21 Heading to the Snow Country
After running for a while, Jiang Chen simply hugged the spirit beast and lay on its furry back. Thanks to the spirit beast's speed, they had now entered the Tanzhou Mountains, surrounded by towering trees. Although Feng Jingluo could practice fasting, Xu Mobai loved to enjoy himself, Yun Ruchen was unwilling to take fasting pills, and Jiang Chen had no objection to satisfying their appetites. Therefore, the few of them had not missed a meal during their gathering, and now they were not prepared to interrupt their journey. Without waiting for anyone to stop the caravan, the old man actually stopped the spirit beast on his own initiative, turned around and said a few words to the people in the carriage, jumped off the spirit beast and walked towards them. "Everyone, the caravan will stop here for dinner. I'll trouble you to take care of it." The old man's attitude was surprisingly kind, and one could feel that she cared deeply for the girl in the carriage. She pulled aside the curtain, and the person who came out of the carriage was also wearing a cloak. A few wisps of hair hung down, revealing her snow-white hair color. The girls who got off the second carriage sat on the ground around her, with wooden tables, tea, fruits and cakes. Xu Mobai slapped his forehead in annoyance. They remembered to eat, but forgot to prepare some delicious food when leaving Qinzhou City. Jiang Chen spread his hands, "Don't look at me, I only have elixirs here." Bai Yuge: "Fasting pills." It was Feng Jingluo who spoke again, saying that she had some spiritual fruits. The person sitting at the table noticed the predicament of the few people and whispered a few words to the old man beside him. The old man came over and invited them to sit down and eat together. The few people did not refuse and accepted the invitation. "The journey to the north is long, and there is heavy snow all year round. I wonder what the caravan plans to sell in the Snow Country? Or what to buy?" Xu Mobai did not ask rashly. It was really because these people were dressed strangely and did not want to show themselves that made him suspicious. "Forgive me for the indignation, but our mission is to escort you to the remote north. If you can't trust us, I'm afraid the journey ahead won't be smooth." The old man looked at the woman beside him. After receiving a nod of agreement, she removed her cloak. Beneath her face was a face about fifty years old, with a rosy complexion and a few more fine lines around her eyes. Her gaze was gentle and approachable. Her white hair was as light as snow, and her brown eyes were not cloudy. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Xue Rong. As you can see, we are originally from the Snow Plain Country." Xue Rong sighed and said, "The Snow Plain Country is often covered in heavy snow, leaving us with little time to work. Fortunately, spiritual plants can be accelerated to ripen, so we don't have to rush for food." "It's just..." Xue Rong paused, a look of difficulty on her face. "The Snow Plain Country is getting colder, and we have to go out to buy some..."
After running for a while, Jiang Chen simply hugged the spirit beast and lay on its furry back. Thanks to the spirit beast's speed, they had now entered the Tanzhou Mountains, surrounded by towering trees.
Although Feng Jingluo could practice fasting, Xu Mobai preferred indulgence, Yun Ruchen was reluctant to take fasting pills, and Jiang Chen had no objection to satisfying their appetites. Therefore, they hadn't skipped a single meal during their time together, and now they weren't about to interrupt their journey.
Without waiting for any of them to stop the caravan, the old man actually stopped the spirit beast on his own initiative, turned around and said a few words to the people in the carriage, then jumped off the spirit beast and walked towards them.
"Everyone, the caravan will stop here to eat. Please take care of it."
The old woman's attitude was surprisingly nice, and one could feel that she cared very much about the girl in the carriage.
The curtain was parted, and the person who emerged from the carriage was also wearing a cloak. A few strands of hair fell, revealing her snow-white hair.
The girls who got off the second carriage sat around her on the ground, with a wooden table, tea, fruits and cakes provided.
Xu Mobai slapped his forehead in annoyance. They remembered to eat, but forgot to prepare some delicious food when leaving Qinzhou City.
Jiang Chen spread his hands, "Don't look at me, I only have pills here."
Bai Yuge: "Bigu Pill."
It was Feng Jingluo who spoke again, saying that she had some spiritual fruits.
The person sitting at the table noticed the predicament of several people and whispered a few words to the old man next to him.
The old man came over and invited them to sit down and have dinner together.
Several people did not refuse and accepted the invitation to take a seat.
"The journey to the north is long, and there is heavy snow all year round. I wonder what the caravan plans to sell or buy when it goes to the Snow Country?" Xu Mobai did not ask rashly. It was because these people were dressed strangely and were unwilling to show themselves that made him suspicious.
"Forgive me for the indignation, but our mission is to escort you to the remote north. If you can't trust us, I'm afraid the journey ahead won't be smooth."
The old man looked at the woman beside him. After receiving a nod of agreement, she took off her cloak. Beneath it was a face of about fifty, with a rosy complexion and a few more fine lines around the eyes. Her eyes were gentle and friendly.
She had white hair, as light as snow, and brown eyes that were not cloudy.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Xue Rong. As you can see, we are originally from the Snow Plain Country." Xue Rong sighed and said, "The Snow Plain Country is often covered with heavy snow, which gives us little time to work. Fortunately, spiritual plants can be accelerated to ripen, so we don't have to rush for food."
"It's just..." Xue Rong paused, looking troubled. "The Snow Country is getting colder, so we have no choice but to go out and buy what we need. There are fewer caravans going to the Snow Country to buy spiritual medicines and spiritual beasts now."
"The north is so far away from Qinzhou City, why do you come here to buy?" Xu Mobai asked again, and was nudged on the shoulder by Jiang Chen's arm.
"Eat quickly, stop talking so much." Xu Mobai really stopped asking questions and saw that Xue Rong's expression had relaxed.
After dinner, Xue Rong and others packed up their things, and Xu Mobai called Jiang Chen to sit behind a tree.
"Xue Rong lied." Or concealed part of the facts.
"They are indeed from the Snow Country, with white hair and the scent of elixirs." Jiang Chen pondered, "As far as I know, people from the Snow Country won't easily leave the north. How could they run to the central Qinzhou City just to buy things?"
Even a fool knows that there is an ulterior motive.
Jiang Chen couldn't understand. Although Qinzhou City was prosperous, was there anything that could attract them?
She thought back to the auction items, wondering if they had participated in them. However, because of the disruption caused by the Shangyu prince, even if they had wanted something, they would have lost it.
But they didn't look upset or frustrated, so what they wanted should have nothing to do with the auction.
Besides this, what else can attract people to Qinzhou City?
"I see these people have pure auras and shouldn't cause any trouble. Since they don't want to talk about it, there's no need to ask further. Although the north is far away, we can still reach it by riding spirit beasts before the forbidden area opens."
With his shoulder against the tree trunk, Jiang Chen looked back and happened to see Xue Rong helping the man back to the carriage. She was an alchemist, so she could naturally feel that the man was weak.
I really hope it won't cause any trouble.
Tanzhou Mountain is mostly covered with linden trees, mixed with various types of pine trees. Occasionally, if you are lucky, you can come across some special spiritual plants.
Among the weeds, you can often see violets, a small patch of purple swaying in the wind, and some tender yellow wild chrysanthemums, but none of them have a strong fragrance.
Unlike the exotic flowers and plants that were specially found all over the mountains and plains in the Wentian Sect, Yun Ruchen stood by the road for a short while, looking at a Viola yedoensis plant with five or six purple flowers.
"What are you looking at?"
Yun Ruchen raised his finger and pointed at the flower hidden in the weeds. "Although it's not as gorgeous as the peony, or as proud as the plum blossom, or as fragrant as the jasmine, growing here where you can see it everywhere, without competing or grabbing, it does bring a special feeling to my heart."
Feng Jingluo carefully examined the delicate little flower, then tilted her head to depict Yun Ruchen's slender figure, a smile spreading in her eyes, "Young Master is not a flower that can be found everywhere."
There was little emotion in Feng Jingluo's words, and his attitude was mostly calm and overly indifferent, which made people feel intimidated.
If some emotion is added at this moment, the voice will immediately become three points softer, like a breeze of spring, with lakes rippling and green willows swaying in the sound.
She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Shao Zong is just hiding, quietly opening up alone, I know."
I always knew.
The comfort of most people is as cool as water, which can calm the irritability and depression in people's hearts.
But only her comfort was as hot as fire, and any word from her could burn him so much that he couldn't face anyone.
Jiang Chen smiled secretly and made a face, while Xu Mobai bent down and pretended to look at shoes.
"Be careful of getting hit."
Jiang Chen said seriously, "Who beat him? Feng Jingluo or Bai Yuge?"
She raised an eyebrow. Bai Yuge was standing in front of the tree, leaning against the trunk with his arms folded. The wind blew, the shadows swaying, his falling hair blocking his eyes. At this moment, he was unreal, his gray eyes filled with a thousand sorrows.
He looked towards Jiang Chen, seemingly in a trance, with empty eyes and drooping mouth corners.
Jiang Chen opened his mouth and said silently, "You are too serious and cold, that's why you can't attract Feng Jingluo."
Her hands roamed along her curves. "Dress a little more provocatively and be a little softer in character, maybe..."
Before she could finish, Bai Yuge had already taken out the sword with a cold face. Jiang Chen hurriedly hid behind Xu Mobai, and he raised his hands in fear, "Don't hurt innocent people!"
Fortunately, Jiang Chen was very good at escaping, for example, he used Xu Mobai as a shield at critical moments. Not long after, Xu Mobai chased after him, looking a little embarrassed, and fixed his messy hair.
"Why did you mess with him?"
"Watch the show." Jiang Chen asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Xu Mobai let his hair down and put it back on his head. His sleeves slipped down, revealing his thin wrists. "No one is optimistic."
"Bai Yuge is like a piece of wood. He chased after the Wentian Sect and was stopped by them. It took a lot of courage. With his personality, it is impossible for him to fight and snatch."
"As for Yun Ruchen, I don't know him well, so it's hard to comment." He glanced over Yun Ruchen and lowered his arm. "I heard that he's rarely seen in the sect, and he refuses to practice cultivation no matter what. He's so stubborn. Facing Feng Jingluo, who's so devoted to cultivating immortality, I'm curious what he'll choose."
"It's all going to be fine." Jiang Chen tossed his hair in a self-proclaimed romantic way, "On one hand, I have a warm jade in my arms, and on the other hand, I have a cold and alluring fragrance."
Xu Mobai took a half step back and said, "If Feng Jingluo wants to hit you, don't think of using me as a shield."
"Ruchen, go and ride the spirit beast first. I'll be back soon."
Yun Ruchen nodded, walked towards the spirit beast, and jumped onto its back.
She deliberately walked past the two men, who looked guiltily up at the sky and down at the ground.
"You're talking nonsense again. How about asking Xu Mobai to pick two beauties for you?"
"I think it's okay." Xu Mobai gloated.
Jiang Chen pretended not to hear. She didn't want a beauty. Men were troublesome things that would only delay her alchemy.
Feng Jingluo raised her hand and tapped Jiang Chen's head with her finger. Because of her mouth, several times in the secret realm, many people were attracted to chase them around the secret realm.
Xu Mobai was trying to hold back his laughter and pretend to be serious. When Feng Jingluo passed by him, he shook his head and didn't even bother to look at him. His face immediately fell.
They are all birds of a feather.
Bai Yuge straightened her body and took the initiative to walk towards Feng Jingluo.
"You don't look well," she said.
Bai Yuge leaned forward slightly. He knew that Feng Jingluo didn't like others looking down on her.
"You know, Jiang Chen likes to talk nonsense." His eyes followed Bai Yuge's closely, not allowing her to escape. "Don't take her words to heart."
"Yeah." He nodded obediently.
"If..." He rubbed his palms and touched the calluses on the palms, and swallowed back the words he wanted to say.
Feng Jingluo noticed his movements and spread out her palms. There were also calluses on her palms.
"Practicing is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you'll retreat. This is proof of your hard work. Becoming stronger is what you've always pursued. There's no need to change yourself."
She remembered the scene when she first met Bai Yuge. They were still young at that time, both were naive teenagers.
At that time, Bai Yuge had already begun to show signs of calmness and restraint. Her facial features were softer and less fully developed, her eyes were pure and watery, and she had a certain gullibility and innocence. She was almost sold out by Xu Mobai and Jiang Chen.
"My master taught me that cultivation means constantly challenging the strong until you become the strongest. I have always believed in this and have been working hard."
Until I met you, no matter how hard I tried, I could only see your back. You always sat on the throne of the strongest, watching indifferently as those below fought for it.
"But that's the idea my master taught me." He no longer avoided looking away, and met Feng Jingluo's gaze frankly. "From a long time ago, my goal has been to follow in your footsteps. Sometimes I can't tell whether I'm chasing your strength or you."
"I... shouldn't have looked at you from afar, thinking you were out of reach." He only knew her superficial side, but he had never known what the real Feng Jingluo was like inside.
"I will catch up." His tone was firm, and he softened his words, trying to let himself express more emotion. "I won't let you become an immortal alone."
The corners of her mouth slowly rose, and she raised her hand to high-five Bai Yuge, "Okay, then we'll have another fight."
She turned and walked towards the spirit beast, then paused, looking back with bright eyes, "The loser will still be you."
He closed his fingers and grasped the remaining warmth in his palm. This was the first time she touched him without fighting.
Bai Yuge avoided the two of them and walked towards the spirit beast in panic, her tightly pursed lips trembling slightly.
Xu Mobai and Jiang Chen smiled at each other. It was really miserable to like a swordsman who lacked romantic feelings.
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