New friends
Lin Yunwang, who had long since changed into ordinary clothes, stood at the end of the village. The scenery here was quite different from what she had seen on the hill.
A profound sense of unease overwhelmed her, her heart pounded violently, and Lin Yun felt dizzy. She barely managed to resist by circulating her spiritual energy throughout her body. In her dazed state, she heard a woman's voice: "This village is covered in snow that never melts."
The tone was so sorrowful, yet tinged with a hint of expectation.
What are you expecting?
Lin Yunwang understood their expectations: they hoped someone could bring salvation, they hoped someone could reveal the truth, and they hoped their loved ones could return.
The familiar roar echoed in my ears, a sense of sadness spread through my heart, and I felt dizzy.
Tears of parting are hard to hide.
The mortal realm has sixteen states, and the cultivation world naturally has the same structure, but it is not as vast as the mortal realm, having only six states and one city.
These six states are respectively governed by the Zhou family, the Nangong family, and the Dongfang family, three major immortal cultivation clans. The remaining city is naturally Qiling City, which attracts people from all over the world.
The realm where the cultivation world is located originally belonged to the human realm, but that was a hundred years ago. The reasons for this are naturally complicated and cannot be explained in a few words. Moreover, very few people bring up this matter now.
When Lin Yun first entered the Jingyin Sect, she was naturally very curious about the cultivation world. However, since the person she could trust and cause the most trouble was in "confinement," she could only rely on books to learn about it. But after reading many books, she found no record of how the cultivation world came into being, which was just as inexplicable as the books that recorded information about the demon race.
She still didn't know the difference between the cultivation world and the human world, even though she had read a lot of books in the library during her spare time.
Although most cultivators are concentrated in the Three Sects and One School and Qiling City, the common people of the six states of the cultivation world do not admire cultivation. They live like the common people of the human world.
The two are exactly the same.
That being said, compared to the human realm, the states in the cultivation world are independently governed, and they only need to report to Qiling City periodically, which seems like an easy job.
Lin Yunwang's current location in Jeju is within the territory under the jurisdiction of the Nangong family.
However, the natural conditions here are harsh, and the economy is not particularly prosperous. Naturally, the main branch of the Nangong family would not be located here; they chose the wealthy Qingzhou, which is closer to Qiling City. Here, only a branch family residence is used for daily management.
Whether it exists or not seems to make no difference.
In their eyes, Jeju was insignificant and not worth their time or effort. Similarly, the people of Jeju did not like the arrogant Namgung family.
It's hard to imagine that their relationship is that of manager and managed; it's more accurate to call them irreconcilable enemies. Lin Yun was pondering this when the person beside her interrupted her thoughts.
"I have also been to Cheongju. Although both states have their own unique scenery, I prefer Jeju."
A man dressed in a wide-sleeved robe spoke gently to Lin Yun about Jeju Island, but as he spoke, he veered off-topic and began to express his love for the place.
Lin Yun nodded.
As they talked, she grew accustomed to the man's eccentricities. Objectively speaking, however, this young man was quite knowledgeable, able to speak fluently about everything from Jeju's history and culture to its extraordinary people and anecdotes. She had gained much insight and knowledge along the way.
How should we recount how the two met?
It all started an hour ago.
At that moment, Lin Yun was struggling to resist her physical discomfort. In a daze, she saw several figures. She knew in her heart that their existence was similar to that of the phantoms in the Thousand Towers, but far more real than those in the tower.
They didn't make any move, they just stared blankly ahead in silence.
However, there were no subtle fluctuations of spiritual energy in this village, so naturally there wouldn't be any "spiritual artifacts" with the same structure as the Thousand Towers in the Jingyin Sect. Moreover, it was only known that there were spiritual artifacts of the same origin in Qiling City, so why would such a spiritual artifact be placed in a small village?
Along with the thinking came a feeling of dizziness. The previously suppressed chaos returned.
Despite her efforts to suppress it, as time passed and most of her spiritual energy was depleted, she saw no improvement. Instead, her headache intensified, and the phantoms multiplied.
So, with her blood churning, she vomited a mouthful of blood, which landed right on the pure white snow.
Lin Yun looked blankly at the sky where snowflakes were falling heavily; she didn't know when it had started snowing.
She thought to herself: Jeju is truly a magical place.
Even though I already knew that the spectacular sight of "snow in June" could be seen in northern Jeju, I was still amazed to see it with my own eyes.
Strictly speaking, it should be snow in May.
An umbrella blocked her view of the sky. Lin Yun looked in the direction the person holding the umbrella was holding. The person was dressed in light gray clothes, had a fair complexion, and looked very frail, like a scholar from an academy.
He parted his thin lips slightly and asked, "Young lady, are you also here for travel?"
also?
Lin Yun keenly grasped the meaning of that word, then nodded naturally and asked, "You too?"
“I’m not,” he said with a smile and shook his head. “I’m a traditional Chinese medicine doctor at the foot of the mountain. I heard from my neighbor that her grandson saw someone running up the mountain again… The temperature in Yunzhong Mountain varies greatly. Someone once had an accident while going up the mountain alone, so I came to check on him.”
The man led Lin Yun down the mountain.
“Every year, many people come here to see the snow in June, but the girl arrives earlier than most of them.”
Lin Yunwang was puzzled. What was the difference between snow in May and snow in June? In the end, both were snowfalls in an inappropriate season.
There were still many things that didn't make sense. The scrutinizing gaze fell on the young woman who was leading the way. She had already used her spiritual power when she entered the village, so she should have been able to sense anyone entering the village.
However… she withdrew her gaze. In that state, Lin Yun herself was unsure whether her previous spiritual power would still be effective.
This person's appearance may have been a coincidence, or it may have been intentional.
“If you have nowhere to stay, you can stay at my clinic temporarily,” the man broke the brief silence. “Don’t worry, there are many people there who are about your age.”
This made Lin Yun chuckle.
What were meant to be comforting words were, through his deliberate actions, twisted into something even more frightening. Yet, observing his expression was rather amusing.
"I haven't asked your name yet."
“岁远, 年岁岁, 长远的远”.
"Sui is my surname, a very special surname. My name is Lin Yunwang, Lin as in two trees, and Yunwang as in the wind and clouds."
"nameless."
The atmosphere was somewhat somber. She said slowly, "The scenery here is beautiful. I want to stay a few more days and find an inn in town to settle down. That would be best."
Whether intentional or not, parting ways is the best choice and the best test for the two.
He nodded. "That's fine then. I saw you vomit blood earlier. Are you alright?"
"It's a chronic illness, not a serious one, but it looks scary," Lin Yun said dismissively.
“Since you’re looking for lodging, let me recommend an inn to you,” he said softly. “You know, the inns here only get a few guests in June; otherwise, they’re practically empty. They’ll definitely rip you off since you’re a stranger.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Yunwang no longer refused.
After walking for about half an hour, the two could see houses in the distance. This was the small town where Zhou lived. It looked small and didn't seem to have many permanent residents.
By the time they arrived in town, the two had become so familiar with each other that they addressed each other as brother and sister.
"Qingfeng Inn?"
The town is called Qingfeng Town, and along the way I saw many shops with the name Qingfeng in their names. What magic do these two characters have that makes people use them everywhere?
Sui Yuan seemed to see her doubts. "This is a rule set by the Nangong family. All shops that meet the regulations must be called by the local name. The two states managed by the Nangong family are excellent places for sightseeing and enjoyment. This way, customers can also recognize their quality."
He further explained, "This measure has reassured many out-of-towners that they can come here to enjoy the beautiful scenery, but it has also led to quite a few laughable incidents."
"Brother Suiyuan, your knowledge is profound; I am far inferior to you in this respect." Lin Yun had previously only been active in Shuofeng City and its surrounding areas before coming to Jingyin Sect to begin her cultivation. Naturally, she had not traveled to many places, and her feelings of admiration and praise were heartfelt.
"Sister Yun, you flatter me. Before coming here, I was an itinerant doctor who wandered around and naturally saw a lot. I can hardly be considered knowledgeable."
Interestingly, both of them harbored doubts, yet they addressed each other as brother and sister.
Sui Yuan led her inside. A waiter was dozing off by the long counter, and the shop was deserted. Lin Yun looked around and found that only one table was occupied, and only one person was eating their food in silence.
Occasionally, the sound of bowls and chopsticks clashing could be heard.
It wasn't until he coughed twice that the drowsy waiter snapped out of his reverie, staring blankly at the two men in front of him.
"Brother Sui, did you go looking for someone in the mountains again?"
Qingfeng Town is small, and the people there know each other well. Because Zhou is a celebrity in Qingfeng Town, people often talk about him, and many people know his daily movements very well.
"Yes, I'm afraid something unexpected might happen again, like before." The man nodded, his expression unchanging, as if he were as used to the long and rugged mountain road as drinking water and eating his fill.
Seeing that there was another person standing next to Sui Yuan, the waiter quickly said, "Since you brought him, we will naturally give you a fair price."
Several days passed in this way. Qingfeng Town was not large; it was more like a slightly larger village than a town. The two inevitably bumped into each other a few times and occasionally exchanged a few words.
It was just a series of tentative statements.
"And you? And why are you here?"
"...It's just about treating illnesses and saving lives."
Lin Yun nodded knowingly.
This mission is of great significance, and she must be on high alert. Furthermore, Suiyuan is a man of deep thought; he won't entrust his heart to someone after only a few meetings.
Perhaps soon he will be able to say, "Friend, please allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is—"
But that happened much later.
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