One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

Chapter 109 Unfavorable Situation

As Nie Lingfeng led Chen Duo out of the deep mountains and forests and stepped onto the asphalt road, he had a strange feeling of being in another world.

Three months is neither a long nor a short time. Yet it is enough for a girl on the verge of collapse to be reborn, and enough for certain forces lurking in the shadows to lose their will to kill.

The mountain mist hadn't completely dissipated, and the morning dew dampened their trouser legs. Chen Duo wore coarse cloth clothes that Nie Lingfeng had traded with the hunters in the mountains; though simple, they were clean. Her emerald eyes squinted slightly in the sunlight, as if she wasn't used to such bright light, and her fingers unconsciously clenched Nie Lingfeng's sleeve.

"Are you scared?" Nie Lingfeng asked her, looking down at her.

Chen Duo shook her head, then nodded, and finally whispered, "I don't know."

Nie Lingfeng understood this contradiction—a desire to integrate into this normal world, yet an instinctive wariness of the unknown. He ruffled her hair and pulled out his old Nokia phone from his pocket. The black body was badly worn, revealing a silver metallic sheen at the edges.

I pressed the power button, and the screen lit up with a faint blue light. The signal bars in the upper right corner of the screen jumped one by one, and then the missed call and text message notifications kept ringing like crazy, sounding particularly jarring in the quiet mountain road.

Thirty-seven missed calls and twenty-one text messages, all from the same number—Xu Si.

Nie Lingfeng raised an eyebrow and pressed the redial button. The phone was answered after only one ring, and Xu Si's almost shouting voice came from the other end, his voice filled with obvious anxiety and exhaustion:

"Xiao Feng?! You finally turned on your phone! Where are you now? Are you with Chen Duo? Listen to me, right now, immediately, find somewhere to hide! Don't go back to the company, don't contact anyone! There are Wang family spies in the company, you'll be watched the moment you show your face!"

Nie Lingfeng held the phone further away, and only after Xu Si finished yelling did he calmly speak: "Fourth Brother, I..."

"Don't speak! Let me finish!" Xu Si interrupted him, speaking at a rapid pace like a machine gun. "The Wang family has made their move! That old bastard Wang Ai slammed his fist on the table at the company's board meeting, accusing you of harboring a traitor who murdered a company employee, and demanding that the company immediately issue an arrest warrant for you and Chen Duo! Several directors who are in cahoots with him are also putting pressure on us. My third brother and I are trying to negotiate, but we can't hold out for long!"

He took a breath, lowering his voice even further, almost whispering, "More importantly, the board of directors has given the Wang family 'special permission'—as long as it doesn't affect ordinary people or cause large-scale riots, they can use 'personal grudges' as an excuse to hunt you down! Xiao Feng, the Wang family is one of the Ten Elders, with deep roots. It's too dangerous for you to be alone with Chen Duo! Quickly find a place to hide and wait for things to calm down..."

"Fourth Brother," Nie Lingfeng interrupted him, his voice still calm and unwavering, "If I take action against the Wang family, will the company intervene?"

On the other end of the phone, Xu Si was clearly stunned.

A few seconds later, he asked hesitantly, "What...do you mean?"

"Literal meaning." Nie Lingfeng pulled Chen Duo to a roadside stall selling roasted sweet potatoes. The stall owner was an elderly woman in her sixties, and a sweet aroma wafted from the charcoal stove. Nie Lingfeng pulled out a few crumpled bills, bought two golden-brown roasted sweet potatoes, handed one to Chen Duo, took a bite himself, and mumbled, "The Wang family wants to kill me. I can't just stand there and wait to die, can I? If I fight back, wouldn't that be considered a 'personal grudge'? Will the company get involved?"

The steaming sweet potato felt warm in her hands. Chen Duo, imitating Nie Lingfeng, carefully peeled off the charred skin to reveal the golden flesh inside. She took a small bite, the sweetness melting on her tongue, and her eyes widened slightly.

Xu Si on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, then spoke again, his tone becoming subtle and complex: "Xiao Feng, listen to me. These old-established families and sects have always been a major threat to the company. What the company needs is balance and stability in the world of supernatural beings. As long as you don't disrupt the balance, don't cause trouble in front of ordinary people, and don't cause large-scale casualties... some things are not impossible to handle."

Nie Lingfeng smiled.

He understood Xu Si's subtext: as long as things don't get too out of hand, the company can turn a blind eye.

"It's just Chen Duo and me," Nie Lingfeng said, munching on a sweet potato, his gaze sweeping over the pedestrians on the street. "As long as there's no large-scale battle, the commotion won't be too big. Small-scale..."

He paused, a hint of coldness creeping into his smile, a coldness like the frost of a winter morning: "It's not that I look down on them. If the Wang family wants to leave, they can't stop them."

Xu Si on the other end of the phone gasped: "Xiao Feng, you... in these past three months, have you broken through again?"

"I guess so," Nie Lingfeng didn't deny it. "But Fourth Brother, I don't want to go against the company. Since I came out of seclusion, the company has taken good care of me, and Third Brother and Fourth Brother have been good to me too. Chu Lan, Bao Bao, and Qiu'er are all friends. So, could you arrange for me to meet with someone in charge at the company, or... make a phone call? I want to discuss the terms in person."

Xu Si narrowed his eyes on the other end of the phone, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the desk: "Xiao Feng, are you... threatening the company?"

"Of course not." Nie Lingfeng chuckled, his laughter light and natural, as if he were merely discussing the weather. "Just because the company has you, Third Brother, Chu Lan, Bao Bao, Qiu'er, Brother Xiao, Hei Guan, Lao Meng... and so many other people I care about, I won't go against the company. At worst, I'll take Chen Duo and hide in Longhu Mountain. The Old Celestial Master still owes me a favor; he said he'll cover for me if anything happens."

Xu Si: "..."

He rubbed his temples, a vein throbbing on his forehead, and finally sighed helplessly, "Alright, alright, I know. You brat, you even brought in the Old Master... I'll figure something out. But remember this: before I contact you, don't cause trouble, don't show your face, find a place to stay quietly! Got it?"

"I heard you," Nie Lingfeng replied obediently, his tone like that of a dutiful student.

"Wait for my message, keep your phone accessible." Xu Si hung up the phone.

Nie Lingfeng put his phone back in his pocket and turned to look at Chen Duo. Chen Duo was nibbling on a roasted sweet potato, her bright green eyes fixed on him. Her face was expressionless, but there was a hint of inquiry in her eyes—a tacit understanding cultivated over three months of living together. She could tell the seriousness of the matter from the subtle changes in Nie Lingfeng's tone.

"It's nothing." Nie Lingfeng gently ruffled her hair. "It's just that some people don't want us to have a peaceful life. But it's okay, I can handle it."

Chen Duo nodded, didn't ask any more questions, and continued to eat her sweet potato. But Nie Lingfeng could feel that her hand holding the sweet potato tightened slightly, and her knuckles turned slightly white.

"Let's go," Nie Lingfeng said, swallowing the last bite of sweet potato. "It's rare to be out here, let me show you around. You must have been bored in the mountains for the past three months, right?"

Chen Duo thought for a moment and said honestly, "I'm not bored. But... I want to see what's outside."

Her voice was very soft, as if she was afraid of disturbing something.

---

So, on this afternoon when everything should have been done in secrecy and unease, Nie Lingfeng, holding Chen Duo's hand, embarked on his first real shopping trip.

They were in a small town in southwest China, not large, but very lively. The streets were lined with all sorts of shops: clothes, snacks, daily necessities, and Miao silver jewelry and handicrafts. People came and went, the sounds of vendors hawking their wares, haggling, and children's laughter and tears mingling together, creating a vibrant, bustling atmosphere.

Chen Duo was not used to it at first.

She followed closely behind Nie Lingfeng, head down, avoiding eye contact, her body slightly tense, like a young animal ready to flee at any moment. When someone passed by, she would subconsciously move closer to Nie Lingfeng, her fingers secretly gripping the hem of his clothes, the grip light but revealing her unease.

"Relax." Nie Lingfeng patted the back of her hand, his voice gentle. "Look around, there's nothing to be afraid of. Everyone here is an ordinary person; they don't know who you are, nor do they know about the existence of superhumans. Just think of yourself as an ordinary girl out shopping."

Chen Duo raised her head and cautiously looked around.

She saw colorful dresses hanging in the shop window—pale yellow, pink, sky blue, with delicate embroidery on the hems; she saw steaming fried dough sticks at the food stall, their golden-brown skins tumbling in the oil; she saw a toy car that lit up and sang outside the toy store, with several children laughing and jumping around it; she saw young people queuing in the milk tea shop, holding brightly colored cups, slurping loudly through the straws…

Her eyes gradually brightened.

Like a dusty gemstone, gently wiped clean, gradually revealing its original luster. It was a pure curiosity, a longing for the "normal world" that had been suppressed for too long, and now finally had a window for release.

"Want to try it?" Nie Lingfeng pointed to the milk tea shop.

Chen Duo hesitated for a moment, looked at the brightly colored liquids, and nodded.

Nie Lingfeng went to queue and bought two cups of milk tea, one original and one with pearls and pudding. He handed the cup with the extra toppings to Chen Duo: "Try it. Be careful, it's hot."

Chen Duo took the cup; the plastic cup felt warm to the touch. She imitated the person next to her, inserting the straw, hesitating for a moment before bringing it to her lips and taking a gentle sip.

Sweet, fragrant, and rich in milk flavor, with soft, bouncy pearls rolling in your mouth, the pudding is as smooth as silk.

Her eyes widened slightly, the streetlights reflected in her emerald green pupils.

"It's delicious," she said, her voice carrying a subtle, almost imperceptible hint of surprise, like tiny ripples spreading across a calm lake after a pebble has been thrown in.

"If you like it, drink more." Nie Lingfeng smiled, a smile filled with a sense of relief and satisfaction.