At dusk, Wen Chaoshen dragged a cart of firewood he had chopped during the day along the deserted, ft road out of the city. The cold wind howled, carrying with it a flurry of snow. On the road leading out of the city, he encountered another person also dragging a cart of firewood. The man was dressed in thick clothing, but even through the heavy winter attire, his thin frame was unmistakable.

  Due to long-term malnutrition, Wen Chaoshen's physical condition was somewhat poor compared to the average person. The thin man approaching him, whose face was obscured, appeared even more frail. His cart was filled with small branches and dry wood, not even half the amount on Wen Chaoshen's cart, yet he struggled to pull it.

  Wen Chaoshen had actually seen this man when he left the city yesterday and hadn't expected to run into him again today.

  As they passed each other, Wen Chaoshen noticed the snow accumuting on the man's shoulders and suddenly stopped, calling out to him.

  "Hey."

  The man trudged numbly through the snow, seemingly not hearing Wen Chaoshen. After a few more steps, Wen Chaoshen called out again, and the man finally realized, turning his head with a puzzled look.

  On the street, the two, buffeted by the swirling snow, resembled a pair of kindred spirits in hardship.

  Wen Chaoshen pointed to the firewood on his cart and said, "Do you need this?"

  The man stood still, watching Wen Chaoshen for a moment before putting down the rope of his cart and slowly walking over to him, asking, "How much?"

  Wen Chaoshen noticed the man's hands were covered in frostbitten cracks, yet judging by his face, he was a young man in his thirties. Feeling a bit moved, Wen Chaoshen said, "If you really need it, I can give you some for free."

  Lü Zhiming always had plenty of firewood, and he had told Wen Chaoshen that the firewood he chopped each day was more than enough. So, he would sell the excess, and some of the money became Wen Chaoshen's wages.

  The man showed no joy upon hearing that Wen Chaoshen would give him firewood for free. He thought for a moment, reached into his sleeve pocket, but after rummaging for a while, found nothing. Finally, he said to Wen Chaoshen, "A gentleman does not accept alms. There's a pce in the city that sells firewood, and I know the price. If you're willing, I'll buy the firewood from you at half the market price, and for the other half..."

  He thought carefully and then earnestly said, "I'll trade you with writing."

  Wen Chaoshen raised an eyebrow, "Writing?"

  "What kind of writing?"

  The thin man replied, "Written characters."

  "Interested?"

  Wen Chaoshen found himself amused by the man's words, but after a chuckle, he agreed.

  "Deal."

  The thin man nodded, looked around, and pointed to the South Gate of the county city in the distance, saying, "I didn't bring money today. Tomorrow evening, when the sun sets, I'll bring money and writing there to meet you. How about it?"

  Wen Chaoshen helped him load some firewood.

  "Alright."

  The two transferred a third of the firewood from Wen Chaoshen's cart to the thin man's cart. Then, shaking off the snow on his body, Wen Chaoshen said to the thin man, "That's enough. You don't seem very strong. If you take more, you might not be able to carry it and freeze to death on the street. Your life might end up being bmed on me."

  The thin man kept his head down to avoid the snow blowing into his eyes. He secured the firewood on his cart with a rope and said, "If I freeze to death, it's my own bad luck."

  "My surname is Cheng, given name Feng. Tomorrow, you must come. I'll be waiting at the gate."

  Wen Chaoshen replied, "No problem. I'm Wen Chaoshen. Let's meet at the county gate tomorrow evening."

  The two parted ways, with Wen Chaoshen heading out of the county and Cheng Feng struggling to drag his heavy cart back home.

  Outside the abandoned temple, Wen Chaoshen immediately saw A Shui's shadow cast on the wall by the firelight. He dragged the cart back to the temple, unloaded the firewood, and brought some to the fire, where he saw A Shui cooking horse meat.

  Hearing footsteps, A Shui didn't look up, stirring the pot of horse meat with a stick, and said, "Didn't I tell you not to come back?"

  Wen Chaoshen sat by the fire, warming his frozen hands, and said, "If I said I was worried about your safety and came back to check on you, would you believe me?"

  A Shui snorted.

  "What a cliché excuse."

  She dled a bowl of not very tasty but warm horse meat soup and handed it to Wen Chaoshen, who held the bowl through his clothes, blowing on it and sipping it slowly.

  The soup was a bit gamey, but Wen Chaoshen even found it enjoyable as he drank it.

  "You have too much pride. If I were you, I'd definitely stay in that noble's firewood room and never come out."

  "Being looked down upon is better than losing your life."

  Wen Chaoshen raised his eyes slightly, meeting A Shui's gaze, his frost-covered eyebrows furrowing.

  "You know me too well."

  A Shui said, "We're eating, don't say such disgusting things."

  Wen Chaoshen put down the bowl and asked A Shui, "Did anyone come looking for you today?"

  A Shui shook her head, stretching zily, her voice tinged with weariness, "No one bothered me today, so I slept well."

  Wen Chaoshen thought for a moment and continued, "I've been pondering st night's events for a while. Didn't I tell you before that Chun Qiong and his people might be under pressure from the court?"

  "Do you think... the ones pressuring them could be the White Dragon Guards?"

  Prompted by Wen Chaoshen, A Shui's expression became subtle. She had been busy recovering from her injuries during the day and hadn't thought much about it.

  Wen Chaoshen picked up a piece of boiled horse meat from the bowl and chewed it slowly.

  "Kuhai County is really far from the Royal City. The pace's influence shouldn't be able to reach here so quickly. So even if something happens, Chun Qiong and his people should have some room to maneuver. But if it's the White Dragon Guards... things are different."

  "Though they work for the royal family of Qi Kingdom, they are a martial world force, with connections everywhere. They might have a presence in many pces."

  "Such a powerful martial world force backed by royal power can pose a direct threat in any corner of Qi Kingdom."

  "The only reason I can think of for Chun Qiong and his people to act foolishly is that what they're doing must not be known to the White Dragon Guards, or better yet, not alert them at all."

  "But from another perspective, whether it's Chun Qiong or the White Dragon Guards, they're both working for the big shots in the pace. If there's a conflict between them, does it mean that the Royal City of Qi Kingdom... is also in turmoil now?"

  Wen Chaoshen spoke calmly, and A Shui by the fire fell into deep thought, the flickering fmes in her eyes seemingly reflecting her inner shock.

  After a moment of silence, she looked at Wen Chaoshen as if he were a strange creature and asked, "Wen Chaoshen, what did you do before?"

  Wen Chaoshen was silent for a while, then pointed to his head and said, "I suffered a head injury and lost all my memories before I was eighteen. I only remember these past three years outside the county."

  "Don't ask me what I did before. I can't even remember who my parents are."

  "But I don't think I have any mysterious background. Otherwise, I'd either have been found by my family and become a noble, or I'd have been wiped out by family enemies."

  "Only the unluckiest person in the world wouldn't be remembered by anyone. What do you think?"

  kant202323