Fishing Alone Through a Thousand Rivers of Snow - Chapter 3

The next morning, as I ate breakfast, several of the family’s troublemakers were hauled before me. They knelt on the floor, their heads forced down so firmly they could not lift them.

I calmly ate the fish on my plate.

The shackles around Bai Yujing’s ankles had already been sawn off, and she had been invited to join me for breakfast. Now her ruby-red eyes were fixed on the people kneeling on the floor, blazing with fury.

Clearly, she recognized her kidnappers.

She had not seen them, but beastkin could identify others by scent.

Without looking up at anyone, I continued eating.

“Bai Yujing, they aren’t going anywhere. Be patient and finish your breakfast first.”

She snapped back to herself and turned to look at me, apparently unaccustomed to my composure.

The atmosphere was bristling with hostility, and she could not understand how I could remain so calm and keep eating.

I glanced at her.

In the morning sunlight, her soft, fluffy white hair looked as adorable as a cloud. Her skin was so pale it seemed to glow from within, and even her eyelashes were snowy white, making her red eyes look all the more vivid—like fresh blood.

She resembled a sacred beast of the snow that had assumed human form and strayed into the mortal world.

Both her beauty and her bearing were extraordinary.

The troublemakers on the floor had obviously understood one thing: with my exacting tastes, if they dared put an Alpha in my bed whose looks displeased me, they would not live to see the next morning.

Bai Yujing ate her breakfast indignantly.

As I watched her, I suddenly reached toward one of her wolf ears.

As always, she nimbly dodged me.

I stared at the pair of ears. Did beastkin ears have some sort of danger sense? Every time, before I could even touch them, they moved out of the way on their own.

She had to evade me, eat her breakfast, and spare enough attention to glare at her kidnappers.

What a busy woman.

I laughed.

After breakfast, the servants cleared the dishes and brought us tea. Bai Yujing did not so much as glance at her cup. She kept glaring at the men who had abducted her.

Holding my teacup, I took a sip. “All right. Who kidnapped you?”

She had been holding herself back for what felt like forever. At last, she shot to her feet and pointed excitedly at the two people in the middle.

“Them! I recognize their scents!”

I gave the pair a sidelong glance.

“You’re certain?”

“Absolutely! I couldn’t possibly be mistaken!”

She turned to me. “If you don’t believe me, test me another way. I promise I’ll identify them every time!”

“I never said I didn’t believe you.”

I signaled to the bodyguards. They immediately dragged everyone else away, leaving only the two accused kidnappers.

The pair hurried to defend themselves. “Family Head, we were only following orders! Besides, we did it for your own good! We chose this beastkin after an exhaustive search. She’s a top-tier Alpha, and we checked her compatibility with you—it’s as high as ninety-eight percent! No one in recent years has been a better match!”

I listened quietly and took another sip of tea.

“How many times have I told you that I do not need an Alpha? Your inability to comprehend plain language has become a terrible headache.”

“Today, you dared to put a living person in my bedroom by force. I don’t even want to imagine what you’ll dare to do tomorrow.”

“What is the punishment for disobeying the Family Head? It seems to have slipped my mind.”

I looked toward the steward standing nearby, eyes lowered and expression perfectly neutral.

“You tell me.”

The steward answered evenly, “The loss of one finger.”

With that, they uncovered the silver tray in their hands. A razor-sharp dagger rested upon it.

Smiling, I picked up the blade and tossed it in front of the two offenders.

“Do it yourselves. Don’t trouble anyone else.”

Their faces went deathly pale.

—

The two men were dragged away, howling in pain, and their severed fingers were cleaned up.

I did not watch the bloody spectacle.

Bai Yujing, however, never looked away. She watched her kidnappers receive their punishment with her own eyes, and only then did the fury in her gaze slowly subside.

She turned to me. “…Thank you.”

I set down my teacup.

“There’s no need. You suffered this ordeal because of me. Now we’re even.”

I rose and told the steward, “Take her back.”

Without waiting for Bai Yujing to reply, I walked into the house.

The steward stepped in front of her, blocking her view as she watched me leave.

“Miss Bai, this way, please.”