Chapter 105#
Stop Calling Me Senior Sister#
Su Ruohui rushed out the door but stopped in his tracks, staring blankly at the sky. Time had frozen; the heavy rain was suspended in mid-air. Before Su Ruohui’s eyes hovered countless crystalline raindrops. He reached out and poked one; the water droplet stained his fingertip with a refreshing, soul-piercing chill. Sang Baobao squatted under the corridor, its icy blue eyes reflecting the myriad translucent droplets. Light and shadow stagnated in its pupils, like a clear, calm sea.
“Su Guanyu left?” Sang Baobao asked. Although it was a question, the tone was affirmative.
“No time to explain,” Su Ruohui said. “Senior Sister is going to kill the King of Luofu, and Su Guanyu is residing within the King of Luofu. He is going to make a move against her.”
Sang Baobao frowned. “He paused the time in the Super-Elemental Domain. Jiang Xueya will be unable to act.”
“No, he won’t freeze Senior Sister.” Su Ruohui tucked Sang Baobao into his messenger bag, donned a straw cape, and rushed into the frozen downpour. “He wouldn’t do something as unsportsmanlike as that. He froze time to clear away those eyesore monsters and create a battlefield that only belongs to us.”
Sang Baobao poked its head out of Su Ruohui’s bag, peering at the streets through a gap in the straw cape. Time had ceased to flow; all people and monsters were like frozen puppets, hilariously locked in mid-action. The slanted rain outlined the stagnant wind, and pear blossoms knocked down by the rain hung suspended in the air. The world seemed framed into a dim, gloomy painting, and it and Su Ruohui were the only living things to have wandered into this canvas.
Su Ruohui contemplated the route from the Stone Nest to the Beichen Palace. Now that all carriages were immobile, Senior Sister and he had to rely on their own two legs. He thought he should go to the palace gate to intercept her, but the Qinghe Workshop was much further from the palace than the Stone Nest. He didn’t have any magical talismans on him, so there was no way he could arrive before she entered the palace.
Wait, Su Ruohui suddenly slammed on the brakes.
To fight a decisive battle, one couldn’t go unprepared. Even with rage consuming her, Senior Sister wouldn’t lose her sanity.
Su Ruohui shouted, “System, give directions! Where is the current arsenal in Bian City!”
【Route indicated.】
A giant green arrow suddenly appeared in front of Su Ruohui, pointing to the shortest route to the arsenal. The arsenal was only three streets away from the Qinghe Workshop inn, much closer than the palace. Praying that his guess about her destination was correct, he changed course and sprinted toward the factory.
Three streets—not close, but not far. Su Ruohui felt as if he were going to vomit from the exertion, and Sang Baobao in his bag was shaken until it was dizzy. Finally, the gate of the arsenal appeared in his field of vision. Su Ruohui’s legs turned to jelly, and he collapsed, panting, on the steps of the workshop. A pair of cloud-patterned black boots stopped in front of him, the covers hugging her straight shins perfectly. He followed her legs upward to see Bai Ruoye’s face.
Her expression betrayed no hint of anger; she was unexpectedly calm. If Su Ruohui hadn’t seen the blade and sword strapped to her back, the flintlock tucked at her waist, and the crossbow bolts bound to her thigh, he might have almost thought she was still the Bai Ruoye who hadn’t remembered anything.
She stood before Su Ruohui, looking down at him, and frowned. “What are you here for?”
He caught his breath and said, “To stop you. The King of Luofu is not just the King of Luofu; you cannot defeat him.”
Bai Ruoye remained calm and composed. “He is also your old man, isn’t he?”
Su Ruohui was slightly surprised. “How did you know?”
“A wild guess,” Bai Ruoye said. “You asked me for no reason before if I had ever seen him, and I began to have doubts. When we parted at the inn, you told me you were brewing tea waiting for me. Since when have we ever drunk tea together? You know I only drink wine. You weren’t talking to me; you were speaking to someone else through me. Later, I forced Tantai Jing to tell me about the past, and in his description, Su Guanyu seemed to like drinking tea quite a bit.”
Su Ruohui said bitterly, “You guessed right. He is the only Heavenly Human Realm expert in this world; he is no longer that weak scholar from before. He is now residing in the body of the King of Luofu. If he wants, the King of Luofu can become his puppet at any time. He is powerful—powerful enough to destroy you.”
“Is that so?” Bai Ruoye had little reaction. “How would I know if I don’t try?”
“You…” Su Ruohui wanted to persuade her further.
Bai Ruoye suddenly interrupted him and asked, “Ahui, is this world really fake?”
The words Su Ruohui intended to speak became lodged in his throat.
“Tantai Jing said Su Guanyu was insane, that he used a knife to cut your legs, saying you were sculpted from snowflakes, that you were the master of the world, and they were just tools to raise you. When I heard it, I also thought he was crazy, talking gibberish. But Su Guanyu also said that Tantai Xun’s expedition returned empty-handed and there was nothing at the end of the world.” Bai Ruoye looked at the distant sky. “At that moment, I felt that what Su Guanyu said might actually have some truth to it. Do I not know what is at the end of the world? I came from there. Do you think people are particularly stupid? When Tantai Xun led her expedition, she probably thought that since the world was so big, there must be a shred of hope somewhere. She was wrong. What’s the use of the world being big? Being big doesn’t mean it must have hope.”
Su Ruohui closed his eyes and called out hoarsely, “Senior Sister…”
She gave a listless laugh. “I actually hated people saying I looked like Tantai Xun before. I am who I am; who is Tantai Xun? Now I realize my heart is hers, and my courage is hers. I was a cowardly little monster when I was young. When the blizzard raged and the sky turned dark in the Royal City, I would always hide in my mother’s arms and cry in fear. Ever since I had Tantai Xun’s heart, I haven’t cried again.” She stroked her chest. “So these courage-filled moments all came from someone else’s heart, Ahui.”
Even breathing caused Su Ruohui pain. He had created the beings of the Super-Elemental Domain, and he had given them endless suffering.
Bai Ruoye stared at Su Ruohui and asked, “Is what Su Guanyu said true or false?”
Su Ruohui took a deep breath and said, “That’s right. Although it may be hard for you to believe, someone as unreliable and laid-back as me is indeed the creator of this world.”
“No wonder this world is so hopeless,” Bai Ruoye lamented. “The spider puppets you created jump around calling people ‘wife.’ If the world is full of such things, that is truly terrifying.”
“That’s the Jumping Spider, Senior Sister,” Su Ruohui said with a sad smile. “Listen to me: you are you. Whether this world is real or fake, whether it’s you, Uncle, Zhou Xiaosu, or Han Ye, I have never treated you as puppets. You are my family, my friends, and I don’t want you to die.”
Sang Baobao climbed onto Su Ruohui’s shoulder, level with Bai Ruoye.
It said, “Aside from not wanting you to die, the rest is the same for me and Su Ruohui.”
Bai Ruoye looked at it.
It explained, “You have sowed discord between me and Su Ruohui; I despise you.”
Su Ruohui: “…”
This cat really held grudges.
Bai Ruoye looked at them, silent for a long time. She turned her head and said, “Don’t stop me. The King of Luofu killed my mother and my sister; I must have my revenge.”
Su Ruohui was helpless. “Fine, I only have one request: I will fight this battle with you. Su Guanyu’s secret art is the Heavenly Human Realm’s ‘Ten Directions Nirvana.’ Once he unleashes it, no matter how capable you are, you will instantly turn to ash. But with me here, the snowflake rule of ‘Heavenly Humans Must Die’ will limit him. If he wants to survive, he cannot elevate the King of Luofu to the Heavenly Human Realm. If you go alone, you will surely die.”
Bai Ruoye pondered for a moment, then took a long-barreled flintlock from behind her waist and handed it to Su Ruohui.
Su Ruohui took the flintlock. It was much heavier than a standard one, and the barrel was much longer; Su Ruohui almost lost his grip.
“A Thunder-Wind Flintlock newly crafted by the Monster craftsmen. It weighs ten pounds, even more with ammunition. It’s over three feet long, about the length of a sword. Its range reaches 800 paces, and the shot flies very steadily. If the wind isn’t strong, it won’t deviate from the target.” Bai Ruoye pointed toward the palace. “See the Beichen Palace? I need you to climb it—climb as high as you can. I will lure the King of Luofu out to the position of the Great Teleportation Matrix. I will pin him down and draw his attention so he doesn’t notice you climbing the Beichen Palace. Once you get up there, aim for his head and send him to meet King Yama. Understood?”
Su Ruohui understood; this person wanted him to snipe the King of Luofu.
“The distance is too great,” Su Ruohui said, assessing his own ability. “I cannot guarantee my sniping will succeed.”
“Time has stopped; there is no wind now. It is the perfect weather for sniping.” Bai Ruoye looked him up and down, sighed, and said, “I don’t want to rely on you, either. During the Black Street Defense Battle, Sang Chiyu killed 102 monsters alone; this flintlock should have been given to him. But…”
She looked at the white cat on Su Ruohui’s shoulder, which remained expressionless.
“Can a cat pull a trigger?” she asked.
“No,” Sang Baobao replied.
Bai Ruoye said to Su Ruohui, “So it has to be you.”
They exchanged communication compass talismans, and Bai Ruoye picked up the cannon from the ground, turning to walk toward the palace. Su Ruohui had to circle to the back of the Beichen Palace to climb the dome. It was a different route from Bai Ruoye’s.
On the verge of parting, Su Ruohui gazed at her back, wanting to call out to her, but remembered she had told him not to call her “Senior Sister.”
Su Ruohui had to omit the honorific and said directly, “I can gift you a secret art.”
Bai Ruoye stopped and asked in surprise, “That’s possible?”
Su Ruohui smiled. “I am the creator; I can cheat a little. Any secret art, as long as you have seen it, I can give to you. Choose a high-damage one. I suggest you choose ‘Ten Directions Nirvana.’ Back then, Su Guanyu used a Heavenly Human Realm ‘Ten Directions Nirvana’ to kill four monster ancestors. However, your realm is only at the Fire-Watching stage, and the King of Luofu is at the Pilgrimage stage, so the effect might be diminished.”
Bai Ruoye stood there, her side profile bathed in the veil of rain.
“Give me ‘Blizzard’,” she said.
“Alright,” Su Ruohui answered.
【‘Blizzard’ secret art gifted successfully.】
She opened her palm, and a snowflake formed in it.
She smiled. “I seem to be a bit more like Tantai Xun now.”
The snowflake melted, and she dragged the cannon with one hand, turning around to continue on her way.
“I am not your family. Don’t call me Senior Sister in the future,” her ethereal voice came from ahead. “You need to be more ruthless, Ahui.”