Master of Nine Stars

A week passed in the blink of an eye. On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei, led by Yang Chunxi, formed a fifty-person team with a group of civilians returning home from Songjiang Soul City and set off for Songbai Town.

In a normal society, there would be regularly scheduled trains, but here in the snow-covered Snow Realm, there were regularly scheduled ”carriages” instead.

Although it was located south of the wall, the wilderness was still fraught with danger. Therefore, anyone wishing to travel from Songjiang Soul City to Songbai Town still required an escort of Soul Martial Artists.

Rong Taotao controlled his Snow Night Shock, riding alongside Gao Lingwei. He glanced back at the line of carriages from time to time, a strange feeling coming over him. He chuckled and said, ”Doesn’t this feel like we’re ancient guards? The soldiers ride on horseback while the civil officials sit in their carriages?”

Gao Lingwei hummed softly in agreement, but she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

On Gao Lingwei’s shoulder, her Snowball Cat, a gifted mimic, copied its owner. It too closed its large, azure eyes, tilted its head back, and took a deep breath.

Following suit, the Cloud Dog on Rong Taotao’s head also tilted its head back and inhaled...

The weather today was exceptionally good, a rare treat. Even the Cloud Dog was willing to stay outside.

The wind was light, and the midday winter sun was warm, making it perfect for travel.

She said in a low voice, ”I’ve spent three New Year’s Eves in Songbai Town, so I know a huge number of people rush back for the holiday every year, but this is my first time on an escort mission. I never realized it feels like the whole of Songjiang Soul City is emptying out.”

Starting from the twenty-ninth, one ”carriage” after another had departed, carrying wave after wave of civilians heading to Songbai Town for their holiday reunions.

Rong Taotao nodded to himself. Thinking of the grand celebration Gao Lingwei had described, he felt it was a shame that only the two of them had come from their Soul Class.

Si Huan Nian was truly the god of the Martial Arts Arena, wielding an authority unimaginable to ordinary people.

But while enjoying these privileges, Si Huan Nian was also firmly ”pinned down” at the Martial Arts Hall. Many hardworking university students hadn’t returned home for the holidays, and Si Huan Nian still had to provide them with the benefit of accelerated training. This, in turn, led to the other youths of the Soul Class staying behind at the Martial Arts Arena.

’Still, with them celebrating the holiday together, the atmosphere should be pretty good too.’

As the group continued south, they could feel it getting progressively warmer.

Although the journey was only fifty kilometers long, the temperature rose in noticeable increments. By the time they reached Songbai Town, Rong Taotao had a feeling it was at least three or four degrees warmer than Songjiang Soul City!

”OH!!!”

”Woohoo! We’re home!”

A little over two hours later, cheers erupted from the group.

Rong Taotao, who had been silently practicing his Soul Techniques on horseback, couldn’t help but turn his head at the sound of the excited cheers. He saw people poking their heads out of the carriage doors and windows, shouting joyfully at a checkpoint in the distance.

Rong Taotao turned his head forward again, his gaze stretching into the distance as his ears filled with the sounds of their excited chatter...

”Uncle, come over to my place for dinner! Ha, I figure you’re just an old bachelor, so why don’t you stay with us for a few days? We can celebrate the holiday together, eh?”

”You little brat, are you making fun of your uncle? What do you mean, ’old bachelor’? I saved up a whole year’s wages. I came back this time to find you an aunt!”

”PFFT... AHEM...”

”HAHAHAHA!!”

Amid the roars of laughter, Rong Taotao couldn’t help but crack a smile. In the distance, right in the middle of the road, was a checkpoint—in fact, calling it a small military camp wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

The road was flanked by dense pines and cypresses. Frost and snow weighed down the branches of the evergreen trees, as if welcoming the travelers home.

”Tsk, tsk...” Rong Taotao clicked his tongue in wonder. During their fifty-kilometer journey, the trees in the wild had been everywhere, blanketing the mountains and plains.

But using the checkpoint as a dividing line, the view to the south was different. The pines and cypresses were incredibly dense, stretching on endlessly in lush abundance. Every branch, dusted with snow, contributed to a picture-perfect scene.

From the camp straddling the middle of the road, a few military officers stepped forward, holding up their hands to signal a stop.

The carriages passed through in an orderly fashion. Rong Taotao watched with curiosity; the procedure to enter the town seemed even more cumbersome than crossing a border, involving questioning, security checks, and document stamping...

Rong Taotao, however, got through smoothly with nothing more than his student ID card.

Yang Chunxi suddenly spoke up. ”We’re here. You two don’t need to stick with me. Go on into town and have a look around. I still need to help the academy’s instructors get these students settled.”

Many students from Pine Soul Soul Martial had come here for the New Year, drawn by the town’s reputation, and the academy had arranged dormitory lodging for them. It looked like Yang Chunxi had her work cut out for her.

”Huh?” Rong Taotao blinked, looking at Yang Chunxi.

”Go on, go have fun,” Yang Chunxi said with a smile from beside him. ”Just keep your phones on.”

”Yah!” With a soft cry, Gao Lingwei gently squeezed her horse’s sides and shot forward, her jet-black ponytail flying out behind her. She turned her head to glance back at Rong Taotao.

”Coming!” Rong Taotao hurriedly spurred his horse forward to catch up. As he did, he pulled his phone from his pocket and finally switched it from silent to ringer mode.

’Wow, what a relief!’

Rong Taotao never imagined that the moment he escaped from under Si Huan Nian’s shadow would feel so liberating!

’So, a phone can actually make a sound!’

’It’s so damn magical! Rong Taotao had almost forgotten his phone even had this feature!’

”Where are we going?” Rong Taotao shouted.

”WOOF WOOF!” From atop Rong Taotao’s head of natural curls, the Cloud Dog barked in agreement.