Finding a Home on the Road to Escape the Famine

In a time of famine and chaos, refugees scatter, and human life is worth no more than grass.

Shen Qinghe repeatedly finds herself in dire straits on the road to escape the famine. Fortunately, Lu Yan, a hunter from the deep mountains, comes to her rescue and takes her to a thatched hut in the woods to shelter from the storm.

Lu Yan is taciturn, formidable, and used to keeping to himself. But as he spends day after day with Shen Qinghe, he gradually lowers his cold, guarded defenses. Clever, resilient, kind, and steady, she not only manages their daily lives and plans for their livelihood, but also stands shoulder to shoulder with him in times of danger, becoming the warmest light in the frigid mountains.

The two take in several displaced families and band together to survive amid the chaos. They build homes, clear fields and stockpile grain, then fortify their settlement, turning a deserted stretch of woodland into a safe place to live: Cold Mountain Stronghold.

But there is no peace in a chaotic age. Bandits and criminals repeatedly attack, coveting their food, homes, and women. Lu Yan no longer fights alone. He leads everyone in training to defend the stronghold and preparing its defenses, while Shen Qinghe protects it with her crossbow and steadies everyone's hearts, standing by him through life and death.

After several bloody battles, they drive back powerful enemies and welcome in able-bodied men who have lost their way but are ready to pledge their loyalty. The little stronghold grows ever more secure, and its people grow closer. From being displaced to building a home, from struggling alone to standing together, Shen Qinghe and Lu Yan fall for each other amid the clash of blades. They give their hearts to build a life together and use their strength to protect their home.

In the depths of winter, with the land sealed in ice and snow, they build an unyielding stronghold and keep its hearth fires burning.

The times may be troubled, but as long as they have someone by their side and a home in their hearts, they can face the snow and wind, fear no enemy, and build a peaceful life of their own, one step at a time.