The scavenger basecamp was known to have everything required for day-to-day life. Also, it had a lot of meat. Because of its proximity to the forbidden region, scavengers came and went on a daily basis, and they needed to eat. Meat. So there were vendor stalls set up for just that purpose.

Upon hearing that Xu Qing wanted to eat snake, a vibrant smile broke out on Sergeant Thunder’s wrinkled face. It wasn’t lost on him that Xu Qing obviously remembered his love of snake meat.

Before Xu Qing could go out, though, the old man blocked his path.

“There are a lot of crafty people in this camp,” he said. “And you’re not familiar with all the mutant beasts that live in the forbidden region. More than likely, you’ll end up getting scammed. I’ll buy the meat.”

Upon hearing the word ‘scam,’ Xu Qing subconsciously rubbed his iron skewer, thought for a moment, then said, “Nobody’s gonna be scamming me.”

Sergeant Thunder eyed the skewer, then laughed involuntarily. Without another word, he walked out.

After the old man was gone, Xu Qing went to the kitchen, carefully cleaned everything up, and then set the table. The last thing he did was place a third set of tableware down. As he put the extra bowl and chopsticks out, he suddenly realized something.

“The third set… is for someone who’ll never come.” Thinking back to those words, he moved the third set of tableware next to Sergeant Thunder’s place at the table.

He did the same with the third chair.

Having accomplished these things, he looked back out at the courtyard. It was evening, and a cold wind blew a few snowflakes along with it.

In the eastern part of South Phoenix, the end of the third month was when warmth returned to the lands. Plants bloomed and animals awoke from hibernation. But winter rarely relinquished its hold willingly, and used the occasional snowfall to remind everyone it was still around.

As dusk grew deeper, the wind carried more and more snowflakes into the courtyard. As they fell from heaven into the world of men, however, they landed on the ground and melted.

Eventually, everything was muddy.

No matter how high of a vantage point one could attain, and no matter how clean that person was, it was impossible to avoid the reality that the human world was filled with filth that could never be wiped clean.

It was hard to say if the coldness of the wind caused the snowflakes to appear, or if the appearance of the snowflakes caused the wind to become colder. Either way, as the wind blew across the lands, through the basecamp, and into the courtyard, Xu Qing felt chilled to the bone.

He was a cultivator, but still couldn’t forget the deep-seated fear of the cold that he had harbored for years. As such, he felt uncomfortable.

Eventually, he noticed a figure lurching along through the cold wind and snow. When the figure opened the gate to the courtyard and stepped inside, he was smiling.

“We got lucky, Kid. Look at this. It’s a safflower snake. Their meat is exceptionally good. You just wait, I’m going to show you how good I am in the kitchen.”

With that, Sergeant Thunder carried the dead snake inside. When he saw how clean the kitchen was, and how the table had been set, his smile widened. Looking at Xu Qing, he asked, “Want to learn how to cook a snake?”

“Yeah,” Xu Qing replied, his eyes shining. He loved learning new things, and besides, he already knew how well Sergeant Thunder could cook.

Smiling, Sergeant Thunder beckoned Xu Qing to his side and started working, explaining as he did.

“You know, most people think you should cut off both the snake’s head and tail when you cook it. Well, the snake’s excretions come from the tail area, so you do need to remove that part. But not the head. As long as you’re careful to remove the venom, the head will add a lot of flavor to the dish as a whole.”

Sergeant Thunder absolutely loved talking about cooking. Xu Qing watched and listened carefully as Sergeant Thunder cleaned the snake, skinned it, removed the offal, then prepared the meat.

“Remember, Kid, if you just eat the meat plain, it won’t have any flavor. You need a good broth to go along with it.”

Sergeant Thunder started boiling some water in an earthenware pot, then added numerous herbs and spices. Finally, he put the snake head in.

Before long, a fragrant aroma filled the air, and Xu Qing started salivating. Seeing this, Sergeant Thunder laughed heartily, took out a clean wok, and stir-fried the rest of the meat. Hissing and popping sounds filled the kitchen, and the fragrant aroma grew so strong it drifted outside.

The frigid coldness was driven away, and Xu Qing’s stomach rumbled loudly. As he looked at the sizzling snake meat, his eyes grew wider and wider.

Finally, Sergeant Thunder finished frying the meat, whereupon he dumped it into the earthenware pot and closed the lid.

“Are you going to remember all that?” he asked.

Xu Qing eyed the earthenware pot and nodded. The process didn’t seem very hard as far as he was concerned.

Sergeant Thunder smiled, left the kitchen, and came back with two flagons of liquor. One he gave to Xu Qing, the other he kept. Taking a sip, he sighed.

“Meat’s easy to find in this camp. But liquor… ahhhh. It’s a lot more rare.”

Xu Qing lifted the flagon and looked at the cloudy liquid inside. He’d never consumed alcohol before. According to Sergeant Thunder, liquor was rare. And Xu Qing remembered that alcohol didn’t even exist back in the slums; only adults in the city had drunk it. Seeing how much Sergeant Thunder seemed to enjoy it, Xu Qing put the flagon to his lips and drank a mouthful. It burned, but he forced himself to swallow. Warmth slid down his throat and into his belly, where it seemed to explode, sending out a current of heat into the rest of his body. He exhaled, nearly coughing, and could smell the alcohol on his own breath.

“It’s disgusting,” he said, looking at Sergeant Thunder.

The old man threw his head back and roared with laughter. Pointing at Xu Qing, he said, “You’re too young to appreciate the flavor of liquor. You’ll like it when you’re older.”

With that, he reached out to take the flagon from Xu Qing. However, Xu Qing pulled it away.

“Let me try again.” He took another drink, and though he frowned, he felt like he was already getting used to the unusual flavor.

Time passed as they drank together, Sergeant Thunder poking fun and joking with Xu Qing the entire time. Eventually, the meat was done.

When Sergeant Thunder put the earthenware pot on the table and removed the lid, the delicious aroma billowed out. Xu Qing felt his throat twitching. Putting the flagon down, he waited for Sergeant Thunder to take the first piece of meat. Then he used his own chopsticks to stab a piece and put it in his mouth. As before, he couldn’t hold back from wolfing down the food like he usually did.

And thus, as the snow fell outside and the wind blew, an old man and a young one ate and drank together, warmth filling them.

As Sergeant Thunder watched Xu Qing awkwardly work with the chopsticks, a tender look appeared in his eyes.

He’s a good kid. It’s too bad he lives in such a brutal world.

The cabin had cracks in it, which allowed bits of snow to blow inside. When they landed on Xu Qing, it didn’t matter that he was sweating from the food, he still didn’t like the cold sensation, and huddled in on himself a bit.

Sergeant Thunder noticed, but didn’t say anything.

Time passed. Xu Qing watched how Sergeant Thunder drank and learned from him, taking a sip, then exhaling the fragrance of the alcohol. At a certain point, he looked at this old man who had taken him out of the city ruins, and said, “Your injury…?”

“I’ll be okay. I’ve dealt with it for years now. I won’t die easily. I’m fine.”

Xu Qing nodded. He’d wanted to ask about how Sergeant Thunder’s cultivation base got crippled to begin with. But after thinking back to what happened in the forbidden region, he held his tongue.

They enjoyed the meal for quite a while, until finally Sergeant Thunder finished his alcohol. At that point the old man stood, his eyes a bit cloudy as he returned to his cabin. Xu Qing suddenly realized that the trip to the forbidden region had taken away some of the sergeant’s previous imposing manner.

He sat alone for a time before getting up to clean the kitchen and wash the dishes. When the work was done, he went back to his cabin. Sitting on the bed, he watched the snow falling outside the window, and eventually curled up and took out the sack that had once belonged to Captain Bloodshadow. There were no medicinal pills inside. But there were a lot of spirit coins, as well as some random things.

There was a set of black gauntlets made, not from leather, but metal. Xu Qing tried them on and found that they were very tough, and would be a big advantage to his defenses. He threw a few experimental punches, and was very happy with the results. Taking the gauntlets off, he sat down and went into some breathing exercises.

The night passed without incident.

It was still snowing in the morning, but it was warmer than the previous night. However, there was enough leftover cold that the snow stuck.

Upon walking out of his cabin, Xu Qing saw the snow on the ground and wrapped his clothes a bit tighter around him. Glancing at Sergeant Thunder’s cabin, he left the courtyard. His goal for the morning was to find some white boluses to buy for the sergeant.

His feet crunched in the snow as he headed toward the general store.

Along the way, he passed by Grandmaster Bai’s tent, where he heard the voices of that young man and woman from the day before. They were reading books aloud, which caused Xu Qing to stop and listen enviously.

After a short time, he looked away from the tent and continued to the general store.

As he neared, he saw the girl from the beast trial, working hard to sweep the snow from the front of the store. Her garments were tattered, her hands were red, and her breath puffed in front of her as she worked. He hadn’t seen her for a few days, but it seemed that she was already used to life in the basecamp. She looked tired, but she was working spiritedly.

The snow still fell, but she swept anyway. In the morning light, the scar on her face seemed even more prominent. She noticed him as she approached, and looked up. She smiled.

“Morning!”

“Morning…” Xu Qing mumbled back. He wasn’t used to calling out greetings. Nodding at her, he looked into the store. Perhaps because it was early, or perhaps it was the cold, but either way the store was empty.

“What do you want to buy?” the girl asked. “I’ll get it for you.”

He looked at her. “White boluses.” 

Placing her broom against the wall, she led Xu Qing inside. Running to one of the counters, she rummaged around and pulled out a few sacks. Looking through them, she picked one specific sack and handed it to Xu Qing.

“The owner said we can only sell five per day,” she said, looking a bit sheepish.

Xu Qing took the sack and looked through it carefully. To his surprise, the white boluses inside were of a much higher quality than the ones he’d purchased before. In fact, three of them didn’t have any green coloration at all, and emitted a faint medicinal aroma.

Thinking about how the girl had been so specific about which bag to take out, Xu Qing looked up at her.

She blinked a few times, smiled, and then said, “Don’t worry about it. I’m allowed to do this.”

“Thank you.”

She flashed a radiant smile. “No need for thanks. I should be thanking you. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be alive right now.”

Her words seemed to remind her of something, so as she escorted Xu Qing to the door, she quietly said, “I heard the shop owner mention that a lot of young people have gone missing in the forbidden region recently. And based on his expression, I got the impression he didn’t think it was because of the forbidden region itself. More like… people are responsible. Just… be careful.”

From the look in the girl’s eyes, she seemed to be genuinely concerned about him, and Xu Qing wasn’t really sure how to respond. Nodding, he thanked her and left.

Some distance away, he looked over his shoulder and saw that the girl once again was sweeping the snow. For some reason, her scar seemed very prominent on her face.

All of a sudden, Xu Qing remembered Sergeant Thunder’s story about how the temple in the forbidden region had some sort of crystal that could remove scars.

If I have a chance, I’ll get one of them for her.

As he walked away, he left a trail through the snow. Behind him… the snow fell harder.