Chapter 452: Appetite

Baidu Tieba: Search Posts, Users, or Tags within this Forum

Total 1 PageReplies: 2

He Xinliang

While checking for updates, don't forget to click "Check In" in the upper right corner.

"Sword Snow Stride" by Fenghuo Xizhuhou.

PC Reading Link: [Link]Mobile Reading Link: [Link]

Red tickets are free. After registering a Zongheng account and accumulating a certain number of points, you will receive them.

Every account can bookmark "Sword Snow Stride."

Chapter Serialization Main Post: [Link]

Please wait patiently; no replies are allowed before the main text is posted.

Annex: Tieba QQ Group Arbitration Team: 1681655, Demon Club YY: 1655

Xue Ba Admin Log Link: [Link]

Those who post replies before the update content is fully released will be temporarily banned for one day.

Book Friends Group: 1681655

He Xinliang

Fenghuo Xizhuhou

In Shangyin Academy, there was a Merit Forest, where one should not look or go if not permitted. Only the Jixia Masters were allowed to enter. Xu Fengnian, having studied the academy's geographical maps, navigated it with ease. He expected to be obstructed along the way and face some challenges, but when he entered the Stele Forest, the world was silent save for the falling snow. His footprints left a trail of small depressions in the snow, which were immediately covered by the continuous snowflakes. Earlier, he had visited his second sister's study and residence in the Lotus Lake Small Building, sitting there for a short while, and no one had appeared to question him. Xu Fengnian walked into the Stele Forest, which recorded the merits of ancient sages. The stone tablets varied in size, and the inscriptions on them were mostly epitaphs, though the graves themselves were often not behind the steles. The Stele Forest was like an alternative historical record, with pages quietly standing on the back hill of Shangyin Academy.

Xu Fengnian squatted in front of a particularly slender stone tablet and wiped away the accumulated snow with his sleeve. The epitaph's calligraphy had the charm of the Jade-Chopstick script from before the Qin Dynasty. Xu Fengnian looked up at the softly falling snow and leaned against a relatively majestic stone tablet nearby, sitting down. He didn't know how much time had passed, but when he opened his eyes, he saw a petite figure in a straw cape trudging towards him. She carried a bamboo basket covered with cotton cloth, walking with difficulty. As she passed by Xu Fengnian, she was about to squat down when she seemed to spot a pair of dark eyes suspended in the air. Startled, she fell onto the ground. Xu Fengnian stood up, shaking off the snow from his body, and with an apologetic expression, reached out to help the pigtail girl, whom he had gotten to know through this accidental encounter, back to her feet. He had thought the girl would just walk past, never expecting her to stop precisely in front of this stone tablet, causing her an unnecessary fright. The pigtail girl patted her chest and glared at her elusive white-haired 'nemesis.'

Upon inquiry, Xu Fengnian learned that it was quite a coincidence: the young girl's surname was Ouyang, and her ancestral home was Longgang. The inscription behind her was an elegy written by her father. Xu Weixiong, his second sister, would weep every time she read it. Xu Fengnian initially thought the prose must be extraordinarily refined, but after reading it, he realized it was like a family letter, like the mundane, nagging trivialities of family life. At first, he felt nothing, only finding it plain and simple, and he cast it aside after a single read. Now, having come of age and experienced changes, as he helped the girl wipe away snow crumbs and reread the elegy, he found himself pursing his lips, not wanting the girl to see his expression. She was still in her innocent and carefree years; her grandparents had passed away before she was born, so naturally, she didn't feel much personal grief. Growing up in the academy, she was also carefree. After putting down her basket, she started muttering to herself, and Xu Fengnian learned that it was her grandfather's death anniversary today. This spot was indeed a grave, and her parents, being far away, had instructed her to come and pay respects today. Unexpectedly, an unseasonal snowfall had caused the girl much hardship, and she had cursed the heavens countless times along the way.

The young girl finally found someone to talk to and softly said to the tombstone, "My most admired Mr. Xu once said that my father's elegy came entirely from the heart, with not a single word intentionally verbose, making it an excellent elegy. I don't really understand these things, but I just feel that what Dad wrote was simple and serene, just like his teaching—always unable to articulate grand principles, and he hasn't taught many outstanding students in the academy all these years. If it weren't for Miss Xu speaking a good word for him, our family would have been struggling to make ends meet a few years ago. The box where my mother kept her dowry is also getting emptier. When I was little, I could secretly adorn my hair with hairpins and jade hairpins when Mom and Dad weren't around, but I can't do that anymore."

Xu Fengnian chuckled softly, "You're still little now."

The Ouyang girl glared at him, "Sometimes your tongue is venomous, as if you've consumed poison; you can infuriate our academy's Young Master Qi to the point of smoke coming from his seven orifices. But you're also clumsy with words. How can you talk to a girl like that? I bet you didn't get any favor from Sister Yu, did you?"

Squatting, Xu Fengnian crossed his arms inside his sleeves over his chest and smiled, "I've eaten green snakes and centipedes; have you eaten a crow?"

The young girl was clever. She raised her fist, pretending to be fierce, "You're the one with the jinxed mouth!"

Xu Fengnian narrowed his eyes, and at that moment, his eyes appeared long and insightful, his entire handsome face radiating warmth. It was hard to imagine that this was the same person who was once the infamous and notoriously effeminate playboy of Northern Liang. Experience in officialdom is most effective in sharpening one's discernment and conduct. While others were striving to enter the dye vat of officialdom, Xu Fengnian had already witnessed all sorts of strange and colorful dramas from within the vat. Although the Ouyang girl beside him acted like a female martial artist and a leader of children, her clothes were thin, and the too-loose straw cape she wore was tattered. Her family's circumstances were clearly not as good as those of her peers by Buddha Palm Lake. In another five or six years, when children understood the dangers of the world's 'soft knives,' they might be bullied in turn by the very playmates they had grown up with. Although Shangyin Academy has always been a sacred place for scholarship, where a hundred schools of thought contended, there were inevitably disputes. For example, during the great chaos of the Spring and Autumn period, military strategists were particularly prominent. Even incompetent ones were snatched up by various Spring and Autumn states, regarded as talents capable of turning the tide. However, this wave of blind snatching did indeed lead to some fortunate gains for a few states. Now that peace was established across the land, the scene of scholars saving the nation no longer matched its former glory. Most Jixia Masters and scholars were lying low, inevitably entangled in the struggles of daily life and petty concerns. Liu Wenbao, who recommended over a dozen people, was isolated and weak, and most of them were similarly frustrated, wasting time repeatedly.

The Ouyang girl picked up her basket and asked, "Are you coming with me?"

Xu Fengnian shook his head, "I'm about to leave the academy."

She furrowed her delicate brows, which were already forming a willow-leaf shape, and looked down at the bamboo basket. Poor children learn to manage households early. The ancestral offering food in the basket could not be wasted. But she had a small appetite, and although it wouldn't spoil easily in winter, it would lose its warmth and taste. More importantly, she found the thought of walking the one or two li back alone truly boring. Having a companion for the journey back would be much better than being lonely. Xu Fengnian smiled, "If you don't mind me freeloading a meal, I'll go with you."

The Ouyang girl snapped her fingers with the demeanor of a general, using her playful catchphrase: "Granted!"

On their snowy journey back, the Ouyang girl wore a pair of well-made barbarian brocade boots, but they hadn't been replaced for years, and the satin fabric was worn out and couldn't withstand the wind and snow. The boots were almost soaked through from walking from home to the Merit Forest. The young girl was annoyed that she had been in such a hurry while cooking that she forgot to change her shoes before leaving, feeling both heartache and self-reproach. However, thinking that the New Year was approaching and her mother had promised to buy her a new pair of shoes in the first month, she felt a glimmer of anticipation. Xu Fengnian took the bamboo basket, letting her walk behind him. Having unexpectedly found a living person in the Stele Forest, the girl was quite excited and had no reservations about speaking freely, even revealing old family secrets along with introducing herself. She said her grandfather was an old great scholar of Northern Han, upright and incorruptible, who had written splendid essays. However, on the eve of the kingdom's fall, he spoke a few words of justice for a certain General Xu in court, leading to his dismissal from office and almost his execution. After coming to the academy, he taught the Way of Kings and Hegemons but was also ostracized. Her father inherited the family's scholarship, yet their home remained utterly destitute.

The young girl wasn't afraid to expose her family's shortcomings. Xu Fengnian followed her to a two-courtyard house she shared with several Jixia Masters. The window papers of most other academy Grand Libationers’ homes showed a festive air, but only her house had a grape arbor in front of the door, which, after winter, showed no green leaves, only bare vines, looking even more desolate. The young girl, however, was content with her poverty, probably inheriting her parents' disposition. As she walked under the grape arbor, she looked up and smiled, "You came at the wrong time. Summer is best. Pick two or three bunches, put them in Buddha Palm Lake for an hour, and they're so delicious that even heavenly peaches can't compare. But it attracts mosquitoes at night. When the family was enjoying the cool air, my dad always made me fan him to drive away mosquitoes, which I wasn't very happy about."

Inside, there were two rooms, and a small kitchen was carved out of the narrow corridor outside. The Ouyang girl changed her boots, set up a stove, placed her soaked boots by the stove, and then went to uncover the pot to warm the food. She told Xu Fengnian to make himself comfortable. He took a small stool and sat by the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a corner of the girl's "boudoir" — a small table, a small cabinet, simple and clean.

[Collapse replies:]* Making an appearance* Front* Cutting in line.* So many temporary bans?* Every click, every red ticket, every bookmark, every book review is your support for Fenghuo. Red tickets are free. After registering a Zongheng account and accumulating a certain number of points, you will receive them. Every account can bookmark "Sword Snow Stride."

There are 2 more replies.

Dusk was approaching, but the snow-covered ground reflected light, making it a bit brighter than usual. The doors of the other houses in the courtyard were tightly shut against the wind and snow. As Xu Fengnian was observing, a creak sounded, and the opposite door opened. The young child whom the Ouyang girl had pushed down by the lake earlier ran out. With red lips and white teeth, he would likely grow up to be a handsome scholar with refined character. The little boy didn't hold grudges. He had planned to go to his childhood sweetheart's house opposite after dinner, even if they didn't talk, or even if he risked getting beaten by her, just seeing her a few times would be enough. But when the child saw the stranger who had annoyed Young Master Qi in the pavilion, he became somewhat timid, standing at the doorway, unsure whether to go forward or retreat.

A middle-aged man, holding an ancient scroll and quietly reciting, somehow appeared at the doorway. Following his son's gaze, he saw Xu Fengnian sitting on the small stool. After a brief thought, he crossed the threshold gracefully, one hand holding the book and the other behind his back. Approaching the Ouyang family's door, he smiled and said, "Little Wooden Fish, you have a guest at home?"

While the refined man spoke politely, he nodded with a smile to Xu Fengnian. Xu Fengnian also stood up and, not losing his politeness, addressed him as, "Greetings, Jixia Master."

This address was standard and safe, ensuring no mistakes. It was jokingly said, both in the court and among the common people, that even a sweeping or odd-job person from the academy would be respectfully called "Master" outside. The Ouyang girl, nicknamed "Little Wooden Fish," poked her small head out of the kitchen and chuckled, "Hello, Uncle Qin."

After a few polite pleasantries, Mr. Qin turned to leave, closing the door with a slightly loud sound. Only then did the Ouyang girl huff, "This guy is practically Young Master Qi Shence's personal hanger-on. They exchange poems every now and then. He has some knowledge, but no integrity whatsoever. He's made quite a lot from his writings over the years. Every few days, he comes to our house saying he's moving, claiming how he can't bear to leave because distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors, but every time he talks, he always mentions how his private residence is not far from Grand Libationer Wang's. Heh, he's showing off his wealth to my parents."

Xu Fengnian took his rice bowl, chewed slowly, and looked up at the girl, who was standing and eating, smiling, "You should be happy for others' good fortune."

The girl rolled her eyes, "You're full of grand theories."

Xu Fengnian suddenly changed topic, saying with a mischievous smile, "However, as for exchanging poems, nowadays, besides farewells to friends, most of it is done by literati and famous courtesans in brothels. I wonder who is 'patronizing' whom between your Uncle Qin and Young Master Qi."

The Ouyang girl's face flushed upon hearing this, but her eyes gleamed with genuine delight, and she laughed, "You're really mean!"

After finishing their meal, the young girl ungracefully patted her round belly and let out a burp. Xu Fengnian took the bowls and chopsticks, intending to go to the kitchen. The Ouyang girl's expression was one of shocked disbelief, as if she had seen an immortal or a ghost. Xu Fengnian, holding the bowls and chopsticks, chuckled, "Only a gentleman stays away from the kitchen. Do you think I look like one?"

The young girl said with a solemn face, "Sister Yu meeting you was truly meeting the wrong person."

Xu Fengnian laughed, "Indeed."

Slowly, he washed the bowls and chopsticks, then used his sleeve as a rag to dry his hands. The young girl sat by the stove, propping her chin in her hands, lost in thought. Xu Fengnian remained on the small stool. The girl glanced at the dense snowfall outside and sighed helplessly, "If it hadn't snowed, we could count the stars tonight. I can count over a thousand. Isn't that impressive?"

Xu Fengnian smiled and nodded, "Impressive."

The Ouyang girl pouted, "No sincerity."

Xu Fengnian joined her in looking out the door, and they fell silent together. After a long while, he softly said, "When I was little, I heard adults say that the night sky is a large lantern filled with fireflies."

The young girl giggled, "In summer, I kill every firefly I see."

Xu Fengnian glanced at the mischievous Ouyang girl, "Whoever marries you will be unlucky in the future."

The young girl, propping her chin in her hands, said sentimentally, "Who says otherwise?"

In the twilight, a thin and gaunt old man slowly walked into the courtyard. He wore a blue robe and hemp sandals, with a mutton-fat jade pendant hanging from his waist. Of the several thousand people in the academy, the Ouyang girl considered herself to have an eidetic memory, yet she didn't recognize this old man. Xu Fengnian, however, did. He was a terrible chess player who considered himself a top national master, and back then, he had been evenly matched with Xu Xiao in a fierce game on Qingliang Mountain, notorious for retracting his moves, which had given Xu Fengnian a huge headache while watching. However, this old man was his second sister's teacher, undoubtedly the foremost expert in the struggle between the Way of Kings and Hegemons in the world.

Under the Ouyang girl's sideways glance, the old man shamelessly sat down and asked, "Little girl, is there any food left?"

Although the young girl was feisty, her upbringing was excellent and strict. She stood up and said with a smile, "Old sir, we have some."

Xu Fengnian reached out and quietly took the jade pendant from the waist of the old man, who had once nearly become the Grand Libationer of Shangyin Academy, and handed it to the young girl. "It's a worthless scrap of white jade. Consider it my payment for the meal from me and the old sir."

The old man's expression remained calm, and he smiled and nodded, not giving the young girl a chance to refuse. "If you don't accept it, I won't eat."

The young girl shook her head vigorously and earnestly said, "Can't we all just not be so vulgar?"

Xu Fengnian and Grand Libationer Wang exchanged a smile. Xu Fengnian did not return the jade pendant to the Grand Libationer. The latter, after the young girl went to the kitchen to prepare the food, calmly asked, "I have six hundred people. Does Northern Liang dare to take them in?"

Xu Fengnian considered for a moment, "I've only heard of people starving to death, never of anyone bursting from overeating."

The old man shook his head and said gravely, "Not necessarily."

Xu Fengnian smiled, "Whether even half of these people actually make it to Northern Liang is debatable. Northern Liang won't be overwhelmed."

The old man grunted and nodded, "That's true."

[Collapse replies:]* The upstairs is pleased.* Cutting in line.* —Hey, girl, sing something for brother…* Making an appearance…* QQQ — Report! Report! Captain Teemo is dying, request backup, request backup!* Oh* Cutting in line.

There are 3 more replies.

Total 1 PageReplies: 2

Don't have a Baidu account yet? Top Games Played by Forum Users:

Popularity: 591930Popularity: 418036Popularity: 383132Popularity: 235938Popularity: 198248Popularity: 73458Popularity: 56374Popularity: 44900Type: Simulation ManagementPopularity: 41212Popularity: 35764