Qiaguo Suba…

These four words weren’t unfamiliar to Jian Chou—she’d heard them quite often these past few days. They were precisely the “false name” that Xie Buchen had blurted out for her that day.

But at this moment, looking at the snow lotus the young man held before her, she became momentarily confused. She didn’t know if these four words were the name of this flower, or if he was calling her name.

After a brief pause, she didn’t avoid it and took the flower.

Then she asked: “Is this flower called ‘Qiaguo Suba’?”

“Same as you.”

The young man’s eyes remained clear, his smile still containing no impurities.

After handing over the flower, he clasped his hands behind his back again, standing beside Jian Chou. He wasn’t very tall, only reaching her shoulder level.

So Jian Chou understood.

Qiaguo Suba, snow lotus.

The feeling at that moment was extremely subtle: though she didn’t understand much of the snow region’s language and writing, this name that Xie Buchen had hastily blurted out was worth pondering.

People easily act subconsciously when rushed.

At such times, they often inadvertently reveal some true thoughts from their hearts, exposing many details they normally wouldn’t reveal.

Rather interesting.

She raised her eyebrows slightly, looking at this snow lotus larger than a palm in her hands, feeling the faint chill from those white petals, and smiled.

“Even knowing my assumed name—the legendary ‘Holy Son’ truly has vast supernatural powers, knowing everything.”

“Holy Son, what Holy Son?”

The young man slightly widened his eyes in apparent surprise, seeming somewhat astonished, yet his facial expression didn’t change at all, displaying an extremely shrewd demeanor.

“How would I know?”

Oh.

He wasn’t.

Jian Chou’s gaze toward him immediately became meaningful. But she didn’t say anything more about this, only continued watching the young man before her.

Ordinary people being watched like this by her would probably feel guilty even if they had done nothing wrong.

But this young man standing beside her still maintained that almost innocent purity and cleanliness, simply looking back at her with those bright eyes.

Jian Chou found this wonderful, and smiled: “If you don’t know, then you don’t know. If you say you’re not, then you’re not.”

“You’re even more interesting than I thought.”

Hearing this statement, the young man seemed even happier, hands clasped behind his back, body turned sideways, head tilted looking at her, his eyes revealing undisguised fondness and appreciation, about to say something more.

But at this moment, the long row of prayer wheels in the corridor behind them suddenly began moving. Clear sounds mixed with longing bell chimes transmitted through the corridor, accompanied by the muffled voices of monks chanting sutras in the main hall.

Someone was coming.

And they were monks from the sacred hall.

Jian Chou frowned slightly.

The young man looked toward the corridor, and upon seeing those red-robed monks, he exclaimed “Ah!” with some regret, playfully sticking out his tongue at her: “I snuck out. I gave Qiaguo Suba to Qiaguo Suba, so now we’re friends. Don’t tell them you saw me!”

“What—”

Before Jian Chou could recover from his rapid speech, she looked up to see the young man wave at her, then disappear on the spot the next moment.

Soon, the monks who had hurried through the corridor from the front of the sacred hall also arrived.

But standing behind the hall, looking forward, there was only that sacred lake reflecting the sky and the vast, boundless ice plain surrounding it.

Where was even a shadow of the person they were looking for?

The leading monk’s brows furrowed severely. Seeing Jian Chou standing nearby, he directly asked without thinking: “You, did you just see a holy… a young man in white monk robes?”

Had he originally wanted to ask about the “Holy Son”?

Jian Chou recalled that young man’s calm, frank demeanor when he had said “what Holy Son” with a straight face, and couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. She had originally wanted to sell him out, but thinking about it, she didn’t even know where he had gone, so she had nothing to sell.

So she could only “honestly” answer: “I didn’t see anyone.”

“How can that be?”

The leading monk’s serious face immediately furrowed with confusion.

The other monks were also very puzzled, obviously troubled by this matter: “But we clearly sensed his aura just now, then it disappeared again.”

“Split up and search again.”

The leading monk didn’t dwell on it further, paying no attention to Jian Chou at all.

After all, she looked like just an ordinary “Mingfei” who didn’t even have cultivation yet, and in a place like the snow region, how would she dare lie to them?

The group came quickly and left quickly.

After briefly searching the area, they hurried away, obviously going to search elsewhere.

From beginning to end, Jian Chou didn’t even move her feet, just watching them leave while pondering the meaning behind their search.

Holy Son Jiye, the legendary “Hundred Lifetimes Buddha Child.”

As long as the snow region’s sacred hall held grand ceremonies, they could summon him from his hundred lifetimes of reincarnation, giving the entire snow region the most powerful protection.

This time, it was the new esoteric teachings who had summoned the Holy Son.

But what happened afterward was beyond anyone’s expectations.

Holy Son Jiye, who should have impartially protected the entire snow region, unexpectedly turned against them and sided with the old esoteric teachings, even bloodily massacring the new esoteric teachings in a conflict over sixty years ago.

If the new esoteric teachings hadn’t had deep roots in the snow region, they would have declined after that.

According to rumors Jian Chou had heard recently: after the new and old esoteric teachings determined victory and defeat, the entire sacred hall had fallen under the control of the new esoteric teachings, and the old esoteric teachings were forced to flee. Holy Son Jiye had also disappeared since then.

Why did Jiye disappear?

Or rather, why did he clearly not disappear yet insist on “playing” disappeared?

These monks in the sacred hall seemed to harbor no malice toward Holy Son Jiye, but why were they so urgently searching for him?

The snow region…

So many mysteries.

After pondering for a long time without reaching any conclusions, Jian Chou simply set these thoughts aside.

“Wow, what a beautiful snow lotus!”

At this time, the girls who had gone to worship at the sacred lake had returned. They weren’t surprised to see Jian Chou still standing there, but seeing her holding a beautiful snow lotus, they all exclaimed in amazement.

Sangyang also looked with bright eyes: “Sister Qiaguo, where did you pick this? How come we didn’t see any?”

Where did she pick it?

She didn’t know either.

Jian Chou could only shake her head and tell the truth: “Someone gave it to me just now.”

“Someone gave it?”

The girls exchanged glances, feeling that Jian Chou’s explanation wasn’t very clear, but they immediately thought of that handsome monk named “Huaijie.”

Perhaps he had secretly brought it to Qiaguo?

So they didn’t dare ask more.

But in their hearts, they couldn’t help feeling somewhat envious. After all, having such a handsome monk as Huaijie thinking of someone as beautiful as Qiaguo was quite enviable.

Only Sangyang was still somewhat puzzled, looking around: “But it’s also very strange. Snow lotus flowers in the snow region only bloom at high altitudes, but the sacred hall is too high. On the way here, I saw blue jade birds at the mountain base, but no snow lotus flowers. How could one be picked?”

“…Blue jade birds?”

Jian Chou hadn’t paid much attention to the snow lotus matter, but certain words in Sangyang’s speech suddenly touched those somewhat distant memories deep in her mind.

It was an old woman’s voice.

Her eyes were cloudy, yet her gaze had become unprecedentedly clear. Jian Chou couldn’t even remember her name anymore, but she still remembered her origins and everything about meeting her.

She had once been a Buddhist mother of the esoteric sect, ultimately dying in the Extreme Realm.

Her voice was clearly aged, but when it echoed in Jian Chou’s memory at this moment, it carried a distant, ethereal quality.

“Below the mountain are all human dwellings, but on the high snow plains, there’s always ice and snow that never melts. It’s always very cold up there, but also always very beautiful. When we were young, we always liked to climb up, wanting to see that sacred lake at the highest point of the snow region. The lake surface is very large, spread across the white ice plain, and you can’t tell whether it’s reflecting the sky or making the sky blue.”

“I remember, it said it was called ‘Qielan.'”

“If one day the young lady can reach the snow region, please pick a bunch of blue jade birds for me and place them before the sacred lake…”

Please pick a bunch of blue jade birds for me and place them before the sacred lake.

That was the old woman’s deathbed request.

Jian Chou became somewhat lost in thought, her gaze distant, looking toward that pure lake under the snowy sky ahead, yet finally showing some strange confusion in her eyes.

If she remembered correctly, the old woman had said this sacred lake had once told her its name was “Qielan,” a lake that could speak.

Was this truly something so wondrous in the world, or was it an illusion from the old woman’s dreams?

Jian Chou wasn’t certain. She only asked Sangyang another question: “At the base of the sacred mountain, are there blue jade birds?”

“Yes.”

Sangyang didn’t know why she was asking about this, but thinking she came from the Yin Sect and probably had never seen blue jade birds, she began describing them.

“They’re small, little flowers that look like blue birds. If you see them, you’ll definitely recognize them.”

Everyone had worshipped at the sacred lake and was walking back.

Jian Chou walked while listening, responding to Sangyang’s words with thoughtful nods, following along with everyone.

Later they visited many other places in the sacred hall, seeing many curious things.

It wasn’t until noon, when the sun shone high and melted the snow on the hall rooftops into dripping water, that they returned to their respective rooms.

The sacred hall had prepared meals for them.

After everyone had eaten, they wanted to go out again in the afternoon, but this time Jian Chou declined.

Her morning wandering with them had only been to see the surrounding situation and incidentally learn where Xie Buchen was staying.

Now that she had figured out the situation, there was naturally no need to wander outside like them.

After all, she wasn’t truly an ordinary person, but a cultivator from the Central Region. If some accident occurred and she was recognized, that would be truly counterproductive.

Going out less would reduce the chances of being recognized.

Caution was paramount in all matters.

So Jian Chou’s time for “activities” was at night.

She quietly avoided the few night-watch monks in the sacred hall, then followed the mountain path all the way down. When she reached the base of the mountain, she indeed saw a small patch of blooming flowers.

At this time, the remaining snow hadn’t completely melted.

The moon hung in the sky, illuminating this patch of grass at the mountain base with shimmering white light. Those blue-purple flowers, each with five petals spread open, were truly vivid like small birds about to take flight.

Scattered here and there, not very many.

But blooming under this starlight, in this snowy ground, they gave Jian Chou, who saw them at this moment, a very pure sense of being touched.

Blue jade birds.

A very fitting and beautiful name.

She didn’t pick many, only breaking off the most beautiful stem among them, carefully tucking it into her sleeve. Then she looked up at the sacred mountain, then at the prosperous mandala city at the mountain base, identified directions, and prepared to return to the sacred hall.

But just as she was about to leave, an inexplicable feeling suddenly swept over her heart.

Jian Chou instantly looked toward the dark area on the left—

Empty.

A gust of wind blew past, leaving only some blurred footprints on the ground still covered with fine snow. Whether they were left by pilgrims during the day or someone who had just been standing there was unclear.

All she could see were distant woods leaving dark shadows under the moonlight.

Her brows furrowed tighter. Jian Chou really couldn’t describe what this feeling was like. She only sensed that some existence had just been standing in that direction, watching her.

But whether it was benevolent or malevolent, she couldn’t tell at all.

In the strangeness, there was an indescribable eeriness.

She watched for a long time, tense and alert, but after a long while, nothing changed except the moon’s position in the sky shifting slightly.

Was it because the snow region was too dangerous, making her too nervous and creating illusions?

Jian Chou wasn’t very certain, but she couldn’t stay at the mountain base any longer.

She had agreed with Xie Buchen to meet on the second night after arriving at the sacred hall. It was already well into the night now—she should hurry back up and take the opportunity to explore the secrets of this place.

As the thought arose, a gentle breeze came, and her figure disappeared.

About a quarter hour later, she appeared before Xie Buchen’s door.

Staring at the carved paintings on the door of evil Buddhas coupling with Mingfei, Jian Chou frowned, but still walked forward, holding the Burning Lamp Sword and gently knocking twice on the door with the sword hilt.

A moment later, the door opened.

Xie Buchen, still wearing deep red monk robes, had a calm expression showing nothing unusual, with the Human Emperor Sword also in his hand.

He stepped out from the door, glanced at her, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Jian Chou carried a cold aura, clearly not having just come from her own room but having been outside for some time.

But Xie Buchen didn’t ask much.

He only turned back to close the door, then asked: “Where shall we explore?”