Chapter 47#

The Profligate, Useless Scoundrel#

Back at the camp, Su Ruhui made a big fuss. His wounds were already mostly healed, but he acted as if he was on his last breath, forcing Sang Chiyu to give him two more days off.

That day, Sang Chiyu went to cultivate, and Su Ruhui seized the opportunity to meet with Yan Fulang, the second daughter of the Yan family’s second branch.

“Sister, it’s nothing rare, but it’s something your little brother made himself,” Su Ruhui said with a grin, handing over a large box of carved black sandalwood hairpins. “Peonies, hydrangeas, lilies, all sorts of patterns. If you want anything else, just tell your little brother, and I’ll finish it for you in two days.”

Yan Fulang took the hairpins and scrutinized them against the light. Su Ruhui’s craftsmanship was indeed excellent; the carving was lifelike, even surpassing that of master carpenters specializing in carving. She snorted, “Alright, what do you want?”

“Does your cousin, Yan Jinyu, have any weaknesses?” Su Ruhui asked.

“Weaknesses, no, but I did hear a rumor. Ah Hui, a box of cheap wooden hairpins isn’t enough to make your sister talk,” Yan Fulang raised her eyebrows, her charming eyes teasing him like hooks. “Your sister just broke up with that scoundrel from the Xu family yesterday…”

“That’s easy. I’ll take some people, put a sack over his head, and beat him up. If he dares to upset my sister, I’ll take his dog life!” Su Ruhui said fiercely.

“Tsk,” Yan Fulang curled her slender index finger and poked Su Ruhui’s chest. “You don’t need to beat him. You just need to come to my tent tonight and have a heart-to-heart.”

Su Ruhui’s smile stiffened for a moment, then quickly returned to normal. “It’s my good fortune to be able to make sister happy. The first time I saw sister, I felt we had a deep connection. I think it’s the Supreme Limitless Heavenly Venerable guiding us together in the dark. Perhaps we were a loving couple in a previous life.”

Yan Fulang chuckled, “You’re such a sweet talker.”

Su Ruhui lowered his voice, “May I ask what that rumor is…”

Yan Fulang leaned in and whispered, “I’ll tell you, but you must never speak of it. Yan Jinyu went missing when he was eight and was only found by my uncle and aunt when he was fifteen. The ancestral hall verified the birthmark on his body, confirming he was indeed Yan Jinyu. But I heard from an old servant in the mansion that my cousin was nothing like he was as a child. He could clearly write and compose poetry at eight, reciting poems and songs from memory. When he returned at fifteen, his handwriting was like a dog’s scratch, not even as good as the large characters he copied when he was five.”

“You suspect he’s an impostor?”

“Oh, I didn’t say that. It’s normal for his handwriting not to be as good after seven years away. Anyway, my uncle and aunt firmly believe in his identity and dote on him like the apple of their eye. Even if he didn’t come to the Frontier Guard, my uncle and aunt would surely secure a good future for him. But my cousin is ambitious and insisted on coming here to gain experience. My news is done,” Yan Fulang stood up, smiling as she patted Su Ruhui’s face. “Tonight, sister will prepare good wine and food for you.”

Su Ruhui smiled as he saw her off. Once she was far away, Su Ruhui’s smile faded like a receding tide. He turned around and walked straight to Yan Jinyu’s tent. He unlocked Yan Jinyu’s tent, lit a coil of迷魂香 (a type of incense that causes dizziness and unconsciousness) inside. He closed the curtain and hid not far from the tent. He waited all day, and just as the incense was about to burn out, Su Ruhui finally saw Yan Jinyu. The fellow unsuspectingly opened the door, and the accumulated smoke rushed to his face, immediately making him dizzy and causing him to collapse unconscious. Su Ruhui pushed over a cart used for transporting grain, loaded the man onto it, covered him with a tarp, and pushed the cart to the mine.

Yan Jinyu was woken by a basin of water. Still in shock, he came to his senses and saw Su Ruhui’s sinister smile. In the dark mine, only a short candle burned, its faint flame illuminating Su Ruhui’s obscure face, adding a few points of unpredictable gloom.

“Su Ruhui, you have the audacity,” Yan Jinyu feigned composure. “How dare you kidnap me.”

“Watch your words,” Su Ruhui gestured angrily to his side. “Look what’s next to you?”

Yan Jinyu turned his head to look, and three parts of his soul immediately flew away. He was lying on the edge of a cliff; with a slight turn, he would roll into a bottomless abyss.

“You’re a ruthless one, setting up such a vicious scheme to kill Sang Chiyu.” Su Ruhui pulled out a dagger and played with it in his hand. “Although the scheme was a bit childish, the execution was clean, and the Frontier Guard couldn’t find any trace of you. Originally, I should have gone to the Greedy Wolf side to look, but those people were too stubborn, so I just blew them all up. Now, your last trace has also been cleaned up by me. You heard that Greedy Wolf was blown up, weren’t you quite happy?”

Yan Jinyu sneered, “You mustn’t wrongly accuse me. What does Sang Chiyu being trapped in the enemy camp have to do with me? You resent me for being with your junior sister and are deliberately framing me!”

“Stop being stubborn, I know all about your dirty business.” Su Ruhui patted his face with the dagger. “You’re not a true Yan family son, are you?”

Yan Jinyu gritted his teeth, “Su Ruhui, you and I have no grievances. You kidnapped me and framed me, and now you want to slander my background?”

Looking at his resentful expression, one might really think Su Ruhui was wronging him. Su Ruhui shook his head and smiled, “Well said, you and I have no grievances. I just can’t figure it out, why are you so targeting me and Sang Chiyu? Kid, you got the identity of a noble family’s son, so you should behave yourself. But you, having nothing better to do, had to provoke me, so it’s not unfair that you exposed yourself. I thought and thought, how did Sang Chiyu provoke you, and how did I provoke you? Neither of us has been to Youzhou, nor have we ever met you, the eldest grandson of the Yan family’s main branch.”

Yan Jinyu’s lips trembled, about to speak, when Su Ruhui pried the dagger blade into his mouth. Yan Jinyu kept his mouth open, not daring to move.

“Shh, let me finish.” Su Ruhui said, “Coincidentally, I heard a piece of news that you went missing at eight and returned to the mansion at fifteen. If Sang Chiyu and I were to have a feud with you, we must have met. And Sang Chiyu and I met seven years ago in Zhuluo Mountain. Wasn’t that around the time you went missing?”

Yan Jinyu trembled even more violently, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. Su Ruhui pulled out the dagger. The dagger was stained with Yan Jinyu’s saliva, and Su Ruhui felt disgusted, wiping the blade on Yan Jinyu’s clothes.

Su Ruhui lowered his head and said, “Seven years ago, something big did happen to Sang Chiyu. A shameless scoundrel kidnapped him, causing his secret art to go berserk. The scoundrel’s parents were killed on the spot, and my master, being kind-hearted, healed the scoundrel’s son, who then disappeared without a trace.” He smiled faintly, “Who would have thought, the scoundrel’s son would transform into the esteemed eldest grandson of the Yan family.”

“You’re the scoundrel!” Yan Jinyu blurted out, then immediately came to his senses, suppressing his anger and saying, “Su Ruhui, don’t slander me. The tokens and birthmarks can all corroborate my identity. With just your word, who do you think will believe you? Who doesn’t know that you, Su Ruhui, are an idle good-for-nothing, while I am a talent of the Yan family. If you spread this, people won’t think my identity is questionable; they’ll only think you’re deliberately picking a fight and causing trouble because you can’t stand me.”

“So it seems I can’t touch you?” Su Ruhui pondered, stroking his chin.

“Of course,” Yan Jinyu showed a disdainful look. “Don’t blame me for not warning you, my parents cherish me like a treasure. If anything happens to me, they will never let it go. Su Ruhui, if you consider your own future, you’ll obediently let me go. Otherwise, the Yan family will never tolerate a reckless person like you.”

Su Ruhui aimed the tip of the dagger at his heart. Through a thin layer of flesh, Yan Jinyu’s heart seemed to feel the coldness of the dagger. Yan Jinyu was sure he was bluffing and wasn’t flustered. Su Ruhui indeed didn’t go further, but moved the dagger down to his thigh.

“I bet you think I’m bluffing,” Su Ruhui said with a smile. “So I won’t.”

He exerted force with his wrist, and the dagger plunged into Yan Jinyu’s thigh. Blood gushed out, and Yan Jinyu cried out in pain.

“Shh—” Su Ruhui pressed him. “Don’t move around. There’s a cliff next to you. If you roll down, I can’t save you.”

“You dare—you dare—” Yan Jinyu was drenched in sweat.

“Why wouldn’t I dare? Among those who ruined my future in this world, no one dares to claim first place except me, Su Ruhui.” Su Ruhui slowly pushed the dagger deeper. “My master is dead, my father abandoned me and is missing, and my uncle treats me as a burden. I, Su Ruhui, am full and my whole family is carefree. If I die, it’ll be peace under heaven. You really shouldn’t have provoked me. I’m a rotten person who doesn’t care about anything. I don’t care about the consequences; I only care about whether I’m happy in the moment.” He stared at Yan Jinyu’s wound, shaking his head. “Not satisfying enough.”

With that, he severed Yan Jinyu’s ankle tendon.

“Ah—” Yan Jinyu screamed in agony. He knew he was going to be a cripple. He felt fear, and he finally realized that the person in front of him was a madman. You couldn’t reason with a madman, nor could you threaten him. Yan Jinyu shouted, “I’ll tell you the truth, the Yan family’s main branch already knew I wasn’t the real Yan Jinyu. They kept me because they needed me! The real Yan Jinyu died as a refugee on the road, and they needed a son! If you learn this secret, the Yan family won’t thank you; instead, they’ll kill you!”

Su Ruhui was stunned. So that was it. No wonder he couldn’t find any dirt on this kid; the Yan family’s main branch was backing him. Su Ruhui’s mind raced, then he sneered, “So what? If I remember correctly, your family is very large. Besides you, the eldest grandson of the main branch, your second branch also has male heirs. Originally, if you hadn’t appeared, the position of Yan family’s heir would have belonged to your cousin. What do you think they would do if I told your cousin this news?”

Yan Jinyu panicked, shaking his head desperately, “No… please, Young Master Su, don’t.”

“Of course, they would collect evidence everywhere. You fled from Zhuluo Mountain to Youzhou; you must have met many people along the way. I, Su Ruhui, have no subordinates or connections, but your second uncle does,” Su Ruhui said with a smile.

Yan Jinyu completely panicked. He recalled those years of wandering, that life worse than pigs and dogs. Heaven’s mercy allowed him to be where he was today. He was the high and mighty eldest grandson of the Yan family, with servants aplenty, commanding a hundred responses. How could he return to those days of disheveled hair and bare feet?

He cried, “Su Ruhui, please let me go. From now on, I will obey your every command, follow your lead.”

“Forget it, I can’t afford a subordinate as capable as you,” Su Ruhui asked, “Seven years ago, why did you kidnap Sang Chiyu?”

Yan Jinyu took a breath and said, “He was good-looking. Selling him into the mountains would fetch a good price.”

“Zhou Xiaosu and Jiang Xueya are also good-looking, why didn’t you kidnap them?” Su Ruhui made a gesture as if to cut off his leg. “Tell me the truth, kid.”

“I’ll tell you!” Yan Jinyu stared at his dagger and quickly said, “I overheard Sang Chiyu saying he wanted to marry you. I was jealous, so I kidnapped him and brought him home, wanting to coax him into marrying me. As long as I married him, I could become a superior person, just like your father used to be.”

The more Su Ruhui listened, the angrier he got. He really wanted to kill this bastard with one stab. Full of vile thoughts, and even setting his sights on Sang Chiyu. If Su Ruhui had been a little more impulsive, this fellow would never have left the mine alive. However, Yan Jinyu now had the identity of the Yan family’s legitimate eldest grandson. Although he could sell the truth to Yan’s second uncle, it was said that Yan’s second uncle was weak and indecisive, not reliable. And with the Yan family’s main branch protecting this kid, how could Su Ruhui, a mere profligate, go against the Yan family? Killing Yan Jinyu would bring temporary satisfaction, but after that, there would be endless trouble. Even Su Ruhui’s grandmother might not be able to protect him then.

Yan Jinyu was tearful, “Su Ruhui, I know you’ll say I’m despicable. Don’t worry, I never touched Sang Chiyu. Instead, my parents were killed by Sang Chiyu. The Secret Sect claims their laws are strict, and that noble families who break the law are treated the same as commoners. But what’s the truth? Sang Chiyu killed two people and is still living well. No one mentions the past anymore. Do we commoners seem like dust in your eyes?”

“You’re wrong,” Su Ruhui said. “I never saw you as dirt under my feet.”

Yan Jinyu looked up blankly.

Su Ruhui added, “I see you as dog shit.”

Yan Jinyu clenched his fists, his eyes red.

“Your parents died because of you, not because of Sang Chiyu. Don’t you dare push the blame onto Sang Chiyu because you can’t bear the guilt yourself. You know the truth in your heart. Your parents died as atonement for you. I won’t pursue the matter from seven years ago anymore. You must remember, your weakness is in my hands. I can’t kill you, but many people can. Don’t even think about dealing with me. I will secretly tell this weakness to someone you don’t know. If anything happens to me, your real name and ancestral home will appear in your second uncle’s room.” Su Ruhui said, “I ask you, will you still trouble Sang Chiyu?”

Yan Jinyu shook his head with red eyes.

“Will you still be entangled with my junior sister?”

Yan Jinyu gritted his teeth and said, “I will definitely break all ties with her.”

“Your leg is crippled,” Su Ruhui poked his bloody ankle with the dagger. “Tsk, it can’t be healed. Zhou Xiaosu’s healing secret art can’t even save it. How tragic. Who did this?”

Yan Jinyu trembled, took a deep breath, and said, “I encountered thugs in the black market and unfortunately suffered this fate.”

Su Ruhui put away his dagger and stood up. “Tomorrow, I don’t want to see you in the Frontier Guard.”

Su Ruhui walked back to the camp with his hands behind his back, swaggering. The night was deep, and the brilliant Milky Way spread across the sky, like a flowing, colorful dark gold glaze. Passing Sang Chiyu’s tent, Su Ruhui glanced out of the corner of his eye; the light wasn’t on, so he probably hadn’t returned yet. He withdrew his gaze, and just as he took a step, his sleeve was suddenly grabbed. He turned around and received a solid slap across the face.

“You, Su Ruhui, how dare you play me.” Yan Fulang glared at him.

Su Ruhui then remembered that he had promised Yan Fulang that night to spend a romantic night with her. How could he actually go? Anyway, he had gotten the information, so he had no choice but to turn his back on her.

The soldiers around them pointed and whispered, some gathering to watch the show. Su Ruhui was a bit embarrassed, and Yan Fulang was even more so. She lowered her voice and said, “You little brat, I already told all my sisters about our appointment, and you made me lose face. Listen, if you dare to deny what I’m about to say, I’ll definitely teach you a good lesson.”

Su Ruhui thought bitterly, what was she going to say?

Yan Fulang snorted coldly, then raised her voice and said, “Su Ruhui, I originally thought that since you’re tall and a martial artist, you must be very capable. Who knew you were all show and no substance, just a silver-plated spearhead. All you do is sweet-talk, saying that you and I were destined in a past life, a loving couple, and that our past karma brought us together in this life by the Supreme Limitless Heavenly Venerable. Hmph, next time you come looking for me, remember to look in a mirror and weigh your own abilities!”

With that, she walked away, leaving Su Ruhui standing alone. The surrounding crowd laughed and winked at him. Su Ruhui felt a lump in his chest, unable to vent. As the crowd dispersed, Su Ruhui, crestfallen, was about to leave when he suddenly saw a dark figure standing alone by a tent, looking at him from afar.

It was Sang Chiyu.

Su Ruhui’s breath hitched, and he felt inexplicably guilty. No way, did he hear what Yan Fulang just said?

Sang Chiyu lifted the tent flap and entered the tent. Su Ruhui sighed deeply and turned to leave. The tent flap was lifted again, and Sang Chiyu came out, holding something, and walked towards him. Su Ruhui’s heart suddenly became very chaotic. How much did Sang Chiyu see just now? How should he explain? This guy wouldn’t think Su Ruhui was an unreliable scoundrel again, would he?

“It’s not what you think,” Su Ruhui felt wronged.

“Then what is it?” Sang Chiyu asked.

Su Ruhui looked up and met Sang Chiyu’s gaze. Sang Chiyu’s eyes were deep and dark, his gaze quiet and clear, like bright moonlight. Sang Chiyu was waiting for his answer. Su Ruhui knew this guy was cautious and fair, and would never casually believe partial scenes or partial words.

Su Ruhui opened his mouth, wanting to clarify, but swallowed the words back. If he told the truth, it would definitely involve Yan Jinyu and expose the use of private torture. Sang Chiyu was a stubborn fool; he might even be taken to the disciplinary office. It was better to avoid trouble, so Su Ruhui simply kept his mouth shut and said aggrievedly, “Anyway, it’s not like that. Believe it or not.”

Sang Chiyu’s face was calm, showing no emotion. He placed a box of trauma medicine in Su Ruhui’s palm.

“To reduce swelling and dissipate bruises,” he said.

Su Ruhui was stunned, then belatedly realized that he had a stinging slap mark on his face.

Sang Chiyu hesitated for a long time, seemingly weighing his words, then said, “If you have a hidden illness, you don’t have to suffer alone. Just treat it slowly.”

Su Ruhui: “…”

Sang Chiyu turned and left. Su Ruhui looked at his retreating back, feeling an inexplicable sadness. This sadness crossed time and continued to the present. Now, Su Ruhui sat cross-legged on the red carpet, holding the sleeping Sang Baobao in his arms. He cast his gaze towards the dark courtyard, where snowflakes danced under the dim red lamplight, like lonely, flying pale butterflies.

He thought silently, Sang Chiyu, what do you really think of me? Thinking of this, he chuckled softly, self-deprecatingly.

No need to guess, it was probably profligate, useless, and a bastard.