Chapter Eighty-Five: A Familiar Silhouette

The first thing that still puzzled Xiao Lianshan was why Lan Qing’s eyes were full of astonishment and admiration. Even masters like Kong Guan and Wei Yu had taken the lead in applauding me.

“I still don’t get it, Brother. What exactly did you do?”

“Can’t you see? You’re truly hopeless.” Gu Anqi shot him a look and said excitedly, “There’s an old saying: it’s easy to invite a god, but hard to send one away.”

Xiao Lianshan nodded, still unhurried.

“Summoning wind and calling rain is already an unimaginably profound art. You could tell from how long Ouyang Cuo prepared beforehand. Such a spell, one that defies the natural order, demands immense power and cultivation. Ouyang Cuo’s wind and rain magic was already among the very best, yet Yan Hui broke it with just five grains of rice. So who was stronger?”

“The five straw figures bound with red thread on Ouyang Cuo’s altar each represented wind, cloud, thunder, lightning, and rain. To invite the gods and bring down rain was itself rare enough, but Yan Hui snapped the thread and sent the gods away. In plain terms, he could summon them at will and dismiss them at will. And don’t forget, Yan Hui was issuing commands to the heavenly gods. Such a power is simply unheard of!” Gu Anqi said brightly, her lips pressed together in delight.

I smiled and said indifferently, “They’d already done everything they needed to do. I didn’t know what else to do, so I just gave it a try. Heh.”

Ouyang Cuo lowered his head to think for a moment, then said coldly, “Since the contest is over, according to the rules, please have Elder Gu decide the winner.”

He deliberately stressed the words “according to the rules.” I understood what he meant. Gu Xiaotian had said the rule was that whoever made everyone feel cooler would win. Teng Guoyuan had held on for only five minutes, but at least there had been wind. Ouyang Cuo’s rain had indeed fallen, but although I had broken his spell, the sun was now evaporating the water on the ground, making the place even hotter.

Though I had bested everyone in magic, I had lost the contest.

Everyone in the courtyard heard it clearly and understood what Ouyang Cuo meant. Teng Guoyuan, seated nearby, gave a faint smile and said, “No need for judgment. I, Teng, am inferior. Compared with the two of you, I am convinced of my defeat. I lost this contest.”

Ouyang Cuo smiled and shook his head, his voice icy. “Mr. Teng needn’t be so modest. By the rules of the contest, whoever makes everyone feel cooler wins. Mr. Teng raised the wind from the ground and gathered the clouds; everyone present felt it deeply. How can you say you were inferior?”

I knew Ouyang Cuo was clearly saying this for Gu Xiaotian’s ears. Of course, he had no real intention of flattering Teng Guoyuan; after all, letting a man who could only hold out for five minutes win, and then facing me in the final duel, was no pressure at all for Ouyang Cuo.

Whispers broke out in the courtyard, opinions divided. In fact, many people stood on Ouyang Cuo’s side. After all, his wind-and-rain spell had truly brought rain, and everyone had felt that bone-deep coolness.

I saw Kong Guan and Wei Yu looking dejected, but by the rules of the contest, I really had lost.

Gu Xiaotian let out a long sigh. After hesitating for a moment, he said loudly,

The second page

“Without rules there can be no order. I set the rules, so I must abide by them. Since the rule of the contest is that whoever makes everyone feel cooler wins, I believe everyone now has a clear idea of the result...”

His tone carried an unmistakable trace of regret. A murmur surged through the courtyard, and I saw the corners of Ouyang Cuo’s mouth slowly lifting, a triumphant smile spreading there.

“The contest isn’t over yet!”

The courtyard fell silent at once. Every gaze turned to me. By now, I truly did not care that much about winning or losing this contest. I simply could not stand the smile on Ouyang Cuo’s face. As soon as I spoke, I saw that smile darken.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes to steady my mind, then suddenly opened them wide. I seized the peach-wood sword Ouyang Cuo had left on the ritual altar and, while brandishing it, recited aloud:

By decree of the Purple Dipper, I command the myriad gods.
Fly forth through the wind gate, let thunder sound.
In the Water Palace bring rain, in the Fire Palace rush forth.
Clouds ride the sky, thunder and lightning follow.
The four demon-subduing generals command the thunder lord.
Dragon and tiger cavalry, evil ghosts vanish without trace.
Pierce rock, break temple, behead monsters, capture dragons.
Subdue demons, restrain evil, heal disease, banish calamity.
Three and five officers and soldiers, spread your power in majesty.
Follow my talismanic command, and speedily display divine might.
Swiftly, swiftly, as the law commands.

When I finished the incantation, I brushed two fingers across my forehead, then used my bloodstained fingers to make a sign over the rice in my hand. With sudden force, I hurled the rice into the sky.

In an instant, the grains fell back down among the crowd. I stood with hands behind my back, saying nothing.

The people in the courtyard looked at one another, not knowing what I meant to do.

I saw Kong Guan and Wei Yu exchange glances. Then their mouths slowly opened, and they looked up at the sky in astonishment, as though waiting for something.

A chill, piercing to the bone, swept over us. But this was not the coolness brought by the wind earlier. It was an icy cold that seeped straight into the marrow. Little by little, that chill sharpened until it felt like cutting wind, like a blade slicing the skin, leaving a faint sting of pain.

Xiao Lianshan touched his forehead and frowned at Gu Anqi. “I’d better go back to my room. Looks like I’m really sick. This fever has muddled my head. I’m even seeing things!”

“What is it?” Gu Anqi hurried to feel his forehead and asked with concern. “It’s the same as before. Did the rain make your condition worse?”

“I’m freezing,” Xiao Lianshan said, shivering with his arms wrapped around his shoulders. “Like I’ve fallen into an ice cave. And... and just now I actually saw a snowflake land on the back of my hand... Heh, tell me, am I so feverish I’ve gone crazy? It’s blazing hot, and yet I’m seeing snowflakes.”

When Xiao Lianshan finished speaking, he realized no one was paying attention to him. Only then did he look up and see that everyone around had their eyes fixed on Gu Anqi’s fingers, their gazes full of shock and bewilderment.

A crystal-clear, hexagonal flake was melting slowly at her fingertips.

Snowflakes?

Snowflakes!

The third page

Snowflakes were actually drifting through the July sky!

At first, the crowd was silent for only a moment. Then, like a pot suddenly overturned, everyone was stunned by this bizarre sight. People in the courtyard held out their hands to catch the falling flakes.

As the trees and flowers were gradually covered in white, the courtyard became wrapped in silver, a scene of deep winter. In July, everyone wore light clothing, and this sudden snowfall made them forget it was still midsummer. Not to mention feeling cool—everyone surely longed for the scorching heat just moments before. Nearly everyone was shivering in the wind and snow.

Gu Xiaotian had always been composed and steady, but at this moment he held out a hand like a child, waiting until a snowflake landed in his palm and slowly melted. Only then, as that bone-deep cold seeped through his skin and into his heart, did he finally know beyond doubt that he had not mistaken what he saw.

“That’s enough, enough!” Gu Xiaotian said with a faint smile, shaking his head at me. “My old bones can’t take you tossing them around like this. Stop it!”

Not only Gu Xiaotian—perhaps everyone felt the same. It was truly too cold to endure.

I hesitated, not knowing what to do. Snow in July was a law against heaven. Perhaps I really was blessed with an emperor’s fate, with the stars shielding me, able to command the heavenly gods and call forth wind and snow. But my cultivation was not enough to make the falling snow stop. Only someone with extraordinarily deep mastery of the Way could do that.

Perhaps my workings were simply too effective. A few minutes later, no more snow fell from the sky. The biting wind from before vanished without a trace as well. If not for the snow still slowly melting away from the branches and leaves, it would have been hard to believe such an impossible and wondrous scene had ever occurred.

Gu Xiaotian stood up from his chair with evident satisfaction and said calmly, “The winner and loser are decided. Qin Yan Hui and Ouyang Cuo will have their final duel. As for the rules, you’ll learn them tomorrow.”

I did not listen at all to what Gu Xiaotian was saying. The instant the snow stopped, I thought I caught sight of a familiar figure in the crowd: small, sleazy, and filthy, with one empty sleeve swaying to and fro. I remembered that gait. The day he severed my finger, I had lain on the ground and watched his back disappear from my sight just like that.

I shoved aside the people around me and rushed out. In the vast courtyard, people were cheering and celebrating for me, but amid the clamor I could no longer find that figure. In my heart I gave a wry, bitter smile, my expression somewhat desolate. He was nothing more than a swindler who fooled those simple mountain folk—how could he possibly appear here?

I lowered my head and looked at my severed finger, and suddenly realized I missed him a little.

“What are you looking at?” Yue Qianling asked as she came over.

“Nothing... I mistook someone for someone else.”