After settling into Yuehua Villa, Leng Jing found himself with little to do. For half a month, aside from the occasional audience and chat with the Villa Lord, there were no other affairs to attend to. Consequently, he spent the majority of his time sleeping in.
Beyond sleeping until the sun was high in the sky every morning, he would move a rattan chair into the courtyard after lunch to doze in the sunlight—turning over, lying flat, or sprawling on his stomach, tossing and turning in his slumber.
Meanwhile, Leng Qingqing busied himself with a variety of endearing activities: researching noodle-cooking techniques, mingling with the maidservants, and developing an obsession with tailoring. He even organized a "Tailoring Exchange Circle" with a few lively maids, specifically to study how to make beautiful clothes for Leng Jing. However, the often-muddled Leng Qingqing frequently ended up cutting perfectly good fabric into rags. In the end, Leng Jing was forced to hide his presentable outfits, wandering around his own courtyard in patch-covered clothes fashioned by his father.
Occasionally, they would set up a stove in the yard to fry small fish and sample them together, living a life of utter leisure.
Soon, the Mid-Autumn Festival approached. Hua Yuecai prepared a banquet at the villa and summoned Leng Jing to attend.
Leng Jing retrieved his hidden clothes and changed into them. After instructing Leng Qingqing to sleep soundly in his room, he headed out for the night banquet. Fearing that someone might discover Leng Qingqing’s secret as a snake spirit, he specifically placed a sleep-inducing barrier around the courtyard before departing with peace of mind.
Hua Yuecai’s night banquet was held at the Water Moon Court, a place surrounded by water on all sides with a vast platform situated in the center—a perfect location for a gathering.
Leng Jing’s seat was right beside Hua Yuecai, a clear sign of the importance placed upon him. Having defeated Han Xinglu in a single move, his martial cultivation could be considered peerless in the world of martial arts. It was no wonder he received such treatment, though the guests seated below were consumed by envy.
As the moon began to rise, the grandly dressed Hua Yuecai made his graceful entrance. He was naturally peerless in beauty, and now, adorned in magnificent robes, he was breathtakingly radiant. His every glance and gesture possessed a charm that could move even a man's heart. He took his seat elegantly and raised his wine cup, signaling the formal start of the grand banquet.
The "Ugly Little Snake" did not enjoy drinking. After only a few cups, he began to cough. Seeing that Leng Jing could not hold his liquor, Hua Yuecai did not press him further, choosing instead to drink with the others. After three rounds of wine, Hua Yuecai began to make a declaration. The gist was that Yuehua Villa and Cold Star Villa were now like fire and water; their conflict was irreconcilable, leaving only a final negotiation as an option. Tomorrow, he would lead his inner circle north to the Snow Mountain to settle scores with Cold Star Villa once and for all.
Having finished, he looked at Leng Jing with trust. Clearly, Leng Jing was his greatest asset and trump card for this journey.
Just as Hua Yuecai finished speaking, the bell-like laughter of a young girl rang out from the roof. She laughed, "Hahaha! Hua Yuecai, you 'fake woman,' you think you can contend with my Cold Star Sect? You truly overestimate yourself!" It was a young girl sitting on the eaves, her feet swinging back and forth.
The crowd below immediately broke into an uproar. Someone had actually managed to breach the villa’s defenses so easily and humiliate the Villa Lord in public! Several people began rubbing their palms, ready to leap up and capture her.
Hua Yuecai calmly signaled everyone to stop. He knew this girl was known as the Silver Sable Fairy; she was an expert in poisons, and the spiritual sable she raised was highly intelligent with incredibly toxic fangs. She was not someone to be trifled with.
Sure enough, a cute white sable leaped onto the girl’s shoulder. Its eyes were sharp and spirited, appearing almost human.
"Villa Lord, how about meeting my little sable?" The girl giggled, and the white sable shot down, lunging straight for Hua Yuecai. The guards beside him raised their blades to strike, but the sable nimbly dodged them. It was as if the creature could see through their martial arts patterns; they couldn't even graze it.
Just as the white sable was about to bite Hua Yuecai, only a few paces away, it suddenly came to a dead halt right beside Leng Jing’s seat. Its tiny, bright black-bean eyes stared in confusion at the calm Leng Jing. Its two small front paws left the ground as it stood upright like a human, and it began to tremble violently. It looked utterly ridiculous and comical.
Leng Jing, acting as if none of this concerned him, used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of abalone and placed it in his mouth, eating with refined grace. His gaze slowly drifted toward the white sable. The creature began to shake even harder.
"Hey." Leng Jing opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the white sable suddenly let out a shrill "skree!" and collapsed straight onto the ground. A small puddle of liquid slowly spread beneath it; it had actually fainted from sheer terror.
"Ah! My sable! What happened to you?!" The girl jumped down, nearly crying as she rushed to the sable's side. Then, exploding with rage, she drew a dagger and pointed it at Leng Jing. "You wretch! What did you do to my sable?!"
"Scram." Leng Jing tapped the table. Somehow, a single peanut kernel flew out. The peanut didn't move very fast, but the girl, wary of a trick, blocked it with her dagger. The peanut struck the blade.
But in the next instant, the girl’s body was suddenly sent flying. She soared back a good thirty or forty feet, plunging headfirst into the lotus pond. Though it seemed inconceivable, she had indeed been knocked back by a single peanut thrown by Leng Jing.
In the end, the girl was captured alive, while the white sable continued to play dead. Hua Yuecai’s appreciation for Leng Jing grew even deeper, and he bestowed many rewards upon him. However, as time was pressing, they were to set out for the Snow Mountain the following afternoon.
Leng Jing’s heart sank slightly. He had never been apart from his father since birth. On one hand, he yearned for a solo adventure; on the other, he worried about Leng Qingqing’s daily life. The Snow Mountain was thousands of miles away—how was he supposed to tell Leng Qingqing?
"Xiao Jing is going on a long trip?" Leng Qingqing was somewhat surprised.
Leng Jing nodded.
"Then I’ll pack your things." Leng Qingqing was quite composed. As he packed the luggage, he nagged, "Work hard while you're out! Remember that honesty is paramount. Don't argue with others, and think twice before you act..."
"You won't suddenly turn into a snake, will you?" Leng Jing interrupted him.
"How is that possible? Your daddy has hundreds of years of cultivation; I can control myself!" Leng Qingqing patted his son’s head.
"Nonsense, every night you... forget it." Leng Jing took a deep breath, pressed his hands onto Leng Qingqing’s shoulders, and said quite seriously, "I’m heading out to roam the world, Father."
Leng Qingqing’s eyes sparkled as he nodded vigorously. "Son, remember to bring back local specialties and good wine for your daddy!"
Thus, Leng Jing imitated a mortal by cupping his fists toward his father and departed dashingly. Leng Qingqing watched with a smile as tears fell; his son had grown up and was finally leaving his side. Oh, the emotions of a father... He leaned against the doorframe, watching his son’s receding figure, his heart unable to settle for a long time. *Xiao Jing, have a safe journey,* he prayed silently in his heart.
Three hours later.
Leng Jing sneakily climbed back in through the window. Leng Qingqing was pining by the bed, and seeing Leng Jing return, he was stunned. "Xiao Jing, did you forget something?"
"No. I came to see you." As Leng Jing spoke, he grabbed a quilt and tied it into a bundle on his back.
"Haven't you set out yet? Don't keep them waiting." Leng Qingqing said.
"What do you mean? We've already traveled over a hundred miles. They're staying at an inn right now, but the quilts there are filthy," Leng Jing explained.
"......Xiao Jing, oh my." Leng Qingqing was speechless.
He finally remembered. For a Dragon-model Ferrari, a journey of a thousand miles was like a hundred-pace stroll after dinner.
The conclusion was: the baby dragon still couldn't leave his daddy.
In the blink of an eye, three months had passed since Leng Jing began his thousand-mile journey with Hua Yuecai. During these three months, they experienced countless life-and-death battles, pursuits, and traps. Their journey was truly epic and soul-stirring, destined to be known in history as the *Heroic Legend of the Thousand-Mile Trek to the Snow Mountain*.
The name of "Young Noble White Rainbow" began to ring out across the martial world; a new legend was rising.
At the same time—Leng Jing sent many travel specialties back to Leng Qingqing. Sometimes, in the midst of the tense journey, he would find time to pop back home, bringing his dirty laundry to be washed or shuttling snacks back and forth.
In front of Hua Yuecai and the others, however, Young Noble White Rainbow was a top-tier master who maintained an elegant and poised demeanor at all times. He always made the most accurate judgments at the most appropriate moments, fully displaying the charisma of a leader. After several months, Leng Jing had become the team's primary pillar, gradually replacing the feminine Hua Yuecai as the practical leader of the group.
In the fourth month, the group finally reached the Great Snow Mountain where Cold Star Villa was located. The mountain was a realm of endless wind and snow, bone-chillingly cold, with white snow reaching up to their knees.
They began their trek through this perilous land. Having come this far, there was absolutely no turning back!
Leng Jing, wearing a fur coat, walked at the very front while the others followed closely behind. Their goal was the Cold Star Valley deep within the mountains—a dangerous place that struck fear into the hearts of all martial artists!
However, the howling wind and snow showed no signs of weakening. They struggled forward, bodies hunched, surrounded by a white void where nothing could be seen. If they weren't hardened men who had survived life-and-death trials, continuing through such a fierce blizzard would have likely resulted in them freezing to death or suffering a mental breakdown.
This was a place that tested the limits of humanity.
After walking for an entire day in the boundless snow, the frail Hua Yuecai could no longer hold on. Just as he was about to collapse, Leng Jing caught him, hoisted him onto his back, and continued to forge ahead tenaciously.
But the good times didn't last. Soon, another person collapsed, then a third, a fourth...
In the end, the only person still standing was Leng Jing!
And so!
Leng Jing tore open the tents in their packs and fashioned them into a long cloth bag. He then carried Hua Yuecai on his back and secured the others one by one into the bag, dragging the entire group forward.
But after walking for several hours, even Leng Jing lost his sense of direction. He set Hua Yuecai down and pulled the "playing dead" white sable from his waist—the spiritual creature brought by the female assassin. To find the way through the Snow Mountain, Hua Yuecai had specifically brought the sable along, thinking they could rely on it to find a path. But the creature did nothing but eat or play dead. Eventually, Leng Jing had just kept it in his robes to use as a hand warmer.
"Hey." Leng Jing shook the playing-dead sable. But the sable remained motionless.
"Believe it or not, I'll squeeze you to death," Leng Jing said.
The sable finally opened its eyes. Its mouth trembled for a long time before it finally made a sound—after all, it was a spiritual sable with a hundred years of cultivation; communicating with other monsters was no problem.
"True Dragon, spare my life! True Dragon, spare my life!" the sable squeaked and shrieked.
"Lead the way, quickly." Leng Jing dropped it onto the ground.
"True Dragon, you don't understand. This mountain range spans eight hundred miles, and the paths are winding. People often get lost here until they die..." The sable began to chatter and squeak incessantly.
"Tell me the way out." Leng Jing stepped on its tail.
The sable trembled in fear and hurriedly said, "Yes, yes! True Dragon, the way out is actually..."
It babbled a great deal, but Leng Jing didn't understand a word of it.
Leng Jing fell silent. Sensing something was wrong, the sable squeezed out a very comical, forced smile.
Suddenly, it felt a brilliant white light erupt before its eyes. In an instant, a majestic white dragon rose proudly from above its head. Seeing such a magnificent sight from such a close distance—especially when the white dragon was a hundred times its size—the sable froze again. A stream of warm liquid slowly flowed from between its hind legs.
The white dragon shot straight into the sky and began to race through the air.
A dragon's roar shook the heavens, the powerful sound vibrating through the peaks of the Snow Mountain. Before long, the thick clouds that had lingered for years were dispersed by the gale generated by the white dragon. The wind and snow gradually subsided, and finally, the storm stopped and the sky cleared!
As the sunlight began to pour down, the frozen men began to wake. Hua Yuecai was the first to open his eyes. What met his gaze was a clear sky and a bright sun over a landscape of white snow—where was there any sign of the blizzard?
While everyone was lost in shock and doubt, a majestic, winding figure flashed across the horizon. Hua Yuecai stared, dumbfounded. That was a dragon!
*The Dragon God must have protected us,* Hua Yuecai thought, gazing blankly at the clear sky.
***
