After a week passed, all citizens of Yunmeng Jiang had eaten their fill of porridge. It was confirmed that none of them were infected by corpse poisoning. Afterwards, the Peak Masters of Cang Qiong Mountain had left back to their Sect.

They didn't need Clan Leader Jiang to send them off.

"We can rest now." Wei Wuxian sighed.

The three couples each sat on the same bench, aligning themselves perfectly in a row. They conversed with one another, while also mulling over some spare thoughts.

"What will we be doing now?" Shen Qingqiu sighed.

"Rehabilitation, of course!" Wei Wuxian piped up. "Many buildings collapsed due to the fierce corpses' attack. We'll help Jiang Cheng reconstruct Yunmeng Jiang!"

All of a sudden, a Yunmeng Jiang disciple arrived before their eyes. "Clan Leader Jiang wishes to see these six esteemed cultivators."

Wei Wuxian smiled proudly. He seemed to gesture, see? What did I say?

The rest of the three couples, "..." Whatever you say is right...

When they arrived before Jiang Cheng's office, they watched the Clan Leader flatten his ruffled clothes and press down a tuff of sticking up hair. Then, Jiang Cheng blatantly spoke, "I'm kicking you six out of Yunmeng Jiang."

The three couples, "..." What did Wei Wuxian say?

"Actually," Lan Xichen interrupted, "What Clan Leader Jiang meant to say is that he needs you six to complete a mission that nobody else can complete." He wore his friendly and composed smile, then began to explain. "We have found a clue as to Yi Ran's origins. Perhaps if we investigate more about her, we can find a way to understand why she and the demon are killing so much people."

Shen Qingqiu was slightly confused. "What are the origins of Yi Ran? And how did you guys find this out?"

Xie Lian was curious about this question as well.

"Coincidentally," Lan Xichen spoke, "There's a person visiting Yunmeng Jiang after the fierce corpse incident. This person knows rumours about a strange town."

"That town's name was... Square Village."

Square Village was originally an abandoned town. Its old inhabitants had died in a wildfire, with the buildings burned and almost completely incinerated into ashes. After the fire subsided, new villagers inhabited the town. They built and reconstructed the buildings.

Square Village was almost as new as ever.

However, at night, when all villagers were sleeping, some said that they could smell the scent of smoke. When waking up in the middle of night, the villagers were able to witness a brilliant sight—a wall of blue flames out in the distance.

Even more phenomenal, the fire disappears in the morning. The blue fire only appears at night.

It was said that the ghosts of the original inhabitants were angry at the villagers. The ghosts didn't want their home to be replaced, so they decided to set the town on fire.

The only reason why the villagers didn't die from the fire was because of one person. Staying in their town is a cultivator, who goes by the widespread name "Immortal". This cultivator is able to fend off the fire, which made Square Village safe so far. However, nobody knows what the Immortal looks like. They only know that the Immortal sleep at day, protect the town at night.

"...blue fire." Luo Binghe paid attention to the details.

Lan Xichen nodded. "Yes. We believe that the person setting the fire is Yi Ran. There's only her so far who's able to set blue fire. We don't know what the correlation between her and Square Village is, but that town is definitely a clue to her origin."

Shen Qingqiu agreed with his analysis.

"So..." Hua Cheng guessed the reason as to why they're learning this. "You want us to check out Square Village." He didn't ask for confirmation, he merely stated the answer.

Jiang Cheng huffed. "So what? There's no problem with that, right?"

"Oh," Hua Cheng gave a half-assed smile, "I never said anything along the likes of that."

Hearing that, Jiang Cheng's face turned red in anger. He wanted to thrash out, bloating up like a pufferfish. Yet, this pufferfish shrunk back to its original size immediately, after feeling a cold touch on his shoulder.

Lan Xichen comforted him through a simple touch.

"Anyways," Jiang Cheng added. "It's best if you guys go check the situation out. If you do meet Yi Ran—" His eyes glistened with a hostile glare, "Please do kill her with all your might."

When the three couples set out from Yunmeng Jiang, they each all carried a bag. Inside their bags were rations, which were supposed to last them for three days.

"Shizun," Luo Binghe cooed. "I'll carry your bag for you."

He easily slipped Shen Qingqiu's bag onto his own back.

Shen Qingqiu mouthed a quick "thanks" before fanning himself elegantly. Watching his lover, Luo Binghe appeared like he was caught in some sort of trance. This trance was probably known as a loving gaze. "As expected, Shizun is the best~" He sang.

"Don't listen to him." Wei Wuxian huffed. He nudged Lan Zhan by the arm, resting a head on his lover's shoulder, "To me, Lan Zhan, you're the best."

Hua Cheng shot a look at his own lover too.

Xie Lian didn't notice the conversation that the remaining couples had. He just stayed silent to himself, analyzing more about Square Village, which they've yet to arrive at. I wonder who the Immortal in Square Village is? Are they as powerful as a Heavenly Official?

"Gege," Hua Cheng wrapped an arm around his lover. "Gege will forever be the best."

Xie Lian, "..." What was happening here?

"San Lang is the best too!" He didn't care and just directly went along with the conversation. Hearing this had directly melted Hua Cheng's heart.

On the sidelines, the remaining three couples watched with a blank face.

"Lan Zhan, we have to do better!" Wei Wuxian chirped.

His lover, Lan Zhan nodded along.

However, they never really got to show off to the other couples. That was because, a flurry of clouds condensed over the top of their heads. The clouds blocked the couples from witnessing the cerulean blue sky, making the world seem plain and blank like a canvas. At that moment, a drop of white wafted from the clouds and dropped on Wei Wuxian's nose.

The small snowflake was delicate and fragile. Once it landed on Wei Wuxian's nose, it immediately melted into a tiny puddle of water.

That was the first sign of snow and ice. Winter was coming.

The three couples continued going along the pathway. As they trudged along, the density of snow had become thicker. It was to the point where snowflakes littered all over the ground, even without melting. The temperature dropped.

"It's snowing so fast!" Luo Binghe was amazed. He turned to Shen Qingqiu, with his eyes shining like stars, "Shizun! Let's kiss under the snow! It will be so romantic!"

Shen Qingqiu merely snapped his fan shut, then smacked Luo Binghe on his head again. "Get those lustful thoughts out of your head, Binghe."

Luo Binghe could only silently weep in the corner.

Seeing just how abused his lover looked, Shen Qingqiu could only take his loss and mustered up his courage. He silently trudged over to his lover's side, then pecked a kiss on his nose. "Now there, stop crying. There will be no second time." His words were sharp, but hidden underneath his once-again-opened fan was a face painted in rosy red blush. Shen Qingqiu was flustered, why do I always fall for his tricks...

"Shizun! As expected, you are the best!" Luo Binghe brightened up with ease.

If he was a puppy, his tail would be wagging back and forth at a fast pace, while his ears would be pricked upwards as high as a tree.

"Enough." Shen Qingqiu scolded.

Meanwhile, the remaining three couples stared at them, "..." Why do these two always feed us dog food?

As they continued the path, the snow began piling higher and higher. At that point, the snow already reached the mid of their knees. It was snowing a lot, which drenched the three couples. Their robes were wet from the snow, with small flakes drifting in their long hair.

"It's snowing a lot." Wei Wuxian chirped. "We should get to a safe shelter first."

Everyone else agreed. They quickly walked along the path, but the snow gradually piled to the lengths of their knees.

"It's cold, Shizun." Luo Binghe nuzzled up to Shen Qingqiu. "Can Shizun let this disciple borrow some of your warmth?"

"...What warmth?" Shen Qingqiu bashfully spat.

He hid the blush on his face behind his fan. Luo Binghe noticed his embarrassment and chirped, "Your body warmth!"

"Idiot." Shen Qingqiu hit Luo Binghe on the head.

Wei Wuxian piped in, "Aww, your Shizun won't share you body warmth. But Lan Zhan will borrow me some of his!" He teasingly looked in Luo Binghe's direction. "Right, Lan Zhan?"

All of a sudden, Wei Wuxian felt a warm and heavy weight plop on his shoulders. He looked back, only to find Lan Zhan untie his outer robes and give him his outer robes! Lan Zhan was left in his inner robes, appearing quite silly in only one layer.

Wei Wuxian's face felt rosy and warm. Then, he turned serious. "Lan Wangji! I was just joking! You did not need to take my words so seriously!"

Lan Zhan was adorably serious. "Wei Ying, you're cold. I will borrow you my warmth."

"No no no!" Wei Wuxian insisted. "You won't be able to take the cold well. I don't care if you're a cultivator or the embodiment of an iceberg, but you must not suffer!" He redressed Lan Zhan in his outer robes, making sure to dress his lover properly.

Lan Zhan could only be treated like a doll, being dressed by his lover.

"Good boy." Wei Wuxian petted his head.

They continued along the way. Secretly in his mind, Hua Cheng was biting his nails. He watched how all the other couples acted so lovey-dovey. Deep down, he was envious. Hua Cheng wanted to show off his own love and lover to the others.

He wanted to show them who truly dominated in terms of their romance.

"Gege," Hua Cheng cooed. "Look, the snow is all the way up to your thigh..." Seeing the trails of snow over his lover's pants, Hua Cheng snaked an arm to Xie Lian's leg.

His hand skillfully brushed over Xie Lian's thigh.

Xie Lian stiffened on the spot. His face was as red as a tomato, and his bottom lip quivered from the touch. "S-San Lang... what are you doing?"

"Cleaning the snow on your pants." Hua Cheng responded softly. He leaned closely, so that their faces were only an inch away from one another. He enjoyed watching how red Xie Lian's cheeks were. At such a close range, Hua Cheng was able to hear just how fast his lover's heart beat.

Xie Lian took Hua Cheng's wandering hand in his own, "T-There's no need to clean me, San Lang. I'm perfectly fine. I'm not cold at all." After all, he'd ascended to heaven thrice.

"Don't be shy, Gege..." Hua Cheng smiled.

In the distance, the remaining three couples watched with black lines across their face, "..." Hua Chengzhu just wanted to show off, didn't he?!?

In the end, Hua Cheng helped clean his lover's pants, and the three couples continued along the way.

By the time it was afternoon, they finally arrived at Square Village. Indeed, the town was surrounded by walls, built in the shape of a square. At the gates, they trudged through the snow. There was falling snow from the sky, which would cover up the footsteps they left in the back.

Suddenly, they heard a soft meow.

"A cat!" Xie Lian piped up. At the gates was a black cat, who had white paws and a white tail. Its fur was like the stars shining in the middle of night.

The black cat reacted to Xie Lian, jumping into his arms.

Xie Lian caught the black cat easily. Hua Cheng's eyes thinned at the black cat.

CoolCool-Aid: Ooh! There is a black kitty! In western folklore, black cats are said to be a sign of bad luck. But this is China so... (fun fact, it's actually good luck and can ward off evil 👍).

Every main couple that MXTX wrote has their own designated inner animals...

Shen Qingqiu: Cat

Luo Binghe: Dog

Wei Wuxian: Black rabbit

Lan Zhan: White rabbit

Xie Lian: Ferret

Hua Cheng: Fox

Wei Wuxian: I now understand why I hate Luo-xiong—I mean, why I like him so much 😊

Luo Binghe: QAQ Shizun! Wei Wuxian is bullying me again!

Shen Qingqiu: ...is this kindergarten?