A strong light from outside the cave struck my face.
Slightly opening my eyes, I found A'li was nowhere to be seen.
So I carefully crawled out of the cave and looked around. The vast white snowfield made it impossible to distinguish the way in or out.
I had no choice but to blindly shout, "A'li! A'li! Where are you, A'li!"
My only response was the restless wind and snow, and the biting cold wind that hit my face.
A nameless worry gnawed at me, wondering if A'li had encountered danger.
Suddenly, I remembered the strange sounds I heard last night, and my worry intensified, fearing he might have been captured by a monster.
Then, I shook my head, telling myself it wouldn't happen.
Yet, I still searched frantically, calling out, "A'li! A'li! Where did you go!"
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind me.
"Mu Ye."
It was A'li's voice. I turned around and, sure enough, it was him.
Unable to help myself, I sobbed and threw myself at him, resting my head on his chest.
I reproachfully scolded him, "Where did you go? Why didn't you tell me?"
He stroked my head and replied gently, "I saw you sleeping so soundly that I didn't want to disturb you,
so I came out to look for you myself. I was just about to go back when I saw you come out."
I pushed him away and stood up somewhat petulantly, "What do you mean, you scared me to death."
He stole a glance at my tear-streaked face and couldn't help but laugh.
"You're usually so fierce, and now you're crying. Shame on you."
"I'll beat you to death for laughing at me."
I raised my hand to hit him, but he dodged, rolling away, and then got up and ran.
He shouted as he ran, "Come on, come on, let's see if you can catch me."
"Alright, let's see how I'll beat you."
Although I said harsh words, my face was already blooming with joy.
I jogged to catch up with him, but he picked up a snowball and threw it at me. I, not to be outdone, scooped up snow and threw it at him.
A'li blocked his face with his hands and turned back to make a playful face at me.
I snorted and ran towards him, but I stumbled and fell forward, landing in the snow.
A'li turned back when he saw me, ran over in a hurry, helped me up, and asked softly, "Are you hurt?"
I shook my head, looking at the smile in his eyes.
A'li patted my head and said, "We probably won't find Zhang Tianshi today. I've looked in many places, but there's no sign of him."
"Could he have already gone down the mountain?"
I was a little worried. If that were the case, we would have missed him again.
A'li shook his head, "Probably not, because I can still smell Zhang Tianshi's aura in the air.
It means he lingered here yesterday or this morning, but I don't know where he went."
Hearing A'li's confident tone, I finally began to relax and said,
"That's great, at least we still have a chance to find him."
At this moment, a melodious flute melody echoed faintly through the silent snowy mountains.
We looked around but saw no one.
I guessed, "Could it be Zhang Tianshi?"
"Does he play the flute?" A'li sounded doubtful.
He had hit the nail on the head.
I shook my head, "I'm not entirely sure. If it's not him, then who else could it be?"
A'li also became perplexed. Perhaps it really was Zhang Tianshi.
In a daze, a strange cold wind blew, suddenly whipping up a snowstorm.
In the wind and snow, we vaguely saw a white figure moving.
I exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be Zhang Tianshi?"
A'li said, "It should be him."
"Then let's hurry over."
"Okay."
So, the two of us immediately sprinted towards the man in white.
As the man walked further away, I worried we would miss him.
So I shouted loudly, "Tianshi! Zhang Tianshi! Wait, wait for us!"
The man heard the shouts and turned back with a look of confusion.
He saw two figures rushing towards him in the swirling snow.
Seeing that the man had stopped, A'li and I sped up even more towards him.
When I got closer, I was already breathless, panting and lowering my head to catch my breath.
A'li looked at the person before him in surprise. It wasn't Zhang Tianshi. He hadn't expected anyone else besides Zhang Tianshi to be here.
He asked the person before him with confusion,
"Young sir, why are you here alone?"
I looked up in confusion and saw that the person before me was half a head shorter than A'li.
He was wearing a snow-white soft fur coat and holding a white jade flute in his hand.
Most importantly, he was not Zhang Tianshi at all.
I was stunned and asked him blankly,
"Young sir, why are you here?"
The man looked at our confused expressions, smiled slightly, and explained.
"I am a resident at the foot of this snowy mountain. I came up to take a look when I had nothing else to do.
I guess you two mistook me for someone else."
I smiled sheepishly,
"Yes, we thought there was no one else on this vast snowy mountain besides us."
"I also come up here occasionally. May I ask who you are looking for?"
A'li felt that the person before him didn't seem like a bad person, so he told him about Zhang Tianshi.
"The person we are looking for is named Zhang Tianshi. He arrived at this vast snowy mountain a few days ago.
He should still be on the mountain now. Have you seen him, sir?"
"Zhang Tianshi?"
He thought for a moment, and it seemed like he had heard of someone like that.
"There is indeed a distant guest who often comes here. I heard he is from Northern Divine Capital.
However, I have never met him and do not know his name.
But, he should be the Zhang Tianshi you are looking for.
I haven't seen anyone descend the mountain these past few days. The person you are looking for should still be on this snowy mountain."
Hearing this news, I was overjoyed.
Although I hadn't found him yet, knowing he was still on this snowy mountain,
I was sure I would find him.
The man then asked, "Are you two also from Northern Divine Capital?"
I grinned and replied, "Something like that."
"May I ask for your names?"
I introduced myself, "My name is Liu Mu Ye, and this is A'li."
"Liu Mu Ye, A'li."
"Yes, sir. And your name?"
"My name is Ouyang Ming Yue."
"Ouyang Ming Yue? What a unique name."
"It seems you won't be able to find your friend today.
Would you be interested in accompanying me for a walk?"
A'li asked curiously, "Where is Young Master Ouyang going?"
"I came to this snowy mountain to pick the Snow Lotus that blooms once every thousand years."
"Snow Lotus?"
I had heard of this flower when I was in the mortal world.
Legend has it that it only grows on ice mountains that never melt, and it is an extremely rare medicinal herb.
"But in this vast snowy mountain, where are we going to find this Snow Lotus?"
A'li was very curious. Finding a person here was already difficult, let alone finding a Snow Lotus.
That would be even more difficult.
Ouyang Ming Yue smiled slightly and looked forward, saying,
"That's not a problem, I have a way."
With that, he raised the jade flute in his hand and began to play.
The melodious flute sound was like the delicate beauty of pear blossoms in March, just opening.
It was also like branches in a garden sprouting tender buds.
Suddenly, I felt that this snowy mountain was not so boring.
Along with the flute music came the lingering cold wind of the snowy mountains.
The cold wind blew across the thick snow, and suddenly.
Butterflies with a green glow flew out from the snow.
The butterflies gathered around us.
I reached out in surprise, and a beautiful ice butterfly landed on my finger. A'li also leaned in curiously to look.
He said, "I've never seen butterflies like this before. Are they made of ice?"
As he spoke, he reached out to touch one. The butterfly was startled.
It immediately fluttered up and flew forward.
At this moment, the butterflies surrounding us seemed to sense something and flew forward in a swarm.
Ouyang Ming Yue watched the butterflies flying ahead and slowly lowered the jade flute in his hand.
After a while, he spoke.
"We can find the Snow Lotus by following these butterflies."
Looking at everything that was happening, I felt it was incredible, like a dream.
From the bottom of my heart, I praised him,
"Young Master Ouyang is truly amazing, to be able to summon so many beautiful butterflies."
He laughed heartily, not showing any pride.
"This is nothing, just a small trick. Alright, let's go quickly."
"Okay."
The three of us followed the butterflies forward.
The fluttering butterflies formed a butterfly bridge suspended in mid-air, guiding us to the back of the vast snowy mountain.
Then we saw the butterflies flying upwards, fluttering on the snowy slopes at the back of the mountain.
I looked up, and it seemed difficult to climb up from here.
Because the soft snow clinging to the ice mountain would slide down with the slightest step.
It didn't look very safe.
I asked Ouyang Ming Yue,
"Young Master Ouyang, should we go up?"
"You two wait for me here. I'll be back soon."
"Then how will you get up?"
"That won't be difficult for me."
Saying that, he lifted his coat and spread his legs.
Like a light snowflake, he soared upwards, stepping quickly on the snow.
Step by step, he approached the Snow Lotus, then reached out and plucked it, fluttering down like willow catkins.
I watched in amazement, never expecting this person to have such good Qinggong.
I couldn't help but praise him again.
"Young Master Ouyang is truly amazing."
A'li also praised him,
"Young Master Ouyang must be a hidden master.
Your movements just now were truly fluid and seamless, a perfect execution."
Ouyang Ming Yue couldn't help but laugh heartily at our praise.
"Hahaha, don't praise me too much. Seemingly insignificant moves have become a cause for commendation."
A'li smiled slightly, "We are telling the truth."
I asked him, "Young Master Ouyang, now that you've picked the Snow Lotus, are you going back?"
"I can accompany you for a bit longer."
I suddenly thought that since he could find the Snow Lotus, he could surely find Zhang Tianshi.
Fortunately, I reacted quickly and hurriedly asked him,
"Young Master Ouyang, can I ask for your help in finding Zhang Tianshi?"
However, he shook his head helplessly.
"My butterflies are only familiar with things that are commonly found on the snowy mountain. They cannot find people with such powerful magical abilities as your friend.
Whether you can meet him depends on fate. If fate brings you together, you will meet.
If there is no fate, it will be very difficult to meet."
I felt a little disappointed and lowered my head slightly, sighing.
"Alas, it all comes down to fate."
A'li comforted me,
"Don't worry, we should have a good connection with Zhang Tianshi. We will definitely find him."
"Mm."
I believed what A'li said and regained my confidence.
"However, I can help you go up there to take a look."
Ouyang Ming Yue suddenly said.
"Up there?"
I looked up in confusion, not knowing where he meant by "up there."
He then started playing his flute, and the butterflies dancing in the air were summoned.
They flapped their wings and came to us, attaching themselves to the three of us.
They slowly lifted the three of us, and then a large swarm of butterflies floated under our feet.
They carried us upwards towards the sky.
I exclaimed in surprise,
"Wow, this is amazing! Clouds made of butterflies, how novel."
A'li covered his mouth and chuckled, thinking that after following him for so long, Mu Ye still looked so unworldly.
But it was understandable, as there were simply too many novel things.
We ascended into the air, overlooking the entire vast snowy mountain.
A'li and I leaned against the butterflies and looked down. The vast white snow showed no sign of any human presence.
I was a little unwilling and wanted to look further when a strong gust of wind suddenly blew.
The strong wind swept the fallen snow from the ground, making it fly in the air and blocking our vision.
"I can't see below anymore," A'li said with disappointment.
Ouyang Ming Yue explained,
"The vast snowy mountain is always like this, with occasional winds and snow, but we will find it eventually."
"Alas."
I sighed slightly, feeling a little disheartened.
Ouyang Ming Yue waved his hand, guiding the butterflies to bring us back to the ground. Then, he bowed slightly and said slowly,
"You two, I have to go back now. I can't accompany you any longer."
I nodded slightly, resigned,
"Alright, Young Master Ouyang, you go ahead."
"I believe you will find your friend."
"Yes, we will definitely find him."
"I'm leaving."
"Go ahead."
A'li and I watched him leave, until he finally disappeared into the wind and snow.
A'li suddenly took out a flatbread from his怀 and broke it in half, handing the other half to me.
"You must be hungry. Have some."
I took the flatbread and asked him curiously,
"How come you always have delicious food? Are you secretly hoarding it?"
A'li smiled awkwardly and patiently explained,
"No, I'm just in the habit of storing things for emergencies."
"I should learn from you."
"You can do that."
So, A'li and I stood in the snow and silently ate half of the flatbread.
As night fell, we returned to that small cave.
"What should we do? We can't find Zhang Tianshi."
I sat aside, my worry returning.
He lay on the ground, his legs crossed, and leisurely tried to comfort me,
"Don't worry. I searched all over today, and there's still no trace of him."
"Then what should we do? Could he have already left?"
"Probably not. Don't worry, we'll find him."
Hearing A'li's words, I felt a little more at ease.
I looked up slightly, gazing at the dim moonlit night outside the cave, and felt a wave of drowsiness.
I carefully crawled to A'li's side, leaned against him, and fell into a deep sleep.
In the middle of the night, a fierce wind suddenly began to blow again. The wind and snow howled and squeezed into the cave.
"Mu Ye, wake up quickly!" A'li urgently shook me awake.
"What is it?" I opened my eyes, feeling annoyed.
"Listen, there's a sound outside."
"What sound?"
"Just listen."
He suddenly cupped my face and urged me to listen carefully towards the outside of the cave. I squinted, feeling sleepy.
Suddenly, the sound of clashing swords and sabers came from the wind.
Then, low roars, like those of yaks, could be heard, rising and falling.
"It's Zhang Tianshi!"
I exclaimed, looking at him with disbelief.
A'li also became happy, grabbed me, and pulled me towards the outside of the cave.
However, the pale snowfield was empty, with only a few footprints left on a patch of snow.
I cried out excitedly, "It's him, it's him."
"Let's split up and search. Maybe Zhang Tianshi hasn't gone far."
"Okay."
We split up and searched in all directions, but still found no trace of him.
Just then, the sound of an avalanche suddenly came.
With a "whoosh," a large amount of snow fell onto the open space behind us.
A strong sense of unease immediately surged through me. I quickly ran to A'li and pulled him along.
"What's wrong?" A'li looked at me, full of confusion.
"I don't know, but something feels wrong."
Suddenly, a roar came from not far away, directly towards the bright moon.
Immediately after, we saw a cloud of snow dust rising in front of us, and heard the sound of impact against the mountain.