An Ominous Sign in the Heavy Snow

The white fox they had hunted marked the beginning of it all.

The group's luck seemed to improve as they headed out on their winter hunt.

They traveled east and found another rabbit caught in a snare trap.

Two hours later, even Dan's tracking paid off. When they reached the easternmost point of their journey, she drew her bow once more.

Another arrow whistled through the air.

A few minutes later, Dan picked up the thief that had stolen her prey from the ground.

It was an adorable white ermine. Perhaps its cuteness had moved the Female Hunter, because although it still ended up in Dan's pack, it kept its life.

The three of them then turned around and continued west.

It was around three or four in the afternoon before Linsey and the others stopped again.

This time, a broad frozen river lay before them. It should have stretched between the forest like a giant mirror, but the heavy snow from several days ago had gently covered it with a soft white blanket.

The silent trees along both banks were also draped in silver.

Their branches occasionally trembled in the cold wind with a rustling sound. The falling snowflakes formed tiny clumps of snow that drifted across the ice in beautiful, mist-like trails.

"Listen, kid. We're not crossing here."

While Linsey was still admiring the view, Dan had already begun leading them around it as she explained, "In winter, you might think a frozen river is safe enough to run across. But some parts are still quite fragile, and one wrong step could send you into the water. If you're even unluckier and get trapped beneath the frozen river... believe me, aside from Anrui and his apprentice, it'd be hard for anyone in our town to get out."

"And look, there are no trees on the river to block the view. It's easy for dangerous things to spot you. When you're active in the forest, hiding your tracks is also very important."

As Dan patiently explained, they started making their way back to town.

They were not far from the town to begin with.

To make crossing the river easier, a thick felled log lay across its surface, serving as a bridge for travelers.

But the snowfall had affected it as well.

Though the log's surface had been smoothed flat,

the snow covering it, along with the melting and refreezing of some flakes, had made the entire single-plank bridge incredibly slippery.

Linsey had no doubt about it.

Anyone with even slightly poor balance would definitely slip and fall on it. "Come on! Get up here!"

Before Linsey could voice an opinion, Dan grabbed him and Ju without discussion, one in each hand. Like she was carrying two sacks, the Female Hunter stepped onto the slippery log and crossed the river with nimble steps.

The entire process was perfectly steady.

It was as if the frozen trunk beneath her feet had truly become a stable bridge.

Even so, Dan did not forget to promote herself to Linsey.

"See? These thighs of mine can walk steadily in a place like this. Even carrying a wild boar wouldn't be a problem. That's what a hunter's skills can do for you!"

Even Ju, her own child, became embarrassed.

"Mom!"

"Hahaha!" Dan laughed heartily, her face glowing with happiness.

She crossed the log in a few strides, set Linsey and Ju back on the ground, and prepared to continue toward the town.

But before they had gone fifty meters,

the Female Hunter's expression suddenly turned serious.

She raised her right hand and gestured for Linsey and Ju to stay where they were. Then she crept toward the left.

Linsey watched the Female Hunter's back.

She walked over to a birch tree and kicked away a pile of snow. A dark object was faintly visible on the ground beneath it.

At that point, Dan stopped moving completely and stood there without a word.

Even her back seemed to grow heavy.

Linsey wanted to go over and take a look.

But he remembered his promise from yesterday to obey orders without question, so he suppressed his curiosity and waited patiently where he was.

Ju, standing beside Linsey, asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with Mom?"

"Dan told us to wait, so she must have her reasons. Let's stay here for now."

Ju nodded and said nothing more.

After quite a while, the Female Hunter finally turned around and beckoned to them.

"You two, come over."

Only then did Linsey lead Ju over.

Amid the crunching of snow beneath their feet, he saw that beneath the snow Dan had kicked aside was unmistakably a human head! Someone had died in the forest and been buried by the snow!

"A dead person? This..."

Linsey was momentarily speechless.

How had an ordinary hunting lesson led them to find a human corpse out here?

Dan began explaining, "This guy was called Leize. The night before the snowstorm, he ran out of town and even left behind a rather serious farewell letter."

Going into the wilderness alone in winter?

Linsey truly could not understand the reasoning behind such an act. He could only attribute it to the peculiarities of this world.

"Was he an Awakened too?"

"Did he come out looking for food or firewood because his family didn't have enough?"

Dan shook her head. "He was just an ordinary person."

Linsey understood even less now.

"Then why did he come to a place like this?"

"Because he missed home." Dan slowly turned her head and looked toward the distant east, hidden beyond the forest. "Some people can't bear the torment of loneliness. They think that, as ordinary people, they won't attract the attention of magical beasts, so they try to cross Black Mountain and return to their hometowns."

"And what happened?"

"He couldn't even survive an ordinary winter night. He died in this damned place."

"..."

Linsey fell silent, unable to say anything.

During the past few days in town, he had learned that many people in Border Town wanted to go home.

The homesickness that had brewed over ten years was not to be underestimated.

But Linsey did not find this man's death reckless or laughable.

Because in his own plans, he too possessed the ambition to break through Black Mountain and leave this distant frontier! It was then that Linsey noticed something he had overlooked. "Wait, Dan!"

"But this is so close to town. There's no reason he should have frozen to death here, right?"

At Linsey's reminder, the Female Hunter realized her oversight as well.

She quickly crouched down and brushed more snow away from the corpse.

The fully exposed abdomen bore several conspicuous puncture wounds, mixed with ice fragments that had yet to thaw.

Dan immediately recognized the culprit behind the injuries, and Linsey realized it at the same time. They spoke almost in unison.

"Ice Cone! A magical beast's spell!"

Without another word, the Female Hunter activated her skill.

She crouched in front of the corpse, gently brushing her fingers over the wounds while her sharp eyes swept the surrounding area like arrows.

"He was attacked by a magical beast deep in the forest. But he was lucky enough not to die immediately. He ran all the way back across the single-plank bridge, then collapsed here and was buried by the snow."

Dan stated the results of her observations while reaching out to straighten the corpse's appearance.

She had intended to say more, but her movements froze again.

"Hm?"

The Female Hunter rose to her feet in an instant and looked across the frozen river they had just crossed.

"There's the scent of source essence being used!"

Dan immediately removed her wooden bow from her back, nocked an arrow with her right hand, and prepared to fire at any moment.

But after several seconds of waiting, there was no movement on the other side of the frozen river.

A sign of danger, a corpse not far from the town, and the scent of source essence belonging to a magical beast...

With those three factors combined, the Female Hunter could not possibly ignore it.

So she immediately began moving toward the single-plank bridge they had crossed, shouting instructions to Linsey behind her.

"Linsey, stay here with Ju and watch the body!"

"Remember, no matter what happens, do not cross the river."

"If anything goes wrong, run toward the town immediately!"