Take this to the Qiu Family in South City for me.
Jiang Tiansi acknowledged, took a few steps, then turned back. His master’s eyes were cold as ice, fixed on him. To an outsider, it might look as if something was wrong between them. But ever since childhood, though Jiang Tiansi had never felt warmth from Tan Tian, his master taught him everything—he was never unkind.
Jiang Tiansi had often wondered if some trauma in his master’s youth had frozen him so completely. The word 'corpse' often surfaced in Jiang’s mind over the years—Tan Tian was like a corpse, cold and unfeeling, yet with thought and movement.
"Then tomorrow I’ll speak directly to King Jiang. When the time comes, James, can you help?"
Jiang Tiansi laughed. When he looked back again, Tan Tian had already disappeared.
After speaking with his master, Jiang Tiansi felt much lighter. He decided to obey King Jiang’s wishes and turn a deaf ear to the affairs of the Grant Domain.
"It looks like things will be difficult, Yuna."
Terry Mao couldn’t help but mutter. He suspected King Jiang and James Grant shared the same attitude: for now, they wouldn’t send troops lightly.
"You felt it too, didn’t you—the sudden surge of power in the Grant Domain."
"I felt it. But you didn’t come here just to tell me that, did you?"
Death Curse nodded, then smiled.
"Don’t smile in front of me. Do you have a death wish?"
A hand was already pressed against Death Curse’s neck, and the smile on his face instantly froze.
"Still as quick as ever. Even my ghost web couldn’t catch your speed."
"Go on, it’s about the owner of that power, isn’t it?"
Death Curse nodded.
"I told you before, there’s a guy who’s lived for centuries, calls himself the Demon Host. Lately, I’ve felt his power has weakened—it’s even darker and colder than mine."
Tan Tian’s expression remained unchanged.
"It’s probably granted by that group from the Dark Banquet. I’m not interested."
"That makes two of us."
Tan Tian slowly drifted away from Death Curse.
"So that’s what they mean by qualifications. Neither of us has them!"
"General Mao, I hope we can meet again soon. I don’t have much to say—my position is low, after all, so..."
"People really are complicated, aren’t they, James? Always changing. Go on, you don’t need to see me off."
Terry Mao’s voice sounded weak, but he didn’t blame James Grant. After all, James belonged to Jiang Territory, and he was from the Johnson Domain—the harsh reality was right in front of them.
"General Mao, I didn’t expect Jiang Territory to be so ruthless. The Johnson Domain helped them plenty in the past. Sigh..."
Terry Mao’s adjutant couldn’t help but mutter. Terry Mao shook his head.
"Not really. They’re them, we’re us. That’s all there is to it."
Back at his lodgings, James Grant sat quietly at the table, staring at the gloomy sky outside. Though it never snowed in Jiang Territory, the winters were colder than anywhere else. Rain mixed with icy winds would soon begin to fall—the season was nearly here.
James Grant’s heart wavered. The memories of Yuna Ji and the others coming to Jiang Capital were still vivid—the innocent young girl, always laughing and carefree.
"Forget it, I’ll head back."
Leaving the palace, James Grant went straight north. At the gate of a courtyard surrounded by tall fences, he knocked, and immediately a chill rose from deep within him.
"Master, I’m back."
A series of clinking sounds came from the woods behind the main house. James Grant hurried over. Behind the house was a massive tree, its leaves shaped like crescent moons—strange and beautiful. On nights when the moon was fuller, the tree would give off a peculiar fragrance.
Cold air spread everywhere. James Grant stared, stunned, at the burly man chiseling ice in front of him—over fifty, with a thick brown beard and an expressionless face.
The man before him was Tan Tian, the one who had raised James Grant. Locals called him Cold Master—James had never seen him smile or show any emotion. Tan Tian made a living crafting handmade goods.
Tan Tian stopped. The ice block in front of him had already taken shape. In this cold, the ice wouldn’t melt.
"What’s wrong? Bad mood?"
Tan Tian’s voice was completely emotionless. James Grant sat down and nodded.
"Is it because of the envoy from Johnson Domain? Do you want to help them?"
"You really are amazing, Master. Nothing gets past you. Honestly, I think that girl is pretty pitiful."
Tan Tian walked over and placed a hand on James Grant’s shoulder.
"I’ve told you many times—all these pointless things, let them go. For you, just follow orders. That’s the way to survive for a long time."
"That’s how you got by too, isn’t it, Master?"
James Grant sighed helplessly.
"A long time ago, yes. I..."
James Grant smiled.
"I get it. You’ve said it thousands of times, Master. Long ago, you lost something important because you didn’t follow orders—and you’ve never gotten it back."
Tan Tian got busy again. Someone had commissioned an ice sculpture and sent over a huge block of ice.
"By the way, James, let me ask you again—are you willing to follow me?"
James Grant let out a sound of surprise.
"Master, where are you going? It took me so long to get here, and life’s pretty comfortable now. Where would we go?"
Tan Tian stopped and looked up at the sky.
"That’s right. No matter where you go, what’s lost can never come back."
After dinner, James Grant left the home he’d grown up in. As always, his master had made plenty of good food for him, but he always ate alone—Tan Tian never joined him. Few people lived nearby; there used to be more, but they always fell mysteriously ill, getting weaker day by day until they died. There were rumors that his master was to blame.
Every time James Grant returned, he remembered this and felt uncomfortable. He’d even scolded people who spoke ill of his master behind his back. If Tan Tian really was the cause, James would’ve died long ago—he’d lived with his master for over twenty years and never had any problems.
Suddenly, James Grant stopped. He turned around and was startled.
"Master, what are you doing? You always sneak up behind me like that—it scares me to death."
Tan Tian pointed off in the distance, holding an ice sculpture wrapped in burlap.
"That was fast."
"Take this to the Qiu Family in South City for me."
James Grant acknowledged, took a few steps, then turned back. His master’s eyes were cold as ice, fixed on him. To an outsider, it might look as if something was wrong between them. But ever since childhood, though James had never felt warmth from Tan Tian, his master taught him everything—he was never unkind.
James Grant had often wondered if some trauma in his master’s youth had frozen him so completely. The word 'corpse' often surfaced in James’s mind over the years—Tan Tian was like a corpse, cold and unfeeling, yet with thought and movement.
"That’s probably impossible, haha."
James Grant laughed. When he looked back again, Tan Tian had already disappeared.
After speaking with his master, James Grant felt much lighter. He decided to obey King Jiang’s wishes and turn a deaf ear to the affairs of the Grant Domain.
In the dark of night, Tan Tian quietly gazed at the black sky. He stood on a tree branch, his body seeming weightless, toes perched on the branch as if waiting for something.
A green light appeared in the distant sky, drawing closer and closer. It was an eagle, flying swiftly toward him. As it landed before Tan Tian, black mist rose from its body and gradually turned into a human.
"You felt it too, didn’t you—the sudden surge of power in Grant Domain."
"I felt it. But you didn’t come here just to tell me that, did you?"