"Seriously? Snow?"
I held out a hand and watched a few flakes settle against my palm. They melted almost immediately, leaving behind cold droplets that ran between my fingers.
Of all the days for it to snow, it had to be today.
I had an escort mission in a few hours. Looking at the road already disappearing beneath the white, I couldn't help but wonder how the caravan was supposed to move through this.
Why didn't they just cancel it?
I headed back inside to prepare.
Or tried to.
The door refused to move.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Snow had piled against the other side. It took several minutes of pushing and clearing it away by hand before I finally managed to squeeze through.
I strapped my sword to my waist and checked that I had everything I needed.
At least the pay was good. They were even giving us extra because of the weather. With that, I wouldn't have to worry about rent next month.
Maybe the snow wasn't so bad after all.
I stepped outside and pulled the door shut.
A clump of snow slid from the roof and landed directly on my head.
I stood there for a moment.
"My luck's as good as always."
Whatever. I was already running late.
The snow grew deeper as I made my way toward the meeting point. Before long, every step required actual effort. Fortunately, I didn't live far away.
By the time I arrived, Chenyu was already there.
"Hey, Lian! You're finally here. For a moment, I thought you'd be late."
I stared at him.
"There's a small problem with you saying that. You barely arrive on time most days. Coming earlier than me once doesn't give you the right."
"Oh, come on. Can't you let me have some fun for once?"
He threw an arm around my neck.
"Sometimes you're almost like a block of ice."
I rolled my eyes and pushed his arm away.
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Where's An Yuansu? Has he arrived yet?"
"Don't know. Haven't seen him, so—oh. There he is."
Yuansu approached carrying several shovels.
"Sorry I'm late. I wanted to prepare in case the snowstorm gets worse." He looked around. "Everyone here?"
The six of us answered together.
"Yes."
"Good. Let's go."
Yuansu climbed onto the front of the caravan while the rest of us started walking.
Chenyu nudged me.
"Come on. Let's get moving."
"That's what I'm already doing."
I gave him an annoyed look.
"Why don't you focus on the road instead of me?"
"We've barely started and you're already this tense? Fine. Since His Majesty commands it, I'll obey."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
---
For a while, we managed.
Then the snow began winning.
The horses slowed first. Their hooves sank deeper with every step, and clouds of white breath poured from their nostrils. One stumbled before managing to catch itself.
Yuansu pulled the caravan to a stop.
He climbed down, grabbed the shovels he'd brought and tossed them toward us.
"Start clearing the road. It's getting too difficult for the horses."
Nobody moved.
We simply stared at him.
Yuansu stared back.
His expression slowly darkened.
"Ah. I see how it is."
He took a breath.
"Anyone who helps shovel gets another ten percent."
I picked up a shovel immediately.
Easy money was easy money.
Chenyu and two of the other escorts joined me shortly afterward. The remaining two stayed behind. Judging by the way they were shivering, neither had dressed properly for the weather.
Breaking through to Tier 1 recently made the work easier than I'd expected. I cleared my section before Chenyu had finished his.
He had stopped, leaning against his shovel and breathing heavily.
"Need help?"
"I-I'm fine. Just catching my breath."
I walked over and started clearing his section.
"Hey! I told you I'm fine."
"Yeah, yeah. Shut up and rest."
I kept going.
Doing twice the work eventually started wearing on me too, but before it became a problem, Chenyu returned.
"I'm good now. Give it back."
I glanced at him.
"You sure?"
"If you do all my work, I might not get that bonus."
"Go ahead."
We continued.
The snow didn't.
By the time it had risen from our boots to our knees, the caravan was moving at a snail's pace.
I glanced behind me.
Yuansu was biting his nails.
That was strange.
He had been irritated before.
Now he looked nervous.
I turned back to the road.
Not long afterward, I heard horses approaching.
Yuansu immediately climbed down.
"Prepare for combat."
I dropped the shovel.
Eight silhouettes gradually emerged through the snowfall.
One of them rode ahead of the others, a bearded man whose face twisted into a grin when he recognized Yuansu.
"Well, look who it is. Our dear An Yuansu."
Yuansu's expression hardened.
"You've come for your so-called tax? Fine. Take the twenty silver and leave."
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, my dear Yuansu."
The bearded man's grin widened.
"The tax has increased. Eighty silver."
Yuansu raised an eyebrow.
"Is this a joke? Because it isn't funny."
His hand moved subtly.
The escorts around me tensed.
The bearded man noticed.
"Oh? Talking back now?"
He laughed.
"One gold."
Yuansu froze.
For the first time since I'd met him that morning, he looked genuinely afraid.
"Y-You... Who paid you? Who told you about the cargo? Was it the Yao family? The Qian family?"
That was enough for me.
I drew my sword.
"Chenyu. Get ready. I don't think they're planning on letting us leave."
"I can see that."
There was no teasing in his voice this time.
The bandits charged.
Fortunately, the snow worked against their horses as much as it had ours. Their mounts struggled through the knee-deep snow, buying us a few precious seconds.
I quickly counted our side.
Three Tier 1s, including me. Chenyu was at the peak of Tier 0. The remaining two weren't even worth counting unless their opponents happened to freeze to death first.
Against eight men?
We had a chance.
The first rider came straight for me.
I stepped aside and swung low, aiming for his horse's leg.
His sword flashed downward.
Clang!
He barely managed to deflect my blade.
Peak Tier 0.
I pressed forward immediately.
One strike.
Then another.
He could keep up with me, but only barely.
I saw an opening and swung—
Another sword intercepted mine.
I backed away.
A second bandit had joined him.
Both men took the opportunity to catch their breath.
Unfortunately, so did I.
My lungs burned.
The shoveling.
I'd already exhausted myself before the fight had even begun, and now I was stuck fighting two people at once.
I risked a glance around.
Chenyu was holding his own against another peak Tier 0. The rest he'd gotten earlier was probably the only reason he wasn't struggling worse.
The other two Tier 1 escorts had their hands full with an enemy Tier 1 and two peak Tier 0s.
The last two escorts were fighting two ordinary men.
This was worse than I'd thought.
I'd counted cultivation levels.
I hadn't counted exhaustion.
The two men in front of me charged together.
I couldn't keep this up.
So I gambled.
I left my shoulder open.
One of them took the bait.
His sword tore into my shoulder.
Pain exploded through my arm.
At the same instant, the second blade came toward me.
I caught it with my gloved hand.
The leather split.
The blade bit into my palm, but the glove slowed it just enough.
I drove my sword into the first man's body.
His eyes widened.
Then his strength disappeared.
I ripped my sword free and stumbled backward.
Blood was already running down my arm.
I tried moving it.
Nothing.
My shoulder was fucked.
At least it wasn't my dominant arm.
The surviving bandit didn't give me a second to recover.
He rushed me.
I barely got my sword up in time.
Clang!
Pain shot through my remaining hand. The damaged glove had stopped the worst of the previous strike, but the blade had still cut through it.
My grip weakened.
The bandit raised his sword again.
Then another figure rushed in beside me.
Yuansu.
"Move your ass! Help me attack!"
I forced myself back into position.
The bandit looked at me.
Then Yuansu.
Then at the corpse of his companion.
He turned and ran.
I lowered my sword slightly.
"Hey. What finally stopped you from hiding?"
Yuansu glared at me.
"Shut up and help the others."
I looked toward the remaining fights.
For a moment, I hesitated.
My shoulder was useless. My other hand was injured. I was exhausted, bleeding, and one clean strike would probably finish me.
Then I spotted Chenyu.
He was still fighting.
If I stayed here and we lost, I'd die anyway. There was no chance of outrunning mounted bandits through knee-deep snow in my condition.
Damn it.
I started toward Chenyu.
His opponent noticed me coming.
Then he noticed the other bandit fleeing.
Apparently that was enough.
He turned and ran too.
"GET BACK HERE!"
The bearded leader's roar cut across the battlefield.
"GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DIE!"
The fleeing man didn't even look back.
Yuansu spat into the snow.
"Rats."
The retreat spread almost immediately.
With me, Chenyu and Yuansu suddenly free to reinforce the others, the remaining bandits lost their nerve. One after another, they broke away and fled.
Soon, only their leader remained.
For a moment, he simply stood there.
Then he started laughing.
"Ah... What the hell did I expect from those pieces of shit?"
His laughter died.
He tightened his grip on his weapon.
"You've really cornered me. I can't run. They'll kill me anyway."
His expression twisted.
"So I'll take a few of you with me."
I looked at him.
Then at the two Tier 1 escorts and two peak Tier 0s surrounding him.
Then down at my bloody hand.
No.
I'd risked enough.
If two Tier 1s and two peak Tier 0s somehow lost to a single Tier 1, then apparently I was destined to die today.
I headed back toward the caravan.
Usually Chenyu or Yuansu kept bandages somewhere inside in case an escort got injured.
My vision was starting to blur.
Worse, the tear in my clothing exposed my wounded shoulder directly to the freezing air. The cold had at least slowed the bleeding somewhat, but now it felt like it was sinking straight through my body.
I searched through the caravan.
Nothing.
Nothing.
There.
A strip of bandage.
It wasn't particularly clean.
I didn't care.
Infection was a problem for later.
Bleeding out was a problem for now.
I pressed one end against my shoulder and caught it between my teeth. With my functioning hand, I awkwardly pulled the bandage around myself.
Once.
Twice.
I tightened it as much as I could.
That would have to do.
My injured hand wasn't bleeding badly enough to worry about yet.
The shoulder was another matter.
I tried to stand straight.
The world shifted beneath me.
I grabbed the side of the caravan.
Just needed to sit down.
I hauled myself onto the wooden platform and collapsed against it.
The wood was freezing beneath my cheek.
For some reason, that was the last thing I noticed.
Then everything went black.