A Man in the Snow: Starting with a Sword Challenge to the Northern Liang Prince's Palace

After capturing the demon scout.

When Ye Yun returned to the tavern, it was already completely dark.

The tavern was dark, except for an oil lamp on the counter, its dim light illuminating the empty tables and chairs. Dong Budu sat in his usual spot.

Ye Yun walked over and sat down opposite him.

Dong didn't look up, but simply pushed the half-full pot of wine on the table towards him.

"drink wine!"

His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping against a stone.

Ye Yun didn't refuse, poured himself a glass, and took a sip. It was very strong, like a fire going down his throat.

Dong Bu drank more and faster than usual today. His face and eyes were red, but his eyes were still clear. With a drinking capacity of six hundred years, he was not so easily drunk.

The two drank in silence for a while.

The tavern was quiet, with only the faint sound of burning oil lamp wicks and the sound of wind coming from the distant city walls.

"Young Master Ye," Dong Bude suddenly spoke up.

Ye Yun looked up at him.

Dong didn't look at him, but stared at the wine glass in his hand. The light of the oil lamp shone on his face, revealing the deep wrinkles, his gray hair and stubble, and also revealing something in his eyes that Ye Yun had never seen before.

It wasn't sadness, nor anger, but something very heavy and weighty, like a stone that had been pressing down for six hundred years.

"I've never told you how Ruoxue died."

Ye Yun paused slightly. He didn't speak, but simply put down his wine glass and listened quietly.

Dong took a big gulp of wine and wiped his mouth. His gaze went beyond the wine glass, beyond the counter, beyond the tavern walls, and landed on a distant place—the battlefield of five hundred years ago.

"Five hundred years ago, the demon army attacked the city. That time was different. It was not a small-scale battle. It was a full-scale attack. Three ascended demons led hundreds of other demons and surged over the entire city."

His voice was calm, as if he were talking about someone else.

"Ruoxue was already at the peak of the Immortal Realm at that time, and was one of the most powerful sword cultivators in the Sword Qi Great Wall. She volunteered to cover the rear so that the others could retreat. I disagreed and said I would go. She laughed and said, 'You can't even beat me, what are you going to cover the rear for?'"

A faint smile appeared on Dong Bude's lips, so faint as to be almost invisible, but Ye Yun noticed it.

That is a tenderness that cannot be erased even after six hundred years.

"She led a dozen or so people down the city wall and charged into the demon army. Her sword was swift, the light of the sword like snowflakes. With each snowflake that fell, a great demon fell. Three great demons at the peak of immortality attacked her, but she held them off alone, managing to hold back the entire demon army."

His voice began to tremble.

"I stood on the city wall, watching her sword light grow weaker and weaker, watching her white robes become stained with blood, watching her movements slow down. I wanted to rush down, but I was too weak. I couldn't even defeat a Jade Purity Realm demon; rushing down would be suicide, and I wouldn't even be able to retrieve her corpse."

He lowered his head and stared at the wine glass in his hand.

The wine glass trembled slightly, the liquid swirling and reflecting his aged face.

"She killed three powerful demons at the Immortal Realm, and died from exhaustion."

Dong Bude's voice abruptly stopped. He opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing a few times, but no sound came out.

He picked up his wine glass, drank it all in one gulp, and slammed it down on the table.

"Her sword, 'Winter Plum,' was stolen by a powerful demon that had escaped the net. I could only watch helplessly as it was taken away.

Tears rolled down his cloudy old eyes, dripping onto the table with a soft sound.

He didn't wipe it; he just sat there, like an old tree that had been blown by the wind for six hundred years, finally broken at the root.

"For six hundred years, I have regretted every day that if I had been stronger back then, she wouldn't have died. If I had been braver back then, at least I could have taken her sword back. If I had been faster back then, maybe I could have..." He didn't finish his sentence, but just shook his head.

Ye Yun remained silent for a long time. He looked at the old man opposite him, with a full head of white hair, a face full of wrinkles, and wearing old clothes. He held a wine glass in his hand, looking like an ordinary old man.

But this old geezer guarded the Great Wall of Sword Qi for six hundred years, killed demons his whole life, shielded countless people from swords, and collected countless corpses. He lived a long time not because he was afraid of death, but because there was someone who kept him alive.

"Old Dong, you don't owe her anything."

Dong couldn't lift her head, her eyes blurred with tears as she looked at him.

Ye Yun continued, "You've guarded her for six hundred years, that's enough. She won't blame you."

Dong was stunned.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but nothing came out. He just sat there, tears streaming silently down his face. After a long time, he wiped his face, took a deep breath, as if pressing something back down into his heart.

"There's something I can't let go of," he said, his voice regaining its calmness, though still a little hoarse.

"What is it?"

"Ruoxue's sword, 'Winter Plum,' was taken by the demon race. I want to find it and bury it next to her cenotaph. She has been lying there alone for five hundred years, without her sword by her side. How lonely she must have been."

Ye Yun looked at him, a feeling she couldn't quite describe welling up inside her.

"I'll go find it for you."

Dong Bu raised his head, tears welling in his cloudy old eyes. His lips trembled slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he only nodded.

"Thank you," he said, his voice as soft as the wind blowing through withered leaves.

Ye Yun stood up, took a pot of wine from the wine rack, filled Dong Bude's cup, and poured himself a glass.

He raised his glass to Dong Bude.

"Old Dong, we salute you, we salute you for six hundred years."

Dong Bu was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

"Respect Ruoxue, respect all those who died at the Great Wall of Sword Qi."

The two drank their wine to the last drop.

Dong drank a few more glasses, and his eyelids began to droop. His head slumped down, the glass in his hand tilted, and wine spilled onto the table, but he didn't notice.

Ye Yun reached out to support him and took the wine glass from his hand, putting it away properly.

Ye Yun carried him on his back and walked out of the tavern. The moonlight shone on the long street, casting long shadows of the two of them.

Dong Bu was very light, even lighter than when he was carried last time, as light as a piece of dry wood. Ye Yun walked very slowly, each step very steady, as if afraid of waking the old man who had been having nightmares for six hundred years.

Entering the dilapidated stone house, he placed Dongbude on the bed and pulled a thin quilt over him. The corners of the quilt were worn and tattered, revealing the yellowed cotton inside. He reached out and tucked the quilt in, then stood by the bed, looking at the old man whose brow was still furrowed in his sleep.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating Dong Bude's face. His lips moved slightly, as if he were muttering something in his sleep. Ye Yun stood there, watching for a long time.

Then he turned around, walked to the wall, and gently carved two characters, "Winter Plum," on the wall with his right index finger.

The strokes are deep, each one imbued with the intent of a sword.

Under the moonlight, he stood at the doorway, gazing at the distant city walls. Torches on the walls flickered in the wind, and swordsmen on night patrol were on duty; everything seemed normal.

"Old Dong, I will definitely help you find that sword."

Ye Yun said calmly.

Perhaps it was because of this unresolved issue that Old Man Dong's mental state was unstable, and he had not been able to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm.