Chaos, darkness, cold.
His head throbbed. It sounded as if hundreds, even thousands, of flies were buzzing and shrieking beside his ears, crying themselves hoarse. It was incredibly grating.
"Xu Lanqing..."
A familiar, clear female voice called beside him. The irritating noise seemed to flee at once, leaving him feeling much better.
But his head still hurt terribly.
Who's calling me?
"Lan Qing..." The woman's voice was clear and gentle, yet tinged with worry, as if she was concerned about him.
So familiar... Was it the Snow Empress?
Xu Lanqing's mind was a complete jumble, but the Snow Empress's peerlessly beautiful face surfaced instinctively. Then, broken images suddenly flooded his mind. His brain felt so swollen with pain that it might burst. They were the images he had just seen through the fragments of shattered ice, and somehow, at the end, he had passed out.
"Ugh...!"
Xu Lanqing suddenly groaned in pain, a hoarse, trembling sound escaping through his clenched teeth.
It wasn't just his head. Every cell in his body felt as if it were being torn apart. Pain from some unknown source filled him from head to toe. He couldn't even make a sound; his body trembled uncontrollably, and sweat poured from him like rain. His thick, snowproof coat was soaked through in no time.
"Xu Lanqing...?" The Snow Empress sounded anxious and worried, with a trace of bewilderment and helplessness.
Her voice grew fainter and more distant, drifting unsteadily like willow fluff on the wind.
But Xu Lanqing could barely look after himself, let alone pay attention to what was happening outside. From the beginning until now, he hadn't even been able to open his eyes.
The pain came fiercely, but vanished just as quickly. It was gone in only a few seconds, though it felt to