(I'm writing slowly, everyone can read slowly, no rush...)

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Night had fallen, the snowstorm coming and going intermittently.

When the snowstorm raged, howling sounds pierced the vast snowfields, stirring up countless drifts, a dark expanse like a man-eating exile, the violent, unrestrained sounds echoing heart-stoppingly. When the snowstorm stilled, heaven and earth were simply silent and cold, like a sea of snow brewing a storm, a boundless, clear, cold, silvery light, an endless, white-jade-like, desolate snowfield, cold to the extreme.

Even the moonlight, falling upon this exceptionally frigid and icy snowfield, seemed to freeze in an instant. But regardless of the raging snowstorm or the calm of the heavens and earth, the little light beside a high ground remained unextinguished, like the human heart's yearning for the unknown, stubbornly and firmly holding on.

The brazier inside the tent radiated a rare warmth, blocking out the cold from the outside. This was partly due to the excellent wind and temperature insulation of the specially made snow tent, and partly due to the fuel in the brazier being particularly slow-burning and the fire being quite strong.

Hai Tang Duo Duo had already taken off the leather hat that covered most of her face, her cheeks were slightly red like apples, and she was squatting beside the brazier, simmering soup. Her brow was slightly furrowed, with a hint of worry. Fan Xian, already snuggled into his sleeping bag, didn't notice her mood.

They had been traveling north for quite a few days, and the weather was getting colder and colder. The time spent traveling during the day was also getting shorter and shorter. Most of the time, they were hiding in the tent to avoid the snow. However, Fan Xian wasn't too worried about these problems. He was just calculating how long the fuel and food they were carrying could last.

The white bear had long since been reduced to just a bearskin. Fan Xian ate two bear paws by himself. Although Hai Tang and Wang Shisan Lang were very surprised by his leisure and even more surprised that he hadn't forgotten things like seasonings in his equipment, to be honest, bear paws weren't very tasty, and the portion was indeed a bit insufficient.

At the beginning of this expedition to the temple in the far north, the dozens of snow dogs that were laboriously pulling the equipment could find food on their own. But now, the deeper they went into the snowfield, the fewer living wild animals they saw. Reluctantly, Fan Xian had to use the prepared food. These snow dogs worked hard every day, and Fan Xian naturally couldn't bear to treat them badly, but their appetites were a bit too good.

Fan Xian had prepared very thoroughly for this trip to the temple. He had snow goggles to prevent snow blindness, specially made down sleeping bags, and a large quantity of supplies. But he was still a bit wary, because if they couldn't find the temple before summer, and had to endure a full six months of darkness on the far northern ice field, the food they had brought would definitely not be enough. Maybe they would have to start killing dogs in the end.

Back then, Ku He and Xiao En survived by eating human flesh. Fan Xian didn't want to repeat their mistakes. He turned his head slightly, looked at Hai Tang Duo Duo beside the brazier, forcibly suppressed the stinging pain in his chest, and said, "Do you want to hear a story?"

"What story?" Hai Tang's face was still a bit red, and she didn't look up. Fan Xian smiled and told the story of Xiao En and Ku He's expedition to the temple in the north, even not hiding the fact that the two old seniors ate human flesh.

After Hai Tang finished listening, her face gradually changed. It seemed that she couldn't accept that her master had once made such a terrible choice. A very complicated emotion echoed in the girl's heart. After a long silence, she slowly raised her head, looked at Fan Xian with those extremely bright eyes, and quietly said, "You must have a reason for telling me this at this time, not just to disgust me and hit me."

"I've noticed that you like those snow dogs very much." Fan Xian lowered his eyelids slightly and said tiredly, "And in fact, these snow dogs have helped us a lot. But if we really run out of food one day, we will have to start eating dog meat. I hope you can be mentally prepared now."

Hai Tang's expression changed slightly. In front of Fan Xian, she didn't need to maintain the demeanor of the Saintess of Northern Qi, the head of the Heavenly Unity Sect, and could naturally reveal her emotions. She was just a girl, and she would naturally love the snow dogs that ran around happily every day. For the past month, she had been responsible for the dog food. Hearing this suddenly, she realized that... Fan Xian hadn't had good intentions from the beginning. Those snow dogs that worked so hard to pull the sled were also his food reserves.

But for this trip to the temple, Hai Tang had already made extremely difficult preparations. Especially after hearing about her master's tragic experience of eating human flesh, she knew that things had different priorities. She lowered her head slightly, didn't respond, and didn't refute.

The tent was quiet, making the sound of the snowstorm outside particularly clear. You could even hear how much snow was surging against the outside of the tent, crackling, making people restless.

Just then, the sound of footsteps on the ice and snow came from outside the tent. Fan Xian and Hai Tang's expressions didn't change, because they knew who was coming. In this deserted and extremely cold snowfield, no one else could appear except for these three young people whose hearts, wills, and bodies were strong enough to reach the pinnacle of humanity.

Wang Shisan Lang lifted the door with wooden strips hanging down and walked in, bringing in a gust of cold wind. The flames in the brazier suddenly dimmed. The damn cold of this snowfield seemed to be able to freeze the flames directly with its low temperature.

Hai Tang took out a small black ball from her sleeve and threw it into the brazier. The fire in the brazier finally stabilized. All of this was the special items that Fan Xian had prepared over the years. Especially the kindling, which had never been cut off.

Wang Shisan Lang stood on the rug at the door and patted off the thick snow on his body. He took off the towel that had been wrapped around his face countless times. His lips, which were a bit pale from the cold, uttered a few words as crisp as ice cubes: "Okay, sleep."

Hai Tang was responsible for all the daily chores. This girl had finally been transformed by Fan Xian into a housewife in this extreme environment. Wang Shisan Lang was responsible for commanding the dozens of snow dogs and building the tent, as well as defense work. When he said okay, he meant that the snow nests specially built for the snow dogs to protect them from the wind and snow had been taken care of.

From the perspective of hard work, of course Wang Shisan Lang's work was more difficult. Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and said to him, "From tomorrow on, you will be responsible for feeding the dogs."

Wang Shisan Lang nodded, sat down next to the brazier, took a bowl of hot soup from Hai Tang, and slowly drank it down. He drank every mouthful very carefully. The sword at his waist dragged on the ground like that, emitting a faint bloody smell.

"To recover, you really need to keep practicing hard, but this place is too cold. Don't push yourself too hard." A trace of worry flashed in Fan Xian's eyes. These days, Wang Shisan Lang had been practicing his sword in the heavy snow with exceptional strength, using his own potential to fight against the majesty of the heavens and the earth. This method of hard training really moved Fan Xian and Hai Tang.

They knew that Wang Shisan Lang had a sense of urgency and wanted to recover his arm or practice the left-handed sword as soon as possible. However, Fan Xian was always very worried about his body.

"A'Da found a nest of snow rabbits earlier, but the hole was too deep for them, so I helped them drive the rabbits out." Wang Shisan Lang put down the soup bowl, rubbed his face, and shook his head. "I'm just moving my muscles and bones. If I keep freezing like this, I'm really afraid I'll be frozen into an ice cube."

"Looks like we can improve our food tomorrow." Fan Xian covered his lips and coughed twice, and said with a smile. He found that Shisan's feelings for these snow dogs were getting better and better. He was afraid that he would have to persuade another person in the future.

He suddenly noticed that Hai Tang was a little strange. She had been particularly quiet today, and her face was always red, and there was always some worry between her brows. He couldn't help but ask softly, "What are you thinking about so intently?"

Hai Tang frowned slightly and glared at him, but didn't say anything. Wang Shisan Lang, who was on the side, was stunned for a moment, smiled very rarely, re-tied the towel around his head, and walked out of the tent.

Fan Xian was slightly startled. After a moment, he couldn't help but realize the reason and laughed out loud: "Would a living person let himself be憋死ed by urine?"

These words were vulgar and hit Hai Tang's current heart disease. A trace of anger flashed in the girl's eyes.

Fan Xian had calculated everything, and even two years ago, he had calculated that his trip to the temple must drag Hai Tang and Wang Shisan Lang as helpers, because he knew that the long journey and endless night, like those days in front of the hospital bed in his previous life, the unbearable loneliness would drive people crazy. Back then, Ku He and Xiao En were able to wait until the temple appeared under the morning sun, not because they dared to eat human flesh, but because they could become partners with each other. On a dangerous and unknown journey, partners are always the most important factor.

But Fan Xian still missed some details in life. He and Wang Shisan Lang didn't care, and they could relieve themselves with any jar. But he didn't think about adding burden and preparing an extra tent as a latrine in this snowfield, which was extremely luxurious. Although it was cold these days, they could resist it. These two days, the temperature suddenly dropped, and it was a bit difficult to relieve themselves in the wild.

Wang Shisan Lang went out, naturally leaving Hai Tang a private space. She narrowed her eyes slightly, looked at Fan Xian coldly, and said, "If it weren't for your medicine jar, there wouldn't be so much inconvenience."

Fan Xian was silent, smiled, and said, "Among the three of us, your body is the weakest. If I were to hide in the snowstorm outside the tent at this time, I'm afraid I would be frozen into a waste person soon. Said with a chuckle: “Thirteen Lang left alone, naturally knowing the relationship between you and me. What is the relationship between us, you don’t need to mind this, right?”

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It was still a deep and cold night. The fire in the brazier could not be strong because of the lack of wood and other large materials. The snowstorm outside the tent was still howling desperately. There was no danger in the darkness around, but the cold in the heaven and earth was the greatest danger itself. The three sleeping bags were arranged in a triangular shape beside the brazier, but the three young people in the sleeping bags all had their eyes wide open and refused to go to sleep.

They had been trekking on the snowfield for a month. There was no entertainment and no clever way to pass the time. Apart from walking, they slept, which was extremely boring. The three of them had slept to the extreme. If Fan Xian was not too weak, he would definitely regret bringing Shisan Lang this big sun with him, otherwise, it would be good to hug Duo Duo and say some little love words that he hadn't said for a long time and enjoy the pleasure of mouth and hand.

After dozens of days of sleepless nights, the three young people had basically finished talking about everything they should talk about. Even the story of Wang Shisan Lang's bedwetting when he was a child was maliciously dug out by Fan Xian. So the three of them had to open their eyes and listen to the howling sound of the snowstorm outside the tent, as if they were enjoying a grand musical event.

I don’t know how long they were silent, Fan Xian suddenly said: “In such a heavy snowstorm and cold weather, when those people traveled here back then, I am afraid that more than half of them had already died. It is amazing that the three of us can still resist it.”

Hai Tang, who was lying opposite him, said softly: "Master is the first person to open up mountains and find temples. He is not as good as you who knows the direction and the route. Naturally, it will be more difficult. However, later generations are always stronger than the predecessors. You seem to know things more than us.”

“Don’t envy me.” Fan Xian closed his eyes and said with a happy smile: “Being able to go to different places and experience different things is itself a very rare enjoyment.”

Wang Shisan Lang replied: “That makes sense.”

“Since that’s the case, why don’t the three of us write poems and talk at night? In the future, history books will say that on the night of the snowstorm, a… giant poem was created. How wonderful would that be? Let me start. This is exactly what it is, A Tight North Wind All Night…”

There was no follow-up, it was obvious that Hai Tang and Wang Shisan Lang were unwilling to indulge this person's pedantic air. It was quiet.

Fan Xian coughed twice and smiled: "You are too unappreciative."

“We are all vulgar people. You want us to write poems with you, it is you who are being unappreciative to us. Besides, this sentence was written by Feng Laizi in the Stone Record.”

“The Stone Record was all written by me. Who dares to say that this sentence was not written by me?” Fan Xian's shameless voice rang out in the tent.

The other two expressed their disdain with silence. Fan Xian smiled and opened his tired eyes in the dim environment, panting while coughing: "We have said everything, and we know each other well enough… But I have always been curious, what do you want to do in this world?”

“I want to become a Grand Master, and then protect the people of Dongyi City like Master.” Wang Shisan Lang's answer was always so powerful and direct, confident and ordinary.

“A little brat who wets the bed is not qualified to use such domineering words.”

"I…" Hai Tang's bright eyes looked at the tent above her head and said after a moment of silence: "Since I was a child, I grew up in the back mountain of Qingshan. Later, I went to Shangjing City and began to travel around the world. I just want to carry forward the Qingshan lineage and protect my Great Qi Dynasty so that it can last forever and not be invaded by foreign enemies, and that the people in the territory can live and work in peace.”

Her voice suddenly dimmed: “But when Master left, I realized that I am not a Qi person, but a Hu person… I don’t know what I want to do anymore, but I think it would be good if Great Qi could be safe and sound, and if this world could be safe and sound.”

“As expected, you are worthy of being the closed disciple taught by two old monsters. Any casual sentence is thinking about the world.” Fan Xian sighed: “Actually, before I met you, I never thought about things like good wars and bad peace.”

“Because Uncle Wu Zhu never cares about these things, so I don’t care much. I just want to live well.” Fan Xian's tone was particularly light, “The more vivid and fresh I live, the better, because from the first day I knew things, I always felt that everything around me was just a dream, and this dream will always wake up one day. This feeling makes me very diligent and serious about living every day.”

“I seem to want to use the richness of these details to dilute my fear of waking up from the dream.”

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Listening to Fan Xian's leisurely words, Hai Tang and Wang Shisan Lang fell into silence. They just thought that Fan Xian was sighing about his bizarre life experience and bizarre life, but they could not know what Fan Xian's true emotion was.

“Since you are unwilling to wake up from this dream, the content of this dream must be good.” Hai Tang comforted him.

Fan Xian’s lips curled up slightly, smiled, and said: “That’s natural. If it weren’t for maintaining all the good things in this dream, why would I exile myself to this godforsaken place? Why would I fight with the emperor? Why should I pretend to be brave, pretend to be righteous, and enter the palace to assassinate, but carefully maintain the stability of the Great Qing Dynasty?”

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Is everything, everything after rebirth, really just a dream? It was quiet in the tent, Hai Tang and Wang Shisan Lang were asleep, but Fan Xian still did not fall asleep. He looked indifferently at the sky that was isolated outside, listening to the sound of the snowstorm howling outside the tent, and kept thinking in his heart.

He died in that world and lived in this world. In the first few years of his childhood, Fan Xian could never get rid of the fear of waking up from the dream at any time. He was afraid that all of this was false. He was afraid that he was just in a virtual mental state. He was afraid that this was a Truman Show that included the world. He was afraid that this was a clever game, and that he was just a wisp of spiritual fluctuation, a data stream, or a wooden man after being hypnotized.

A true warrior dares to face true death, but for Fan Xian, who was reborn for the second time, what he once truly feared was that he did not know if he was truly dead. He was worried that once he woke up from the dream, he would lie back on the hospital bed and sink into true darkness, and he would never see all this beauty again.

Mountains and rivers, lakes and seas, flowers and trees, beauties.

He shouted to collect clothes on the roof in Danzhou, and he wrote three hundred poems in the palace. All of this was based on some wanton emotions. However, after living in Qing Kingdom for more than 20 years, he had laughed and cried. He could finally prove that all of this was not a dream.

Although he still did not know what the temple was until now, he could be sure that everything, all of this, was really happening around him, not transformed by some god in the dark.

Because the people in this world are real, the emotions in this world are real, as well as humanity, as well as joys and sorrows. There are always some things in the world that cannot be faked. If there really is a god who can perfectly control all of this, just like God wants light, just like Nuwa wants to play with mud, just like Pangu is tired and rests, then what is the point of pursuing all of this?

The closer he gets to the temple, the more Fan Xian can't get rid of these questions, and he gradually understands them in the night. This trip to the temple may be to ask the answer to a question, but in fact, he is still more concerned about the secular reality, at least the joys and sorrows of the lives of those people who think they are in reality.

For things that are unknowable, unexplorable, unapproachable, and unobservable, in fact, these things do not exist. This is the content that was once taught in physics class in that world. Fan Xian has always remembered it very clearly. He suddenly felt that he could put this physical definition on the word fate tonight.

No one can change fate, but he can choose not to accept his fate, or ignore this fate. Fan Xian lives in this world, loves or hates the people or things in this world. This world must be real, so real that it is engraved in his bones. He firmly believes in this.

He did not sleep all night. The true energy in his body was dissipated. Although the vitality between heaven and earth was replenishing his loss with breathing, the speed was still not fast enough. External cold invaded, his mind was disturbed, and Fan Xian finally fell ill.

When the sound of the snowstorm outside stopped, when the white light on the snow reflected into the tent, Fan Xian's cheeks also became extremely pale, and two unhealthy red circles appeared under his eyes, and his forehead was hot.

The most feared illness came at the coldest moment. Fan Xian lay in Hai Tang's warm and gentle arms, seriously drinking the medicine he had prepared, forcibly maintaining his spirit, and said in a hoarse voice: "The medicine jar has something to say."

“Say it.” Hai Tang’s eyebrows were full of worry, she gently hugged him, rocking him like coaxing a child.

“Don’t stop, let’s keep walking.”

“But there is so much snow here.”

Suddenly the tent door was lifted, Wang Shisan Lang poked his head in, his face full of surprise.

A tight north wind all night, the door opens and the snow is still floating, but these snows are rolled up from the ground, there is no falling snow in the sky, only the blue sky and the sun that looks extremely shrinking, the air is still cold, but the snow has finally stopped.