He gently pushed the stone statue a few times with his hand. Gazing at the girl's tightly pressed lips and cold, stern expression, he couldn't help but feel a sense of bewilderment, as if he had been transported through time and space. Back then, the underground palace was still intact, with a lofty dome and vast space. There must have been some incomprehensible form of illumination, making the entire area as bright as day. Countless giant eggs on the ground began to hatch, oozing with viscous liquid. As the shells cracked, bizarrely shaped creatures crawled out one after another, joining the fierce battle. Massive war blades danced through the air, and unknown weapons sent flashes of light shooting across the hall’s walls, causing waves of collapse. On the surface, the majestic palace was engulfed in flames and slaughter, beginning to crumble in a sea of blood. Amidst the swirling figures, the girl raised her weapon to face the enemy, only to be turned into stone, forever unable to move again. Then, countless seasons of fallen leaves decayed into earth, flowers bloomed and withered, seas changed into mulberry fields, and time finally settled into this seemingly eternal figure, silently recording the passage of a thousand years...

Heh... Not knowing what he was feeling, he let out a soft chuckle, reached out to brush the dust from the girl's cheek, and took a deep breath. Compared to her, how lucky he was.

"I wonder what this world is like now... If I can survive here, and one day uncover the secrets behind all this, I will definitely come back to revive you..."

He smiled gently, making a promise.

Then, as spring passed and autumn came...

When the winter snowflakes, thick as goose feathers, began to fall, it had already been more than seven months since he first arrived in this world.

On what was once an empty meadow, backed against a small mound, there now stood a thatched hut that could hardly be called beautiful. The thick bamboo stalks crisscrossed to form a frame, covered with all kinds of thick leaves. Under the blanket of pure white snow, the hut looked rather substantial and picturesque—this was the result of more than three months of work by William Carter.

At this moment, dressed in thick leafy clothes, William Carter was carrying a bundle of dry firewood toward a small cave beside the original mountain cave. This was something William Carter had dug out himself. Rather than a cave, it was more like a brick kiln, because there was a fire burning inside. The fire was carefully tended and never allowed to go out, for fear that the lighter might suddenly fail one day, and he would not be able to make fire by drilling wood. The sky was still gray, the sun hiding behind the eastern mountains, not yet risen. William Carter was afraid the fire would go out, so he hurried over to add more wood.

He removed the rough wooden plank slanting over the large opening, carefully tossed the firewood inside, then used a long stick to sweep the ashes over most of the new wood, so the fire wouldn’t burn too fiercely, but also wouldn’t go out. After carefully finishing all this, a cloak covered in broad leaves was silently draped over his back, followed by a light, melodious voice: "Will..."

"Grace, why don’t you sleep a little longer?"

Reaching back to embrace the obedient figure, Little Grace's still slightly drowsy face appeared before him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

"You weren’t there..."

Little Grace's face was filled with deep longing. After more than seven months of intimate life together, she now carried an even more alluring air of maturity as a married woman, yet her innocent and pure nature had not diminished in the slightest. William Carter smiled back, holding her contentedly, but then his expression changed.

"You’re wearing so little again—aren’t you cold?"

At the moment, she was only wearing a thin set of cloth clothes—one of the few outfits William Carter had brought to this world. Since the leaf-made clothes were a bit rough, William Carter had turned most of those clothes into undergarments, insisting that Little Grace wear them no matter what. Last night, Little Grace had slept in these two pieces, and now she was still only wearing them, which meant she had run out as soon as she got out of bed.

Snowflakes as thick as goose feathers were still drifting down from the sky, and running out in so little clothing really made William Carter a bit angry. This wasn’t the first time. Little Grace’s body was strong, so she didn’t feel the cold as much. In the more than ten years before William Carter arrived, she had always spent winters in those two thin leaf dresses. When it got unbearably cold, the two wolves and she would huddle together in the cave, waiting for clear weather. Sometimes, when her body felt unwell, she would just tough it out. The things Little Grace told William Carter after she learned to speak always made him feel a deep sense of sorrow. That she had survived those ten-plus years was truly a miracle.

So, ever since the weather turned cold, William Carter had made Little Grace wear thicker clothes, but she often forgot. Like now—worried that William Carter would be cold, she forgot to put on her own warm clothes. Seeing William Carter's expression, she couldn’t help but look embarrassed, sticking out her tongue and saying timidly, "A little... I forgot..."

It wasn’t that she didn’t feel the cold, just that she was used to toughing it out. As long as she could bear it, she would often "forget." William Carter glared at her reproachfully. Looking at her heaving chest and her bare feet gently rubbing against the white snow, for some reason, a desire stirred in his lower abdomen again.

Of course, maybe it was just a normal morning reaction... he told himself.

With a soft sigh, he wrapped the leafy cloak that had been on his back around Little Grace, then slipped his right hand under her knees and picked her up. Little Grace wrapped her arms around his neck, giving a cute smile, looking as petite as a child in his embrace.