The woman’s lips stretched in a thin smile.

“What is the difference between a Demon and a god?” she asked, chirpy.

Her heart started beating faster at those words. She suspected her skin had blanched in the matter of seconds.

“Excuse me?” she whispered.

Zhang DuXun stepped close to her again bringing her lips to her ear.

“Nothing… Demons and gods are children of the same sky. Being born a Demon or a god does not matter, right? It’s all in the choices they make.” 

She put some distance between them and grabbed her hands to bring them up to her lips.

“Shije, will you show me this miracle too?” she asked.

Zhang YueLiang was shaking. Not even her brother had said anything, why this woman? How had she known?

“What… what miracle?”

The other woman came again really close as though she wanted to tell her a secret. Zhang YueLiang also leaned forward, succumbing to her curiosity.

“Will you show me a Demon with the heart of a compassionate god?” she asked, quivering with suppressed excitement.

A flash of intuition came to her just then. She looked at her for a few seconds.

“Who are you?” she asked, filled with uncertainty.

Zhang DuXun smiled enigmatically.

“Who I am does not matter, only those I met. A Cultivator’s path is dotted with fortuitous meetings that are labelled destiny. - she tilted her head, looking at her. - However, destiny is not our present nor is it the unknown, but the much desired future. Sometimes our future is safeguarded in our past.”

She stepped back, interlinking her hands behind her back.

“I’d very much like to see a Demon like that. A horrible future awaits those who will not be faithful to their own hopes. I hope that yours, Shije, are safely ensconced in the strong paws of Qing Long, guarded the way only a blue dragon can.”

She looked at her.

Is she delirious or does she know what she’s talking about?

That happy-go-lucky expression, very similar to that of the Mad Hatter, did not help her pick out the truth from the lies. And yet, she could feel within herself that those words all had a clear meaning. One that even she, an all-knowing stranger, couldn’t decipher.

What secret kept in what past?

Zhang DuXun tapped the tip of her nose, making her jolt in surprise.

“What were we talking about?” she asked.

They looked at each other in obvious confusion. Once again, she looked as though she had just woken up and was wondering who and where she was. Then she seemed to come back to herself as she glanced at the portal.

“Your beloved disciples will get lost in the snow.” she said, waving a hand. She had dropped her dreamy act to walk back among mortals.

She shook her head, taking a breath. Nope, way beyond absent-minded.

She felt a shiver run down her spine, but she decided to shake it off and ignore all the questions that were buzzing in her mind. Zhang DuXun herself seemed to be in a perpetual state of confusion herself; sure, she smiled and was helpful, but it was as though she were dancing on a thin thread. Maybe she was aware, maybe not, but she was sure the woman would not endanger her secret; even if she was aware of it she doubted she would betray her.

She brought YuHua to her lips. The smoke that came out of her mouth condensed at her feet, and then a cloud lifted her from the ground.

“I will not be helping them, I will only observe.”

Zhang DuXun smiled once more.

“Of course, daughter of QingLong. And I see that flying is not a challenge for you.” she said, clapping her hands.

She looked at her again and then bowed her head.

“I’ll see you again soon, Shimei.” she said in a whisper.

She nodded.

“Of course, Dajie.” she replied, waving her goodbye.

The last thing she saw before she dove through the portal was her jovial and serene expression.

As soon as Shi XinNian stepped foot on the mountain currently being blasted by snow he hugged his arms around himself and started reciting a protection spell as he waited for the others to arrive. It did not require much spiritual energy and even young disciples could execute it, but they would have to take turns if they planned on being there for long.

He heard the others arriving behind him and he turned his head. He sucked his teeth in disappointment when he saw that Shizun was not with them.

So she is really planning on leaving us on our own?

He wrinkled his nose while he kept his hands steady, holding a small white flame and finishing the spell. When Ming GuangYing had also joined them Liang HaoHan stepped forward and walked past Shi XinNian who had crouched to recite the spell.

“So, what are we going to do?”

Zhang ZhaoDa puffed out a breath that materialised as white vapour at his broad back while he tried to keep warm by rubbing his hands along his arms.

That Liang HaoHan is just pretty and dumb.

“We have to get rid of all the monsters enclosed in the magical boundaries set out by the schools, these are common hunting grounds for practice.”

Ming ZhenYa only nodded in agreement.

The young protagonist looked at them after he had heard Shi XinNian snort.

“They have lived on this warm mountain, they don’t even know what winter is.” said his friend walking past him.

Liang HaoHan smiled.

“Well, we don’t either…”

“Speak for yourself, pretty boy. Before coming to the QingLong region I wandered BaiHu for the first ten years of my life, I know what a frigid winter is.” he replied without even turning around.

The boy smiled at Zhang ZhaoDa who had turned beet red.

“Don’t take it personally.” he begged.

“And why shouldn’t I? Because he’s your little servant?” he asked in a poisonous tone.

Ming GuangYing looked at him with a bored expression.

“No, but because your ass is warm thanks to his spell.” he said, walking past them.

At that, the boy flushed even more and pinched his lips together. He did not say anything else, only getting in line with the small procession. He did take an audible breath though as he looked at the top of the line.

“Is the dog really going to be in charge?”

Shi XinNian sighed gently as he tried to keep a hold of the fury he felt, but then he came to a sudden stop and Liang HaoHan ended up bumping into him. He raised his arm, pointing forward, and looked at the other boy.

“Please, go ahead. Your safety is the least of my concerns.” he said through his teeth.

The boy however did not move, and Shi XinNian’s eyes tightened to slits.

“If you don’t have the balls to lead this expedition, shut your trap.” he said brusquely and then turned around once more.

Zhang YueLiang who was floating above them on the cloud that also made her invisible strained to contain a giggle. That was going to be an arduous challenge considering the people in that team.

Zhang ZhaoDa had been about to talk but Ming ZhenYa hit him.

“Keep at it, and we won’t survive ten minutes.” she reprimanded him while she was trying to hold her voice firm even though it was shaky because of the cold.

An unnatural silence fell over the group, but Shi XinNian resumed his mantra under his breath. The Mistress acknowledged the heat of the protective dome had increased and the four born in QingLong gradually stopped shivering.

He truly is an unsalvageable tsundere.

They trudged forward like that for a while. Suddenly, Liang HaoHan sighed.

“Could Shigu have flunked this?” he asked, referring to Zhang DuXun.

Ming ZhenYa shook her head.

“No, usually when monsters take a while to reveal themselves it’s because they are very powerful.”

Shi XinNian was looking around doubtfully when he suddenly stopped, drew his sword and deflected an object that had been hurtling toward Liang HaoHan’s face.

“Behind the trees, now!” shouted the boy who had just been protected.

They quickly took cover behind the trees that were around them. Shi XinNian poked his head out to study their surroundings. The storm had gradually calmed and visibility had improved significantly. Ming ZhenYa whimpered and pointed at the creature with shiny black skin, like that of a reptile, that was rushing between branches. The boy focused his attention on it.

“It could be some Vipers of the Snows.” he said in a low voice as he crouched.

Ming GuangYing got closer to him.

“Did you see it well?”

The other nodded.

“Yes, the pattern on its back is unmistakable. Shizun spoke about them at length some time ago.” he said with conviction.

His fellow pupil looked at him.

“You remember everything Shizun says word for word?” he asked sarcastically. Shi XinNian looked at him with venom in his eyes.

“Instead of making fun of me you could help look out. They travel in groups.” he said before leaving him to go next to his master.

The boy smiled.

“No need to snarl…”

“I’ll stop when they do.” he replied coldly.

Then, removing from his mind what he considered to be a pointless distraction, he gestured to the others.

“I am sure there will be at least another four, if not more. Litters stay together, siblings only part during mating season.”

Liang HaoHan nodded and, shouldering his sword, he turned to the others.

“GuangYing and ZhaoDa, you should stay on the other side. Let’s try surrounding them.” he said in a whisper. The other two nodded with uncertainty before hopping over to another copse of trees.

Then he turned to Ming ZhenYa.

“Do you feel up to an attack?”

Despite looking unsure the girl nodded.

“Of course Liang-Ge, I won’t be a burden to the group.” However, her voice betrayed how nervous she felt. Shi XinNian looked at them, then he stood before them.

“Do not worry, I’ll take care of those monsters.”

As silently as possible they started crawling towards some dense bushes, perfect hiding place for those creatures.

From her vantage point, Zhang YueLiang postulated that those yaoguai were fairly common and at a low enough level that they would not pose a great challenge.

Shi XinNian’s sword quickly hit its mark when he saw the light reflecting off the black scales. He killed it in a few cutting blows. When the decapitated head fell at Ming ZhenYa’s feet she grimaced in distaste. On the other side, the other two killed another three. Zhang ZhaoDa straightened with an annoyed sigh.

“Textbook.” he said, sheathing his sword.

They were about to turn away when they noticed Liang HaoHan bend over. Shi XinNian went to him and plunged his hands directly inside one of the carcasses. Ming GuangYing paled with disgust and Zhang ZhaoDa shouted.

“What the hell are you doing?”

The boy who had his hands in the carcass’ guts ignored them while he seemed focused on looking for something by touch alone, meanwhile Liang HaoHan was opening the stomach of another creature.

“We are looking for spiritual nuclei.”

A few seconds later Shi XinNian lifted a red-blue sphere that glowed.

“For cultivation.” he said, throwing it at Zhang ZhaoDa still covered in blood and offal. The boy caught it with disgust.

Taking heart, Ming ZhenYa opened another one as did her cousin. The boy who had been first pupil was silently elected as being in charge of transport.

“You could at least clean them before throwing them at me!”

“Would you also like some tea, seeing how our environment is so welcoming?” Shi XinNian asked him as he walked past the boy. The other’s lips thinned.

They resumed walking.