Don't mess with that Miao boy, he's sickly and perverted.

Youquan Town.

Just from the name, Chai Xiaomi originally thought it was a secluded and cold place, with deep springs and a chilling atmosphere.

But when she actually arrived at the destination, she realized she had misunderstood.

This place is unbelievably beautiful.

Looking out, the world was a vast expanse of white, yet it was not desolate. Sunlight streamed down, and the snow-covered rooftops of the town shimmered with a soft, pearly light. Long icicles hung from the eaves, tinkling and chiming in the wind.

The town was filled with unidentified trees, their branches laden with frost, fluffy and like trees in full bloom of magnolia blossoms. Occasionally, a sparrow would fly by, shaking down a few frosty snowflakes, which would flutter down and shimmer delicately in the sunlight.

The town has few residents, but it's not deserted either.

Several children, bundled up in snow, chased each other through the snow, while wisps of smoke rose from distant chimneys, adding warmth to this crystal-clear world.

As a small southerner, Chai Xiaomi was completely defenseless against such icy and snowy conditions.

As soon as she got off the boat, she dashed off into the thick snow.

Wrapped in layers of clothing and wearing a heavy cloak, he was not very agile when running, but with a burst of excitement, he managed to leave everyone behind him far behind.

Old Ji said that there is a flower called the Three Lives of the Other Shore Flower deep at the bottom of the spring in Youquan Town. Although Wu Li said that the thing might not be effective for the mother worm in his body, he still wanted to find it and give it a try.

I remember its original words were: "A teacher for a day is a father for life. Now that I have taken on the title of his 'teacher,' regardless of whether he accepts it from the bottom of his heart, I should do everything I can to prevent my child from suffering."

Thinking of this, Chai Xiaomi looked back.

Four figures slowly walked towards her.

Lili, Lao Ji, Sister Yao, and—

puff.

Yu Ge was carrying a large snowman on his back, his back was almost bent like a shrimp, his face was full of despair, his legs were stuck in the snow, and he could only move one step at a time.

He was still complaining, "Master, we're all disciples, why are you favoring one over the other? You only make me carry it, not my junior brother? He's young and strong, he should be stronger than me."

Song Yueyao casually poured cold water on the situation: "You mean, you admit you're a weak man? Don't force me to look down on you."

Jiang Zhiyu immediately straightened his back: "No, no! Yao Yao, I can carry her! I'm really good at it!"

The white cat grumbled from the side, "Oh dear, ten of my words are not as effective as one of Yao's."

Jiang Zhiyu retorted, "Master, why are you only criticizing me? Do you think a hundred words you say to Wu Li are as effective as one word from Xiao Mi?"

"At least one spell I teach him is more effective than a hundred spells I teach you."

Jiang Zhiyu: "..."

He felt he was being targeted.

He trudged on through the snow with his head drooping. The snow was thick, and he was carrying a snowman that couldn't move on his back, which made things even worse.

But as he walked, he suddenly felt a lightness on his back.

A wisp of malevolent energy circled around the snowman, gently lifting up its heavy mass.

The boy walking ahead didn't say a word, continuing to walk silently, his back view as aloof as ever.

Jiang Zhiyu stared blankly at that retreating figure.

My eyes suddenly felt a little sore.

He took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Thank you, junior brother!"

The moment the words "junior brother" were uttered, a sudden weight pressed down on my back.

Caught off guard, he was pinned firmly into the snow by the snowman in a perfect "T" shape.

The children playing in the distance burst into laughter at the sight.

Wu Li continued walking without turning his head, a nonchalant twitch at the corner of his mouth.

*

Just as the Snowball Beast had said, every household had a snowman in front of their door, varying in size and decoration, but all sharing the same round shape.

By the time the group found a guesthouse to stay in, it was already dark.

In Youquan Town, the days are short and the nights are long, which allows the Snowball Beasts to extend their lifespan to the maximum extent.

At night, all the snowball beasts in the town could move around, quietly forming a large circle in the Snow Ice Cave. In the center of the circle stood the Snow King, wearing a paper crown, his short little hands behind his back, looking as if he was about to give a lecture.

"The boss is back! I told you he's lucky and would never be in any trouble!"

"The eldest son is blessed by Heaven!"

"As expected of our Snowball Beast, the Snow King!"

The Snow King snorted, his two round stone eyes sweeping around: "You heartless bastards! At this crucial moment, you abandoned me, the Great King, and ran away faster than rabbits! Now you come here to flatter me?"

Snow King: "I only have one sentence for you—"

All the snowball beasts huddled up, their round bodies shrunken, not daring to breathe, and fell into complete silence.

"well done!!!"

"Excellent! This shows you haven't forgotten my words!" The Snow King raised her short hand, her voice filled with fervor. "There's no shame in running away when faced with difficulties! Our lifespans are short anyway, so every one of us who escapes is a lifesaver!"

"The boss is brilliant!!"

"Running away isn't shameful; survival is the only thing that matters!"

Cheers rose and fell, and the round little creatures huddled together, creating a scene that was both touching and hilarious.

"Oh, by the way, let me introduce you all," the Snow King said, puffing out his round belly and pointing into the distance, "See those people on the slope? They're my new friends. They came especially to see you all so I can imprint protective charms on you! From now on, you won't have to worry about being easily scattered by strangers during the day!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the cheers from the Snowball Beasts grew even louder.

Chai Xiaomi sat on the snowy hillside, propping her chin up, looking at the majestic Snow King in the middle, feeling a pang of regret: What a pity, this Snow King is not that Snow King. At the time, she was so focused on the crown that she realized there was quite a difference.

She still harbors some resentment towards it.

After all that, it turns out the place where these guys gather at night is called "Snow Ice Cave," which made her excited for nothing when she heard the words "Snow Ice."

The residents of Youquan Town are distributed across three main areas.

After some discussion, the white cat made the decision that it and Wu Li would each manage the two areas with the most households, because they were fast at forming hand seals.

Jiangzhiyu naturally ended up in the area with the fewest households.

It is not very harmful and extremely insulting.

Chai Xiaomi patted him on the shoulder: "It's alright, Brother Yu. Those who are capable should do more work, and those who are not should take a break."

Jiang Zhiyu: "...Thank you, I feel comforted."

*

The next day, the group split into three groups.

Song Yueyao was responsible for assisting Jiang Zhiyu, acting as his legitimate helper by occasionally handing him talismans. Chai Xiaomi, on the other hand, naturally stayed by Wu Li's side, causing trouble from every angle.

"Lili, aren't you bored? Want me to play with your slingshot?"

"Yes, listen."

Wu Li's hands moved in a continuous series of hand seals, yet he responded extremely quickly.

"Lili, come here, eat some dates. Eating more red dates can replenish your blood. Look how pale your face is."

"tasty."

He lowered his head and took one from her hand, gently sucking on her fingertips as well.

"Lili, your hands are getting more and more beautiful the more I look at them."

"Yours looks good too."

"Lili, my foot is stuck in the snow and I can't get it out!"

"They're here."

He put down the seal he had just half-formed, walked over in a few steps, lifted her out of the snow with one hand, and casually patted the ice crystals off her skirt.

"Lili, what's that grass called?"

"Ice Grass".

"It's kind of pretty."

"Wait me a moment."

He instantly understood, silently turned around, stepped into the waist-deep snow, dug out the grass by the roots, and handed it to her.

Chai Xiaomi happily accepted it, blinked, and suddenly leaned over to kiss him.

Her eyes crinkled with laughter: "Lili, don't you get annoyed that I keep calling you?"

Wu Li looked down at her, silently counting in his mind.

367 times.

During the days she was printing the amulet, she called out "Li Li" a total of 367 times.

A slight smile played on his lips: "I'm annoyed."

Chai Xiaomi: "!!!"

She put her hands on her hips and glared, about to lash out, when she was pulled into his arms.

He lowered his head and ruffled the top of her hair, his lazy voice tinged with amusement: "I mean, I'll accept the annoyance."

Throughout his life, he has always been alone, quietly doing many things with his head down, with raindrops as his song, wind as his companion, and sunshine as his warmth.

The word I heard most often was "bastard".

In just a few days, she called him "Li Li" more times than he had ever heard any other unpleasant nickname in his entire life.

He hugged her tighter.

It turns out his name sounds so nice, even after hearing it so many times.

Despite having a mischievous wife causing trouble by her side, Wu Li was still the one who finished the work the fastest, half a day earlier than originally planned.

After finishing their work, a young couple walked slowly hand in hand in the snow, their two shadows, one tall and one short, falling crookedly on the white snow.

Suddenly, snow began to fall from the sky.

It fluttered down, fine and dense, like someone scattering a handful of broken jade from the sky.

Wow! It's snowing!

Chai Xiaomi suddenly tilted her head back, her eyes shining like lamps. She reached out her palm to catch a snowflake, which gently fell and landed steadily in her hand.

"It's snowflakes! Lili, look, aren't they pretty?"

She held her palm up to his eyes, and in just a moment, the snowflake melted into a tiny drop of water.

She ran off to catch the next piece, this time being smarter; she used her sleeve instead of her palm.

When she found a nice one, she ran back to him and stood on tiptoe to show it to him:

"Look at this one, it has six petals!"

"This looks like a little star!"

"This looks like a feather!"

......

Chai Xiaomi wore a tiger-head hat she had just bought in town. Her two fluffy ears stood up, and a white fur trim covered her small face, making her eyes look round and bright.

She ran around in the snow like a frolicking little animal, which was quite adorable. Her hat brim was covered with snow, and a few flakes clung to her eyelashes, turning into fine water droplets in the blink of an eye.

Wu Li followed closely behind her, his gaze never leaving her for a moment.

He suddenly realized that the snow-covered landscape was no longer the scene he remembered.

He had once seen a snowfall.

It was desolate, lonely, and so white that it made one feel empty inside.

But it turns out that snow can fall so spectacularly, even more enthusiastically than the cicadas chirping in summer.

As she caught the snowflakes, she hummed a song. The tune was soft, a melody he had never heard before, flowing slowly into his ears like sugar water.

He memorized the lyrics she sang after hearing them only once:

"Try a Japanese plum, give me a sweet plum, and I'm still thinking about the candied lotus root from that restaurant. My mother's sweet soup, once you've tasted it, you'll never regret it, and you'll never have to experience that 'drunken concubine' again."

"Will you miss me? Will you love me? That tender, sweet feeling, my love is hidden in the fermented rice wine."

"Spring, summer, and autumn bring no worries, but winter's charm is still lacking. Snowflakes fall gently, piercing my heartstrings, painting a picture of sorrow and playing the prelude to longing..."

As she sang, she suddenly turned to look at him, her eyes curving into two crescent moons: "Was it good?"

Snow fell on her hair, on her shoulders, and on her upturned eyelashes.

"It sounds nice."

Wu Li looked at her and suddenly felt—

I never want to see snow alone in my entire life.