I didn't dare to push too hard. After hesitating for a moment, I took my flashlight and went to the window to look down. The snow was still falling, and everything outside was white. There was no one walking around. I guess they were all hiding at home.

I didn't have to go to work today, so I took out some flour and made a simple dumpling soup on the stove. It didn't have many seasonings or vegetables, just a cold-weather potato.

After eating the hot food, I really felt much warmer.

After wandering around on the floor for a while with nothing to do, and feeling that the tiles were a bit cold under my feet, I simply took off my shoes and went back to bed.

I dozed off for a while, but when I heard noises outside, I woke up with a start.

Then I heard a knock on the door.

"Cao Xue, it's me, Jian Ning." Upon hearing her voice, Cao Xue suddenly burst into tears.

I don't know why, but I felt a warm feeling in my heart, so I quickly got off the floor and pushed the door open again. This time I pushed it open so easily that I startled her.

"Why did you use so much force? I cleared all the snow from the doorway for you. Did you catch a chill last night?" Jian Ning asked as she strode in.

"No, I couldn't open the door just now. I guess it's blocked by snow. It's so cold, how did you get here?"

"I'm just thinking about you. After all, you're my apprentice, so how can your master show some concern?"

"Don't stay here anymore. Come with me to the villa and stay with my mother-in-law and the others for a couple of days. That way, we can save on firewood here."

As Jian Ning spoke, she went over and helped her put out the stove. The air in the room seemed to drop several degrees instantly.

"Jian Ning, you're the best to me!" Cao Xue was so happy she didn't know what to say. She put on a military overcoat over her cotton-padded jacket. With her hat and gloves on, she followed Jian Ning outside.

After taking only two steps, he stopped again.

"Jian Ning, can you wait a moment? I want to take this coal to my colleague upstairs. He brought it to me last night, but we don't need it anymore."

"Okay, hurry up, I'll wait for you."

Cao Xue picked up the basket full of honeycomb briquettes with one hand and ran upstairs quickly. In just a few minutes, she felt her blood flowing slowly through her body.

If you stay still, you'll probably freeze to death in a few minutes. It's so cold.

Thinking to himself that Jian Ning was indeed no ordinary person, he realized that she was only wearing a plain black down jacket and was not wearing a hat or mask.

He just stood there leisurely, as if he was about to go out shopping. He seemed unhurried and not afraid of the cold at all.

Once upstairs, he returned the coal basket to Lin Nan, simply saying that he was going to stay at a relative's house, and then quickly ran back downstairs.

“Jian Ning, it must be even colder outside. Are we sure we can make it out like this? Aren’t you going to wear a hat? I’ve heard that it used to be so cold in the North Mountain that people’s ears would freeze off when it snowed heavily.”

"Don't worry, that's someone else, not me. Let's go," Jian Ning said, leading the way downstairs quickly. They had just stepped out of the stairwell...

Cao Xue was almost blown back by the strong wind; she couldn't even open her eyes.

The wind must be at least force 8 or 9! Not to mention the blast of cold air; taking a breath feels like it's freezing straight into your lungs.

But she couldn't back down. Jian Ning reached out a hand and pulled her forward.

The moment she placed her hand over, it was as if all the wind and snow outside had been shut off, and Cao Xue immediately felt warm again. She glanced at Jian Ning in surprise but didn't say anything.

The powerful flashlight illuminated the road ahead. After walking only a few steps, Jian Ning suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky.

"What's wrong?"

Cao Xue also looked up at the sky and was surprised to find that the snow, which had been as large as goose feathers, had suddenly changed shape. It had condensed into thin flakes of ice, which, driven by the gale, were rapidly spinning down from the sky.

"Jian Ning, let's go back quickly. If this cuts us, it'll be as sharp as a razor blade!" Cao Xue was terrified when she saw the ice shards hitting the buildings and trees, leaving deep marks. She grabbed Jian Ning's hand and tried to run back.

This is terrifying. It's like a hail of flying knives, indiscriminate in their attack. Anyone who goes out will be half-dead. They might not freeze to death, but they'll be sliced ​​to pieces by the icy blades.

"It's okay, close your eyes, we'll be home soon. It's just that this weather is getting more and more bizarre." Jian Ning, holding up her spiritual energy shield, simply pulled Cao Xue along and flew up on their swords.

In just a minute or two, they were back in the villa's courtyard.

Cao Xue obediently closed her eyes, and then she felt a sudden weightlessness, as if she were flying, but she couldn't hear the sound of the wind and snow outside at all.

She was very puzzled, wondering what kind of supernatural power Jian Ning possessed, but she didn't dare to ask.

Only when his feet touched solid ground did he dare to open his eyes. He saw that he was already at Jian Ning's house. Was this teleportation? Or shrinking the distance to an inch?

Looking up at Jian Ning, her eyes were full of eagerness; she also wanted to learn that skill.

Jian Ning understood perfectly what she meant. She didn't speak, but simply smiled and removed her spiritual energy shield.

The howling wind outside, carrying ice shards, lashed at Cao Xue, startling her so much that she quickly covered her face with her sleeve and ran back inside.

Don't blame her for being timid; she had just heard the ear-piercing sound of the ice shard hitting the villa's door. That thing was too powerful; she couldn't afford to mess with it.

As soon as Cao Xue ran into the villa, she felt alive again. The flickering firelight in the fireplace was so warm, instantly calming her wildly beating heart.

"Cao Xue, all your martial arts skills have been wasted. You're scared by such a small scene. Don't tell anyone you're my disciple when you go out."

Jian Ning slowly opened the door and walked in, without a single snowflake falling on her.

"Master, please don't! I'm just not skilled enough. I'll definitely work harder in the future. Please teach me that flying skill you just learned!" Cao Xue pleaded, clinging to Jian Ning's arm.

"It's not that I don't want to teach you, but you don't have the aptitude. You can't learn this." Cao Xue has no spiritual root, so trying to practice cultivation techniques is a complete waste of effort and simply won't work.

Upon hearing this, Cao Xue felt extremely frustrated. Why was her aptitude so poor?

It's all because fate didn't give her a chance. She had such a capable master, yet she couldn't learn even a fraction of his skills. She was truly useless.

"Xiaoxue is here, come inside quickly."

Hearing voices coming from the living room, Aunt Wang opened the door and saw Cao Xue. She warmly pulled her towards the bedroom.