The snow-capped mountains remained like silent white giants, standing tall and majestic on the earth, their imposing presence revealed in the darkness.
They reached the village at the foot of the mountain at three in the morning. Fatty figured it wasn't long until dawn, so he gave up the idea of finding a hotel.
The three of them huddled in the car, eating instant noodles. It wasn't warm, but it wasn't cold either. The hot steam billowed out with the cold wind, carrying the distinctive rich aroma of instant noodles.
"Whoa! Immortals eating instant noodles~" Fatty slurped his noodles and raised his hand for a photo. With a swipe of his greasy finger across the screen, another picture was added to the folder.
The photo showed Zhang Qiling holding a cup of instant noodles with one hand, looking over quietly. His placid eyes showed no emotion. He made a five-yuan cup of instant noodles look like something he couldn't afford.
"Tsk tsk tsk, this is a rare shot. Wouldn't it fetch fifty, sixty, seventy, or eighty thousand at auction?" Fatty had already devoured his noodles at lightning speed, even slurping down the soup. He then wiped his mouth and tossed the trash into the bin outside the car.
"...You're not planning to sell it to Zhang Haike, are you?" Wu Tianzhen commented, "What are you eating so fast?" He quickly spotted the flaw. "Damn it... Don't you dare. If the Zhang family finds out we're feeding the Little Brother instant noodles, who knows what they'll imagine."
"What could they imagine?!" Hearing this, Fatty felt his parental authority challenged. He puffed out his chest, adopting a look of disdain for the world.
"Hey, it doesn't matter what they imagine. Our Little Brother just likes eating instant noodles with us~ Right, Little Brother?!"
Little Zhang, who had just swallowed a mouthful of noodles: ...?? (The handsome one is confused)
When Wu Tianzhen, sitting in the passenger seat, looked back, he saw the stunned Little Zhang pause and then nod hesitantly.
Wu Tianzhen: Hahahaha!
He didn't laugh out loud. He cleared his throat, pretending to be a proper person, "...Whoever sees it gets a share, Fatty. We'll have to split the money from this photo, hahaha!"
"...Damn it, are you obsessed with money? You even want to skim off my hidden savings."
The three of them (or rather, two and a half) tussled playfully, and time flew by the snow mountains. As the crowing of roosters began to echo, wisps of smoke rose from the quiet village.
A "click" of a lock came from the small shop next to the car. A heavy padlock was removed by a wrinkled hand. The old man who poked his head out wore a faded woolen hat, and his white beard fluttered like reeds as he spoke.
"Youngsters, looking to buy something?"
This question stumped the three of them.
Wu Tianzhen opened his mouth, suddenly unsure whether he should buy some paper money to take up the mountain.
The snow-covered mountains were not a fire hazard, but mentioning it now would inevitably reopen old wounds.
So he stammered, "Uh... ah," for a long time, completely halting.
Zhang Qiling, sitting in the back seat, noticed his unusual behavior and straightened his back slightly, looking forward.
The old man was patient. He smiled good-naturedly at Wu Tianzhen, who seemed to be stuttering, waiting. Behind him, the opened shop was densely but neatly stocked with goods, exuding a sense of warmth and antiquity.
And amidst those old-fashioned items, a vase sat quietly on the counter. In the clear water within were several pale yellow flowers, appearing to be lotuses, but with oval, dense leaves.
...Snow lotuses.
Zhang Qiling paused slightly, his gaze seemingly drawn to the delicate and lovely flowers. Fatty, who was observing, caught this and patted Wu Tianzhen's shoulder, then called out loudly:
"Grandpa, how much for the flowers behind you?"
...
The old man was honest. Seeing that Fatty offered a generous amount, he gave them the flowers and the vase.
When Zhang Qiling placed them in front of Baima's tombstone, the flowers still spun gracefully in the vase, as if brushed by a gentle hand.
Pale yellow petals unfurled, surrounded by clusters of fiery red.
...At some point, a patch of unknown, peculiar red flowers had grown here.
The white snow lay silently on the cliff face, and for a moment, the deathly stillness of the pale snow and the fervent crimson intertwined, as if this place had become the dividing line between life and death.
Wu Tianzhen and Fatty didn't pay much attention to the scenery. They stood fixedly behind Zhang Qiling, gazing at the inscription on the tombstone, still deeply etched into the cold stone after many years—
(Tomb of Mother Baima)
The inscription was simple, even rudimentary. There were no ornate words, no biography of the deceased, not even information about the engraver.
But the sorrow it conveyed was in no way diminished.
Wu Tianzhen's lips trembled. He didn't understand martial arts and couldn't discern sword energy or qi. But he saw the pauses and breaks in the strokes.
...The person who carved the characters was overcome with emotion, unable to steady their blade.
...How old was the Little Brother then? Baima might not have had the ability to live forever. So, normally, was she fifty? Or forty, thirty, twenty?
Wu Tianzhen couldn't voice this question.
Zhang Qiling remained quiet. He knelt down, carefully and intently wiping the accumulated snow from the tombstone with his hand. His fingers lingered for a moment on the characters "Baima" before quickly moving away.
...He couldn't recall his mother's appearance.
At that time, the bronze gate was sealed, and all wish-generated products dissipated. But before he detached, he distinctly heard the system's voice.
[Host has completed the final mission and can return to the original world.]
[Detected that the host has exhausted the energy of the original world. Return suspended. Reward content changed.]
[Please host choose.]
[Detected that the host has lost consciousness. System will decide the reward content.]
[Capturing dissipating soul fragments. Detecting host's emotions. Reward changed to condensing soul fragments.]
[Warning! System 9537 is unilaterally altering the fate line of character g65328 in world g65328＊＃““＆％＃……]
He could no longer hear the subsequent content.
Upon awakening from the bronze gate, he saw the white blade floating quietly before him, emitting warmth. Perhaps this was the system's achievement.
But she never made a sound again.
Zhang Qiling didn't know if she was still there. He could only carry the blade with him, feeling its warmth.
And the system, after that day, never responded to him again.