Chapter 1 Snowy Alley

The wind and snow howled in the alley.

The lights in the distance were hidden in the vast expanse of white, leaving only a faint red glow.

In the wind and snow, a low, faint cough could be heard.

"Miss, put on some more clothes."

A deep voice sounded.

The man, holding an umbrella to shield from the snow, took off his gray suit, revealing a white shirt stretched taut by his muscles. He had a mature face that combined elegance and depth, and even with a ponytail, he didn't appear the least bit effeminate.

This was a man who would be considered charming just from looking at his back.

If you were to meet this man's gaze…

Many people… would get lost in those deep eyes. "Uncle Gao..."

The girl, who looked only fifteen years old, smiled gently. "I'm not cold."

The wind and snow were kept outside the umbrella.

An invisible warmth emanated from "Uncle Gao," swirling gently around the two of them, ensuring that even without the umbrella, the snow wouldn't touch the girl.

Even as she said this, the girl took the suit from "Uncle Gao" and draped it over her shoulders. She was dressed rather thinly, wearing only a light, classic black ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) beneath the coat.

The girl's face was as exquisite as a porcelain doll. She looked like an "ancient person" who had stepped out of the past, hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Two strands of hair hung down her face, swaying gently in the wind. Perhaps due to malnutrition, her hair was slightly green.

At that moment, two snowflakes clung to the corner of her lips, making her skin appear even whiter than the snow. An incredible thing happened—after putting on the coat.

The girl stopped coughing… Her pale, weak face also became rosy, with a hint of color. She felt the wisps of warmth swirling around her, and a warm current flowed through her heart. But she sighed softly and said helplessly, "Uncle Gao… I'm really not cold. You don't have to use Karma Fire to dispel the chill."

The umbrella-holding Uncle Gao just smiled softly and didn't answer.

The two arrived at the entrance of a small courtyard in the alley.

As Uncle Gao was about to knock on the door…"Uncle Gao…" The girl gently tugged at his sleeve, smiling gently. "Judging by the time, they're almost finished eating… Let's not go in. Let's wait here for a while."

Uncle Gao was stunned. Who could refuse such a girl's request?

He could only sigh, carefully adjusting the suit on her shoulders, and then silently conjured a wisp of spiritual energy. A man's whisper suddenly sounded in Gong Zi's ear.

At the same time, Mu Nan, who was sitting in front of the hot pot, was holding a piece of beef, ready to enjoy it, when his expression suddenly changed.

They both heard the voice.

The voice said, "Since you're done eating, then come out… Don't make my young lady wait outside too long."

The two of them simultaneously thought of a "terrifying" person.

"Why is he here too?"

Gong Zi's heart skipped a beat, and he said in a low voice, "And without realizing it, he's already outside the door… We didn't notice at all…"

Just then.

Gu Shen, who was sitting at the table, looked towards the window. Through the wooden door of the courtyard, across the snowy yard, he said softly, "Gentlemen, there seems to be some bad news… There's an extraordinary guest outside the door."

Gong Zi and Mu Nan exchanged glances, seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

What surprised them even more than the sudden "visitor" outside the door was Gu Shen's keen perception.

Their spiritual realms were more than one level stronger than Gu Shen's.

But Gu Shen had noticed something they hadn't felt at all?

Seeing Gu Shen gently tapping the table, his expression dark and uncertain, in his fiery vision, there was a powerful being standing outside the door whose transcendent source quality was extremely condensed. The condensation of source quality was incomparable, comparable only to titled beings such as "Mountain Lord" and Gu Nanfeng.

Outside the door… a titled powerhouse had come. And Chu Ling's spiritual link hadn't warned him of anything unusual, which meant the Deep Sea hadn't detected anything… This titled powerhouse had special means to shield the Deep Sea's senses.

"Could they be here for me?" Gu Shen had a vague ominous premonition.

Gong Zi and Mu Nan both gave him sympathetic looks.

The answer was obvious.

"Be careful what you say when you go out. The person standing outside the door is one of the top figures in Nagano these days…" Gong Zi kindly reminded him, but stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

He sighed softly, having obviously heard some other warning. "Little Gu… please."

Outside the wind and snow, the courtyard door opened. Because the Deep Sea's surveillance image had been blocked by an unknown force… Gu Shen had no idea what he would see outside the door.

Taking a deep breath, accompanied by Gong Zi and Mu Nan, Gu Shen hesitantly pushed open the door. The scene that met his eyes surprised him.

The person who had come to find him wasn't one of Nagano's few powerful titled figures.

It was a delicate classical ruqun-clad girl, wearing a man's suit jacket that was far too large for her.

The man who had dominated his entire field of vision with his blazing fire sense now stood quietly like a shadow, merely acting as the girl's umbrella-holding tool. He didn't speak, and after actually meeting him, he didn't exude the terrifying pressure Gu Shen had imagined. Gu Shen breathed a sigh of relief.

Contrary to his expectations of "ill intentions," the visitor seemed quite friendly.

The silence after opening the door didn't last long. After only three seconds, Gong Zi spoke first.

He praised sincerely, "Little Qing Sui, you've become even more beautiful in just a few days."

Qing Sui…

It was easy to guess the girl's origins. The only one of the Five Families who hadn't shown their face yet, and who Gong Zi and Mu Nan both treated with such respect, was the Li Family.

"Brother Gong is too kind."

Li Qing Sui smiled. Her face was indeed beautiful, but too pale, lacking a bit of color, making her look rather sickly.

"You're too polite… Brother Gong is too formal. Just call me Old Gong."

Gong Zi smiled happily, somewhat carried away, but was met with a stern glare from the umbrella-holding Uncle Gao. He quickly straightened his expression and swallowed the second half of his sentence: "Cough, just kidding, just kidding."

Li Qing Sui simply greeted them and then stopped looking at them, ignoring the not-so-funny joke.

Standing under the umbrella, the girl looked at Gu Shen across the door.

She stared intently at Gu Shen, and also stared intently at… the wisp of fire between Gu Shen's eyebrows.

The courtyard fell silent again.

"So beautiful…"

The girl stared at the flame, somewhat lost in thought, murmuring as if in a dream.

Her murmuring made Gong Zi and Mu Nan's expressions turn strange…

Something's up!

After a long while.

"My name is Li, Li Qing Sui."

Li Qing Sui smiled and bowed, a very ancient etiquette, just like the dress she was wearing, originating from the family culture of the elaborate and refined rites of hundreds of years ago.

Although Gu Shen didn't understand it, he simply imitated it and returned the greeting: "Gu Shen."

After thinking it over, Qing Sui - Gu Shen decided to use the word "girl." He forced himself to ask, "You're not here to invite me to dinner too, are you?"

Li Qing Sui withdrew her gaze from the flame and smiled gently:

"Are you going to refuse?"

Gu Shen hesitated.

He really wanted to refuse.

But at that moment, the silent umbrella-holding man suddenly turned his gaze towards him… One moment he was as quiet as a shadow, the next he was like a mountain pressing down.

"I… I've already had dinner," Gu Shen said with difficulty, enduring the pressure.

"You can have a midnight snack." Li Qing Sui smiled innocently. "There's also Bai Lu outside the alley… Brother Gu Shen, you can think about it. Do you want to leave with me now, or leave with her later?"