Little Strange Worms

Ji Yuan lay on a flat boulder, watching the stars in the sky. Little Paper Crane had already flown out of sight in his peripheral vision. The little fellow was exceptionally skilled at hiding and quick-witted as well, with a unique Spiritual Sense of its own. Ji Yuan was not worried.

Starlight glittered in his eyes, then slowly blurred as clouds rose and gradually obscured the starry sky. In the latter half of the night, fine snow began to fall. These were likely the last snows of early spring.

In such surroundings, Ji Yuan actually felt a trace of drowsiness. Taking heaven as his blanket and earth as his mat, he lay on his side with his arm beneath his head and fell asleep. Beneath the boulder, the golden-armored figure remained sitting cross-legged, his spine ramrod straight, his pair of naturally imposing eyes fixed ahead, as though neither wind nor snow could affect him in the slightest.

Meanwhile, Little Paper Crane was naturally flying toward Nandao County Town. People were both the best subjects to observe and Little Paper Crane's favorite things to watch. Especially where crowds gathered, there was always something interesting to see.

Nandao County Town had always counted as one of the relatively prosperous cities within several hundred li. Though that was only in relative terms, it was at least a proper city.

It was deep in the night. The ordinary people of Nandao County Town had long since fallen asleep, but that did not mean Nandao County had gone quiet. On the contrary, wherever large numbers of people lived together, there would always be people moving about in corners beyond the schedules of ordinary people.

Within Nandao County Town, near the middle section of the southern city wall, stood a relatively large residence. It was enclosed