Frozen clouds envelop the ridge, the dawn solidifies into a frosty splendor.
The night is as deep as ink that will not disperse, suspended in the sky, like an endless curtain of darkness, oppressively tight, leaving one breathless.
Snow descends wildly from above, dancing chaotically amongst mortals, like a flurry of drowsy crows falling like rain.
The carriage travels on the official road piled a foot high with snow, rocking and swaying, carrying everyone from the Divine Sect Mountain Gate and back within Qianyuan Taoist City.
The night’s clamor has already ended as Xi Xi’s birthday celebration concludes, signifying she has grown another year older.
Zhang Ya leans in Li Che’s embrace, silent, moodily gazing at the tempest outside.
Xi Xi’s maturity brings heartache; she needn’t have been so understanding.
In a strange environment, without her dearest parents, Xi Xi had to make herself grow up.
Though Jiao Shaoqiu, Sang Guanyin, and others are familiar faces, ultimately, they are not her accommodating parents.
Perhaps due to being a Divine Child, Xi Xi is precocious, her cleverness far surpassing that of a five-year-old.
Still, Li Che feels a touch of guilt.
The carriage breaks through the blizzard, Old Chen cracking the reins, driving onward, his Qi-Blood surging, his Cultivation in the Qi Vein Realm empowering him with torrential Qi-Blood, warmth radiating through his body, enabling him to withstand the freezing cold.
They are back in Liuxiang Lane.
Stepping down from the carriage, Zhang Ya, without much ado, begins to practice martial arts amidst the courtyard’s snowstorm.
Li Che escorts the boss and the Big Black Dog back to the restaurant.
Old Chen initially offers to accompany them, but Li Che refuses, and the two men with the dog walk towards the Outer City in the snowy night as if out for a leisurely stroll.
"Have one.”
The boss rolls a cigarette, taps it and passes it to Li Che.
Without hesitation, Li Che accepts and places it at the corner of his mouth, flicks his finger, and a spark ignites the cigarette.
The boss, without Li Che’s casual grace, simply takes out a box of matches, strikes twice, lighting his cigarette.
Li Che glances at the boss; cigarettes in hand, he almost feels they are from the same place.
So, thinking it over, he turns to the boss and exhales a misty cloud of smoke.
"Boss, ‘strange remains unchanged, what’s the next line?”
The boss glances at him calmly: “Couplet?”
"Bullshit.”
The Big Black Dog trailing behind them grumbles discontentedly.
Qianyuan Dao City has no curfew, yet on this snowy night, aside from the dazzle of brothels, the streets are void of people, not a single vendor in sight.
Returning from Inner City to Outer City takes some time, fortunately, Thunder Alley is not too far from the city gates.
They follow Qiankun Street, the main artery traversing Qianyuan Dao City from south to north.
"In the future, if there’s such an occasion, remember to call me; I enjoy cooking for Xi Xi.”
Brushing off some ash, the boss speaks warmly.
Hearing this, Li Che smiles: “From now on, every year on Xi Xi’s birthday, I’ll call you.”
"Good.”
The boss then turns and enters the restaurant.
Li Che’s toes touch the ground, bursting with power, instantly recoiling against the snowstorm, vanishing into the shadows of the dark alleys.
West Camp Divine Guard Army.
Stationed in a mountainous area within West City, camps dotted with torches blaze, painting the night a fiery red.
Most within the Divine Guard Army are martial artists; thousands gathered together, their powerful Qi-Blood surging fiercely like a baking furnace, melting the snowflakes in the vicinity.
Snowflakes falling from the heavenly dome are violently burst apart by their Qi Force.
Screech—!!
A sharp cry pierces the night sky.
High above, a white-headed purple-eyed hawk flaps its wings, swiftly diving down like a falling meteor, and nears the main camp, beating its wings forcefully, whipping up a fierce air current.
The hawk, massive in size, spans six meters tip to tip, each feather like a steel blade, exuding immense Qi-Blood and Divinity.
This creature, a demon that has gained sentience, where even a Master of Divine Gang might struggle against its terrifying strength.
You Liqing in golden armor walks out of his tent, followed by the sullen-faced Governor Long Tai.
Whoosh whoosh—
The wind sweeps wildly.
Slowly, the white-headed purple-eyed hawk begins to shrink its frame, and upon becoming small, it lands on You Liqing’s upraised arm.
You Liqing takes a message from the hawk’s leg.
Retrieving a Six Department Martial Pill from the Qiankun Jade, feeding it to the hawk which then flaps its wings and soars back into the sky anew, countless snowflakes violently expanding in its wind, dispersing into countless powders in the flurry of its wings.
You Liqing unfolds the message, reads it with a calm gaze.
The next moment, his pupils slightly contract.
A change overtakes his aura, as if a burning flame spontaneously ignites, a powerful and suffocating force surges forth.
Long Tai, right beside him, feels a sense of suffocation.
Long Tai is shocked in his heart; what could cause the Great General’s emotions to stir so intensely?
Whatever can cause such turmoil in You Liqing’s mind is surely no trivial matter.
Stowing away the message, You Liqing exhales a breath.
"Great General
Long Tai cautiously inquires.
"Governor Long, prepare yourself, we shall welcome… the Princess Consort.”