Zhongli the Coffin Salesman, and the Approaching Blizzard!

"Alright. If someone in your family dies and you need to hold a funeral, come find me."

"I'll give you a ten percent discount."

Zhongli nodded and spoke generously.

He thought that if he could close this deal, Hall Master Hu Tao would probably calm down too.

"A funeral... What does your Wangsheng Funeral Parlor do?"

Xue Yan froze, only then realizing something was wrong as she asked stiffly.

"Coffins, burial clothes, paper offerings, burial plots—a complete funeral service."

Zhongli replied.

"Cough, cough, cough. Sorry, no one in my family has died, and we aren't planning to die either."

"Just pretend I never said that. Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo."

Xue Yan hurriedly spat three times, feeling utterly unlucky.

She had only exchanged a few polite words, yet she had run into a funeral worker. She had nearly gotten herself put into a coffin.

"It's fine if you aren't planning to die now. You'll all die eventually."

"If you place an order now, I can give you a twenty percent discount when you die later."

Seeing the deal slip away, Zhongli still wanted to fight for it.

"No, no, sorry to bother you. We'll go back to our room and rest first."

"Bye-bye, goodbye. No need to see us off."

Xue Yan hurriedly dragged Xue Wu away, afraid that if they said another word, this strange man would hold a funeral for them on the spot.

"Alas, people always fear death, but death is inevitable."

Zhongli sighed, then lowered his gaze toward Qin Qi and the others. His eyes shifted as he suddenly came up with a good idea.

"If you dare try to sell me a coffin, you can get out and sleep on the streets tonight."

Qin Qi looked at Zhongli expressionlessly. He seemed to have already guessed what Zhongli was about to say.

He directly cut off Zhongli's train of thought.

"Alas."

Zhongli sighed helplessly, but then he reconsidered. Qin Qi was still young.

Younger than Hu Tao, even. By the time Qin Qi died of old age, the grass on Hu Tao's grave would probably be three feet tall.

So this deal seemed impossible after all.

"Stop thinking about your business. Time to eat."

Qin Qi led Doro and Guga to sit at the dining table, then started eating.

"Coming."

Zhongli sat down and began eating as well.

After dinner, everyone sat by the window and watched the snowy scenery from day until night.

They fell asleep just like that. The next morning, Qin Qi was awakened by a knock at the door.

"Ahh... Who is it?"

Qin Qi pushed Guga, who was lying on his stomach, aside, walked to the door, and opened it.

Xue Yan and her daughter Xue Wu stood outside.

"It's not breakfast time yet. If you're hungry, go grab some cookies."

"Mm, good night."

Qin Qi spoke drowsily, his eyes barely open.

After saying that, he prepared to close the door and go back to sleep.

"We're not hungry. We're leaving."

"The snow has stopped, so we're heading to the Far North to hunt for a Soul Ring."

"We wanted to let you know before leaving. Oh, and please keep our room for us for now."

"We might come back later."

Xue Yan hurriedly held the door open and explained.

"Oh, got it."

Qin Qi swayed on his feet as he answered groggily.

"If there's nothing else, I'm going back to sleep."

After saying that, Qin Qi turned around and returned to bed. He fell asleep again shortly after flopping onto it.

Guga woke up groggily midway, rubbed her eyes, and looked around blankly.

Then she yawned, moved her little feet, and climbed back onto Qin Qi.

She lay on top of him and went back to sleep.

"Honestly, is it really alright for this child to live alone in a place like this?"

"What if he runs into a bad person? Wouldn't that be the end of him?"

Xue Yan looked at Qin Qi and the others, unable to resist shaking her head as she walked to the bed.

She picked up the blanket that had been kicked onto the floor and gently covered Qin Qi and the others with it.

"Mom."

Xue Wu was a little speechless. At a time like this, her mother still had to tuck them in. Was her maternal instinct overflowing or something?

"Sorry, sorry. Looking at them reminded me of you when you were little."

"You used to kick off your blanket all the time too. I had to get up in the middle of the night to cover you every time."

Xue Yan smiled and shook her head, then quietly left the room and gently closed the door.

They packed their things and left Qin Qi's house, heading for the Far North.

When they left, the ground outside was still covered in snow, but the sun shone brightly overhead. It looked like good weather.

The two gradually ventured deeper into the Far North. As Xue Yan explained the situation there to Xue Wu, she searched for a Soul Beast suitable for her daughter.

"Mom, why do we have to come here to find Soul Beasts? Wouldn't it be better to go to the Star Dou Great Forest?"

Xue Wu felt chilled to the bone. The Far North's environment was still too harsh for her.

"Your martial soul has ice and water attributes, so the most suitable Soul Rings for you are from ice-attributed Soul Beasts."

"And you can hardly find ice-attributed ones in the forests on the continent."

"So if we want to find a suitable Soul Beast, we have to come to the Far North."

Xue Yan looked at Xue Wu but did not use her own Soul Power to help her resist the cold.

Adapting to the Far North's environment was also part of cultivation.

They searched from morning until noon without finding a suitable Soul Beast.

They found a sheltered spot and sat down to eat, but at that moment, a cloud suddenly covered the sun.

"Mom, there are clouds. It won't start snowing again, will it?"

Xue Wu looked at the patch of cloud in the sky and could not help feeling worried.

If it started snowing now, they would be trapped in the Far North. They might freeze to death then!

"Don't worry. It snowed for so long yesterday, so it's unlikely to snow again today."

"And even if it does, it should only be light snow. It won't be heavy."

Xue Yan looked at the sky. It was clear, with only a few scattered clouds.

Based on her experience, there should not be another heavy snowfall.

Meanwhile, at Qin Qi's house.

"Judging by the weather, a blizzard will probably arrive before long."

"We need to reinforce the doors and windows a little, so the blizzard and hail don't smash the windows."

Qin Qi looked at the weather outside through the window and gave his instructions.

"The weather outside is so clear. There won't be a blizzard, will there?"

Zhongli looked outside and spoke.

"I grew up in this place. I know its weather better than anyone."

"This clear weather and rising temperature aren't signs of a sunny day."

"They're the calm before a blizzard. At least three hours, at most half a day—there's definitely a huge blizzard coming."

Qin Qi raised his chin with an extremely confident expression. Having lived here since childhood, he understood the Far North's weather far too well.

He might misjudge light snow or a small windstorm, but there was no way he would get something as serious as a blizzard wrong.

"If that's the case, then we have a problem."

"I saw Xue Yan and Xue Wu heading for the Far North this morning."

"If a blizzard starts while they're on the way, they'll be in danger."

Zhongli had gotten up very early that morning and had begun drinking tea. He had happened to see Xue Yan and Xue Wu leaving.

"Huh?!"

Qin Qi's eyes widened and his mouth fell slightly open. Then he quickly jumped down from his chair.

He rushed to Xue Yan and Xue Wu's room, pushed open the door, and found that they were gone. Their things were gone too.

"Damn it, we need to save them!"

"If we're any later, it'll be over!"

Qin Qi called Doro, Guga, and Zhongli, and they hurriedly ran outside.