Chapter 71

Looking at the cabin ahead, the group first froze, then smiles gradually appeared on their faces.

The Tianshan disciples explained to Bai Zhengliu, “In the past, when our senior uncles and senior aunts went up the mountain to find a quiet place to practice, they would build small cabins like this! It is said to be a tradition passed down from the Patriarch. Back then, he would often enter the snow mountains alone, staying for ten days or half a month before coming down.”

Bai Zhengliu thought for a moment. Indeed, every sect had some method of “hard training.” Didn’t Shaolin monks occasionally find a waterfall to wash under, saying it cultivates mind and body? On Mount Zhongnan, countless hermits lived along the mountains, surviving in small caves.

From this perspective, it wasn’t strange at all that the Tianshan elders chose to build a small cabin in the snow mountains.

He nodded, a look of relaxation appearing on his face. “Then let’s go inside quickly! Light a fire and warm Uncle Zhou’s body.”

Yes, it would be best to carefully check whether Zhou Liuer was human or spirit. Having previously dealt with wandering souls like Old Master Chang and Ma Er, Bai Zhengliu felt confident he could discern a little.

The Tianshan disciples nodded in agreement.

They quickened their pace and soon entered the wooden cabin. The place had obviously not been visited for a long time. But the snow mountain environment was special, so it didn’t gather cobwebs like houses in the lower mountains. Though dusty, it was already an excellent resting spot for the travelers.

Yu Han was already tending the fire, while Mei Yinghan put Zhou Liuer down and checked his breathing and heartbeat.

Then, under the slightly tense gazes of the others, he announced, “Uncle Zhou is doing fine—but let’s still feed him some sugar water.”

Everyone nodded together.

This time, they placed the water bag near the fire to warm it slightly, then fed Zhou Liuer sugar water at a temperature just safe to drink.

Technically, after so long without food, just a little sugar water wasn’t enough. But since being found, Zhou Liuer had not regained full consciousness. Even now, he could only vaguely swallow the liquid brought to his lips. To avoid him choking or causing trouble, the travelers refrained from feeding him anything else.

They themselves had a rare, hearty meal. They found utensils in the cabin, melted snow over the fire, and added their carried dry food to make a warm soup.

Bai Zhengliu glanced and exclaimed, “You brought vegetables too?”

Yu Han smiled, “Yes. The worst thing when walking in snow mountains is having no taste in your mouth,”—well, this wasn’t entirely accurate, but Bai Zhengliu understood—“seeing the same thing all day, if you eat bland food, it affects your mind over time.”

At the end of her sentence, her smile faded slightly, and she lowered her head, quietly stirring the vegetable soup.

The aroma gradually filled the cabin. Bai Zhengliu’s body relaxed, and he took off his own water bag.

His water bag contained wine. Now warmed, once Yu Han’s soup was ready, he could have a cup, warming his body.

During this time, Mei Yinghan also finished feeding Zhou Liuer sugar water and carefully took his pulse again. “It’s okay. His pulse isn’t very strong, but he’s still alive.”

Yu Han listened, a hint of sorrow showing on her face, and softly said, “Sigh… if we still can’t find a way out, what will we do?”Bai Zhengliu thought for a moment and said, “Although it’s not exactly the same, let’s treat the current situation like ‘Chang Residence’ and ‘Tan Family.’”

Hearing this, Yu Han and Han Shu both looked confused.

Bai Zhengliu glanced at Mei Yinghan, signaling, “Mei brother, share your thoughts from earlier.”

Mei Yinghan sighed, “At the ‘Chang Residence,’ our assigned task was ‘exorcising the ghost,’ but in the end, we had to break Lady Liu’s seal and slay the old ghost of the Chang family to get out. At the ‘Tan Family,’ we were guests at the full moon banquet, and the result was that Lady Meng first killed all the mountain bandits, then was herself slain… In short, although nothing has been assigned to us now, the task is still the same. We must find the existence causing this situation and eliminate it.”

Bai Zhengliu added, “Exactly. However, everything around us is white and blank; figuring out how to find the existence causing this situation will require careful planning.”

Mei Yinghan nodded.

Yu Han and Han Shu exhaled sharply: “So…”

Bai Zhengliu reassured them, “Don’t panic. The wandering ghosts are called ghosts, but from our experience, they still have some humanity.”

Yu Han and Han Shu nodded with complicated expressions, saying nothing.

The vegetable soup continued to simmer in the pot, the aroma growing stronger. Normally, in this environment, they shouldn’t have been able to make anything very good. But Bai Zhengliu was indeed hungry; at this moment, he felt his stomach softly “gurgling.”

He didn’t show it on his face, remaining the calm and reliable elder-brother figure, and continued, “First, the lotus gatherers went missing, then we got lost. I think the key lies in these two events: ‘missing’ and ‘lost.’ Think about it—has Tianshan ever had similar situations before?”

The Tianshan disciples fell into thought.

Bai Zhengliu’s stomach let out a soft “gurgle—”

Everyone looked at him.

Among all the gazes, Bai Zhengliu cleared his throat and lightly pressed a hand on his stomach.

The vegetable soup seemed to be nearing readiness, and the swordsman could already hear the “glug-glug” sounds.

He slightly raised a finger. In doing so, he touched something resting on his chest.

Bai Zhengliu immediately remembered: “Ah! The tassels that Senior Lingyunzi gave you.”

As he spoke, he reached into his clothes to retrieve them. Soon, a red tassel and a black tassel appeared in Bai Zhengliu’s hands.

He opened his palm, showing the tassels to Yu Han and Han Shu, smiling slightly: “These are your New Year gifts. I was supposed to give them to you yesterday, uh… Mei brother and I went down the mountain to catch up with you and hand over these little things. Unexpectedly, we heard about the townspeople’s situation first.”

It also saved time for their search mission, Bai Zhengliu thought silently.But now, looking at it, he really didn’t know whether saving this effort would be good or bad for them.

His thoughts drifted. At this moment, Yu Han and Han Shu in front of him finally raised their hands.

Their expressions grew complicated again. Looking at the tassels, Yu Han murmured, “Lingyunzi…”

Han Shu: “Shishu (Master Uncle).”

Yu Han’s lips trembled slightly, then she repeated, “Yes, Senior Lingyunzi, Shishu.”

Their hands landed in Bai Zhengliu’s palm, each taking one tassel.

Yu Han took the red one, and Han Shu took the black one.

Their expressions were still different, but their mouths began to praise: “Shishu’s craftsmanship has always been the best. All the disciples of our mountain compete to get tassels she made herself. Even if carrying them on the road is a bit cumbersome, just looking at them, they are truly beautiful and bring joy.”

“Exactly. I’ve been looking forward to this tassel for so long, and now finally…”

Whatever else they said, Bai Zhengliu was no longer listening.

He slowly withdrew his hands and turned to look at Mei Yinghan beside him.

The moment their eyes met, the swordsman and the knife expert noticed the same tension in each other’s cheeks.

Yesterday, Lingyunzi’s words seemed to echo in their ears: “The red one is for Han Shu… and Yu Han… the black tassel is for her.”

The two in front of them had taken the wrong ones.

…

…

Night deepened.

Two days’ journey from Tianshan, in a town, at an inn.

On the second floor, Yu Han tossed and turned, sighing softly.

The movement wasn’t loud, but Han Shu still heard it. At first, he said nothing. Only when Yu Han sighed for the third time did Han Shu finally speak: “Yu Han, what’s the matter?”

Yu Han let out a small “ah,” embarrassed: “You’re still awake?”

Han Shu said, “Since it’s happened, then accept it. Even if the seniors of Changchong Sect are difficult to deal with, it’s still better than what Senior Brother and Bai Da Ge faced before.”Yu Han listened and reluctantly replied, “You’re right.”

Han Shu remained silent.

The room was completely quiet.

After a few breaths, Han Shu suddenly spoke again: “Weren’t you sighing earlier because of this?”

Yu Han simultaneously said, “Actually… I was thinking that the New Year is coming soon. Even back when the Blood Demon caused chaos, we still spent the New Year in Tianshan, right? But now, it’s different.”

Unlike sects in the Central Plains, where people often bring children to pay respects, most of those who could become Tianshan disciples were abandoned by their parents at a young age and picked up by senior disciples wandering outside.

They didn’t know where they came from or what their parents’ situation was; they grew up entirely on the mountain.

Cases like Gu Miao, whose family were wealthy merchants in Jiangnan but sent him away to a distant refuge after an incident, were extremely rare.

For the vast majority of Tianshan disciples, the sect was their home. Leaving now was understandable given the circumstances, but thinking about missing the New Year still made Yu Han feel melancholy.

And it wasn’t just her. After hearing Yu Han’s words, Han Shu also began to sigh.

The two fell silent for a while, and then Yu Han adjusted her mood and said, “Forget it. If a letter from us can help the martial world suffer less and the common people live in peace, that’s a good thing too.”

Han Shu, hearing this, couldn’t help but smile slightly, “Exactly.”

Yu Han: “It’s a pity. Shishu clearly promised us that this year, we’d also get tassels made.”

Han Shu: “I guess we’ll receive them when we return.”

Yu Han: “Mm, that’s true.”

Author’s note:

Things are getting exciting.

See you tomorrow.