508 An Old Friend Comes with a Flurry of Snow

She had previously been thinking about these matters, but now that she thoughtabout them again, she found them impossible to repress. Of course she was not thinking about him, nor was she thinking about going tosee him. So she said to herself. She was just a little curious to see him…he was up to, to know just how he hadbeen getting on in the capital. At the Mausoleum of Zhou, when she had been talking with that guy about SeniorQiushan and the engagement, she had mentioned that what she most cared aboutwas following her heart. Now, her heart was fixed, so she would naturally no longer hesitate. Shereturned to her room and changed her clothes, took up the umbrella, then beganmaking her way through the snowy night, out of the courtyard. Shuang'er, who was returning with a plate of veal, asked in shock, "YoungLady, at such a late hour, you still plan to go out?" "Yes." "Is Young Lady going to visit Grand Lady Mo?" "…Yes." …… …… At night, the Orthodox Academy was very peaceful, but Hundred Flowers Laneoutside the academy was bustling with activity. The lights of the restaurantsshone upon the falling snowflakes, and coupled with the mists produced from theheat of the restaurants, the scene seemed somewhat fantastical. Holding theumbrella, Xu Yourong quietly stood at the end of the lane. With her whiteceremonial clothes and her red cloak, she was this fantastical scene's mostbeauteous feature. Because of the Yellow Paper Umbrella, no one could sense her existence. Thepeople within the restaurants were not blessed to see such a beautiful sight.Naturally, they would also not have any misgivings. Just as they did everyother day, they conversed with loud voices, happily guzzled their wine, calledout to friends, and dallied with women. Although the sound of music wouldoccasionally be interrupted, the joyous singing and jokes never ceased. Hearing the lewd songs and romantic lyrics coming from the restaurant, XuYourong made a small frown. She was very curious about the newly reborn Orthodox Academy and had manyconjectures, but she had not imagined that just a wall away would be such ahive of scum and villainy. "They all say he's been acting like a principal now, so why isn't heconcerning himself with this?" It was very inexplicable. Because of all this, she became rather dissatisfiedwith that guy. With a gust of wind and a flurry of snowflakes, she noiselessly flew over theacademy wall, those Orthodoxy cavalry patrolling in the snow completely unawareof her presence. As she landed within the academy, she was confronted by alake, with a row of houses lined up along its shore. She could faintly smellthe scent of firewood. She guessed that this should be the kitchen. Sheconfidently strode over, confirmed that no one was within, and opened the doorto take a look. "The food really is rather good." She looked at the food within the Orthodox Academy's kitchen and contentedlynodded her head, but she didn't sense that her own position was somewhatbiased. (Author's note: The principal's wife carries out an inspection.) When she saw those shells of blue lobsters piled up in the food preparationarea, she finally believed Shuang'er's words. She shook her head, thinking to herself, Clear Lake Restaurant really wasmoved over here. That young master of the Wenshui Tangs really is a strangeperson. Hugging the lakeshore, she walked to the opposing shore. She saw the greatbanyan tree, and then she saw the lights and that building on the other side ofthe short wall. She recalled the scenes he had mentioned in the snowy temple within the Plainsof the Unsetting Sun and those matters he had talked about, as well as therumors involving him. She supposed that the building was the library. It was inthat building where he had found his own Fated Star. Not far behind the great banyan tree was a house. Compared to the light andactivity of the other places of the Orthodox Academy, this house was much morepeaceful. She pushed upon the door to the house and, carrying the Yellow Paper Umbrella,walked right in. Then, she stopped. This was the first floor. She paused in front of a door in the house. Thescent of medicine seeped out from the seams of the door. In the room behind the door was a bed. Zhexiu was lying on the bed. Although his injuries were gradually improving, the wounds of his meridianswere not completely healed. As a result, he still needed to spend quite a bitof time quietly lying in bed. Suddenly, he opened his eyes. He slowly shifted his gaze towards the door, his expression exceptionallygrave, like he was facing a powerful enemy. His current expression reflected even more caution than when he faced thatDemon General couple in the Garden of Zhou. His gaze rested on the door, his pupils constricted. His right hand slowly moved through the bedding, grabbing onto the DemonCommander's Banner Sword. The moment he grasped the sword, many black hairs sprouted out from the backof his hand and his constricted pupils swiftly turned red. He had finished his preparations for battle, even intending, without theslightest hesitation, to undergo his berserk metamorphosis, because he couldclearly perceive that the person on the other side of the door was verypowerful. In terms of cultivation, that person was basically on the same level as him,yet it gave him a very dangerous feeling. This was the heart of the problem. Because of his peculiar bloodline and the ruthless environment in which hegrew up, slaughter had been his constant companion since he was a child and hehad hunted demons for a living. It could be said that the wolf youth Zhexiu wasthe young expert in the world most skilled at fighting or killing. As far as hewas aware, as everyone was aware, no one at the same level of cultivation ashim could defeat him. That he had still thought about how to kill Gou Hanshi,who was at Ethereal Opening, back when he was still not at the Ethereal OpeningRealm was clear proof of this fact. Yet now he felt that even if he were uninjured and returned to his peakstrength, he was still no match for the person on the other side of the door. This was a very strange feeling. He was sure that he had never exchanged blowswith the person on the other side of the door, yet he also felt like he hadexchanged blows with them countless times. Moreover…he had never won. It was precisely this dangerous feeling and bizarre mood that made himsensitive, thus wary and even uneasy. Just who was the person on the other side of the door? …… …… Carrying the Yellow Paper Umbrella, Xu Yourong quietly gazed at the door,saying nothing. She had already guessed at who the occupant of the room was. She and he had never met, but they had truthfully met many times. They had met each other on the stone walls at the gates of the Six Ivies andevery other school. That place was the Proclamation of Azure Sky. They had met each other at the very summit of the Proclamation of Azure Sky. In the past three years, she had always been in first place on theProclamation of Azure Sky, and that person had always been second. If this were the past, she would definitely have not missed the opportunity tofight with him, but she knew at the moment that he was still heavily injured,so she naturally did not send out an invitation. After a moment, she turned and went upstairs, not concealing the sound of herfootsteps. …… …… From the sound of the other person's footsteps, Zhexiu could hear that theperson bore no ill will. But just who was this person? Why had this person come to the Orthodox Academyin the night? Suddenly, he recalled the news that had caused the greatest stir in thecapital today as well as the White Crane that had stayed for half a day by thelake. His face was instantly filled with shock. He abruptly recalled what Chen Changsheng was doing at this time, and hisshock immediately transformed into sympathy and pity. …… …… Xu Yourong went straight to Chen Changsheng's room. To her, this was not a very difficult task. It didn't require her tounderstand the special privileges of a principal. Just understanding him wasenough. She clearly recalled that when they were in the Garden of Zhou, no matter howexhausted or busy he was, running day and night to escape, when there wassimply no time to take a bath, he would still do his utmost to keep his faceand hands clean. This level was very clean, incredibly clean, so clean that it could makesomeone a bit angry. There were no spider webs, no scraps of paper, no trash, and not even any dustin the seams of the floorboards in the corner. The floor of the corridor seemed even more like it had been washed with waterten times a day, so clean that one could almost see one's reflection in it. Xu Yourong glanced at the dress she was wearing and grew somewhat uneasy. Shethought to herself, do people obsessed with cleanliness all have a fewabnormalities? She walked towards that room. When her shoes landed on the corridor, they madeno sound, only leaving behind the snow and mud that had stuck to them. Reaching the door, she turned her head to take a look at the clear trail offootprints she had left on the clean corridor. A contented smile revealeditself on her face. Confirming that no one was inside, she opened the door and walked into theroom. ……