Accompanied by the flying snow, the person who rushed down from the mountain pushed open the door and was swept into a bone-piercing cold wind from outside.
A man wearing a thick and long down jacket jumped a few times in front of the hot air from the air conditioner. He shivered before he breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing the person reading the newspaper in the gatehouse, he was stunned. "Brother Hu, you're already here?"
"I'm used to waking up early." The person reading the newspaper poured him a cup of hot tea.
Lu Yan shivered, picked up the teacup, and asked, "What's the date today?"
"November 29th," the person reading the newspaper said.
"It's already so cold in November?"
Lu Yan sucked in a breath of cold air.
"You just arrived?" The person reading the newspaper smiled.
"Yes, I was assigned here in autumn."
"You'll get used to it in the future." He said, "Mount Dai Yu is not a good place for a vacation. It's hot in summer and cold in winter. Insects are everywhere in spring and there's endless work in autumn."
"To be honest, before I came, I thought Mount Dai Yu was like spring all year round."
"Hahaha, that's just a lie. There are always people who know that this is a plantation in Dongxia and think that the scenery here is beautiful and the climate is pleasant … In fact, it's not the same thing. Yes, it's still like this, but it's different now. "
"Why?" Lu Yan asked. He looked up at the gray sky outside the window, as if he could see the framework set by the creator. "Can't it be adjusted?"
"Yes, it was deliberately adjusted like this." Hu Jing put away the newspaper and said, "The old lady likes it."
When it came to the old lady, Lu Yan had nothing to say.
Who asked her to be older and more powerful than anyone else? Even Xuan Niao didn't dare to go against her — in front of her, everyone was a junior.
"Let me teach you a lesson." Hu Jing, who was in charge of guiding Lu Yan, smiled. "The old lady is more extreme. Instead of pretending to be like spring all year round, it's better to show the harsh nature of the four seasons. The former environment can only grow weeds, but the real talent never cares about the lack of spring wind and rain. Do you understand?"
"I understand." Lu Yan nodded.
"Even if you don't understand, you have to pretend to understand. If you don't understand, you have to remember. There will come a time when you understand." Hu Jing glanced at him, who was still in a daze, and picked up the newspaper again. "Rest for a while. We'll be busy later. I asked you to come down from the shed, not to sit down and drink tea."
"What is it?" Lu Yan asked. Looking at the heavy snow outside, his face turned a little green. "It can't be the same as two days ago, right?"
"Welcome." Hu Jing said, "Originally, I didn't need you, but I see that you're quite free. Why don't you come and see the world with me? If you stop flirting online, Old Wang won't let you sweep the snow every few days."
"Amazing …"
Lu Yan's face turned green. It was unknown whether he was silently criticizing Lao Wang or complaining about his teacher. But there was nothing much to say. Which newbie didn't serve tea and water?
In the future, when the newcomers came, he would do the same!
Other than plucking weeds and planting flowers every day, this was the only entertainment left in the mountains.
Rather than saying that this made him unhappy, it was better to say that it was a visitor that his master had mentioned.
"This is the third one this month?"
Lu Yan clicked his tongue. "Why are there so many people recently?"
"It's a last-minute addition."
"Can't the leaders empathize with the people working overtime?" Lu Yan complained in a bad mood. He slumped on the sofa, completely devoid of energy.
In any case, he had worked here for three to four months. He still didn't know what kind of people came to Mount Yu Dai.
Other than workers like him who were in charge of maintenance, the people who came here were all sheep farmers. They were jealous of the precious materials that covered the mountains.
It was fine if they took cards to eat, but if they couldn't eat, they had to carry them.
Even if they couldn't touch the high-level Abyss plants, they would ruthlessly hang the basic materials that Lu Yan and the rest were in charge of. Who asked Mount Tai to be so rich in earth energy? The calamity plants of the Abyss grew here like chives.
This month, Lu Yan was already annoyed by the two ugly fellows who ate in front of him.
Regarding his complaints, Hu Jing didn't say anything. He only gave him a reminder.
"Later, be more respectful. It doesn't matter if it's official business. Don't throw a tantrum."
"Huh?"
"They're from the astronomy club," the master said. "They're guests that Old Madam invited."
Lu Yan didn't care about the former, but the latter stunned him.
Old Madam had been living in seclusion all these years. He had been in Mount Yu Dai for so long, but he had only seen her once. Even now, when he thought of Old Madam's harsh gaze, he felt his legs go weak.
A guest that Old Madam invited. Just thinking about it made him feel a little guilty.
Sometimes, such important people were even more difficult to deal with than little ghosts. As long as the latter was dealt with properly, it wouldn't be a problem. Whether they were good or bad had nothing to do with him.
However, serving such a high and mighty figure might not be beneficial. If he were to offend him, his future days would be a little difficult.
"According to Young Master Chu, if he doesn't want to work at the astronomy club and comes to Dongxia, then he will immediately become Old Madam's personal student …"
Hu Jing wanted to say more, but two car lights suddenly lit up in the snow outside the gatehouse at the foot of the mountain.
A car broke through the wind and snow without warning and arrived here.
It didn't directly drive in. Instead, it stopped a distance away.
The chauffeur got out of the car and opened the door to the back of the car. A young man, who was shivering from the cold, walked out. He was still wearing a thin layer of clothing.
Lu Yan suspected that he was only wearing a T-shirt under his jacket.
When he got out of the car, he didn't stand firm and even staggered.
More importantly … he seemed to be even younger than himself.
"It's him?" Lu Yan couldn't believe it.
"Yes, it's him."
Hu Jing folded the newspaper and stood up. "Don't talk later. Just stand to the side. Just bring your eyes and ears. Don't bring your mouth. Just watch the show. "
Lu Yan hurriedly stood up and followed him.
When he opened the door, a violent snowstorm suddenly swept up.
The hurricane outside seemed to be roaring. The loud sound kept rolling over and over, shaking one's soul. Who would have thought that Dongxia's largest abyssal botanical garden would be such a cruel and cold place?
In any case, Huai Shi wouldn't have thought of it.
He was shivering now. He was freezing.
But at the same time, he couldn't help but blush. His whole body was burning as if he was drunk.
As soon as he walked in, the mountain ghost's sacred mark became more active than ever.
Under the abundant earth qi and snow, countless plants surged. The entire mountain ghost's sacred mark seemed to be overloaded and fell into a drunken state.
It was even more uncomfortable to be suppressed.
The former was collective cold violence, while the latter was incomparably enthusiastic pulling and dragging. A group of extremely enthusiastic aunts crazily circled around him, curiously asking him how old he was this year, whether he was married, whether he had a partner, how much he was paid, where he worked, when he planned to buy a house, if he was too young to ask for a wife, if he was prepared to take a parking space …
His head was swollen and his vision was blurry.
The local gangs were too f * cking enthusiastic. He had just returned from Antarctica two days ago. He couldn't stand it.
His body couldn't take any nourishment.
"Mr. Huai Shi, these two will take you in."
The driver tried to hold the overturned black umbrella in the strong wind and shouted beside Huai Shi, "I'll wait for you here."
"What?" Huai Shi looked over with a dumbfounded expression. The driver shouted again before he reacted.
He saw a figure staggering over in the wind and snow in front of him holding a hiking stick.
He was covered in a down jacket and had a mask on his face. He held a document in his hand and compared it with the trembling teenager in front of him. He asked loudly, "Name!"
"Huai Shi, male, seventeen years old … But don't f * cking do this for me!" Huai Shi was furious.
Why the f * ck is this everywhere I go!
Hurry up and get me some clothes first, okay?
After the two confirmed Huai Shi's identity, they didn't say anything and pulled him inside. They didn't even enter the gatehouse when they passed by. Huai Shi looked at the air-conditioning inside and was about to die of envy.
"Can't you let me drink some hot water?" Huai Shi asked.
"What?!!" Hu Jing turned around and shouted.
"Hot water!!!"
Huai Shi roared in the roaring cold wind, "Hot water! Heater! It's freezing!! "
"It's available on the mountain!!!"
Hu Jing replied loudly, "There's no time for you to rest. The old lady wants to see you! She said that you should go up the mountain as soon as you arrive!!! "
After shouting three times, Huai Shi finally heard clearly.
He almost couldn't feel where his face was.
It was too cold.
But under the surrounding snow and ice, the vitality of the plants was extremely abundant. They crazily pulled at his Stigmata, as if they wanted him to be immediately assimilated by the countless crazy vitality, take root immediately, and stay here forever.
Huai Shi was almost unable to maintain the stability of the ecosystem in his body. Not to mention changing to a more cold-adapted ecosystem at this time. If he dared to do so, he was afraid that in the short moment when the ecosystem collapsed, he would immediately be assimilated here …
Something was wrong.
Completely wrong!
A naturally formed ecology would not have such a terrifying assimilation, nor would it display such an abrupt and fanatical enthusiasm.
Huai Shi closed his eyes. Through the snow and ice, he could feel the mighty echoes in the depths of the earth veins, as well as the bell-like roaring rhythm from the top of the mountain.
All the vitality was under the control of that invisible hand.
Someone was deliberately targeting him!
Huai Shi's footsteps paused as she stared straight into the eyes of the two fellows, almost suspecting that she was being played.
"Who is the old lady?" he asked, "I've never heard of her."
The two guys suddenly looked as if they had seen a ghost.
"You came to Mount Yu Dai, but you don't know who the old lady is?" Hu Jing was also stunned, "Friend, do you have a problem with us?"
If it were not for the old lady's approval, he would almost suspect that Huai Shi was trying to make trouble.
"You don't know the current Emperor Qing?"
Hu Jing looked at him as if he had seen a ghost. He really couldn't figure out what kind of person this little brother of his was.
But soon, the phone in his arms rang.
He ran to a corner sheltered from the wind and squatted down to answer the call. Soon after the call was hung up, he ran back with a strange expression.
Huai Shi felt that he had frozen into a snowman beside the memorial arch at the foot of the mountain road.
Anyway, there was no wind here, so he didn't have to shout to talk.
He really couldn't figure out why the current Emperor Qing wanted to make things difficult for him without even meeting him. He thought, 'I've never offended such a big shot, right?'
But when he thought of this, he felt very guilty. He had offended too many people. Who knew if any of them were related to the Emperor Qing?
Living under someone else's roof, no matter what brand of eye drops you were given, what size shoes you were given, how could you still refuse to wear them?
But at least let him know why he died, right?
Hu Jing came back with a complicated expression. He looked at Huai Shi with a pitiful expression.
"What's wrong?" Huai Shi felt that something was wrong.
Hu Jing coughed twice and repeated the words on the phone, "The old lady said that Chu Hongchen used my things to do a favor for him. I don't agree."
"Huh?" Huai Shi was stunned.
Why did he change his mind again?
But then, Hu Jing changed the topic, "If you can reach the top of the mountain and see her face, you can take whatever you want. If you can't even see the old lady in person, please go back. "
Huai Shi looked around and felt that the deeper he went, the more exuberant the vitality was. There was a terrifying ecological circle with incomparable assimilation power.
He couldn't help but sigh, "The old lady has a bad temper."
"That's right. The old lady is like this. She means what she says. "Hu Jing shook his head and said," Do you want to go back? I'll send you back. "
Huai Shi thought carefully for a long time and suddenly answered.
"I'll try."
If the Emperor Qing had refused Huai Shi's arrival before, Huai Shi might not have continued to pester him. There were so many plantations. Although it was troublesome to go through the Astronomy Association, it was not impossible to find.
But now that the old lady had set up a carriage in front of him, he was a little eager to have a try.
Seeing his serious look, Hu Jing nodded as if he had expected it. He pointed to the back and said, "Then we'll go back first."
"Wait!"
He had just taken two steps when he heard Huai Shi say, "Leave a down jacket for me first … Otherwise, I'll freeze to death here today."
He was stunned for a moment. He looked at Huai Shi and couldn't help but look at the newcomer next to him who might be too warm. He revealed a frightening smile.
"Lu Yan, give your down jacket to the guest …"
Therefore, Lu Yan's face turned even more green.
He knew that nothing good would come here today!
.
.
According to the surveillance footage that Hu Jing and Lu Yan saw when they were drinking tea and enjoying the air conditioner in the gatehouse, Huai Shi had been squatting under the memorial arch for two hours.
Well, with the down jacket that he took from Lu Yan, he finally felt a little warmer …
He didn't move forward or backward.
It was as if he had made up his mind to stay here and not move.
In fact, during these two hours, he had been trying to reorganize the vitality of the surrounding plants. However, the vitality of Mount Yu Dai was simply too rich.
It was like a ball of tangled hemp that had once entangled him here. It couldn't be cut or organized. Especially when the vitality of the same kind in his body was responding to the outside world, trying to connect with it.
For a moment, most of the vitality in his body seemed to have turned into a traitor.
It couldn't be helped. This was the instinct of a mountain ghost.
If he couldn't connect with the outside world, how could he adjust the ecology and absorb the earth energy?
It could be said that this was a trap specially made for mountain ghosts.
If it were other types of Stigmata, there wouldn't be such trouble. However, for Huai Shi, the closer he went to Mount Yu Dai, the closer he was to a hopeless situation.
Perhaps this was just a casual move by the Qing Emperor, but it left an insurmountable chasm in front of Huai Shi.
He had no choice but to take a step back.
It's not that I don't want to give it to you, but if you can't even go up the mountain, you can't get it, right?
He was more and more certain that he must have offended that old lady somehow. However, the problem now was how to solve the problem in front of him.
Even when Huai Shi was so cold that he couldn't feel his butt anymore, he still couldn't think of a solution.
It was useless to think too much.
He had to give it a try.
Under all the observation, the young man who had been wandering in front of the mountain gate for a long time got up, jumped up, and did a set of broadcast gymnastics on the spot. After exercising his body, he took a deep breath.
Suddenly, he turned around and asked, "Where's the toilet? I want to pee. "
"Pfft!"
Hu Jing, who was in front of the screen, spat out a mouthful of tea.
Lu Yan, who had been sprayed in the face as soon as he looked up, became more and more annoyed.
"Why do you have to turn around and spray me?"
"Ahem, the screen is also very expensive, okay?"
Hu Jing looked away awkwardly.
Soon, Huai Shi, who had gone to the toilet, returned to his original position and took a deep breath again.
Then, he took a step forward.
He left a deep footprint in the snow. Then, he took another step, a third step, and a fourth step.
As the storm gradually stopped, there was the crisp sound of branches breaking under the snow all over the ground. After walking for 100 meters, Huai Shi froze on the spot.
The crackling sound was incessant.
Huai Shi could no longer take another step forward. On his exposed fingers, the circles in the fingerprints had become the texture of tree rings.
It was exactly 17 and a half circles.
He couldn't go any further.
The pressure from Mount Tai was too great. The ecosystem in his body couldn't take it anymore. If he took a few more steps forward, he was afraid that it would completely collapse, and then he would uncontrollably turn into a tree.
Even if the Lotus Emperor was right above him and wouldn't let his condition deteriorate, he would at least lose his face.
— Brute force wouldn't work.
There seemed to be an old voice reminding him in his ears.
Huai Shi sighed dejectedly.
He took a step back, and then another …
He took a step back, and then another step back. It was as if he was rowing against the current. He was quickly forced back to the foot of the mountain by the invisible pressure.
He was sweating profusely in the cold wind, as if he had run a marathon.
Huai Shi sat down on the ground again. He looked at the mountain in front of him that was covered in white snow and the building that vaguely appeared at the top of the mountain.
An insurmountable obstacle.
Huai Shi took a deep breath, sat down again, and began to think.
.
.
"Old lady, aren't you making things too difficult for him?"
At the top of the mountain, in the courtyard that was covered in snow, a lonely plum tree grew in a crooked manner. There were no flowers growing on its dark branches, only clusters of faint buds.
The old lady in the corridor sat on a rocking chair, a blanket covering her knees. She was quietly staring at the door. Behind her, a woman passed by and served her hot tea. She placed it on a tray and said, "This is obviously to keep people a thousand miles away, right?"
"If the difficulty isn't set higher, how will we know if it's a good material or a piece of rotten wood?" The old lady patted the armrest of the rocking chair indifferently. "Didn't you climb all the way up when you were thirteen years old?"
"I took a whole month." The young lady laughed.
She looked to be in her prime, and there was nothing special about her appearance. However, her fingernails were faintly pale green, as if she had applied nail polish. They looked exquisite and eye-catching, making people unable to take their eyes off them.
"You used 29 days to go down the mountain to play and wander around. You were afraid that I would be angry, so you took half a day to go up the mountain. Aren't you embarrassed to say that?"
"I just couldn't help but be lazy." The girl waved her hand awkwardly. "It's not as bad as you say, old lady."
"Both of you only know how to be lazy."
The old lady rolled her eyes and reprimanded her sternly, "You're dawdling again. Have you finished your homework? You can't even pass the postgraduate entrance exam. What kind of ascender are you? "
"This is no different from being an ascender, right?"
"If you're a child, then go and study hard!"
"Okay, okay, okay."
The girl turned around awkwardly and was about to leave when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She turned around in shock and looked in the direction of the door.
He actually came up again?
And …
"Interesting."
The old lady narrowed her eyes and laughed softly.
.
.
Huai Shi took another step forward.
This time, there was no crackling sound.
Instead, the snow under his feet flipped over. Without any warning, a clump of lush green grass grew out.
The plantain, which didn't have any special characteristics or rarity, suddenly appeared beside Huai Shi.
Huai Shi was silent for a moment. Then, he raised his eyebrows happily.
He had found a solution.
Even if it wasn't the most serious solution.
He took another step forward. With another step, the snow flipped over again. Another petunia grew out from beside Huai Shi's feet.
Huai Shi whistled. His confidence swelled.
This time, he walked forward confidently.
With every step, a clump of wildflowers and weeds grew out from under his feet.
A path of flowers.
It looked exceptionally beautiful.
However, Huai Shi's Origin Form fluctuations began to weaken slowly.
The Mountain Ghost's Sage Mark was rapidly weakening.
In fact, it was more accurate to say that he had intentionally cut it off.
To Huai Shi, there were two problems with climbing the mountain. The first was that Mount Yu Dai's ecosystem had shown a terrifying assimilation ability under the Azure Emperor's control.
The second was the large amount of vitality in his body that was constantly resonating with it.
In particular, Huai Shi's capacity was tens of times greater than a normal Mountain Ghost's. This external gravitational force had a frightening effect on him.
The larger his body, the stronger the gravitational force of Mount Yu Dai's Earthen Qi.
Normally, Huai Shi would need to spend at least a week trying to reach a balance between the ecosystem in his body and the ecosystem in the outside world. Only then would he be able to assimilate into the local environment and become a part of it that they wouldn't be able to interfere with.
He had to come up with a solution that would satisfy the Azure Emperor.
But to Huai Shi … … there was obviously another solution.
Why not take the initiative to reduce his burden?
At this moment, as Huai Shi stepped forward, numerous flowers and plants grew out from under his feet, extending upwards in a straight line. Compared to the first time, Huai Shi's speed was extremely slow. It was as if he was walking with a heavy burden.
But every step he took was steady and firm. It was as if he was hammering a nail into the mountain path. The ecosystem in his body was forcibly entering Mount Yu Dai's Great Circulation.
There was a clear distinction between them.
Even if it looked watertight, if one squeezed hard, there would always be space.
Every time he couldn't take it anymore, Huai Shi would take the initiative to cut off part of the vitality in his body, allowing it to leave his body and be assimilated by Mount Yu Dai's Earthen Qi.
In any case, he had casually plucked countless flowers and plants. But to this extent, he couldn't even be considered abandoning the rook to save the king.
Huai Shi walked forward step by step, feeling happy.
Every step he took made him even happier.
Especially when he had an idea. He turned the vitality of the plants that he had voluntarily given up into a probing rod, using it to pry into the Great Circulation of Mount Yu Dai's Great Circulation.
After stealing the chicken under the Azure Emperor's nose, he still felt that it wasn't enough.
A certain daring lackey of the Astronomy Society began to steal it openly.
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6,000 words combined into one.
I'm a little stuck. I'll try to complete the advancement this week.
Also, I'll get double the monthly votes. I beg for monthly votes!!!
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