Erhart pulled a rope from his pocket, looped it around a pine tree at the cliff's edge, and leaped down, the rope clutched tight in his hands.

Below the cliff lay a seemingly bottomless abyss. Yet when Erhart reached the bottom, he discovered that the cave where the Dragon Lady had saved him before was right beneath the cliff.

He rushed into the cave and shouted, "Dragon Lady, are you here? It's me, Erhart!" His voice echoed through the deep, dark cavern, but there was no reply.

Erhart groped his way forward through the pitch-black cave. At last, he reached the spot where he had awoken the last time — beside a dim lamp. The Dragon Lady, now in human form, lay with her eyes weakly closed on a bed made of pine needles.

Erhart rushed to her side. "Dragon Lady, are you OK?" The Dragon Lady struggled to open her eyes. Seeing it was Erhart, she frowned and said, "It's you. You must have settled your dispute with your uncle by now."

“These stubborn hunters come to pester me every year around this time. Their cannons grow ever stronger, the mountain's climate is warming, the ice and snow are melting, and my power grows weaker and weaker. They chop down the pine trees and keep planting crops that will never grow. ”

“Today's blast has damaged my strength once more — I had to return to human form, and I won't be able to turn back into a dragon for a long time. I can only stay here now. I just hope they don't find me." Erhart said earnestly, "Don't worry — I will protect you, Dragon Lady."

The Dragon Lady sighed. "Very well. If you truly wish to help me, then go to the tallest snow mountain in the west and pick the thousand-year snow lotus from its peak. Only then can I restore my power over ice and snow and resist the hunters' attacks."

Erhart set off without delay. Before he left, the Dragon Lady placed a crystal necklace around his neck, made from a shard of thousand-year ice that would never melt. "Wear this necklace, and you will glide across ice and snow as swiftly as skating."

Fortunately, with the Dragon Lady's power weakened, the endless heavy snow had finally stopped, and the sky cleared. Wearing the Dragon Lady's ice necklace, Erhart quickly reached the foot of the western mountain and found the path to the summit.

After hours of arduous climbing, he at last arrived at the peak. At the mountain's summit, several monuments carved from ancient ice surrounded a silver snow lotus that glowed with rainbow light.

Erhart was spellbound by its beauty. After a moment, he hastily plucked the flower, tucked it into his pocket, and raced back to the cave as fast as he could.

Erhart burst into the cave, covered in sweat, and handed the snow lotus to the Dragon Lady. She looked at him in surprise. "You were even faster than I expected."

Just as she was about to eat it, an arrow knocked the flower away. A silhouetted figure in armor was illuminated by the dim light.

Virginia strode in, bow in hand, and said coldly, 'I am deeply disappointed in you, the Prince. To think you would side with the Dragons against us.'