Volume 3 Chapter 19 / Chapter 185: Senior Brother, Sudden Heavy Snowstorm
Whoosh—
The icy wind, carrying thick snowflakes, roared through the air. The crescent moon in the sky appeared and disappeared intermittently.
On the snowy plains, a young man and a girl, both wearing straw hats, were trudging forward against the wind, their waists tied together with a rope.
Half an hour ago, the snow on the ground only reached their calves, but now it covered half of their bodies.
They had to endure the fierce wind, break through the snow blocking their steps, and constantly watch for hidden stones or holes beneath the snow that could trip them up. Each step they took required tremendous effort.
Ye Anping, leading the way, felt as if he were entangled in Yun Xi’s bad luck. He was incredibly frustrated. He had planned to reach Jiuquan Town with Feng Yudie before nightfall. Before setting out, he even checked the weather, using a cultivator’s common “Stellar Forecasting Technique” to predict the day’s weather.
Ye Anping saw: “Light snow turning to moderate snow, then back to light snow.”
However, the heavens had other plans: “Light snow turning to moderate snow, then to heavy snow, and finally to a severe snowstorm.”
The oppressive force of what seemed like the arrival of the winter general was almost unbearable, even for him with his rigorous training.
He could only imagine how hard it was for Feng Yudie, who was being dragged behind him by the rope.
He hadn’t heard Feng Yudie speak a word for the last two quarters of an hour.
Ye Anping didn’t think she would be in any real danger from the snowstorm, but if she caught a chill and fell ill, it would throw off his entire plan, which included her fighting Yun Jiujiu.
The best solution he could think of was to have Feng Yudie summon Xiaotian to find a cave, then lead them there.
Despite knowing that admitting he could see Xiaotian would mean being pestered by the Paimon knock-off later, the urgency of the situation took precedence.
After a moment’s hesitation, Ye Anping decided to go ahead with his plan.
Ye Anping stopped and turned around. Feng Yudie’s figure was completely obscured by the night and the snowstorm.
He could only determine her position by the taut rope tied between them.
Grabbing the rope, he gave it a gentle tug and then shouted in the direction of the tension:
“Feng— Yu— Die— You— Let—”
But as soon as he said five words, Feng Yudie’s voice shouted back from the direction of the rope:
“Ye— An— Ping— I— Will—”
Their voices overlapped, making it impossible for either to understand the other. Ye Anping quickly closed his mouth and strained to listen.
However, it seemed Feng Yudie also stopped speaking halfway.
“… …”
“… …”
Ye Anping pursed his lips in frustration, waited for two breaths, and shouted again:
“You— Speak—!!”
“I— Will— Lead— The— Way—”
“Okay!!”
Ye Anping responded, grabbing the rope and making his way towards Feng Yudie step by step.
As he got closer, he saw Xiaotian, glowing with a golden light, flying above Feng Yudie’s head. Together, they looked like an anglerfish. It seemed Feng Yudie had the same idea and had already sent Xiaotian to find shelter from the snow.
Ye Anping pulled up his hood, used the rope to hold onto Feng Yudie’s shoulder, and supported each other as they trudged forward.
Led by Xiaotian, they walked about three or four hundred steps and arrived at a cave in the mountainside.
Ye Anping took out his spirit sword and a fire talisman, cautiously entered the cave with Feng Yudie, and ignited the talisman, sending it to the ceiling.
The cave was not very large, roughly the size of a small storeroom in an inn.
The corners were scattered with dried droppings of small beasts, indicating it was a deserted lair.
After inspecting the surrounding rock formations to ensure the place wouldn’t collapse easily, Ye Anping quickly took out a bamboo mat, laid it on the ground, and built a simple woodpile from the wood in his storage bag, setting it on fire.
Feng Yudie quickly shook the snow off her hat, sat by the fire hugging her knees, and warmed her hands close to the fire.
Whoosh—
The cold wind still blew into the cave entrance. Feng Yudie glanced at the entrance, shivered, and then worriedly asked about Pei Lengxue:
“Ye Anping, is Junior Sister Pei alright—”
Before she could finish, a furry beast-skin blanket was draped over her back.
Ye Anping tossed the blanket onto her, then sat down beside her, took out some jerky from his storage bag, and began roasting it over the fire with a bamboo skewer.
“I taught my junior sister how to handle this kind of snow.”
“But…. the snow is so heavy. I’ve never seen such heavy snow before…”
“We’ve encountered worse,” Ye Anping glanced at her, handing her the roasted jerky. “Eat and then rest. You have things to do tomorrow in Jiuquan Town.”
Feng Yudie hesitated for a moment, took the skewer, and bit off a small piece. She suddenly looked down with a pout and asked, “Do you have any roast chicken? I want roast chicken.”
?
Ye Anping rolled his eyes at her. “No.”
“Do you have anything else to eat?”
“What do you think this is, a picnic?”
“Umm…” Feng Yudie handed back the skewer, saying, “Here, take it back. I’ll eat a fasting pill.”
Ye Anping was taken aback and looked at Feng Yudie. He noticed her expression seemed off.
Usually, she was cheerful and carefree, but now her face was as gloomy as a bitter melon, and even her usually bright silver hair seemed to have lost its luster.
Ye Anping furrowed his brows slightly, took the skewer, bit off the dried meat, swallowed it, and asked:
“Why the sudden change in expression?”
“Your dried meat tastes terrible.”
“…”
Ye Anping was puzzled. What was going on?
At this moment, Xiaotian, seeing its master in distress, flew down and perched on Ye Anping’s shoulder, explaining for Feng Yudie:
『Ye lad, don’t blame Yudie for being moody. This weather and the dried meat are too similar to those days.』
Those days?
Ye Anping didn’t respond, pretending to be uninterested in Feng Yudie as he continued to roast the meat.
Xiaotian paused and continued: 『Yudie and her master once experienced a heavy snowstorm in the mountains. Back then, Yudie was out hunting in the forest alone and ended up taking refuge in a cave like this one.』
And then?
『She only had some dried meat with her at the time and almost froze to death in the cave. I kept telling her that her master would come to save her, but she waited for five days…』
“…”
『After five days, the weather cleared, and Yudie ran back to the cave, hoping to scold her master. But when she returned, she found her master’s empty shell and a letter left for her.』
So that’s what happened…
Ye Anping understood. This part of the game’s storyline didn’t include these details from Xiaotian, but players could find the letter left by True Immortal Tai Xu for Yudie in the study of Mr. Qi from the Profound Star Sect.
However, the first paragraph of that letter was blacked out with ink.
As for the remaining few lines…
“…”
While roasting the meat, Ye Anping recalled the contents of the letter from the game.
Meanwhile, Xiaotian looked up at the sky and murmured:
『The letter read—』
『I haven’t had much luck in this life. I hoped my luck would change at the end, so last month I went to Beiyang Immortal City, pawned my spirit sword and magical tools, and gambled to try to buy you some nice magical tools and spirit stones. But I lost everything.』
『Yudie, I don’t have much left to give you. There’s a hidden compartment under my pillow with two or three thousand spirit stones and some mid-grade pills. I prepared these for you in case of emergencies.』
『In two months, the Profound Star Sect’s selection will take place. Take this letter to any elder; it will prove you’re my disciple, and the elders will look after you.』
『I have been guarding you like a cocoon for fourteen years. Now the cocoon breaks, and you emerge as a butterfly.』
『Your future is up to you.』
『Also, beware of men, they like to toy with a girl’s heart!』