A Day of Howling Snow, Off to Buy Rouge

"They say martial artists rely on eating, nourishment, training, and soaking. It seemed that was indeed true."

One meal of tiger meat surpassed several days of fist training. After eating and drinking his fill, Li Xian walked out of the Dining Hall, feeling strength surge through him in an endless, inexhaustible stream.

Only after all the Grade-C House Guards had finished eating did the Grade-D House Guards swarm inside.

He could only ladle out half a bowl of broth, along with some shattered bones and scraps...

That day, whether he was making his usual patrol rounds or practicing martial arts and fist techniques, he was brimming with energy and in peak condition.

[Four Directions Fist] proficiency increased by [116] points. [Clearwind Leg] proficiency increased by [97] points.

By evening.

Stealing a moment amid his work, Li Xian found a scenic spot within the manor. He sat down in the snow, leaned back, and pillowed his head on his hands.

He gazed idly at the blue sky.

His thoughts gradually emptied.

"My little brother has already left Qingning County for Huangtian County to take the academy examinations. In Qingning County now, I can truly say I have neither kin nor friend."

Several wild geese suddenly flew overhead. Li Xian reached out to catch them, but grasped only empty air.

"Freedom... after selling myself into slavery, freedom has truly become a luxury. But when one cannot even stay alive, what is there to say about freedom?"

Li Xian did not regret this decision. Otherwise, both he and his little brother would already have frozen to death in that thatched hut.

Li Xian sat upright. He kneaded a clump of snow in his right hand, slowly applying pressure with Inner Qi.

The snowball turned into an ice crystal. Before him lay an emerald-green lake, its waters drawn from some warm spring vein.

Even in the depths of winter, it had not frozen. More than that, the lotuses and water lilies within the lake bloomed as brilliantly as they did in spring.

Fish frolicked within the water, free and unrestrained.

Li Xian tossed out the ice crystal, skipping it across the water and tracing a beautiful arc over the lake's surface.

"I asked around. One Accord Manor seems to have no precedent for 'redeeming oneself.' Once you enter the manor, it is for life."

"A servant's wages are meager; they could never redeem themselves in a lifetime. As for House Guards... no one has ever even mentioned the words 'redeeming oneself.'"

"It must be taboo."

Li Xian had already achieved a small result. Step by step, he had risen from a servant to a Grade-C House Guard.

The leap was small, but the improvement in his circumstances was plain for all to see.

Taking advantage of this leisure... Li Xian considered the road ahead. His heart was like a swan soaring among clouds, unwilling to be trapped. Yet a true man should know when to advance, when to retreat, when to bend, and when to yield.

"Given my present circumstances, I have one and only one path."

"Continue onward. Leaving aside how difficult it is to redeem myself, once I leave the manor, obtaining martial arts will become even harder."

"And besides... Commander Pang's connections... the Bone Recasting realm of martial artists. At present, only within the manor can I come into contact with even a shred of it."

"Phew!"

Li Xian let out a long breath. He came to the lakeside and looked at his reflection in the water. Gently patting his cheeks, he roused his spirits.

The manor rules stood grim and dense, each rank a step.

Climbing upward would not be easy.

The fourteenth day of the tenth month had arrived, already mid-month.

At the third quarter of the Hour of the Dragon, the sky remained overcast. The snowstorm was so fierce that even the sunlight had been blotted out. It looked no different from night.

The cold wind howled outside.

The past two days had been rare days off.

Even the lowliest servants did not need to go outside to work.

Inside the quarters, three House Guards huddled around a brazier, shivering violently.

"I say... Master Li, why don't you come warm yourself up with us?"

One of the House Guards shifted to the left, making room for Li Xian and inviting him over.

"Sure."

With nothing else to do anyway, Li Xian sat down before the brazier as well.

"Fucking freezing."

Jia Jie, the Grade-D House Guard sharing the quarters with him, rubbed his hands together fiercely for warmth and cursed.

"Isn't it? In this weather... take ten steps out the door and you're gone. That's no exaggeration."

Bao Yongkang, also a Grade-D House Guard, nodded in agreement.

"In weather like this, even patrol duty gets waived," said Kong Sun, the other Grade-D House Guard.

"As for the cold, that is secondary. The real problem is that visibility is too low. You cannot tell which direction is which at all." Li Xian nodded.

"Exactly. If you lose your way and wander in circles, then let this blizzard flay you for another three to five days—wouldn't it freeze a person alive?" Bao Yongkang immediately chimed in.

"Master Li, you came late, so you probably don't know this yet." Kong Sun said, "There was once a House Guard in the neighboring quarters who went outside during a blizzard because he urgently needed to piss. Guess what happened? The moment his front foot stepped out the door, he vanished."

"Only after the snow weakened did they find him frozen to death fifteen steps away. Snowy days like this... are no joke."

Hearing that, Li Xian glanced at the wind and snow outside.

It was not an exaggeration at all.

The darkness was absolute. Even if one carried a torch, it would be blown out at once. Forget ten steps—even three steps could be enough to claim a life.

And with the wind so strong, one could not tell direction. The more panicked one became, the easier it was to die.

"Right!"

Jia Jie suddenly recalled something and said, "Wait for me a moment, everyone."

He hurriedly pulled a wine jar from beneath his bed, removed its seal, and a rich fragrance of wine rushed into the room.

"Master Li, how about a little wine to warm you up?" Jia Jie raised his brows.

On a day of howling snow... a little drink did have a special charm to it. Li Xian was just about to speak when knocking sounded outside the door.

"Li Xian..."

A voice came through.

The wind and snow had blurred it considerably, yet it could still be heard clearly. That alone showed that the caller's Inner Qi was powerful and his attainments extraordinary.

"Master Li... could it be the Snow Ghost?"

"Has it... has it come for your life?"

The three men shrank their necks and huddled together, hiding behind Li Xian.

"It is not the Snow Ghost. It is Commander Pang." Li Xian frowned.

He opened the door. The cold wind came roaring in. Outside was pitch-black, and Pang Long was wrapped in a thick beast-fur cloak, an oil lamp in his left hand.

"Li Xian, come with me." Pang Long said only that before walking straight ahead.

Li Xian hesitated briefly, but still followed. Heaven and earth were swallowed by darkness, while the cold wind cut like a blade scraping bone. Li Xian circulated his Inner Qi to ward off the cold, yet his skin still ached from the wind.

Pang Long carried the oil lamp, its light never going out. Li Xian would not lose him, and with the Treading Snow trait, walking was not too difficult.

"Not bad. Your Inner Qi is trained very solidly."

Pang Long nodded.

"Commander Pang, on such a deep winter day, what matter could possibly make you come looking for me?" Li Xian asked.

Pang Long sighed and said, "It is Madam's order."

"Madam?" Li Xian froze.

"Madam's orders are not something I ask about or think about. I simply carry them out. I hope you will do the same." Pang Long stopped and looked at Li Xian. "For this task... Madam specifically named you to carry it out."

"Specifically named me?" Li Xian asked. "What matter is there that cannot be done without me?"

The two walked on for a while longer, only to arrive at the manor gate.

Pang Long removed his beast-fur cloak. "This matter... can be difficult or simple, depending on how you look at it."

He handed the cloak and oil lamp to Li Xian, then continued, "Madam has suddenly run out of rouge and cosmetics. She wants you to go to Qingning County and buy her a box."

"This..." Li Xian found it utterly absurd. In weather like this, he was being sent to buy rouge?

"You only need to head east, and you will reach Qingning County. Put on the cloak, take the oil lamp, and set off." Pang Long wore an expression of deep regret.

He sighed again and again.

He did not dare speculate on Madam's intentions.

But he knew that leaving the manor at this hour, even for him, meant danger at every turn—once gone, perhaps never to return.

Let alone Li Xian!