Return to Hibiscus City

In reality, January is a time of bright and sunny spring days, but in the Northern Border, it's bitterly cold.

In previous years, Zhang Household Village would have faced shortages of food and clothing during this time of year.

During this period, hunting becomes difficult, and the melting snow absorbs a lot of heat, resulting in completely different temperatures and how people feel.

When Zhang Xuezhou woke up, he felt that his hands and feet, which had been frozen for seven days, were ice-cold.

Despite Dong Zhongshu and others covering him with a blanket and lighting a fire in the room, the situation remained the same.

Zhang Xuezhou was even feeling a bit dizzy and lightheaded at this moment.

"Excuse me... could you please open the windows to let in some fresh air? We're about to get carbon monoxide poisoning!"

Looking at the burning charcoal fire in the room, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but feel fortunate that he was physically strong and had many ways to avoid danger. If he had continued to burn charcoal for warmth for seven days, the chances of him becoming paralyzed on one side would have been quite high.

He shouted, breaking the silence of the room.

What kind of poison?

Zhao Liang, whose eyes were drooping, tightened his clothes and nudged Zhang Bayang, who was dozing off by the table.

Zhao Liang didn't open the window; instead, he helped Zhang Xuezhou up.

Seeing Zhang Xuezhou struggling to push open the window, he couldn't help but shrink back.

"The wind is quite cool today..."

The window was opened, and a gust of cool, Northern Border wind swept into the lodging room.

"Where are Accountant Du and Ruan Qigong?"

As the cold wind blew into the room, Zhang Xuezhou felt several times more awake as he took a deep breath of fresh air. Zhang Bayang, who was lying by the table, was also jolted awake by the cold wind and stood up with a start.

"Manager Dongfang, you're freezing me to death!" Zhang Bayang said, shivering.

"Southerners aren't feeling well here," Zhao Liang said. "We can't stand the bone-chilling cold of Fuping County, so only Accountant Du and Master Ruan have gone out on errands!"

The climate difference between south and north is huge. They could still bear it before their bodies felt the change, but once they truly felt the cold of the Northern Border, Zhao Liang and Zhang Bayang, who were both unwell, couldn't hold on.

Zhang Xuezhou lay in bed for seven days, while Zhao Liang and Zhang Bayang waited in the side room for two days.

"So you didn't go to the military camp?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"No, no, no," Zhao Liang shook his head repeatedly, "Accountant Du and Master Ruan went to try and pull some strings with some money, hoping they could get a meeting with General Li, even if they're a bit far away, they can at least call out to him!"

"That's a great idea!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

Using money to pave the way is the simplest and most effective method, bypassing too many intermediate steps.

At present, Dong Zhongshu and Zhang Cigong are obviously still working on their relationship, which made Zhang Xuezhou, after catching his breath and eating some food, think about returning to Hibiscus City first.

To avoid clashing with 30 million lunatics, Zhang Xuezhou felt it necessary to resolve the issue of Ren Yisheng's soul leaving his body.

Regardless of whether methods like summoning or collecting souls are effective, he still needs to give it a try.

"I'll go out and find Accountant Du!"

Zhang Xuezhou called out to Zhao Liang and Zhang Bayang, stretched his arms and legs, and then crawled out of the side room.

"Those northerners really aren't afraid of the cold!"

"It's so cold outside! Quickly seal the windows shut, don't let any wind in!"

Hearing hushed conversations coming from inside the room, Zhang Xuezhou shook his head and then quickly walked out along the alley.

As the heavy curtain was lifted, the ice and snow of the Northern Border were fully revealed.

The snow and ice had stopped for a long time and were in the melting period, leaving black mud and ice chips everywhere.

Zhang Xuezhou stepped into the muddy water and then pulled his tianyi (a type of protective clothing) to protect his hands.

"The teacher didn't even give us a full suit!"

The Tongfeng clothing was breathable and kept warm, so Zhang Xuezhou didn't feel cold.

If the celestial robe is stretched out to cover more thoroughly, his hands won't feel cold.

But the soles of my feet, which weren't wearing any protective gear, couldn't stand the icy cold.

After stomping on it several times, Zhang Xuezhou felt that the soles of his feet were perfectly combined with the icy water.

Since he was like this, there were few people on the streets of Fuping County.

During this season, everyone has to tighten their belts to get through this cold spring period, and most people, like Zhao Liang and others, stay indoors.

If they can supply their own needs and have extra food, they can sell it for a good price. Occasionally, some hunters will carry their hunted prey from house to house to sell and earn money to get through the winter.

Zhang Xuezhou continued walking along the street.

Fuping County is not very big; he can leave Fuping County whether he goes south or north.

If it weren't for the fact that it was relatively bright at that time, and that it would easily attract the attention of military patrols, Zhang Xuezhou would have already taken flight.

But he didn't waste much time.

After traveling quickly for a quarter of an hour, Zhang Xuezhou could already see the city wall, which was nearly ten meters high.

As one of the eight counties in the Northern Border, Fuping County is far less prosperous than the counties in the south, but its military defense is far superior to that of many cities in the south.

The city wall was not deserted; there was even a squad of soldiers patrolling back and forth, and the shouts of small groups training could be heard.

As a city prepared for war, Fuping County was far more heavily patrolled and guarded than Zhang Xuezhou had imagined.

Even when he went to Fuping County, he underwent repeated verifications.

"There's really no food left at home. I have to go outside and find some rabbit or pheasant!"

Zhang Xuezhou's reason was that he needed to go hunting outside the county, and being hungry was a perfectly legitimate reason to leave the city.

After searching back and forth for quite a while, the soldiers finally released Zhang Xuezhou.

"Pheasants and rabbits are hard to find these days. Look deeper into the ground; you might find some ground squirrels. They always manage to find food, and you might even dig up some dried fruit through the burrows!"

"Just one more month, and the ground will thaw!"

"This early spring is really cold!"

Some soldiers gave Zhang Xuezhou some advice, while others complained.

Zhang Xuezhou bowed in thanks.

The trampling marks outside the city were not very obvious, and he walked further and further away in the snow.

It wasn't until they had walked several miles that Zhang Xuezhou activated his Demon Power.

Patches of bronze-colored feathers peeked through his skin. He took a few steps with a running start, and then soared into the air.

The journey from Fuping County to Hibiscus City is about 200 li (approximately 100 kilometers).

This distance is the distance traveled by carriage and horse, which would be much shorter if a straight-line, flying method were used.

Zhang Xuezhou had discerned the direction and roughly knew the location of Hibiscus City. He had also noticed some tire tracks left on the ground while flying, which allowed him to identify Hibiscus City's location more accurately.

Amidst the howling wind and waves, his body swiftly swept across the plains and mountainous areas.

Once a relatively familiar village came into view in the distance, Zhang Xuezhou had completely determined his location.

Dragon Gate Village, which used to be more than 20 miles away from Hibiscus City, was traversed in a short period of time. Zhang Xuezhou even saw the Daoist temple that Daoist Mu had rebuilt after it was burned down.

This caused him to fold his wings from a distance and then gracefully land on the ground.

When Zhang Xuezhou finally reached the Daoist temple through the mud, he was filled with emotion upon seeing the familiar place again.

"Bang bang bang!"

He knocked on the door, and when no one answered, Zhang Xuezhou knocked harder.

"Who is it that comes to burn incense in this freezing weather!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but be somewhat taken aback.

When the gate of the Daoist temple opened, Rong Tianding, with his hair in a Daoist bun and wearing a Daoist robe, immediately came into view.

"Cousin?"

The Daoist temple door opened, and Rong Tianding was also startled to see Zhang Xuezhou, who was dressed in thin clothes. He then quickly pulled Zhang Xuezhou inside.

"Cousin, how did you become a Daoist priest?"

"Cousin, where have you been all these years?"

Not only was Zhang Xuezhou surprised, but Rong Tianding was also clearly astonished.

Zhang Xuezhou didn't stay at the Rong Household for very long, but in that short time, the Rong Household became a completely different place.