's very strong."
The sight of the red figure Drawing the Sword had deeply shaken Xiao Man.
She was very worried.
Gu Shen... was no match for that red figure.
Tugging at his sleeve was really her way of saying that she wanted to leave.
Earlier, she had desperately wanted to see the end of the Frozen Sea Ruins, because her intuition told her that something there was worth risking her life to investigate.
But after meeting Gu Shen, she no longer thought that way.
Now, she wanted to return alive with Gu Shen.
If continuing onward would put Gu Shen at risk... then she would rather not go.
"Don't worry."
"...No matter how strong he is, I'll kill him for you."
At that moment, Gu Shen's voice was as dependable as a mountain in Xiao Man's ears. She had the dazed illusion that even if the sky collapsed right now, Gu Shen could hold it up!
Whoosh!
The silence of the Snowy Wasteland was shattered.
The red figure Drew the Sword again. Hundreds of pieces of bamboo armor hanging from his body clattered as he stomped the ground and launched himself forward at