Chapter 627: Come, smile

The snow finally stopped today.

In the early morning, when Enna pushed open the door, the WhiteLight outside made Enna squint.

The snow in the yard piled higher than the doorstep, blocking half of the door.

The distant mountains, the nearby woods, the roofs, the fence, and the firewood piles were all enveloped by snow, a white expanse, clean as a newly born world.

"What a huge snowfall." Xi Ge Li De stood behind him, stuck out a head to glance, and the white breath exhaled drifted away in clouds.

"Come help." Enna picked up the iron spade leaning against the door and began shoveling snow.

Alf followed behind, using a wooden spade to push the shoveled snow to both sides.

Ying Ge also ran out, holding a small wooden shovel, squatted at the doorway, shoveling piece by piece earnestly, as if undertaking some great deed.

They cleared the snow in front of the door and then cut a path to the firewood pile and the grain cellar.

The snow was thick and shoveling was laborious; sweat beaded on Enna's forehead, and heat rose from Enna's collar.

Alf's face also reddened, breathing heavily, but the wooden spade in his hand never stopped.

Ying Ge dug for a while, grew tired, squatted at the doorway, and used the small wooden shovel to draw on the snow.

She drew a deer, then a fish, then a person—crooked and twisted—but she was quite satisfied.

Enna had long ago moved away the corpses of those raiders.

He didn't want Ying Ge to see those dead bodies, didn't want her to have nightmares at night.

Yu Lin stood at the doorway, watching them busy.

He wore a thin robe, stood in the snow, neither hunching nor stamping his feet, as if feeling no cold at all.

Ying Ge lifted her head from the snow and shouted to him, "Yu Lin, look at what I drew!"

Yu Lin walked over, lowered his head, and glanced at the crooked deer.

"Very good—though it doesn't look like a deer, it's still quite nice."

"Thank you!"

Ying Ge laughed, exposing two missing front teeth, then lowered her head to continue drawing.

Yu Lin said to Enna, "I'll step out for a while and be back soon."

Without waiting for Enna's reply, he already took a step forward.

His stride was not quick—indeed, it was very slow—but with each step taken, he was already far away.

Within a few steps, his silhouette blurred, like an ink drop falling into water, spreading and then vanishing.

Enna gripped the iron spade, stared in that direction, opened Enna's mouth to say "Stay safe," but swallowed the words.

He wasn't a fool; that night's wolf pack, that stormy blizzard, the food Yu Lin occasionally brought back.............

Yu Lin is not an ordinary person.

Ying Ge stood up from the snow, ran to Enna's side, and tugged his pant leg.

"Dad, where is Yu Lin going?"

"I don't know either; maybe he's going hunting."

…

Loki's prison cave remained the same.

Dim, deep, damp, cold. Water Droplets on the cave walls dripped rhythmically, forming a thin stream that seeped through the stone slab cracks into the darkness.

The giant serpent atop still coiled on the ceiling rock, its Scale black and glimmering with cold light, its head pointing downward.

Its mouth slightly ajar, venom seeped from its fangs drop by drop, at an even pace.

Loki was chained to three sharp stones, the shackles passing through his shoulders, waist, and knees, pinning him there, unable to move.

His hair tangled like dry grass, covering most of his face; the exposed sliver of skin was scorched by venom into pits and hollows, some areas crusted, others still oozing blood.

His clothes had long since torn, hanging in strips on his body, the exposed skin covered in scars, new ones layered over old, old healed only to be covered by new.

Siguen sat beside him, cradling a bowl in her hands, catching the venom dripping from the serpent's mouth.

The bowl was small, just fitting in her palm.

The venom fell drop by drop into the bowl, producing a faint sound like raindrops hitting leaves.

Her movements were steady; her hand did not tremble, the bowl did not wobble, and not a single drop of venom splashed out.

She stared intently at the liquid surface in the bowl, watching it rise little by little.

She had been sitting here for so long that she could no longer count the days.

She only knew that she could not leave, could not let that venom fall onto Loki's face.

Her arm grew sore; she switched to the other hand.

That one also grew sore, so she switched back.

She offered no complaints, no tears, just sat quietly, cradling the bowl, continuing to catch the endlessly dripping venom.

The bowl filled.

Siguen stood up, carrying the bowl, and hurried toward the cave entrance.

Her steps were steady, fearing to spill even a drop.

The light outside the cave was dim and grayish, indistinguishable as day or night.

She poured the venom from the bowl onto the ground; it seeped into the soil, hissing as white smoke rose, the earth corroded into a small charred patch.

She turned and hurried back.

Yet within those few steps of her departure, the venom had already dripped onto Loki's face.

Loki's anguished scream echoed from the cave.

The sound was not human; it resembled a trapped beast tearing its throat in desperation.

His body thrashed violently, the shackles clanking, blood gushing from the wounds, flowing down the stone.

His struggling caused the ground to tremble; shockwaves spread outward from deep inside the cave, passing through rock, through soil, through the World Tree's roots, reaching the Human World.

Human World, the earth trembled.

The mountains shook, snow avalanched from the peaks, rumbling like thunder.

The ice‑covered river surface cracked open in fissures; ice layers pressed against each other, emitting a dull creaking sound.

Villagers rushed out of their houses, stood in the snow, looked around in terror, not knowing what had happened!

Loki's anguished cries continued, his body still straining, the chains pulled taut by him, the parts embedded in the stone beginning to loosen.

But those chains were enchanted with spells; he could not break free.

He merely struggled in vain, only increasing his pain, only making his blood flow more.

Siguen ran back to his side, knelt, raised the bowl above his head, and caught the dripping poison.

Loki's struggling gradually ceased, the chains fell silent, his anguished cries turned into heavy breathing.

A voice came from the shadows.

"Why do you keep accompanying this guy? He doesn't even like you, does he?"

Siguen lifted his head.

Yu Lin stepped out of the shadows, his pace unhurried, his robes glowing faintly in the dim light.

He walked up to her, lowered his gaze to meet hers, his eyes calm.

Siguen looked at him for a moment, then gave a faint smile.

"Because I'm foolish, I fell for someone I shouldn't have."

"All right." He shrugged, saying nothing else.

Loki heard the footsteps and lifted his eyes from beneath his tangled hair.

His body tensed suddenly, not wanting Yu Lin to see him like this; he hastily lowered his head, burying his face in his messy hair, stifling his cries and even lowering his breathing.

Yu Lin walked up to him and stopped.

Loki's voice came from beneath his tangled hair,

"Yu Lin, what are you doing here?"

Yu Lin said, "I said I would come see you, didn't I?"

He crouched down, level with Loki, and asked, "Any thoughts?"

"No! I have no regrets!"

"All right, come on, smile."

Loki froze for a moment.

"What?" He lifted his head.

Click.

A flash of WhiteLight, and the photo was taken.

Loki's face, scorched and pitted by poison, his stubborn cold eyes, his disheveled hair—all were frozen in that instant.

Loki stared for a second, then flew into a rage, the chains clattering loudly.

"Yu Lin——!"

Yu Lin slipped his phone into his pocket and said, "I'll have this made into a frame and give it to you."

He turned away, saying, "Goodbye."

"You came just for this?" Loki's voice called after him from behind.

Yu Lin spread his hands: "What else?"

"I thought you were here to help me!"

"How could that be? This is your fault; if I helped you, I'd be wrong too."

Loki gritted his teeth.

"... Damn it, then get out of here!"

"Fine."

"You're really leaving?"

"What else? Goodbye."

Loki watched his receding back, watched the figure grow more distant and blurred.

He suddenly shouted:

"Yu Lin!"

Yu Lin stopped walking, without turning back.

"I told you to wait!" Loki's voice echoed from deep within the cave,

"Wait then! You can't escape either!"

Yu Lin raised his hand and waved casually.

"Then do your best."