Fragrant Pig Head Meat

Snowflakes drifted and swayed.

Icicles hung from the branches of the jujube tree.

The Old Monk, clad in a Patch Robe, sat upright beneath the covered corridor, motionless as a stubborn stone.

The courtyard was filled with uniform indigo Prayer Mats arranged in a half-circle. Every grandmaster in Pingyang Prefecture sat cross-legged within it, not a single snowflake touching their shoulders or heads. They too had become stubborn stones.

Though it was midwinter and they sat exposed to the open air, uncomfortable as it was, no one found anything improper about it.

Rustle, rustle.

Tea foam swirled.

Scarface carried a small copper teapot, going from cup to cup to sprinkle in tea leaves and pour hot tea.

The scene gained a touch more life.

Xu Wenzhu and Xu Yuelong nodded lightly, rewarding him with two pieces of broken silver as they cradled their hot tea and spoke in low voices.

"After three days and three nights, did you gain any insight?"

Xu Yuelong shook his head. "The gap in our realms is too vast. My horizons have certainly broadened—how many people ever get such an opportunity? But insight..."

Xu Wenzhu raised his chin slightly.

Following his gaze, Xu Yuelong looked across at Wei Lin in the opposite corner.

Wei Lin's brows were tightly furrowed, looking as though he had sunk deep into thought and gained tremendously from this observation.

"He's putting on an act."

Wei Lin abruptly opened his eyes.

Yet with the father and son seated opposite him, it was not convenient to flare up. Just then, Scarface came over to refill their tea. Catching sight of the bits of silver the father and son had given from his pocket, Wei Lin snorted disdainfully, directly pulled a fifty-tael Treasure Silver ingot from his robes, and tossed it into the