Fang Wenshi set out at the end of winter, when the journey was twice as arduous. Shulitu urged him to wait a few more days, but he did not want to delay even for a day. "Nie Zeng managed to travel to Jade City in the dead of winter and make the round trip. How can I, a grown man, be worse than him?"
Fang Wenshi had overestimated himself. He truly was inferior to the young Nie Zeng. He could not even endure going several days and nights without sleep. Thus, his spirited departure soon turned into a grueling trek through ice and snow. Their pace grew slower and slower, and the weight Fang Wenshi had finally managed to put on disappeared during the journey, leaving him sighing with regret.
He had brought fifty attendants, but they all remained north of the Tianshan Mountains. Only he and Nie Zeng passed through Tongtian Pass, hurrying toward Jade City without stopping.
When the two finally appeared before the Dragon King, they were in completely different states.
Nie Zeng had grown several inches taller since their last meeting. Though he was very thin, he looked exceptionally sturdy, his expression resolute, with only a trace of youthful innocence remaining.
Fang Wenshi was thin as well, but he looked extremely weak. His eyes were sunken, and he appeared listless, as though stricken with a serious illness. After spending too long on horseback, his legs had formed unnatural bowlegs, and he seemed a whole head shorter. Supported by Nie Zeng, he shuffled forward in a strange ducklike gait.
But the moment he saw the Dragon King, Fang Wenshi pushed Nie Zeng away. His legs straightened, his spirits returned, and he raised his head. He bent slightly with solemnity and said in his uniquely affected tone, "I'm