38: Sensing the Wind's Direction, Then Returning to Qingning

"Here's the money for rouge. Take it."

Pang Long tossed him a brocade pouch.

"Pang..."

Li Xian still wanted to ask him something, but Pang Long let out a heavy sigh and turned to enter the manor.

As far as the eye could see, heaven and earth were pitch-black.

Buying rouge was no less impossible than a fool's wild dream, harder than climbing to heaven.

One Accord Manor lay more than thirty li from Qingning County. The road wasn't a mountain path, but an official road paved with fine gravel and sand.

But this heavy snow had already buried it.

Unable to feel out the path, anyone who ventured outside would surely lose their way.

Li Xian sorted through the situation and gently exhaled.

He forced himself to calm down and considered how to handle it.

"I'm still at the manor entrance, so I have landmarks and know which way is north, south, east, and west. Once I enter the snowstorm, there won't be any landmarks left."

In any case, he first put on the beast-fur cloak, doing his best to keep warm.

"This pouch feels smooth and cool. It must belong to the madam."

He opened the pouch. Inside were three taels of silver.

Though the world was in chaos, Rouge and Powder were still very expensive. Three or five taels of silver could buy rouge, but not truly good rouge.

"It seems the Drunkard's Intent Is Not the Wine."

Li Xian put the pouch away. Seeing that the manor gate was shut tight, he knew there was no use lingering. So, carrying the oil lamp, he first made his way along the courtyard wall.

After walking more than a li, he reached a corner. Li Xian knew that if he continued along the wall, he would just circle around the manor.

He would never reach Qingning County.

"How do I break this deadlock?" Li Xian emptied his mind and steadied himself...

Then inspiration struck.

In this kind of environment, his eyes were useless.

What truly mattered was his skin, his senses.

"If I head east, I can reach Qingning County. The difficult part is how to keep going east without taking a wrong turn."

"My eyes are useless, my ears are useless... The only things that can help are 'memory' and 'sensation'!"

Li Xian stretched out both hands, feeling the direction of the wind.

At that moment, he hadn't lost his bearings. He knew where east, west, north, and south were.

He felt a faint resistance ahead; an east wind was blowing. After a while, the wind shifted and became a south wind...

The wind's direction was constantly changing.

"Fortunately, I learned Four Directions Fist. Applying its Fist Principles here is just what I need to break this deadlock."

"I'll make myself a flag and feel the gale from all sides, treating the winds as enemies attacking from every direction."

"First, I'll remember the initial wind direction. Then, by tracking the angle of each shift, I can work out which way the wind is blowing at any given moment and use it as a reference to determine east, west, north, and south."

"As long as I keep determining the wind's direction, I won't get lost in the snowstorm."

Put simply, there was nothing in heaven and earth, only pitch-black darkness, so the wind was the only reference point.

But the wind changed constantly. Once he entered the snowstorm, he wouldn't even be able to tell east from west, let alone what direction the wind was blowing from.

And the wind could push his footsteps off course, making him turn without realizing it.

How difficult it was to keep heading east.

He had to remember the initial wind direction at all costs, then use what he sensed in the wind to work out its new direction in real time.

In the vast snowstorm, he had to find this "moving" reference point—the only one he could rely on.

Li Xian took a deep breath.

He calmed his thoughts and stopped thinking about anything else. Then he stepped forward into the snowstorm.

The wind suddenly shifted, blowing from the southwest.

"It's a southwest wind!"

Using the wind as his guide, he worked out where east lay and headed that way.

"It changed... Now it's a southeast wind..."

He worked out his direction again.

The hardest part of this method was "memory" and "confidence."

Even if the method worked, walking alone through an environment like this would inevitably make him doubt himself and lose focus.

One small mistake, oversight, or moment of distraction along the way could throw off all his judgments. Before he knew it, he might begin walking in circles and lose his way completely.

Li Xian closed his eyes, shutting out his senses, and steeled his resolve.

He turned the wind that disrupted his sense of direction into a marker that locked it in place.

Step by step, he walked for who knew how long.

"This is..."

When he opened his eyes again, the towering city gate of "Qingning County" stood right before him.

"I did it!"

Li Xian was overjoyed, as if he had escaped death. He leaned against the city wall and walked along it; a short distance away, he spotted a dog hole.

He struck twice with his fists, sending Inner Qi surging and scattering the snow that blocked the hole.

He crawled through and successfully entered the city.

"What was the madam's real reason for sending me to buy rouge?"

"Did she want to kill me to silence me? Or was there another purpose?"

Li Xian spotted a stable. He used the Treading Snow trait to lightly vault over the wall and took shelter by the stable to rest.

On a day of heavy wind and snow, every shop in Qingning County was closed too.

"Why not take this chance to run away? Then I'd be free. I could go somewhere else and look for a way to make a living."

A powerful urge suddenly rose within Li Xian.

Just then, he sensed something, as if a gaze had fallen on him.

He looked around, but there wasn't a soul in sight.

"No..." Li Xian silently cautioned himself. "There must be another reason they sent me to buy rouge in this snowstorm. If I run away now, perhaps... that's what would truly bring death upon me!"

He gathered himself again.

Inner Qi circulated throughout his body, restoring warmth to his stiff, frozen hands and feet.

"If I didn't have Inner Qi, I'd have frozen to death already."

Li Xian muttered to himself. Since he was already here, he might as well take a walk down Leaking Bottle Alley.

He saw that the houses were dilapidated and the strong wind had scattered the thatch roofs. Fortunately, Younger Brother had already left and wouldn't have to freeze here.

The roof of Auntie Liu's family next door had been reinforced, plastered with mud, and covered with some timber.

It could just about withstand the gale.

A fire burned inside. The family of three huddled together on their heated brick bed.

Li Xian felt much better. He left Leaking Bottle Alley and felt his way along the houses as he went.

"This oil lamp really is miraculous. Even this gale can't blow it out."

It could light up the surroundings, but it wasn't enough to keep him warm.

There were many houses in the county and plenty of landmarks, so he wouldn't get blown off course. Li Xian identified the names of the streets and alleys by the tall buildings.

"Water Gauze Alley..."

"This is it!"

If there was anywhere in Qingning County that sold Rouge and Powder, it was Water Gauze Alley, next to Red Candle Alley.

Red Candle Alley was a place of revelry night after night, where pleasure and debauchery flourished. Water Gauze Alley was a street of silk and satin merchants, Rouge and Powder, ornaments, and antiques.

It was utterly unlike Leaking Bottle Alley.

The ground was paved with blue bricks. In busy times, the street blazed with lights, and people would eat their fill of delicacies from land and sea, then dump the leftovers right on the ground.

But they wouldn't give any to beggars.

Every pavilion had hired plenty of henchmen.

Anyone who dared pick up the leftovers got beaten. They simply wouldn't give you any. What could you do about it?

But with the snow piled up like a blanket, the blue bricks were nowhere to be seen.

"Dream Immortal Pavilion."

"I'll buy it here."

Li Xian knocked on the door, but no one answered, so he immediately knocked hard again.

Bang, bang-

Only after quite a while did someone answer.

"Go, go, go! If you're freezing to death, freeze somewhere else. You think I'm going to collect your corpse? No chance!"

The voice was rather sharp.

"Open the door. I'm here to do business."

Li Xian circulated his Inner Qi and called out with a strong, resonant voice.

After quite a while, the door opened a crack. An eye filled the gap. "Young master, in the middle of winter, surely you haven't come to the wrong place?"

Her voice softened considerably.

Li Xian said in a low voice, "This is the place where I buy rouge."

"You're really here to buy rouge?" the woman asked.

"What else?" Li Xian brushed the snow off his clothes.

"Very well, come in." The woman opened a narrow gap. Li Xian took the opportunity to squeeze inside, then closed the door.

It was very warm inside.

Several stoves were burning. Li Xian undid his cloak, shook the snow from his hair, and only then began to size up the other person.

She was a middle-aged woman in her forties, rather plump, holding a red-and-green handkerchief. A strong perfume scent clung to her.

"Ohoho, we've got ourselves a young master."

After getting a good look at Li Xian, the middle-aged woman relaxed considerably.

So he was just a youngster.

"What kinds of Rouge and Powder do you have? Tell me about them." Li Xian spread his hands and held them by the stove to warm them.

"Rouge and Powder? I've got all sorts." The woman giggled. "Young master, come with me."