"The cold wind was like a knife, taking the earth as its chopping board and all living beings as fish and meat. Snow flew for ten thousand miles, making the firmament a mighty furnace and melting all things into silver..."
"The snow was about to stop, but the wind had yet to settle. A carriage came from the north, its rolling wheels crushing the ice and snow on the ground, yet unable to crush the loneliness between heaven and earth..."
The courtyard lay under a blanket of white snow, frost biting and mist freezing, but inside the study was an entirely different scene of cozy warmth.
A thick cashmere carpet covered the floor, so soft underfoot it felt like stepping onto tufts of cloud. Copper braziers in the four corners burned silver-bone charcoal, filling the room with a haze of warmth.
While the upheaval in Linjiang Prefecture stirred turmoil outside, Hong Yuan enjoyed a rare spell of leisure. He read and practiced martial arts every day, leading a reasonably fulfilling life.
Now he had taken up creative writing, too.
As an academy graduate who had swiftly transitioned into flexible employment, surely it was perfectly reasonable for him to dream of becoming an author?
Hong Yuan simply felt that the martial artists of this world had too few tricks up their sleeves. They did not even have a Heaven Ranking, Earth Ranking, Black Ranking, or Dread Ranking. His longsword had a keen edge to spare, yet he had no idea whom to challenge.
So he first released The Legend of the Condor Heroes, then spent a considerable sum promoting it. Starting in Linjiang Prefecture and reaching all the way to the provincial capital, Longyuan Prefecture, he had it stocked in numerous bookshops while also hiring storytellers in markets, restaurants, and inns