"...? Qianyue, why are you staring at me like a cat under a streetlamp?"

"I just feel Big Sis is thinking something bad, like a shadow crossing the moon."

"No way!" Tangxue’s voice rang like a bronze bell. "Qianyue, do I look like that kind of person?"

Qianyue parted her lips; silence pooled like still water.

"By the way, Qianyue—didn’t you say you’ve been drifting in the City of Woe since you could remember? You… really have no memories from before?"

"Nope. When I woke up, I was in a junkyard," Qianyue said, calm as quiet rain, walking a half step ahead.

A chill stirred in Tangxue’s chest, like frost on glass. So before that… someone tossed her there like a corpse?

"I see… Qianyue, what do you want to eat later? If you keep quiet, I’m just gonna order at random."

"Mm. Big Sis, just pick what you like," Qianyue answered, obedient as a sparrow on a branch.

"What I like… the food I like isn’t here," Tangxue thought, a bitter wind blowing through the thought.

"Um, Big Sis… why are you dressed so thick?" Qianyue turned, her eyes clear as spring. "The City of Woe stays bright and mild; it’s not cold."

"Really, Qianyue? We’ve only been together a few hours, and you’re already a little question machine?" Tangxue puffed up her cheeks, then pinched Qianyue’s face, playful as sun and shade. "Don’t you think you ask a lot?"

"S-sorry, Big Sis…" Tears misted Qianyue’s eyes, like dew on a leaf; Tangxue might’ve pinched too hard.

Tangxue let go, sheepish as a cat caught stealing fish, and cleared her throat. "It’s not that I can’t tell you, Qianyue… I just don’t like kids who keep firing questions like arrows."

"It’s my body. For some reason, I’m especially sensitive to cold—winter in the bones—even if I don’t catch colds."

"Big Sis… afraid of the cold?"

"Not—fine. I’m a little cold-averse," Tangxue said, feeling her own words darken like ink in water, then giving up on the rest.

Qianyue stepped forward. Her small face pressed to the back of Tangxue’s exposed hand, warm as a kettle in a snow hut.

"No wonder Big Sis had to hold the other sister while sleeping yesterday… your body heat is so low, like night wind."

"I’d say you’re not qualified to talk, little ice cube," Tangxue muttered, humor flickering like candlelight.

"But Qianyue’s face is warmer than Big Sis’s hand," Qianyue said, solemn as a temple bell.

"Warm is warm. What, you plan to warm my bed too?" Tangxue teased, tossing the line like a pebble into a pond.

"If Big Sis wants it, Qianyue will try…" Qianyue bowed her head, cheeks flushed like peach blossom.

"..."

"Quit it, you little brat! Don’t think about stuff like that all day."

Tangxue chopped her hand down on Qianyue’s head, a gust of playful wind.

"Ow…" Qianyue clutched her head, playing up the pain like a theatrics troupe.

"Come on. I didn’t hit hard," Tangxue sighed, her hunger drumming like an empty barrel. "Instead of flirting with your Big Sis, tell me if there’s any decent restaurant around. I’m starving."

Qianyue froze, stiff as a rabbit caught in lamplight, then lowered her head like a child at confession. "Big Sis… I don’t know."

"..."

What a useless guide.

So, to fill their bellies, the two started hunting for a restaurant in the Dark Abyss Zone.

At the junction of the two districts, soldiers stood guard like rusted statues. Crossing here didn’t require a fee.

Unlike the last area, the Dark Abyss Zone was a knot of alleys and shadows. Even before “deep night,” drifters wandered like smoke in the wind. The soldiers slouched at the edges with doggish swagger—lazy and loud—so much so Tangxue lost all desire to even get close.

She just wanted a place to eat, warmth like soup in the gut.

Tangxue ignored the guards and, with a firm hand, tugged Qianyue along, cutting through like a blade of cold air.

But the men didn’t plan to let her pass like a breeze.

"Hey, you two! Stop!" one barked, voice greedy as a wolf’s breath. "This is the Dark Abyss Zone. You think you cross this street without paying protection?"

One of them couldn’t hold back. He stalked over with his long spear, boots ringing like tin cans. The others watched with hungry eyes, arrogance spreading like oil on water.

Truth be told, they hadn’t seen a woman in damn near a decade—a desert of faces—and now two fairy-like girls dropped in, fragile as silk. No way they’d let prey like this slip.

In their twisted hearts, even if they didn’t act, the girls wouldn’t leave the Dark Abyss Zone alive. May as well take the prize themselves.

Even through the helmet, Qingsheng Tangxue heard the lust pounding in his skull like a war drum. Nausea rose, iron-bitter.

Tangxue stopped. A cold tide surged in her chest; she crouched and held Qianyue, who was trembling like a leaf in winter.

She covered Qianyue’s ears with her palms, soft as wings, and said, voice flat as black ice, "Protection fee? No. If you want money for a coffin, I can buy you one."

"You little whore, you’re courting death!" the man snarled, and broke into a charge, spear stabbing forward like lightning. The others flared up too, anger snapping like dry twigs.

Qingsheng Tangxue didn’t move extra. Her gaze cut cold as a blade. Killing intent spread unseen, a winter fog covering the square.

The charging soldier froze mid-step, body locked by the beast-instinct of survival. That bone-deep chill gnawed him, stealing control like a frostbite curse.

The Blood Clan soldier with the spear fell backward, terror dropping him to the ground like a puppet with cut strings.

"Help! Aaaaah!" the rest bolted, scrambling as if death itself breathed on their necks, heels flinging dust like fleeing rats.

The one on the ground couldn’t even run. The killing intent shattered his spine of courage; fear swallowed him whole.

He came to himself and threw his body into kneeling, knocking his helmet to the earth, metal clacking like prayer beads. He kowtowed with practiced rhythm.

"I’m sorry, my lord! I was bewitched for a moment and dared think of harming you. Please spare me! I’ve an eight-hundred-year-old mother above and a teen brother below, I—"

What the hell—an eight-hundred-year-old mother?

Tangxue swallowed the urge to snark, then quietly lifted Qianyue and patted her head, palm warm as sun through leaves.

"Qianyue, it’s over. Don’t be scared."

Under Tangxue’s touch, Qianyue calmed, brushing her cheek against Tangxue’s hand like a cat. "Big Sis, Qianyue’s okay now."

"Good. Then we’re fine." Tangxue nodded to herself, then flicked a glance at the kneeler.

"Hey. Do you know any restaurant with a good name around here? My sister and I are hungry and need lunch. Guide us, and I won’t kill you."

"I know, I know! I know plenty in the Dark Abyss Zone—guaranteed satisfaction!" He wagged like a mutt let off the leash, hope shining like sunrise.

Tangxue stared. His survival dance was so smooth it hurt to watch. In that moment, she understood why this swaggering fool hadn’t been beaten to death yet.