Madam Appears, Points Out the Demon Monkey

The woman had spent years in business, and her eyes were sharp as a fox's. Her gaze darted back and forth, taking in this, sizing up that, then sweeping over everything. Li Xian understood at once.

His outerwear was made of fur and wool.

It was not cheap. Anyone who could afford it was either rich or noble. But what nobleman would come to buy rouge in the dead of winter?

Then she noticed that beneath his outerwear, he wore a uniform. He was clearly a servant, a household slave, or some other menial.

He was probably out of favor and had been taught a lesson. Otherwise, how could such a deadly errand have fallen to him?

"My dear young master, come have a look over here."

The woman's manner was much more perfunctory. She swayed her hips, doing her best to walk with graceful, delicate poise. But her figure was quite unsuited to it, so Li Xian hurriedly looked away to spare himself the sight.

She opened a box.

Inside were rouge cases in every color-red, blue, green-all exquisitely decorated. Pearls, jade, and other jewels were set into them.

"Have a look. If you have any questions, just ask me," the woman said.

Li Xian picked up a case at random and gave it a light sniff. A faint fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose.

"How much is this one?"

Li Xian asked.

"This one? It's cheap stuff, a little over seven hundred copper coins," the woman said with a smile.

"Show me another one. Something around three taels of silver." Li Xian waved it away.

"All right." The woman turned and went to a display wall. "Everything on here is in that price range."

Li Xian rested his fingers on his chin, looking at the display wall as he sank into thought:

"Once I've bought the rouge, I'll have to go back to the manor. The risks are too great. The longer I can stay here, the longer I should stay."

Li Xian sighed inwardly, feeling that his life was as precarious as the wind and snow.

On the surface, he was carefully choosing rouge. In truth, he was merely struggling in silence.

"Listen, young master, are you buying anything or not? You've been looking for far too long," the woman said impatiently.

"Do you have anything to eat?" Li Xian asked, answering a different question.

"Fine."

The woman went to the kitchen and brought back a bowl of plain noodles. "Once you've eaten, you have to make up your mind. It's not that I don't want to keep you here, but...what good would keeping you for another little while do?"

"You have to go back eventually, don't you? This snowstorm won't stop for days." The woman sat across from him and clicked her tongue, shaking her head. "It's a pity, with a face like yours."

"If this were somewhere else, I might still be able to find you some work. But right now, who knows if we'll survive this snowstorm?"

Though the woman was speaking coldly, there was a trace of compassion in her words.

Li Xian said nothing. He ate the noodles in big mouthfuls and drank the broth, too, until it was gone. Then he picked up a rouge case he liked and paid for it.

As he was leaving, Li Xian passed a brazier, and an idea came to him.

He had made it safely to Qingning County partly through sheer luck. Whether he could make it back was anyone's guess. If he had a brazier with him, at least he would be more comfortable.

So he said:

"Dear sister, could you give me one of these braziers?"

"Oh, you've got a sweet tongue. Take one." The woman waved her hand dismissively.

Li Xian crawled through the dog hole and came outside the city wall. After confirming his direction, he began to sense the wind.

He held the brazier against his chest. A layer of clothing kept it from burning his skin, but the bursts of searing pain were intense.

Still better than freezing to death.

"The wind's coming from the southwest..."

Li Xian took a step forward, keeping the initial wind direction firmly in mind. Once there were no landmarks left, he would have to estimate every later change in the wind based on its original direction.

He walked like this for half an hour.

Li Xian was secretly glad he had learned the "Treading Snow" trait in advance. Otherwise, the deep blanket of snow would swallow his feet, and his attention would be scattered.

If that happened, his skill at finding his bearings by listening to the wind would be far less useful, and he could easily lose his way.

Then, at a certain moment, the wind suddenly stopped.

"What a chance!"

He was facing due west, the direction of the manor. With the wind no longer interfering, he could seize this opportunity and pick up speed, greatly improving his chances of survival.

Li Xian put all his strength into it and ran as fast as he could.

He had gone about three to five li when the wind and snow returned.

Li Xian slowed down, intending to use the old method again and estimate his direction from the wind.

Suddenly, his whole body shuddered.

A chill rose through his bones. The hairs on his body stood on end, from his feet to his head, and would not settle for a long time.

In the darkness, two points of fire glowed in the distance, hazy red and swaying as they seemed to approach.

When they came closer, the two points of fire became eyes as large as Bronze Bells.

A Snow Demon Monkey!

Its entire body was snow-white, its silver fur as sharp as needles. Its mouth jutted out without cheeks, and it looked terrifying.

"Damn it... How did it find me?"

This was like adding snow to a snowdrift. Li Xian had no time to think. He lowered his head and ran for his life.

The Snow Demon Monkey chased him on all fours. It looked like an ape, but it did not climb trees. It raced across the snow like a leopard.

It seemed to have the "Treading Snow" trait by nature, too. It was extremely fast and left no footprints at all.

Li Xian was furious. The moment the demon pounced, he suddenly rolled to the side. With his right hand, he grabbed a handful of snow and squeezed it with Inner Qi.

It formed into sharp ice crystals, which he hurled at the Snow Demon Monkey.

This was a little trick he had come up with himself. It had a bit of the flair of a master who could kill with a leaf.

Unfortunately, he was still too weak. The instant the ice crystals hit the Snow Demon Monkey, they shattered into powder.

"Run!"

With danger right on his heels, Li Xian ran again. He was much faster than before, but compared to the Snow Demon Monkey, he was still nowhere near its speed.

In his panic, he had long since lost his way.

He ran into a mountain. It was pitch-black all around, and the Snow Demon Monkey had vanished, too.

"Human..."

"You... good..."

Suddenly, the Snow Demon Monkey's voice came from overhead.

Li Xian looked up and saw it hanging from a cliff. Its red pupils, large as Bronze Bells, studied him curiously.

It seemed to want to talk.

"Is it saying hello?" Li Xian's hair stood on end as he watched its expression shift from curiosity to amusement.

Then he understood the next two words.

"Tasty..."

It sprang down at him.

"Damn it! You can't scare the guts out of me! I'll fight you to the death!"

A fierce determination surged through Li Xian. His right hand clamped directly onto the brazier, and his palm sizzled, sending up smoke.

He had left in a hurry and had not brought his saber. All he could do was use the brazier as a weapon and prepare to fight to the bitter end.

Just then.

"Beast, you finally showed yourself."

A cool voice drifted over from far away.

At the sound of it, the Snow Demon Monkey fled in panic like a stray dog. In an instant, it was frightened into running away.

It was so fast that it was many times faster than when it had chased Li Xian!

In a flash, it opened up dozens of zhang of distance.

Right behind it, Li Xian saw a white figure flash past. The wind and snow were too fierce, and the figure was too fast. In the blink of an eye, it had drawn far away.

He could barely make out that it was a woman of graceful bearing.

Knowing it could not escape, the Snow Demon Monkey let out a "chittering" sound.

"Human... cunning..."

It suddenly pounced at the woman, striking wildly.

Its force was so great that each swing whipped up a gust of wind.

But the woman stood in the snow, calm and composed. Facing the Snow Demon Monkey's attack, she merely extended two fingers and gave a light pinch.

She caught the demon monkey's hand between them.

An invisible force enveloped the Snow Demon Monkey's entire body, leaving it unable to move.

"To become my Essence Food is your destiny."

She gave a light tremor with her two fingers. The force of the vibration grew from faint to strong, passing from her hand through the demon monkey's whole body. "Crack, crack"-the sounds were like bones breaking one by one.

In almost an instant,

the Snow Demon Monkey was no longer recognizable.

This could hardly be called a fight. It was simply a one-sided slaughter. The Snow Demon Monkey's skin was like iron, its fur like needles, and its bones like iron. It had many ways to kill its enemies.

But the gap in strength was too great. It had no chance to use any of them before it was already dead.