The flying sword traveled through the clouds for most of the day as the terrain below transitioned from continuous snowy peaks to rolling hills, and then to an endless plain.
Dusk gathered, and the clouds in the west burned a dark red beneath the setting sun.
From afar, Gu Yanqing spotted a sizable city below, its city walls dotted with flickering spirit lamps in the twilight.
He recalled his flying sword and touched down outside the city gates, intending to find an inn to rest for the night and see if the market had any pills or spirit stones he could replenish.
As soon as he stepped onto the snowfields outside the city gates, a heated dispute sounded ahead.
Lifting his gaze, he saw a young man bent double, clutching a young girl’s legs with both hands in a death grip.
The young girl’s entire upper body was plunged headfirst into a snowdrift, her legs kicking wildly in the air, sending flurries of snow flying in all directions.
“Third Miss, put a little more effort into it!”
“I’m already using all my strength!”
Her muffled voice emerged from beneath the snowdrift, laden with teeth-gritting ferocity.
“Then pull backward a bit!”
“Do you think I don’t want to?!”
He paused in his tracks. What on earth were these two doing?
He glanced at his surroundings.
This was the only route into the city, impossible to bypass. After a brief silence, he walked over anyway.
“Need some help?”
The young man turned his head, relief written all over his face as he hastily nodded.
Gu Yanqing bent down, and together with the young man—each grabbing one of the girl’s legs—they pulled backward with coordinated force.
The snowdrift abruptly burst apart, and the girl tumbled out completely. Her head and face were plastered with snow, her bun knocked askew, and bits of snow cascaded down inside her collar.
The moment she found her footing, the first thing she did was spin around to glare at the young man.
“Fang Shouyi!”
“Present.” The young man stood ramrod straight, answering crisply.
“Are you out of your mind?!”
Fang Shouyi blinked, gave the question some serious thought, and shook his head. “...No.”
“Then why did you tell me to look over there just now?”
“I just thought there seemed to be something over there.”
“Something?”
Pointing at her snow-covered clothes, the girl’s voice climbed an entire octave. “Where is it, then?!”
Fang Shouyi looked back at the collapsed snowdrift and pondered earnestly. “There isn’t anymore.”
The girl inhaled deeply.
She closed her eyes, her lips fluttering several times as if silently chanting some Heart-Clearing Incantation.
“You’re going to be the death of me one of these days.”
Fang Shouyi lowered his head, his tone earnest. “I am sorry.”
“Do you know how to say anything other than ‘I’m sorry’?!”
“I know how to pull you out.”
The girl opened her mouth, then shut it again.
She seemed ready to explode again, but realizing anger was entirely futile, she simply swallowed her bristling temper along with the bits of snow in her mouth and let out a heavy breath.
Brushing snow off her shoulders, she turned her head toward the stranger beside them and looked him up and down. “Who are you?”
“Gu Yanqing, a disciple of the Yunxiao Sect.”
Her brows arched slightly. “Yunxiao Sect?” She sized him up again, seemingly having some impression of the sect, and nodded. “I’m Shen Wanwan, from the Chixiao Sect.”
With that, she pointed to the young man beside her. “His name is Fang Shouyi, my accompanying disciple.”
An accompanying disciple? Then this girl had to hold a rather high status, but why was there only one? Gu Yanqing pondered silently.
Fang Shouyi hurriedly cupped his hands. “Greetings, Senior Brother Gu.” In manner and deed, he was modest and restrained in every respect, showing not the slightest informality.
Gu Yanqing sized the pair up. Both were at early Foundation Establishment, dressed decently, and while their behavior was a bit peculiar, they were thoroughly well-mannered.
“Where are the two of you headed?”
Shen Wanwan brushed away the last trace of snow on her shoulder and huffed, “Where else? Out to temper ourselves, of course. But someone just had to insist there was something over here. I went over to look, and then fell right in.”
Fang Shouyi added in a low voice, “Actually, you just stepped into thin air yourself...”
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
“Where are you planning to go for your tempering?” Gu Yanqing asked.
“We plan to go to the Scarlet Flame Mountain Range,” Fang Shouyi replied.
Upon hearing the location, Gu Yanqing’s eyes paused slightly, though he did not speak.
Fang Shouyi’s eyes lit up. “Senior Brother Gu, are you going to the Scarlet Flame Mountain Range too? What a coincidence! Why don’t we travel together? That way, we can look out for each other along the journey.”
Crossing her arms, Shen Wanwan swept a disdainful look over Gu Yanqing, her face filled with resistance. “He doesn’t look like a good person at all. Why should we travel with him?”
Gu Yanqing paused slightly, an inexplicable question mark popping up in his mind.
Fang Shouyi hastily stepped forward to smooth things over. “Third Miss, how can you speak of someone like that?! Just now, this fellow Daoist clearly stepped in to help us, not to mention he has a late Foundation Establishment cultivation! With him traveling with us, if we encounter demon beasts along the way, we could also—”
“Shut up!” Shen Wanwan cut in directly.
Fang Shouyi immediately held his tongue in dismay.
Gu Yanqing pondered for a moment, looking at her as he asked softly, “Why does the young lady speak of me this way?”
Shen Wanwan looked up, her gaze settling upon him. She deliberately lingered for a moment on his fine cloak and his handsome features, her tone brimming with subjective prejudice. “You’re so good-looking and dressed so pristinely—all neat and proper. One look is enough to tell you’re a playboy young master who spends his days toying with young maidens’ hearts.”
Gu Yanqing was slightly taken aback by her words, growing even more bewildered. For a moment, he could not tell whether she was praising his exceptional looks or deliberately slandering his character.
Before he could think further, Shen Wanwan added, “Or at best, you must be a deep-scheming, treacherous hypocrite full of twists and turns!”
Anxious, Fang Shouyi hurriedly cupped his hands to apologize to Gu Yanqing. “Please forgive her, fellow Daoist. My Third Miss is out tempering herself for the first time; she is pampered and blunt, lacking tact, but she means no malice. Please don’t take it to heart.”
Gu Yanqing shook his head gently, his expression placid. “It’s fine.”
Seeing that he had no reaction even after being bluntly criticized to his face, Shen Wanwan was somewhat surprised. She glanced at him and reluctantly relented. “Fine, then. You can travel with us. But I’ll be watching you! Don’t think just because you’re good-looking you can fool me.”
Gu Yanqing smiled wryly and did not argue.
...
The three entered the city. This city was considerably larger than Canglan City, its walls built of blue-grey ashlar, and its wide streets able to accommodate four carriages side by side.
Though darkness had fallen, the market had not yet dispersed. Both sides of the street were hung with spirit lamps, casting a bright gleam over the accumulated snow.
Vendors selling spirit fruit along the roadside were still hawking their wares, clangs from a blacksmith shop rang out, and several children were building a snowman at an alley entrance, a crooked carrot stuck in for its nose.
After walking for a stretch, Shen Wanwan suddenly stopped.
Fang Shouyi immediately stepped forward. “Miss?”
“I’m hungry.”
“There is a spirit food shop up ahead.” Fang Shouyi pointed toward a street corner.
“I don’t want to eat that.”
“Then what does Third Miss want to eat?”
“Why are you asking me?” Shen Wanwan glared at him.
“Because you said you were hungry.”
“...” Shen Wanwan took a deep breath.
“Did I say something wrong again?”
“Shut up!”
“Oh.”
Following behind the pair, Gu Yanqing was already growing accustomed to this dynamic. Fang Shouyi was honest to the point of being wooden, while Shen Wanwan was a sharp-tongued young lady who had to retort to every single word; the two of them together were like a living comedy duo.
In the end, the three still entered that spirit food shop on the corner. The storefront wasn’t large, but it was kept spotless. A few rough charcoal ink landscape paintings hung on the walls, and the menu was written in bold ink on a polished, light-colored wooden plaque suspended before the counter.
Glancing over it, Gu Yanqing ordered a local specialty stewed meat served with spirit grain rice.
Shen Wanwan skimmed through the menu and randomly pointed at the one with the most pleasant-sounding name. “I want a portion of ‘Slow-Stewed Mountain Spirit Delicacies in Rosy Clouds and Pine Smoke.’”
Fang Shouyi quickly chimed in, “I’ll have that as well.”
Once the dishes were served, Fang Shouyi watched the posture with which Shen Wanwan picked up her chopsticks and started up again. “Miss, mind your image. When away from home, you must be dignified and poised, not like how you are at home—”
“You’re even nagging about this?!” Shen Wanwan slammed her chopsticks onto the table.
“The Sect Master instructed me to.”
“My father also instructed you not to anger me! Why don’t you listen to that?”
“The Sect Master never instructed that.”
Shen Wanwan picked up her bowl and walked straight over to an empty table nearby to sit alone, clearly refusing to sit with Fang Shouyi. Out of sight, out of mind.
Fang Shouyi looked at his young miss’s back. After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately did not get up to follow her, lowering his head to eat quietly instead.
Gu Yanqing lowered his head and took a sip of the stew broth. The soup was rich, carrying the fragrance of several herbs he couldn’t name, and the meat was stewed so tender that it fell apart with a touch of the chopsticks.
He chewed slowly, watching Fang Shouyi sit dutifully in his seat, sneaking an occasional glance toward Shen Wanwan yet not daring to look too much. Shen Wanwan sat with her back to them, abandoning all pretense of being a refined young lady as she shoveled food into her mouth bite after bite, her cheeks puffed full and the tips of her ears faintly flushed.
He could not help but chuckle softly.
The journey ahead likely wouldn’t be too boring.
Rate on N.U.
