The wind and snow sent spring back. The spring on this land was still accumulating strength in the South. The wind and snow in the North had long strangled all of the spring in its cradle. In the North of the land, 360 days a year, wind, knives, frost, and swords pressed against each other. There was probably no spring to speak of. The wind and snow that filled the sky turned into bone-deep knives and swords. One knife to the left, one sword to the right, chopped down.
The black mountain rocks that rarely showed the surface of the snow appeared deathly still because of the cold and merciless carvings of heaven and earth. This was a land of ice and snow. It was also a land of death. However, there was a row of black dots walking on the snowy plains that had been lonely for a hundred years. They moved forward silently and resolutely.
Occasionally, a number of dog barks pierced through the wind and snow and traveled into the distance, bringing a sense of liveliness. There were only three people in this group, but there were more than 60 snow dogs pulling the long sledges carrying food and equipment as they moved endlessly toward the North.
It was said that these snow dogs that roamed the extreme North were the descendants of snow wolves. Only Northern Man people who could endure the bitter cold could tame them and make them good helpers for humans. However, the land had become colder and colder these years. Once they left the North gate, the temperature plummeted. The Northern Man Hu, who usually fought bare-chested in the snow, had long moved south to the grasslands in the West at all costs. The snowy plains had returned to peace. Who were these snow dogs?
Wrapped in thick fur, even their heads and faces were covered in a warm fox fur coat. They wore leather boots on their feet and thick gloves on their hands. Their entire bodies were wrapped up like dumplings. Fan Xian exhaled and found that not long after the hot air left his lips, it seemed to have been frozen into snowflakes by the severe cold between heaven and earth. His face was slightly pale. Although he had secretly prepared for a number of years after he learned of the whereabouts of the Temple in the fifth year of the Qing calendar, only when he truly stepped onto the snowy plains did he realize that the might of heaven and earth could not be truly endured just by being mentally prepared.
It had been a number of days since they had left Northern Qi's Shangjing. It had been seven or eight days since they had passed through the Northern gate where there were not many soldiers stationed. Thinking of the soldiers on the snowy city watching them and their dogs walk into the snowy plains as if they were dead, the glimmer of a bitter smile rose to the corners of Fan Xian's lips. It looked like no one thought highly of them.
He brought his finger to his lips and whistled. The ears of the sixty-odd snow hounds around him perked up. They shook their heads energetically and shook off the ice and snow on their bodies. Deep Hair stood on all fours in the cold snow as if he was not afraid of the cold at all. He stuck out his long red tongue and waited for his master's next order.
The wind and snow seemed to have lessened slightly. Two people walked out of the two simple snow carts in front and behind Fan Xian. Haitang and Thirteenth Wang were also wrapped like dumplings. They approached Fan Xian's side with puzzled expressions.
"Let's go while the snow is still light."
Thirteenth Wang's voice passed through the layer of fur and traveled outside. It appeared to be buzzing. Fan Xian panted heavily and coughed as he replied, "Are the people behind still following us?"
Haitang took off the earmuffs on the side of her leather hat, revealing two clean and cute ears. She listened quietly in the wind and snow for a moment. She then shook her head and said, "Looks like we've lost them."
Although the wind and snow had lessened slightly, it was still difficult to hear the three of them talking together. The corners of Fan Xian's lips twitched into a smile and he said, "It's good that we've lost them. I don't want the people the little Emperor sent to freeze to death on this snowy plains."
Haitang didn't say anything. She only narrowed her eyes slightly and gazed toward the depths of the snowy plains in the north. That side was also a patch of white. Other than snow, there seemed to be nothing else in the world. Such a dry and boring journey seemed particularly dangerous because of the severe cold. A complicated expression rose in her eyes. They had already left the Sky Gate seven or eight days ago, but Fan Xian did not need to scout the way. Instead, he directly gave orders to go around the snowy mountains and icy hills. He walked silently as if he knew very well how to get to the Temple.
Fan Xian's injuries were too serious. It was impossible for him to scout the way. Thirteenth Wang's right arm was not completely healed. Of the three of them, although Haitang's body was also weak, if there was to be a path to scout, it would be her. She didn't understand where Fan Xian got his confidence to not get lost in this wasteland where they couldn't see the sun or the path of the mountains. Other than ice and snow, there was nothing else.
Fan Xian took out a bamboo knife from the snow sled behind him and carefully scraped the icicles on his leather boots. Everything depended on the details. Only by being fully prepared and considering the details thoroughly could they reach the illusory Temple. In the few days since they left the Northern Heavenly Gate, he had led the team on a detour around the snowy plains in order to shake off the team that was tailing them.
Regardless of whether the Northern Qi Emperor wanted to ensure the safety of this group or follow behind Fan Xian to find the Temple hidden beyond the sky and unknown to others, Fan Xian would not allow it. For one, he didn't want too many people to die in this cold. For another, Fan Xian himself didn't know what exactly existed in the Temple. Ku He had carefully hidden the location of the Temple because he was worried that the things in the Temple would spread to the world and bring unknown harm to this world. Since it was so, Fan Xian had to be careful.
"Although it's a bit cold, do we need to wear so much?" Thirteenth Wang stood in front of Fan Xian and panted. He felt that the thick leather jacket and boots on his body were a hindrance. Fan Xian was heavily injured and could not move his zhenqi to defend against the cold. However, Thirteenth Wang and Haitang still had abundant zhenqi. When ninth-level aces were together, they could truly be said to be impervious to heat and cold.
Fan Xian smiled and looked at him. "If you can preserve as much heat and zhenqi as possible, then save some. Don't look at the cold right now. You can still withstand it, but we still have to head north. Who knows how low the temperature will be once we get there?"
As he said these words, he lowered his head slightly to hide the faint worry in his eyes. In the cave in the Xi Mountain in the fifth year of the Qing calendar, he had memorized every word of Xiao En's words before he died. He had also made sufficient preparations for this trip to the Temple. However, he still had not thought that not even 10 days after leaving the Gate of Heaven, the cold between heaven and earth would already reach such a degree.
It looked like the temperature now was a few degrees colder than when Xiao En and Ku He had gone to the Temple decades ago.
"Since the greatest difficulty is the cold, why don't we choose to leave in the summer?" Haitang acutely discovered this problem. The attitude Fan Xian displayed was not very urgent. Since it was so, leaving in the summer seemed to be the best choice.
Fan Xian was silent for a moment. He then said, "The time on the road is about two months. I don't know how much longer it will take to find the Temple. Leaving at the end of winter and arriving at the beginning of summer is safer this way. Furthermore, I don't want to be stuck in darkness for half a year. "
"Yes, I heard that the sky and earth at the Temple are reversed. Half the year is night and half the year is day." Thirteenth Wang nodded.
"None of you understand this world as well as I do, so just listen to me," Fan Xian said calmly. Fan Xian spoke calmly, but his words were filled with unquestionable confidence. When he and Da Bao were watching the stars together, he had once again confirmed that this was Earth. Since it was Earth, then the north pole had polar day and polar night.
The north of this world was too cold. Not many people could step into the depths of the snowy plains, and not many could return alive. Thus, in the legends, the place where the Temple was had a mysterious and unknown atmosphere. However, this kind of mystery had no effect in front of Fan Xian's eyes.
Fan Xian took out three strange things from the cloth bag at his side and handed two to Haitang and Thirteenth Wang. "From now on, there will probably only be snow in our eyes. Overly monotonous colors will cause problems with our eyes. Regardless of whether you're used to it or not, you must wear these things."
After speaking, Fan Xian put the thing on the bridge of his nose. It was a pair of glasses made of glass. The lenses had been painted black with some kind of paint, so they could still transmit light.
Haitang narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at Fan Xian without speaking for a moment. She felt more and more that she could not see through him. She also didn't know what the thing in her hand was for. Was it good for the eyes? She didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she copied Fan Xian and put on the sunglasses that had appeared for the first time in this world.
They had seen crystal glasses before, but they had never seen this kind of black. Thirteenth Wang glanced at Haitang and hesitantly put them on as well. The three of them immediately became three young blind fortune-tellers. It looked rather comical. The three of them looked at each other for a moment and couldn't resist laughing.
"Let's hurry. In another two hours, we'll be setting up camp." Fan Xian took out the carefully protected pocket watch and looked at it. He then narrowed his eyes to look at the color of the sky in the wind and snow. As they headed north, it would probably be inaccurate to look at the time based on the color of the sky. He didn't know how many days this pocket watch could last in the bitter cold.
A whining sound rang out. The 60 snow hounds, who had rested for a moment, perked up. Barking, they happily rushed toward the depths of the snowy plains. The silver-white fur on their bodies flowed with a wondrous movement.
Fan Xian half leaned against the leather suitcase on the sleigh and narrowed his eyes slightly. He felt the ice and snow on his eyelashes coldly touch his thin skin. He couldn't help but twitch his nose. He tightened the loose buckles on his collar and cuffs, not wanting a single speck of snow to seep into his body.
From the fifth year of the Qing calendar, he had learned the location and route to the Temple. Fan Xian had hidden this secret in his heart for more than six years. He knew that it was fated that he would eventually go to the Temple. However, he had not thought that it would be because he had to find Uncle Wu Zhu and because of the rupture between him and the Emperor.
The journey of exploration … Once there was such a direct goal, it seemed to lose a lot of beautiful feelings. The sleigh slid quickly across the flat snowy plains. The sound of the snow hounds' urgent breathing and the rustling sound of the wind and snow came from all directions. Accompanied by such sounds, Fan Xian seemed to be about to fall asleep.
It was impossible for him to fall asleep. He was carefully listening to the breathing of the snow hounds to determine their state of exhaustion. During these six years, his younger brother, Fan Sizhe, had followed his orders and prepared everything he needed to overcome the harsh cold, including food, kindling, and special tents in the snow. These snow hounds, which had been raised at the Northern gate for three years, were Fan Xian's greatest reliance on this trip to the Temple.
From these aspects, it could be seen that Fan Xian was a meticulous person. He never fought a battle unprepared. In the eyes of the common people, going to the Temple was as difficult as climbing to the heavens. In his opinion, as long as one was fully prepared, the Temple was nothing more than a distant tourist attraction.
The only thing that made him wary was the cold. The cold now was even colder than when Xiao En and Ku He had been. Back then, the Wei Kingdom had sent out an expedition of hundreds of people. In the end, Xiao En and Ku He had to eat human flesh to last until the Temple appeared. Now, there were only three people in their group. Would they be able to make it there?
Fan Xian closed his eyes, but he was not worried that he would freeze. The Meridians in his body were indeed pretty much crippled. He was unable to mobilize zhenqi to protect his body. Strangely, the moment he entered this desolate and strangely cold snowy plains, he acutely sensed that the yuanqi in the wind and snow seemed to be much thicker than anywhere else in the South.
This sensitivity was due to the little booklet Master Ku He had given him before he died. Without that booklet, Fan Xian would probably not have sensed any change in the world. Why was it that the further north one went, the thicker the yuanqi became? This was a phenomenon that Fan Xian could not understand no matter how he thought about it. In the end, it was a good thing. He half lay on the sleigh and slowly absorbed the yuanqi ripples between heaven and earth. If the yuanqi in the North was thicker, perhaps he would only need two or three years for the Meridians in his body to be as good as new.
The sleigh bounced slightly on the ice and snow. Fan Xian awoke from his empty state. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he calmly observed the wind and snow in front of him through his sunglasses. Suddenly, he understood something. Back then, the Wei Kingdom dominated the world. The Emperor, who had nothing else to ask for, had sent envoys to the Temple to seek the path of immortality. All of this was because of Ku He's suggestion.
Xiao En controlled the Tiqi and vaguely knew the general direction of the Temple. Among the mortals in the world, who dared to risk their lives to go forward and investigate? If Ku He had not pushed for this matter and tempted the Wei Emperor with immortality, the trip to the Temple decades ago would probably not have happened.
Why did Ku He have such great interest in the Temple to the point that he wanted to go at all costs? Was it simply because he was an Ascetic Monk of Tianyi Dao and served the Temple his entire life? No, Ku He was a follower of the secular world. Just looking at how he had instantly reached an agreement with his imprisoned mother, Ye Qingmei, outside the Temple, it was clear that Master Ku He did not have much respect for the Temple.
Fan Xian's eyes narrowed even more under his sunglasses. He didn't know when he had obtained the little book in Master Ku He's hands. Had he already sensed at that time that there was a problem with the yuanqi in the North and wanted to go to the Temple to take a look at the source of all these fluctuations and the truth?
…
…
The wind and snow grew stronger, and the temperature dropped. The white sheep and snow foxes that could occasionally be seen had run off somewhere to hide from the bitter cold. On the desolate snowy plains, there was only this group of snow hounds pulling forward with difficulty in the wind and snow.
Two suppressed coughs came from Fan Xian's sleigh. This kind of low temperature was not something a normal person could withstand. His injuries had not healed, so it was indeed difficult for him to endure.
Thirteenth Wang, on the sleigh in front, didn't seem to hear Fan Xian's coughs. Instead, he looked forward cautiously. Suddenly, his body turned into a streak of sword light. Wearing a swollen leather jacket, he broke through the air and killed his way to the very front of the snow hound group. Viciously, he stabbed into a slightly raised patch of ice and snow.
The snow hounds panicked and only calmed down a moment later. A few bold and curious snow hounds circled over and stood by Thirteenth Wang's side with their heads lowered to sniff. They then let out a few sharp cries. The cries were very cheerful.
Thirteenth Wang held the sword in his left hand and put it back into the sheath. He looked in a daze at the pure white bear the snow hounds had dug out of the snow. This was the mission Fan Xian had given him. Along the way, he was to catch some game in case he needed it in the future.
The snow hounds were very obedient. After dragging the white bear out of the snow, they didn't do anything else. Instead, they just licked their bloody mouths happily. This was because they knew that their masters would definitely leave most of the meat for them to eat.
"We can roast bear paws tonight." Fan Xian did not get off the sleigh. He watched as Haitang and Thirteenth Wang tied the white bear to the sleigh and couldn't resist smiling happily.
This was just an interlude. The sleigh group moved again. Under Fan Xian's whistle, they moved quickly along the icy snowy plains toward the northwest.
Haitang sat on the sleigh and looked at Fan Xian's back in front of her. A glimmer of worry flashed through her eyes. She didn't know if Fan Xian's body could keep going. However, the worry in her eyes turned in an instant into confusion and deep admiration. It was rare for Haitang to admire someone in her life. Now, seeing Fan Xian calm and unruffled, confident, and calmly leading the way as if everything was within his grasp, she finally felt admiration.
Why did Fan Xian have such strong confidence in reaching the Temple? Why did he not seem to have any respect or fear for the Temple? Was it truly as her teacher had said, that Lady Ye was truly a fairy who had escaped from the Temple? So, Fan Xian going to the Temple was just to go home?
Not many people knew what the Temple was. Fan Xian half closed his eyes and huddled in one spot, conserving his strength. Faint waves were also rising in his heart. He knew that his mother had once gone to the Temple to steal something. He even knew that his closest relative, Uncle Wu Zhu, was originally from the Temple. Logically speaking, he was the person with the closest connection to the Temple in this world. Thus, his mentality on this trip to the Temple was somewhat strange. It was as if he might discover the truth of everything, even the truth of his life.
Of course, this could just be an extravagant hope. The most important problem right now was to find the Temple. Back then, Ku He and Xiao En were the most powerful people on this land. Furthermore, their age and strength were at their peak. Yet, they still had a hard time finding it. Compared to them, Fan Xian had no advantage. Where exactly did his confidence come from?
Knowledge was power. Fan Xian had more knowledge from his previous life than other people in this world, so many mysteries were actually just natural phenomena in his eyes. It was precisely because of this knowledge and the road map he had learned from Xiao En that he was not worried he would get lost.
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