Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 223 The Ox That Died from Exhaustion (3)

Hua Lianyue was unaware that her thoughts had quietly shifted.

She is actually a woman who can endure loneliness very well.

Within the Hehuan Sect branch, aside from the disciples, they generally don't interact much with others. Occasionally, if someone asks for help in person because others can't solve the problem, the sect will be busy for a while.

As for the rest of the time, he mostly cultivates alone... cultivation, and more cultivation.

Since she was just learning to speak, she was picked up by the previous patriarch and returned to the Huan Sect, and cultivation has been her daily routine.

But now, looking at the empty, dilapidated temple, she felt a strange sense of loneliness... This feeling, which she had never experienced before, left her feeling somewhat lost.

"Let's find something to do."

Hua Lianyue then collected the rags on the ground, removed the hairpin, took off some of the hemp threads from the rags, and sewed the rags back together.

The stitches are even and tight.

She was a pretty good seamstress.

The clothes are completely torn to shreds, so it's impossible to restore them completely.

However, it's always possible to make two sets of inner linings and thick trousers to cover the body.

After about half an hour, Hua Lianyue finally stopped what she was doing. She looked at the thick trousers she had just finished and a faint smile appeared on her lips. Speaking of which, although her master brought her into the Hehuan Sect thirty years ago, he was the kind of person who took her in but didn't raise her. She had to cook her own meals and sew her own clothes.

As her strength increased, the Hehuan Sect paid more and more attention to her, so she no longer needed to do these chores, but she still managed to retain her skills.

Hua Lianyue nodded with satisfaction, put on the thick trousers, and picked up a few pieces of cloth. Inadvertently, her fingers seemed to touch something.

Very thick.

Very hard.

very long.

It was quite chilly under the snow and ice.

Out of curiosity, I removed the pieces of cloth from it, revealing the object to be a tube about the thickness of an arm, seemingly cast from cast iron, with a fuse attached to it.

Could it be fireworks?
Hua Lianyue picked it up and glanced at it, but quickly lost interest and tossed it aside. The strange tubular object rolled away.

Time passes unconsciously.

She would occasionally glance outside, like a wife who had been married for many years, waiting for her husband's return and hoping he would bring back a bountiful catch.

I don’t know when the snowflakes falling outside the temple stopped. Although the sun is not visible, I can roughly tell that it must be noon.

The dull footsteps came from afar. The expression on his face did not change much, but he still glanced outside out of the corner of his eye and saw a strange dark shadow that was particularly noticeable on the snow.

As they got closer, Hua Lianyue finally realized that it was a black bear.

Below the black bear was Song Yan.

With the strength of a fifth-rank martial artist, killing a black bear wouldn't be too difficult.

With a thud, the black bear was thrown to the ground, creating a large crater in the snow.

The bear died a terrible death.

His skull was sunken, and his eyes bulged out of their sockets; he must have been brutally beaten to death by Song Yan with his fists.

In his other hand, he held a grouse and a fox, which he casually tossed on the ground.

Song Yan prepared to warm herself up, and as soon as she entered the dilapidated temple, she saw Hua Lian Yue's attire. She wore thick trousers and a silk shirt, and the stitches were clearly visible where the scraps of fabric were pieced together. She had deliberately chosen fabrics of similar colors so that the patchwork wouldn't look too jarring.

Song Yan was somewhat surprised. He really didn't expect that the patriarch of the Hehuan Sect, one of the few Grandmaster-level experts in the entire Central Plains, would also be skilled in women's handicrafts.
Is this what they call "gap moe" (cuteness born from contrast)?
Thinking this, he saw Hua Lianyue take out two more pieces of clothing from behind her, the same thick trousers and silk shirt. Although they were not enough to shield her from the wind and snow, they could at least cover her body.

"Made for me?"

"Don't overthink it." A blush silently spread from her long neck to her cheeks, and behind her ears, her small, bright red ears trembled slightly. "I made this for myself, but I accidentally made too much. It would be a waste to leave it here, so I gave it to you."

A layer of black lines appeared on Song Yan's forehead.

Where did this arrogance come from? Seriously, you're already over thirty, is it appropriate to be so arrogant?

Furthermore, the arrogant attitude has been phased out, you know?
Song Yan mentally complained, seeing the young man standing there dumbfounded. Hua Lian Yue seemed to feel intense shame, her face turning even redder, and she abruptly pulled her arm back: "If you don't like it, fine, I'll throw it away..."

She quickly stepped forward and snatched the two pieces of clothing. Hua Lian Yue probably didn't really intend to lose them; otherwise, with her Grandmaster-level strength, it would have been extremely difficult for Song Yan to take anything from her.

In any case, this silk shirt and trousers were far better than an apron. After changing into them, he warmed himself by the fire for a while, and then he felt as if his stiff body had come back to life. He inadvertently saw the tubular object near the fire, took a deep breath, and then silently walked over and carefully moved the metal tubular object away from the fire.

If a spark were to drift by by, the entire dilapidated temple would probably be destroyed.

Neither of them spoke much. After they warmed up, Song Yan rubbed his hands together and found a short knife in the mess. It was the same knife that Luo Tianshu had given him.

Looking at the man before her, Hua Lian Yue found it amusing. He wasn't a professional after all, and his attempts to skin the bear were somewhat comical. The grouse was gutted, roughly cleaned with snow, skewered on a stick, and placed over the fire to roast. As he turned the stick, Song Yan would occasionally take out small bottles and bags, pinching out fine powder and sprinkling it on the roasted grouse. With a sizzling sound, an enticing aroma filled the dilapidated temple.

Across from Song Yan, Hua Lian Yue was sewing a bear skin together with a sharp hairpin. The skin needed to be tanned, but given the current conditions, there wasn't much room for such meticulous work. Every now and then, she would glance up at the other side and, seeing that Song Yan's eyes were fixed on the grouse, she would puff out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

The grouse is quite large, but after being plucked, it's just a small lump the size of a palm.

Feeling that it was almost done, Song Yan handed the grouse to the person opposite her: "Eat it."

Hua Lianyue was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting that the first chicken to be baked would be for her. A slight smile appeared on her lips as she reached out to take it and then tore off two chicken legs to hand to Song Yan.

He was indeed a bit hungry, so he didn't refuse. After a few bites, only two bones were left in his hand. They were still too small, but with more food in his stomach, he felt warm and comfortable. Song Yan picked up his knife and went out again. Bear paws must be delicious, but unfortunately he didn't know how to cook them, so he cut a few slices of meat from the black bear.

There's something strange about it, but given the current situation, we don't have the right to be picky.

By the time they had filled their stomachs, it was already afternoon. Snow began to fall again outside the dilapidated temple, like pure white goose feathers. Looking at the snowflakes outside, Song Yan felt a little bored. Hua Lian Yue was still sewing bear skin. She had already made two pairs of animal skin pants from the black bear's limbs. As for the hide from the bear's torso, she should be able to sew two vests.

With nothing to do, Song Yan picked up a stick and poked at the fire in front of him. He glanced at the statue on the altar and a strange thought suddenly came to his mind: "Speaking of which, did we blaspheme against the gods last night?"

"Blasphemy?"

Hua Lianyue paused for a moment, then picked up a small pebble from the ground, bent her palm behind her back, and flicked it with her finger.

puff.

The pebble hit the statue's head precisely.

Snapped.

His head is shattered.

“Now we won’t blaspheme the gods,” Hua Lianyue said gently.

Song Yan nodded. A Grandmaster is indeed domineering.

Is this the "Flick of the Finger" technique?

"So, what are you going to do next? Are you going to kidnap me to the State of Chu?" Looking at the glowing red charcoal, Song Yan wished he had a pack of cigarettes in his hand right now, lit one on the embers, and took a puff – that would be a real treat.

I managed to quit smoking after traveling through time once.

Hua Lianyue was slightly taken aback, her eyes filled with confusion, and she stopped what she was doing.

"If you don't know what to do, then just stay. That's settled, no objections allowed," Song Yan said arrogantly.

Hua Lianyue puffed out her cheeks, even though she was clearly stronger.

"Can you tell me about your physical condition? It doesn't seem like you've gone into a state of demonic possession."

Hua Lianyue sighed and resumed sewing the vest.

Her cherry lips slowly parted.

Through Hua Lianyue's words, Song Yan finally understood the Extreme Yin Su Nu Jing (极阴素女经), and also understood the power and danger of this martial art.

"Do all the women in the Hehuan Sect practice the Extreme Yin Su Nu Jing?" Song Yan raised an eyebrow.

"Not all, but the vast majority will."

"And then, only the sect leader knows how to cultivate the Hundred Flowers Treasure Mirror?"

“That’s how it is.” Hua Lian Yue tilted her head, as if she was trying to think of something: “When I joined the Hehuan Sect, the sect leader had already passed away. Speaking of which, I seem to have vaguely heard that when the former sect leader died, there were more than sixty female disciples by his side, and they were all crying very sadly.”

Song Yan slowly exhaled; he roughly knew how that sect leader had died.

Back then, the Hehuan Sect was the number one sect in the world.

With hundreds or even thousands of disciples, relying solely on the sect leader, even with the Hundred Flowers Treasure Mirror, he still ended up working himself to death like an ox.

It's just unknown how the Hundred Flowers Mirror was lost after the sect leader's death.

Are there still many disciples of the Hehuan Sect practicing the Extreme Yin Su Nu Jing?

"There aren't many left. Besides me, there's only my apprentice Lin Xue and a few other people."

Song Yan breathed a long sigh of relief. Thank goodness.

But Lin Xue?

This name seems strangely familiar.

Song Yan patted his head and remembered that his mother's name was Mei Xue and his older sister, who was three years older than him, was named Song Xue, so he was particularly sensitive to the word "snow".

(End of this chapter)