The Frosted Immortal’s Descent: A Mad Quest for Love - Chapter 2

Three months earlier.

The faint light of dawn pierced the distant horizon, casting an ethereal glow over the rain-soaked forest.

Amidst the trees, a sudden clap of thunder startled flocks of birds into flight, shattering the tranquility of the surroundings.

Puddles had formed in the low-lying ground after the rain, with leaves floating quietly on their surfaces.

Suddenly, an elegantly crafted boot stepped into one of these puddles, sending small splashes in all directions.

When the foot lifted, the imprint left behind mixed leaves and mud into a murky mess, seemingly tinged with a faint trace of blood, though it was quickly swallowed by the turbid water.

Yun Jinghe, her vision flickering in and out of darkness, staggered forward, gasping for breath. The slippery blood on her hands made it nearly impossible to grip her sword.

Her sight blurred and dimmed intermittently, forcing her to stumble blindly through the woods, searching for a place to rest.

But before she could go far, her foot caught on something, throwing her off balance. She lurched sideways, her hands flailing until they found the rough bark of a tree to steady herself.

Stopping, Yun Jinghe endured the searing pain that raged through her spiritual veins like a stormy sea. She raised a trembling hand, mustering the last dregs of her spiritual energy in a desperate attempt to send a message to Taicang Mountain.

Yet the feeble wisps of energy that flickered at her fingertips were pitifully weak, dissipating with the slightest breeze. No matter how hard she tried, not a trace more could be summoned.

Her sword clattered to the ground first. She bent to retrieve it, but in that instant, her consciousness slipped away, and she collapsed.

In the haze of unconsciousness, she faintly registered movement nearby. Struggling to open her eyes, all she could make out was a blur of pink skirts, starkly out of place against the deep hues of the forest.

As the figure crouched down, the hem of the skirt brushed against Yun Jinghe’s cheek, forcing her to close her eyes again. A faint, sweet fragrance drifted to her nose.

When she sensed the stranger reaching for her, Yun Jinghe summoned the last of her strength and surged upward, pinning the other person against the tree trunk beside them.

“Ah!”

A startled cry reached Yun Jinghe’s ears, but it sounded muffled and distant, as if filtered through waterlogged cloth.

She didn’t realize how terrifying she must have looked her face deathly pale, her eyes unfocused, her body smeared with crimson blood, like a vengeful ghost wandering the mortal realm.

Yun Jinghe could feel the other person pushing against her, but her mind was too clouded to think clearly. She could only act on instinct.

The stranger seemed to be speaking, but the words were too far away to decipher.

Yun Jinghe parted her lips, but she couldn’t hear her own voice, nor did she know what she had said.

Through the fog of her vision, she grabbed at whatever was in front of her.

Her fingers closed around something soft and smooth, a woman’s wrist.

The realization that her assailant was a woman made Yun Jinghe exhale slightly in relief.

The last remnants of her awareness slipped away. Her grip loosened, her body swayed, and then she slumped forward, collapsing against the other woman.

Half-conscious, she felt the tip of her nose brush against warm skin. A sharp sting flared at her waist and then, darkness swallowed her completely.

The person pinned beneath Yun Jinghe exerted tremendous effort to push her off.

Unconscious, Yun Jinghe slumped to the side, making no further movements. Even when someone gripped her throat, she merely furrowed her brows slightly, offering no resistance.

Yet in the next instant, a blinding golden light flashed from her chest, repelling the assailant before slowly retracting into the pendant around her neck.

The attacker stared at her scorched palm in frustration. She made as if to leave but turned back after a few steps.

“Not bad-looking, but it doesn’t seem like she’ll live long,” she mused, lifting her skirt to crouch beside the unconscious Yun Jinghe. Biting her lip, she tilted her head in thought before smiling faintly.

When Yun Jinghe regained consciousness, her mind was still hazy.

She opened her eyes, but only darkness greeted her. A slight movement sent waves of familiar pain coursing through her body, and she shut her eyes again, willing herself to endure the torment.

Yet it was this very pain that gradually sharpened her awareness, bringing back memories of how she had ended up in this state, a story that began several days prior.

Not long ago, Taicang Mountain had received word of a powerful demon wreaking havoc in a distant town under its protection. The suffering of the local populace had driven them to seek the mountain’s aid.

Upon receiving the plea, the sect immediately dispatched disciples to investigate and eliminate the threat. However, the envoys never returned, and no news of them followed until a dying disciple’s desperate message arrived, revealing that the town was besieged by a vicious, bloodthirsty millennial serpent.

At the time, Taicang Mountain was hosting a grand immortal sect selection, leaving its key figures too occupied to intervene. Sending only disciples again was deemed too risky.

Thus, Yun Jinghe, who typically remained aloof from sect affairs took on the task alone, journeying to the town to slay the demon.

Only upon arrival did she realize the adversary was no mere serpent but a millennial demonic jiao.

A snake takes five hundred years to become a python, another five hundred to become an anaconda, and yet another five hundred to transform into a jiao.

As the Guangya records: Those with scales are called jiao dragons; those with wings are called ying dragons.

This jiao dragon had amplified its demonic power by tapping into the local spiritual veins, already showing signs of evolving into a ying dragon, a force not to be underestimated.

Yun Jinghe expended considerable time and effort just luring it away from the townsfolk. The ensuing battle was grueling, and though she ultimately slew the beast, she failed to evade its death throes, sustaining severe injuries and contracting its venom.

After vanquishing the demon, she sent a brief missive to the sect confirming the mission’s success but omitted mention of her wounds.

She had assumed the injuries were minor, and the jiao’s venom caused no immediate discomfort, so she attempted to return swiftly by sword. Yet mid-flight, her wounds and the poison flared up abruptly, destabilizing her spiritual energy. With great effort, she managed a safe landing in a dense forest.

The forest,

At this recollection, Yun Jinghe opened her eyes again. The darkness persisted, but she was clearly no longer in the woods.

Instinctively, she reached for her sword but instead felt the softness of a quilt. Nothing else lay within reach.

Yun Jinghe remembered that it was morning when she passed out, yet now it was pitch black so dark she couldn’t even see her own hand. Had she been unconscious for an entire day?

But this darkness was too absolute, not a single sliver of light seeping through.

And where was this place?

She tried summoning a bit of spiritual energy to create some light, only to find she couldn’t muster even a trace. The realization made her pause.

Was it the poison in her body that had drained her spiritual power?

As she struggled to sit up, she faintly heard a soft, tuneless hum from outside, a young girl’s voice.

It reminded her of the woman she had encountered just before losing consciousness.

Could it be the same person?

While lost in thought, the humming grew closer, the melody becoming clearer until it suddenly stopped. Then came the sound of a wooden door creaking open.

Yun Jinghe turned toward the noise, but her vision remained engulfed in darkness. She frowned.

The creaking ceased abruptly, replaced by a surprised voice: “You’re awake?!”

Somehow, Yun Jinghe sensed disbelief in the girl’s tone, as if she hadn’t expected her to wake up at all.

Perhaps the girl noticed it too, because she quickly added, “You were covered in so much blood earlier, I thought you wouldn’t wake up.”

The last part was muttered, her voice slightly drawn out, almost regretful.

“Thank you for your help today. My name is Yun Jinghe. May I ask yours?” Yun Jinghe spoke first, thinking she had nothing valuable on her now, but she could repay the kindness properly once she returned to Taicang Mountain.

Yet the girl remained silent, leaving Yun Jinghe puzzled. “Miss?”

A bamboo chair creaked in the distance as the girl slowly repeated her name, each syllable deliberate. “Yun Jing,He?”

She didn’t approach but instead watched Yun Jinghe from where she sat by the bed, her seemingly casual gaze tinged with wariness.

“That’s right.” Yun Jinghe tried to get up, groping in the dark for her shoes, only to bump her shin against a low stool several times.

Giving up, she turned in the girl’s general direction and said apologetically, “Could you light a lamp, please?”

The creaking of the bamboo chair stopped. “Light a lamp?”

“Yes, if you—”

Before she could finish, Yun Jinghe suddenly realized something. Her eyes stared blankly ahead, her expression darkening.

She remembered the girl’s earlier surprise at her waking up.

Which meant the girl could see her.

Yet Yun Jinghe’s own vision was nothing but darkness.

Meanwhile, hearing Yun Jinghe’s request, Shi Ying rose from the bamboo chair and strode over, stopping right in front of her.

Though the sky outside was overcast, the dim light was enough for her to see Yun Jinghe’s ink-black eyes staring unfocused into the distance.

Her amber eyes flickered as she waved a hand in front of Yun Jinghe’s face.

Though Yun Jinghe couldn’t see, her senses were still sharp. She felt something brush past and instinctively reached out grabbing hold of a hand.

The touch was familiar, the same as the one she had felt before losing consciousness.

It was the same person.

“Sorry.” She immediately let go and apologized politely, even taking a step back. But she forgot there was a bed behind her and, momentarily distracted, ended up sitting down on it.

One blunder after another left her feeling rather awkward.

The next moment, she noticed a gentle breeze rushing toward her, carrying the same sweet fragrance she had caught earlier.

“Shi Ying.”

The girl’s voice was light and melodious, impossible to dislike.

“What?” Yun Jinghe leaned back slightly, putting some distance between them.

But Shi Ying bent down and leaned closer, her hands clasped behind her back, several neatly braided strands swaying gently in front of her chest.

“I said, my name is Shi Ying.”

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