I nodded.

If luck was the key to finding the snow lotus, there might be a chance there, since I was so “lucky” to get hit by that flower pot.

Grandma Sha looked at me with worrisome eyes, “Dear, there are mythical creatures out there. Although they don’t come often, they are much more dangerous than the freezing cold. The snow lotus is so rare that you might even have to wander out of the village borders. The village is the most barren place on the Land of Ruins, too barren to attract any creatures, but at least it’s safe. Once out there, there is no way of knowing whether you will make it home alive.”

I smiled and reassured them, “Don’t worry. On my first day here, I actually encountered a burning flying horse, but I still alive. See, no big deal, can eat, can talk, can move, it wasn’t that scary.”

What a huge liar - myself! I almost shitted my pants that day.

I was grinning like an idiot when suddenly realizing their shocking expressions, especially Grandma Sha’s. Did I just say something wrong?

“Child, that is not a flying horse!” Grandma Sha explained, “It’s one of the top three ancient beasts on the Aniesian Continent. The other two beasts were conquered by the eight-winged royal cultivators, but Kirin is an exception. It’s powerful, savage, and……”

Their eyes dimmed.

I wasn’t that interested in mythical creatures before, therefore couldn’t relate it to the Google photos I saw on the internet. Now that I knew, it kind of looked like those photos, except much more beautiful and glowy.

After a few minutes of silence, Grandpa Jin finally said, “LiNa, remember that our daughter died in a fire?”

“Yes…..”

“Kirin had killed our daughter. Normally it won’t fly to this region, but not sure why it came here that day and lit half of the village on fire. We still remembered it was an ocean of orange flames, so much screams, blood, and deaths. We tried to find her, but the fire was so big, and soon it consumed everything.” He sighed, “Just a blink of an eye, everything turned to ashes. To the royals, Kirin is an admirable ancient beast that everyone wanted to conquer, but to us, he’s nothing but a monster.”

After hearing this, my heart ached as if there was a hand squeezing it once a while. I was empathetic, but didn’t know how to reassure the old couple because the pain was so deep and chronic. There were probably no words that could soothe those deeply cut wounds.

Grandpa Jin was curious, “LiNa, when I picked you up that day, I did not observe any signs of Kirin’s arrival. That beast burns in orange and blue flames, wherever its foot touches it would turn to ashes within a second, therefore it’s very easy to spot. I can’t recall seeing those signs. Where did you encounter that monster?”

I thought for a couple of seconds, “I don’t know the exact location, but it was like endless grassland with red berries.”

“Oh…..” Grandma Sha was surprised, “That was the village borderline, so Kirin was actually coming for the village again! What a cruel and wicked monster! More than a hundred years ago it had killed so many lives, and now it wants more!”

Yes, it was definitely wicked! I almost lost my life that day, although not sure why it suddenly went away.

“Child, you have saved the village,” Grandpa Jin said with gratitude.

My face was pretty awkward since I had no ambition in becoming a hero, all I wanted was to survive.

“I did nothing, just luck, plain old luck!” I explained.

Grandma Sha put a hand on my shoulders, “You bring luck to our village, and to us as well. I hope you will stay here forever.”

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“Yes, child, the world out there is too dangerous. Even if it’s not a kirin, it can be some other creature. We have lost a daughter, we don’t want to go through the same process again.” Grandpa Jin said.

I totally understood the reasons for their decision. It wasn’t like they were just cold-hearted demons who did not want to save the young man, but more like they accepted the reality. They accepted that he would die in a week, and that there was no hope of finding the snow lotus.

Yes indeed, it was an impossible task whatsoever. I knew that deep inside as well, but still……

As I looked at that pale face and light purple lips, I had no choice but to say more stupid words.

“I wanna try.”

Fine!

I was a dumb pig, who couldn’t watch someone die like this without trying. I just insulted one of the smartest animals on planet Earth! Pigs were super smart, okay!

“Grandpa Jin, Grandma Sha, in my old world, I not the smartest one, always last, but one thing I always do is try. Without that, I wouldn’t be who I am. In my world, life is a big thing, I can’t just watch him die. Even if there is no snow lotus out there, at least I try.”

Their eyes sparkled a bit, and looked proud.

“Child, you are right, we should always try. It wouldn’t hurt right?” Grandpa Jin agreed.

Grandma Sha hurried off, “I will get things ready for you two.”

You two?

I said in a hurry, “Grandpa Jin, do you mean…..?”

He chuckled, “yes, LiNa, I will go with you.”

“But Grandpa Jin-------”

“It’s no more but another trip, no worries child.”

I felt bad because Grandpa Jin had never left the village before. He did this all because I was determined to go test out the impossible and lessen my own guilt for not trying to save another being. I didn’t want to pull him to the same boat, knowing that hope was super slim. I tried to change Grandpa Jin’s mind, but he was stubborn as an old cow (no wonder Grandma Sha always called him stubborn old man).

The night was dark, and the snow was light and fluffy. Thank goodness it wasn’t a freaking blizzard this time. Grandma Sha helped us pack some supplies for the trip, like old garments, water, and of course a couple baked sweet potatoes.

Grandpa Jin and I were off to the darkness, each holding a walking wooden stick to help with the hiking. The snow wasn’t too heavy, therefore the moonlight was able to penetrate through and give us some sense of direction (as if that matters).

Not really, since the flower we were searching for was so rare that it didn’t matter where we went. Grandpa Jin showed me how to use the stick to extend the scope by pushing away some top-layer snow while walking by.

Nothing was glowing at all, like we expected.

Only the freezing cold and the soft wind.

After only a few hours of searching, I began to deeply understand Grandpa Jin’s words. This was more than searching for a needle in a haystack!

It was endless walking, day and night, and occasionally resting in an ice cave to avoid the wind and eat some sweet potatoes. I sure gained a lot of muscles (although can’t really tell on the appearance) ever since coming to the Aniesian Continent. Each day I would get a bit more discouraged, and Grandpa Jin always cheered me up by sharing some funny jokes.

Although I already knew this would happen, experiencing the truth myself was another thing. By the third day of wandering, I really had no idea where we were.

“Grandpa Jin, are we out of the village?” I asked.

At least today was a sunny day.

“Long out,” He answered.

Grandpa Jin looked ahead, there was nothing but endless snow in front of us. Far far away, there were many white mountains surrounding the land. It was difficult to tell how high those mountains were due to the fog, but I bet they were much higher than Mount Everest. I knew we won’t have time and enough food to make it to one of those mountains.

Grandpa Jin seemed to be deep in thought as he looked at those mountains, after a while he pointed with a wrinkled skin forefinger.

“LiNa, you see those mountains?”

I nodded.

He smiled, “Never in my lifetime have I seen what is behind all those mountains. The Land of Ruins is surrounded by a circle of mountains. From what I had heard, the mountains were like borders separating the rich and the poor. On the other side of the world, the land is green and flowery and full of lives. Everything grows beautifully over there.”

I knew the couple decided to stay here because they couldn’t leave their daughter, but what about all the other villagers in the Land of Ruins? Why didn’t they leave and enjoy the fertile land on the other side of the mountains?

“Why everyone stay here?” I asked.

He chuckled. “Those mountains are impossible to climb over. Over the years, countless lives were lost trying to cross the borders. If you are able to look down on the bottom of the mountains, you would see innumerable skeletons lying there.”

“So no way to get out?”