Xiao An looked at Li Qingshan. Under the sunlight and the reflected light from the snow, he seemed like a halo surrounded him. His smile was so dazzling that it was impossible to look at him directly. He basically seemed glorious. His hand seemed to be an invitation to the world of light.
The pain from sunlight burning him remained in his heart, but he was unable to control his hand that extended outwards. The skeletal hand, devoid of any flesh or blood, was like a moth drawn to a flame. Even if the sunlight would burn him to a crisp, he was unable to turn down the invitation of that hand.
His index finger crossed the boundary between light and darkness first. The sunlight did not burn him, instead feeling extremely warm, rising up from the depths of his soul. He had almost run out of patience during this process, placing his hand in Li Qingshan’s.
Li Qingshan held the pale-white, skeletal hand that might have been rather terrifying to ordinary people.
Xiao An stepped out of the building, crossing the boundary between light and darkness, bathing in the sunlight.
Li Qingshan lifted up Xiao An with a great smile. “How does it feel?”
Xiao An nodded happily. It felt fantastic. He had never felt so wonderful before.
Sunlight did not only subdue ghosts. Instead, it could suppress everything evil in the world. The black ox had not been lying to Li Qingshan. The reason why Xiao An was not afraid of sunlight was not because he was powerful enough, but because he had never exactly been an evil or demonic being in the first place. He even possessed the holy, solemn aura of buddhism. This was how powerful the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was, a demonic superhuman ability a great monk of buddhism created. With life and death blurred, buddhism and demons were one.
On such a big day, Li Qingshan was unable to come up with any good ideas as for how to celebrate for Xiao An. Xiao An could neither eat or drink. Was he supposed to go out and dig out a heart or two?
As a result, he swung his hand. “Let’s build a snowman for you!”
As expected, Xiao An became as happy as an ordinary child.
Li Qingshan said, “I haven’t told you, have I? My ability at making snowmen even surpasses my supernatural ability.”
Xiao An immediately showed admiration, while Li Qingshan was complacent. With a chuckle, he squatted down and rolled the thick layer of snow into a great ball before making a smaller ball and placing it on the larger ball. He glanced at it and was very satisfied with the perfect shapes of the two balls. He went back inside to find some things for the nose and eyes.
Suddenly, he discovered a white figure standing right in front of him. At a closer glance, he realised that the white figure was actually himself, a Li Qingshan sculpted from snow. Although the facial features were rather blurred, the stature and the bearing were basically life-like. Xiao An was patiently sculpting the curve to the bottom of his clothes.
Li Qingshan said, “D- did you do this?” This was no longer making a snowman, but a snow sculpture!
Xiao An nodded and looked behind Li Qingshan curiously.
“Ha!” Li Qingshan yelled out, turning around and launching a kick. He shattered the two perfect snowballs, making Xiao An leap in fright. He said, “Haha, that’s just practice. I’m going to be serious now.”
Xiao An completed the snow sculptures of a large Li Qingshan, a medium-sized Li Qingshan, a small Li Qingshan, and various birds and beasts.
“Ha!” “Ha!” “Ha!” Li Qingshan also destroyed his ‘masterpieces’, collapsing on the snowing ground in exhaustion. “Fine then. It looks like my ability at making snowmen is slightly worse than my supernatural ability.”
However, looking at how much fun Xiao An was having, he had basically reached his goal!
“Someone is here!” Li Qingshan’s heart skipped a beat. Hearing the footsteps, Xiao An immediately hid back inside the building. After a few thumps on the door, Li Qingshan opened the door, and he was met with the advisor.
The advisor smiled from ear to ear. “Sheriff Li, how was your sleep last night? The magistrate invites you to visit the government office. They’re holding a trial today.”
Li Qingshan told Xiao An to hide well. He tidied himself up slightly before arriving at the government office. Ye Dachuan personally invited him to the back hall before ordering someone to retrieve a set of clothes. It was the sheriff’s uniform, and it came with a standard issue Wind-entwining blade.
Obviously, he could not turn down the goodwill of others. And, this identity as the sheriff was rather useful to Li Qingshan as well. The government of this world did not appear to be particularly powerful, but since he had a legitimate status, it would definitely come with its benefits. He temporarily needed this identity.
Li Qingshan went to a wing of the room to change into the clothes before equipping the Wind-entwining blade. When he emerged, his bearing changed once more. The black sheriff’s uniform was not as ugly as Li Qingshan had originally imagined it to be. Instead, it seemed very much like a uniform. Wearing it, he lost some of his free, unrestrained aura as a person of the jianghu and gained a more solemn and upright bearing.
Ye Dachuan said, “Originally, I wondered whether it was a little small, but I never thought it would be a perfect fit. Although it can’t be compared to the legitimate Black Wolf uniform, you really do seem even more awe-inspiring than actual Hawkwolf guards.”
Li Qingshan thought to himself, It really wasn’t a false impression. He really had become thinner. It was not because he had overworked himself in the past few days, but probably the effects of practising the Tiger Demon’s Fist of Bone Forging.
“The Black Wolf uniform? Hawkwolf guards?”
Ye Dachuan said, “Hmph, that bunch of arrogant, ruthless, and greedy wolf pups. Don’t worry, their influence can’t reach here. In Qingyang city, you and I possess the most power!”
Originally, Li Qingshan had asked without much thought, but he instead began to care now. The underlying meaning to what Ye Dachuan had said seemed to be that if the influence of the Hawkwolf Guard did reach here, they would no longer possess the most authority. However, Ye Dachuan had witnessed his martial arts before. As it turned out, maybe the imperial court and government of this world was not as weak as he had imagined them to be. The weak must have been this official Ye right in front of him.
He had been trapped in a mountain village for most of his life, and as soon as he made it out, he ran around fighting and killing. He did not have the leisure to properly understand this world at all. Even right now, it was no different. He needed to practise the Tiger Demon’s Fist of Bone Forging quickly so that he could handle the possible events and dangers that might appear.
“Sir Ye, sheriff Li, it’s time to attend the trial,” said the advisor.
Li Qingshan stood there purely for a ceremonious purpose before bidding farewell and leaving. When he returned to his courtyard, he discovered the doors to be open, so his heart lurched. He rushed through the door, but all he saw was Huang Binghu standing in the courtyard, studying the snow sculptures. “What a sophisticated interest, Qingshan!”
Li Qingshan smiled bitterly. He could not refute him, “Hunting chief, you’ve returned so quickly. Are these?” There were eight, large jars of alcohol and two bamboo baskets in the courtyard. They stood out very much.
“It’s obviously the tiger bone alcohol you asked for!” Huang Binghu opened a jar, and the heavy fragrance of alcohol permeated the entire courtyard.
“So much!”
“We dug up everything we had for this.” Huang Binghu smiled as he studied Li Qingshan, “That’s quite a handsome outfit. If you really could join the Hawkwolf Guard, you won’t have to worry about others trying to steal from you.”
The Hawkwolf Guard again? Li Qingshan said, “Hunting chief, is the Hawkwolf Guard really that powerful?” Huang Binghu had left Qingyang city before. He had gone to larger places like the Clear River prefecture, so Li Qingshan obviously wanted to seek advice from him.
Huang Binghu became stern. “They’re more than just powerful. One of their responsibilities is to arrest people of the jianghu that regular sheriffs are unable to control. There’s not a single person of the jianghu who does not fear them. They’re all known as the hawks and hounds of the government. However, the Hawkwolf Guard only recruits innate masters. Normally, they will never interfere with anything. I’ve only seen them a few times from afar during my time of roaming the jianghu.”
