When the sun showed signs of rising the next day, Ting stood up, stretching her arms as one does right after waking up. She could make others think she had a long night of sleep if anyone saw her at that moment. A tremendous mistake.

  The caresses hadn't ceased, nor had the silence. She had watched the stars for most of the time.

  She and Noah went to the northwest before anyone else had even woken up and got a head start on the work, bringing planks to where the new houses were being built. They took them from the houses that were previously unusable due to being frozen, and which now had no one left to occupy them anyway.

  Piles of wood were found as soon as the others began their day. They sighed with a mixture of relief and sorrow; they had survived another night, but they knew the danger remained there. They had another day to occupy their minds and try. Everyone was trying. Trying and struggling not to stop.

  Between laughter and fake jokes, the day passed without bothering to wait for them. No one was ready to discover what yet another tomorrow would reveal to them. They preferred to continue a little longer, being carried a little further and immersed in that day.

  — This — everyone looked at each other, wary, even though saliva was already pooling in their mouths. Some of them swallowed it down.

  — Are you sure it is okay to do something like this? — Old Hú questioned, refusing to look at the wooden bowl in his hands, where the broth present contained not just thin condiments. — Especially now...

  The air was impregnated with the scent of herbs, cooked meat, and smoke from the wood burning further ahead, illuminating the place. There were many people there, and yet Ting shrank back. She did so because she knew these were all who remained. A number not sufficient to occupy even half of the houses that had been frozen and still remained intact.

  She nodded without looking in the direction of any of them.

  — Of course, you can eat as much as you want... Please, make the most of it. — she said, her voice decaying with time. Her fingers forced the porcelain bowl in her hands, but didn't break it. It trembled slightly instead of cracking.

  Assumptions abounded, always the same ones. However, no one there could truly say where those two were from. Perhaps they had come from outside, just like the people from the Moonlit Night Hall? Many even considered it. However, they never voiced such words.

  They were good people who decided to go out of their way to help them. That is what they chose to believe.

  Hearts and bodies warmed up, regaining energy and vitality with every spoonful. They needed more, and so they took it. Noah had prepared more than enough to feed them a few times over.

  — Boy, you are incredible! I have never eaten anything so good!

  — True.

  — Seriously, there is no comparison!

  Even though they were sure they would say the same if they were calmly eating a mere slice of meat, those words were not false.

  Not that it mattered to Noah in any way.

  — You should eat something too. — he spoke, taking the bowl from Ting's wavering hands.

  She wasn't connected enough to herself to deny it, so she just opened her mouth. The scene around them drew her attention far more piercingly than anything else at the moment.

  The sounds enveloping them went beyond the jokes and laughter that, little by little, were becoming lighter and more real. Flames danced nearby, and within them, the firewood crackled along with hearts beating under a moon so bright and heavy. It was the moon moving across the skies, carrying them toward another unwanted morning.

  Those who felt satisfied enough said goodbye with a smile as they left. They wished, yet also thought it was too much greed to expect the same to happen the next day.

  Even when there were no problems other than the creatures on the other side of the wall, none of them had ever eaten with such plenty. It was a new and addictive feeling. A disturbing desire that filled them.

  We shouldn't do this, they always had to remind themselves. Otherwise, they would end up surrendering to it.

  Noah looked around, and everyone had already left.

  — Shall we go? — he asked, extending his hand to Ting.

  She nodded as she accepted the help.

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  After picking her up in his arms, Noah went to the skies where the moon and stars were the only sources of light.

  — Are you not going to scold me or call me an idiot for doing that?

  — Do you want me to do that?

  She shook her head, denying.

  — Then, no. I think you understanding that it was an impulsive act is already enough.

  Although they didn't know what they were looking for or the exact location, it wasn't hard to find. In the west, where ice still dominated part of the territory, hammering proved constant and persistent.

  The place in question was vast, with animal bodies and entire crops crystallized everywhere. There, the cold air still hung.

  — It seems what you did didn't reach here.

  — Well, this place is very far from where we were. — Noah looked at the situation below, observing the meaningless effort those incapable of even cracking the ice were making.

  He descended with Ting carefully, setting her on her feet on the frigid soil abandoned by fertility.

  — Shouldn't we talk to them first? — she commented, feeling the gazes with strange intensity striking them. — Before doing anything, it would be better to explain why we are here.

  — They will see it either way, so it isn't really necessary, is it? — Noah raised his palm, closing his eyes subsequently.

  — No, but if we do, we could avoid... this kind of reaction...

  With a strange and silent rhythm, tools fell as the ice vanished before everyone's eyes.

  Did the "god" come to this place too...? They came to question themselves.

  The vision that had appeared in the sky had already disseminated through the voices of those who saw it. The consistency was uncertain; some reported the existence of wings, others of a being with a divine and cold gaze. Perhaps that was why, upon witnessing the scene, everyone in the fields raised their eyes immediately, searching for something in the starry skies.

  They saw nothing, of course.

  — S-Sir! Sir! The "god" is in the fields! The ice is melting!

  The two men straightened up with a jump.

  — What?! Really?

  They looked at each other and soon ran without saying much. They needed to see with their own eyes, so they followed the smell of wet earth exhaling from the refreshing soil with a soft touch. The earth was alive.

  Even the grass...! One of them analyzed the environment. Then maybe the crops and animals also—

  Undric stopped, locking his feet in the dark earth. With flickering eyes, he seemed to be facing a ghost. Words failed him.

  — Noah...? — he forced himself to say, with a sound as flawed as he could believe.

  It couldn't be a mistake. Those clothes, the appearance, and definitely those eyes that analyzed him only to close again. There was no way to be mistaken.

  — You were alive? How? You went into the forest, and then— — he felt his throat go dry and close. He couldn't go further. He swallowed hard, refusing to look him in the eyes. — Are you okay?

  Ting felt the hand wrapping her waist tremble. She looked at Noah, who remained silent and appeared immersed in absorbing the frigid Qi despite the strange reaction he had upon being called, and then she turned to the two men in front, especially the one who seemed to know Noah.

  — Do you know these people, Undric? — the robust man questioned.

  Ting swallowed hard. It wasn't about cultivation, seeing as she knew she was stronger than both; she just felt a little uncomfortable in front of that strange-looking man.

  What is he, a door...?

  That large body seemed too abnormal to her.

  — No, not both. Only the boy; he was the one I said had saved my daughter. As for her...

  Their gazes fell upon Ting.

  She clasped her hands but didn't feel it necessary to bow.

  — Nice to meet you, I am H— Ting, Noah's fiancée.

  — Fiancée?! — Undric's eyes widened. — Is this true, Noah...?

  Raising one eyebrow, Ting stared at him with a certain contained irritation.

  I am in front of you and you are talking to me, so why did you ask him? Are you insinuating that I am lying? With him standing right next to me and his hand on my waist, seriously?

  She let a small bitter laugh escape. She found it funny that she was being disdained by such people.

  She sighed.

  She needed to contain herself. That man appeared to know Noah, and she didn't know what kind of relationship they had, so she shouldn't overstep.

  — He can't talk right now; he is busy dealing with the ice in this place.

  — The ice?! So he is the "god" everyone is talking about? — the brute questioned.

  Ting also found his voice somewhat annoying. Too loud. Too noisy. It made the hammer beats she had been immersed in for the last two days seem like the most beautiful music.

  — How could you omit such an important detail, Undric? Keeping something like this just to yourself.

  Not just the tone, now even the words proved unpleasant. He seemed to be referring to an object, not a person. Ting frowned. For the first time since stepping into that city, she found herself angry at one of those she had decided to help.

  Using her fingertips, she pulled at Noah's clothes discreetly. She wanted to get away from those people as fast as possible.

  The serpentine eyes opened, causing the man's laughter to wither. Before them, it was difficult to breathe, let alone think properly.

  — Sir Undric, can I take her with me?

  Sir...? Ting turned her gaze to the somewhat distressed and confused man. She thought she had made the right choice by containing herself; after all, she hadn't seen Noah refer even to his Uncle Fusu in such a way. Even if the coldness in the voice was the same, perhaps there was a difference in the end.

  — S-Sure. — he made way for the two to pass, casting his own doubts aside. — I will return soon, Gao Fei. Continue checking the situation of the lands in the meantime. See if anything can still be saved.

  When Undric turned his back and the three moved away, Gao Fei fell to his knees. He smiled, but the reason was uncertain.

  What a monster...

  Perhaps it wasn't just fear.