One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

Looking at Zhang Chulan's face, which was filled with "innocence" and "fear" (his acting skills were still on point), Nie Lingfeng silently and sincerely gave him a thumbs up: Zhang Chulan, Zhang Chulan, you are indeed a person who can stir up the winds and waves in the world of supernatural beings in the future. Your ability to play dumb and eat the tiger is superb. You deserve ten Oscars!

"Let's go." Xu San stood up, brushed the withered leaves off his clothes, and said, "Let's go meet up with Bao Bao."

Under the cover of night, the two quietly withdrew from the cemetery area without disturbing Zhang Chulan, who was "cleaning up the battlefield" and checking the zombie remains for clues.

They found Feng Baobao under the old locust tree at the village entrance, which was said to be over a hundred years old and had lush branches and leaves.

She was squatting by the tree roots, holding a thin twig, poking at a passing, plump toad with a few casual strokes. The toad croaked and jumped away, but she would nudge it back with the twig and continue poking, seemingly enjoying herself. Hearing footsteps, she looked up and saw Xu San; her empty eyes seemed to brighten slightly.

"San'er," she called out, her voice flat. Then her gaze turned to Nie Lingfeng beside Xu San, pausing for three seconds as she looked him up and down.

"This is Nie Lingfeng, a new colleague, temporarily assigned to our North China branch's field operations team," Xu San introduced. "Xiao Feng, this is Feng Baobao, a temporary worker in our North China branch. You can just call her Sister Bao'er."

Nie Lingfeng stepped forward, his face displaying the friendliness expected of meeting a colleague for the first time, along with a perfectly measured hint of curiosity. He extended his hand and said, "Hello, Sister Bao'er. My name is Nie Lingfeng. Please take care of me from now on."

Feng Baobao didn't take his outstretched hand. Instead, she stood up and took a few steps closer, almost touching Nie Lingfeng. She tilted her head slightly, her small nostrils twitching gently again, like a little animal checking its scent.

"You look so good." She suddenly spoke, in that signature, flat, yet strangely persuasive Sichuan dialect, "Being next to you feels so comfortable, the air seems so much fresher."

Nie Lingfeng was taken aback by this sudden and straightforward "praise," then smiled and said, "...Thank you for the compliment, Sister Bao'er."

"Moreover," Feng Baobao continued, staring at him, her empty eyes seemingly able to see through appearances, "you seem very strong. Your Qi... is so abundant, and so unique. On one hand, it's like a furnace, warm and cozy; on the other hand, it's like an ice cellar, chilly and cold. It's very strange."

Nie Lingfeng's heart skipped a beat—such keen perception! The extreme yang heat brought by the Qilin marrow, and the extreme yin coldness emanating from the Xuanwu True Scripture, the Ice Heart Technique, and the Snow Drinking Blade—he had tried his best to harmonize and conceal these two completely opposite auras, yet Feng Baobao still managed to "smell" them so easily. This girl's intuition was simply inhuman.

Xu San interjected at the opportune moment, steer the conversation back to the main topic: "We can discuss this another time. Baby, at the cemetery earlier, that Zhang Chulan, are you sure he's problematic?"

Feng Baobao finally shifted her gaze from Nie Lingfeng, regaining her blank expression, and nodded: "Oh. When I was digging the grave, I could smell him hiding in the bushes. He had Qi on him, hidden very deep, like fire buried in ashes, but it couldn't escape my nose. So when those zombies came, I ran away, leaving him to deal with it himself. If he were an ordinary person, he would have been eaten long ago; if he was faking it, he would definitely have been exposed."

"Are you sure he's an Outcast?"

"I'm sure." Feng Baobao nodded firmly, adding, "Moreover, his method of storing Qi is somewhat similar to that of the old man in the grave (Zhang Xilin), they should be of the same kind."

Xu San pondered for a moment, unconsciously pushing up his glasses with his fingers: "It seems that Zhang Xilin... or rather Zhang Huaiyi, did indeed pass on his skills to his grandson. The clue to the 'Qi Body Source Flow' is very likely on Zhang Chulan. The people digging up the grave tonight, as well as those controlled zombies, are clearly all after this."

He looked at Nie Lingfeng: "Xiao Feng, the situation is more complicated than expected. Zhang Chulan is not only an extraordinary person, but he is also very likely to be carrying a significant inheritance. The purpose of the grave digger and the mastermind behind it is unclear, but they will definitely not give up. Zhang Chulan should be returning to Nanbukai University, where he studied, in a few days. There are many people and many eyes there, making it an easy place to take advantage of the chaos."

Nie Lingfeng nodded in understanding: "Third Brother means that the person behind the scenes is likely to continue targeting Zhang Chulan at the university?"

"It's very likely." Xu San looked at Feng Baobao, then at Nie Lingfeng, and offered a suggestion, "You two...why don't you go to Nankai University to 'experience' campus life? And while you're at it...observe and protect this 'ordinary' college student, Zhang Chulan, up close?"

Feng Baobao tilted her head, a rare and obvious look of confusion on her face: "University? What's that? Is it delicious?"

"Pfft—" Nie Lingfeng couldn't help but burst out laughing and quickly covered his mouth.

Xu San was amused and patiently explained, "Universities aren't just for eating; they're places where many young people study and learn. However, there are usually many food streets near universities, with lots of delicious food."

Feng Baobao's eyes lit up instantly, like two stars suddenly ignited, even dispelling some of the emptiness in them: "Okay, okay! Let's go eat something delicious!"

"It's not just about eating good food," Nie Lingfeng added, suppressing a laugh. "We also have to act as 'bodyguards' for a while. We'll secretly protect Zhang Chulan, prevent those bad guys who have designs on him from succeeding, and also find a way to expose the mastermind behind it all."

"Bodyguards?" Feng Baobao thought for a moment, seemingly understanding. "So, if someone wants to beat him up or harm him, we'll take those people down first?"

"...That's one way to understand it." Nie Lingfeng nodded.

"Okay then." Feng Baobao readily agreed, her reasoning being both sound and straightforward: "As long as there's food, that's fine."

Looking at the pair before him—a "Sister Bao'er" with unconventional thinking but explosive combat power, and a "mountain boy" with a mysterious ancient martial arts heritage and a meticulous mind—Xu San's initial worries dissipated considerably. He had been concerned about whether Nie Lingfeng, being new to the area, could understand and adapt to Feng Baobao's unique style of doing things, but now it seemed that the two of them were surprisingly on the same wavelength?

"Then it's settled." Xu San made the decision. "Find a place to rest in town tonight, and set off back to Tianjin early tomorrow morning to arrange your admission to Nankai University."

The three of them walked along the dirt road they had come from, heading towards the direction where the car had been parked.

The moonlight, like water, gently spilled onto the quiet country lane, casting long, thin shadows of the three people. Most of the village lights in the distance had been extinguished, with only a few sporadic barks of dogs emphasizing the depth of the night.

Nie Lingfeng walked at the back, unable to resist turning back to glance once more at the direction of the cemetery shrouded in night.

Zhang Chulan's figure had long since disappeared, leaving only the dug grave pit, like a silent wound on the earth, and charred marks left by lightning magic.

Everything proceeded according to the trajectory in his memory, yet it was subtly altered by his intervention, slowly starting and rolling forward.

He himself was now inevitably in the center of this torrent.

Ahead, Feng Baobao suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at him with her large eyes, which appeared exceptionally bright yet also exceptionally empty in the moonlight:

"Little Wind".

"Hmm? Bao'er, what's wrong?"

"On you," she raised her hand and pointed to the location of Nie Lingfeng's storage bag, stating a fact, "there's the smell of a knife. It's cold, like stones in a river in winter, but... it smells good, and it's very clean."

Nie Lingfeng was slightly taken aback, then smiled. With a thought, he took out the Snow Drinking Blade, which was wrapped in a cloth cover, from his Qiankun bag, unwrapped the cloth cover, and handed the simple scabbard to Feng Baobao: "Want to see it? It's called Snow Drinking."

Feng Baobao took the knife, but did not draw it immediately. Instead, she first touched the natural frost patterns on the scabbard, feeling the penetrating yet harmless chill. Then, she pressed her thumb against the guard and slowly pulled the knife out three inches.

"Cang—"

A clear, resonant sound rang out in the silent night. Even though it had only been drawn three inches from its sheath, a chilling aura instantly spread, causing the surrounding temperature to drop several degrees. Moonlight shone on the blade, which was as clear and cold as autumn water, reflecting a faint blue light.

Feng Baobao stared at the exposed blade for a few seconds, then with a "click," she pushed the knife back into its sheath and handed it back to Nie Lingfeng.

"It's a good knife," she commented, her tone still flat. "Very sharp, very cold. But..."

She paused, then pulled another kitchen knife from her lower back, waving it in the moonlight. Dark stains still clung to the blade. "Nothing's as good as my knife," she said. "My knife is perfect for chopping bones, cutting vegetables, and even smashing someone's head."

Nie Lingfeng: "…………"

Xu San, who was walking in front, twitched his shoulders suspiciously twice, clearly trying to suppress a laugh.

night, deeper.

Three figures blended into the cool and tranquil summer night in the north.

A new, and inevitably turbulent, "campus life" is about to begin.