Chu Jin came to find Lu Zheng, naturally to ask for help in locating someone.
The target was not any kind of expert, and was currently far away in a county on the other side of Yizhou, so Lu Zheng simply pointed Chu Jin in the right direction and did not bother to accompany him.
…
In the days that followed, the weather grew increasingly cold, and incidents became fewer.
In the modern world, Lin Wan went to work as usual, while Lu Zheng idled away his time as usual. The two mainly went out to watch films or stroll the streets at weekends, and during that period they also had dinner once with Zhao Xiaodao and Deng Paopao’s family.
In the ancient era, Yu Jinbo and his wife were very outgoing. Yu Jinbo would pop into the Leping Building from time to time to listen to stories with Lu Zheng, while Madam Yu would occasionally visit the Liu household, becoming friends with Madam Liu and chatting now and then about educating the two little girls.
As for Lu Zheng, although his consumption was growing ever larger, there was still plenty of light of destiny accumulated in the jade seal, so there was no sign of it running out in the short term.
Thus, apart from cultivating peacefully, he spent the rest of his time strolling with Lin Wan, gathering herbs in the mountains with Liu Qingyan, soaking in the springs in the valley with Shen Yingshan. When doing proper work, he still had recreational activities, often spending an entire day out.
Yue Honghai lived even more comfortably. Apart from eating and drinking, he had found a new place for entertainment: the Netherworld.
Though one was a crocodile spirit and the other a incense deity, both were ultimately from the cultivation world. Yue Honghai often carried wine to visit Xin Zhanting. After getting drunk, the pair would occasionally seek out ghosts near the Yin-Yang path in the Netherworld close to Tonglin County to pick fights.
In recent years, with the blessing of the Peach Blossom Shrine, Tonglin County’s city god temple had grown stronger. Xin Zhanting’s cultivation was now not weak, and Yue Honghai was even more powerful, so the two had cleared a large area around Yelan Mountain in the Netherworld, all now considered part of Tonglin County’s city god territory.
…
On this day, Lu Zheng had just finished lunch with Lin Wan. Back home, he played a couple of rounds of Pesticide to aid digestion. Calculating the time, Liu Qingquan and Ao Qian should have finished today’s lessons, so he crossed to the ancient era, planning to take them out to build snowmen.
Heavy snow had started falling in Tonglin County the day before yesterday, continuing for a full day and night before stopping last night. This morning, the two little girls had begged Lu Zheng to build snowmen with them.
Thus, Lu Zheng had promised that once they finished today’s homework, they would play together. By his reckoning, it should be about time.
Lu Zheng crossed to the ancient era and pushed open the door. He saw the two little girls already playing in the backyard of the house, with Madam Liu and Madam Yu accompanying them.
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow. “Oh my, you finished your homework this quickly?”
Madam Liu smiled. “They learned faster than usual today. You can see how eager they were.”
Madam Yu also smiled. “I heard Young Master Lu’s snow sculpting skills are unrivalled. I have come uninvited. Please forgive me.”
“Not at all, not at all!” Lu Zheng waved his hand and looked at Liu Qingquan and Ao Qian. “Shall we play here, or go outside the city to build big ones?”
“Outside the city!”
“Big ones!”
“Alright! Let’s go! Off we go!”
Tongyi Lane was in the eastern part of the city, so everyone dressed warmly and headed straight out the east gate.
It was already mid-November. After the heavy snow, the land was a blanket of white. Apart from the official road near the city gate that had been cleared, the surrounding snow was over a foot thick, and the fields were deserted.
The weather was cold, with snow still falling lightly. Outside the city, apart from travelling merchants, there was basically no one. Even for enjoying or playing in the snow, people mostly stayed within the city. No one would venture into the wilds in the depths of winter, lest they encounter starving beasts that had approached the county in search of food.
But such concerns were, of course, no issue for Lu Zheng.
“Yay!”
“So much snow!”
Ao Qian cheered and ran out with tiny steps. Liu Qingquan let out a whoop and followed.
Only because Madam Yu was present did they restrain themselves and not display superhuman speed.
Madam Liu and Madam Yu hurried to keep up from behind, both with smiles in their eyes.
“Brother-in-law, hurry!”
“Build us a big snowman!”
“What should we build?”
Liu Qingquan’s eyes lit up. “Build a big fox. A slender, beautiful kind of fox that looks elegant.”
Ao Qian stood on tiptoe. “How about a dragon? A really big dragon!”
“Fine!” Lu Zheng nodded. “How about a snow fox on the left and a snow dragon on the right?”
“Yes, yes!”
They did not go far, just finding an open spot by the roadside. The two little girls pushed together a pile of snow, and Lu Zheng scooped up handfuls, pressed them together, patted and shaped. Soon, a large snow mound over a person tall took form.
Then he opened his portable tools and began shovelling, chiselling, carving…
Lu Zheng’s current level of snow sculpting was profoundly advanced. The entire image had already formed in his mind, so every cut was made without hesitation.
In moments, a remarkably lifelike fox head appeared. Though a fox head, those curved eyes and upturned mouth somehow conveyed the charming smile of a little beauty.
“So pretty, so pretty, really pretty!” Liu Qingquan clapped and laughed.
In less than half an hour, a snow fox over a person tall stood in the open field.
The snow fox sat crouched in the snow, its fluffy tail slightly raised, upper body straight, head turned slightly to look at the road. Its figure was slender, its face bearing an anthropomorphic charming smile, so vivid it seemed alive.
“My turn, my turn!” Ao Qian pulled Lu Zheng forward. “Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, hurry and carve a dragon for me!”
“Coming, coming, here it is!”
By now, the other side of the road was piled high with snow by Ao Qian, so Lu Zheng used the material at hand and began the next sculpture.
Liu Qingquan did not follow but circled the snow fox, admiring it endlessly.
From soaking in the hot springs before, Lu Zheng had seen Ao Qian’s true form, so he knew dragons in this world were much like those in modern Chinese legends. The only difference was that female dragons had relatively shorter horns and sparser mane around the neck, not as lush as males.
Thus, soon a snow dragon appeared in the field, four claws gripping the ground, body curving in a semicircle, roughly two zhang long.
“How’s that?”
Lu Zheng stepped back after finishing, quite satisfied with his masterpiece.
“So pretty, so pretty!” Ao Qian clapped.
Lu Zheng had added a touch of cartoonish anthropomorphism to the dragon’s face, making it softer and more aesthetic. With the crystalline, beautiful short horns, one could immediately tell it was a pretty little dragon girl.
“Young Master Lu’s skill is truly divine,” Madam Yu approached and said. “Is this what a dragon looks like? It is so beautiful!”
Lu Zheng blinked and explained. “Ahem, this is based on various picture books and murals, with a few minor modifications of my own. After all, I have never seen a real dragon, have I?”
“Yes!” Madam Yu nodded repeatedly, looking at the snow dragon with eyes full of admiration.
