Shen Qinghe initially thought he was joking—how could any man not know?
But then she remembered that Lizhu seemed different from ordinary young men. He’d probably never been touched before, never had those kinds of thoughts, so he’d never had any reaction.
Today, suddenly being touched by a pretty girl like her… that might just be—understandable.
The problem was, how was she, a virgin who only read smutty novels, supposed to explain this to him?
Shen Qinghe took a deep breath, struggling to maintain her composure. “It’s fine. It’ll pass in a moment.”
“Okay.” He didn’t ask further.
Shen Qinghe finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Spirit Medicine Valley was filled with people from various major sects, and there didn’t seem to be anywhere they needed to help.
Shen Qinghe suggested, “Let’s go check out Alchemy City.”
A meaningful glint flickered in Lizhu’s eyes, and he nodded in agreement.
Spirit Medicine Valley was covered in white snow, and the neighboring Alchemy City was even more buried in falling snow, with biting cold winds that nearly engulfed the entire city.
For cultivators, this snow was nothing, but for ordinary people without any Spiritual Power, this was undoubtedly a natural disaster.
The street vendor who had set up his stall yesterday was nowhere to be seen today.
Pedestrians hurried past on the road. Shen Qinghe grabbed one of them. “Excuse me, has Alchemy City ever been like this in past years?”
The person shook their head and quickly pulled away from Shen Qinghe’s hand, rushing on their way.
Lizhu narrowed his eyes. Shen Qinghe grabbed his arm. “Forget it. She’s probably going to stock up on grain—there’s a granary over there. Her face was frozen purple; if it weren’t absolutely necessary, she definitely wouldn’t have come out.”
Suddenly, a voice called out, “Fairy, come over here.”
Shen Qinghe turned and saw the shop assistant she had helped yesterday, standing at the inn’s entrance, waving at her.
The inn door was only open for a brief moment, yet a considerable amount of snow blew in.
The shop assistant closed the door again, lit a candle to brighten the inn slightly, and poured hot tea for the two of them.
But the temperature was too low, and the tea quickly lost its steam.
“You two must be from out of town—I don’t think I’ve seen the fairy here before,” the shop assistant said. “You want to ask about this weather, right? Actually, in past years, Alchemy City would get at most a light drizzle in March. It’s never snowed this heavily.”
Shen Qinghe asked, “So what’s going on this year?”
The shop assistant shook his head. “I don’t know. I just remember my grandfather once said that a long, long time ago, Alchemy City experienced an unprecedented blizzard. Many people froze to death. The officials and cultivators who went to investigate all fell into comas and never woke up again.
I feel like it’s just like this snowstorm now.
Alchemy City is spring all year round, so very few people keep winter clothes. Last night, quite a few people already froze to death.
I hope everyone can survive this calamity safely.”
Shen Qinghe looked at Lizhu and asked quietly, “Is there any way you can make this snow stop?”
“Only temporarily,” Lizhu said.
Shen Qinghe’s eyes brightened slightly. “Temporarily works too.”
She remembered that once the treasure of Spirit Medicine Valley emerged, everything would return to normal.
Lizhu glanced at the shop assistant, a cold glint flickering in his pitch-black eyes. “If it took your life to temporarily stop the snow, would you be willing?”
The shop assistant was startled for a moment, then answered without hesitation, “I’m willing. I don’t have many winter clothes anyway—I probably won’t last more than a few days.”
He was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday, two thin layers, his face frozen red, clearly in bad shape.
“Alright, then I’ll…” Lizhu’s lips curved slightly as black energy gathered in his hand.
The next second, his hand was caught by a soft, slender one. Shen Qinghe spoke up, “Alright, we’ve felt your willingness to sacrifice for the world. Leave the rest to us cultivators.”
She tugged Lizhu aside and whispered, “Does stopping the snow really require a life?”
“Then why did you ask? Was it really a test?”
Lizhu said expressionlessly, “I want him dead.”
This was the first time Shen Qinghe felt the killing intent radiating from him, almost tangible in its intensity. That was why she had quickly stopped him. “Why?”
Lizhu: “I don’t like the way he looked at you.”
Shen Qinghe froze for a moment, then it clicked. She coughed lightly, covering her blushing face with her hands, and said shyly, “What can I do? My charm is just that powerful. Someone as cute and pretty as me—lots of people like me.”
It wasn’t vanity. She had no idea how many people in the sect harbored feelings for her.
Lizhu pressed his lips together. “Then I want them all dead.”
Shen Qinghe’s apricot-like eyes widened. “That can’t be! What if everyone in the world likes me? Are you going to kill everyone in the world?”
Lizhu: “We could try.”
Shen Qinghe just thought he was being a bit dramatic. She could only blame her own overwhelming charm. She had originally planned to have Lizhu play the role of someone she was fawning over, but instead, he had fallen for her.
That was the downside of being too charming.
Shen Qinghe tried to soothe him. “Don’t worry. I’ve never even glanced at him. He’s had a hard life—don’t make things difficult for him.”
Lizhu pressed his lips together, still not entirely pleased.
Shen Qinghe blinked and leaned closer to him. “How about this: from now on, I’ll always look at you, and you’ll always look at me. We’ll only care about each other’s gaze, and ignore everyone else, okay?”
He reluctantly hummed in agreement.
Shen Qinghe let out a sigh of relief. The shopkeeper’s life was saved.
Lizhu drew out that black longsword. The blade seemed wreathed in flames, faintly glowing with a red light that was hard to look at directly. Just being near it, one could feel a suffocating heat.
Shen Qinghe stepped back a little.
Lizhu looked down at her staring at his sword. “What are you thinking?”
His Burning Silence was the nightmare of countless righteous cultivators and demonic cultivators alike. The killing aura accumulated on it was enough to make all living things within ten miles sense danger and retreat on their own.
She must be afraid too.
Shen Qinghe looked at him. “I was thinking—can this sword grill meat?”
Perhaps because her words were too outrageous, the Incinerating Silence Sword gave a startled tremor, and the red glow on its blade dimmed considerably.
Lizhu: “Not afraid?”
“This is your sword. Why would I be afraid?”
Shen Qinghe said.
Lizhu stared at her steadily, then suddenly smiled.
He casually stabbed the sword into the ground. “In that case, I’ll teach you how to make the snow stop.”
Shen Qinghe pointed at herself in disbelief. “Me?”
Lizhu nodded. “It’s simple. You can do it. First, pick up the sword.”
Shen Qinghe walked over to the Incinerating Silence Sword. Perhaps because it was Lizhu’s sword, it didn’t feel cold to the touch. She had expected it to be heavy, that she wouldn’t be able to lift it, but with just a little effort, the sword rose in her hand.
Lizhu said, “Recite: Heaven’s decree returns, fate’s course renews… With my strength, end the cycle.”
Shen Qinghe: “…Could you say that again? It’s a bit long. I didn’t memorize it.”
Lizhu was silent for a few seconds, as if he hadn’t expected humans to be this foolish. He said considerately, “How about I say one line, and you repeat after me?”
“Great, great.” Shen Qinghe nodded repeatedly, adding, “Next time, it’s best to do it this way too. I’m just an ordinary college student—I’ve returned all my memory to my teachers.”
Lizhu: “…Fine.”
Shen Qinghe was satisfied.
Lizhu chanted in a low voice: “Heaven’s decree returns…”
Shen Qinghe followed: “Heaven’s decree returns.”
She had thought that shouting this would be useless, but she genuinely felt the spiritual power around her surging toward her at that moment.
“Fate’s cycle turns.”
“Fate’s cycle turns.”
…
“Ending the reincarnation.”
“Ending the reincarnation.”
As she finished the last line, the gathered spiritual power pierced through the sword and surged into the sky.
The snow clouds gathered in the sky slowly dispersed, revealing the hidden sun, and sunlight once again spilled across the earth.
Shen Qinghe’s face lit up with joy. “I really did it.”
Lizhu’s lips curved slightly, and he gave a faint hum of acknowledgment: “Well done.”
“That’s so cool, Lizhu! You’re amazing!”
Shen Qinghe happily rushed over and hugged him.
Lizhu’s expression shifted slightly. This person—if she was happy, she could just be happy. Why did she have to engage in what looked like Dual Cultivation with him?
His gaze met her smiling face, and he pressed his lips together. Well, if she wanted to do it, let her.
It seemed he didn’t dislike it.
The townsfolk who had been hiding from the heavy snow felt the warm sunlight and pulled open their windows one by one, then ran out in succession.
“Wonderful, the snow has stopped!”
“It finally stopped! My old man almost froze to death.”
The shopkeeper’s assistant also ran out, shouting loudly: “The immortal lady made the snow stop. We should thank her.”
The townsfolk looked up at the sky and pressed their hands together devoutly: “Thank you, immortal lady, for saving our lives.”
“Thank you, immortal lady, for saving our lives.”
Shen Qinghe inexplicably felt like she was a savior. She nudged Lizhu beside her with her elbow: “Helping others really makes you happy.”
Lizhu’s expression was indifferent. He looked toward the distant mountaintop, where, because of its height, snow still lay thick and heavy, and the blizzard continued unabated.
At the summit, a man with crossed legs and an aged face suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and a few more wrinkles etched themselves onto his face.
Yet the man laughed aloud: “So it’s him. He’s come—they’ll all die, hahahahaha…”