The battlefield at Jialing Pass gradually fell silent. The smell of blood was gently carried away by the wind, and sunlight spilled over the ruined walls and rubble strewn across the ground, yet it could not warm the chill in anyone's heart. Liu Erlong held a stack of yellowed letters, her fingertips trembling slightly as tears slid down her cheeks and dripped onto the pages, blurring the ink.
"These are the last letters Zhi Xia left for you." Her voice choked with grief she could not contain. "She gave them to me long ago. She said that the day peace came to the world would be the day she followed her love in death. There are ten in all, for Rongrong, Zhuqing, Mu Bai, Oscar, Hongjun, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Tang Hao, Ah Yin, and Chenxiang."
Everyone gathered around, their eyes falling upon the ten neatly folded letters, every face filled with sorrow. Bai Chenxiang clutched Ma Hongjun's sleeve as tears silently fell; Ning Rongrong leaned against Oscar's shoulder, her shoulders trembling; Xiao Wu tightly held Tang San's hand, her eyes red as she recalled Lin Zhixia's final appearance, her heart twisting like a knife.
"I'll read the one for Tang Hao first." Liu Erlong took a deep breath and unfolded one of the letters. She cleared her throat, but the tremor in her voice remained impossible to hide.
"Father, by the time you open this letter with those callused hands of yours, your daughter should have already crossed the lingering snow beyond Jiayu Pass and gone to find Zhinian..."
Word by word, Lin Zhixia's unique gentleness and resolve slowly emerged from Liu Erlong's lips. Everyone seemed to see that five-year-old girl, covered in mud, rushing into the shabby tavern in Sacred Soul Village with half a jade pendant clutched