Hearing his son's cry, the reprimand on the tip of Li Ji's tongue died, immediately replaced by urgent questioning.
"Who did you say you were looking for?"
Li Xun was so anxious that tears streamed down his face. His words were a jumbled mess, and his small body shivered uncontrollably from the cold.
"I want to find Mother! Mother left! Mother, don't go! WAAAH!"
Li Ji noticed his son's small, pale face, and his senses finally started to return.
He set the boy on the ground, took off his gray-white crane robe, and wrapped Li Xun completely within it.
Li Ji bent down, stared into his son's eyes, and asked, word by word.
"Did you just see your mother?"
Li Xun nodded vigorously, tears rolling down his cheeks.
He pointed to the nearby lake, wanting to say something, but he was so frozen that his teeth chattered uncontrollably. Even his tongue felt stiff, and his words were muffled and unclear.
No one else could understand what he was saying.
