What was the world beyond the walls truly like?
Silvia had never imagined he would one day leave the country.
****
Snow-capped mountains stretched endlessly, their jagged spines carving across the horizon.
The faint glimmer of dawn pierced the sky, bathing the snowfield in a cool, amber hue.
The blizzard was just beginning to subside.
Suddenly, a crimson spatial rift tore open in mid-air.
Silvia was the first to tumble out, his silver hair disheveled and falling across his forehead.
His black and white prison uniform was even more crumpled, and his purple eyes still held a lingering haze of confusion and struggle.
Hovering in the air, his gaze was firmly drawn to the scene before him.
Unlike the uniformly female figures of the Iris Feather Kingdom, several tall, well-built male lumberjacks were carrying logs across the distant snow.
The rough chatter of the male woodcutters, mingled with the crisp thud of axes striking tree trunks, startled a flock of rooks into flight.
****
Next, Ling Qinghe stepped out of the rift, walking on air amidst the falling snow.
She gazed into the distance, at the wisps of smoke curling from the herders’ tents, and a ripple stirred in her dark, beautiful eyes beneath her soft, airy bangs.
Nine years ago, at the tender age of twelve, she, her nine-year-old sister, and Xia Naxin, who was two years her junior, were secretly sent into the Iris Feather Kingdom by the Witches’ Coven.
They settled in Tanhua City with forged identities to study and grow up.
Now, breathing the crisp, free air of the outside world, the days spent operating behind the scenes within the kingdom suddenly felt like a long, drawn-out dream.
“The blizzards outside are still more to my liking,” she murmured softly.
Her fingertips caught a snowflake, allowing it to melt in her palm.
****
Following closely, Xia Naxin rushed into Silvia’s embrace.
This was Xia Naxin’s first uninhibited approach since her beloved’s gender was exposed and their forced separation.
Silvia stiffened for a moment, but eventually, he slowly wrapped his arms around her trembling back.
“Look,” Xia Naxin said, her voice trembling.
She raised a hand, pointing into the distance.
There, men and women drove reindeer sleds side by side, and boys and girls chased each other across the snow, their laughter piercing the biting wind.
“What do you think? Isn’t it quite novel?”
“It is, a little…” Silvia admitted, unable to hide his shock.
It was true: regardless of gender, everyone lived freely under the sun, stretching their bodies without constraint.
“Via, what I want to say is that in this land—no, in this world—gender is never a cage.”
“Oh, but before, you still…” Silvia teased with a smirk.
He was referring to the time Naxin had been disgusted and walked away, a memory he still held a grudge over.
“Oh, come on~ That doesn’t stop me from liking women, does it? Hmph, anyway, you’ll be a woman again soon. Don’t worry, I won’t mind you as you are now…”
Xia Naxin pouted playfully, burying her face in Silvia’s neck. She wanted to warm Via’s heart with love, to prevent him from seeking death any longer.
The wind and snow ruffled her loose hair as Xia Naxin gazed at the horizon.
Suddenly inspired, she murmured softly.
“Nine years… Ah, indeed, youthful black hair turns white by evening; right and wrong, success and failure, all become empty dreams.”
Her voice carried both relief and wistfulness.
Then, Xia Naxin lifted her head, her fingertips tracing Silvia’s angular face. Only his purple eyes remained exactly as she remembered them.
‘The girl she once was, though now a young man, would soon return to her original form.’
‘Yes, Ling Qinghe would never go back on her word.’
Xia Naxin’s cerulean eyes still reflected the starlight of their first meeting.
“But at least for now, Via, we are both free.”
Her voice was thick with a choked laugh.
“I will wait for you… no matter how long it takes, I am willing to wait for you to become that girl who laughs under the sun again.”
With that, Xia Naxin pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.
The wind of the snowfield swept past Xia Naxin’s high ponytail, carrying the scent of freedom, and bore her tender vow to distant lands.
****
A moment later.
Ling Cheyin leaped out of the spatial rift, landing beside Ling Qinghe, her fingers tugging at the hem of her sister’s plain white dress.
“Sister, are we going back? If we do… how long will that take?”
The howling north wind ruffled the short hair behind her ears, the tips dusted with tiny snowflakes.
Hearing this, Ling Qinghe gently rubbed her sister’s anxious little face, her tone laced with a hint of teasing.
“What’s wrong? You’ve only just arrived, and you’re already missing Qiye?”
As her sister spoke, Ling Cheyin nodded, then indignantly pulled out her phone.
On the screen’s chat window, a ‘green essay’—a failed message bubble—was marked with a red indicator.
[Message sent, but rejected by the recipient… Qiye has enabled friend verification. You are not her friend yet. Please send a friend request first…]
“It’s all because Qiye blocked me…”
With no way to chat online and no chance to meet in person, Ling Cheyin was naturally a little displeased.
However.
Ling Qinghe drew her sister into an embrace, glancing at Silvia, who was still locked in Xia Naxin’s arms not far away.
She then softly spoke to her.
“Little sister, what do you think of Silvia?”
The little witch looked up immediately upon hearing this.
Just as she was about to retort about how disgusting men were, the image of Silvia in her female form flashed into her mind first.
That was Zhennu Yibai, a woman adored by the populace, who had captivated the entire Iris Feather Kingdom.
In Ling Cheyin’s heart, there was still a trace of admiration.
So, she nodded, deciding it was acceptable.
Seeing this, Ling Qinghe smiled meaningfully and whispered into her sister’s ear.
“Then, would you like to ‘enjoy’ Zhennu Yibai with me? Once I use gender-bending magic to… restore her body…”
At this, the little witch’s eyes widened.
“Can we really do that?!”
Ling Qinghe’s lips curved into a smile, and a similar glint of greed flashed in both their eyes.
“As long as you don’t make trouble and are obedient, there will be plenty of opportunities.”
“Alright, don’t worry, Sister.”
Ling Cheyin gazed at Silvia’s retreating back, already imagining.
‘How delicate and compliant she would be once she returned to her female form, under the control of their sisterly duo.’
****
A moment later.
The lead witch briefly bid farewell to Ling Qinghe.
“Sister He, we plan to return to our base of operations.”
“We need to report this disastrous failure to the organization… not a single one infiltrated successfully, and Baishou was captured… Phew~ I know…”
Before the lead witch could continue, Ling Qinghe raised a hand to stop her words, her tone calm.
“Mm, there’s no need to blame yourselves. Just return to where you came from.”
Seeing the lead witch hesitate, she added.
“Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. No one expected the Southern Desert Wall to gain a ‘self-healing’ characteristic. I will explain the situation to the organization.”
“As for me… I have more important matters to attend to, so I won’t be joining you.”
The lead witch paused for a moment, then bowed her head in salute before turning to beckon her companions.
It was time to depart.
The eleven witches’ figures vanished into the snowy forest, quickly disappearing into its depths.
****
Meanwhile.
In mid-air, the crimson mist within the spatial rift receded.
Lina was the last to step out of the rift, starlight from the spatial turbulence still clinging to her golden hair, her blood-gem-like eyes scanning her surroundings.
Her gaze finally settled on Ling Qinghe.
“The blood teleportation array is completely closed. It cannot be reopened for a while.”
“That’s enough… Let’s go. First, we’ll find a place to settle, then we’ll discuss our next destination.”