After traveling without stopping, they finally reached Feng clan territory more than four hours later.
Beside a snowy cliff, a large formation had carved out an area free of snow and enclosed a pocket of warmth.
The Feng clan residence stood here.
With eleven or twelve subordinates in tow, Feng Qi had at last returned safely to the clan.
He glanced back at the two figures in fur cloaks following at the rear, his eyes full of gratitude.
Had he not happened to meet them, his excursion would likely have ended not merely without a ten-thousand-year Snow-Silver Ginseng, but with the entire party wiped out.
On arriving, Feng Qi displayed his waist token and the formation opened. A rush of warm air immediately flowed out.
The cultivators, worn down by their ordeal, hurried inside. Feng Qi immediately invited Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie to enter as well, afraid to neglect them in the slightest.
Once inside the formation, Xu Ziqing glanced around. The buildings and arrangements differed greatly from those elsewhere on the icefield. The houses were exceptionally tall and constructed from unidentified stone, appearing extremely sturdy.
Presumably, if the formation were ever broken, these buildings would provide another line of defense.
He appreciated the precaution. Without slowing, he followed Feng Qi along the bluestone road farther into the estate.
Feng Qi made no attempt to conceal the fact that he was bringing two strangers along, so some clansmen glanced at them. Most were cautious enough not to question him openly.
Before long, Feng Qi settled the pair in the finest guest room of his private courtyard. He then said apologetically, “This is my own residence. But I have a task to report on, so I must first go explain matters to the clan. I’ll also inform the clan head immediately about what you require.” Turning to a youth nearby who had just sheathed his sword, he beckoned. “This is my younger brother Feng Jun. I’ll have him entertain you in my place. I hope you won’t mind.”
Xu Ziqing naturally smiled. “Not at all. Please attend to your business, Fellow Daoist Feng.”
Feng Qi instructed Feng Jun, “Take good care of Senior Yun and Senior Xu.”
Then he hurried away.
After Feng Qi left, Feng Jun immediately approached to pay his respects.
Apparently he had gathered something from his elder brother’s manner, for he was very respectful. “Feng Jun greets the two seniors.”
Xu Ziqing smiled slightly. “No need for such ceremony.” A sphere of white light appeared in his palm, and he sent it toward the youth. “I can see you’ve made some progress in the sword path, so I’ll give you this as a meeting gift.”
Feng Jun hurriedly caught it. Looking down, he was instantly delighted.
Within the white light was a mid-grade water-attributed spiritual sword!
By convention, a junior greeting a senior for the first time might receive a meeting gift, but Feng Jun had only expected a few spirit stones. He had certainly never imagined someone would give him a mid-grade spiritual sword. He was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage and had obtained a low-grade spiritual artifact through his elder brother’s efforts, and that weapon had not even been particularly good. Now he had received a mid-grade one… There was no need to inspect it closely. The spiritual radiance it emitted was enough to reveal its exceptional quality.
When Feng Jun thanked them again, his gratitude was even more heartfelt. “Thank you both for your generous gift, Seniors!”
After thanking them, he hurriedly summoned the household maids and young servants, instructing them to bring the finest spiritual tea and exquisite fruits. He personally selected the best and arranged them on plates, presenting generous servings.
He truly treated the two men as the most honored of guests, with the utmost sincerity and warmth.
Xu Ziqing smiled and sat with Yun Lie upon a couch. They began playing Go on an excellent jade board that Feng Jun had gone out of his way to find, enjoying a peaceful moment.
Having arranged everything, Feng Jun stood respectfully beside the board and watched them play.
The two players placed their stones in turn, their styles entirely different yet somehow perfectly attuned amid each advance and retreat. The elusive, ever-shifting courses of their play, sometimes sharp and aggressive and sometimes meticulously calculated, soon completely engrossed him.
Feng Jun felt as though he had fallen into a battlefield and become a common soldier, at times charging forward to fight for victory, at others retreating and harrying the enemy. He was controlled by the shifting battle, unable to act of his own will.
Suddenly he seemed to see a sword light cleaving straight toward his face, the sword qi bearing down upon his head as though to split him in two…
He cried out in alarm. When he came back to himself, the illusion had vanished, but his back was soaked in cold sweat.
Exhaling slowly, Feng Jun immediately understood that he had been so thoroughly absorbed in watching the game that his soul had been shaken.
When he looked up, the two men had stopped playing. The senior in red had turned to look at him with gentle, kindly eyes.
Feng Jun blushed and took a step back, deeply embarrassed.
Xu Ziqing was amused. He looked toward Yun Lie. “Senior Brother, you’ve frightened our young friend Feng.”
Yun Lie glanced at Feng Jun. “He has some comprehension of the sword path.”
Feng Jun was no fool. He had watched them play partly because he wished to entertain his guests properly, but also because the moment the black-clad cultivator entered, he had realized that the man’s mastery of the sword far exceeded his own. He had hoped to glean some insight from his play.
Hearing the seniors’ words, he immediately seized the opportunity and boldly asked, “Senior Yun, may I ask if you are a sword cultivator?”
Yun Lie nodded slightly.
Feng Jun grew even more delighted, then faltered. “I wonder… I wonder whether Senior might… might…”
Xu Ziqing could hardly suppress his smile. “Offer you some guidance?”
Feng Jun nodded hurriedly. “Yes, exactly!”
He was a youth not yet twenty, raised under his elder brother’s careful protection. Thanks to the many resources Feng Qi had secured for him, along with respectable innate aptitude, he had reached his present cultivation at such a young age. Yet he had spent years cultivating within the clan, with little experience of the world, and remained very innocent.
His face flushed with eagerness, making him seem rather endearing.
Seeing him like this, Xu Ziqing coughed lightly and turned toward Yun Lie. “Senior Brother, since our young friend Feng is so devoted to the sword path, it would do no harm to discuss it with him while we’re staying here.”
Xu Ziqing knew that earning even one word of praise from his senior brother was no easy matter. This youth’s comprehension of the sword must be quite good.
An encounter of fate, indeed. Meeting Feng Qi while searching for divine water had been a chance connection, and through Feng Qi, his younger brother had now met Yun Lie. This, too, might be a destined opportunity along Feng Jun’s cultivation path.
And if it was a fortunate opportunity, why not help it bear fruit?
Hearing this, Yun Lie turned to Feng Jun. “Tell me about it.”
Feng Jun stared blankly, not quite understanding, and instinctively looked toward Xu Ziqing.
Xu Ziqing smiled. “How many years have you practiced the sword? What do you understand of the sword path? Which sword arts are you skilled in? What cultivation method are you studying, and what sort of sword path do you hope to comprehend in the future? If you don’t explain these things, how can Senior Brother guide you?”
Feng Jun suddenly understood. He hastily organized his thoughts and described everything about his sword cultivation.
And so, two men of extraordinary bearing sat cross-legged upon the couch, while a solemn-faced youth stood below.
The youth practiced his sword, pausing from time to time to question the black-clad sword cultivator. That cultivator’s expression was icy and his words few, but whenever he spoke, realization dawned on the youth’s face.
Across from the black-clad cultivator, the red-clad young man watched them with a warm smile.
The scene was filled with a quiet warmth, and it was just this sight that greeted Feng Qi when he returned.
How could Feng Qi fail to understand that the sword cultivator was instructing his younger brother? His gratitude was beyond words.
Yet when he thought of what he had come to tell them, he felt deeply ashamed.
For his attempt to borrow the Wave-Reflecting Ox from the clan head had not gone smoothly.
Earlier, after entrusting Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie to his brother’s care, Feng Qi had immediately sought an audience with the clan head to report on his mission.
Upon meeting the clan head, he naturally presented the ten-thousand-year Snow-Silver Ginseng at once and gave a full account of everything that had happened. Because he was profoundly grateful to Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie for saving his life several times, he took special care to describe their strengths in detail, explaining the extraordinary power of their techniques and even the greater abilities he suspected they possessed.
His intention was to impress the clan head with the importance of these two guests, thereby securing the loan of the Wave-Reflecting Ox.
The clan head did indeed take them seriously after hearing the account, yet he still refused to yield on the matter of the ox.
It was not because the clan head lacked all feeling, nor because he intended to bully two strangers without powerful backing. He had considerations of his own.
The Wave-Reflecting Ox was virtually the treasure that safeguarded the clan. Thanks to the beast, the clan had gained countless resources, and it should be quite capable of locating the divine water. But precisely because it was their treasured safeguard, how could it be casually handed over to outsiders? The clan head had raised it himself. If it was to venture out in search of treasure, he had to accompany it personally; he would never allow an outsider to control it.
What would they do if someone seized it?
Moreover, no matter how lavishly Feng Qi praised the pair’s abilities, the clan head was a Nascent Soul cultivator and had no reason to fear two Golden Core cultivators. For someone of his dignity to scout a path for two Golden Core juniors was also rather humiliating.
Only if the pair enjoyed extremely close ties with the clan would it be worth his while to lower himself in that fashion. Though they had certainly helped the clan by rescuing several members, those disciples were not irreplaceable geniuses of extraordinary aptitude, nor was the ten-thousand-year Snow-Silver Ginseng something nobody else could possibly have obtained. These considerations were not enough to persuade the clan head to put aside his pride.
Thus, the clan head was willing to give them additional gifts in thanks, but he would not personally lead the Wave-Reflecting Ox out to find some divine water for them.
Feng Qi haltingly conveyed the clan head’s position, watching the expressions of the two men opposite him all the while, his heart pounding with apprehension.
He had tried his utmost to bring the arrangement about, but had not expected the clan head to refuse so firmly. These men had done so much for him, and now they had even shown kindness to his brother. His face burned with shame, and he felt his side had behaved disgracefully.
Xu Ziqing, however, showed no particular reaction after hearing him out.
He had suspected from the beginning that the matter would probably not succeed. He had merely allowed Feng Qi to try because the man seemed so eager to help. Saving those people and searching for the ten-thousand-year ginseng had cost him little effort. As far as Xu Ziqing was concerned, learning from Feng Qi that a beast capable of finding divine water existed was already tremendous assistance.
Now that Feng Qi had done everything he could, how could Xu Ziqing blame him?
After a moment’s thought, Xu Ziqing said, “Don’t take it to heart, Fellow Daoist Feng. A treasure that safeguards a clan is extremely precious, and your clan head holds an exalted position. It’s only natural that he can’t take action lightly. Senior Brother and I came here merely to ask under what conditions your clan head would be willing to assist us.”
“And for that, we’ll still need Fellow Daoist Feng to make the introduction.”