Moth and Moon

Winter Mushroom

The snow outside the cottage was glistening, dazzling, and Xie Lian and San Lang bundled up as best as they could before going out into it. Xie Lian had tried to step outside wearing his normal robes, but San Lang had wrapped his red cloak around Xie Lian’s shoulders before he could protest and convinced him to wear more layers. San Lang also inspected Xie Lian’s nose before they left, and found it to be bruised, but not swollen. Xie Lian found it rather flustering for San Lang to hold his chin like that while he carefully scrutinized his nose, but it was over soon enough.

The plants in Xie Lian’s garden were covered in snow, but… surprisingly fine, just like San Lang had assured him that they would be. By some miracle, none of the vegetables were spoiled despite the snow piled up high. They were able to bring in the meager harvest still remaining without any issues.

Nan Feng and Fu Yao’s footprints from the night before were nowhere to be found, most likely having been filled in with snow. Their weapons, which San Lang had chucked outside, were gone as well. Xie Lian had to assume that either the two hunters had returned at some point to retrieve them, or perhaps hadn’t left in the first place. The whole encounter from the night before felt like a strange dream, but Xie Lian had the purple and yellow nose to prove that it had actually happened.

San Lang and Xie Lian found nothing unusual outside, no evidence of their uninvited guests or of… Bai Wuxiang. Just the thought of that man was enough to make a shiver radiate through Xie Lian’s body, one that had nothing to do with the cold. Was he still out there in the forest, lurking? Xie Lian could hardly bear the idea of it, and instinctively moved a little closer to San Lang.

With the white sky above and the white snow below, the quiet forest seemed vast and empty. The tiny footprints of woodland creatures beneath the towering trees gave hints of life, but it seemed like every living creature in the forest besides San Lang and Xie Lian was safely nestled away, keeping warm from the bitter winter. Periodically throughout the day, snow flurries scattered lacy snowflakes drifting down, delicate and dainty. Sunlight peeked through the clouds a couple of times, its golden light reflecting on the snow and turning it blindingly bright, but it hid itself away again before it could melt anything.

Xie Lian and San Lang didn’t wander around too much, despite Xie Lian’s desire to gather evidence of the White No-Face’s whereabouts, because they were both lacking the footwear needed to trek through deep snow. Aside from that, any evidence that they could potentially find was probably buried in the snow. Before they got too far from the clearing where the cottage was, both of them came to the conclusion that they needed to wait until the snow had melted somewhat.

Xie Lian trudged ahead of San Lang, creating a pathway. His robes were soaking wet from pushing against the snow, but he barely noticed it. He stepped forward, and suddenly he felt that the ground was gone from under his feet, and found himself stuck in snow almost up to his hips. It was hard to gauge the deepness of the snow, and he must have inadvertently stepped off of a ledge.

Thankfully, San Lang was swiftly by his side to rescue him. He firmly placed his hands around Xie Lian’s waist and hoisted him out, leaving a hole in the snow behind him. Xie Lian awkwardly thanked San Lang, embarrassed by his own clumsiness. San Lang only laughed good-naturedly and patted the snow off of Xie Lian’s clothing, before taking the lead. Xie Lian felt guilty, but he had to admit that it was nice to have somebody else creating a path for him through the snow.

When they returned to the cottage, cheeks rosy and eyes bright, they both changed out of their wet clothes. Ruoye immediately slithered up to Xie Lian and took his usual spot around his arm; he didn’t like to be separated from Xie Lian for very long, but Xie Lian thought that he might get sick from being out in the snow with him.