At this moment, Adrian Night stood dumbly by a lakeside, his clothes shredded and tattered by thorns. His face showed no sadness, no joy—neither gloomy nor sunny—which left Wind, who was standing beside him, completely baffled about how to react.
"Adrian, Adrian, are you okay?" Wind finally couldn't help but ask, seeing that he'd been silent for so long.
... (Ivy)
"Adrian, you don't have to hold it in anymore. I already shut up everyone who was tailing you—there's no one around here watching, it's safe." Seeing his reaction, Wind assumed he was worried about being followed and exposing Ivy's whereabouts, so he explained out loud.
Adrian Night gripped the letter tightly in both hands, his brows finally knotting as his body began to tremble. The next second, he suddenly turned and hugged Wind, then lifted him up and spun around, shouting, "Is this real? Ivy is alive—Ivy is alive!"
"Yes, yes, now put me down!" Wind was totally stunned by Adrian's sudden move and had no idea how to react.
"I knew it, I just knew Ivy was still alive—yeah!" Adrian kept spinning Wind around, his face lit up with indescribable joy.
Wind was getting so dizzy from being spun around, he shouted, "Put me down! Hurry up and put me down!"
Hearing that, Adrian finally set him down, but the huge grin on his face just couldn't be hidden. "I knew it, I just knew Ivy would be safe."
"Mm, Miss Ivy really is safe and sound. You don't need to keep searching." Looking at his ragged state, Wind was genuinely happy for Ivy Shen. All the men she meets are truly good to her. Adrian Night, the master of Ice Palace, actually kept searching the bottom of the valley for her, no matter how exhausted he got. His clothes were already in tatters, his hair a mess—if he kept this up, strangers might think he was some homeless beggar.
Adrian Night listened to Wind’s words, his eyes unconsciously reddening. For more than three months, every time he closed his eyes, he’d relive that heart-wrenching scene. To avoid seeing it again, he basically stopped sleeping—just taking short naps when utterly exhausted. He spent all his time searching for her, clinging to her last words: If you don’t find my corpse, don’t give up!
So he persisted, he kept persisting. If Ivy was still alive at the bottom of the abyss, she must be terrified and lonely—he had to hurry to her side and give her warmth and support!
He kept telling himself that Ivy needed him, and he couldn’t live without her either. Sometimes, just nodding off for a moment, he’d dream of her dying and jolt awake instantly. Afterward, he’d frantically speed up his search. Through it all, he told himself: If Ivy is truly gone, then he’ll follow her—he absolutely won’t let her be alone in that cold world!
"Adrian..." Seeing how much this strong man did for Miss Ivy, Wind was deeply moved.
Hearing Wind’s call, Adrian Night took a deep breath and gave him an awkward smile. "Sorry, I lost my composure!"
Wind nodded, "No worries, I get it!"
"Did Ivy say where she went? When will she meet up with us?" Now that he knew she was safe, Adrian Night’s first concern was when she’d show up—and where she’d gone!
"Uh... I don’t know either. Miss Ivy’s letter just said she’s safe, and she’s handling some business, but I really don’t know exactly where. Still, the fact she sent a letter proves she’s safe—she must have something really important to do." Wind could only say this. Miss Ivy ordered him not to reveal her location, so as her subordinate, he had to obey.
Hearing that, Adrian Night’s brows unconsciously knitted together again. "What exactly is Ivy up to?" For some reason, a sense of foreboding kept circling his mind. Was Ivy worried about them and planning to go find them herself?!
"Adrian, I’ve delivered the message. Now I need to go notify Liam Willow. You should hurry back to Ice Palace and wait for Miss Ivy’s next letter. Don’t worry—once she writes again, I’ll come find you." Wind was terrified Adrian would grill him endlessly like Lucian Vane, so he dashed off before Adrian could react.