Whoosh~~
Night fell in the blink of an eye. A bone-piercing wind swept snow across the steep mountainside.
Leading the horse with one hand, Ye Jingtang trudged through knee-deep snow, using the Dragon-Mingling Spear as a walking staff. He crossed the ridge and began descending the northern slope.
As the saying went, climbing a mountain was easy; coming down was hard. The northern slope was very steep. The soft snow looked smooth on the surface, but beneath it lay cracks and gullies. One careless step could send them sliding down.
Even the Beyond-the-Pass Divine Steed, normally possessed of astonishing explosive strength, struggled in this godforsaken place. The horse dared not run freely and could only follow slowly behind Ye Jingtang, occasionally stumbling when a hoof found nothing beneath it.
The Empress Dowager sat on horseback. The ascent had been all right, but the descent left her trembling with fear. After a short distance, she simply dismounted too and followed behind Ye Jingtang as he held her wrist.
Meanwhile, Niao Niao had circled overhead several times to scout for enemies. Finding no sign of any nearby, the bird landed again and, taking advantage of a low density beneath all those white feathers, began skiing down the slope. Like a penguin, Niao Niao drew a long white line through the snow, then flew back up after reaching the bottom to do it again.
Seeing this, Ye Jingtang wanted to find a plank, carve it into a snowboard, and take the Empress Dowager sliding down the northern slope. He had never tried it, but a Martial Chief's sense of balance was more than sufficient for such a little trick. Unfortunately, not a blade of grass grew on the snowy summit, and nothing suitable was available as material.
Following behind him, the Empress Dowager