Snowy Night

A moonless, snowy night. The freezing wind howled, whimpering through the pitch-black mountains like mountain phantoms. A gaping hole pierced the roof of the ruined house in the mountain village. Snowflakes drifted down through it, while a bright-pattern lamp on the wall and a crackling campfire illuminated the dilapidated room. Xu Yuan sat on a woolen blanket, cloaked in a dark brown sable robe, turning a half-foot-tall black ceramic jar in his hands. Inside the jar was the late-night snack for him and Ran Qingmo. A white blaze bird, already chopped into chunks of meat. Ran Qingmo had hunted it yesterday. Though small in size, its strength had been far from trivial. With Xu Yuan's current cultivation, ten of him would likely be no match for this bird, which was less than half a foot long. That, however, did nothing to stop it from serving as a prime culinary ingredient. To the clinking of jars and vials, Xu Yuan retrieved various seasonings from his Sumeru ring and added them into the black jar one after another. Once finished, he capped the jar and set it on a rack assembled over the campfire to simmer and marinate over high heat. The flesh of a white blaze bird was firm and tight; only through this method could the flavor seep in thoroughly, making it easier to roast over the fire later. Having done all this, Xu Yuan got up, went outside to wash his hands in the pristine snow, and immediately retreated into the blanket to sit. A bitter winter in the twelfth lunar month was truly freezing. Though he had stepped onto the path of cultivation, those below the Fourth Rank were mortal all the same. He felt a touch of nostalgia for that Flame Spirit Fluid from before. Even if it came with an aphrodisiac side effect, its ability to dispel cold had been top-notch. Fortunately, he had the Sumeru ring to store all manner of belongings. Aside from the campfire, the ruined house was also warmed by a brazier inscribed with a flame-gathering array. The simmering and marination took some time. Gradually, as Xu Yuan gazed out at the snow-blanketed abandoned mountain village, his mind began to wander. After gathering the bones of Old Man Gui, burying him, and erecting a tombstone, Xu Yuan and Ran Qingmo had journeyed north to search for the hidden realm. It had taken them a month and a half to finally reach the Guanyin Mountain Range where the realm was situated. And then, a very serious problem presented itself. They couldn't find the entrance to the hidden realm. In Cangyuan, the Guanyin Mountain Range had consisted of merely a dozen small maps. In reality, it stretched thousands of li from west to east, with its highest peak towering over thirty thousand feet. Xu Yuan had actually anticipated this. Back then, the cave dwelling in the Wanxing Mountain Range had been easy to find because Hanging Sky Cliff on Tianmen Mountain was extremely recognizable. A hidden realm tucked away in vast mountains naturally wouldn't be so simple. Using knowledge from his previous life, Xu Yuan could roughly determine that the entrance lay in the northwest direction of the Guanyin Mountain Range, beside a river flowing down from the mountain peak. For the rest, Xu Yuan had originally intended to rely on Ran Qingmo's absurdly high Luck and formidable cultivation to locate it. Following the river, Xu Yuan and Ran Qingmo had found this long-abandoned village to settle down in. And then... And then half a month had passed. Ran Qingmo did indeed return with spoils every day she went out. Every night, the giant ice block brought back some "souvenir." Either century-old spirit herbs, precious ores, or prized demonic beasts suited for medicinal cuisine. The lineage of a lucky king lived up to its name, but the problem was that the Chancellor's Manor already had plenty of such things. What he wanted was the secret technique inside the hidden realm. With that secret technique, he would be able to cultivate automatically, twenty-four hours a day. At the thought, Xu Yuan sighed and reeled in his drifting thoughts. Judging by the time, she should be returning soon... While simmering and marinating the blaze bird and waiting for Ran Qingmo to return, time slipped quietly by. About half an hour later, rustling suddenly sounded outside the house. *Crunch—* *Crunch—* It was the crisp sound of boots treading on snow. Hearing it, Xu Yuan smiled faintly, but then his brows furrowed. Because there was more than one set of footsteps crunching in the snow. Don't tell me this giant ice block picked up a living person and brought them back today? Just as the thought crossed his mind, an unfamiliar female voice spoke up. It sounded very young, perhaps even a bit tender: "Hey, Blockhead, why did you stop? The snow is falling so hard tonight—hurry inside and take shelter!" Then, a male voice sounded outside: "There's someone inside." "So what if there's someone? This house is the only intact one left in Li Family Village. Senior Brother Qi and the others mostly spend the night here anyway," the young woman said nonchalantly. "If there's someone inside, we have to get their permission first," the man said. "..." The woman went silent for a moment before asking tentatively, "Well... if he doesn't agree, where do you plan to stay tonight?" The man pondered briefly and replied, "There's a cave ten li ahead." "Ten li?!" The woman's voice pitched upward slightly. "If you want to go, go yourself! I'm definitely not walking any further. With snow this heavy..." As the young woman spoke, her voice drew closer to the ruined house. A second of silence passed. Then came the woman's slightly flustered and annoyed voice: "Li Erzhu, what are you pulling me for!" Li Erzhu insisted stubbornly, "We must get his permission first." There was a brief scuffle. Seemingly unable to break free, the woman shouted angrily toward the room flickering with firelight: "Hey, you inside! Stop playing dead! That blockhead spoke loud enough—you must have heard him, right?" "..." Well, she probably wasn't someone the giant ice block had picked up. Xu Yuan didn't reply immediately, however. Judging from their conversation, they seemed quite familiar with this place. Moreover, anyone able to travel mountain paths on such a snowy night had to be a cultivator, and certainly not a weak one. After a moment of thought, Xu Yuan said in a measured voice, "Come in." As his voice carried out, Li Erzhu immediately released the woman's wrist and replied, "Thank you." The crunching of snow sounded once more, and two figures appeared outside the doorway. Xu Yuan also got a clear look at their appearances. The man wore a light blue, unlined martial outfit, carrying a sword on his back alongside a bulging cloth bundle. He looked to be in his early twenties, with ordinary features and an honest, down-to-earth demeanor. The woman was dressed in a red cheongsam-like outfit beneath a heavy fur cloak, also carrying a sword on her back. Her features appeared exceedingly youthful and pure, yet the chest of the cheongsam was remarkably full. After entering, she patted off the accumulated snow, causing an alluring sway. Xu Yuan stared at the two of them and gently extended his intent-soul, murmuring inwardly a moment later. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he didn't use his intent-soul to pry deeply into their cultivation, merely probing the surrounding Source Qi fluctuations. In the wilderness, casually inspecting someone's cultivation was practically equivalent to saying, *Draw your weapon, I'm going to take you down.* Yet this brief probe revealed something unusual. The woman was quite normal, radiating waves of qi from circulating a technique to ward off the cold; going by the fluctuations, her cultivation was roughly comparable to his. However, the man was rather odd. In weather this freezing, he wore only a single unlined layer, yet there were no Source Qi fluctuations of circulating a technique to resist the cold. Could he be in the Flesh Integration Realm? Only at Flesh Integration could one be immune to severe cold and scorching heat; Ran Qingmo was just like that. Ever since embarking on this journey, Xu Yuan had encountered many things. Travelers seeking lodging in the dead of night, refugees fleeing disaster, and he and Ran Qingmo had even run into bandits staging nighttime ambushes. Yet a high-ranking cultivator—this was the first Xu Yuan had met since leaving Jingjiang Prefecture. A Fourth Rank Flesh Integration around twenty years old had to be a genius from some sect, and there happened to be a Wanxiang Sect near the Guanyin Mountain Range. While Xu Yuan sized the pair up, they were similarly sizing him up. A faint hint of marvel flashed in the woman's eyes. Li Erzhu's eyes, meanwhile, were filled with vigilance. The scene before them was downright bizarre. One half of the room was dilapidated, while the other was opulent. The bright-pattern lamp on the wall, the tiger skin rug covering nearly half the floor, the incense drifting wisps of light blue smoke, the red sandalwood tea tray and precious porcelain cups, and the two figures seated on futons... Li Family Village had been slaughtered ten years ago. To see such luxurious furnishings in a deserted village was profoundly wrong. Li Erzhu shifted sideways to shield the woman behind him, reaching back to grasp the hilt of his sword. After staring at Xu Yuan in silence for two seconds, he asked, "Are you... human?" "..." After a few breaths of quiet, Xu Yuan pointed a finger at himself, a strange expression in his eyes. "You suspect I'm a ghost?" Even without Ran Qingmo present, Xu Yuan wasn't particularly alarmed. After all, he had an old master by his side. Although ever since the journey through the ghost mist, this old master had spent most of his time brooding inside the soul ring and only popped out occasionally to say a couple of words... He truly was there. Li Erzhu nodded. "Yes." Xu Yuan: "Why?" "Your body cannot hold so many things." Li Erzhu held his sword with a reverse grip, his eyes deadly serious. "The illusions of high-rank demon-ghosts are difficult to distinguish from reality." "..." Xu Yuan was speechless. "Li Erzhu, you're the ghost!" The woman in the cheongsam peeked out from behind Li Erzhu, shoved the man from behind, and scolded daintily, "Put your sword away! He's using a Sumeru ring!" Li Erzhu glanced at the woman in the cheongsam, a trace of confusion in his eyes. "A Sumeru ring?" "..." The woman rolled her eyes and ignored Li Erzhu. Walking past him until she stood a few meters in front of Xu Yuan, she clasped her hands crisply in greeting: "Zhou Xiaohe of the Wanxiang Sect. "Please forgive our rudeness just now, Young Master. My senior brother is naturally dull-witted." Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow as bits of information flashed through his mind, then waved his hand with a smile. "No matter. It is always wise to be cautious when traveling abroad." Pausing briefly, he added, "Zhou Chen of the Wind Listening Tower." Old Auntie Lou Ji's Wind Listening Tower possessed a decent reputation as an intelligence organization, and a mysterious one at that. Hearing this, a flicker of surprise crossed Zhou Xiaohe's eyes, and she smiled generously. "Young Master actually shares my family name. What a coincidence." Xu Yuan retrieved two futons from his Sumeru ring, propping them with Source Qi to float before them, and said, "It is quite a coincidence indeed. I am merely sheltering in this dwelling myself, so I will forgo formal hospitality. Please feel free to find a spot to sit." Seeing the futons appear out of thin air, Zhou Xiaohe's dark, lovely eyes darted before she offered her thanks: "After trekking all this way, my senior brother and I might not even have had a place to sit if not for you, Young Master. Truly, thank you." Xu Yuan had no intention of continuing the conversation. This woman could recognize a Sumeru ring and was surnamed Zhou, so she was likely related to the sect master of the Wanxiang Sect. Right now, he and Ran Qingmo were searching for a hidden realm on their turf, making it unwise to get too closely acquainted. Noticing this, Zhou Xiaohe's eyes flickered, but she refrained from speaking out of turn. She clasped her hands again. "Then my senior brother and I will be intruding upon you and your younger sister tonight, Young Master." "..." Xu Yuan was taken aback. *Younger sister?* *Did Ran Qingmo already get back just now?* Just as he wondered, Zhou Xiaohe's lovely eyes curved into crescents, and she smiled as she waved toward the space behind him: "Little sister, you're so adorable~"