Xiyu's stares were cold and blatant, but yet held an intensity that impaled directly through the men's souls. Her skirts fluttered in the wind as she set forth adventurously towards the mountains. In front of them, thousands of icy steps proved challenging as a wrong step could send them plunging dangerously down the steep incline!
The group did not own any magical rope that could prove useful in these circumstances. Xiyu observed nonchalantly while Dongyue closed his eyes and placed his palms together in prayer. A glowing flame appeared to ignite between his connected palms. He recited some peculiar verses and then said, "Let us proceed now."
She didn't bother to ask what Dongyue was up to since she did not believe his healing powers. To her, maybe he was joking around or trying to motivate his companions. Which, of course, was a good thing, she thought. The group marched ahead, attempting to stay alert as a sudden snowstorm from the inside of the mountains pelted them with icy flakes.
"Miss Muxue, are you fine?" Dongyue inquired but as usual, received a null response from the hardheaded woman. Again, the cold witch was difficult for him, which he calmly accepted. Perhaps she needed a little bit time, he thought.
They took an hour to ascend all the tiny steps and pushed forward on the narrow stone trail. As they stepped further into the mountains, the group, except for Xiyu, were startled by the darkness and eerieness of the area. They heard clear sounds of chain rustling, chains being tightened and loosened from a distance. Xiyu swallowed and holding back her anxiety, bravely continued their journey.
She pictured the man to have long flowing white hair, a wrinkled face and a skinny body, or whatever was left of his body anyway. For a man that old to be locked up that long, she hoped that he wasn't a foot in the grave. She also imagined that the man would be dressed in tatters as well. From what her mother had told her, the man had been imprisoned against his will for thousands of years. It was only the women like her, in her family, that possessed an ability to preserve their youthful appearances. This, however, did not mean they were immortals.
The Muxue family's roots had traces of celestial blood, but considering how they had intermarried so frequently, she considered it to be about one-quarter to one-sixth. Explaining her heritage was considered complex, and she didn't know much about it due to her parents' early deaths. All she knew was they were descendants of Muxue Yan and the female deity Ao Yun, a powerful archmage.
Her motive was to find out the secret of the Muxue clan and to claim what rightfully belonged to her.
They struggled through the winding pathway to land just outside a large area resembling the hall. This was where they met the 'old' man. Contrary to how she had imagined him, apart from his white hair, the prisoner showed no distinct signs of ageing. His face was as smooth as a baby's, and to everyone's astoundment, the man was pulling on another chain while he was chained to a pillar.
"Old senior, what are you doing?" Xiyu asked in her most demure voice.
The man faced her. "Young one, have you heard of alchemy?" He gestured towards the potion and poison table and then at the chains on a nearby machine.
"Thank you, Senior."
The man scrutinised her.
"Muxue Yan."
She heaved at the mention of his name. "You are Muxue Yan?"
The man answered her in the affirmative. "And who may this charming woman be?"
"I'm Muxue Xiyu," she said, lifting her veil slightly to indicate that she did not mean any harm to him. "They are my companions, Master Zhan, Xiao Tian and Ya' Xing.
"Well met," the man replied. "But if you are of the Muxue family, you should be here for that." He politely gestured towards a sealed gigantic iron chest with complicated locks in the corner. "Both the chest and my chains work the same way; upon feeding substantial amounts of your blood to it, it should recognise you and respond to it."
Xiyu could only think of how she could help her predecessor, and at the same time, she was desperate to identify the contents of the chest, so she made her decision.
She hesitated, but a glint of light from Muxue Yan's eyes suddenly made her change her mind. She didn't fathom how it happened, but she seemed inclined to help him. This was not like her character at all. Xiyu was a very unemotional and prudent person. Given the fact that none of her family had told her about Muxue Yan's history or why he was locked up apart from being a potential threat, she usually would not have agreed to help.
"Very well, I shall help you, Ancestor Yan." She bowed courteously, but she had her qualms. How could this ancestor who was locked away for thousands of years before she was born, be so considerate and concerned about her well-being? Was that because she was a Muxue as well, or because she was the sole survivor and final descendant of the Muxue clan?
Before Dongyue could tell her to be wary, she caused her ice dagger to materialise in her palm and made two deep vertical strokes on her skin. Intensely staring at Muxue Yan with her large cold eyes, she dripped her blood on the chains without further thought.
A sizzling sound resulted, as her blood came into contact with the metal from the chains, bringing forth a chain reaction that disintegrated the chains into dust. All of a sudden, she found herself immediately falling backwards, dizzy from an apparent loss of blood. Hurriedly, Dongyue lunged forward and caught the icy beauty before she potentially injured herself.
Muxue Yan found himself freed from his bonds and began laughing eccentrically, sending fear through the four's minds. With a flash of light, he was gone.
"I hope we did the right thing by freeing him," Xiyu said. "I don't know what got into me, but I saw the light from his eyes and felt I had to do it." Her eyes dimmed with disappointment. There was so much she had to ask him, and yet she hadn't managed to. She could barely get the words out of her mouth. Could there be any way she would meet him again? A lone tear materialised on the side of her right eye, descending her cheek slowly.
All these unanswered questions that she had kept in her heart since her granduncle's disappearance were floating in her mind. She was aware of a lingering pain in her chest, which was gradually increasing and overtaking her. Her vision was becoming fuzzy.
"Miss Muxue," Dongyue said honestly, "I think you were in a trance earlier. I wanted to call out to you to be careful, but you were too fast. It's possible that your ancestor used soul-controlling magic on you."
"I…" she still felt dizzy and was unable to stand. "I don't know what to do…"
She found herself incapable of thinking at the moment. Dongyue meticulously supported her to stand up. "Miss Muxue, you need to rest."
"I need the items in the chest," she uttered. Her lips were now dry and chapped from a thirst that impaired her. It was then that he realised she was still dripping blood and hastily carried her to the enormous chest to retrieve the items that she so desperately wanted.