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Xueyue City was certainly a sight when covered in thick snow.
The group had all been alerted to the presence of said snow by Lei Wujie, who had woken up early to practise his sword forms, then excitedly burst into all his friends' rooms, one by one, to inform them of the fact.
"Airhead," Xiao Se grumbled. "You're telling me that you woke us up at the crack of dawn... for this?"
"Of course! Isn't it beautiful?" Wujie exclaimed, "The view from this balcony is usually magnificent, but this really is something else! Look at how pretty it is!"
"You do know that this snow isn't gonna melt if we come out here a few hours later, right? Look at how thick it is- it's here to stay for at least a few days."
Obviously Lei Wujie wasn't listening. He stared out at the snow-covered streets beyond for a few moments, then turned and ran down the corridor. He threw over his shoulder, "Come on! Let's go to the backyard- I can't wait to see what it looks like now with all this snow!"
"Eh- Lei Shidi!" Tang Lian hurried after him, calling out a warning, "Don't run on the stairs, you might fall!"
Qianluo too rushed off, while Xiao Se, Ruoyi and Wu Xin all followed at a slower pace.
Xiao Se sighed and shook his head as he followed his friends down the stairs.
Ruoyi chuckled and tugged at his sleeve. "Wujie has a point- it really is a beautiful scene. Normally you appreciate things like that," she pointed out. "And it's normal for him to get this excited, if it doesn't snow like this in Jiangnan."
"I don't care if he's never seen snow like this before. We've all seen snow like this before. Wu Xin is surrounded by snow like this at least 6 months of the year. This was unnecessary and I wanna go back to sleep."
"But there's just something different about admiring snow so early in the morning, when the dawn light still hasn't fully dissipated. Besides, it's kinda-"
"Ruoyi, if you're about to say this is cute, I'm gonna pinch you."
Ruoyi laughed and looked at Wujie in a way that while silent, confirmed Xiao Se's fears that his childhood best friend and one of the only brain cells in this group was turning into a sap.
"Aw come on, Xiao Se, don't be like that. There is so much beauty in the world- how could you say that admiring it is unnecessary? Even if the snow is the same, the place is different, and that creates a whole new scene worthy of admiration, no?"
Xiao Se gave Wu Xin a look that only made his grin widen. Despite the early hour, Wu Xin looked completely awake- his brown eyes were as bright as usual and his tone didn't carry a hint of exhaustion. Aside from amusement at Wujie's childish excitement and Xiao Se's grouchiness, there was something like genuine enthusiasm on his face, enhanced by the almost heavenly glow that the soft dawn light brought to his features.
Xiao Se looked away before the corners of his lips could twitch into a reluctant smile. "I still think we could have been allowed to sleep for a little longer," he retorted stubbornly. "But I'm glad you're awake, at least, and that you're just as ridiculous as always."
Wu Xin chuckled.
The backyard too had been covered by a thick layer of snow overnight, which now that the sun had settled in the sky properly, was a pure, glistening white. The previously barren branches were now weighed down by snow, the few flowers and leaves that bloomed in the winter catching small amounts of it to complement their relatively bright colors. The birds that had come by earlier had left tiny prints on the branches and the ground, their tracks mingling with the bits of rock or fallen branches that were scattered loosely around the clearing. Even the table in the middle of the yard hadn't been spared- the snow piled on its flat surface was nearly an inch thick, partially fallen onto the stone seats that surrounded it.
Wujie stepped into the yard, then lifted his boot and looked back at the deep footprint it had made in the snow with curious fascination.
Tang Lian chuckled and remarked in obvious amusement, "I take it that it doesn't snow very often where you come from?"
"No. Jiangnan does get kinda cold in the winter, but any snow we get is usually like... really thin and melts by the afternoon. I haven't seen snow piled up so high except on my travels. And maybe it doesn't help that the clan I grew up in is known for using gunpowder and having fire and lightning powers, haha..."
"I can't imagine that helping, no."
"So my idea of winter looks pretty different from this! I got pretty excited the first time I saw heavy snowfall while I was on the road too... but I didn't have anyone around me at the time to share the moment with, so it felt different." Wujie picked a clump of snow off the ground. He remarked, "Feels kinda sticky too, like clay. Is that normal?"
"For this temperature, yes- if it was colder like when we first met, it'd fall apart like powder. And you might be adding to it with your body temperature, since your hands are always warm no matter the weather."
"That comes from Fire Infusion! Any snowflakes I tried to catch before melted in seconds... how long do you think I can hold this before it melts?"
"If you don't set your hand on fire, probably a while."
Wujie nodded and kept poking at the little sphere he had formed in his hands, as if trying to see at what point it would crumble and lose its shape.
"...well!" Qianluo began suddenly, a sly smile on her face. "Since we're out here already... Da-shixiong!"
"Wha-"
Tang Lian coughed as a flurry of white clouded his vision and what felt like soft ice tumbled down his mouth and into his throat.
When he managed to regain his composure again, he saw Qianluo tilting her head at him, her cheeky grin betraying her as the culprit. After over a decade of knowing this girl, he didn't need her victorious crow to tell him what was going on, but he heard it anyway.
"Snowball fight!"
"Snowball fight?"
The confused way Lei Wujie echoed Qianluo's words made both her and Tang Lian, who had just begun to bend down to gather some snow, pause.
Qianluo opened her mouth, about to scold Wujie for being an idiot...
But then she noticed that Wujie wasn't the only one who looked like he had no clue what she was talking about. Xiao Se was looking back and forth between her and Tang Lian with a quizzically raised eyebrow, his arms folded. Ruoyi was staring at the snow in Tang Lian's hands as if she had no clue what it was for. Even Wu Xin was tilting his head curiously- open to this thing that was happening right now, but clearly possessing no understanding of said thing.
Qianluo slammed her spear on the ground and demanded, "Have none of you ever been in a snowball fight before?!"
All that answered her were a few shakes of the head and some shrugs.
...in hindsight, Tang Lian mused silently, he and Qianluo really shouldn't be that surprised. Lei Wujie had just told them that it rarely snowed where he came from. Ye Ruoyi's health meant that she had been wheelchair-bound for most of her childhood- who would dare start a snowball fight with someone so frail? Wu Xin had admitted before that he didn't have many friends in Beili, and from the way Baifa Xian had spoken to him before, he was either too feared or too respected in Tian Wai Tian for anyone to attempt such a thing. As for Xiao Se, the only brother he was close with had gone blind when the pair had only been kids, and what non-royal would dare throw a snowball at the sixth prince of Beili?
No wonder they had no clue what Qianluo was talking about.
"Well! We can't have that, can we, Da-shixiong?"
Qianluo was giving him a look that immediately made him wary of whatever was about to happen.
"Why don't we give everyone a demonstration?"
"Qianluo-"
Tang Lian hadn't even finished when Qianluo threw another handful of snow in his face.
Qianluo giggled at the look Tang Lian sent her in reply and ran. "Catch me if you can, Da-shixiong!" she called over her shoulder.
Tang Lian laughed and scooped up a handful of snow. His martial arts were gone, but years of practise meant that his eyes could still track Qianluo across the courtyard as he retorted, "This is the second time you've launched a sneak attack on me today... how underhanded!"
He cast out his snowball on the last word.
It would have landed squarely on Qianluo's shoulder, if Qianluo hadn't seen him coming from a mile away and batted the snow aside with her spear. She teased, "Too sloppy, Da-shixiong! Hey- I know you're the tortoise, but that's no reason for you to be so slow!"
"Who are you calling a tortoise? Today I'll teach you how to respect your elders! You unruly shimei, stand still!"
Qianluo shrieked with laughter as another snowball made its way across the clearing, this time successfully landing a hit on her back. She ducked behind a nearby tree, quickly made her third snowball of the day and threw it in Tang Lian's direction.
Tang Lian dodged, running towards the nearest, reasonably large object- the stone table. He made sure he was completely hidden behind before beginning to gather snow in his own hands- a peek around the edge of the table had told him that Qianluo was already preparing her fourth attack of the day.
The next snowball Qianluo threw out, however, went flying not towards Tang Lian, but the spectator stands.
She had obviously been aiming for Xiao Se, but the target in question dodged gracefully, causing Lei Wujie to end up with an earful of snow.
The poor boy yelped and shouted, "Hey!! Shijie, that's cold!!"
"Come and get me if you want revenge!"
"Oh just you wait!" Wujie began pulling a snowball together as well. He called to the rest of their friends, "Someone help me distract her while I put this together!!"
"Remember, everyone," Tang Lian added from where he was making more snowballs taking a quick break behind the table. "White snow only, and no rocks."
Wu Xin made a sound of acknowledgement, then gladly answered Wujie's request by throwing a snowball at Qianluo.
She met it deftly with her spear, scattering the winter weapon into a thousand snowflakes long before it hit her.
Eventually, the team settled into their respective pairs- Qianluo and Tang Lian had begun working together, claiming the stone table as their central base, while Wujie and Wu Xin were perched together behind a large rock- well. Wu Xin was guarding their territory and increasing the size of their snowball pile while Wujie ran, looking for better angles to hit Qianluo and Tang Lian at until he needed to return to their shelter for ammo. All of them were having fun... all of them, except-
"Ruoyi! Xiao Se!" Wujie called. "Aren't you two gonna join us?"
"No thanks," Xiao Se replied. "We're both too civilized for this and besides, I don't want my robes to get ru-"
A snowball hitting him in the cheek cut him off.
Xiao Se shook his head to pull himself together again, and glared in the direction the snowball had come from to see Wu Xin's eyes, sparkling with amusement, looking back at him.
Without breaking eye contact, Xiao Se bent down, gathered some snow in his hands, and threw it at Wu Xin as hard as he could.
Wu Xin yelped and started running. Unlike Wujie, who had been running wildly across the courtyard, Wu Xin made sure to make full use of the cover available to him, ducking and weaving between the trees, pillars and even the other people in the clearing. As such, snowball after snowball landed on the objects in the courtyard, but Wu Xin's robes remained snow-free.
"So fierce, Mr Xiao!" Wu Xin laughed as yet another snowball hit the tree he had passed behind instead of him. "People should be compassionate and merciful even to their enemies- it's not good to be so scary, Xiao Se!"
"Ruoyi! Help me!"
Ruoyi had to giggle at how quickly Xiao Se's attitude had changed. She answered his call by picking up a snowball, throwing it...
And hitting Tang Lian by accident instead.
Sikong Changfeng and Li Hanyi had been passing through the corridors of Xueyue City's main building when they heard the shrieks of laughter and the thuds of snowballs missing their targets nearby.
They made their way towards the sound to see the six youngsters in the middle of a huge snowball fight. It looked like pure chaos... between the white snowflakes permanently floating in the air, the red blur that was Lei Wujie dashed across the clearing like he'd just had too much sugar, while Qianluo got an early morning workout trying to fend off snowballs from several different people at once. Even the usually dignified people in the group were having fun, with Tang Lian throwing out a joking barb before ducking behind his table to avoid retaliation and Ruoyi giggling behind her sleeve whenever a snowball she threw hit someone.
Li Hanyi snorted at the sight and muttered, "Childish."
"Aw come on, Hanyi," Sikong Changfeng cajoled, smiling in his usual fond, indulging manner. "It's the first snow today. Kids like them are gonna have some fun."
"I don't see what's so fun about running around like headless chickens and getting yourself covered in ice on purpose. If they have the time-"
A snowball hit Li Hanyi in the face.
Sikong Changfeng suddenly felt the temperature around them drop by several degrees. He didn't recall ever seeing a snowball hit Li Hanyi before... she had seemed utterly uninterested in playing even in her younger days, and whenever a snowball fight had been started before, she had always been practising her sword moves alone in the hills behind Xueyue City. Certainly her stillness and silence now were not encouraging, her facial expression unreadable with or without the mask...
He cleared his throat and asked loudly, "Who did that?"
Qianluo recognized her dad's voice and brightened up- it had been her dad and Uncle Baili, after all, that had first taught her how to do a snowball fight by demonstration. Maybe he wanted to join in too! She made sure she was sufficiently covered by the tree in front of her, then turned her head, ready to greet her dad-
Only to realize from the bit of snow still on Li Hanyi's mask that the snowball in question had not hit her dad, but her scary swordswoman aunt.
Uh oh.
One by one, everyone else came to the same realization. The previously relaxed atmosphere suddenly tensed up as the rest of the team slowed in their movements or froze up like kids who had been caught staying up past curfew by their parents.
Lei Wujie was the only one who seemed not to notice the new tension in the air, bounding up to his sister like a puppy and greeting, "Jie!! You're here too!! The others have been teaching me this new game- it's called snowball fight, and it's really fun! How about you play with us-"
"Hide."
"...ah?"
"Three."
Being both her disciple and her little brother, Wujie was the first to realize that Li Hanyi was counting down to... something. Whatever it was, he didn't think he wanted to be on the receiving end of it, so he quickly dove behind the nearest rock.
Sikong Changfeng also quickly hid behind a nearby pillar.
"Two."
Everyone else seemed to finally understand what was about to happen, and quickly scrambled to find something to hide behind.
"One!"
On "one", Li Hanyi unsheathed her sword and unleashed a strong wave of energy. It kicked up the snow as it traveled across the courtyard, turning the clear air into a flurry of white mist in the blink of an eye.
When the snow settled once again, everyone peeked out of their hiding places. Despite having had the sense to take cover, they were all varying degrees of covered in snow. Xiao Se was emptying white flakes out of one of his boots, Wu Xin was brushing snow off the folds of his monk robes, Ruoyi was picking specks of white out of her hair, Tang Lian was shaking some snow out of his ear, Qianluo was coughing, and Wujie was covered in so much snow that his hair looked more white than reddish brown.
Li Hanyi scoffed, but if Sikong Changfeng wasn't mistaken, a smile was playing at the corner of her lips. "I still got some snow on you," she remarked. "You lost."
Then she sheathed her sword and walked off.
For a moment, the clearing was stunned into silence.
Then Wujie recovered enough to speak.
"That's an interesting way of playing! Ooh- I'll go next! I'm gonna stand there and use one of the sword moves Jie taught me, and you guys can- ACK!"
Sikong Changfeng chuckled to himself as Wujie was pelted with at least three snowballs at once. He shook his head fondly and left the youngsters to themselves as snow once again began flying through the air.
Winter in Xueyue City was always a lot of fun.