Chapter 46#

Don’t fall for me#

It’s snowing. The fluttering snowflakes are like paper money scattered during a funeral, their quiet dance as if the heaven and earth were mourning for Sang Chiyu. Sang Chiyu and the other soldiers of the Heavenly Character Team were pushed onto the snow in front of the camp. Snow particles accumulated on his eyelashes and hair, and his vision became hazy. This is the Greedy Wolf Mine, belonging to the Black Street. Black Street and the Secret Sect have confronted each other for many years, and both sides have spared no effort in searching for each other’s mine locations in the vast snow plains. The snow landscape is like a distant universe, and the mines scattered within it are like tiny stars. Whoever finds the other’s location first can take the lead. This time, the Frontier Guard learned of Greedy Wolf’s location and thought they had the victory in their grasp, but they fell into the enemy’s trap.

He and the other Secret Sect soldiers were bound with their hands behind their backs and lined up like cattle waiting for execution. Ten full days had passed since their capture, and the Frontier Guard had not sent anyone, meaning they had been abandoned. Sang Chiyu was not surprised; most of the Heavenly Character Team, except for him, were of commoner origin, and the Secret Sect would not take risks for commoners. As for him, since he had a noble status, Black Street would surely use him for trade, but unfortunately, Black Street underestimated the Grand Sect Master.

“Kid, do you hate your master?” Shi Gandang, the leader of the Greedy Wolf Mine, patted his cheek. “You’re a capable one. As long as you’re willing to serve, I won’t just spare your life regardless of the past, I’ll even make you the second-in-command of Greedy Wolf. Your master doesn’t care about your life, so you have to learn to care about yourself. I know you’re not well-liked in the Secret Sect. Your Secret Sect is too ridiculous. Boys like Su Ruhui, who only know how to indulge in pleasure, have friends everywhere, while true strongmen like you are ostracized. I guarantee such things won’t happen in Black Street. We don’t judge a man by how much wine he drinks or how many women he sleeps with; we rely on the scars on our bodies and the knives in our hands!”

Sang Chiyu did not respond and remained silent.

Shi Gandang snorted. “A kid with some spirit. Fine, you want to be a hero who’d rather die than surrender? I’ll grant your wish.”

All the Secret Sect soldiers were pressed to the ground, their cheeks touching the cold snow. Sang Chiyu watched as Shi Gandang began to execute the prisoners. Shi Gandang used a folding knife. He grabbed a prisoner’s hair, forced the prisoner to look up, and then deeply cut their throat with the folding knife, just like killing a chicken. The prisoners made pained, gurgling sounds as blood sprayed like a fountain, splashing on the snow in a blinding red. Shi Gandang cut their throats one by one. Some soldiers began to cry and beg for mercy. Sang Chiyu was the last person; he knew he was intentionally left for the end. Having failed with lure, Shi Gandang wanted to use coercion to make him submit.

Unfortunately, Shi Gandang didn’t know that Sang Chiyu felt nothing at all. Killing was as mundane to Sang Chiyu as drinking tea or eating a meal. A person dying in front of him was no different from a fly being swatted. He had discovered very early on that he was different from others. People were keen on socializing; in the spring they would go on outings, in the autumn they would climb heights, but he was always out of place in a crowd. He could not experience their happiness, just as humans cannot understand the joy of ants. He felt that the activities they flattered each other for, and even themselves, were all meaningless.

His master said he should be like a human. While still in Biandu, his master wanted him to accompany the female relatives of the Biandu aristocratic families on outings, hoping he would experience the emotions a young man of his age should have. But after every banquet, the ladies would tactfully express to the Grand Sect Master that there was no need for him to serve as a guard in the future. Not only could he not integrate into their world, but they also felt he was a bit of an eyesore when he followed like a silent shadow.

After fifteen years, he finally understood that the reason he couldn’t integrate into the crowd was because he wasn’t human. To a demon, humans are food, objects of hunting. Just as a cat cannot empathize with a mouse, he would always be an outsider among people.

Shi Gandang was cutting the throat of the penultimate person. Hot blood sprayed before Sang Chiyu’s eyes, and a few drops splashed onto Sang Chiyu’s cold, white cheek. At this moment, Sang Chiyu saw a small mouse, sneakily crawling from under the henchmen’s feet and stopping in front of Sang Chiyu. Sang Chiyu almost thought he was hallucinating—how could there be a mouse in the snowy landscape?

This small mouse’s eyes glinted with a subtle green light, looking very strange, but the people of Black Street didn’t notice.

The little mouse tilted its head and looked at Sang Chiyu, squeaked, moved its body forward, stretched out its thin tongue, licked off the blood on Sang Chiyu’s cheek, then buried its small head and crawled into Sang Chiyu’s collar.

Sang Chiyu: “…”

He hated mice, second only to hating dogs.

In the quiet wind and snow, footsteps were heard. He saw Shi Gandang narrow his eyes and put down his folding knife. So he too looked up with difficulty, gazing into the distance. A person was walking step by step from deep within the wind and snow, their hair braids covered in grey snow as if their hair had turned white. As he walked closer, Sang Chiyu finally saw his face clearly. It was his habitually smiling eyes and brows, a sparse and clear smile, as if it could make the heaven and earth shine.

All the Black Street thugs slowly drew their knives and gradually gathered around, surrounding him in a circle.

Shi Gandang asked, “Who are you?”

“Su Ruhui of the Secret Sect,” Su Ruhui smiled. “The leader should have heard of my name.”

The system suddenly spoke: [Shi Gandang, leader of the Black Street Greedy Wolf Mine, a second-rank Hundred-Refined Steel secret artist. He has almost no weaknesses on the outside. With the host’s current ability, the failure rate for a life-and-death battle with him using knives and swords is ninety percent.]

Su Ruhui took a deep breath. Truly troublesome.

Hearing his name, Shi Gandang also laughed. “I have indeed heard it, but when your name is mentioned, it’s mostly not for something worth bragging about. Kid, you’re quite bold, coming here alone? I have no fine wine here, and no women either. What did you come here for?”

“I have the audacity to ask the leader for a person,” Su Ruhui gestured with his chin towards Sang Chiyu. “May I take him away?”

Shi Gandang laughed heartily, as if he had heard a great joke. Not only did he laugh, but everyone around also burst into laughter.

“Su Ruhui, you really are a useless fellow. Why do you think that with just one sentence from you, I would agree to let Sang Chiyu go with you?” Shi Gandang shook his head. “You young people are too bold, so bold it’s laughable. You should know that we are not good people who read the books of sages and talk about great principles. Since you came today, you should be prepared not to leave. However, I am quite curious. Even Sang Chiyu’s so-called comrades and colleagues have abandoned him, so why did you come alone, kid?”

Su Ruhui smiled, his words sounding like a mix of truth and lies. “When one person faces death alone for another, what other reason could there be besides love? I’ve had a crush on Sang Chiyu for a long time. When he came to Zhuluo Mountain to seek treatment as a child, I took a fancy to him at first sight and determined to marry him as my wife. Speaking of which, the two of us even share a heart because of an accident; if he’s gone, half of my heart would be dead.”

Shi Gandang was half-skeptical and looked back at Sang Chiyu. “Is what he said true?”

Sang Chiyu’s face was expressionless, the frost wind hitting his face, his gaze as cold as winter snow.

Shi Gandang said to Su Ruhui, “It looks to me like he thinks little of you.”

“Well, what can I do if I’m a useless fellow?” Su Ruhui shrugged, smiling with a playboy’s nonchalance.

“Tell you what,” Shi Gandang said, “I’ll give you a chance to show off your prowess. No matter how many moves it takes, as long as you beat me, I’ll let you and Sang Chiyu have your wedding night here today.”

“You’re too kind, big brother,” Su Ruhui said sincerely.

Sang Chiyu’s gaze became even colder.

Shi Gandang’s smile became sinister. “You’re happy too early. I won’t hold back to fulfill your couple’s wish. If you die at my hands, you brought it on yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll bury you and Sang Chiyu together, letting you have your wedding night in the afterlife.”

Su Ruhui was a pampered son of an aristocratic family and a useless fellow who had lost his secret arts, having indulged in sensual pleasures for years. How could he be compared to a Black Street leader who had emerged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood? The long-silent Sang Chiyu finally spoke, “Su Ruhui, leave.”

But this fellow Su Ruhui chose beauty over life, repeatedly shaking his head. “This is a great opportunity to marry you, how could I give it up?”

Shi Gandang took off his upper garment and stood shirtless in the snowy wind. His knotted muscles turned blue inch by inch, revealing the cold, hard luster of steel. That is “Hundred-Refined Steel,” a second-rank secret art, making him impervious to blades and spears, untouched by water and fire, even black gunpowder could hardly damage him at all. He reached out his hand, and a thug respectfully handed him a long, narrow curved blade. He gripped the curved blade, killing intent spreading in his hawk-like features.

Compared to him, Su Ruhui was like a fledgling chick. This fool slowly drew the horizontal blade from his waist, the wind was strong, his grip was unsteady, and it even fell to the ground.

He had already lost in terms of momentum alone, and Sang Chiyu involuntarily clenched his fists. The little mouse poked its head out of his collar, blinked, and squeaked.

“You’re different from Sang Chiyu; your hands haven’t been stained with blood. Young, ignorant child, you will regret coming here.”

Shi Gandang made his move. At that moment, Sang Chiyu felt a strong wind shoot past him. The blade’s light cut through the fluttering snowflakes; with his exceptional eyesight, Sang Chiyu clearly saw a six-petaled snowflake being cut in half. Su Ruhui’s reaction was extremely fast; he held the blade in a reverse grip, the back of the blade against his arm and the edge facing Shi Gandang, and blocked the blow with matchless speed.

The two began a continuous exchange of slashes, the two blade lights clashing incessantly, as dazzling and piercing as lightning. Their footwork was so fast that people couldn’t see clearly, and the heavy snow wrapped around their sharp blade lights like a silk net.

“I underestimated you,” Shi Gandang said with a laugh while slashing. “Your blade techniques are good. I heard your master is Ming Ruowu. Is this his blade technique?”

Su Ruhui gritted his teeth, the blade flashing in his sleeves like a green snake.

A thug whispered, “This useless fellow has some skills, he can actually fight to a draw with the leader.”

No. Cold sweat broke out on Sang Chiyu’s forehead. Shi Gandang still had the energy to talk and joke, while Su Ruhui was already giving it his all, not even having the time to reply. Su Ruhui’s blade technique was indeed unexpectedly good; he was by no means inferior among his peers, but he was not facing those Secret Sect aristocratic youths, he was facing Shi Gandang.

Su Ruhui would surely lose.

“Pity,” Shi Gandang sighed, “you will stop here.”

He gave a loud shout, his voice like a great bell. His blade stance suddenly changed; the speed-based blade technique, originally as agile as a snake, became as heavy as a mountain. He raised the blade above his head with both hands and ruthlessly brought it down toward Su Ruhui’s head. This move left an opening in front; Su Ruhui flicked his blade upward, the tip of the blade sliding across Shi Gandang’s chest, emitting sparks. Shi Gandang was unscathed, while his blade was on the verge of hitting Su Ruhui’s head.

Hundred-Refined Steel is indeed powerful. Su Ruhui had no choice but to block with a reverse grip.

The heavy blade came down, as if a mountain were crashing into Su Ruhui. Su Ruhui almost couldn’t block it; the web of his hand tore, blood flowed down his wrist, and he had a sweet, metallic taste in his throat.

“Su Ruhui, run!” Sang Chiyu shouted.

“Don’t even think about it,” Shi Gandang roared.

The situation took a turn for the worse. Under the continuous heavy slashes, Su Ruhui found it hard to resist. This is the gap between strength and strength—how could the strength of an ephemeral mayfly shake the majesty of a mountain? Su Ruhui was being suppressed by Shi Gandang, retreating step by step, and the blade in his hand was almost impossible to hold steady. He was hit several times; although not fatal, it caused Su Ruhui to lose the rhythm of the battle. Even though he intended to predict Shi Gandang’s blade moves, Su Ruhui’s body could not keep up with his brain.

Su Ruhui finally fell to the ground, his horizontal blade sent flying by Shi Gandang’s strike, spinning in the air and embedding itself in the snow.

Sang Chiyu’s eyes were nearly splitting, he wanted to get up, but a thug behind him kicked him, and he fell in the snow. Opposite him, Shi Gandang slowly walked behind Su Ruhui and stepped on Su Ruhui’s face with his foot, preventing him from getting up.

Su Ruhui panted, sweat overflowing his eye sockets. In his hazy vision, he saw Sang Chiyu opposite him.

“Are you very moved, Yu’er?” Su Ruhui could actually still manage a smile. “Don’t fall for me.”

Sang Chiyu gritted his teeth, staring fixedly at him opposite. “Why did you come?”

“I said I wanted to marry you.”

Shi Gandang said, “Finished with your last words? Child, death is very fast, no need to panic.”

He grabbed Su Ruhui’s hair with one hand, pulling up Su Ruhui’s head, and drew his folding knife with the other. Sang Chiyu’s pupils narrowed almost into a line. Just then, a small mouse suddenly appeared on top of Shi Gandang’s head, pulling at his hair. Shi Gandang didn’t know what it was, only feeling sharp pain in his scalp. Just as he was about to grab the thing on his head, Su Ruhui, who was under him, suddenly lunged, snatched his folding knife, and stabbed at his throat.

He was not afraid; his skin was impervious to blades and spears. But Su Ruhui suddenly flipped his wrist and struck his throat hard with the sturdy knife handle. The pain in his throat was immense; for a moment he felt he couldn’t breathe and involuntarily opened his mouth. Su Ruhui seized the opportunity and stuffed something into his mouth. That thing actually seemed to move, and it went down his esophagus. Shi Gandang was beyond furious; just as he was about to crush this brat, Su Ruhui threw himself on top of him, his hand still tightly covering his mouth.

“Sang Chiyu! Stay down and don’t move!” Su Ruhui shouted.

In an instant, Sang Chiyu understood something. He remembered the fire-burrowing rats Su Ruhui had tinkered with and the powerful black gunpowder he had prepared. Did Su Ruhui feed Shi Gandang a fire-burrowing rat? Shi Gandang’s skin could be steel-like, but his internal organs could not turn into steel.

This was indeed what Su Ruhui was thinking. The system said he had no weaknesses on the outside, which meant his weakness was on the inside.

The thugs wanted to come forward to kill Su Ruhui and save Shi Gandang, but suddenly they heard a muffled loud bang from over there. Shi Gandang’s eyes were wide open, blood flowing from his seven orifices, and he lay paralyzed in the snow like a dead fish, not moving. His Hundred-Refined Steel secret art receded and vanished, his blue-black skin returning to its original state, but now tinged with red. Because of the internal explosion, all his blood vessels had ruptured, and his internal organs were hemorrhaging heavily, making his skin as red as a cooked shrimp. Su Ruhui lay on top of him, also without any sign of movement.

The little mouse had run over at some unknown point and bit through the hemp rope around Sang Chiyu’s wrists while everyone was off guard.

This was Su Ruhui’s true plan. He never intended to win a one-on-one duel with Shi Gandang; from the very beginning, he only planned a single fatal strike. To prevent Sang Chiyu from disrupting his plan, he even waited until the attack was successful before letting the mouse bite through Sang Chiyu’s restraints.

“What’s going on? Lead… Leader…” The thugs looked at each other in disbelief.

Sang Chiyu walked over with unsteady steps. Su Ruhui lay on Shi Gandang like a tattered sack, motionless. The black gunpowder was so powerful; would the aftershock of the explosion have affected Su Ruhui? Was Su Ruhui injured by the blast? This fellow was covered in blood, looking even more disheveled than Sang Chiyu, who had been a prisoner for days. Is he dead? Sang Chiyu stood beside him, thinking in a daze.

For many years, once again, for the first time since he was ten years old, Sang Chiyu felt fear and sorrow over someone’s death.

And the object of his sorrow was again Su Ruhui.

He squatted down and reached out his hand. Snow fell on the back of his hand, icy and cold. He slowly turned Su Ruhui over. In an instant, he met a pair of dark, smiling eyes.

“Walking so slowly, were you afraid I was dead?” Su Ruhui asked.

Sang Chiyu instantly returned to his expressionless demeanor, picked up Shi Gandang’s curved blade, and faced those Black Street thugs.

The battle was not over yet; the leader was dead, but the others were still alive.

“Wait.”

Su Ruhui stood up, pressed down his blade, unbuttoned his jacket, and revealed the black gunpowder tied to his body. This fellow took Sang Chiyu and walked boldly toward everyone. Seeing the explosives on his body, everyone retreated in panic.

“I assume you all don’t have the same ability as Leader Shi to be impervious to blades and spears,” Su Ruhui said with a smile. “What I have on me is black gunpowder. You all know that this stuff is quite useful. Blowing up your small mine will be a piece of cake.”

The second-in-command of the Greedy Wolf Mine said in terror, “You just want to leave, don’t you? Go then, take your lover and go, we won’t stop you.”

Su Ruhui said with satisfaction, “This big brother is very sensible, I like that. Trouble you to prepare a sled for the two of us.”

The sled was prepared. Su Ruhui had Sang Chiyu get on first, then got on himself.

“Don’t anyone move, or I might get desperate,” Su Ruhui pointed at them.

Sang Chiyu started the sled, and several dogs ran with all their might. The Black Street thugs standing in the wind soon became a cluster of black dots. At the same time, the mine’s second-in-command raised a bow, notched an arrow, and aimed it at the distant Su Ruhui. His secret art is “Tiger Gallop Arrow”; as long as his arrow is aimed, no one can survive. The wind and snow obscured Su Ruhui’s vision, so he could not see that he was already being targeted.

“Squeak.”

A strange sound rang in his ear. He frowned, turned his head, and saw a grey mouse crouching on his shoulder. He happened to meet the mouse’s eyes.

“What is this…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the mouse’s eyes glowed brightly with green light. With a loud “bang,” the mine exploded into a cloud of thick smoke. Su Ruhui shaded his eyes to gaze at the slowly rising smoke and nudged Sang Chiyu with his elbow. “How do you plan to thank me? How about you go a bit easy on me and let me sleep in.”

“No,” Sang Chiyu answered stiffly.

“No way, even this won’t do? I risked my life to save you. Look at me, covered in wounds, all for you. Where is your conscience?”

Sang Chiyu threw the bundle to him. “Stop talking and bandage your wounds.”

Su Ruhui lowered his head to bandage himself, still chattering away. “You little ungrateful thing, look at me, look at the wounds I suffered for you. Fine, fine, I won’t sleep in, but can you at least stop hitting me? If this handsome face of mine is ruined, how many young ladies will be heartbroken! I say, Brother Sang, are you even listening to me?”

Sang Chiyu finally had a reaction. He held the reins and said, “Mm.”

“What does ‘mm’ mean?” Su Ruhui was so angry his teeth were itching.

Sang Chiyu’s voice carried a hint of helplessness. “I’m listening, go ahead.”

Su Ruhui was taken aback for a moment, then slowly broke into a smile. Looking into the distance, the plateau was cold and solemn. Although there was a cold wind, it wasn’t too cold.

He said, “Stop the sled for a moment, I need to take a piss. Do you want to join?”

Sang Chiyu: “…”

“Wow, no way, have you really never taken a piss with someone else before?”

Sang Chiyu regretted it. He didn’t want to hear a single word of what Su Ruhui said at all.