I Have a Penglai Immortal Island

Zhao Zhao slept well that night. Just in case of nightmares, she had placed a Yunmeng tree by her bedside. Whether it was due to her relaxed mind or the Yunmeng tree, she slept soundly until dawn.

As luck would have it, that night, the island experienced heavy snowfall. Goose-feather-like snow fell for half the night, quickly transforming Jinshi Island into a silver-white wonderland.

Not only did the tourists on Jinshi Island get an eye-opening experience, but the island residents also marveled at the sight. This wasn't the northeast, after all, and they couldn't recall such heavy snowfall in their memories.

When Zhao Zhao was in St. York, she had casually mentioned to Da Linzi that it only snowed heavily once every few years here, and it melted quickly. Only the deep mountains in the north could retain the snow. She had even thought of taking Da Linzi to the ski resort in Chonghai when they got back, but now they wouldn't have to spend that money. The northern mountains might actually be suitable for skiing now.

Early the next morning, Zhao Zhao headed to Baxian Mountain to see if the sudden heavy snow had affected the plants.

The diligent villagers had already swept the snow off the streets early in the morning, piling it on the sides of the road. The path to Baxian Mountain was still covered in untouched snow, over a foot deep, with several sets of footprints, likely Da Linzi's.

Sure enough, the big iron gate at the foot of the mountain was unlocked. Xiong Haitao was clearing the snow in front of several houses. When he saw her, he greeted, "No worries, not a single one is frozen. Fortunately, we had stored a room full of hay. These guys are smart; I came here at dawn, and they were all huddled inside. Now they've all gone out to play, except for the little ones, who are still inside, smart as can be."

They had all entered Yaoguang's realm before, and with the earth's core energy in the mountain, they shouldn't have been foolish enough to freeze to death due to the sudden drop in temperature. She checked a few houses and found that they had even sorted themselves into different rooms, refusing to mix. The lambs were in one room, the cows and sika deer in another, and the piglets were huddled in a chicken coop. When they built the visitor center, they might have to add a few more rooms, as the current ones weren't enough.

Zhao Zhao continued up the mountain and encountered the sika deer. They were digging through the snow to eat the grass, using their heads to push and their hooves to kick until the grass was exposed. It was quite a struggle. Feeling a pang of conscience, she decided to help them so they wouldn't have to rely on hay.

Seeing that Da Linzi was still far away, she used the Boundless Sea Technique to blow the snow away, clearing large patches of grass. The silly sika deer happily ran towards their newly revealed dining table.

Having cleared some grassy areas on the mountain, disguised as natural wind-blown patches, she was satisfied and headed back down. On the way, she encountered her mounts, two white horses, now wild from being untethered.

Since she stopped having Da Linzi lead them daily, these two horses had been entirely free-range.

The white horses now looked like adults, frolicking in the snow, their long manes flying up and down with their movement, robust and wild. The ranch owner had said this breed was smart and could learn dressage, but that was nonsense. Just being able to ride them was good enough.

Zhao Zhao jumped onto the back of one of the horses. The horse immediately raised its front legs high, trying to throw her off. It would be embarrassing if she got thrown off. She sat steadily, letting it run and jump around, leaving chaotic hoof prints in the snow.

After a long while, the white horse finally got tired and couldn't jump anymore. It allowed her to sit on its back, running to its brother, who had been watching the commotion, and neighed.

Big brother, I give up. This human is too stubborn. Whimper~

Zhao Zhao jumped down and patted its big head, "From now on, you'll be my mount. I'll call you... Uzhu! Your brother will be called Xiaoqin." She lazily split their breed name. "Xiaoqin will be my brother's ride, and you'll follow me. Come on, let's take a walk around the island to get familiar with the terrain." Zhao Zhao pulled out a bamboo whistle she used to play with as a child, blowing it loudly.

"I'll use this to call you from now on. When you hear it, come over, okay?"

What does that mean?

Uzhu blinked its long-lashed eyes, dumbly looking at her. What is this human up to now!?

Zhao Zhao asked Xiong Haitao for the reins for the horses, tied them on, but didn't lead them. She wrapped the reins, mounted Uzhu, and gave a short whistle, motioning for Xiaoqin to follow. Xiaoqin didn't quite understand, but instinctively followed its brother.

Zhao Zhao rode back to the village, circling around to check everything. All was normal. The fat seal was still sprawled on the beach in its usual pose. The snow-covered beach resembled its native habitat, so it should be quite comfortable.

At the dock, she looked out at the open sea. Siren was frolicking with the white dolphins, and the seaweed in the seabed was more lush, with small fish and shrimp, making the seabed lively again.

Riding Uzhu, she returned home through the back yard gate, and put the horses back into the space. They needed to be smarter.

She used the same method on the snow in her yard, piling it in the central open area. When Da Linzi came over with a shovel and broom to help, he found his sister unusually diligent, with the entire yard clean and a tall snow mountain in the middle.

Zhao Zhao was wondering what to do with the pile of snow. Simply shoveling it out would be noticed, and carting it away would take forever. Da Linzi was already rolling up his sleeves to find a cart in the side room. Zhao Zhao resigned herself to this laborious method.

She realized the screen wall was in the way, or it would have been easier without the turns. But who knew it would snow so heavily on the island one day. She didn't want to push, but there were plenty of people willing to help. Gun Gun watched Da Linzi cart the snow out, eager to join in. Can't I play too?

Zhao Zhao guessed his thoughts accurately. She found a cotton rope, made a simple harness, put it on Gun Gun, tied the other end to a small cart, loaded a few shovels of snow, and let him pull it away.

Brother Gun happily pulled the snow out of the yard, surprisingly steady. Meeting Da Linzi halfway, he justified it as an extra cart for efficiency. Da Linzi was speechless. With this much effort, they could have finished quickly. Now his sister was following Gun Gun, filming a video and laughing. Where was the efficiency?

Zhao Zhao loaded and unloaded the cart, while Gun Gun pulled it. Their efficiency wasn't great, but the laughter was. Every passerby stopped to watch and praised Gun Gun, making him prance even more proudly.

The pile of snow wasn't pretty, so Zhao Zhao and Da Linzi shaped it into a Great Wall-like structure, stretching from their front gate to the inn's entrance. The inn's snow had been cleared by the staff in the morning.

Seeing this, other islanders joined in, figuring it was good to keep the place neat and attractive for the tourists.

After building the Great Wall, they felt a sense of achievement. "Wonder how long it will last? Hope it melts slowly," Da Linzi was satisfied with their work.

Zhao Zhao looked at the sun, "Three or four days at most."

After taking enough videos, she wanted to go back and post a small video for Gun Gun to comfort his eager fans. The dog, jumping around the Great Wall, suddenly stopped, walked a few steps towards the road, and looked around. Da Linzi followed his gaze and called out to Zhao Zhao, who was about to go inside, "Zhao Zhao, there are tourists coming, and they brought a lot of dogs!"

 

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