Chapter 72#

A-Hui, Farewell Forever#

“Say what?” Jiang Xueya asked.

Was it a coincidence? Su Ruhui’s hands and feet went cold as he looked at Jiang Xueya. The person before him looked heroic and elegant; no clues could be seen. Was it a coincidence, or had she been replaced by the demon race?

“Oh, he talked about some things regarding my father.” Su Ruhui said calmly. “He said there were secrets hidden in the four puppies my father left me, but I didn’t understand him. What could be hidden in a little wooden toy?”

Jiang Xueya frowned slightly. “Didn’t your father leave you a three-headed dog?”

Su Ruhui smiled. “I remembered it wrong; it was indeed a three-headed dog.”

Not many people knew his father had given him the three-headed dog. It seemed Senior Sister was still Senior Sister and hadn’t been replaced. Indeed, with Jiang Xueya’s arrogant personality, those demons with poor acting skills couldn’t possibly imitate her essence. Hadn’t he seen through Su Gou’s disguise as Senior Sister at a glance before?

Then the “Wu Dalang’s Sesame Pancakes” oiled paper bag must have been a coincidence. Su Ruhui felt relieved.

“What else did that demon tell you?” Jiang Xueya stared at him, her shimmering gaze gradually deepening.

“He also said…”

Just as he was about to speak, Su Ruhui’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. What if it wasn’t a coincidence, but Senior Sister was a demon herself? Even though Su Ruhui knew this guess was absurd, he couldn’t help but think about its possibility. There were suspicious things about her. That day, when Jiang Huancang came to the guard post to catch up, his words showed great care for her, mentioning he sent letters every year asking her to come home for the New Year. But Senior Sister had told him in the past that Jiang Huancang wasn’t close to her and never asked her back.

One of them must be lying.

In the past, Su Ruhui never doubted Senior Sister, thinking Jiang Huancang was just putting on an act. But thinking carefully now, if Jiang Huancang had never sent a family letter, wouldn’t lying in front of her be awkward?

At this point, Su Ruhui’s heart sank again.

The mole was a high-level member of the Mystic Sect. Could it be Senior Sister, who was now second only to one person? If he was in her residence now, wasn’t he in a desperate situation? The priority was to escape as quickly as possible.

Su Ruhui looked up and smiled. “That demon also said he liked my braised pork. Guess what, he actually disguised himself as a stray dog and hung around my door every day. Fortunately, you sent people to guard my courtyard, Senior Sister, otherwise, I might have been assassinated by that demon already.”

Jiang Xueya stared at him, her gaze becoming meaningful. “These demons have become so rampant. It seems your courtyard is no longer safe. Do you want to stay with me until the demons are cleared?”

“No, how can I meet Sang Chiyu in secret here? It wouldn’t be good if the two of us fought in the middle of the night and woke you up.” Su Ruhui picked up his linen bag. “Senior Sister, I’m leaving. We agreed to ‘meet on Mount Wu’ tonight. If I’m late, he’ll suspect I have someone else outside.”

The implication was that if he didn’t return on time, Sang Chiyu would definitely come looking for him. Whether the Senior Sister in front of him was the mole or not, she knew what kind of troublemaker Sang Chiyu was and wouldn’t provoke him easily.

Su Ruhui wanted to leave, but Jiang Xueya grabbed his bag.

“What is it?” Su Ruhui’s heart was pounding, but he still smiled. “Something else?”

“A-Hui,” Jiang Xueya shook her head gently. “That demon must have said something else.”

“Really, nothing.” Su Ruhui’s eyes were full of sincerity. “How about I have Sang Chiyu bring him over for you to interrogate?”

Jiang Xueya snatched his bag and pressed him into the chair. Su Ruhui’s forehead broke into a sweat. His puppet talismans and compass were all in the bag. What should he do? Jiang Xueya flipped through the scrolls, pulled out the “Wu Dalang’s Sesame Pancakes” oiled paper bag pressed underneath, and threw it in front of Su Ruhui.

“You saw this, didn’t you?” Jiang Xueya asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Senior Sister,” Su Ruhui played dumb, “do you like the pancakes from this stall?”

Jiang Xueya leaned against the table and looked at him, sneering. “Nice try, playing games with me. You asked about the three-headed dog just to test me, right? Did that demon mention a name, something like ‘Bai Ruoye’? Coincidentally, I interrogated my own father, put him through eighteen types of torture, and he told me everything he should and shouldn’t have. A big shot from the demon race has come to the mortal realm personally, and his name is Bai Ruoye. His identity and name are currently unknown. When this demon meets with subordinates or allies, he always covers his head with a ‘Wu Dalang’s Sesame Pancakes’ oiled paper bag. There are twenty such stalls in Biandu. I had people stake them out today and bought a set of pancakes from every single one.”

Jiang Xueya flipped the scrolls again, revealing a dozen more paper bags underneath, which she threw in front of Su Ruhui. She also picked up a bronze mirror—the “Divine Eye” mirror from the Armory Temple engraved with the “Divine Eye” talisman for see-through vision. She tossed the mirror to Su Ruhui. “Since you’re suspicious, then verify it.”

“No need, Senior Sister, I trust you.” Su Ruhui waved his hand.

Jiang Xueya’s eyes were full of threat.

“Alright.” Su Ruhui picked up the bronze mirror and aimed it at her chest. The mirror showed clearly defined meridians and bones, but no Heart Core.

Jiang Xueya was not a demon.

The misunderstanding resolved, Su Ruhui’s hanging heart finally landed.

“Still suspicious?” Jiang Xueya asked.

Su Ruhui shook his head like a rattle.

This was awkward. Su Ruhui hated himself for being too suspicious. Jiang Huancang might have lied because he was proud and wanted to play the part of a loving father in front of Jiang Quexie, an unclose illegitimate son. A single suspicion was enough to wear away years of affection. Su Ruhui knew this well and felt both guilty and uneasy.

“Sorry, Senior Sister. I’ve encountered too many demons lately and have become a bit paranoid.” Su Ruhui said with a bitter face. “Please be generous and forgive me this time.”

“Your sweetheart is waiting for you,” Jiang Xueya waved her hand. “Hurry up and get out of here.”

Speaking of Sang Chiyu, Su Ruhui twitched his mouth. “Waiting for what? I’m the only one at home; he’s still in the Snow Realm.”

“I see.” Jiang Xueya walked behind him and sighed. “You really have a lot of schemes. Dealing with you is quite mentally taxing.”

The bronze mirror on the table reflected Jiang Xueya behind Su Ruhui. The golden light of the candle danced in her eyes, possessing a breathtaking beauty.

Su Ruhui looked at her bright face and said sincerely, “Senior Sister, my Uncle doesn’t know what’s good for him. Don’t hang yourself on his crooked tree. There are plenty of good men in the world. You are so good; he will be the one to regret it in the end.”

“A-Hui, thank you.” Jiang Xueya pressed her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

In an instant, a cold light flashed. The candle flickered, its light jumping suddenly. In the mirror, Su Ruhui saw a dagger slice across his throat, and then blood gushed out, staining the gilded mirror surface red. Su Ruhui clutched his throat, unable to speak. The intense pain made his veins bulge, and his fingertips went cold.

“Why did you have to come back?” Jiang Xueya put away the dagger, letting Su Ruhui collapse to the ground. “Shen Tu had no killing intent toward you. I sent him to kill you to make you understand that the mortal realm is no longer a place where you can stay. Why didn’t you follow the advice and stay in the Snow Realm?”

Su Ruhui pressed his throat tightly with one hand and reached for the white linen bag on the table with the other. Pain surged through his body like waves. His vision gradually blurred, and blood flowed through his fingers, taking away his warmth and his life. Death came too fast; he wasn’t ready. Despair poured into his limbs along with the pain. He struggled helplessly like a fish out of water.

Jiang Xueya propped open the window and gazed at the endless falling snow.

“Where did you find the clue? A paper bag alone isn’t enough to make you harbor such deep suspicion toward me. Ah, I remember, it must have been what Jiang Huancang said at the guard post. I once told you that my father said I stole milk from other siblings, that my nature was fierce and would become a great disaster. He sent me away before I even knew all my family members. He claimed to entrust me with a great task, but in reality, he left me to fend for myself.” She turned her head to look at Su Ruhui on the floor. “I wasn’t lying. I wasn’t talking about Jiang Huancang, but my biological father, the King of Luofu. When you heard those words, you probably thought I was sent to Mount Zhuluo. No, I was talking about the mortal realm. You must have guessed that I replaced Jiang Xueya. No, I have always been Jiang Xueya. The Jiang family allied with the demon race long ago. My lifelong mission was to enter the Mystic Sect and climb up to Tantai Jing.”

Su Ruhui finally understood why she was so career-oriented and why she was so focused on her official path.

She sighed. “A-Hui, I really treated you as family, but I really had to kill you. You are too smart. If you walked out of my residence today and thought carefully, you would soon realize that I am Bai Ruoye.”

Su Ruhui gasped for air, blood spreading beneath him.

“What do you want to ask?” Jiang Xueya said. “Want to ask why I don’t have a Heart Core?”

“Super… Super Grade-One…” As soon as he opened his mouth, more blood flowed, and Su Ruhui couldn’t speak.

Jiang Xueya said softly, “That’s right. I changed my body. Just like you, I use a Super Grade-One Flesh Puppet.”

Now, everything was clear. Jiang Xueya used a Super Grade-One Flesh Puppet to avoid the “Divine Eye” mirror’s inspection. As long as the mirror didn’t shine on her skull’s star array, no one would know she used a puppet body. Loving Tantai Jing, approaching Tantai Jing—it was all a front. She had planned for decades, using love to hide her ambition and gain Tantai Jing’s trust.

“More than once I’ve wondered why I wasn’t a mortal, why I wasn’t the same species as you? I also thought about betraying my kin and being as reckless as Sang Chiyu. But the wind and snow were too strong, A-Hui. My mother was displaced in the wind and snow, my sisters died of illness in the wind and snow, and my people struggled to survive in the wind and snow. How could I ignore their suffering and enjoy the prosperity and peace of the mortal realm?” Jiang Xueya said softly. “As for Tantai Jing, I was originally using him, but who would have thought there would be the complication of a child. Ah, right, I didn’t tell you. I was pregnant with his child, but he had it aborted. That’s fine too. He is heartless and ruthless, and I was just acting. When I kill him in the future, my hand won’t falter.”

Su Ruhui stretched out his hand with all his might, finally hooking the strap of his bag. With a hard pull, the items in the bag fell all over him. The communication compass landed right in front of his eyes. He trembled, wanting to flip open the compass, but his strength was slipping away from his body like silk. He couldn’t even open the compass lid.

Just then, the compass buzzed, and green light flickered inside. Had Sang Chiyu finally remembered to look for him? Hope surged in Su Ruhui’s heart, like countless stars lighting up one by one in his dark heart. He reached out, but Jiang Xueya walked over to him, bent down, and picked up the compass.

Jiang Xueya opened the copper lid, and a green light shone. Sang Chiyu’s steady voice came from inside.

“Su Ruhui, are you home?”

“Sang Chiyu,” Jiang Xueya switched to a cheerful tone, “did you and A-Hui make up?”

Su Ruhui wanted to make a sound, but his throat was slit, and he couldn’t speak. He gripped Jiang Xueya’s ankle weakly, bloodstains staining her boots.

“Mhm.” Sang Chiyu replied.

Jiang Xueya responded, “Drawing the star map was taxing; he’s tired and has already fallen asleep. It’s too late, and Biandu is under curfew. He’ll stay the night with me. I’ll make sure he’s sent back to Sunkang Street safe and sound tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The communication was cut, and Jiang Xueya closed the compass.

She looked down. Su Ruhui was no longer struggling, his hollow, lightless eyes reflecting the dancing candle flame. She called her subordinates and handed the star map to them. “Mobilize the laborers overnight to dig the ditches and set up the star array. Tomorrow morning, I want to hear the news of completion.”

“Yes.” The subordinate didn’t look sideways, ignoring Su Ruhui on the floor, took the star map with head bowed, and exited the hall.

Jiang Xueya picked up an oiled paper umbrella and stepped into the vast snow without looking back. After a few steps, she stopped and left one last sentence, her faint voice floating to Su Ruhui’s ears along with the frosty wind.

“A-Hui, farewell forever.”

The cold wind blew into the window, extinguishing the candle, as if it also extinguished Su Ruhui’s life. He lay on the cold floor, the blood gushing from between his fingers no longer hot. The System was really a scam, he thought weakly. Why didn’t it warn him? Dying so casually, so suddenly—it wasn’t Su Ruhui’s style… His thoughts drifted aimlessly, like the snowflakes outside the door, scattering. If he died, who would feed Sang Baobao? A cat with such a bad temper—no one would want to keep it except him. And Sang Chiyu, if that guy knew he was dead, his eyes would surely be swollen from crying.

What a pity, he wouldn’t get to see Yu-er cry.

He was so unwilling… He didn’t want to die…

[High-risk item detected. Multiple system functions have failed. Virus removal program emergency start initiated.]

[Virus removal program failed to start. Program restarting…]

[Virus removal program failed to restart. System is about to go offline. Will attempt to reconnect to the neural network later!]

[Virus removal program failed to restart. System is about to go offline. Will attempt to reconnect to the neural network later!]

A series of alarms stopped abruptly, and Su Ruhui’s mind finally became quiet. The infinite sadness and unwillingness in his heart all fell into silence with the alarms at this moment. Consciousness gradually detached, and Su Ruhui felt himself like a feather, gently floating up.

In the dim darkness, he suddenly heard a familiar sigh coming from afar. It seemed like a faint hallucination, yet also like a deep dream.

— “Hui-er, don’t sleep.”