Ruan Ning’s mind buzzed; she shouldn’t have seen anything—he was going to kill her! Overwhelmed by hunger and cold, her body swayed, and she fainted.
When she opened her eyes again, Ruan Ning found herself lying on the ground, covered by a black robe, with a flickering campfire before her. The man sat beside her, his dark eyes watching her. Flatly, he said, “Don’t be afraid. I won’t kill you for now.”
Ruan Ning felt momentarily relieved, then alarmed—so he would eventually kill her? The campfire’s flames flickered, bringing warmth but also an indescribable bloody smell.
Ruan Ning looked closer and realized the fire contained many clothes, with unburned fragments from killed soldiers. She immediately started to retch.
The man seemed to understand her thoughts and explained, “The snow is heavy. Gathering firewood is too troublesome.” Ruan Ning was surprised he would explain. Struggling to sit up and move away from the fire, she saw him smile slightly at the black robe beneath her.
This demon king could actually smile, and he looked quite handsome when he did, Ruan Ning thought, involuntarily looking at the robe. It was embroidered with golden cloud patterns and lined with pure black sable fur. She now understood his smile—the robe was surely stained with the blood of countless dead people, just hidden by its color.
Rolling away from the robe as if it were a plague, she shook all over, unable to speak. The man draped the robe over his shoulders, saying lazily, “If you don’t want to freeze to death, it’s best not to be so particular.”
Ruan Ning wasn’t usually fastidious, but burning people’s clothes and wearing a blood-stained robe exceeded her tolerance. She trembled, moving backward, her shoes soaked in cold snow. Hunger came in waves, and the bloody campfire sent warmth from afar, while darkness and cold loomed behind her.
She felt she must be in a nightmare—how else could she have fallen into such a miserable situation?
A man was being harassed by two wolves, one on his shoulder and the other clinging to his legs. He struggled to hold Ruan Ning with one hand while trembling with the other, which was very inconvenient. The most terrifying part was when the lead wolf pounced on Ruan Ning, its two thick front paws landing on her shoulders.
