The King of Black Fog

In the blinding snowstorm, either he couldn't move at all for fear of stirring a bit of wind, or once he moved, he couldn't stop. Li Changzhou led his men and ran into Fengxue Town in one breath.

The simple horse stable could barely shield from the wind and rain, but there were many horses inside, emitting heat that made the temperature in the stable somewhat bearable.

A few lamps flickered on the top of the shed, and sometimes ghosts crashed dead on the lights.

The group dismounted, and before Li Changzhou could act, a lean man holding his own horse with his left hand reached over with his right to take his reins.

"Hurry up! Get into the tavern! I'm freezing to death!"

"Damn it! My hands are frozen stiff!"

Two nimble men quickly tied up the reins and ran toward the distant brightly lit tavern, but before they left the stable, they were hauled back by an old man.

"What's the matter, old man?!"

The old man gave them a fierce blow to the back of their heads, making only the sound of fabric hitting fabric.

The snow accumulating on their hats and collars scattered like ash.

The old man swiftly glanced at Li Changzhou and glared at the two of them.

Following his line of sight, they saw Li Changzhou standing at the stable door, not going out, and immediately they fell silent, obediently waiting with everyone else.

"Captain," the old man glanced at the tavern and said, "Is there a problem?"

Li Changzhou didn't speak, turned around, saw the man holding his horses finally tied the two horses, and quickly rushed over as if afraid of being left behind.

He nodded slightly to the lean man, stepped out of the stable, and headed toward the tavern.

The old man thought for a moment, patted the lean man's shoulder, and followed him out.

"You rascal! Quite good at sucking up!" The others teased the lean man and followed along.

The snow was knee-deep, and Li Changzhou initially wanted to walk first, using 'Great Strength' to clear the way, but several men simultaneously rushed forward, eagerly using their legs to squeeze through the snow.

Li Changzhou didn't insist, letting the wind and snow whip against his face while scrutinizing Fengxue Town in the tavern's light.

The houses seemed to shiver from the cold, hunched in the night, or seemed like giant beasts ready to hunt at any moment.

Withdrawing his gaze, they had already arrived in front of the tavern.

The tavern had three floors, all made of wood, and at that time was brilliantly lit, as if basked in light.

Before entering, they heard the bustling noise, the food and alcohol aroma like hooks pulling everyone inside involuntarily.

However, Li Changzhou stopped once again.

Everyone stood on his sides, waiting for his command.

"Remember!" Li Changzhou said, "Don't cause trouble, but if anyone dares to provoke us, act immediately; I'll deal with the consequences!"

The already eager crowd felt their blood heat up.

"Yes!"

Boom!

The tavern door was kicked open, the wind and snow more impatient than Li Changzhou's group, a whirlwind with flying snow rushed in ahead of them.

"Damn it!"

"Which son of a bitch!"

Curses filled the tavern, clearly intolerant of the sudden snow assault.

Amid the curses, Li Changzhou's group walked in, warm light like a flood washed over them.

"Bang!" The last person closed the heavy door, their shadows cast upon it, appearing mighty.

This slightly quieted the cursing in the tavern—though not by much.

Li Changzhou examined the tavern.

A very simple setup, the deepest part facing the door was both the counter and bar, with tables and chairs filling the open space, and two blazing fireplaces were on each side.

The fireplaces were piled high with firewood, like pillars reaching the ceiling.

All the guests chose wooden tables nearest the fireplaces in orderly rows, dividing the center distinctively like the Chu and Han River Boundary.

This made Li Changzhou think of a scene: two people doing fish spa treatments, the dead-skin-eating fish gathered around their legs.

These people clung to the fireplaces like those fish—to ward off the cold weather.

After a quick glance, he didn't see Li Qianxia and her group; finally, he scanned the weapons at everyone's waists, then withdrew his gaze to look at the woman at the bar.

This woman was clearly not a waitress but the tavern keeper, with an aura ready to expel guests at any time.

In her thirties, very fair, mature temperament, beautiful features, her left eye was dead gray, silently and lifelessly watching every guest.

"Next time you kick the door, I'll tie you to it and freeze you into ice sculptures!" The tavern keeper said harshly.

The old man approached: "A bite to eat, a night's stay, three rooms, and we'll borrow a fire when we leave."

The tavern keeper sized them up, her living right eye gazed twice at Li Changzhou, saying, "Seven people, twelve blocks of ice."

"Six."

"At least eight!"

"Seven."

"I hope that next time you come, you're already dead." The tavern keeper said.

The old man smiled smugly, clearly taking the curse as a compliment.

The group also began to line up—choosing a table with available seats closest to the bonfire.

The old man walked alone toward the bar, painstakingly retrieving a beast bag from his multi-layered clothing, and extracted several finger-long ice blocks.

"Exactly seven." He placed seven blocks of ice on the table.

The tavern keeper pushed the ice blocks into a drawer, then tossed three keys to the old man: "Room numbers are written on them, food is horse bone soup, roast horse meat, and some baked cakes."

The old man frowned: "Where's the horse meat from?"

"If you die, your horse will appear on my plate, and I'll sell it for a bit more to make up for the loss from you."

"Then I'm relieved." The wrinkles on the old man's forehead seemed to lessen a bit, "What's your name, young lady?"