In December, the sky turned cold, and a heavy snow had been falling for three days and three nights. On the official road, Su Hu's convoy was slowly driving through the snow.

More than half a month has passed since he decided to go to Chaoge and leave Jizhou. With his son in charge of Jizhou, Su Hu was very relieved. This time, he had a reason to go. For the future of Jizhou, he needed to see Emperor Xin in person.

"My lord." A voice came from outside the carriage at that moment.

Su Hu lifted the curtain and saw a fierce general riding a strange beast. The man was clad in armor, with two demon-subduing pestles on his back. Most striking was his unusually large nostrils. This man was named Zheng Lun, a disciple of the Kunlun Daoist Du'e, and a fellow disciple of Li Jing. Du'e had taught him the supernatural power of nasal smoke, which, with a single snort, produced a sound like a bell and emitted two beams of white light, specifically designed to absorb the souls of others. His mount was a Fiery-Eyed Golden-Pierced Beast, which, having received kindness from Su Hu in his youth, had joined him after completing his training.

"What is it?" Su Hu asked.

"My lord, Miss has woken up," Zheng Lun said.

"Stop the car!" Su Hu shouted immediately.

The carriage stopped immediately.

Su Hu hurriedly got off the carriage, ignoring the snow under his feet, and rushed to the other carriage behind him.

Soon, Su Hu boarded the carriage. Inside, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen was wrapped in a thick blanket. She looked pale and weak. Although she appeared sickly, the girl was incredibly beautiful, and now she evoked a feeling of pity.

Seeing Su Hu enter, the girl smiled slightly.

"Father," the girl whispered.

"Daji, how are you? Are you feeling better?" Su Hu asked with concern, reaching out to touch his daughter's forehead.

The young girl was none other than Su Daji, Su Hu's beloved daughter. This time, Daji insisted on going to Chaoge, and he, who always doted on his daughter, naturally did not object. Who knew that just a few days after she left, a heavy snow fell, and Daji caught a cold and developed a fever, which lasted for several days.

"I'm fine now. General Zheng's medicine was really effective," Daji said.

"That's good, that's good. Oh, it's all my fault as your father," Su Hu said with heartache.

"It's the daughter who's dragging her father down," Daji whispered.

"Zheng Lun," Su Hu called out to the window.

"Your subordinate is here."

"Let's set up camp here today. Have someone go find some firewood and cook some hot soup for the young lady."

"yes."

Soon, a campfire was lit in an open space beside the official road, and a large pot quickly began to steam. The attendants put the meat they had brought into the pot, and Zheng Lun took out a few ginseng roots and put them in as well.

"Father, I want to go for a walk," Daji said.

Seeing his daughter's pleading eyes, Su Hu couldn't bear to refuse. He quickly put a fox fur coat on her, and then the father and daughter got off the carriage together.

"Wow, so beautiful." Looking at the snow scene outside, with the afterglow of the setting sun shining on the snow, turning it golden, Daji couldn't help but exclaim.

"My lord, my lady, come here quickly, it's warm here," Zheng Lun called out by the campfire.

Soon, two stools were placed next to the campfire, and Daji and Su Hu went over and sat down.

The campfire crackled and popped, its light reflecting off Daji's stunningly beautiful face, leaving everyone around her mesmerized.

“My lord, we will arrive in Chaoge in three more days,” Zheng Lun said.

"Um."

"Is Chaoge big?" Daji asked curiously.

“It’s huge, ten times bigger than Jizhou,” Su Hu said with a smile.

"Wow, it's so big!" Daji exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise. From childhood to adulthood, she had never left Jizhou, always staying in the Marquis's mansion like a canary in a cage.

“Your father and mother were both wrong. We shouldn’t have kept you locked up in the Marquis’s mansion, making you so weak,” Su Hu sighed.

"Father, can I learn Taoism and martial arts like my brothers?" Daji asked excitedly.

"this..."

Su Hu hesitated again; he couldn't bear to see his precious daughter suffer.

Seeing this, Daji lowered her head in grievance.

Just as Zheng Lun was about to say a few words of comfort, he suddenly sensed something and took the double hammers off his back.

"Splash..."

The crow soldiers who had been on guard all along quickly surrounded them, forming a human wall to protect them.

"roar..."

Just as the father and daughter were wondering what was going on, a loud roar came from the woods not far away.

"A tiger!" someone exclaimed.

"Roar...roar..."

The tiger's roar rang out again, shaking the snow off the trees, and a gust of wind swept out of the woods.

“My lord, it’s a tiger, and it looks quite large. It’s probably quite powerful,” Zheng Lun said.

“Clouds follow dragons, wind follows tigers. This sudden gust of wind must have some kind of magic.” Su Hu nodded, shielding his daughter Daji behind him.

"Just chase it away; there's no need to kill it," Su Hu said.

"Don't worry, my lord, it's just a beast," Zheng Lun said. With his strength, even a thousand-year-old tiger spirit was nothing to be afraid of.

However, what happened next completely stunned Zheng Lun.

"Bang...bang...bang..."

The ground suddenly shook, and heavy footsteps echoed, causing the large trees to sway.

Zheng Lun felt a sense of unease. Judging from the commotion, the tiger that had come was probably no ordinary creature.

As the footsteps drew closer, the ground trembled more and more violently, and trees in the woods ahead fell one after another, giving an idea of ​​how enormous the tiger must have been.

A murderous aura swept in from the forest, and everyone couldn't help but shiver.

"Damn it, could it really be some kind of powerful demon?" Zheng Lun had lost his earlier high spirits and was now filled with seriousness. He knew that the larger the size of a demon, the higher its cultivation level. If it really was a powerful demon, he wouldn't be able to protect so many people.

"roar..."

Another loud roar followed, and a gust of wind blew out of the forest, carrying snowflakes that knocked the soldiers to the ground.

"By imperial decree... Zheng Lun raised the demon-subduing pestle high, and a golden light shield instantly enveloped him and Su Hu and his daughter, barely resisting the oncoming gale."

"Oh no!" At this moment, Su Hu also realized that the situation was not good.

Just as the group was filled with fear, a huge white head emerged from the woods.

It was a huge white tiger, seven or eight zhang tall.

"Hiss... White Tiger..." Zheng Lun gasped in surprise.

The white tiger is a rare breed among tigers, possessing the bloodline of a divine beast. Judging from its size, this tiger is definitely at the level of a great demon, and close to the level of a demon king. Even a Golden Immortal cultivator would have to give it a wide berth in terms of combat power.

"Eeya?"

Just when everyone was in despair, a child's voice came from the direction of the white tiger.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, a small figure appeared on the tiger's head.

"Little White, lie down quickly." The child's voice rang out again.

The white tiger immediately lay down, and a small figure jumped off its head and leaped to the side of the campfire.

"Wow, it smells so good."

"......"

Everyone present looked at each other in surprise. It turned out to be a little girl, about three years old, wearing a white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), barefoot, without shoes, with delicate features and very cute.

"Hehe, what are you doing?" the little girl asked, tilting her head back with a grin.

Everyone was stunned. What? Weren't we scared by you and the tiger?

"My name is Mengmeng, and I came out to play with Xiaobai."

It turned out to be Mengmeng, and the white tiger behind her was one she had just caught not long ago.

Zheng Lun swallowed hard, glancing at the white tiger, which lay on the ground seemingly uninterested in them.

"This is our Marquis, Marquis Su Hu of Jizhou, and this is our young lady, Su Daji. I am Zheng Lun."

"Eeya?"

Suddenly, Mengmeng raised her head and looked at Daji.

The little guy slowly walked over, and Su Hu pulled Daji back a little with some concern. Daji also hid behind her father.

"Hmm...it sounds familiar," Mengmeng said, tilting her head.

"Oh well, never mind, can I eat it?" Mengmeng ran back to the campfire and asked, pointing to the meat soup in the pot.

"Uh...please go ahead," Su Hu said, after a moment's hesitation.

"Hehe, I won't be polite then."

After saying that, Mengmeng stretched out her chubby little hand and, to everyone's astonishment, gathered the large pot that was still on the campfire.

"Careful..." Daji exclaimed, trying to warn Mengmeng that the pot was very hot.

"Coo coo coo..."

To everyone's surprise, Mengmeng seemed oblivious to the heat and started drinking directly from the pot.

"ha..."

A moment later, Mengmeng put the empty pot down, opened her mouth and exhaled a puff of white steam, then patted her little belly comfortably.

"Hmm, the taste is alright, but there's too little."

"Big sister, do you have any more? I want more to drink." Mengmeng blinked her big eyes and started acting cute.

Now the group realized that the child before them was no ordinary person.

"Someone, quick, cook another pot!" Su Hu snapped out of his daze and hurriedly called to the others.

Soon the soldiers on the ground got up and started preparing.

"Hehe." Mengmeng smiled.

"Little White, go catch some food." Mengmeng then called out to the white tiger beside her.

"Huff..." The white tiger gasped for breath, quickly got up from the ground, turned around and leaped away, disappearing into the woods in no time.

"I won't eat your food for free. There will be plenty of meat later, so we can all eat together," Mengmeng said.

"Where are you going?" Mengmeng asked.

“Chaoge,” Su Hu said hastily.

"Oh, my home is also in Chaoge, hehe, I snuck out to play," Mengmeng said, sticking out her tongue.

"Oh, little sister, you're also from Chaoge?" Daji couldn't help but ask. She really liked this child; she found her both mysterious and adorable.

"Hmm...no, it's just that my brother and I live there. Oh, you're the Marquis of Jizhou, are you a feudal lord?" Mengmeng asked.

“Yes, they are feudal lords. They are going to Chaoge to pay their respects to the king,” Su Hu said.

“Your Majesty, it’s Yin Shou.” Mengmeng nodded.

"You must not address the King by his given name," Su Hu quickly reminded him.

"Tch, what's there to be afraid of? He still has to call me 'Auntie' when he sees me. My brother is his master, you know," Mengmeng said proudly, tilting her head back.

"......"