Yunzhou City was not far from the capital, Chang'an.
As a top-tier prefecture, it was quite prosperous.
Despite the heavy wind and snow, the shouts of street vendors echoed endlessly: "Candied hawthorns! Candied hawthorns! Selling candied hawthorns!"
"Sugar figures! Lifelike sugar figures!"
"Buying coal! Selling coal!!"
"!!!"
It wasn't just the peddlers who were enthusiastically drumming up business.
The number of pedestrians bustling about on the snowy streets was also not small.
Young, vigorous noblemen didn't bother with umbrellas.
Riding horses and wielding whips, they let the white snow fall freely upon their hair and brocade jackets, fully displaying their youthful spiritedness.
Meanwhile, delicate young ladies, attended by their maidservants, gathered in groups of three or five.
Sitting in the elegant upper pavilions of Yunxiang Pavilion, the largest teahouse in Yunzhou, they rested their cheeks in their hands and leaned against the windows.
They were admiring the snow, and also admiring the people in the snow.
A young lady dressed in a light yellow short jacket suddenly had her eyes light up. "Sisters, come look! That young man is so handsome!"
"Handsome? Where? Let me see! Oh my! He truly is beautiful! Sword-like eyebrows and eyes like bright stars! So handsome!"
"Sigh, what a pity. Looking at his clothes, he seems to be a hunter."
"So what if he's a hunter! Just keep him on the outside! Those smelly men can keep mistresses, why can't we women keep a man?!"
"Oh my! How can you have the nerve to say such things? Have you no shame?!"
Several wealthy young ladies stood on their tiptoes.
Gazing at Yang An, who was walking alone in the wind and snow, they chattered and giggled in a lively bunch.
In the adjacent private room, the maidservant Xiaocui, hearing their teasing laughter, also curiously poked her head out to look.
The moment she saw Yang An.
She covered her small mouth in surprise. "Miss, isn't that person Yang An?"
Zhao Guizhen, who originally had little interest in the snowy scenery outside the window, leaned slightly outward upon hearing this.
Yang An's figure was tall and straight, standing out from the crowd as he walked down the street.
She recognized him at a glance.
"It really is him. We haven't seen him for just a few days, why has he taken off his scholar's robe and changed into a hunter's fur coat?" Zhao Guizhen asked curiously.
Xiaocui curled her lips. "What else could it be? Yang An failed the imperial exams repeatedly, and a few days ago, he even failed the academy entrance exam. He has no hope in studying, so he can only follow his burly brother-in-law to practice martial arts to make a living."
Zhao Guizhen thought about it and agreed it made sense.
Hearing the wealthy ladies next door still praising Yang An endlessly, Xiaocui said with disdain, "This guy surnamed Yang is indeed good-looking. I'm afraid you couldn't find many in the entire Yunzhou City who could surpass him in looks."
"But can good looks put food on the table?"
"Fortunately, Miss, you have sharp eyes and saw that this Yang fellow is just an empty shell, not even half as good as Young Master Cui, and wisely drew a line with him early on!"
Mentioning Young Master Cui.
Zhao Guizhen's cheeks flushed, and she scolded playfully, "Xiaocui! How can you compare him with Young Master Cui?"
"Yes, yes, yes, look at my big mouth! How can one compare a firefly to the bright moon, or a nag to a Qilin! I deserve a slap!"
Xiaocui hurriedly patted her own mouth lightly, smiling and begging for mercy.
Zhao Guizhen was amused by her. She took a sip of tea and withdrew her gaze from Yang An. "Actually, it's quite good for Yang An to realize his place early on. Settling down to be a hunter is better than achieving nothing at all."
"However..."
Rubbing the rim of her half-empty teacup with her fingertips.
Zhao Guizhen lowered her eyes. "My engagement with him... if it isn't annulled, it will eventually be a troublesome matter."
...
The wind grew stronger.
The snow also fell heavier.
It hit Yang An's face like knives, so cold that he tightened the cotton coat around him.
Several vendors, tired from hawking their wares.
Squatted around a fire stove with their hands tucked into their sleeves for warmth. Seeing Yang An approaching from a distance with a bow on his back and a knife at his waist, they couldn't help but start sighing.
"Buliangshuai Li offended a nobleman and has been laid up. I'm afraid the Yang siblings are going to have a hard time from now on."
"More than just a hard time! They probably won't even be able to open their cooking pot! I heard the Yang family even mortgaged their land deed to Lord Wang Gou! With compounding interest, they are worse off than even us, haha!"
"Who knows, in a few days, Madam Li might even have to come out and earn money!"
"Heh, what kind of money can a woman earn?"
"Money made on a bed, of course!"
The vendors burst into raucous laughter.
At this moment, a muffled, nasal voice came from among them. "In all of Yunzhou, Buliangshuai Li is the only official who doesn't buy things on credit. He pays us up front and has always looked after us on regular days. You guys spouting such nasty, sarcastic remarks right now—don't you have a conscience?"
The faces of the other vendors instantly flushed red.
The redness even spread down their necks as they cursed defensively, "Wang Shitou, what kind of saint are you pretending to be?! Trying to show off?!"
"Exactly! You talk a big game, but I haven't seen you sending your family's silver to the Li house!"
"If you know how to speak, then speak! If you don't, then get the hell out of here!"
The sturdy man called Wang Shitou lowered his head and stopped talking.
He also stopped squatting with that group.
Tucking his half-eaten multigrain steamed bun back into his shirt, he returned to his own stall. Taking long iron tongs, he pulled out three steaming hot, white-flour meat pies and skillfully wrapped them in oilcloth.
"Brother An!"
Braving the wind and snow, Wang Shitou rushed out to meet Yang An on the street.
He spoke incoherently.
"These few pies aren't worth much, you take them, Brother An. Take them home and eat them with Buliangshuai Li and Madam Li..."
"Hey!"
Clumsy with words and truly not knowing what else to say, Wang Shitou shoved the pies into Yang An's arms. Without giving Yang An a chance to speak, he turned and ran back to his little stall.
Yang An remembered Wang Shitou.
He had been selling baked flatbreads on this street for almost ten years.
When Yang An was little, when Li Yan took him to school before dawn, he often bought pies from his stall. They were crispy, fragrant, full of garlic flavor, and sprinkled with a thicker layer of sesame seeds than any other stall.
"Brother Shitou, thank you!"
Yang An shouted to Wang Shitou, holding up the steaming hot pies.
Seeing that Yang An had accepted his kindness, Wang Shitou breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, and waved his hand vigorously. "Brother An, the snow is heavy, hurry home!"
The vendors squatting by the stove.
Watched this scene coldly and continued to mock.
"Wang Shitou is just a blockhead, he doesn't even know how to s*ck up to people properly. When Buliangshuai Li was doing well, you couldn't beat a fart out of him with three sticks."
"Now that the man has fallen on hard times, he starts acting all attentive."
"What's the use? Who is he putting on a show for?"
"What an embarrassment!"
Yang An didn't know about these people's discussions. Single-mindedly focused on finding the Black Jade Lotus, he took the warm pies and quickly left Yunzhou City, getting onto the official road.
Although the official road was much flatter than the wild country paths, it was still difficult to travel on after being piled high with snow.
Dozens of miles—relying on his own two feet to make a round trip would take more than a day!
By then, his brother-in-law would probably be dead!
Gritting his teeth, Yang An used the very last piece of broken silver he had on him to rent an old horse.
He wanted to rent a fine steed, but unfortunately, he couldn't afford it.
But thankfully, an old horse still had four legs and was faster than his two.
Just like that, he swayed and bumped along the road.
Setting off in the morning.
He traveled until about noon.
Yang An finally arrived at the foot of Yunling Mountain.
As the old saying goes: Those who live by the mountain live off the mountain; those who live by the water live off the water.
Yunling Mountain was vast and rich in resources. When heavy snow didn't seal the mountain, there were many mountain traversers, so there were also many wooden hitching posts at the foot of the mountain.
The old horse was fine walking on the official road, but going into the mountain would be asking too much of it.
Yang An dismounted and was preparing to find a place to tie it up.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A sudden red light flared in the distance, accompanied by the roaring sound of blazing flames!
The momentum was massive!
Even the snow on the ground seemed to tremble!
Yang An turned his head and saw a flickering ball of fire in the distant snow, galloping towards his direction at extreme speed!
Large clouds of white mist billowed along its path!
Not knowing what it was.
Seeing that it was about to crash right into him, Yang An hurriedly pulled the old horse aside to dodge.
But he was still a step too late.
A blast of heat hit his face, and the hissing sound of melting snow rang in his ears. Yang An saw a male lion, completely wreathed in flames and the size of a water buffalo, charge past him. With every stride it took, the explosive waves of fire vaporized large swaths of ice and snow.
It looked as if it were riding the clouds and mist—an incredibly divine beast!
Sitting astride the flaming lion was a young man, looking to be about the same age as Yang An. Behind him, a cape made of a hundred beast skins fluttered like a flag. He looked majestic and imposing, and following closely behind him were a dozen soldiers riding tigers and leopards!
Awe-inspiring and commanding, just like a young general!
Yang An saw him.
And he also saw Yang An.
"Get lost!"
The young man riding the flaming lion swung his whip!
Seeing his face clearly, Yang An's pupils violently contracted. Just before the long whip tore through the air and struck, he threw himself into the snow and rolled forward, barely dodging the whip strike from the young man!
However, while Yang An dodged it, the old horse he was leading did not.
Neigh!!!
The old horse let out a tragic shriek.
It was actually cleaved cleanly in two by the young man's whip, right along its front torso! Splashing Yang An with warm, foul-smelling blood!
The young man left.
Roaring past, he entered Yunling Mountain without the slightest pause.
Covered in blood and grime, Yang An climbed up from the ground.
Staring in the direction the young man had left, his eyes were filled with murderous intent, and he crushed the horse reins in his hand to powder!
Yang An recognized him.
He recognized this noble young master riding the majestic lion.
His name was Lin Hao.
The son of the Yunzhou Jiedushi, Lin Yeping.
Three days ago, he was the one who unleashed his beast on the streets of Yunzhou to bite people!
The very culprit who caused Li Yan to be severely injured!