Biting winds swept flurries of snow through the desolate village. Thick snow blanketed dead branches and broken walls; devastation filled their eyes, and the deathly silence chilled the heart. Faintly, a thin sob pierced the wind and snow, drifting into Yun Tian's and Nangong Xianyin's ears. Timid, trembling, and full of despair, it made their hearts tighten.
They exchanged a glance and hurried toward the crying, stepping over broken bricks and shattered tiles until they stopped before the ruins of a half-collapsed house. The sound came from beneath the snow-laden rubble and fallen beams. Yun Tian frowned slightly, gathered power in his raised hand, and gently lifted it. The heavy bricks and broken timbers shifted aside effortlessly, revealing a tiny figure curled beneath them.
It was a little girl no older than five or six, covered in ice and snow. Her face had frozen red and purple, injuries of all sizes marked her body, and her clothes hung in tatters. She lay on the icy ground, crying so hard that her whole body shook, her little shoulders hitching pitifully. Nangong Xianyin's heart melted at once. She hurried forward and carefully gathered the girl into her arms, wrapping her warm sleeves around that frozen little body. "Little girl, don't be afraid. It's all right now. We're here. You're safe."
Her voice was as gentle as spring sunshine. She stroked the girl's back again and again, soothing her patiently. After an unknown stretch of time, the sobs in her arms gradually softened, then faded altogether, leaving only quiet, even breaths. The little one had cried herself to sleep in that warm embrace. The fear, cold, and exhaustion of the past days must have overwhelmed her; once her taut nerves relaxed, she could no longer hold on.
Yun Tian surveyed their surroundings and