Chapter 185 Senior Brother, Sudden Heavy Snowfall
Whoosh—
The icy wind, wrapped with heavy snowfall, roared in. The crescent moon in the sky flickered in and out of view.
On the snowy plain, a youth and a girl wearing bamboo hats, tied together by a rope at their waists, struggled forward against the wind. Only half an hour ago, the accumulated snow on the ground barely reached their calves, but now it covered them up to their mid-thighs. They had to brace against the gale, using their bodies to break through the snow blocking their path, and constantly be aware of whether there were any rocks or holes beneath the snow that could twist an ankle. Every step they took now required their utmost effort.
Ye Anping, who was clearing the path ahead, felt as if he were cursed with Yun Xi’s bad luck and was extremely upset. His original plan was to arrive at Jiùquán Town with Feng Yu Die before nightfall today. He had even checked the weather beforehand, using the commonly used cultivator technique, Star Luo Heavenly Ritual, to predict the day’s weather. Ye Anping had seen: “Today, light snow turning to moderate snow, then back to light snow.” However, heaven had other plans: “Today, light snow turning to moderate snow, then to heavy snow, and finally to a blizzard.”
The oppressive pressure felt like General Winter’s arrival. Even with his arduous cultivation experience, he found it difficult to endure, let alone Feng Yu Die, whom he was dragging behind him by the rope. For the past two quarters of an hour, he hadn’t heard a single word from Feng Yu Die. Ye Anping didn’t believe Feng Yu Die was in any mortal danger from mere wind and snow, but according to the plan, she was supposed to fight Yun Jiujiu later. If she collapsed now from the cold, his entire plan’s rhythm would be thrown off. The best solution he could think of was to have Xiao Tian fly out to find a cave and lead them there. Even if he said this, it would be tantamount to admitting he could see Xiao Tian, and he would surely be pestered endlessly by that little creature afterward. However, the situation demanded prioritizing importance.
After this thought, Ye Anping hesitated for less than a breath before making up his mind. He stopped his steps and turned around. Feng Yu Die’s figure was now completely obscured by the darkness and the wind and snow. He could only discern her relative position to him by the taut rope tied around their waists. Ye Anping grabbed the rope, tugged it slightly, and then, in the direction the rope extended, shouted at the top of his lungs:
“Feng—Yu—Die—You—Let—”
However, before he could even finish five words, a shout from Feng Yu Die came from the direction of the rope at the same time: “Ye—Young—Master—I—Come—”
Their voices almost overlapped, neither able to clearly hear what the other was saying. Ye Anping immediately closed his mouth and pricked up his ears to listen. However, it seemed Feng Yu Die, like him, had stopped mid-sentence.
“…”
“…”
Ye Anping flattened his lips speechlessly. After waiting for two more breaths, he shouted again: “You—Say—!!”
“I—Will—Lead—The—Way—”
“Alright!!” Ye Anping responded, grabbed the rope, and painstakingly crawled towards Feng Yu Die’s direction, step by step. As he got closer, he saw that Xiao Tian, emitting a golden spiritual light, was flying directly overhead on Feng Yu Die’s head. The two of them together looked like an anglerfish. It seemed Feng Yu Die had the same idea and had already sent Xiao Tian to find a place to shelter from the snow. Ye Anping pulled down his hood, followed the rope, used his hands to grip Feng Yu Die’s shoulder, and supported each other’s bodies as she stepped through the snow.
Led by Xiao Tian, the two walked about three to four hundred paces and arrived at a rock cave located in a mountain wall. Ye Anping took out his spirit sword and Fire Element talismans. He and Feng Yu Die carefully crawled into the cave mouth, ignited the talisman in his hand, and let it rise to the ceiling.
The interior of the cave was not large, about the size of a common inn’s woodshed. In a corner lay scattered dried droppings of small demonic beasts, likely a discarded nest. He checked the surrounding rock formations, confirming that the place was not prone to collapse, and then quickly took out a bamboo mat to spread on the ground. He piled up some wood from his storage bag to create a simple bonfire and ignited it.
Feng Yu Die quickly shook off the snow from her bamboo hat, sat by the bonfire with her knees hugged to her chest, brought her hands as close to the flames as possible to warm them, and rubbed them together.
Whoosh—
The cold wind continued to blow into the cave from the entrance. Feng Yu Die glanced at the cave entrance, instinctively shrinking her neck further into her clothes. However, she began to worry about Pei Lianxue, saying: “Young Master Ye, Junior Sister Pei she didn’t…”
As soon as she started speaking, a fluffy fur blanket was placed on her back. After throwing the blanket on her, Ye Anping sat beside her and took out some dried meat from his storage bag, skewered it with a bamboo stick, and began roasting it over the bonfire.
“I taught Junior Sister how to deal with this kind of snow.”
“But, the snow is so heavy, it’s the first time I’ve encountered snow this heavy…”
“She and I have encountered worse.” Ye Anping glanced at her, handed her the roasted dried meat, “Eat it and then rest. You have things to do when we reach Jiùquán Town tomorrow.”
Feng Yu Die hesitated for a moment, took the bamboo skewer, and took a small bite. Her expression flickered slightly. Suddenly, she pouted and lowered her head, asking pitifully, “Do you have roasted chicken? I want to eat roasted chicken.”
?
Ye Anping rolled his eyes. “No.”
“Then do you have any other food?”
“Do you think this is an outing?”
“Mmm…” Feng Yu Die returned the skewer to him and said, “Here, I’ll eat a辟谷丹 (Bìgǔ Dān – an elixir that allows one to subsist on air and dew).”
Ye Anping was stunned for a moment. He tilted his head to look at Feng Yu Die, but suddenly noticed that her expression seemed wrong. Usually outgoing and cheerful, she had suddenly put on a bitter melon face. Even her brilliant silver hair seemed to have lost its luster. Ye Anping knitted his brows, took back the skewer, bit off the dried meat, and after swallowing, asked, “Why the sudden expression?”
“This dried meat tastes terrible.”
“…”
Ye Anping was puzzled, what was going on?
At this moment, Xiao Tian, looking at its Yu Die, flew down from above and sat on Ye Anping’s shoulder, explaining for Feng Yu Die: “Young Master Ye, don’t blame Yu Die for being temperamental. The weather and this dried meat are too similar to those few days.”
Those few days?
Ye Anping didn’t reply, pretending not to care about Feng Yu Die, and continued to roast the dried meat. Xiao Tian paused and then said, “A few days ago, it snowed heavily in the mountain where Yu Die lived with her Master. At that time, Yu Die was hunting alone in the forest and, in the end, had no choice but to hide in a cave like this.”
Mm, and then?
“Yu Die only brought some dried meat with her back then and almost froze to death in the cave. I kept telling her that her Master would definitely come to rescue her when he found out she hadn’t returned. Yu Die also kept hoping her Master would come, but she waited for five days…”
“…”
“Five days later, the sky cleared up. Yu Die ran back to her cave dwelling, wanting to vent her anger at her Master. But when she returned, she saw her Master’s empty cicada shell and a letter he had left for her.”
So, that’s what happened…
Hearing this, Ye Anping understood what was going on. The game’s story text did not mention these events that Xiao Tian described, but players could obtain the letter left by Taixu Zi for Yu Die from Mr. Qi’s study in Xuan Xing Sect. However, the first paragraph of that letter was blacked out with ink. As for the remaining sentences…
“…”
Ye Anping, while roasting dried meat, recalled the contents of that letter from the game… At this moment, Xiao Tian looked up at the sky and said softly: “The letter reads—”
“‘My fortune in this life is not very good. I intended to turn my luck around at the end of my life, so last month I went to Beiyang Immortal City, pawned my spirit sword and magical treasures, and gambled them away. I planned to buy you some good magical treasures and spirit swords, and leave you a lot of spirit stones, but I accidentally lost them all.”
“‘Yu Die, I have nothing left to leave you now. Under the pillow in my bedroom, there is a hidden compartment containing two to three thousand spirit stones and some mid-grade pills, which I prepared for you in case of unforeseen circumstances.'”
“‘In two months, it will be the Xuan Xing Sect’s selection. Bring this letter with you and hand it to any elder. It will prove you are my disciple, and the elders will take care of you.'”
“‘Taixu endured, protecting you for fourteen years. Now the cocoon has broken, and you have metamorphosed into a butterfly.'”
“‘Your future path depends on yourself.'”
“‘Also, be careful of men, and remember to bury your Master.'”
“‘Taixu’s final testament.'”
…
