The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Feng Zhuo rode his horse through the dense forest.

The red-flame horse exhaled white mist from its nostrils, and snow flew up from beneath its hooves.

His heart was in his throat; he worried about her every single second.

Then he saw the guards.

The massive beast carcass was carried out of the forest path by the Lintai guards. A feathered arrow was deeply embedded in the center of the tiger's forehead, its fletching stained with blood, standing out starkly against the snowy backdrop.

That was Tang Xixue's arrow—he recognized it; the arrowhead was engraved with tiny snowflake patterns, and her name was engraved on the back.

Feng Zhuo's heart skipped a beat, and he tightened the reins.

The fiery red horse raised its head and neighed, its front hooves leaving messy tracks on the snow.

"Where is Tang Xixue? Where is she? Is she injured?!"

He practically leaped off his horse, grabbing the arm of the nearest guard. His eyes churned with turmoil, the fear he had felt while frantically charging forward now replaced by a burning urgency.

The guard, taken aback by the almost fuming anxiety in his eyes, quickly replied:

"General Feng, rest assured! Her Highness the Princess is unharmed. That tiger... she shot it herself."

Shoot him with your own hands?

Feng Zhuo stood frozen in place, staring incredulously at the deadly arrow.

"Which direction did she go?"

His voice was slightly hoarse as he pressed for an answer.

"His Highness went in the direction where the falcon fell; it must be over there."

The guard pointed deeper into the dense forest.

Feng Zhuo said no more, mounted his horse, and his crimson figure once again transformed into an arrow, breaking through layers of snow.

Deep in the forest, the snow was even thicker.

Tangxi Xue and Pei Yanchuan rode together on a black steed chasing the stars, their hooves breaking the silence.

The girl was wrapped in a snow-white cloak, the dark patterns embroidered with silver thread flowing in the twilight, and the snowflake tassels in her hair rustled softly as the horse rose and fell.

They quietly stopped in front of a ravaged snow slope.

They had found the eagle they were chasing, but the situation was unexpected—the bird of prey fell so fast that it struck a figure who couldn't avoid it.

"Brother! Brother, wake up!"

A girl dressed in a light blue brocade robe with water patterns knelt in the snow, desperately shaking an unconscious boy with a sob in her voice.

Tang Xixue gracefully dismounted from her horse, her snow fox cloak billowing in a soft arc in the wind.

The icy tassels in her hair trembled slightly, and her starry eyes turned to the unfamiliar brother and sister, carrying a faint confusion as if she had not yet fully sorted out her memories.

"Who was that?" She tilted her head slightly, snowflakes landing on her long eyelashes. "He managed to catch this unexpected disaster."

Pei Yanchuan landed, dressed in a thin blue robe, and stood half a step behind her.

His gaze swept across the unconscious boy's face, and he replied in a low voice:

"That's Kong Sangyu, the prince sent by the Bibo Immortal Dynasty to study at Lintai. The one next to him... should be his sister, Princess Kong Sangling."

"Your Highness, my name is engraved on the arrow. I will take responsibility for this. You have already had a conflict with Prince Yu, and it is not advisable to add to the existing grudges."

Pei Yanchuan's voice was soft and clear, his blue robe sleeves fluttered in the wind, and his knuckles tightened slightly.

Upon hearing this, Tang Xixue's gaze narrowed slightly.

She carefully searched through the fragments of her memory—Kong Sang Yu.

Yes, this was also one of the targets of those time-traveling women.

The prince of the Azure Wave Immortal Dynasty, as fresh as a mountain after a rain, possessed a natural spiritual charm and was radiantly pure.

Her long, silvery-blue hair flowed like a spring, and her eyebrows and eyes resembled distant mountains shrouded in mist. She looked pure and flawless, like a piece of jade porcelain that might shatter if not handled carefully.

She gathered her thoughts and walked towards Kong Sangyu, her snow-white cloak trailing behind her.

As she crouched down, the tassels lightly touched the snow, and her fingertips reached toward the boy's neck.

The skin was slightly warm, and although the pulse was weak, it was still beating.

"There's still a pulse." She looked up, meeting those tear-filled eyes, her tone calm and even. "You're not dead, so why are you crying?"

As she stood up, the wind ruffled the stray hairs at her temples.

She suddenly turned towards the depths of the forest—

A figure stands quietly beneath a cedar tree.

He is a peerless orchid blooming in the poisonous miasma of a cliff, so beautiful that it makes one's heart tremble, and so dangerous that it makes one hesitate to approach.

A healer who saves lives, a soul-reaper who steals the moon.

"Tangxi Xue," the person spoke, their voice like snow falling on bamboo tips, cool and faint, "still alive."

Si Xingxuan met her gaze, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Hmm," Tang Xixue's starry eyes flickered, showing no panic but rather a hint of cunning, "I've disappointed Divine Physician Zheyue."

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves broke through the snow.

She turned around and saw the crimson horse trampling the jade, and the red-clad youth, like a fire that burned away the twilight, broke through the vast snow mist and galloped towards her.

Feng Zhuo dismounted, the snow splashing like waves. He rushed to her side, his eyes still filled with fear, but a bright light had already ignited within them.

"Ah Xue," his voice was hoarse, as if worn down by wind and snow, "are you injured?"

Tang Xixue looked down at him, then suddenly her eyebrows curved into a smile, like a thawing ice river.

"I burned it, and I am unharmed."

Her voice was soft.

"You've come at the right time; please bring us some prey."

"it is good."

Feng Zhuo paused for a moment, then responded and turned to retrieve the fallen eagle.

When his fingertips touched the three characters "Pei Yanchuan" engraved on the arrow shaft, his heart inexplicably ached, as if a bittersweet feeling washed over him, but he did not say it.

"Don't you...don't you have anyone to control?"

Sobbing broke out as Kong Sangling knelt in the snow, her skirt soaked through, her face streaked with tears as she looked up.

"My brother is still unconscious! He was injured by your prey, and you must take responsibility!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Xixue calmly took out a gilded signal tube from her sleeve.

With a light tap of her slender fingers, a streak of crimson light shot up into the gray sky with a sharp cry, blooming into a small dogwood flower.

"Oh, then we'll call for help for you."

"The hunting grounds are so vast, yet he just happened to be hit here at this time and place—I have reason to suspect that this is a staged accident."

"How...how can you speak like that!"

Kong Sang Ling's cheeks flushed crimson, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Didn't you used to... still have feelings for my brother? Now, with your actions, you'll never win his favor in this lifetime!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the air fell silent.

Tang Xixue felt two gazes sweep over her as if they were real—

One comes from the scorching wind, burning like flames; the other comes from beneath the snow-covered pines, clear as frost.

She rubbed her forehead and sighed deeply.

"Young and ignorant, children speak without thinking, let's not mention it again."

She waved her hand.

"Now... I no longer like it."

She really didn't expect that her damned romantic entanglements were countless, simply too numerous to count!

Just then, a very soft whimper came from the snow.

"elder sister……"

Kong Sangyu's thick, curled eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings, slowly lifting to reveal her eyes, which were like the clear waves of the sea beneath.

He looked at her, his eyes moist, brimming with a lingering sense of grievance.

"You said you would love me... and love me until you die."

The boy's voice was soft and sweet, with a slight hoarseness from just waking up; each word was like a needle dipped in honey.

"How could you... go back on your word?"

He propped himself up on one side, and the fox fur coat slipped off his shoulder, revealing a thin sky-blue collar.

Snowflakes clung to her hair.

How can you say you like me while you like someone else?

He asked softly, each word carefully enunciated, as if he were truly a young animal abandoned in the snow, harmless and fragile, which would crumble into powder at the slightest touch.

"Have you been... lying to me all along?"

Tang Xixue looked down at the boy's pitiful face and suddenly tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Tsk."

She scoffed softly, flipped herself and landed steadily on the horse's back, her snow-white cloak drawing an arc in the air.

I've said I like you, but I've never said—that I only like you.

If she hadn't glimpsed the book of destiny, she probably would have been fooled by his innocent and harmless appearance.

Those time-traveling women are truly courageous—they dare to provoke anyone.

The seemingly tearful Prince of Kongsang is actually the leader of "Shanhai," one of the three major dark forces in the Nine Provinces.

He can command all beasts and birds, and with a laugh, he can change the landscape.

At this moment, with such a pitiful demeanor, he really is a little liar.

"My sister... ruined my reputation..."

Kong Sangyu suddenly spoke in a low voice, her eyelashes drooping to conceal the dark look that flashed across her eyes.

"..." Tang Xixue was shocked.

"real???"