<aside> 🔑 Key: 🦌: Lu Chen/Alkaid 🖌️: MC 📌: Zaph 🏠: Cabin owner 🧑🏫: Teacher Qin 👷♂️: Uncle Guo
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🖌️: Huff… Huff… The cold air entered through my nostrils, into my lungs, squeezed into a cycle, by breathing out. I tried my best to maintain my breathing pattern, stepping on the stone steps to go forward. Alkaid turned his head, his hiking stick inserted into the snow, carefully assessing my physical condition.
The translucent snow falling onto his sunshine coloured hair, those pale green eyes, as if its still somewhat clearer than the snowflakes in the sky. 🦌: Do you want me to carry your bag? Packing light will be a little more comfortable. 🖌️: But giving you my bag, then wouldn’t it be a “heavy burden on your shoulders” for you. I panted heavily, holding the hiking stick to a stop. 🖌️: Don’t look down on me, but I’m MC, who have explored countless of worlds, and accompanied Alkaid to see various beautiful rivers and mountains of the region. 🖌️: Its just recently I’m always at school to finish my drawing assignments, just short of exercise… 🦌: Then we will walk a bit slower. Exercise also needs to take it a step at a time.
=Flashback=
Initially it was only meant to be a trip to the snow village for break. It’s a rare holiday given to Alkaid by his mentor, so we head to the snow village to go ice fishing and to bathe in the sauna, we planned to comfortably lie down for the week.
On the second day staying at the cabin in the snow village, we received a call from Zaph.
At that time, we returned from ice fishing, Alkaid just put his phone on speaker, I heard Zaph’s loud voice–
📌: Alkaid, I heard you are at the snow village? Go to Enci temple to help me return a favour to a deity.
🏠: Enci temple? from here by yourself will take three hours, and you also need to climb 400m of snowy mountains, the guests here can’t go!
Zaph has yet to finish talking, just as the cabin owner interjected while giving us our meals.
🏠: Also you want to bring your girlfriend? We are already high up, and climbing 400m, to the average person, it just climbing a snowy mountain!
📌: Climbing mountains is Alkaid’s line of work, MC won’t back down, right?
Although I faintly heard Zaph’s prodding in the call, I still looked at Alkaid.
🖌️: Alkaid did you bring mountain climbing equipment….
🦌: I brought the basic equipment, including yours.
Alkaid’s eyebrows furrowed.
🦌: But you don’t need to get carried away because of Zaph…
📌: MC, the beautiful, elegant and love working out junior, you must be willing to help me!
📌: Enci temple have beautiful red walls, its very fitting to go and see them on a snowy day, and you can stay there… most of the temple that housed many people do not allow lodging.
📌: You can stay within the flying snow red walls together with Alkaid – and maybe experience a one of a kind trip.
🖌️: Zaph, you are really persistent…
This is how we were coaxed by Zaph.
The cabin owner was worried about us, she said Enci temple has been in ruins for many years, and in recent years, there were news by many tourists of the collapsing brick wall, so she told us to look around multiple times when we reached Enci temple.
🏠: Couples going out to play should be a happy thing, but don’t hurt yourselves.
=End of flashback=
Slender finders waved in front of me. 🦌:… What are you thinking of? I snapped back to reality. 🖌️:I was thinking, what I’m looking at right now is “The first snowfall is clear, the mountains are still, and its starting to become hard for people to pass through the mountain tracks.” I made a gesture like a viewfinder to Alkaid. 🖌️: — Zaph called us to go mountain climbing early in the morning, not purely for me to admire Alkaid’s powerful figure? 🦌: Zaph ah…. I also don’t understand why he suddenly desired for us to go to Enci temple.
Alkaid mentioned, five years ago he and Zaph went on foot on the snowy mountains, they lodged in Enci temple a few nights. Zaph didn’t have any experience being outdoors, Alkaid brought him to a safe track, without any surprises and dangers. Alkaid also doesn’t know the exact details of Zaph’s “wish”. After all, when everyone put their palms together to make a wish, you won’t say your wish out loud.
🦌: But, he is always usually chill, this time however he unusually passionate… Alkaid moved closer, placing his hand on my shoulder. 🦌: But most importantly, we don’t want us to get into an accident. His fingers stroked my cheek. 🦌: That’s good, your body temperature stabilised. We’ve already climbed a majority there, it will also be somewhat steeper, don’t push yourself… Alkaid’s words were cut off by the sound of a fall not far from us. The voice came from in front of a mountain bend. 🖌️: Lets have a look? Around the bend, we saw a 50 year old man placing a hand on a middle aged man for support. The snow was thick on the ground, the old man doesn’t look like he received any injuries. 🦌: Teacher Qin…. Uncle Guo*? Alkaid eyes are filled with surprise. Both of them turned their head at the same time— 🧑🏫 & 👷♂️: Alkaid?
Uncle Guo
Uncle Guo is not Alkaid’s actual uncle, its an honorific to refer to a man who is older than you (around middle aged).