Jin Ling reached up and touched his neck, his hand coming away with slushy snow.
He felt lower—his armpits, the tops of his thighs—all these places were packed with it.
'That female said I had a fever, and she was using snow to cool me down?'
Jin Ling recalled how the heat from his own breath had felt like fire in his sleep. But soon after, a coolness had spread across his neck and forehead, and his body temperature had slowly dropped.
'Could it be that she was telling the truth?'
Jin Ling looked at Qiao Xixi. Even in the dim light of the cave, he could clearly see her small body curled up under the animal hide.
'According to the nature of a Wandering Beast, shouldn't she be eager for me to die so she can claim all my food?'
Jin Ling was confused. He felt that Qiao Xixi was different from the other Wandering Beasts he had encountered.
When Qiao Xixi woke up, it was already broad daylight outside.
The moment she opened her eyes, she was met by three pairs of big, expectant eyes staring at her.
"Mother, you're finally awake! If you didn't wake up soon, Qiaoqiao was going to think you were dead, WAAAH..."
Qiao Xixi couldn't bear to see the little cub so sad. She quickly sat up, hugged Qiao Qiao, and gently comforted her.
"There, there, don't cry. Mother was just too tired and slept in a little."
Qiao Xixi was touched. 'It seems my lessons these past few days have been useful,' she thought. 'They've learned to care about me.'
"So, Mother, can you hurry up and roast some meat for us?"
Qiao Xixi looked down and didn't miss the sly glint in Qiao Qiao's eyes. The little bit of warmth that had just blossomed in her heart instantly vanished!
She had thought they were worried something had happened to her, but it turned out they were just afraid there'd be no one to roast meat for them.
Seeing as she was hungry too, Qiao Xixi got up, cut some meat, and started roasting it.
As soon as they finished eating, Qiao Ang, his little face red with urgency, bolted toward the cave entrance.
The moment he rushed out, Qiao Xixi heard his childish cry of alarm.
"What's wrong?"
Qiao Xixi got up and walked to the entrance, and she was utterly stunned.
The cave entrance, which had been perfectly clear last night, was now blocked by a drift of snow that came halfway up the opening.
Qiao Ang had already vanished into the snow.
"How did the snow get so deep all of a sudden?"
Qiao Xixi stepped outside the cave. The snow was so deep it came past her thighs. If the cubs went out, it would be nearly over their heads.
The most terrifying part was that it was still snowing.
"It never snows this heavily in other years."
"This is the extreme cold."
Qiao Xixi looked back, a little surprised that Jin Ling had answered her.
Seeing her astonished expression, a strange light flashed in Jin Ling's golden eyes.
"I misunderstood you last night. My apologies."
This time it was Qiao Xixi's turn to be surprised. She hadn't expected him to apologize immediately after realizing his mistake. Her annoyance toward Jin Ling lessened slightly.
She raised an eyebrow and said magnanimously, "I'm a beautiful, magnanimous female. I won't bicker with an ignorant male like you."
Jin Ling looked at her smiling, dirt-smudged face and speechlessly averted his gaze.
"What did you mean just now by 'extreme cold'?"
Jin Ling stared at the snow piling up at the cave entrance, his expression grim.
"During the extreme cold, it gets much colder than the usual winter days, and the snow falls much harder. This... is just the beginning."
"Just the beginning?"
A chill went down Qiao Xixi's spine. If the snow was already this deep at just the beginning, they would be trapped here to die.
'No, I have to find a way out.'
"You won't be able to get out."
As if reading her mind, Jin Ling spoke calmly.
Meeting Qiao Xixi's questioning gaze, Jin Ling said, "Our cave is located relatively high up the mountain, but the snow has already blocked nearly half the entrance. That means the snow on the path below is even deeper. If you want to leave, your only option is to go further up the mountain. But the mountain is full of ferocious beasts."
Qiao Xixi thought of that Black-haired Long-toothed Beast. If they ran into one, how could she possibly escape unscathed?
"We can't get out, but can't you?"
Jin Ling lowered his eyes without answering. He took a deep breath, only to break into a violent coughing fit.
The injury on his leg was a secondary concern; the fatal issue was the sharp pain in his chest that left him able to do nothing but sit here and wait for death.
"I can't let the cubs wait here to die with me."
After saying this, Qiao Xixi turned and walked out of the cave.
Since staying meant waiting to die, she might as well risk it all.
Jin Ling watched Qiao Xixi's figure quickly disappear into the heavy snow. But the moment he tried to move, a stabbing pain shot through his chest, his vision went black, and he fell back again.
Qiao Xixi left the cave and was almost immediately buried halfway in the snow. The cold was so intense that the lower half of her body was quickly going numb.
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a vast expanse of white. The rocks that were visible yesterday were now completely gone.
She turned to look up at the mountain above the cave, but she couldn't even see the rock face, making it impossible to estimate how thick the snow clinging to it was.
Qiao Xixi shifted into her beast form and started up the mountain. But after just a few steps, she was frozen stiff. She had no choice but to change back into her human form and return to the cave to warm herself by the fire.
"Mother, are we not going to be able to leave?"
Even cubs feel an instinctual fear in the face of extreme environments. Staring at the deep snow, Qiao Qiao's cute little braids swayed restlessly.
Qiao Xixi soothed her gently. "Of course not. You must be hungry. Mother will roast some meat for you first."
Qiao Xixi roasted the meat distractedly. When it was done, the two cubs, Qiao Ang and Qiao Lie, had still not returned.
Qiao Xixi walked to the cave entrance. "Qiao Ang, Qiao Lie, come back and eat!"
She called out a few times, but there was no response from outside.
'The two cubs said they were going out to pee. What's taking them so long?'
Worried, Qiao Xixi stepped into the snow.
"Qiao Ang! Qiao Lie!"
Staring out at the vast white expanse, Qiao Xixi's heart began to race.
When Qiao Ang woke up that morning, his stomach had been bothering him, so he had rushed outside to find a place to relieve himself.
But he had run out too recklessly, dislodging a large amount of snow from the mountainside. The snow had cascaded down, burying him over his head. He tried to find his way back to the cave through the deep drifts, not realizing he was wandering farther and farther away.
"Stupid female! Stupid female, where are you?"
No matter which way he went, he couldn't get out. Qiao Ang was starting to panic.
"Stupid female, Qiao Qiao, Qiao Lie, where are you..."
"WAAAH... Stupid female, I'm scared..."
Scrambling around like a headless chicken had exhausted him. He collapsed into a snowdrift, his little face filled with despair.
The biting cold of the snow quickly drained the little cub's body heat, and his eyelids grew incredibly heavy.
'I'm so sleepy. I really want to sleep.'
The cub's small body fell into the snow, and the white mist of his breath clouded his little face.
Once, back on the ice fields, he had seen a polar bear female holding her cub in her arms. The little bear cub looked so comfortable and happy.
Back then, he had wondered if a mother's embrace was really that warm.
But his mother... would never hug him...
"Mother, I'm so cold... I want a hug."
Just as Qiao Ang was about to close his eyes, the snow above him suddenly shifted, and a pair of cool hands lifted him out of the deep drift.
"I finally found you! Qiao Ang, you scared your mother to death."
Nearly numb from the cold, Qiao Ang was suddenly pulled into a warm embrace. He kept his eyes tightly shut, whimpering as he burrowed into Qiao Xixi's arms.
"Mother, can you hold me?"