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

After the mission is successful.

It wasn't until the third day that Chen Ping'an recovered.

His left shoulder bone had been set, but he still couldn't put weight on it. The bruise on his chest had changed from bluish-purple to yellowish-green, and it still hurt when pressed. Every day he went to the hidden government office to handle official business, took a stroll around the city walls in the afternoon, and went to the tavern for a couple of bowls of wine in the evening. His days passed like a wound-up toy, never stopping for a moment.

That evening, he arrived earlier than usual. It wasn't completely dark yet, and Ye Yun was the only one in the tavern, sitting behind the counter flipping through an old ledger.

Chen Ping'an sat down at the counter, placed the Hidden Official Token on the table, and let out a long sigh.

"What's wrong today?" Ye Yun asked without even looking up.

"Old Wang from the east of the city and the Li family from the west got into a fight over the ownership of a patrol route." Chen Ping'an rubbed his temples. "They argued for two hours before I finally slammed my fist on the table to stop them."

Ye Yun closed the ledger and took a pot of wine from the shelf.

It's not "forgetting worries," it's "reincarnation."

Chen Ping'an glanced at the wine pot but didn't recognize it. Ye Yun poured a bowl of amber-colored wine, a bit darker than "Forget-Me-Not" and with a stronger aroma.

"Try it," Ye Yun said, "it's newly brewed."

Chen Pingan picked up the glass and took a sip.

The liquor is very strong on the palate, like a ball of fire burning down the throat and exploding in the stomach. But the aftertaste isn't bitter; it's an indescribable flavor, a bit astringent, a bit sour, like something broken and then pieced back together.

"What kind of wine?" Chen Ping'an asked.

"Reincarnation." Ye Yun poured himself a bowl as well. "It's the name Old Dong gave me. He said that life is about going through cycles of reincarnation, going around and around, and eventually returning to the starting point."

Chen Pingan held the bowl and drank slowly. He didn't like the taste; it was too strong and pungent, making him feel uneasy.

Ye Yun also drank. The two were silent for a while, the only sounds in the tavern being the clinking of bowls against lips and the faint shouts from the distant city walls.

Ye Yun put down her bowl and suddenly asked, "Ping An, have you ever heard of the name 'Li Yufu'?"

Chen Ping'an paused for a moment while holding the bowl.

He thought for a moment, then shook his head: "No. Who was it?"

Ye Yun stared into his eyes. Chen Ping'an's eyes were clear, without flinching or hesitation; he simply hadn't heard of it before.

"An... old friend," Ye Yun said.

"An old friend?" Chen Ping'an put down his bowl. "Your friend?"

Ye Yun did not answer. He picked up the wine bowl and took another sip. The wine burned his eyes as it went down his throat.

"I guess so," he said.

Chen Ping'an frowned. He felt like he had heard the name "Li Yufu" somewhere before, but it wasn't a clear memory; it was a vague feeling, like a dream he had a long time ago that he forgot when he woke up, but would resurface at some point.

"Boss Ye, why are you suddenly asking this?"

Ye Yun looked at him for a while, then shook her head: "Just asking."

He didn't mention it again.

Chen Ping'an didn't press the matter. But a seed had been planted in his heart. This seed was very small, so small that he himself didn't even realize it, but it was there, taking root.

After finishing his drinks, Chen Ping'an returned to his residence.

He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the name "Li Yufu" repeating in his mind.

Li Yufu.

Li. Yu. Fu.

Each of the three characters is quite ordinary, and they are not particularly unusual when put together. But he just felt like he had heard them somewhere before, not in the kind of "hearing" that you can hear with your ears, but a kind of familiarity that is in your bones, in your blood, and in your dreams.

He turned over and closed his eyes.

Can't sleep.

He turned over again.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he finally drifted off to sleep.

In his dream, he stood on a sea of ​​clouds.

The sea of ​​clouds rolled and churned, a vast expanse of white, obscuring both the sky and the earth. In the distance, a figure stood on a cloud, his back to the sky. The person was dressed in white, his long hair billowing in the wind, and he held a sword in his hand.

Chen Ping'an wanted to walk over, but his feet wouldn't move. He wanted to shout, but his mouth wouldn't open.

The figure slowly turned around.

The face was blurry, and the features were indistinct, but Chen Ping'an could feel that the person was looking at him. The gaze was neither cold nor warm, as if looking at someone he hadn't seen in a long time, or as if looking at a mirror.

A strange emotion welled up in Chen Ping'an's heart—not fear, not curiosity, but a kind of...sadness. A very deep sadness, like a knife stuck in his chest, impossible to pull out, and too painful to pull out.

The figure opened its mouth as if to say something.

Chen Ping'an couldn't hear.

He tried desperately to hear clearly, but the voice was as if it were coming through a thick pane of glass, indistinct and fragmented. He only vaguely made out a few words—"...Don't...go...by yourself..."

Then the figures disappeared.

The sea of ​​clouds has dispersed.

Chen Ping'an suddenly opened his eyes, his head covered in sweat.

He lay on the bed, his chest heaving violently, his heart pounding as if it would jump out of his throat. His pillow was soaked, he couldn't tell if it was from sweat or something else.

He sat up and sat in the darkness for a long time.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, casting a pale, stark white glow on the ground. In the distance, torches flickered atop the city walls, and the footsteps and voices of patrolling swordsmen could be heard.

Chen Pingan wiped the sweat from his face, took a few deep breaths, and calmed himself down.

Li Yufu.

He silently repeated the name in his mind.

Who was that figure? Why did it appear in my dream? Why did seeing that person make me feel so sad?

He didn't understand.

He got out of bed, poured himself a glass of iced tea, and drank it all in one gulp. The cool tea went down his throat and finally calmed the burning sensation a little.

He walked to the window and opened it. The night wind blew in, carrying the earthy smell of the wasteland outside the city.

The moon over the Great Wall of Swords hung in the sky, round and large, its white light chilling. Looking at the moon, he suddenly recalled the look in Ye Yun's eyes when she spoke of "Li Yufu."

Ye Yun's eyes were usually very calm, as calm as plain water, revealing nothing. But tonight, when "Li Yufu" was mentioned, his eyes changed. It was only for a moment, but Chen Ping'an saw it—it was pain. Like being pricked by a needle, not deep, but painful.

What exactly is the relationship between Boss Ye and this "Li Yufu"?

Chen Ping'an sat by the window all night.

The moon moved from east to west, and some of the torches on the city wall went out and then came back on. In the distance, the howls of monsters could be heard, but they were carried away by the wind.

He kept thinking about those three words, about the figure in his dream, and about Ye Yun's eyes.

As dawn approached, he finally had a vague idea—this "Li Yufu" might be related to him.

It's not the kind of connection where you "know someone," it's something deeper. It's like two threads that were originally intertwined, but were later cut. However, the break is still there, and you can feel it as soon as you get close.

He didn't know where the thought came from, but it had taken root in his mind and he couldn't get rid of it.

After daybreak, Chen Ping'an went to the tavern.

Ye Yun was opening the door, removing the door panels one by one and stacking them beside it. Seeing Chen Ping'an, he didn't stop working: "So early?"

"I can't sleep." Chen Ping'an walked in and sat down at the counter.

After removing the door panel, Ye Yun wiped his hands and went behind the counter to start wiping the dishes. This was his habit; the first thing he did every day after opening the door was to wipe the dishes, even if they were already very clean.

Chen Ping'an watched him wipe the same bowl three or four times and couldn't help but say, "Boss Ye, that Li Yufu you mentioned last night—"

"Let's not talk about this today," Ye Yun interrupted him, her voice soft but firm.

Chen Ping'an opened his mouth, but swallowed the words that were about to come out.

After wiping the bowl, Ye Yun took a pot of "Forget-Me-Not" from the shelf, poured a bowl of it, and pushed it to Chen Ping'an.

Chen Pingan picked it up and took a sip. Sweet, spicy, bitter—just like before.

"Boss Ye," he put down his bowl, "do you believe in fate?"

Ye Yun paused for a moment while pouring wine.

"I don't believe it," he said.

Why?

Ye Yun put down the wine pot, leaned against the counter, and thought for a moment.

"Because once you believe, you don't have to do anything," he said. "Just wait. Wait for fate to arrange things for you, wait for God to choose for you. But in my life, nothing has come to me by waiting."

Chen Ping'an remained silent for a while.

"Then what do you believe in?"

Ye Yun looked at him with a calm but deep gaze, as if she could see through Chen Ping'an and was looking at something else entirely.

"Believe in yourself," he said.

Chen Ping'an held the bowl but didn't drink.

He thought about last night's dream, about that figure, about those words he couldn't quite hear.

"Boss Ye," he said, "what if one day you find out you're not yourself? What would you do?"

Ye Yun paused for a moment.

He stared at Chen Ping'an for a long time.

Chen Ping'an felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, so he lowered his head and took a sip of wine.

"Did you have a dream last night?" Ye Yun asked.

Chen Ping'an nodded.

Ye Yun didn't ask what he had dreamed about. He took out a pot of "Longing" tea from under the counter, poured a small cup, and slowly drank it himself.

The tavern fell silent.

Outside, people were shouting, running, and sword cultivators were walking through the street, their armor clattering. But these sounds seemed to be muffled, as if they were coming through a barrier.

Ye Yun finished the cup of "Longing" and put it down.

"Peace," he said, "there are some things I can't tell you now. But you can remember one thing—"

Chen Ping'an looked up at him.

"Who you are isn't determined by others, nor by your past life," Ye Yun said. "It's determined by yourself."

Chen Ping'an was stunned.

Ye Yun didn't say anything more, picked up the rag, and continued wiping the counter that had already been wiped several times.

Chen Ping'an sat there, holding a wine bowl, the wine in the bowl had already gone cold.

He thought about Ye Yun's words, the figure in his dream, and the three words "Li Yufu".

The thread in my heart seems to have tightened a little more.

Chen Ping'an left in the evening. Before leaving, he finished the wine in his bowl, put the bowl back on the counter, said "Come again tonight," and pushed open the door to go out.

Ye Yun stood behind the counter, watching the door close.

He took something out of his pocket—a jade pendant. The pendant was small, round, with a hole in the center. The jade was warm and smooth, and the character "Li" was engraved on it.

He had taken this jade pendant from Li Yufu a long time ago. On the day Li Yufu died, he left this jade pendant behind, and kept it for who knows how many years.

"Li Yufu," Ye Yun said softly, "Chen Ping'an...you are one person, yet not one person."

He held the jade pendant tightly in his hand.

"This cause and effect must eventually come to an end."

Outside the window, the sun had set. The horizon above the Great Wall of Swords was ablaze with a dark red, as if someone had splashed blood onto it.

Ye Yun put the jade pendant back into his pocket and turned to go to the backyard to brew wine.

The glutinous rice in the wine vat was already steaming, rising with heat. He sprinkled in the yeast and stirred it with his hand. His movements were slow and meticulous, as if he were performing a very solemn task.

He recalled many years ago when Li Yufu first learned winemaking from him, scattering the yeast everywhere and being scolded by him. The boy lowered his head and didn't say a word, but came back the next day, this time scattering it very evenly.

Later, Li Yufu brewed the first jar of wine, brought it to him, and said, "Master, please try it."

He took a sip; it was very bland, with almost no flavor, but he nodded: "It's alright."

The teenager laughed.

That was the first time he saw Li Yufu smile.

Ye Yun sealed the wine jar, pasted a red paper on the mouth of the jar, and wrote the two characters "reincarnation".

He straightened up and looked at the rows of wine vats.

Some wines can be drunk immediately after brewing. Some wines, you have to wait.

He didn't know how long he would have to wait.

But he can wait.