In the tiny courtyard, a patch of wintersweet was in bloom. Though snowflakes drifted down from the sky, the gnarled, twisting branches remained covered in pale yellow flowers, wrapped in frost-sugar-like snow.
This courtyard was merely one part of a vast garden. Looking along the covered corridor bridges roofed with blue tiles, one could see that they connected to even more buildings and courtyards. Looking down from the edge here, there were endless snow-covered mountains and a distance that seemed to stretch on forever.
The wind swept up snow from the slopes, and these thin, smoke-like ribbons of white silk curled around the entire valley, making everything seem dreamlike and unreal.
Su Ming pushed open the door to the courtyard's main house. The upper half of the door had latticed windows covered with paper, while the lower half bore relief carvings of plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums, full of Eastern charm.
He walked straight in and, with the ease of someone familiar with the place, sat behind a low table in the center of the hall. He lit the small stove beside him, placed a somewhat blackened copper teapot over it, then took out several little jars and rummaged through them as though considering what tea to drink.
"Where is this?"
Hermione, who had naturally come along with him, was clearly astonished. Though snow had been falling constantly in the courtyard, the surrounding air remained above twenty degrees Celsius, and yet the snow stubbornly refused to melt.
It made her feel as though all her previous lessons had been for nothing. This was obviously illogical.
"Marvel Earth-40K, my Main World. You're currently in the Kamar-Taj sanctuary, but you can just think of it as a school." Su Ming smiled as he raised his head from behind the low table.