The biting air, like crystalline ice-water, flooded her lungs, carrying with it the fresh scent of pine needles and snowflakes.
Lin Youyou took a deep breath, squinting contentedly, her long eyelashes instantly frosting with tiny white crystals.
Before her lay an unspoiled kingdom of ice and snow. Majestic mountains, draped in thick silver-white, shimmered with a diamond-like brilliance under the thin sunlight.
For an art student, this was undoubtedly a treasure trove of color and light, a perfect escape from the city's clamor and a superb place to seek inspiration.
"Youyou, are you sure you want to go there alone?" The voice of her best friend, Su Yuqing, crackled over the walkie-talkie, laced with worry and static.
"I heard the signal gets really bad further in, and the weather forecast says there might be strong winds tonight."
Lin Youyou pressed the talk button, her tone light yet firm. "Relax, Qingqing! I'm just going to check out that valley ahead. The snowscape there is just too amazing. I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if I didn't sketch it."
"Look at all this gear—professional grade!" She patted her bulging backpack, which held her sketching tools, a simple tent, enough food and water, and a first-aid kit for emergencies. "I promise, I'll come right back after getting some material. I'll definitely meet you at the camp before dark. Don't worry!"
"...Alright, alright. I know you're pushing hard for your graduation project. But you have to be careful, pay attention to your safety, and keep in touch!" Unable to persuade her otherwise, Su Yuqing could only reiterate her warnings.
"Got it, Mother Su! I'll paint you the most beautiful sunrise over the snow-capped mountains!" Lin Youyou ended the call with a laugh, carefully tucked the walkie-talkie back into her coat pocket, adjusted the position of the drawing board on her back, and, leaning on her trekking pole, trudged step by step away from the camp, heading towards the deeper, more silent, and more magnificent expanse of the snowfield.
With graduation approaching, her series for the final project still lacked one pivotal, anchor piece.
What she wanted to capture wasn't ordinary scenery, but the most primitive, pure, and even slightly dangerous, breathtaking beauty of nature.
This silent snowfield enveloped her, the only sounds being the crunch of snow underfoot and her own shallow breathing. A feeling of solitude and immensity wrapped around her—this was precisely the soul she wanted to express in her painting.
She found a rock that was sheltered from the wind and offered a broad view, brushed off the loose snow, set up a small folding stool, and took out her sketchbook and charcoal pencil.
Her fingertips soon grew red and stiff from the cold, but she paid it no mind. Her gaze swept intently, capturing the lines of the distant ridges, the texture of the nearby snow slopes, and the subtle shifts of light and shadow on the snow. The charcoal pencil whispered across the paper, its fluid lines beginning to outline the skeleton and spirit of the snowy mountains.
Time slipped away quietly in the focus of creation.
The color of the sky gradually shifted from a bright azure to a soft gold as the sun began to set, casting a warm, gilded layer over the endless snow.
Lin Youyou put down her charcoal pencil, examining the emerging landscape on the paper with satisfaction, her heart filled with the joy of accomplishment.
She stretched her stiff neck and was just about to pack up and start back.
Right then, a sudden, bitterly cold gust of wind swept down without warning, whipping up ground snow and pelting her face and body.
The sky seemed to darken instantly. The once-clear outlines of the distant mountains began to blur, swallowed by a gradually spreading gray-white mist.
Lin Youyou's heart tightened. She stood up immediately.
She pulled out her phone. The top left corner of the screen clearly displayed "No Service."
She quickly grabbed her walkie-talkie, tuning it to the channel she used with Su Yuqing.
"Qingqing? Can you hear me? Qingqing!" She called out several times, but was met only with an unsettling silence and the persistent crackle of static.
The signal had indeed cut out, just as predicted.
A thread of panic, like a cold snake, crept up her spine.
She swiftly stuffed her sketching tools back into her backpack, zipped up her windbreaker tightly, and put on her windproof hat and snow goggles. She had to leave immediately, to get back to the relatively safe camp before the weather deteriorated completely.
However, the path she had taken was now churned up by the wind and snow, becoming blurred and hard to distinguish.
Her footprints were being quickly covered by fresh snowfall and wind-blown granules. An endless expanse of white surrounded her, the scenery beginning to look monotonous, devoid of clear landmarks.
She walked forward with difficulty,, relying on memory and her sense of direction, but the feeling of uncertainty grew stronger with each step.
The wind grew louder, howling like countless beasts on the wild. Visibility dropped sharply; beyond ten meters was a chaotic curtain of snow.
The low temperature mercilessly stole her body's warmth. Despite her heavy winter clothes, the cold seeped in bit by bit.
"Don't panic, Lin Youyou. Stay calm!" she whispered to herself, forcing herself to stop and look around. Moving blindly would only drain her precious energy and could lead to her being completely lost.
The most important thing now was to find a place to shelter from this increasingly violent storm, to wait for it to ease or for daybreak.
She struggled to make out her surroundings, her eyes searching frantically through the blizzard.
Finally, at the base of a snow-covered cliff to her right front, she vaguely spotted a dark opening.
The entrance was partially obscured by several large rocks and hanging icicles, extremely difficult to notice unless one was very close.
A flicker of hope rose within her.
Without hesitation, Lin Youyou immediately struggled towards it.
Each step sank deep into the knee-high snow, requiring immense effort. The fierce wind almost knocked her off her feet. Snow granules hit her goggles and clothes like sand, making sharp, pattering sounds.
The short distance of a few dozen meters took her nearly ten minutes to cover.
When she finally, breathlessly, pushed aside the icicles at the entrance and stepped into the relatively calm darkness, she almost felt drained.
The inside of the cave was deeper and somewhat more spacious than it had appeared from outside. Light filtering in from the entrance faintly illuminated a small area near the mouth.
The air inside was cold, but compared to the knife-like wind outside, it was a rare haven. The ground was uneven rock, covered with a thin layer of dust and gravel.
She shrugged off the heavy backpack, leaning against the cave wall to rest for a moment, calming her racing heart and breath. Temporarily out of immediate danger, her taut nerves relaxed slightly, followed by a deeper weariness and wariness of the unknown environment.
However, just as she was about to check if the deeper part of the cave was safe, an extremely faint, yet impossible to ignore, scent rode a current of even colder air flowing from the depths of the cave and drifted into her nostrils.
It wasn't the smell of rock or dust, nor the freshness of ice and snow.
It was a thick, cloying, metallic scent of blood.
Lin Youyou's body froze instantly. Her recently relaxed nerves tightened again, her heart pounding like a drum.
In the depths of this remote mountain cave, how could there be such a fresh smell of blood?
She subconsciously tightened her grip on the trekking pole, her knuckles turning white.
An injured animal? A bear? A snow leopard? Or... something more dangerous?
Outside the cave, the roar of the blizzard served as a backdrop, reminding her that going out now would be suicide.
And inside the cave, an unknown danger lurked in the darkness, the scent of blood like a silent invitation, or a fatal warning.
She stood at the boundary between light and dark, caught in a dilemma.
Should she risk venturing deeper to investigate, or retreat to the cave entrance and endure the torment of the storm?