Chapter 170: Meeting Snow Luo Sha Again

Lu Fang softly hummed "When Will the Bright Moon Appear?"; though not a professional or trained musician, the melody's inherent beauty and simplicity made even his imperfect pitch deeply moving to all present.

Poetry is not merely something to be written.

He could hum the poems he wrote—and they sounded so pleasing.

When the hum ended.

The entire hall fell silent.

Yue You, standing behind Lu Fang, snapped out of his shock and shouted "Bravo!"—that single cry acted like a switch; the previously silent hall erupted into thunderous applause.

The applause continued without pause, as if it would burst through the heavens.

The Luo Sha King raised his arm at the perfect moment; when all fell quiet, he turned to Lu Fang with a look of delighted surprise and smiled: "Lord of the Literary Crown, you are truly rare in this world—spontaneously composing a ci that stands so far above all others."

"This ci will be carved into the sky of the palace, so every person in Luo Sha can see and remember it."

After that, everyone kept praising Lu Fang—the Luo Sha King praised him, then the Luo Sha Queen followed, and even Prince Yi, who had initially looked down on him, was humbled by the ci and came forward to apologize.

What was meant to be a welcoming banquet had clearly become Lu Fang's spotlight moment.

After the banquet ended.

On the way back to the outer palace.

Yue You smiled: "Earlier, when I saw that prince come to challenge you, I feared you wouldn't be able to handle it—but who knew your casual poem would stun everyone in Luo Sha? This will surely become a legendary tale."

Lu Fang chuckled: "Good thing I didn't bring shame to the Great Zhou."

Yue You nodded with a smile and said: "Lord of the Literary Crown, I just paid respects to the Great Zhou royal family members here who are cultivating. They declined to meet you, so you needn't make a special visit—just enjoy your time in Luo Sha with Envoy Shui Yao."

Lu Fang nodded with a smile; not meeting the Great Zhou royals was fine. Though they would never return to Great Zhou, their status remained unusual before becoming ghost cultivators.

If he had met them, he would have felt constrained.

Since they had refused on their own, he was glad to be free and easy.

"How many days are we required to stay in Luo Sha? If there's no fixed rule, I'd prefer to leave as soon as possible."

Lu Fang asked.

Yue You paused, then said: "There's no official rule on how long we must stay, but in past visits, we always remained about a month before returning to Great Zhou."

"A month? That's too long."

Lu Fang frowned slightly and murmured: "Let's try to leave early this time—ten to fifteen days. After all, I've written a Xiangxiang-level ci for the Heavenly Palace; leaving sooner shouldn't cause any issue."

Yue You nodded: "I'll follow Lord of the Literary Crown's orders."

…

The next day, at noon.

Shui Yao accompanied Lu Fang as they toured Luo Sha's most beautiful palace gardens and peaks; when mealtime came, they arrived before a palace.

"Where is this?"

Lu Fang asked, puzzled.

Elsewhere, Yue You and his subordinates could enter with him—but here, they were barred; it seemed only Lu Fang could go inside.

Shui Yao smiled sweetly: "Lord of the Literary Crown, you'll know once you go in."

Lu Fang nodded slightly and turned to Yue You, who was held back: "Wait here for me—I'll go in alone."

Then, under Shui Yao's guidance, Lu Fang walked toward the palace.

The palace walls were adorned with flowers of every color, as if built entirely from blossoms.

As he drew nearer, Lu Fang felt a chilling cold—behind the palace stood a small snow-capped mountain, and snow continued falling endlessly from its peak.

This marvel surprised him greatly.

"Is this snow mountain real?"

Lu Fang asked because he sensed extreme yin energy emanating from the mountain—there was a strong chance it was formed entirely from condensed extreme yin energy.

Shui Yao looked at the snow mountain and smiled: "This snow mountain is real, Lord of the Literary Crown. You've sensed its extreme yin energy—here, Luo Sha or ghost cultivators achieve double the results in cultivation."

"On this mountain is a well; its water holds extreme yin energy. I was born from that well as a spirit."

"Oh." Lu Fang raised an eyebrow slightly: "If I'm not mistaken, the person we're about to meet is Snow Princess, correct?"

Shui Yao smiled gently: "You guessed right, Lord of the Literary Crown. Snow Princess has prepared wine and dishes—please enter."

Lu Fang walked into the palace and saw a long, massive table placed in the center of the hall; there sat Snow Luo Sha, dressed in a black robe, occasionally glancing toward the entrance.

When she saw Lu Fang enter, she rose immediately to greet him.

"Lord of the Literary Crown, impressive! How little time has passed since we last met, and you've already reached Sixth Rank, Second Tier as a Confucian."

Snow Luo Sha playfully circled around Lu Fang.

They were friends; seeing her, Lu Fang felt no restraint. He glanced at her and smiled: "Snow Princess, you're teasing me—you've reached Sixth Rank too."

Snow slightly lifted her chin, proud: "Of course. If I were still Seventh Rank, Third Tier, wouldn't I be far behind you?"

As they talked, the two sat down at the table.

They sat casually, without formal seating order—like friends sharing a meal.

"Shui Yao, come sit beside me. There are no outsiders here—no need for strict etiquette. Lord of the Literary Crown doesn't care about such things."

Snow Luo Sha smiled at Shui Yao.

Their bond was close; they lived in the same palace, and calling them sisters wouldn't be an exaggeration. When no outsiders were present, they never followed rigid rules.

"That doesn't seem right."

Shui Yao hesitated, glancing at Lu Fang. She was, after all, the Luo Sha King's appointed envoy and, in some sense, represented Luo Sha—she feared any misstep.

Lu Fang shook his head: "I see no problem. We've met before, and we've shared hardship together—friends should be relaxed and natural."

Seeing he insisted, Shui Yao smiled and sat beside Snow Luo Sha.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!" Snow Luo Sha clapped her hands; soon, palace maids arrived carrying dishes. Lu Fang exhaled in relief—most dishes resembled Great Zhou cuisine, with nothing particularly strange.

"I hope you like these dishes."

Snow Luo Sha paused, then turned to Lu Fang, her gaze sliding from his face down to his chest and abdomen. She frowned and whispered:

"Lord of the Literary Crown, you have a strange heart in your chest and abdomen—do you know that? I remember when we last met in the Seventh Rank Minor Realm, you didn't have it."