iceberg

Three years ago——

When I woke up, I'd lost two years of my memory, and my fingers were bandaged. My master said it was the backlash of the poison I'd been using to treat my leg. The excruciating pain caused me to rub my fingers against the wall. I believed this broken leg was a lifelong pain, and the price I paid was justified. I was simply curious about what kind of poison could cause memory loss. My master simply said it was the king of poisons, something he'd always disdained, but seeing my leg ailment, he took the plunge. Remembering my master's usual disdain for poisons, I stopped asking. But my memory was gone, and there felt like a void in my heart...

Until the first snow. Snow always makes me feel inexplicably desolate. It was then that I heard a humming, a tune so familiar that my heart tightened, yet I couldn't place its origin. Looking up, I saw a woman wielding the Phoenix Blood Sword, cold and radiant, like the perpetually melting snow atop Mount Tianshan. My master said she was the female dragon goddess, Shangguan Yan, a disciple of Master Gumu Tian. Master Gumu Tian's disciple... I remembered that Master Gumu Tian had come to Mount Tianshan ten years ago, claiming to have brought a female disciple with him, but why didn't I remember her then? She had come with Master Gumu Tian, ​​but I never seemed to notice her then. That's right! Back then, I didn't want to look up and face the glances of pity or disgust. Now, I'm a renowned "Hua Tuo" with the means to be arrogant, but back then, I was penniless... Why are my memories of that winter so hazy? I only remember Master Gumu Tian's grand-disciple coming, and then, what then? Could it be that the side effects of the poison are more than just the memory of those two years?

As I pondered this, I couldn't help but meet the dragon goddess's gaze again. She looked at me with an unusual expression, devoid of the usual awe or pity. Instead, it held a heavy understanding. I blurted out, "In my dream, there seemed to be a girl whose name and appearance I don't know, humming this song."

She fell silent. Far from dissuading me, that silence felt like a wall I desperately needed to scale. Watching her cold, resolute back, I unconsciously tightened the golden threads of my fingertips. The slight irritation of rejection was quickly replaced by a more curious feeling—a clarity and excitement, like being pierced by an ice spike. "What a goddess dragon..." I muttered to myself. "I'm as skilled as Hua Tuo in saving lives, and so many in the martial arts world long for me. And it's you, who won't even offer a soft word." The vast void left by the loss of my memories was now filled with a sliver of empty sand and gravel, thanks to the appearance of this iceberg.

I learned her life story from my master. It turns out she, like me, was a forsaken person. Her cold pride, like mine, was perhaps a shield against the ruthlessness of the world. I even felt a certain admiration for a woman shouldering the heavy responsibility of restoring her nation. My master, perceiving my thoughts, warned me, "Gu Mutian is consumed by love and intent on marrying the sword's master. Do not harbor any other thoughts about Shangguan Yan."

Why? Why can't I, Ouyang Mingri, ever get what I want? Family happiness, a healthy body, even this figure before me, which fills me with pity and curiosity, are all destined by so-called fate? At night, I roar to the starry sky: "Why can't I ever get what I want? The family happiness I want, my health, even the girl I just had a crush on, has been betrothed to the Dragon Soul Sword Master by my uncle-master?" I refuse to accept! How could my sincerity succumb to the pull of that ruthless sword? My pride will never allow me to surrender before the battle. I began to heal her wounds, mix her medicine, and even compose music for her. She accepted everything, but never reciprocated my feelings, always answering with silence.

Yet, this silence, far from discouraging me, was like a profound puzzle, completely igniting my desire to conquer. I silently thought, "I want to see if this iceberg of yours ever melts." I reveled in her most helpless moments, like a god descending to resolve her crisis. Seeing the fleeting shock and gratitude in her eyes, a secret pleasure welled up within me—"If it weren't for me, the renowned 'Dragon Goddess' would have long since withered away." Her silence was her hardest shell, and the very fortress I most desired to break.