Chapter 3, The Snow of Wind, Flowers, Snow, and Moon
Unbeknownst to them, over a hundred disciples in the backyard of Langya all turned pale and collapsed to the ground.
A timely snow heralds a bountiful year; this is truly excellent snow
The blizzard can likewise consume countless lives; this is a most dreadful snow
The members of the Langya Sword Sect, numbering over a hundred, gathered in the back courtyard to admire the rare dark green plum blossoms. Some sycophantic disciples connected the recent acquisition of the hundred-leaf orchid with today's dark green plum blossoms, asserting that it was a sign of the Langya Sword Sect's resurgence.
In seven days, there will be light snow.
A young man, with a medicine basket on his back, was covered in blood, his body riddled with dozens of ghastly wounds, convulsing as he collapsed onto a patch of frost-covered dry grass. In his right hand, he clutched a blood-stained orchid, his dilated pupils blankly staring at several young men and women standing before him, who were smirking with a sense of triumph.
The old man in blue handed the hundred-leaf orchid to the old man in white and said softly, "Not a single chicken or dog is left."
The old man in white had a wisp of white mist emanating from his hand, and the coveted Baiye Zhilan, sought after by all healers, was reduced to dust in his grasp. He stood up, his fingers flicking out, sending a few snowflakes gently drifting towards the mountain peak. "It is a pity about my disciple; I had just taught him the skill to save lives... In the future, I, Xue Er, will begin teaching my disciples by taking the lives of the poisoned."
Snow, elegant and pure, untainted by dust
The Snow of the Four Great Secret Gates of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon—medical skills reaching the pinnacle, and poison techniques unparalleled in the world
In the thirty years that followed, the ruins of the Langya Sword Sect became a haunted place; any living being that entered his courtyard would immediately turn pale and perish.
An elderly man in a blue robe, holding a blue oilcloth umbrella, slowly walked into the courtyard of the Langya Sword Sect, braving the fine wind and snow. He made his way directly to the study of their sect leader, effortlessly bypassing dozens of intricate mechanisms and retrieving the treasured hundred-leaf orchid from within.
The old man in white cast a cold glance at the residence of the Langya Sword Sect, sneered a few times, and with a light and agile movement, vanished into the vast wind and snow
Langya Mountain
On the mountainside, an elderly man dressed entirely in white was quietly sitting on a rock, with a thick layer of fine snow already accumulated on his head. Upon seeing the old man in green, the elder in white slowly spoke, "Have they all perished?"
The elderly man, holding a leaf orchid, slowly walked out of the yard that had turned into a desolate place, following the mountain path down the hill
A few young men and women from hetushucomcom, wielding sharp swords, sneered as they struck the young man with their blades several times. One of them severed the young man's right hand, retrieved the hundred-leaf orchid, and then stomped heavily on the young man's head. He angrily shouted, "Nonsense! Mount Langya is the territory of our Langya Sword Sect; every blade of grass and tree on the mountain belongs to us. Who gave you permission to gather herbs here?"
The sharp swords fell simultaneously, slicing the young man into countless pieces of flesh. Several men and women carefully held the legendary herb that could enhance one's power for a century and had miraculous effects of reviving the dead from flesh and bones, joyfully making their way towards the gate of the Langya Sword Sect.
The dark green plum blossoms exude a rich fragrance, cool and elegant, penetrating to the heart and soul
"The orchid was picked by me from the cliff," the young man said weakly. "If you kill me, you will surely regret it."
The variability of snow lies solely beneath the flowers
The old man in the blue robe shook his head, sighed softly, and floated away lost in his own thoughts
In the backyard of the Langya Sword Sect, an old plum tree that had not bloomed for several years suddenly produced flower buds overnight, blossoming into magnificent flowers the size of a palm. Previously, this old plum tree had only borne pale pink plum blossoms, but after several years of dormancy, it unexpectedly bloomed dark green flowers this year.