WBICDPH Chapter 18 Part 1

Chapter 18: Snow Falls on Zhongyun

In the second month of the year, Zhongyun City lay buried beneath heavy snow. Mountains and rivers, houses and fields alike, were blanketed in white. Snowflakes the size of goose feathers drifted gently down, settling on the hair and brows of passersby.

Zhongyun City was the mortal realm’s closest city to the Far North. Winters here were always especially long. Even now, when February elsewhere already meant blooming flowers and warming spring air, the city was still wrapped in swirling snow, a vast expanse of white.

“Alright, whether we want to admit it or not, we definitely took the wrong mission.”

Huddled inside a cloak he’d bought along the way, Lin Jin shivered as he opened the mission bamboo slip and showed the map to Han Ao.

The map unfolded in a faint golden glow. Their current location appeared as a bright point at the very northern edge of the map—Zhongyun City.

The farther they’d traveled, the more wrong everything had felt. Battling increasingly biting winds and plummeting temperatures, they’d stubbornly pressed on until they finally reached the destination. Only now did reality truly sink in.

“I’m certain the original plot was supposed to happen somewhere warm—at the very least, not somewhere you have to stand in the snow wearing a cloak and shaking from the cold.”

Compared to Lin Jin, Han Ao looked far more at ease. After a month of body-refining cultivation, the spiritual energy circulating through his techniques kept him warm, shielding him from much of the cold.

Seeing Lin Jin’s miserable state, Han Ao exaggeratedly stretched.

“See? This is what happens when you don’t cultivate properly and spend all day snacking and slacking off. Ah, why am I not cold at all? This feels great!”

“Get lost!”

Lin Jin punched him lightly, half amused and half annoyed, then turned serious.

“By the way—if we miss this part of the plot, how badly will it affect your leveling path?”

He tightened the ties of his cloak and breathed warm air onto his reddened hands.

Han Ao thought for a moment and shook his head.

“Probably not much. It’s just a third-rank mission. If I remember right, the reward should be a decent ghost core and a boost from mid Foundation Establishment to peak Foundation Establishment. Even if I miss it, I can just work harder when we get back. Shouldn’t be a big issue.”

Lin Jin nodded. Then he lifted his gaze and looked all the way down Zhongyun City’s main street, falling silent for a moment before suddenly asking:

“Hey, want to guess the very first thing I want to do after standing in this place?”

Han Ao gave him a dramatic once-over.

“I’m guessing it’s nothing serious.”

Sure enough, Lin Jin smiled mysteriously.

“I checked beforehand—Zhongyun City’s Drunken Immortal Pavilion is famous across the entire mortal realm! We have to try it. Let’s go, let’s go!”

Han Ao was stunned.

“Haven’t you already reached fasting cultivation? You eat roasted chicken with your master every day—was that not enough? You’re still going to eat here?”

“You can’t say it like that!” Lin Jin argued.
“Why do people fast? So they don’t starve. Why do people eat? To experience flavors blooming on the tongue. Filling your stomach and savoring food aren’t the same thing!”

He ran ahead while talking over his shoulder.

“My master’s plain roasted chicken with no seasoning—I’ve eaten it for a full month. My mouth’s practically gone numb from blandness—ah!”

Not watching where he was going, Lin Jin slammed into someone before he could finish speaking. The person fell to the ground, and the bookcase on their back spilled open, scattering its contents.

“Ah—sorry, sorry!”

Lin Jin apologized repeatedly and reached out to help her up. But when he got a clear look at her face, he paused slightly.

She was a delicate-looking young woman, around twenty, dressed in a scholar’s outfit. Scattered from her bookcase were brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and other exam supplies.

Lin Jin looked at her, then glanced around.

No wonder the street felt so crowded—they were passing by the examination hall, right during exam season. Outside stood examinees carrying bookcases, along with family members seeing them off.

Though surprised, Lin Jin didn’t show it. He bent down to gather her belongings and, as he handed them back, said casually:

“May you pass the exam in one go and place your name on the golden list.”

The young woman froze for a moment, then smiled softly at him.

“Thank you.”

She secured her bookcase and headed toward the examination hall. Han Ao, who’d lagged, finally caught up. He glanced at the departing figure, then at Lin Jin.

“I’m telling you, your head’s really full of nothing but food—you don’t even watch where you’re going. You crashed into someone. Is she okay?”

“She should be… but…”

Lin Jin frowned slightly.

“That was a woman.”

“Huh?” Han Ao craned his neck and looked back.
“So what if she was? Love at first sight?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lin Jin said, shoving him.
“That’s the examination hall. She was a candidate. Isn’t that strange? The mortal-world background here is based on real history, and in ancient times, women weren’t allowed to take imperial exams. I just wished her success, and she didn’t react strangely at all—she accepted it naturally. That means women are allowed to take the exams and enter official service here. But I don’t recall the book ever explicitly mentioning that, so it caught me off guard.”

Only then did Han Ao realize it. Looking around, he saw that among the examinees, there really were one or two women mixed in.

He looked bewildered.

“That’s true… but what does that have to do with us?”

“…Nothing.”

Lin Jin was momentarily speechless. He withdrew his gaze and continued toward Drunken Immortal Pavilion. After a few steps, though, he couldn’t help adding: