Chapter 396

In the biting wind-swept valley, the snowflakes grew larger and larger, sweeping through the air; with just a moment's inattention, they completely erased Leon's footprints, burying his memories deep within the storm.

Almost there.

Watching the young man frowning in deep thought amid the snowstorm, the slender woman hidden within the storm couldn't help but smile faintly—a breathtakingly beautiful expression.

After being lured into the Wind-Snow Valley, the cleaner named Leon showed no sign of panic—he must have heard legends about her.

He knew she couldn't strike him directly, so she could only kill him by luring him deeper into the snowstorm, and thus he remained calm, believing that as long as he stayed cautious and endured the storm, he'd emerge unharmed.

But he didn't realize her true power wasn't in summoning blizzards within dreams—it was in silently erasing the memories of those who entered her dream, just as snow erased a traveler's footprints.

Memory was the foundation of dreams, a blurred form of cognition.

If one remembered nothing, no matter how powerful their original strength or how many terrifying anomalies they controlled, if they didn't know they possessed those things, then those anomalies didn't exist within the dream.

Once he lost his original memories, his vigilance against the Snow Woman would drop to its lowest point; once he truly followed her into the valley's depths, he would collapse naturally beneath the freezing wind and endless snow.

She might not even need to appear herself—so long as he forgot he was a cleaner, and lost his superior physical abilities, in this cold, pale world…

Huh? Why did he light a fire? And why did his clothes change?

…

After checking his full gear—mountaineering boots, hardshell jacket, climbing hat, headlamp, goggles, trekking pole, gloves—Leon nodded in satisfaction.

This time, it felt normal.

Who in their right mind would climb a mountain in a worn-out autumn coat during a blizzard? That'd be a fucking idiot.

Am I an idiot? No.

So I must've brought all my gear—because climbing in just one old coat is impossible, not in this lifetime, only a brain-dead fool would do that; I must've just been half-asleep earlier.

As for hunters or something—ridiculous. I don't even know what wild boar tracks look like, can't use a hunting rifle, what the hell could I possibly hunt? Clearly, I'm just a hiker!

Sheltered from the wind, Leon finished the warm beef tallow can, then scooped up a handful of snow to smother the campfire beside him.

Next, he rolled up his sleeping bag, stuffed it into his backpack, collected all his personal trash from camping to avoid polluting the environment, stuck the heating patches onto his body, then pulled on his scarf and goggles, leaned on his trekking pole, and walked down the mountain through the snowstorm.

Not bad—this mountain camping experience was decent, but the snow seems heavier than usual; I need to get down fast, or I'll get trapped.???

Wait… why are you still walking?

Watching Leon, dressed in a bizarre but clearly warm outfit, humming cheerfully as he descended the mountain, the Snow Woman was utterly stunned.

People who could adapt to her dream weren't unheard of—some had even endured for over two weeks in sheltered mountain hollows—but someone this… this casual? She'd never seen anything like it.

No! He can't go down the mountain!

Watching Leon, step by step, walking down the path that shouldn't exist, the Snow Woman furrowed her brow, took a deep breath, then dissolved her form into the storm, becoming the blizzard itself.

"Whoo!!!"

A ferocious wind swept through, and the falling snowflakes grew larger; sensing potential danger, the experienced climber Leon, convinced he understood everything, quickened his pace, eager to return to the camp below.

As for why there'd be a camp below…

If there wasn't a climbing camp down there, where did he rent all this gear? Where did he buy the instant cans and alcohol blocks? Surely he didn't carry them all the way up himself?

Just as Leon pressed forward through the snowstorm toward the vague "climbing camp" in his mind, a graceful female figure suddenly appeared before him in the blizzard.

"Finally… finally found someone!"

Seeing Leon trudging through the storm, the thin-dressed beauty rushed toward him, her clear face glowing with joy:

"Kind soul! I'm lost in the mountains—please help me! Could you take me back to…?"

"Holy shit! There's actually a fucking idiot!"

"???"

Seeing the beautiful woman standing in the snowstorm wearing only a tight dress, Leon couldn't help cursing, then quickly dragged the bewildered Snow Woman to a sheltered spot, pulled out his sleeping bag, shoved her inside, and demanded in shock:

"What the hell are you wearing? Where's your hardshell jacket? Your gear? Where's your climbing guide?"

"???"

Completely unaware of what Leon was saying, the Snow Woman, forcibly stuffed into the sleeping bag, hugged the hot water bottle he handed her and asked blankly:

"I… I live in the mountains. I don't have a guide. Just take me back into the mountains…"

"You live in the mountains?"

Leon frowned, turned, rummaged through his backpack, pulled out a map, studied it, then asked in confusion:

"There's a village in these mountains? It's not marked on the map."

"No…"

Seeing the thin sheet of paper in Leon's hand—strange in form, yet clearly a map—the Snow Woman, clutching the hot water bottle, finally cracked.

"This… this is mine. How do you have a map of this place?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

Facing this idiot woman who climbed mountains in a dress, Leon sighed wearily:

"You dare climb without a map? Are you mentally ill?"

"…"

"Alright, alright, we'll deal with the map later—just warm up in the sleeping bag!"

"And what happened to you? Did you get lost? Where's your cold-weather gear? How do you contact your guide? I'll ask him what's going on and figure out how to get you down."

"I… I live in the mountains. No guide. Just take me back…"

Take you back, your ass!

After hearing the Snow Woman's absurd demand, Leon rolled his eyes hard and ignored her entirely, pulling out his satellite phone and sending a distress signal.

Take you back? In this snowstorm? I'd die halfway there! And you don't even have a map—how the hell am I supposed to know where to go? Are you going to guide me, you moron?

Besides, this woman's probably hallucinating from the cold—there might not even be a damn village!

I remember people about to freeze to death feel hot and strip off their clothes—maybe she took off her own clothes. If I hadn't happened upon her, she'd be dead within minutes.

What a damn fool—no experience at all, and she dares climb a snowy mountain!

He glared at the crazy woman, silencing her next words, then sighed helplessly, barely holding back his urge to curse.

Though she was a complete mess and spouting nonsense, she was still a life—he couldn't just let her freeze to death. He'd try to save her… and wait—why is there a dog over there?