Chapter 81: When the Snow Melts

The heavy snow fell for five full days, and the depth of the accumulated snow reached a full foot.

During these five days, Feng Zi and the others could only practice their techniques in front of the small cabin and take turns hunting—

That said, because the heavy snow had sealed the mountains, most of the wild beasts in the mountains were hiding in their nests; Lu Zhiruo had never gone hunting, and Qing Lin did not have much patience...

For these past few days, the main force for hunting was still Feng Zi.

It was not until the late night of the fifth day that the heavy snow finally stopped gradually.

Taking advantage of the fact that the accumulated snow had not yet frozen into ice, the three of them set off again, walking with deep and shallow steps.

"Speaking of which, I originally thought that since Zhiruo is a young lady of the Lu Family, she would be taking a carriage just like Brother Hanwen; I didn't expect that she would actually be traveling on foot with us."

Feng Zi crossed a stream that had already frozen over and made a casual remark.

After spending these few days together from dawn till dusk, the three of them were no longer as reserved as they had been at the beginning.

"I already told you that I came out alone, and I am not representing the family like my elder brother, so how could I possibly be taking a carriage?"

Qing Lin straightened her bamboo hat and replied helplessly.

Of course, this was a lie:

As the true head steward of the Lu Family, when she traveled, how could County Magistrate Lu not arrange a carriage and guards for her?

It was precisely because she had accurately tracked Feng Zi's whereabouts in Yuanping County that Lu Zhiruo had sent the guards and the carriage back to their hometown.

But how could Lu Zhiruo say such things out loud?

She could not very well tell the truth, saying that she had deliberately made these arrangements just because she was interested in Feng Zi and wanted to travel with him, could she?

If she really said that, how would Feng Zi view her?

Of course, Feng Zi, who was walking in front, naturally did not understand the complex psychological activities within Lu Zhiruo.

But he keenly captured another key piece of information: "You mean that Brother Hanwen's trip is not simply to attend the Martial School? He is also representing the Lu Family as a clan?"

Feng Zi had originally thought that Lu Hanwen and Li Shou were making this trip just to attend the Martial School and strive for the qualification of a 'Provincial Graduate', so they could return home and inherit family resources as a matter of course.

But now it seemed that things were far from as simple as they appeared on the surface.

Having traveled through Tianyuan Jie for many years, although Feng Zi's understanding was quite superficial, he still had a rough grasp of this world:

This world named "Tianyuan" was essentially a continent, its vastness far exceeding imagination; one could almost consider its borders to be "endless"!

And this continent was "artificially" divided into the Nine Provinces, with each province spanning tens of thousands of miles.

As for the "Xia Zhou" where Feng Zi lived, it was ruled by the Great Xia Dynasty.

Of course, whether it was the entire Xia Zhou or the high and mighty Great Xia Dynasty court, they were all too far away—

For a Martial Artist like Feng Zi, he might never leave the Zhenbei Dao where he was located in his entire life.

Therefore, the official "Imperial Examination" for Martial Artists in the Great Xia Dynasty stopped at the administrative level of the "Dao":

Anyone who won a top-three ranking in the martial competitions at the county or city level would be granted the qualification of "Cultivated Talent" and obtain the eligibility to serve as a clerk in the government;

And those Cultivated Talent who won the top ten in the martial schools at the Jun level would be granted the qualification of "Provincial Graduate" and obtain the eligibility to fill "official vacancies" in local governments;

As for those Provincial Graduate who could win the top ten in the martial examinations at the Dao level—that is, in the capital of the vassal king—they would have the qualification of "Presented Scholar" and could hold office in the vassal capital!

Therefore, Feng Zi had originally thought that Lu Hanwen and Li Shou were participating in the Martial School for the sake of the "Provincial Graduate" qualification.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhiruo smiled and said, "Yes, but it is definitely not just for the Martial School that we have come south."

Since the other party had said so, Feng Zi naturally became interested—this was a rare opportunity to deeply understand this world, so how could he easily let it pass: "I would like to hear the details."

"You have also seen that Guang Heng; you should know his attitude of holding Wutai County and the three great noble families of Wutai in high esteem, right?"

Lu Zhiruo casually avoided a hanging branch and said offhandedly: "In fact, in the entire Baishan Jun, the reputation of Wutai County is not the least bit weaker than Baishan City.

"You wouldn't think that the Lu, Li, and Cui families could achieve this status just by relying on a few Martial Masters, would you?"

Feng Zi already had this doubt in his heart, so he answered accordingly: "From a rational perspective, it is unlikely."

The two's conversation grew deeper and deeper; Qing Lin could not get a word in, so she could only listen silently beside Feng Zi:

Feng Zi had said that when encountering things one does not understand, one must listen more and speak less; what he said must be right.

Regarding Feng Zi's answer, Lu Zhiruo smiled: "Of course it's impossible—the three great families of Wutai County only serve as the 'facade' of the main family; their true roots are spread throughout Zhenbei Dao.

"Except for the heirs of the family head's lineage, the promising descendants in the family, after becoming Martial Masters, will leave their hometowns after participating in that year's martial competition.

"They will seek further opportunities and will also gradually spread the family's influence.

"Therefore, in every major city in Baishan Jun, you will find side branches of the Lu, Li, and Cui surnames; those are our 'tentacles'.

"When those powerful elders grow old, they will spontaneously return to their roots and go back to their hometown in Wutai County."

In just a few words, she had completely depicted the image of a noble family that had already entered a virtuous cycle.

Hearing Lu Zhiruo's description, which was not without pride, Feng Zi suddenly realized: "So that's how it is...

"In other words, for Brother Hanwen, participating in the Martial School is certainly the most important thing, but the fundamental purpose of this trip is to connect with the family's forces."

"To be precise, it is to formally activate the forces of these side branches," Lu Zhiruo corrected.

"In peaceful times, we would never easily contact the side branches, but rather let them develop on their own; this is a rule set by the first generation.

"But the current world is becoming increasingly dark and obscure, so the trump cards that should be used ought to be brought into play."

Feng Zi nodded slightly and muttered: "So that's it, I've learned something new..."

Just like that, the three of them chatted while traveling, and time passed quickly.

Unknowingly, two days had passed since the three of them resumed their journey.

The sun climbed higher and higher, and Qing Lin, who was running through the forest, suddenly called out in a low voice: "Stop!"

Hearing this, Feng Zi stopped without hesitation and incidentally pulled back Lu Zhiruo, who had almost been unable to stop in time.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Lu Zhiruo looked at Feng Zi blankly, then turned to look at Qing Lin:

She was only a Martial Master, and her sensory ability was far inferior to Feng Zi and Qing Lin, so naturally, she had not sensed anything.

At this moment, Feng Zi had already reacted, subconsciously closing his eyes and doing his best to sense his surroundings.

A moment later, he opened his eyes again and subconsciously furrowed his brows: "Are there several Martial Artists gathered together?"

The reason Feng Zi said this was because his range of perception was only one mile in radius.

And at the edge of his perception, more than ten Martial Artists with vigorous Qi and Blood were gathered together.

But the next moment, the words that Qing Lin blurted out made the hearts of both Feng Zi and Lu Zhiruo skip a beat:

"It's not just a few people, it's a group of people, many, many people gathered together!"