Chapter 12#

If You See SnowCh12 - Reduced to a Discarded Husband#

It was barely dawn outside when Su Ruhui returned home. He raised his palm, and a tiny iron-clad spider climbed onto his fingertip.

“Back?” Su Ruhui’s lips curved into a smile, “What did those monsters say? Tell me about it.”

He had deliberately left his bundle in the corridor so the wind-stealing spider could eavesdrop on their conversation. True to its mission, the spider wriggled its mouthparts and repeated the exchange between “Jiang Xueya” and “Jiang Huaicang” word for word.

After hearing this, Su Ruhui raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn’t expected Jiang Xueya to not be in the hands of those strange people. So where could Jiang Xueya be? And that fake Jiang Xueya could read minds; this secret arts was a real pain. Su Ruhui put away the little spider and took stock of his belongings. He now held a bunch of secret arts talismans. Even if he couldn’t defeat the Paradise Pavilion, escaping would be more than manageable. He wasn’t worried at all. Still, to be safe, he needed to think of ways to arm himself as much as possible.

A sudden “beep” sounded beside his ear.

【Task “Find Jiang Xueya” failed. Host receives system’s degradation and verbal abuse x1.】

Su Ruhui was taken aback. What the heck is that?

【Su Ruhui, you’re a plain little piece of trash.】

Su Ruhui: “…”

Go die, you dog system.

The estate corridor was cold and deserted. The ruins of his sleeping quarters sprawled across the courtyard, charred wood piled on top of each other in a mess. The windows and doors of Sang Chiyu’s side room were tightly closed. It seemed like he was still asleep. Not wanting to disturb him, he went straight to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. First, he shaped two large rice balls, stuffing them with a bright yellow salted egg yolk dripping with oil and finely chopped beef. Sang Chiyu wasn’t picky; whatever Su Ruhui gave him, he ate. Even though Su Ruhui knew he disliked meat, considering his frail body, he still stuffed in some extra pieces.

He then poured two cups of plum juice. Breakfast was almost ready. He pressed his ear to the door of the side room, but still heard no sound inside. Sang Chiyu would usually be up already at this time. He kept to a routine and was strict with himself, never sleeping in until the sun was high in the sky. Su Ruhui glanced at the sun hanging high overhead, furrowed his brows, and pushed open the door.

The room was empty.

Su Ruhui froze. He started frantically searching for Sang Chiyu but did not even see a single strand of his hair. Opening the wardrobe, he discovered all his clothes and shoes had been packed away. Bandits who kidnap people certainly don’t bother packing their bags, which meant Sang Chiyu had left of his own accord. Su Ruhui was so angry he nearly spat blood. He thought he had spelled it out clearly with Sang Chiyu. He wouldn’t depend on the Sang household, and in time, he would divorce Sang Chiyu like he wanted. Yet this ungrateful wretch had left without a word.

This kid was both covered in wounds and crippled. Where could he possibly go?

Su Ruhui was so furious he wanted to punch someone. Calming down, he wondered: Where could Sang Chiyu have gone? Who could have helped him? Sang Chiyu said he had no friends. Was he relying on himself? He grew up in the Kunlun Secret Sect and rarely interacted with outsiders. He didn’t know about the viciousness of the world or the decline of the people’s hearts. As a military officer of the Secret Sect who grew up like a prince, when had he ever had to live on his own?

Su Ruhui thought sadly to himself, in a couple of days he would go talk a walk in the slums and slave dens to see if he could find him and bring him back.

Just as he was thinking this, a glimpse of a sleeve flashed by the side gate. Startled, Su Ruhui cried out: “Sang Chiyu!”

No one answered. Su Ruhui deliberately let out a wail: “Ah—I twisted my ankle!”

The courtyard fell silent for a moment before a dark figure appeared outside the side gate. Sang Chiyu, clad entirely in black, stood motionless before the doorway.

Su Ruhui was at a loss for words. That such a clumsy lie could fool this kid showed just how naive he was. He’d be led astray by bad guys in just three steps outside.

“You, what are you doing!” Su Ruhui’s face filled with helplessness, “Where do you think you’re going?”

Sang Chiyu didn’t respond, staring intently at his foot as if trying to determine whether he had actually twisted it.

Su Ruhui watched him standing normally, then suddenly frowned, “Your leg’s better?”

Sang Chiyu saw that his foot was perfectly fine and slowly lifted his head, giving a soft “Mn.”

“…” Su Ruhui’s face darkened. “You took that secret drug? Have you lost your mind? Did your head get crushed by a door?”

“No.” Sang Chiyu calmly replied.

Su Ruhui couldn’t tell whether he was answering that he hadn’t drunk the secret drug or that his brain hadn’t been crushed by the door.

“You get over here.” Su Ruhui beckoned him with his hand.

Sang Chiyu didn’t move.

“I’m leaving.” He said.

Su Ruhui’s vision went dark with anger. That ungrateful bastard. He fed him the finest food and drink, practically worshipping him like a god, and now he just up and leaves. If Su Ruhui’s vision wasn’t sharp enough to catch him, he probably wouldn’t have even bothered to say goodbye.

Su Ruhui forced himself to calm down and asked: “Where are you going?”

“The Underworld.”

This guy really did take the secret drug. Su Ruhui was now thoroughly enraged, “Go my ass, do you even understand what kind of place the Underworld is? I’m actually so done with you. I thought you were smart and clearheaded, who would’ve thought that you know nothing at all. The organization who recruited you was the Great Compassion Temple right? I heard everything the old dog was yapping about earlier. The Great Compassion Temple’s Hei Guanyin recruits many monks and nuns every year. Do you know why? Because countless people die under his command every year. No one knows why they die, but eight to nine times out of ten it has something to do with the secret drug Hei Guanyin fed them.”

“Mn, I know.” Sang Chiyu said.

His detached demeanor seemed like he disregarded life and death altogether. Su Ruhui had never been this furious before. He was practically itching to pin Sang Chiyu down and beat the crap out of him. But upon second thought, it was understandable. Suddenly turning from a genius secret arts user into a useless waste, Sang Chiyu wouldn’t have wallowed in despair for so long if he didn’t care.

“Come back, don’t go.” Su Ruhui’s expression turned stern as he spoke to him seriously for the first time. “I’ll find a way to help you with your secret arts. You come back to me.”

Under the glittering sunlight, Sang Chiyu’s eyes remained still. He had always been this way, quiet like a young maiden. The first time Su Ruhui saw him, he even mistook him for an obedient little sister.

“Su Ruhui.” He suddenly spoke.

Su Ruhui froze. He didn’t hear wrong, right? Sang Chiyu just called him “Su Ruhui”!

“Why have you revived?” Sang Chiyu asked.

Su Ruhui was rather embarrassed that his identity had been seen though. How did this guy recognize him? And even after recognizing him, he still didn’t say a word!

“Not telling you.” Su Ruhui muttered.

That brat Sang Chiyu had gone bad and became sneaky. He had listened to Su Ruhui call him “husband” day after day without batting an eyelid. This realization left Su so mortified he wished he could dig a hole and bury himself in it. Better to end it all, Su Ruhui thought despairingly. There was nothing left in this world worth clinging on to.

Sang Chiyu whispered softly: “Thank you for these past few days, but I have something I must do. Please don’t ask about me anymore, and don’t worry about me either. You must stay away from me; pretend you don’t know me. My affairs no longer have anything to do with you. No one but me knows you are Su Ruhui. This estate is yours. You can carve wood, tend to plants, do whatever you want here. From here on out, there will no longer be anyone to bother you.”

He produced a secret arts talisman. Golden light shimmered on the yellow paper as the talisman transformed into a swirling vortex of light.

“Hey!” Su Ruhui cried out after him.

“One last piece of advice,” Sang Chiyu said, “avoid wearing strange clothes.”

With that, he stepped into the vortex and never looked back. Su Ruhui chased after him, but only managed to touch a sliver of distorted light before the vortex slammed shut before his eyes. Sang Chiyu vanished without a trace. He faintly caught the lingering scent of Sang Chiyu in the air, a chill as cold as snow. No matter the season, wherever that man had been, it always felt as if winter had arrived.

Avoid wearing strange clothes? Su Ruhui looked down at himself and realized he had forgotten to change back out of Bai Caiping’s dress. He felt both embarrassed and angry. So what if he wore strange clothes? Not only will he wear them, but next time he’ll go streaking! Damn this stupid thing to death. Su Ruhui didn’t catch his breath for a long while, “Fine, go. If you’ve got the guts, don’t ever come back. If I care about you again, I’m a dumbass stupid pig bastard.”

When did Sang Chiyu find out he was Su Ruhui? Su Ruhui couldn’t figure it out and felt a bit guilty. They used to be sworn enemies, and Sang Chiyu had despised him most of all. Yet this brat had spent so many days with him without a change in expression, listening to him call him “husband” day after day. After feeling guilty, Su Ruhui started sulking. After cooking for that kid for so many days, he could actually be so heartless, just leaving after saying so.

Just then, his stomach growled. Clearing his mind, he headed to the kitchen for breakfast. Upon arriving, he discovered only two cups of plum juice remained on the red tray. The rice balls had vanished without a trace.

Su Ruhui couldn’t hold back any longer. Smashing the tray in anger, he shouted: “If you’re going then just go, what do you mean by taking my rice balls? At least leave me one!”

Damn his grandma, isn’t it just the Underworld? Did Sang Chiyu think he couldn’t go?

Su Ruhui angrily pulled out a stack of secret arts talismans, counted them off, and selected a “Formless Gate” talisman. He raised the talisman to use it, but hesitated for a moment before reluctantly tucking it away. This long distance teleportation talisman was the best escape method. Since there was only one, he had to use it sparingly.

He returned to the ruins to search through the debris. As a member of the Paradise Pavilion, A-Qi should have had a pass to get to the Underworld, though whether it had been destroyed in the explosion that day was unknown. After searching for half a day, he still couldn’t find it. He was so hungry he went to the kitchen and pinched off a plain rice ball to stave off his hunger. Suddenly, he noticed a loose brick beside the stove. Upon prying it open, he found the pass hidden inside.

A-Qi had hidden the pass in the kitchen after all. Su Ruhui blew on the wooden pass in his hand before tucking it away in his robe. After finishing his rice ball, he took a step forward, pulled his hood over his head to conceal his face, and spurred his horse out of the manor.

As the horse carriage entered the city, Su Ruhui stroked his chin thoughtfully. Before heading to the Secret Sect, he needed to swing by the Underworld to pick up a few things.

Hmph, he’d never go looking for Sang Chiyu. Let that heartless guy fend for himself.

He turned beneath the skywalk and followed a narrow path to the slums, where he found an inconspicuous general store. The shop had a dark, dingy front, and in the parlor stood a rust covered God of Wealth. Su Ruhui jumped off the carriage and tapped on the L-shaped counter. A man with a goatee straightened up behind it and said weakly: “Travel pass.”

Su Ruhui waved the wooden plaque in front of his eyes.

The man with the goatee swept his eyes over it, pointed with his right hand, and a light vortex the size of a doghole opened before Su Ruhui’s eyes.

Su Ruhui raised an eyebrow, “You want this young master to crawl through a dog hole?”

The man with the goatee rolled his eyes, “As if you have a better option.”

Su Ruhui: “…”

This is the most common way for criminals to return to the Underworld. The exact location of the Underworld was classified as top-secret information, generally known only to the core members of the gangs. Upon entering the Underworld, ordinary criminals were issued a pass to travel through it. Presenting the pass at the secret meetup spot within the city walls will allow the gatekeeper to open the formless gate for the bearer. In the past, Su Ruhui had secret arts users by his side. Returning to the Underworld meant simply opening the gate. At the very least, he had secret arts talismans, rarely needing to return from the rendezvous point. He never imagined the gatekeeper at the rendezvous point could only open a doghole. Well, if he could open a proper door, he wouldn’t be stuck here as a gatekeeper.

Finefinefine. This old man Su knows how to bend and stretch. What’s crawling through a dog hole?

Su Ruhui crawled through the doghole, and the scene before him abruptly changed. He had arrived in the Underworld. Above the narrow street, the eaves of houses on both sides nearly touched. Colorful lanterns cast down an enchanting glow. Prostitutes and gentlemen stood by the roadside smoking pipes with their pale chests exposed to the light, puffing clouds of smoke that drifted like ethereal mist. Pedestrians hurried through the dark streets like phantoms. A damp scent filled his nostrils. Su Ruhui recognized the familiar stench of decay.

If you look down on the Underworld from above, you would find that it is actually a vast city. Overcrowded with people and teeming with houses, the buildings crammed together in dense clusters, leaving the streets narrow and cramped. Moreover, the tall structures block sunlight from reaching the ground, casting the streets in perpetual gloom. The residents of the Underworld dwelled in these shadowy corners like snakes, rats, and bugs.

Few people knew where the Underworld was located. Su Ruhui happened to be one of the few who did.

It was a moving fortress. Every three months, the star array surrounding the city activates. Star arrays are powered by spirit stones and possess no offensive capabilities. They typically serve a supportive function, enhancing the effects of secret arts. The Underworld is an expanded star array. When cultivators with “Formless Gate” from the Paradise Pavilion and the Great Compassion Temple simultaneously cast their arts, the array’s expansion will manifest the world’s largest formless gate beneath the Underworld, enabling the entire district to relocate to its next hiding place. When the Secret Sect launched their invasion that year, it was because the Underworld’s hiding place had been exposed. The allied forces of the noble families lay in wait at the target location, catching them completely off guard.

Su Ruhui found Hengtai Money House, the largest money house in the Underworld. The counters were blocked off, with only a few narrow windows cut into the middle. Inside, the clerks’ smiling faces peered out. Secret arts talismans plastered the counters, most of which served a defensive purpose. Anyone who dares to do business in the Underworld must have some tricks up their sleeve. Su Ruhui pushed through the bustling crowd in the parlor, crossed the small courtyard, and entered a red-lacquered wooden partitioned room at the rear. He knocked on the window bars—three times in succession, paused for a breath, then knocked once more.

The wooden plank slid upward with a creak. A voice echoed from the dark window opening: “Name.”

Su Ruhui said lazily: “The biggest bastard in the world.”

This name really left one speechless. The voice inside paused for a moment, followed by the rustling sound of pages being turned, “It’s been over seven years since you last came?”

“Mn.” Su Ruhui said casually, “Got arrested, just got out.”

The people of the Underworld committed countless crimes, and it was common for them to be apprehended, imprisoned, or even executed. Seven years was no rarity in the Underworld. The person continued: “Password.”

“Worry not of tomorrow’s troubles, only seeking of today’s joys.”

A locked mechanism box was pulled out from behind the window opening and handed to Su Ruhui.

Su Ruhui emerged from the compartment carrying his luggage, only to find the parlor suddenly quiet. The people who had been bustling about earlier had vanished, replaced by thugs from the Paradise Pavilion. Each carried a pitch-black flintlock musket, their bodies covered in colorful tattoos, faces painted with oil paint, and expressions hostile. In the center of the courtyard was a red sandalwood armchair. Han Ye sat on it with his legs crossed and hands folded over his knees. Sunlight spilled into the courtyard like bits of soft white feathers, settling upon his pale and clean fingertips. It was clearly a pleasant sight, yet the steel ring on his thumb glinted with a harsh light, adding a threatening air to the scene.

“A-Qi,” Han Ye grinned with unrestrained mockery, “I told you we’d meet again.”

Su Ruhui saw the situation was not good, and immediately took off running.