The cold wind poured in through the mine entrance, making the torches sway as light and shadow danced across the Ice Wall like countless twisted faces.
Kai Amu lay prone on the ground. Through his blurred vision, he saw the tears in those young people's eyes and the iron picks clenched tightly in their hands.
Those were their only tools, yet now they seemed ready to become weapons of resistance.
Suddenly, he gathered all his strength and shook his head at the young people, forcing out a few words: "Don't... endure..."
He knew that resisting now meant walking straight into death. Only by staying alive would they have a chance to wait for hope.
Just like his children and Sangqina—they had escaped. Perhaps they could find help. Perhaps they could shatter this mine that was like an icy prison.
Lan Sitong did not notice Kai Amu's movements. He took another sip of wine, his gaze sweeping over the miners in the cave as though he were looking at a flock of cattle and sheep awaiting slaughter.
He did not know that, on the other side of the Endless Sea, a small boat was pushing through wind and snow, with two young people standing at its bow.
The boy gripped a sharpened dagger, while the girl held a map close to her chest. Their gazes were resolute as they looked toward Ice Island.
They were A Ming and A Yue. They were returning to rescue their father and mother, to rescue everyone who had been imprisoned.
The crack of whips still echoed through the mine. Kai Amu and Sang Jinglian's breaths grew weaker and weaker, yet their fingers remained tightly clasped together.
The wind and snow on Ice Island were still biting, but beneath this hopeless ice and snow, a seed