Chapter 79#

You Are Far Inferior to A-Xun#

Biandu, Qinghe District, underground workshop.

Bai Ruoye stood with her hands behind her back, her fists clenched and her expression grim as she stared at the super-grade flesh puppet on the repair table. It was a puppet with an ordinary face, but where the eyes should have been were now two bloody holes. Someone had used a sharp tool to stab into its eyes, destroying the astral array within its cranium.

“Who did this?” Bai Ruoye asked sharply.

Two rows of workers and the aides guarding the workshop knelt on the ground, all trembling violently. Seeing Bai Ruoye’s dark expression, an aide hurriedly kowtowed and said, “Lord Jiang… no, Your Highness, have mercy! This subordinate truly does not know who did it. Following your orders, we stayed by the puppet’s side waiting for it to awaken, intending to extract its memories, make it forget its past, and open the gate to send it to the Snowy Realm. But the puppet wouldn’t wake up. We… we took a short nap, and when we woke up, it was like this. We wanted to send word to you, but perhaps you were too busy and didn’t hear the compass’s signal.” His voice grew lower and lower. “Biandu has been in chaos these past few days, the streets are full of monsters, and we didn’t dare go out.”

Bai Ruoye laughed out of sheer anger. “You took a nap while guarding it? My father has ears and eyes all around me; this place is top secret, and I always come here alone. For the past five days, I ordered you not to leave the premises, and you have been eating stored dry rations. Besides you, who else could have touched this puppet?”

The aide broke into a cold sweat. “Your Highness, we have been wronged! You ordered us to create three super-grade flesh puppets—one for Your Highness’s own use, and two to be stored in the workshop’s ice cellar. If we intended harm, we would have destroyed all three. It makes no sense to destroy only one and invite Your Highness’s severe punishment!”

“Yes, yes,” another worker crawled forward on his knees, kowtowing frantically. “Your Highness, please see clearly, it truly had nothing to do with us. Now that Biandu has fallen, we are all counting on Your Highness to stay alive!”

Bai Ruoye’s expression was complex, half her face shrouded in shadow, thick with gloom. What they said made sense; these workers had followed her for a long time, and the super-grade flesh puppet Su Muhui had been resurrected in was their handiwork. She knew their loyalty. Had someone sneaked in at midnight? But why destroy only this specific puppet? She had never told anyone who this puppet was intended for. Bai Ruoye’s heart was filled with haze, and her forehead began to throb again. She turned around, took some pills from her waist pouch, swallowed them, and asked, “Where is the other puppet?”

“As per Your Highness’s orders, we inserted the spirit stones last night and sent it through the gate to the ‘Stone Nest.’ It should be awake by now. Does Your Highness wish to go see it?”

Bai Ruoye waved her hand and summoned the gate mystics, ordering them to take the workers to the Jiang manor in Yunzhou and place them under strict supervision. She returned to the surface, where her guard detail waited at the street corner. A monster-servant brought over a puppet horse; she led the guards and galloped away. Not far after they left, an explosion erupted behind them, and the underground workshop vanished in flames.

Heading north, the ground was covered in corpses, and blood flowed into the roadside ditches, gathering into meandering streams. The slaughter in Biandu had lasted for five whole days. The monsters played games of hide-and-seek, dragging out humans hidden at the bottom of wells, in cellars, and within wall cavities, biting off their heads and disemboweling them. The once prosperous streets had become a purgatory. Limbless corpses hung from door beams, and many severed arms lay on the ground, the flesh gnawed away, leaving only bleached bones surrounded by buzzing flies.

Bai Ruoye rode past, her brows deeply furrowed as she looked at the rotting corpses on the street.

Due to the descent of the Yao King City, the layout of Biandu had undergone earth-shattering changes. The South Street of Sunkang District was replaced by the black stone tower clusters of the King City, and the relay station of Qinghe District was crushed to dust by the Temple of the Holy Virgin. Most of the black stone buildings were damaged during the descent, with many upper floors collapsing. This was unavoidable; when the King City collided with Biandu, the stone architecture of the King City held a total advantage. The only part left completely intact was the Biandu Palace. The ruins of the vacant King City had descended there, which was originally the Heavenly Gate of the Snowy Realm. Twenty years ago, Su Guanyu had leveled everything within a ten-mile radius of the gate.

A snow giant lizard suddenly sprinted out from a corner ahead, chasing a group of blood-covered mortals. The people stumbled, screaming hoarsely.

Bai Ruoye pulled out her long whip and struck the ground in front of the lizard. The lizard stopped instantly and bowed its head respectfully.

“Your Highness.”

“Get out,” Bai Ruoye said coldly.

The lizard looked longingly at the food within its reach, but walked away, turning its head back every three steps. The crowd huddled in front of Bai Ruoye’s horse, weeping softly. One person in the middle seemed to recognize Bai Ruoye and threw himself to the ground. “Lord… Lord Jiang? Is it you, Lord Jiang? Please, save my family! I once sold toasted buns to you, do you remember?”

Bai Ruoye looked at them silently. A dog-demon guard behind her rode up to her side and gently shook his head.

“Your Highness,” he whispered, “rumors are spreading in the palace. The King seems to feel that you have stayed in the human world for too long…” The dog-demon guard hesitated, then lowered his head and stopped talking.

After a long silence, Bai Ruoye threw a dagger to the man.

“Instead of being kept like livestock for food, it is better to take your own life and end it quickly. In today’s Biandu, you cannot survive.”

Bai Ruoye entered the palace and stepped into Beichen Hall. Countless bats hung upside down from the hall’s vaulted ceiling, their glowing red eyes watching the woman with the straight back below. White-clad ministers stood respectfully on both sides. Most were monsters who had tried their best to take human form but still looked grotesque, with pointed mouths and monkey-like cheeks; one monster’s head was as flat as a squashed ball. Bai Ruoye did not recognize many of these monster ministers; she had been away from the Snowy Realm’s North Pole for too long, and she wasn’t informed of every change in the court. Nonetheless, no monster dared ignore her. As she entered the hall, all the monsters lowered their heads. She was the primary hero of the monster race’s descent into the human world, the illustrious daughter of the King of Luo Fu.

Among the ranks were some surrendered officials whom Bai Ruoye had protected, such as Xia Jing, who stood at the end of the line holding his breath. Surrendering was beyond reproach—one’s head was more important than integrity—but the monster-servant next to him, who was drooling at him, was truly terrifying. Xia Jing closed his eyes, trying his best to ignore the saliva dripping all over the floor.

On the nine-fold white jade steps, a towering man sat on the stone throne that once belonged to Tantai Jing. He was the Great Grandmaster of the monster race’s Pilgrimage Realm, the sole King—the King of Luo Fu. He wore a pure white robe, and a large hood obscured his face; no one had ever seen his true appearance. This was because of his mystic art, “Divine Heart Telepathy.” It was said that this powerful technique relied on his features to be activated. Some monsters speculated that anyone who had seen his face was likely dead.

Bai Ruoye knelt on one knee and said, “Father, the revelry should end. Killing those who surrender is already an ill omen, and massacring the city is a grave mistake. Mortals are weak, yet they are as numerous as insects spread across the world. A single ant is nothing, but one must guard against ten thousand ants devouring the heart. It would be better to take in the mortals in the city, make them slaves of our race, and have them graze, farm, build astral fortresses, and manufacture firearms and puppets for us.”

Laughter erupted from the ranks. Bai Ruoye looked toward the source; it was a tall monster general who called himself Ying Zhao. Having come to the human world, many monsters had taken new human names. This monster chose a celestial god from human legends as his new identity.

“Our race has been tempered by wind and snow. Our people are brave and our soldiers are fierce. Why should we fear those weak mortals?” Ying Zhao stepped forward and said, “Furthermore, the Jiang clan surrendered Yunzhou, and the Yan clan offered up Youzhou. They cannot even stand united against us; they are not to be feared.”

Bai Ruoye wanted to say more, but the King of Luo Fu above waved his hand. Both bowed respectfully and spoke no more.

The King of Luo Fu’s deep voice echoed, “Have you found the Holy Son?”

“Not yet.” Bai Ruoye lowered her eyes. “I suspect he is in the Black Street. The terrain of the Black Street is hidden, and I do not know its current location.”

“What about that child?” the King of Luo Fu asked again. “I remember his name was Su Muhui.”

Bai Ruoye thought of the puppet whose spiritual perception array had been destroyed. She pursed her lips, maintaining an impeccable, cold, and hard stance. “He is at the top of our race’s execution list. I followed your instructions and slit his throat with my own hands.”

“Very well. Lurking in the human world did not erode your fighting spirit, nor did it break your loyalty,” the King of Luo Fu said. “However, you did not truly kill that child. He is not dead.”

Bai Ruoye was stunned.

“To still be alive after having his throat slit… he is indeed Su Guanyu’s son. Ruoye, you need not trouble yourself further. My mystic art, ‘Divine Heart Telepathy,’ has already located the Holy Son. Go. Take your guards and purge Biandu. Remind those fools addicted to slaughter of their identity and mission. Order them to put on their armor, take up their firearms and swords, and bring that child who has forgotten his bloodline back to my side.”

“I obey your command.”

Bai Ruoye returned to her own residence. This place was called the “Stone Nest.” Rather than a residence, it was more like a traveling palace built of black stone. Most of it had shattered during the descent, but the remaining half of the ruins was barely habitable. The Palace City had already sent out craftsmen to repair this city that resembled a junkyard. Bai Ruoye had submitted a memorial saying that the Martial Armory and workshops should be prioritized, but the King of Luo Fu did not adopt her suggestion; most of the craftsmen were busy building mansions for the nobles.

I am surrounded by fools. Bai Ruoye smiled mockingly. They thought that by occupying Biandu, they had occupied the human world. While those monsters hunted at will, she saw the shadow of death within the fires of the revelry. They were her kin whom she could not abandon, despite their stupidity, arrogance, bloodlust, and cruelty. She had spent her whole life carrying them on her back, and in the future, she might die because of them. She knew this well.

She changed her clothes and climbed the tower with her hands behind her back. Pure Land talismans were carved onto the black stone tower, soaked in the essence blood of several Pure Land mystics, capable of maintaining their effects for over thirty years. Every floor was guarded by burly monster-servants, and the top floor was guarded inside and out by over a dozen dog-demons. Reaching the top floor, she pushed open the door. The room was bright and clean, the interior decorations all replaced with human styles. A gray-haired man sat withered by the stone window, his silent eyes gazing out at the ruins of Biandu.

Bai Ruoye’s gaze fell to the side. The man hadn’t touched a single bite of the food the servants had brought.

Bai Ruoye sat down in a chair, picking up the chopsticks to poke at the cold food. She waved her hand, and a servant took the food away while another brought in a hot meal. From beginning to end, the man did not turn his head to look at her once.

“Tantai Jing,” Bai Ruoye called to him, “Do you intend to starve yourself to death?”

Tantai Jing remained deaf to her words, closing his eyes and meditating.

Everyone else thought this man was dead; even he himself thought so. Until last night, when he woke up in this high tower to find the belated Jiang Xueya… no, Bai Ruoye. This woman had replaced his body, giving him new life with a super-grade flesh puppet, stripped him of his “Blizzard” mystic art, and hidden him in this unknown corner of the black tower like a treasured toy.

Bai Ruoye sat opposite him, watching him quietly. She had originally wanted to kill him; harboring him was a great risk. If the King of Luo Fu found out, she would likely suffer the consequences. But that day, when she was making the super-grade flesh puppets, she had somehow made an extra one. By the time she realized it, the Spiritual Perception Transfer Array had already been set up. She had left a way out for him, though he wasn’t grateful for it.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t eat,” Bai Ruoye turned the black jade ring on her thumb. “If you die, I’ll just change you into another puppet body. How is the one you’re using now? Do you like it? I used the puppet craftsmanship of the Pleasure Pavilion. If you feel passion, your saliva will contain aphrodisiac components. Do you know what the Black Street calls that kind of saliva? It’s called ‘Fragrant Nectar.’ It tastes sweet and smells fragrant. In the Pleasure Pavilion, it costs a hundred gold just to taste the mouth of such a puppet once.”

Tantai Jing suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Bai Ruoye, his gaze bone-chillingly cold.

Bai Ruoye chuckled. “Willing to look at me now? I lied to you; I don’t have the craftsmanship of the Pleasure Pavilion.”

“Kill me,” Tantai Jing finally spoke.

His voice was incredibly raspy, like he had a handful of sand in his throat. He had not eaten or drunk for a whole day.

Bai Ruoye shook her head and asked, “Don’t you want to know how A-Hui is doing?” She pushed a porcelain cup in front of Tantai Jing. “Drink this, and I’ll tell you.”

Tantai Jing looked at the porcelain cup in silence. After a long while, he picked it up and drained it in one gulp.

“I originally killed him,” Bai Ruoye said, “but it seems he was saved by Sang Chiyu, or perhaps the Snowflower saved him. After all, with a wound that deep, he couldn’t have survived without the Snowflower. As expected of the one who possesses the Snowflower, he just won’t stay dead. He must hate me to death by now.”

Tantai Jing said, “Jiang Xueya, Hui-er treated you as blood kin.”

Bai Ruoye’s expression showed no guilt. She only said, “Is that so? I have a premonition that I will die by his hand in the future.”

Tantai Jing spoke no more.

The two fell into a long silence as snow fell outside, burying the broken corpses all over Biandu.

Bai Ruoye looked at the silent man before her and suddenly said, “Tell me about Princess Suwu.”

Tantai Jing slowly raised his eyes, his words cold and clear. “Compared to A-Xun, you are far inferior.”

Unexpectedly, Bai Ruoye did not get angry; instead, she let out a low laugh. She stood up and approached Tantai Jing, and he did not retreat. She leaned down and pinched his chin. He was forced to meet her gaze.

“I know. You loathe me for being treacherous and ruthless. It doesn’t matter. I don’t want your affection, nor do I want your love.” Bai Ruoye stared into his deep gray eyes. “I am even more despicable and selfish than you imagine. I want you to suffer alongside me. One day, when A-Hui comes to kill me, perhaps I’ll want you to accompany me to hell. But I suspect you don’t care; you probably hope to see me die a miserable death.”

Bai Ruoye placed the meal in front of him. “So, eat well, Tantai Jing. Last until the day I die a miserable death.”

Having said that, she turned and left.