He retreats, he advances

Seeing Mo Xue coming back from the door with a sour look on his face, Wei Si asked, "Is Elder Ding looking for you again?"

Mo Xie walked to the table, picked up the teapot, and gulped down a whole cup of tea before saying, "It's still that trivial matter."

Wei Si glanced at him, "Bai Linchuan?"

Mo Xie sighed deeply.

Seeing this, Wei Si said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. I haven't seen Junior Sister for a long time. Aren't you still planning to pursue her?"

Mo Xue sat down lazily. "Miss Luo Bing is as stern as ice. She knows her limits and won't like to be passive. When pursuing her, you can't rush. I'm taking a step back and letting her advance slowly."

Wei Si: "I didn't see her come in either. She almost disappeared."

Mo Xie: "What do you know? I'm just waiting for an opportunity."

"Opportunity?"

…

In the square courtyard, the sky was covered with clouds and the sun was invisible. Snowflakes were slowly falling from the hazy white sky.

Mo Xue pushed open the door and snowflakes fell gently on his shoulders.

He stretched out his hand, and white snowflakes fell. In an instant, only a few wet drops of water remained on the palm of his hand.

The corners of Mo Xie's mouth slowly rose, the opportunity had come.

He walked into the house, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink and wrote: "Junior Sister, it's snowing on the mountain."

The red talisman fire burned out in an instant. Mo Xue knocked on the wooden table three times rhythmically, but the table was still empty.

Mo Xie was too lazy to wait any longer and shouted, "Wei Si, remember to notify me if there is a spiritual communication talisman."

Wei Si was practicing swordplay in the courtyard, his sword energy splitting the snowflakes. He stopped his sword, and the snowflakes fell on the blade. "You are so sure."

Mo Xue walked quickly on the snow, the white snow hanging on his black hair. His eyebrows and eyes were bright, and he smiled confidently: "Of course."

Bai Linchuan was holding the teleportation token and sitting in a room on the second floor of an inn.

In front of him was a square table with a pot of warm tea on it. The aroma of tea wafted in the air along with the curling hot steam. Next to it was a golden hook fire, the charcoal fire was burning vigorously, emitting a red flame.

At Bai Linchuan's request, the waiter quickly prepared the pen and ink and brought them over, but the guest was reluctant to start.

The snowflakes fell again and again, and the guest finally picked up the pen, and the ink crossed the letter paper, leaving behind ink-black handwriting.

He wrote: OK.

The waiter caught a glimpse of him and saw that he had been thinking for so long but had only written one word.

The guest hesitated and waited for a quarter of an hour before sending the transmission token.

Bai Linchuan breathed a sigh of relief, but by the time the tea had cooled, no more tokens were delivered.

He drank some cold tea to dispel the hot and smoky air in the store, but it didn't relieve the stuffiness in his chest, so he opened the window.

There was a thick layer of snow on the streets.

A figure in white walked away, leaving behind only a trail of footprints.

Bai Linchuan glanced over at a glance. Even though the man's figure was almost blending into the snow, he recognized at a glance that the man was wearing the same inner disciple uniform as him.

Bai Linchuan said: "If a message is sent to you, remember to call me."

After he said that, as if he was afraid that the snow would get heavier and cover up his footprints again, he jumped directly from the second-floor window and landed lightly and steadily on the ground.

The waiter was suddenly startled: "Sir!" He stretched his head to look, but the customer had already followed the footprints and walked away. He sighed and shook his head, "These days... I'm afraid it's either revenge or love."

Bai Linchuan followed the footprints to a store, where the sign outside had three big characters engraved on it: Treasure Pavilion.

This shop is for selling treasures, but it also has another purpose, which is to pawn treasures. However, unless someone is desperate and in urgent need of spirit stones, who would come to sell treasures in this snowy weather?

Wei Si would never come here. Bai Linchuan waited quietly behind the tree. A layer of snowflakes gradually fell on his body. He did not move, as if waiting for his prey to lose its composure, lying in wait quietly.

As soon as Mo Xue entered the store, the hot air rushed over and melted the snowflakes on his clothes.

He patted the snowflakes off his shoulders to prevent their clothes from getting wet, which would have been a disaster.

The doorbell rang once. The shopkeeper sitting behind the counter raised a half smile, but when he saw it was him, he lowered it and said, "It's you."

Mo Xie smiled and said, "You don't have any other guests here."

The shopkeeper glanced at him unhappily. This man was not afraid of being beaten for saying such an unlucky thing. He pulled out the jade pendant from under the counter and said, "Look carefully."

Mo Xue glanced at it casually with his black eyes. This jade pendant was exactly the one worn by Ding Haocang's disciples. Unfortunately, he was one step too early. Before he could become his disciple, the rent for the house arrived first, so he had to pawn it first.

The shopkeeper took the jade pendant back and said, "Now that you've seen it clearly, leave." He shook his hand in disgust.

Mo Xue looked helpless, "You really don't want to sell it?"

The shopkeeper said, "I'll sell it, but I'll sell it for fifty spirit stones! Have you saved enough?"

The shop door was not closed tightly, leaving a narrow gap, and the cold wind blew in. At the same time, the sound of conversation was blown out by the wind and floated to Bai Linchuan's ears along with the snowflakes.

His shoulders were already covered in snow, and he secretly complained: He had never seen Mo Xue wear the jade pendant before. Given his personality, how could he not show it to others? He must have pawned it. They had been on missions frequently in the past few months, so he must have already saved up enough spirit stones to redeem it.

Unexpectedly, Mo Xue shook his head: "No."

Bai Linchuan frowned slightly.

Inside, the shopkeeper smacked his lips. "I knew you didn't have it. You've come here so many times, and you don't even think it's troublesome."

Mo Xie said confidently, "I only have ten spirit stones."

The shopkeeper glanced at him, the whites of his eyes looking at Mo Xue, "If I sell you the spirit stones I pawned, I won't be able to open this shop."

Mo Xie said leisurely: "You won't compensate either."

The shopkeeper pointed to four burly men standing in a dark corner of the room and said, "Isn't it costing me to hire people? Doesn't it cost me to get the land deed?"

Mo Xie looked at the four men, each of whom was as powerful as the man from Shu. Mo Xie sighed, "Why did you hire them?"

The shopkeeper stared at Mo Xue and said, "Beware! People!"

Mo Xue groaned, "Don't look at me like that, staring at me until I'm out of trouble. I only have ten spirit stones, so I'll only give out ten spirit stones."

The shopkeeper was stunned and laughed, "Oh, then I'll sell it to you for eleven spirit stones..." He was halfway through when he suddenly realized something.

Mo Xue smiled maliciously, his eyes full of evil, "It's settled."

The shop owner slammed the table and said, "Whatever you say, this is my shop and I have the final say. Get him out of here."

"Bang--"

The door was tightly closed. Mo Xue stumbled a few times on the snow before he could steady himself. He didn't even make a fuss. He shouted towards the door, "See you tomorrow!"

Bai Linchuan clung to the tree trunk, watching Mo Xueyu walk away and gradually disappear around the corner.

There was another bang at the door; it was the shopkeeper who kicked it hard. "This brat, I almost fell for him. For so many years, since I opened the shop, I haven't lowered the prices even a penny."

As soon as he sat down, the doorbell rang again. The shopkeeper thought that the ink had been shaved off and returned. He raised his head impatiently, but his eyes widened slightly in surprise.

A man covered in snow walked outside the door. The snow on his shoulders was as thick as a finger. His face was colder than the snow, and his eyes were as cold as ice. He never looked anyone in the eye.

The shopkeeper stood up and said with a smile: "Sir, please take a look. We have all good things here, whether it is elixirs for cultivating immortality or rare treasures..."

Before he finished speaking, Bai Linchuan pointed at the jade pendant that had just been placed on the counter and was still wet, "I want this."

The shopkeeper then noticed that Bai Linchuan was wearing the same clothes as the boy. It was not his fault for being short-sighted, but the temperaments of the two men were really different.

The shopkeeper took out the jade pendant and said, "This jade pendant is a good thing. Look at the material, it's soft and warm like glutinous rice. Even in the middle of winter, it feels warm to the touch..."

"How much?" Bai Linchuan interrupted him again.

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Sixty spirit stones." He thought to himself that he should ask for a little more, and if it really didn't work out, he would just go with the original price.

Bai Linchuan said slowly, "I'll give you double."

The shopkeeper was startled. Before he could react, the corners of his mouth were almost stretched to his ears. "Sir, do you have any instructions?"

Bai Linchuan said, "If anyone asks you about it in the future, you are not allowed to reveal the buyer."

The shopkeeper nodded and said, "That's natural."

Bai Linchuan then said, "If that person insists on asking, tell him that it was bought by a woman."

The shopkeeper was suspicious and curious, but he didn't ask why. He just said, "I've got it all down."

He handed Bai Linchuan the jade pendant, but Bai Linchuan didn't even move to pay. He said calmly, "Keep the account."

The four big men in the corner instantly became alert.

Bai Linchuan put away the jade pendant and said, "The Baiyun Inn is three blocks down the street."

The shopkeeper stood there, his eyes wide open in surprise.

Bai Linchuan glanced at the four big men who walked in slowly and said, "If you don't believe me, I can write a note."

The shopkeeper immediately waved the big man away, smiling brightly, "Of course I believe it, of course I believe it."

Bai Linchuan glanced at him and looked away with a look of disgust, "No need to see me off."

The four big men saw the boss's smirk and asked, "Boss, who is he?"

Hakka shook his head and said, "I don't know." But who else could have the White Cloud Inn keep the accounts? He smacked his lips. It was still too little.

The snow was about to fall heavily, and the whole world was covered in white. Bai Linchuan walked slowly alone, leaving a trail of white footprints. Only when he got closer could he find that there was another person on the street.

The owner of the Baiyun Inn was humming a tune out of boredom when he suddenly saw Bai Linchuan slowly approaching. When he was about ten feet away from the door, he immediately jumped up, ran to the door, and opened a bamboo umbrella to block Bai Linchuan's head.

Snowflakes fell on the bamboo umbrella, but Bai Linchuan was already covered in snow, so there was no need to hold an umbrella. The shopkeeper held the umbrella with one hand and patted the snow off Bai Linchuan's shoulders with the other, "Master, where have you been? You didn't even tell me."

Bai Linchuan said nothing, but went upstairs. The waiter waited quietly for him to come back, glancing out the window from time to time, only to see that his own shopkeeper had personally brought the guest up.

He glanced up and down at Bai Linchuan quietly, secretly thinking about his identity, and quickly stepped forward to hand him a handkerchief and blanket, and kicked the fire closer.

Bai Linchuan looked at him.

The waiter finally reacted and said, "The letter has been delivered. It's here. I was afraid it would be blown away by the wind." He took out the letter from under the teacup.

Bai Linchuan took it with his snow-white fingers and opened it immediately.

The waiter accidentally touched his finger, and he immediately withdrew his hand because it was cold. No wonder his hand was so white, it turned out that it was frozen.

The letter reads: When you come, I can make preparations in advance.

Bai Linchuan raised a faint smile and asked, "When was this letter delivered?"

The waiter replied, "Just now, not long ago when you returned, sir. It took even longer than the time it took you to deliver the letter."

Bai Linchuan paused, Mo Xue should have returned to the mountain long ago. Bai Linchuan picked up his pen and wrote: Soon.

The shopkeeper beside him asked quietly, "Master, the master asked me to ask you, when will you go home for the New Year this year?"

Bai Linchuan responded: "Isn't it still a long way from the end of the year?"

The shopkeeper poured him a cup of hot tea: "That's what you said, but it's early so we can prepare in advance..." He saw that Bai Linchuan's face was not right, "The master is missing you, please don't mind him urging you."

Bai Linchuan said "hmm" lightly, but his mind drifted to the mountain. Thinking about him was better than thinking about doing bad things.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade the boss, the shopkeeper went downstairs first because there was business coming down. He said to Bai Linchuan, "This kid is new here and has never seen the young master, but he is very quick and nimble. If you need anything, you can call him."

Bai Linchuan glanced at him and asked, "What's your name?"

The waiter said, "I grew up on Third Street, and they all call me Sandao."

"Where did you grow up?"

Sandao scratched his head, lowered his head and said, "On the street."

Bai Linchuan understood instantly. He thought the owner had probably taken the child in to work in the shop because he saw that he was so helpless. He then ordered, "Go and prepare some clothes for me."

Sandao nodded, "What kind of clothes does the young master want?"

Bai Linchuan said: "Lady, it's winter, so wear something plain and simple."

Before Sandao's little brain could wrap its head around the situation, Bai Linchuan dropped another bolt of thunder from the blue sky, "Make it according to my size."

"...Ah?" Sandao looked at him in confusion.

Bai Linchuan glanced at him and said, "As soon as possible, send it to the mountain when it's ready... or forget it, just send a message to me and I'll come down the mountain to get it."

"Yes, yes." Sandao hurried down to prepare.