Chapter 18#
If You See SnowCh18 - Taking in the Mysterious Youth#
Big big thank you to Blythe for the kofi (my first one ) Here is your bonus chapter ~
CW: slight depictions of cannibalism qWKh4G
The second day, Su Ruhui’s provisions were almost depleted, so he had no choice but to go out in search of food. All the animals were hibernating in this freezing weather, so he had to find a way to raid their burrows. After descending the cliff and walking less than half a li, he suddenly heard three miserable screams from ahead. Su Ruhui immediately changed direction, moving away from the scene of the conflict. However, the people behind him ran at breakneck speeds, and soon he heard hurried footsteps approaching. Having no other option, Su Ruhui found a thick patch of thatch and hid himself within.
A group approached, with a burly man being pursued by two secret arts users. One of them, clad in purple robes, leapt into the air like a swallow, soaring over the heads of the two men to block their path. The other, dressed in yellow, strolled forward leisurely, holding an arm dyed in blood in his hand. He took a ferocious bite, tearing off a chunk of flesh. The burly man, witnessing this horrifying scene, turned pale with terror.
The cannibalistic buddhas of the Great Compassion Temple. Su Ruhui couldn’t help but sigh in disgust. Every time he saw it was just as revolting as ever.
“You’re insane!” The burly man cried out in grief and indignation, “If you’re gonna kill then kill, why must you desecrate the bodies?”
The secret arts user in the yellow robes laughed menacingly, “Laozi didn’t bring any provisions, so eating a few pieces of your flesh and letting you be reborn inside my stomach is a blessing for you.”
The burly man’s voice sounded quite familiar. Su Ruhui remembered. It was the man who had tried to pick a fight with him but ended up being tricked into acknowledging him as a younger brother.
As he was thinking this, a rustling sound reached his ears. Someone was nearby! Su Ruhui’s heart jumped. He pushed aside the thatch beside him and locked gazes with a pair of bright, clear eyes—the system’s label “Mysterious Youth,” shone brightly above his head. The youth was dressed in black, dried blood staining his sleeves. His pale face was set in a tense expression. This kid must also have been lying here and watching from the sidelines, perhaps waiting for both sides to take each other out so he could reap the benefits without needing to do a thing. He stared at Su Ruhui unblinking, seemingly wary of Su Ruhui making a move.
Su Ruhui rummaged in his waist pouch and held out his fist in front of him. His black and large eyes followed Su Ruhui’s fist as it moved, then watched as the fist opened in front of him, revealing a small pile of red melon seeds inside.
Su Ruhui grinned and mouthed to him: “Want some?”
The youth said nothing, suddenly grabbing him by the collar and dragging him out of the grass. Seeds scattered everywhere. The moment the two left, several cold and gleaming short arrows pierced the thatch pile.
“Two spying rats.” The purple-robed secret arts user set down his crossbow, “Today’s haul is plentiful. We won’t have to worry about food for the next two days.”
They were still discovered even though they were thoroughly hidden. This guy’s secret technique was probably something like “Heaven’s Eye.” The other man in the yellow robes had arts involving manipulating objects. Su Ruhui saw many floating bone knives circling around him.
“Jiang xiaodi (lil bro), it’s you!” The burly man beside him exclaimed in surprise, then immediately turned anxious, “Xiaodi, you don’t have any secret arts! Run, I’ll hold them off!”
He raised his blade and charged at the man in yellow. Both bone knives spun simultaneously, piercing the joints of his hands—one left, one right—and nailing him to the birch trunk. The burly man let out a hoarse scream.
Ai, you don’t find many people who are so loyal yet so foolish these days. Su Ruhui had intended to run, but now he stopped his footsteps.
The yellow-robed man’s secret arts was offensive; compared to him, the support-type arts was naturally easier to deal with. He decided to take down one of them first, but the youth beside him moved even faster. A saber glare of frost and snow shot out from beneath his sleeve like an arrow released from a bowstring. In that instant, it was as if a fierce falcon had plunged into the wind. The youth’s blade vibrated, and a chilling aura enveloped the purple-robed man’s face.
The monks of the Great Compassion Temple didn’t recognize him because he had used transformation arts. He couldn’t use any other secret arts because of Motuoyanna’s monitoring. He knew that the Great Compassion Temple didn’t fully trust him, so Hei Guanyin hadn’t given him the list of other undercover agents. He also didn’t trust the Great Compassion Temple, so he hadn’t told them about Motuoyanna’s existence. With such a large scale recruitment effort, it was impossible for Dantai Jing with his brain to not know that the Underworld would send infiltrators. The Secret Sect’s Heaven’s Eye would surely cover this area. Sang Chiyu needed someone to expose their identity to distract the Secret Sect’s attention so that he could remain hidden more effectively.
The youth brazenly drew his saber, its aura rising like a towering mountain.
The moment the blades met, the purple-robed man’s blade shattered, fine cracks spreading across its body. The young man, gripping his saber with both hands, pressed down on the blade with an expressionless face. The purple-robed man’s eyes flashed with alarm; he hadn’t expected a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy to possess such strength. Behind the young man, three bone knives flew in. The yellow-robed man, seeing the purple-robed man’s faltering saber, tried to force the young man to withdraw his blade.
However, Su Ruhui forcibly intervened in the battle.
“Xiao Huang, your opponent is me.” Su Ruhui smiled.
The yellow-robed man was confused. Who is Xiao Huang? He lowered his head and saw his own yellow clothes. He immediately became furious.
“Looking for death.”
Three bone knives lunged toward Su Ruhui, who activated a “Pure Land” talisman, rendering all unapproved secret arts ineffective… However, the bone knives were completely unaffected and continued to fly!
How could this be!?
As the flying knives rushed towards him, Su Ruhui’s eyes narrowed, and he instantly activated a “Shadow Walking” talisman. In the split second his figure blurred, the bone knives arrived, and in the next instant he disappeared, they pierced the area where he had just been. Seeing Su Ruhui in danger, Sang Chiyu finally withdrew his saber and turned around. The man in purple almost couldn’t hold on against the youth’s blade, but seeing him withdraw his strength, he finally let out a breath of relief. However, at that moment, he felt a chill down his spine, and a short dagger was thrust into the center of his back.
Su Ruhui appeared behind him, his hands covered in sticky blood.
He never imagined that in such a critical moment, Su Ruhui could not only dodge the bone knives but also think to teleport behind him for a sneak attack.
The purple-robed man collapsed, leaving only the yellow-robed man stunned and tongue-tied.
Now it was two against one. One possessed exceptional saber skills, while the other had just used a shadow walking talisman. It was unclear how many talismans he had in reserve. The man in yellow made a quick decision to withdraw the bone knives and turned to flee.
The two did not pursue him, but lowered the burly man from the tree.
“Huh, why didn’t my pure land talisman work?” Su Ruhui touched the remnants of the talisman.
The burly man gasped for breath: “That man wasn’t using secret arts, it was talismans. His bone knives were imbued with talismans.”
No wonder “Pure Land” didn’t work. It restricts secret arts users, not talismans.
Su Ruhui’s heart hurt. He had wasted a good talisman.
“Jiang xiaodi and this young man, many thanks to you two for saving my life.” the burly man said, clasping his hands in thanks.
“We can’t stay here any longer. I’ll take you to my hideout to tend to your wounds.” Su Ruhui said, “Young man, I imagine you have your own place. We shall part ways here.”
Su Ruhui helped the burly man to his feet, and the two walked a few steps. The youth stood still, watching them depart. As the pair walked away, leaving the lonely boy behind, he glanced back. He stood there all alone, like an abandoned little mushroom, giving off a pitiful air.
For some reason, Su Ruhui didn’t invite the youth. The burly man hesitated for a moment, then whispered to Su Ruhui, “Jiang xiaodi, why don’t we take this young man along too? The three of us can look out for each other.”
Their whispers were very quiet, but since Sang Chiyu had integrated with the heart core, his hearing had improved dramatically, and he heard every word the burly man said. Sang Chiyu’s foot, which he was about to lift, froze. He remained rooted to the spot as if demons and gods were at work.
“Nah, let’s go.” He heard Su Ruhui say.
“Why?” The burly man didn’t understand.
Su Ruhui said: “Because he looks like Sang Chiyu.”
Sang Chiyu: “…”
The youth stood rooted to the spot, a solitary figure. Although his face was expressionless, the burly man inexplicably perceived a hint of pitifulness in him. The burly man and Su Ruhui walked a considerable distance, but the boy remained standing there, watching their heartless backs disappear into the distance. The burly man felt as if thorns were stuck in his back, his conscience gnawing at him. He summoned up the courage to suggest to Su Ruhui that they take in the youth. Su Ruhui, lacking a conscience, repeatedly refused. Finally, unable to withstand the man’s reproachful gaze, he agreed to take in this poor boy.
Su Ruhui only had five sweet meat buns left. Of the three of them, one was injured, and another was a growing kid, leaving only Su Ruhui healthy and strong. Seeing this, Su Ruhui felt embarrassed to take the largest share of food for himself. He decided to give them each two buns, leaving only one for himself. The burly man was an honest and kind person and surely wouldn’t let him go hungry. Su Ruhui first gave the youth two buns, then handed two to the burly man, feigning politeness, saying: “Dage, you should eat another one. I’m not hungry.”
This dage is so kind, surely he’ll push the steamed buns back. Then Su Ruhui will accept them respectfully.
Who knew that the burly man’s eyes would well up with tears as he took both steamed buns, saying: “Jiang xiaodi, I haven’t eaten all day. If I hadn’t met you, I would have either been killed by those scoundrels or starved to death today.”
Saying this, the burly man wolfed down both buns.
“Oh, right, my name is He Sheng. Jiang di, you can just call me He dage from now on.”
A singular, cold bun laid in Su Ruhui’s palm. Su Ruhui felt his heart crying tears.
A large bun appeared before Su Ruhui’s eyes. He lifted his gaze to meet the youth’s clear and bright eyes. The heavy glow of the fire danced within the child’s eyes, reflecting Su Ruhui’s face in its amber light.
“You eat it.” The youth said.
“You’re still young, you eat it,” Su Ruhui didn’t want to take a kid’s food. “It doesn’t matter if I eat one less.”
The youth did not speak nor move, the bun still held up in front of Su Ruhui’s eyes.
This look reminded Su Ruhui of Sang Chiyu. That guy had pulled the same stunt when handing over the divorce papers, refusing to let go until Su Ruhui took them.
Su Ruhui tore the bun in half and placed one in the youth’s palm.
“One half each.” Su Ruhui smiled.
The boy slowly withdrew his hand and murmured: “Think more about yourself from now on.”
Don’t always be so kind.
His words carried a certain deeper meaning, but Su Ruhui didn’t catch it. He continued chattering his bullshit, “Ai, I can’t help it. I’m just a nice guy. I have to do something nice every day, or else I can’t rest easy. When I see an old lady, I have to help her cross the street. Sometimes I realize only after we cross that she never wanted to cross at all.” He turned his head and flashed the youth a smile. “I haven’t asked you for your name yet, young man?”
“Su Yu.” He said succinctly.
“Turns out it’s Su xiaodi,” He Sheng said, clasping his hands in greeting. “Since fate has brought us three together, I propose we become sworn brothers here. Jiang xiaodi was married to Sang Chiyu, so we all know his age, seventeen this year. I’m twenty-three, so I won’t be shy and call myself gege. Su xiaodi, how old are you? Judging by your appearance, you must be a bit younger than Jiang di.”
“Fifteen.” Sang Chiyu casually threw out a number.
“That’s wonderful,” Su Ruhui ruffled his hair. “Quick, say gege for me”
Sang Chiyu pressed his thin lips together and didn’t make a peep.
He discovered that Su Ruhui had an addiction of wanting others to call him gege. When they were children at Zhuoluo Mountain’s residence, Su Ruhui coaxed him into calling him gege. Later, when Su Ruhui went to the Underworld, Han Ye also called him gege. Perhaps in places he didn’t know about, there were many other people who circled Su Ruhui, chirping and calling him gege.
He recalled five years ago, when the Secret Sect physician was absolutely powerless against the poison within Su Ruhui’s body. The poison emanating from his heart core completely ravaged his internal organs without restraint. With no other options, the physician took desperate measures, cutting open Su Ruhui’s chest to extract the heart core. Su Ruhui had bled profusely, his life hanging on by a thread. In his final moments of consciousness, he still wore that same devil-may-care expression. Clutching Sang Chiyu’s hand, he said: “I’m about to die. Before I go, grant me one last wish.”
Sang Chiyu trembled, gripping back his hand dripping with blood.
His voice was as faint as a wisp of silk, “Call me…”
Before he could finish speaking, Su Ruhui’s grip loosened. Though he hadn’t finished his sentence, Sang Chiyu knew he had wanted to hear Sang Chiyu call him gege. At the brink of death, it was actually such a trivial wish.
Su Ruhui, this guy was such a weirdo. Why did he insist on adopting little brothers and sisters everywhere he went? Sang Chiyu wondered.
He paused for a moment, then spoke softly into the firelight: “Gege.”
Su Ruhui didn’t respond. Thinking he hadn’t heard clearly, the youth called out again: “Gege.”
Su Ruhui chuckled softly, wrapping an arm around his neck: “Fine, since you called me gege, I’ll look out for you from now on.”
He Sheng wanted to say something, but felt it wasn’t appropriate to speak up now. Su Yu fell silent after calling Jiang Quexie gege. It seemed he had no intent of addressing him as dage. He Sheng belatedly realized that among these sworn three brothers, his presence seemed a bit superfluous.