In the biting cold wind, the girl struggled to drag something slowly toward the town wall. The rough hemp rope rubbed against her shoulders, and a few drops of red seeped out. What she was dragging behind her was a strange tiger.
The tiger was pure white, with ice-blue bony spurs and fur growing along its back, from which sparks occasionally flashed. Its mouth was wide open, and blood was flowing from it.
The most peculiar thing was that the tiger's teeth and claws were ice-blue and translucent, as if they were formed from ice.
The Snow Flame Tiger's corpse left a long trail on the snow, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a trail of large bloodstains.
Shu Lingyu struggled to drag the Snow Flame Tiger towards the town entrance. This tiger weighed at least a hundred pounds, and its entire body was a treasure; it would be easy to sell in the town.
The pain in her shoulder kept bothering her, but Shu Lingyu was overjoyed. "If we sell this tiger, my sister and I won't have to worry about food and drink for at least three months." She had spent more than half a month lurking in the snowy forest before finally managing to kill the tiger with a trap.
Before long, she dragged the tiger to the entrance of the town.
The howling wind pounded against the simple town gate, and snow clumps struck the dilapidated gate. "Creak! Creak!" The gate seemed to be wailing, as if it were telling the story of all the sorrow in this place.
"Elder sister!"
A clear voice came from behind the door.
Shu Lingyu looked towards the gate. At that moment, the heavy gate opened a crack, and a small, thin figure poked its head out. It looked to be about eight years old.
Even as the wind and snow lashed her face, blurring her vision, she immediately recognized her sister.
" Shu Xue! What brings you here!"
Shu Lingyu suddenly felt a surge of strength. Ignoring the red marks on her hands from the rough hemp rope, she pulled her prey and quickly walked towards the gate.
"Sister, I've been counting down the days! I bet you're coming back today," Shu Lingxue said smugly, opening the door a little wider and running over to help her sister drag the game.
"Heave-ho." Shu Lingxue wiped the sweat from her forehead, her heavy breathing creating thick white mist.
Shu Lingyu reached out and wiped her head, then gently patted it. "Alright, hurry up and close the door. This Snow Flame Tiger is incredibly strong; it's enough to cover our expenses for three months."
"Mmm, sister is amazing!"
Shu Lingxue looked at her older sister with admiration, then obediently ran to close the door. The door had been used for many years and was very worn, so much so that even an eight-year-old child could easily close it.
Because the town is located in a remote area, and Soul Beast rarely come here, the townspeople only need to use the gate and haven't bothered to repair it.
Just as Shu Lingxue was about to close the door, there was a "snap!" sound as a dark black vine blocked the door.
"Hmm?" Shu Lingxue opened the door with some confusion.
A delicate face came right up close, startling Shu Lingxue.
"Little sister, don't be afraid. We're traveling here. Can we go inside to escape the snow?"
"Little sister! Can you please?" A girl peeked out from under the door and pleaded.
The people who spoke were Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan, who were peeking at the two sisters through the crack in the door with smiles on their faces.
"Ah!..." Shu Lingxue looked on in horror, startled by the two heads sticking out high.
"Little sister? Little sister?" Tang Ya stretched out her hand and waved it in front of her.
Shu Lingyu quickly released the rope and ran over, drawing a dagger in one hand and holding it in front of her, shielding her sister behind her. She asked warily, "You two, who are you?!"
"We came here to escape the snow," Tang Ya explained, blinking.
"Oh, oh, I see... Sisters, come in quickly, come in quickly."
Shu Lingxue then realized that the two meant no harm and quickly opened the door for Tang Ya and the other person.
With a creak, the already dilapidated door let out another mournful cry.
Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan were on top of Huo Yuhao when the door opened, and their weight immediately shifted forward.
"Aaaaaah!"
The two screamed and fell forward uncontrollably. Shu Lingyu's body suddenly sank slightly, and the cold light of the dagger in her hand flashed.
However, the scene of the two falling flat on their faces did not occur. Instead, their legs inexplicably stopped when they were only five centimeters from the ground, and then they suddenly sat up.
The two sisters looked down at the two men, where Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan were sitting on Huo Yuhao's shoulders, one on each side, his hands tightly gripping their heavy cotton coats.
"Alright, you two, get down now." Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly, lifting the two people and slowly squatting down.
Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan giggled and jumped off Huo Yuhao.
Shu Lingyu sized up the three people. The two men and one woman were all dressed in ordinary cotton-padded clothes. In her perception, all three of them possessed considerable Soul Power, which made her somewhat puzzled.
"Are the three of you here on a trip? How did you get here?" Shu Lingxue blinked her big eyes and asked the three of them directly.
Tang Ya patted Shu Lingxue's head and chuckled, "Little sister, my name is Tang Xi. We came to see the snow scenery, but the sudden blizzard made us a bit lost, so we found our way here."
Jiang Nannan took a picture of the city gate with her Image-Recording Soul Tool and laughed, "My name is Jiang Si. Your town is so remote! If we hadn't seen the smoke rising from your chimneys before the blizzard, we probably would have gotten lost."
Shu Lingxue looked at the three of them with some wariness. Merchants only came to trade in this small town during festivals; otherwise, no one came.
More importantly, their accounts differed somewhat; having spent a long time hunting in the snowy forest, she was still quite perceptive.
Shu Lingxue slowly reached her other hand into the animal skin bag behind her back, and slowly tightened the grip on the dagger with her five fingers.
"Phew, don't talk nonsense. We clearly followed those tracks here. You guys would have a hard time walking in the snow, little sister. Don't be fooled by them."
Huo Yuhao tapped Tang Ya and her companion on the head twice with one hand, brushing the snow off their bodies, and said with clear eyes.
"By the way, my name is Huo Ying. But this snow is really heavy, I won't come next time."
Huo Yuhao shivered, rubbed his arms together, stamped his feet, shook off the snow, and smiled innocently.
"Hello, brothers and sisters! My name is Shu Lingxue, and this is my older sister, Shu Lingyu." Shu Lingxue greeted them warmly with her big eyes.
Shu Lingyu looked at the three of them, and after confirming that they were not in danger, she reached into the animal skin bag, slowly lowered the dagger but still gripped it tightly, and said coldly, "Come in. Oh, and close the door. It wouldn't be good if a Soul Beast broke in tonight."
"Okay." Huo Yuhao then turned around.
The heavy, dilapidated door slammed shut again, emitting a mournful wail.