Chapter 1: Cold Journey Through Wind and Snow

A cold night, heavy snow, a waning moon.

A snow-white carriage creaked slowly across the silver frost.

An old man draped in sheepskin held the reins, occasionally puffing out warm breath and rubbing his dark, wrinkled hands.

Firelight flickered inside the carriage, where three figures sat.

Two men and one woman.

One was fair-complexioned and remarkably handsome, leaning against a post as he read a book.

The other had dark skin and wore a white robe, idly playing with a jade fan in his hands, his gaze drifting towards the young woman from time to time.

The young woman had bright eyes and radiant white teeth, her lips red and skin porcelain. On her right cheek was a pink, plum-blossom-shaped birthmark, which did not detract from her beauty in the slightest, but instead added a peculiar charm.

She was brewing tea.

Stirring, pouring, refilling water… Her snow-white fingers moved methodically, each gesture seeming to strike at the dark-skinned youth’s heartstrings.

This caused the youth’s fingers playing with the fan to become ever lighter and livelier.

“The Master of Meichang Academy says that giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish, but I do not see it that way,” the reading youth suddenly remarked.

The young woman poured tea and pushed it in front of the reading youth, saying, “What new insight have you gained this time, Senior Brother Xu Wen?”

Xu Wen said, “Teaching a man to fish solves long-term survival, but giving him a fish solves immediate survival. The two serve different purposes, so how can they be compared directly?”

The young woman smiled subtly, her gaze shifting to the dark-skinned youth, and asked, “What do you think, Senior Brother Song Xuan?”

The dark-skinned youth instantly perked up and said, “I think Senior Brother Xu Wen is wrong. Fish meat will eventually be eaten up. What use is solving temporary hunger? Long-term survival is what truly matters.”

Xu Wen countered, “But if you cannot even resolve an immediate crisis, what is the point of considering the long term?”

“Without longevity, an instant is merely a passing moment.”

The two held their respective views, debating endlessly.

“Jianjia, what do you think?” Xu Wen asked suddenly.

Crunching footstep sounds suddenly came from outside the carriage. Lu Jianjia lifted the carriage curtain, and a youth appeared at the fork in the snowy road.

Seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing tattered clothes, carrying a wooden pole on his shoulder with two bundles tied to it.

Lu Jianjia blinked her lovely eyes, signaled toward the youth outside, and smiled:

“Senior Brother Xu Wen, Senior Brother Song Xuan, we are all students of Meichang Academy, and posing a daily question is the task Master gave us. Since we cannot reach an agreement, why not test it on someone?”

The eyes of both men immediately landed on the youth walking outside the carriage.

Song Xuan glanced at the youth, his expression full of disdain.

“He wears rags and staggers along, yet does not even know enough to find shelter on a snowy night. Nine times out of ten, he is an ignorant beggar. What could he possibly verify?”

“I do not think so. Look at his eyes,” Xu Wen said.

Their eyes fell upon the youth’s eyes, and they were all taken aback.

He had an extraordinarily sharp pair of eyes.

“Such sharp eyes show that although he is tired, his spirit is strong. Moreover, he has travel bags on his stick, unlike a beggar,” Xu Wen said.

Song Xuan frowned deeply, glanced at Lu Jianjia, and said in dissatisfaction, “So what if he has bundles? Perhaps he picked them up along the road. Senior Brother Xu Wen, your judgment of people is far too superficial.”

“Do not be hasty, Senior Brother. We can find out simply by asking.”

Lu Jianjia picked up a cup of hot tea and waved. “Young master, it is freezing cold out there. Have a sip of hot tea.”

The youth turned his head, making them pause slightly once again.

His eyes were indeed remarkably bright, like the cold, clear eyes of a wolf under the night sky.

No person dressed in thin clothes walking through the freezing winter snow could refuse a cup of hot tea, and neither could the youth.

He walked over to take the tea cup.

Lu Jianjia pulled her hand back slightly. “May I ask, are you a beggar?”

Xu Wen shook his head helplessly. How could anyone in the world ask such a question?

The pure, naive junior sister of Meichang Academy truly lived up to her reputation.

“No.”

The youth uttered two words, picked up the teacup, and drank it in one gulp.

He handed the teacup back. Song Xuan immediately grabbed it and threw it outside the carriage. “So filthy and messy. Who knows if he carries some wretched disease.”

Lu Jianjia showed an apologetic expression, but the youth did not mind, shouldering his bamboo pole and continuing through the snow.

Lu Jianjia said, “It seems Senior Brother Song Xuan lost the first round. Now let us test the question from earlier—giving a fish versus teaching how to fish.”

Song Xuan frowned. “How can we test that?”

Lu Jianjia took out three items from under the table: a baked flatbread, a piece of meat, and two flint stones.

“The dry rations represent the fish, while the meat and flints represent teaching how to fish.”

Xu Wen smiled. “Junior Sister Jianjia is exceptionally clever. Song Xuan, what do you think he will choose?”

Song Xuan shrugged and said, “As long as he has half a brain, he will choose the latter.”

“I bet he will choose the flatbread,” Xu Wen said.

Lu Jianjia lifted the carriage curtain and waved again. “Young master, please come over.”

Frowning, the youth walked back over to the carriage.

Holding the flatbread in her left hand and the flints and meat in her right hand, Lu Jianjia said, “The journey is long, and we are willing to gift you some rations. However, you can only choose one of these two options.”

Without the slightest hesitation, the youth stuffed the flatbread inside his collar.

His movements were swift, and Lu Jianjia faintly caught sight of a blade concealed against his chest.

She blinked her eyes and examined the youth a few moments longer.

“What a stupid pig! What use is a single flatbread? Can it possibly compare to a strip of meat and flints?”

Having lost two rounds in a row in front of the girl he adored, Song Xuan could not help but burst out cursing in anger.

The youth did not grow angry; he merely gave him a glance and continued walking on his own.

Seeing Song Xuan’s sour expression, Lu Jianjia said, “Senior Brother Song, scholarly arguments are not about right or wrong, superior or inferior. Even if there is a difference, it is only temporary. Striving for deeper truth is our true intention, so do not fixate on winning or losing.”

Song Xuan said defiantly, “If there is no winner or loser, what is the meaning of debate? Senior Brother Xu Wen, I lost the previous rounds, so let us compete in a third. Let us bet on what is inside this beggar’s bundles.”

Xu Wen frowned and pondered for a long while before shaking his head.

“If it were clothes, he ought to have worn them to keep warm. If it were food, why would he be so eager to choose the flatbread? I cannot guess.”

Song Xuan smiled triumphantly. “This place is a full ten miles from Baici Town, with no village ahead or inn behind. In such heavy snow, why is he here?

In my view, nine times out of ten, he stole some priceless treasure from the previous town, which is why he is rushing through the snow without regard for his life!”

Lu Jianjia blinked her lovely eyes. “What Senior Brother Song says sounds somewhat plausible, but guessing like this without evidence—isn’t that a bit too abrupt?”

“Whether it is or not, one look will tell!”

Song Xuan pulled open the curtain, pushed off lightly, and slipped out of the small window like a snake, his body twisting before landing firmly on the snow.

Xu Wen marvelled, “Every discipline has its specialization. When it comes to scholarship, I consider myself no inferior to Song Xuan, but as for martial agility, I am far beneath him.”

Lu Jianjia offered a soft smile. “Fangshi are mysterious and treacherous, while martial artists are formidable and matchless. The former employ subtle means, concealing their light until late achievements. The latter temper their physical bodies with overwhelming power. Though their paths differ, their ultimate destination is the same.

Senior Brother Song had already reached the second-rank martial artist realm before entering the academy. Light on his feet like an antelope and strong as an ox, slipping through a carriage window is nothing to him.

However, Senior Brother Xu Wen, there is no need to be discouraged. You are a fangshi; perhaps in a single moment of enlightenment, you will attain the Dao and surpass Senior Brother Song Xuan.”

Xu Wen shook his head. “I fear that by then, I will be even further behind him.”

“Hey, kid, untie your bundles and let me see,” Song Xuan said rudely, stepping in front of the youth.

The youth paid him no heed, stepping around him to keep moving forward.

“Senior Brother Song, if he is unwilling, let us drop it,” Lu Jianjia called out.

“No. If it truly is stolen loot, as students of Meichang Palace, we have a duty to report it to the authorities.”

With that, Song Xuan grabbed the bamboo pole and yanked it forcefully.

The bamboo pole fell, the bundles burst open, and two severed human heads rolled out.

One belonged to a burly man with a thick beard, and the other to a seductive woman with a scar across her face.

All three were shocked!

The youth whipped around abruptly, glaring intently at Song Xuan like a vicious wolf.

“Neiiigh~”

The old man pulled hard on the reins, struggling to steady the frightened horse.

Beasts were naturally sensitive to killing intent, especially when confronted with such sudden and terrifying murderous aura!

Song Xuan felt his scalp go numb, a cold chill running down his spine. His face stiffened, and cold sweat broke out in his palms before he even realized it.

The youth bowed his head, wrapped up the heads, shouldered his bamboo pole, and continued walking.

The carriage sat still in the snow as the group exchanged shocked glances.

“Senior Brother Song… I think… we had better not provoke him,” Lu Jianjia said, her face pale.

With the beauty at his side, Song Xuan felt fear in his heart, yet at this moment, his face burned with humiliation and resentment.

He was a dignified second-rank martial artist, yet he was rendered pale with fear by a wild boy. What kind of man was he?

“Halt!”

He drew the longsword at his waist and shouted.

The youth acted as if he heard nothing and kept walking.

Gritting his teeth, Song Xuan tapped his feet rapidly, darting forward like a swallow. His longsword snaked through the air, striking toward the back of the youth’s heart.

Lu Jianjia gasped in alarm. “Senior Brother Song, things are not clear yet, do not harm his li—”

Before her words were finished, Lu Jianjia’s lovely face turned deathly pale. Xu Wen, who lifted the carriage curtain, was even more overcome with terror.

Without anyone knowing when he had turned around, the youth held a rusty blade that had plunged clean through Song Xuan’s neck.

Clean, decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

Blood dripped down the rusty blade—*drip, drip*. Yet the youth’s expression remained utterly calm; even his breathing had not quickened.

It was as though killing was a matter all too familiar to him.

He pulled back the blade, and Song Xuan collapsed onto the ground, devoid of breath.

“You… how dare you kill someone! Do you know that we are all students of Meichang Palace!” Xu Wen screamed in terror.

Of the four great academies of the Daxia Dynasty, the Four Great Academies (Mei, Lan, Zhu, Ju), Meichang Palace was one of them.

Only those from wealthy families or official lineages could attend Meichang Palace.

Even a local county magistrate would not dare disrespect a student of Meichang Palace.

Killing someone from Meichang Palace would inevitably bring immense trouble!

The youth lowered his head, pondered for a moment, then suddenly gripped his blade tightly and walked slowly toward the carriage.

“Neiiigh~”

The horse reared up on its front hooves like mad, frantic and agitated.

Lu Jianjia and Xu Wen suddenly felt a cold chill across their backs, goosebumps breaking out on their necks.

Killing intent!

Thick, raw killing intent!

The youth suddenly turned sideways and drove his blade into the horse’s neck. The reddish-brown horse thrashed violently, snapping the two-finger-thick reins, before bolting a hundred meters in a single breath and finally collapsing in the snow.

The two instantly realized—he was going to silence them!

Holding his blade, the youth approached the carriage step by step, his ferocious eyes darting rapidly to survey the surroundings.

He had killed many people!

Otherwise, he would not be able to spare the composure to observe his surroundings at a time like this!

“Meichang Palace? I see. I cannot let you live.”

With that, he lunged forward, slashing his blade toward Lu Jianjia’s snow-white neck leaning out of the carriage window.

In just a split second, this beautiful head would fall onto the snow.

A few strands of hair floated silently onto the snow. The rusty blade hovered right above the young woman’s snow-white neck, emitting a low buzzing hum.

The young woman’s pupils reflected the youth, as well as his terrifying, cold eyes.

The youth knitted his brows, for a withered hand now rested on his shoulder—it was the old driver holding him back.

“Young man, let it go.”

The youth turned his head. The old man grinned, revealing a mouth of yellow teeth, and tightened his grip on the horsewhip.

For three or four full breaths, silence reigned. The youth sheathed his blade, turned, and walked away.

Crunching sounds echoed across the snow.

Just as he had arrived, he braved the wind and snow, carrying his wooden pole on his shoulder.

Upon the vast, desolate snow, a noble corpse was left behind.