10: Chapter 10 Shimoi

Nine days after the Start of Winter, Elder Liu did not make it.

He passed away in the middle of the night. Before the sky was fully bright, weeping arose from the direction of Niubei Hollow.

When Jiang Chengning threw on his clothes and stepped out, the ground in the courtyard was still hard, with a layer of white frost on the tips of the grass. Jiang Shoushan was already standing at the doorway, a jacket draped over his shoulders and a lantern in his hand.

"Let's go," Jiang Chengning said.

When the two arrived at Niubei Hollow, the courtyard gate was wide open.

Liu Sanniang was squatting by the threshold; there were no tears on her face, but her eyelids were terribly swollen. She had kept watch all night, her hair disheveled, and she hadn't bothered to tidy it. Seeing Jiang Chengning enter, she merely nodded and pointed inside.

Elder Liu lay on the kang in the back room. His face was thinner than it had been days ago, as if his entire being had collapsed into his bones.

Zhao Xing stood by the curtain of the inner room, her eye sockets red to the point of purple. Zhao Zhi was young and huddled behind her, one hand clutching the corner of her clothes.

Elder Liu did not leave many words behind.

Only, before he passed, he had Liu Sanniang rummage to the bottom of a chest to bring out a piece of paper. The paper had turned completely yellow, and the edges were brittle, as if it would shatter at a touch.

Jiang Chengning took it and glanced at it first.

The paper was written plainly: The Liu Family of Niubei Hollow shall merge into the Jiang Family of Duansang Ridge. Zhao Xing shall marry in, and Zhao Zhi shall remain. All spiritual properties and houses are to be entered into the genealogy. We do not seek to rise again, only to live in peace. There was nothing else written after that.

Jiang Chengning held the paper and looked at it for a long time.

In his life, Elder Liu had no great ambitions. When he was young, he only wanted to lift the Liu Family out of the ranks of the Cold Households and ensure that Niubei Hollow had an incense fire that would never fade. Later, as he grew old, fell ill, and Liu Zhaoquan died, that bit of ambition vanished. In the end, all he wanted was to live in peace.

Jiang Chengning folded the paper, tucked it into his sleeve, and bowed toward the body on the kang, which was so thin it was barely recognizable. "I have noted Elder Liu's words."

Liu Sanniang, beside him, finally let out a low sob.

The Liu Family cobbled together a spirit shed using a few wooden planks. Liu Zhaoquan and Elder Liu were laid out, one in the front and one in the back. The few Cold Households who came to help moved in and out; no one spoke much, as they were all people who understood the rules.

Before noon, Zhao Xing married in. She merely placed a bowl of clear water before the spirit shed, bowed to Elder Liu and Liu Zhaoquan, and when she stood up, Liu Sanniang placed her hand into Jiang Shoushan's, signifying that she had been handed over.

Jiang Shoushan's palms were slick with sweat; he couldn't utter a single word of joy. Zhao Xing kept her head lowered, her eyes red. The two stood before the spirit shed for a while, and in the end, they each bowed again, which completed the ceremony.

Zhao Zhi stood in the back watching, then suddenly looked up at Ah Shi. Ah Shi was also looking at her. Both were young and didn't quite understand what "marrying in" meant, only knowing that from now on, Zhao Xing would not live in Niubei Hollow and would have to go down the slope with Jiang Shoushan. Seeing Zhao Zhi staring at him, Ah Shi thought for a moment and handed her the little bug he had folded from a bamboo shoot shell in his pocket. Zhao Zhi was stunned for a moment, then reached out and took it.

The truly useful part of the Liu Family merging into the Jiang Family was the two mu of thin fields in Niubei Hollow and that well.

The well was in the Liu Family's backyard. When Elder Liu was still in good health, he used his Second Stage Qi Refining Rain Water Qi to slowly warm it, keeping the well water clear and the Spiritual Qi gradually rising. The small patch of thin spiritual fields in Niubei Hollow relied on it to continue. Later, when Elder Liu became bedridden, the well slowly fell into disuse. Now, the water remained in the well, but no spiritual intent could be seen.

Jiang Xingchuan had originally wanted to go take a look. Jiang Chengning didn't let him. "If you loiter by that well in Niubei Hollow every few days, everyone will know there's something going on with you," he said. Jiang Xingchuan held his breath, but ultimately restrained himself. At the moment, no one besides the four in the house knew that he had entered Qi Refining. His Awakening of Insects had to be kept strictly suppressed within.

The well in Niubei Hollow could only be nurtured by Jiang Yuhe. She was a known Qi Refining Cultivator, and her path was Grain Rain—thick, heavy, and adept at nurturing fields and crops. Others would only think she was nurturing the well and fields for the newly merged Liu Family and wouldn't think too much of it.

After the start of winter, she went to Niubei Hollow every day to nurture that spiritual well. When her Grain Rain fell into the well, she gradually gathered the withered Spiritual Qi at the bottom of the water and pulled it into one place. Lin Suwen went to check on it every day. After checking and returning, she felt a bit more at ease.

After Shoushan married, the bit of incense fire in Niubei Hollow also slowly merged toward the Jiang Family.

Zhou Wang stayed within that family genealogy, watching everyone busy themselves. Now, he could see more than just the five people at the table. After the Jiang Family merged with Niubei Hollow, he could even vaguely perceive the movements of everyone in the Liu Family's backyard. This was the family influence growing, and the book extended outward by an inch as well.

What gave Zhou Wang the most headache these days was Jiang Chengning, Lin Suwen, and Jiang Shoushan. None of the three had entered the gate. But if they didn't find Qi soon, their age would increase day by day. Especially Shoushan. Shoushan was twenty-eight; he wasn't young, but there was still some hope. However, if he were only to touch First Grade or Second Grade ordinary Spring, it would be equivalent to trapping him in Qi Refining. Even if he succeeded, he would lose the hope of Foundation Establishment. He needed to find a decent one for him.

Zhou Wang had previously thought that once winter arrived, wild Winter Qi would always emerge in the mountains. This seemed easy, but when it came down to Duansang Ridge, there were two difficulties: First, not knowing where it was. Second, even if found, it might not be high enough. If it were only the lowest grade of First Grade Winter Qi, letting Shoushan enter the Dao would be of no use.

Just as he was thinking this, a message arrived from Sun Changshui. The water accounts for Beijian Mouth had just been submitted; Jiang Chengning had gone over to sit for half a day, and when he returned, he brought back news.

"The Inheriting Spring Guide is actually divided into two parts, upper and lower," Jiang Chengning said.

The few people in the room all looked up. Jiang Xingchuan asked first, "What do you mean?"

"What we have in our hands is the lower part." Jiang Chengning placed the First Grade "Inheriting Spring Guide" on the table, his fingertips pressing on the middle. "It only manages the intake of Qi. Once you catch a breath of Spring, you follow this method to guide it into your Meridians."

"And the upper part?"

"Qi Gathering, Qi Leading." Jiang Chengning said, "Find a place where the Spring intent is strong and the spiritual opportunity is sufficient. If a Qi Refining Cultivator holds the upper part of the 'Inheriting Spring Guide' and sits for a season, they can slowly hook out a Public Spring from that place."

"It's just that most of the Qi hooked out by this method is only First Grade Qi and cannot amount to much."

After hearing this, Jiang Xingchuan was stunned at first, then immediately understood. "The Zhou Family is withholding the upper part?"

Jiang Chengning nodded. "If every Cold Household could hook their own Spring, the Main Peak would be hard to control," he said. "Once Qi Refining reaches the Middle Stage, with techniques, the tendons and bones are different from Mortals; in these mountain gullies, that is no small matter. The Zhou Family keeps the method of gathering and leading Qi in their own hands precisely to keep these people in check."

"That is to say, for now, we can only accept what they give us and cannot initiate it ourselves," Lin Suwen said.

Jiang Chengning didn't respond, only lowered his head to drink tea. The room was quiet for a moment.

Zhou Wang, within the paper, felt as if someone had pricked him with a needle, and he instantly perked up. Only able to lead Spring, not lead Winter. That was the Zhou Family's rule. But rules were rules; there might not be only one path.

He dug out the half-chapter of the "Snow Burial Chant" and the one form of "Severing Frost Edge" he had previously recorded and read them for the entire night. Looking back and forth, he finally found a different path within the chill of that Dead Winter lineage.

Winter is not just death. Winter is also divided into three lineages: Sealed Winter: Start of Winter, Minor Snow. Silent Winter: Major Snow, Winter Solstice. Dead Winter: Minor Cold, Major Cold.

Qiu Hanshan walked the path of Snow Burial in Dead Winter, but Shoushan was clearly closer to Silent Winter. Steady and quiet. The more Zhou Wang looked at this path, the more it seemed to fit. But understanding it was one thing; actually doing it was another. He was no Dao Ancestor and could not conjure a book into someone's hands out of thin air; he could only take the incomplete manual in front of him and modify it bit by bit.

He spent three nights piecing it together before he got a start. "Inheriting Winter Guide · Winter Solstice Chapter". Below that was a half-line note: Use Inheriting Qi as bone, borrow the well as belly, restrain sound and enter breath, slowly seal the Spirit Platform. As soon as Zhou Wang saw it, he knew this path was viable. Third Grade was enough for Shoushan to walk a long way.

But the cost emerged along with it. This method was not given for free. It had to have a Winter Spiritual Object as a "gate"; otherwise, Silent Winter would not form, and the well would not be able to nurture Qi.

For this matter, Jiang Chengning moved the last of the family's hard assets. The Water-Parting Green Ruler—he sold it. The ruler was a Low Grade Magical Artifact for Qi Refining; it wasn't for killing, but it was practical. According to the prices in the Sangyin Small Market, it was worth about two and a half Spirit Stones.

Shopkeeper Xie saw him place the ruler on the counter and raised an eyebrow first. "Are you really willing?"

Jiang Chengning said, "Living people are more valuable than rulers."

Shopkeeper Xie heard this and said nothing more, only took the ruler and looked at it for a long time, finally nodding. "I'll count it as two and a half."

Jiang Chengning did not take Spirit Stones, but asked for Winter items. Shopkeeper Xie rummaged through the bottom of the cabinet for a while and took out a small ceramic box. When the box was opened, inside lay a white-shelled object the size of a thumb; the shell patterns swirled in circles, and the surface was covered with a very thin layer of frost. "Winter Solstice Cold Snail," Shopkeeper Xie said. "It's worth one and a half."

Jiang Chengning took one look and knew this thing was right. "Where did it come from?"

"Old Crow Chen sold it," Shopkeeper Xie said. "He said that the Old Grave Slope entered winter early, and he dug it out of the mud a few days ago. That place is full of strange things these days; all kinds of things are popping out. I heard that if you keep nurturing it, who knows, you might even be able to nurture a wild Winter."

Jiang Chengning finally exchanged the ruler for three things: a Winter Solstice Cold Snail, a Start of Spring Bud Stone, and half a cup of Rain Water Dew. The Winter Solstice Cold Snail was the gate prepared for Shoushan. The Start of Spring Bud Stone and the half cup of Rain Water Dew were seeds left for Chengning and Suwen for the future; because of the arrival of winter, the effect of Spring spiritual objects was weakened significantly, which was why he could exchange for an extra half-unit of spiritual objects.

After returning home, Jiang Chengning had Yuhe take the Winter Solstice Cold Snail to the well in Niubei Hollow. On the surface, she was still going to nurture the well. Secretly, she used the thickness of Grain Rain to press the Cold Snail into the water vein at the bottom of the well that had just revived, to gather that Winter Qi.

Grain Rain is thick; Winter Solstice is quiet. When these two meet, if they are harmonious, they will slowly nurture a "Silent Winter" momentum in the well. When Shoushan enters Qi later, it can be said that he followed the early winter intent of Old Grave Slope, happened to find a wild Winter, and luckily caught this breath of Winter Qi. Otherwise, if Shoushan really walked the path of Winter in the future, the Main Peak would only need to think a little more to know there was a problem inside; now, at least there was an excuse.

These past few days, Jiang Yuhe has been running to Niubei Hollow more frequently. She sat by the well, slowly sinking that bit of Grain Rain into the well. In two more days, a circle of faint white frost would condense on the water surface.

Meanwhile, Jiang Chengning and Jiang Shoushan took the opportunity to run to Old Crow Chen's place twice. Old Crow Chen initially refused to speak, only saying that winter came strangely to Old Grave Slope this year and it wasn't a proper season. Later, after Jiang Chengning probed deeper, he slowly spat out a sentence: "There might be anything on the Old Grave Slope now, but there is no bargain that the living should covet."

Jiang Shoushan heard this and didn't respond; he was just here to create a cover story and wouldn't covet any unexpected bargains. The matter of Liu Zhaoquan was still fresh in his mind.

If the weather got colder for a while, the path would grow out of the well on its own.

On the other side, a fight finally broke out at the bottom of the slope. With Feng Erkui dead, the Feng Family only had Fifth Feng and Fourth Aunt Feng, both at Qi Refining. When the fight between the two sides finally ended, Fifth Feng's left arm had bone exposed, and He Qi's knee had been smashed by a staff. Fourth Aunt Feng was even more miserable; she took a hit to the waist and lay in the mud for a long time, unable to get up.

The Main Peak did not send anyone. The matter of Zhao and Zhou was bigger, and the lives of Cold Households were cheap; if they died, they could just be replaced next year. No one cared about them fighting for their lives here.

In the end, it was Sun Changshui who hurried over with his cane and shouted at both sides to stop. The He Family was injured and couldn't even take care of themselves. The Feng Family was even weaker; the family couldn't even operate properly.

When everything finally quieted down, the first proper snow on Duansang Ridge had yet to fall.