Chapter 38

The little wolf nudged his fingers with its head, then licked his gloved hand.

Due to the need for repairs in Gu Tingshuang's room, he moved to stay in the east study. Initially, the servants cleaned up the late princess's residence for him and prepared a side room he used to sleep in when he visited her. However, Gu Tingshuang refused to stay there and insisted on sleeping in the study.

This arrangement placed him in the same courtyard as Ning Shiting. The study building had two large master bedrooms, one on either side. Each occupied one, and in the mornings, they would often encounter each other.

The heavy snow became increasingly fierce, making it nearly impossible to move. Snow that had just been cleared was immediately covered again by thick, heavy snowflakes as soon as people left. Everyone in the mansion was on edge, and those with fire elemental roots were sent out to melt the snow, but their efforts had little effect. Hundreds of fire-controlling practitioners formed a long line, their flames lighting up the western city of Xizhou, turning half the sky red. The biting snowstorm roared in, melting the snow into water which then quickly refroze. The combination of wind, snow, and rain fell, encasing people in layers of ice.

The snow was so heavy that many buildings collapsed overnight. Ning Shiting, already stretched thin, had been recruiting talent since entering the prince's mansion, but in less than two months, he had been unable to gather many practitioners with complete spiritual roots. Moreover, this snowstorm was unprecedented. Ning Shiting recalled his past life's memories and vaguely sensed something was wrong: the snow in his previous life wasn't like this. When the snow demon arrived in Xizhou back then, it only caused occasional snowfall and didn’t harm the people as it did now.

When the snow demon was finally killed, it had only consumed a small amount of spiritual energy from Spirit Mountain, which allowed it to create a layer of profound ice that could only be melted by blood. At that time, Ning Shiting was gravely injured and sent back for treatment, while the snow demon’s remains were handed over to Gu Feiyin. What happened afterwards, he didn't know, having only heard a few words from the servants: "The snow yao didn’t cause much harm because it had a magical artefact around its neck. It must have been sealed by a master before. Otherwise, if the snow demon were more powerful, even the prince's life might have been lost on the snowy mountain."

Now, however, Ning Shiting was certain that this snow did not match the snow in his memory. It was more violent and vicious as if the master who was supposed to seal the snow demon had missed the opportunity in this life.

"What an evil snow," he remarked. The study was heated by charcoal, the windows sealed, making the room stuffy. Everyone in the Qing Wang Mansion had gathered in the study building, with the servants and their spirit beasts sleeping in the underground library to avoid the dangers of the storm outside. The snow was so severe that they had no time to worry about how many pavilions had collapsed or how many spirit herbs and beasts had been lost.

Gu Tingshuang's wheelchair was parked by the bed, and even with the windows sealed, he could still hear the murderous and sinister wind outside.

Ning Shiting felt a bit uncomfortable from the stuffiness but said nothing. The charcoal fire was burning brightly, making the room uncomfortably warm for a Jiaoren like him, but there was no time to warm himself with his usual water-charcoal method. He was engrossed in ancient texts, searching for a way to break the snow demon's curse, having not slept for a day.

After reading for too long, his mind grew weary. When Gu Tingshuang spoke, Ning Shiting didn’t immediately register what he was saying, only turning his head to find something warm and damp pressed against his face. Instinctively, he caught it, and looking down, saw it was a warm, water-soaked towel that soothed his dry skin.

Gu Tingshuang placed the now-empty teacup back on the table and said lightly, "Wipe your face. I heard that without water, a Jiaoren’s skin would crack. Is that true? I couldn’t be bothered to drink the best Yunding Gold Pine tea."

Ning Shiting was startled, then smiled, using the warm towel to wipe his face. He then heard Gu Tingshuang ask, "Any progress?"

Ning Shiting shook his head. "Not yet. Snow Yao are creatures of extreme cold and have never been known to travel south. This is the first and most severe case. There's no record of anything like this in Xizhou's history. We can only try to minimize the damage and wait for the snowstorm to subside before sending people out to rescue the immortals."

"You're moving a bit slowly," Gu Tingshuang said. "The Immortal Chief’s Mansion already sent people with fire elemental roots to resist the snowstorm before you."

Though Gu Tingshuang never left his room, he was well aware of the world’s affairs. He knew that after the embarrassment caused by the Soul Returning Incense incident, the Immortal Chief’s Mansion had quickly dispatched fire elemental warriors to regain their lost face. Under Ning Shiting's management, the Civil Affairs Hall of the Immortal Chief’s Mansion was thriving and gaining a good reputation among Xizhou’s immortals, making Su Yue and his companions increasingly uneasy.

Ning Shiting smiled. "There's nothing we can do. It's good that they sent people out to save lives early. This isn't the time to compete with them."

"If you don't compete this time, you won't get another chance," Gu Tingshuang said, narrowing his eyes. "You were just one night late. What do you think they'll say in their report about you and the entire Qing Wang Mansion?"

Ning Shiting looked at him without speaking, a hint of amusement in his eyes. He stood up, pulled a memorial from his sleeve, and waved it at Gu Tingshuang. "I was first."

He hadn’t been slow in writing a memorial. A few days earlier, he had already prepared a detailed impeachment memorial, listing the Immortal Chief’s Mansion’s failures in managing affairs over the past few years. The key point was their interception of the recent military dispatch order, which, with some clever wording, could be portrayed as defying the Immortal Emperor and acting independently.

Gu Tingshuang had intended to say something sarcastic but fell silent when he saw the amusement in Ning Shiting’s eyes. He watched as Ning Shiting walked to the window, leaned down to listen to the wind and snow outside, and asked, "Do you want to go out?"

Ning Shiting replied, "If I can, I'll go out this morning. I might be able to help a little."

"With your condition, you'd probably be more of a burden," Gu Tingshuang said.

Ning Shiting just smiled. Seeing his expression, Gu Tingshuang suspected he might have come up with a solution, but then reconsidered, thinking that this Jiaoren probably wasn’t that clever and was just trying to appear strong.

The two of them spent the entire day in the study. By evening, they should have returned to their respective rooms, but a problem arose: Fenlü became seriously ill due to the cold, her old illness flaring up, causing her to fall into a high fever and lose consciousness. She had been staying with Hua Qiu and the others in the top-floor loft to avoid the wind, but when Ning Shiting heard about her condition, he brought her back to his room to rest and keep warm.

This left him without a place to sleep that night.

Gu Tingshuang said, "You can sleep in my room. I don't need sleep for my cultivation. You, with your fragile human body, I can understand if you need a little more comfort."

Ning Shiting replied, "Dianxia should sleep as usual. Don't worry about me."

Gu Tingshuang insisted, "I don't need it. I'm not like you; I don't need sleep."

Ning Shiting didn’t challenge the lie, only saying, "Sleeping on a mat on the floor will be just as good."

The little wolf was slowly recovering from its injuries. Having been lethargic for the past few days, it was now frightened by the heavy snow and clung to Gu Tingshuang's leg, whimpering pitifully. Annoyed, Gu Tingshuang picked it up and tossed it into Ning Shiting’s arms.

Ning Shiting, who was writing, casually held the little wolf as a hand warmer. He gently stroked its fur, asking, "Are you homesick? With the snow so heavy outside, are your kin safe?"

The little wolf nudged his fingers with its head, then licked his gloved hand.

"Wolves won’t die in peace; they'll find a place they can go," Gu Tingshuang said, leaving out the fact that tonight's heavy snow and the snow demon's presence on Spirit Mountain had made him concerned for the wolves' safety. He had lifted the barrier between Spirit Mountain and the Qing Wang Mansion, transforming into a butterfly and instructing the golden-backed wolf to lead the pack into the Shizi Mansion for shelter. The Shizi Mansion was currently unoccupied, blanketed in snow, but the buildings were solid enough. Except for one weak spot that he had detected with his spiritual vision, the rest of the structure was stable and secure. No one knew about this.

For this reason, he didn’t plan to sleep tonight. He would use his spiritual vision to monitor and protect the area around the Qing Wang Mansion, guarding against greater risks. As the leader of the wolves, he had to shoulder the responsibility of protecting the pack.

However, perhaps due to the warmth in the room, the exhaustion from the past few days, or possibly some peculiar incense that Ning Shiting, the Jiaoren, had used, Gu Tingshuang finally succumbed to sleep in the middle of the night. Though his spiritual awareness was active, his body seemed to flicker like a dying oil lamp, and he fell into slumber for the first time.

The light in his eyes dimmed, and his spiritual awareness retreated, leaving him to drift into a dream. In this dream, his senses remained sharp, bridging the gap between dream and reality. He could see the warm yellow light burning in the room, feel himself being carried to bed by Hulu and Lingjiao, and notice the little wolf curled up beside his pillow, its tail forming a neat circle.

As the voices in the room faded, the day’s fear and anxiety were swallowed up by the call of sleep. The only remaining sound came from the study, where Ning Shiting was still flipping through books and writing something down. The soft rustle of paper brushing against his sleeve and the occasional flicker of the lamp casting a slender shadow across the room added to the serene, warm atmosphere.

This scene was so peaceful, so cosy, that Gu Tingshuang couldn’t help but sink deeper into sleep. Yet, as he delved deeper into his dreams, a sudden image jolted him awake—a vision of the door being quietly opened and then gently closed.

Startled, Gu Tingshuang sat up and looked around. The scene in the room was exactly as it had appeared in his dream. The door had indeed just been shut, and the gauze curtain beside it was still gently swaying. It was clear that Ning Shiting had just stepped outside.

“Looking for death?”

The snowstorm outside hadn’t let up. Gu Tingshuang threw off the covers and struggled to reach for his wheelchair.