The biting north wind battered the tent, rumbling like muffled thunder—like the low growl of some colossal beast in a cage.
Whoosh!
The curtain rolled up, and wind and snow came pouncing into the tent.
Jin Tandu, seated in the commander's chair, slightly lifted his eyes and looked outside.
Amid the boundless wind and snow stood a woman clad only in a single robe, plain shoes treading the snow, a horsewhip in hand.
Her single robe and shoes showed that she had come in haste. Her lips were blue-black with cold, carrying traces of shock and resentment.
Though she gripped the horsewhip tightly, there was a sharpness in her that yielded not an inch.
She had come through the snow, the situation urgent and her intrusion hasty, yet she still tapped the edge of the entrance with her horsewhip. "Marshal Jin, I wonder if you would mind sparing a little time to speak with me?"
Jin Tandu, renowned throughout the land as the master of the Iron Pagoda, was imposing in appearance, built like an iron tower and faced like a Vajra. Even alone in his tent, he was clad head to toe in armor.
His helmet, crowned with a chill spear and scarlet tassel, rested atop the long table within easy reach.
Yet his voice was gentle.
He rose, touched his breastplate, and bowed. "Princess Yunyun, please enter and take shelter from the wind and snow."
Helian Yunyun stepped inside, walking straight to Jin Tandu's command desk.
But she did not sit at once. Instead, she used her horsewhip to stir the red tassel on the helmet-spear and said as if idly, "This red tassel is also called 'Blood Ward.'"
The tent curtain fell behind her, and the fierce wind howled as it retreated.
Jin Tandu stood there and