Chapter 30#

If You See SnowCh30 - Sang Chiyu’s Real Identity#

Secret Sect’s Infernal Prison, in the ice cellar.

Su Ruhui remained silent for a long time, while Su Gou looked at him with a smile, his curved eyes holding a rather meaningful expression.

Su Gou’s fingers twitched slightly beneath his sleeve, silently activating the “Mind Reading” secret arts.

Childhood memories fluttered past like white butterflies, leaving Su Ruhui sighing deeply. He had long harbored doubts: What was the truth behind Sang Chiyu’s secret arts deviation? How could a bowl of “heart’s blood” possibly revive a person? And what exactly was that mysterious heart core within him? Everything that happened twenty-two years ago was shrouded in mystery. After a lifetime of investigation and a return after death, all these questions finally found answers.

In retrospect, the heart core was what his master referred to as “heart’s blood.” This so-called heart core seemed to be the source of a Yao’s spiritual power, the very foundation of its demonic nature, harboring the innate ability of the Yao race of “flesh and blood regeneration.” Ming Ruowu used the power of the heart core to heal Su Ruhui’s internal organ damage, but the heart core ultimately could not fuse seamlessly with a mortal. As Su Ruhui grew older, the side effects gradually appeared. Ultimately, Su Ruhui’s body deteriorated due to the heart core, unable to carry on.

And that heart core that saved him yet killed him came from Sang Chiyu. His greatest gain today was confirming this—Sang Chiyu was not human, but a Yao. Su Ruhui couldn’t help but ponder: if Yao came from the wind and snow, how did Sang Chiyu fall from the Snowlands into the mortal world? Why did Dantai Jing adopt Sang Chiyu and grant him the status of a noble heir? More importantly, what was Sang Chiyu’s true form?

He’d heard that dogs had barbs on their genitals and snakes had two of them. Su Ruhui thought with a cold sweat, he didn’t particularly like either of these animals.

Su Gou’s eyes flickered slightly, and he slowly asked: “Lord Jiang doesn’t seem to believe my words. Could it be that you have encountered Yao before?”

“Nope,” Su Ruhui replied quickly, “How could a delicate young nobleman like me, who rarely leaves his home, have ever seen such a thing?”

“Really?” Su Gou laughed, “It’s still early. If Lord Jiang is not busy, please listen to me talk a bit about the ‘ultimate weapon’ I mentioned before. He turned and bowed to Su Yu, “Please excuse us Lord Xiao Su.”

Su Ruhui wrapped his arms around Sang Chiyu’s neck, pressing Sang Chiyu’s face against his chest. Sang Chiyu’s nose filled with the fresh scent of soap from Su Ruhui’s clothes. Sang Chiyu couldn’t help but recall the scene of sleeping in Su Ruhui’s bed last night, and the tips of his ears turned slightly red.

Su Ruhui raised an eyebrow and smiled, “My xiaodi is my confidant, there’s no need to avoid him.”

Su Gou nodded. “In that case, he can listen along.”

Sang Chiyu furrowed his brow slightly. What exactly is this “weapon?”

Su Gou’s voice trailed off, tinged with reminiscence, “For thousands of years, our clan has lived in perilous lands, dwelling in humble places. Those with powerful secret arts survived, while the weak perished in the fierce winds and snowstorms. In order to ensure our survival, our clan’s wise elders devoted themselves to exploring the laws governing the inheritance of secret arts. It is common knowledge that the awakening of secret arts follows no predictable pattern. Each individual awakens to different arts. He was dedicated to finding a way to awaken the most powerful secret arts among the children of our clan.”

“More than thirty years ago, he proposed a plan: to select a holy maiden from the clan to receive the blessings of the clan’s patriarchs. Our clan has five patriarchs, whose secret arts are profound and whose cultivations are outstanding. If they were placed in the mortal world, they would be considered grandmasters of the Chaosheng level. The patriarchs gladly agreed to enter the holy maiden’s chambers, but unfortunately, our clan has always had difficulty conceiving. A month later, the holy maiden was still not pregnant. The physician said that the holy maiden was depressed, which was hindering her reproduction. At that time, the clan happened to capture an outlander and offered him to the holy maiden as a pet. Who knew that the holy maiden would have an affair with him, and half a month later she secretly became pregnant.”

“…” Su Ruhui blushed with shame. This holy maiden really got eight whole lifetimes of bad luck.

“Considering the difficulty of continuing our lineage, our patriarchs made a decision to divide up and devour that human pet, leaving only the unborn child.” Such a horrific story came from Su Gou’s mouth, yet he showed no emotion whatsoever, as if killing and dismembering were perfectly justified. Su Gou smiled and continued, “When the child was born full-term, it awoke to a powerful secret arts we had never witnessed before.”

“What secret arts?” Su Ruhui asked.

“‘Devour,’ he can plunder other people’s secret arts. Anyone whose essence and blood he has drained will have their secret arts transferred to him.”

Back then, when Sang Chiyu drained his essence and blood, Su Ruhui’s secret arts had vanished. Now all the mysteries were clear. Su Ruhui understood that Sang Chiyu was the holy child. Yet another doubt arose in Su Ruhui’s mind: he had never once seen Sang Chiyu use his “Limitless Deduction.” In fact, he had scarcely ever witnessed Sang Chiyu use any secret arts at all.

Next to Su Ruhui, Sang Chiyu lowered his eyelashes, concealing the complex expression in his eyes.

Su Ruhui raised one eyebrow: “Don’t tell me this child is your clan’s ultimate weapon.”

“Lord guessed correctly.” Su Gou smiled brightly while nodding his head, “But you don’t seem to be surprised upon hearing of this secret art?”

“Oh I’m surprised! How could I not be?” Su Ruhui clutched his chest, feigning fear. “Way too strong. I’m starting to get scared.”

Whether his acting was up to par or not, Su Gou just laughed a few times and didn’t react in any particular way.

Su Gou continued: “But then something happened that shocked our entire clan. More than thirty years ago, on a certain night, the holy maiden fled the royal city with the holy child. They encountered travelers from the Secret Sect, who led the holy maiden and her child westward. The holy maiden died along the way, and the holy child was brought into the Secret Sect, never to be seen again. We have been cautious of the Secret Sect and dared not venture deep inside. lt is only today that we have ventured into the Secret Sect after making thorough preparations.” Su Gou cupped his hands towards Su Ruhui, “Young Master Jiang, now you understand how important this child is to us. lf you have any news about this child, please be sure to inform us.”

“I’ve only just joined the Secret Sect. I can barely find my way around, let alone recognize people,” Su Ruhui feigned ignorance. “Those born thirty years ago should be turning thirty now. Wait here. I’ll go to the Eagle Guard to retrieve the records and compile a list of everyone over thirty in the Secret Sect. See if you can find him.”

Su Gou shook his head regretfully. “Young Master Jiang, you’re not being honest. To be frank, I’ve already uncovered clues about this child, and your past is deeply intertwined with it. You couldn’t possibly be unaware. Since you refuse to tell the truth, there’s no point in us continuing to cooperate.”

“Better to break off our cooperation then. I don’t want to be in cahoots with you lot either.” Su Ruhui sneered. “What do you think of the sin you’ve committed? A perfectly fine young woman imprisoned by you all to bear children and you’re gloating over it, thinking you’ve found the century-long plan to save your entire clan. Holy maiden, my ass. Did anyone actually want to be this damn holy maiden?”

Su Gou did not get angry, but said, word by word: “It is her honor to sacrifice herself for the future of our clan.”

“Alright,” Su Ruhui laughed angrily, “Now hear me out: If you sleep with ten big and burly men every single night, you can save your clan from disaster. Are you willing?”

Su Gou fell silent.

Su Ruhui turned to look at Su Yu, who had remained silent the entire time. The boy’s face was shrouded in shadow, and his expression was impossible to see. He was even quieter and more reserved than usual, seemingly intent on being nothing but Su Ruhui’s shadow.

Sang Chiyu was a dull person. After years of diligent meditation, even a raging storm would only cause faint ripples in his heart. But rather than being dull, he was more like indifferent. Su Ruhui didn’t know that he found it difficult to empathize with others. To him, his parents felt like strangers. Their tragic experiences stirred little intense emotions in him. Yet, at this moment, he felt an indescribable sorrow. He clutched his chest, a burning pain shooting through him.

It turned out that Su Ruhui’s lifetime of illness and suffering all stemmed from him. And he was feeling this deep sorrow because of Su Ruhui.

“I told you,” Su Gou sighed, “to not be our enemy. Your strength is nothing compared to ours. Why seek your own death? You’re very smart. I once hoped you could serve us, walking among mortals on our behalf. Yet here we are, facing each other with blades drawn.”

His “Mind Reading” secret arts had long since penetrated Su Ruhui’s thoughts, revealing that childhood memory. He had said so much just now because he truly pitied Su Ruhui’s talent and wanted to give him a chance to be honest. As long as Su Ruhui revealed everything, they could continue to cooperate with him.

A pity the outcome was not satisfactory.

Su Gou retreated two steps, his pale hand manipulating the star array’s killing lines. Intricate rays of light shone with golden light, weaving into a net. These were the star lines of the array; tug at one, and the entire formation’s trajectory shifted instantly. Such star arrays were commonplace in the Secret Sect. While secret arts cultivators could not be resurrected, broken star arrays could be repaired. Thus compared to cultivators, the Secret Sect preferred to rely on these meticulously crafted star arrays. They trained star officials who spent decades ensuring that offensive and defensive star arrays permeated every inch of their soil.

The star array shifted instantly, transforming from a gentle formation into a deadly array brimming with murderous intent. A massive stormfire array enveloped Su Ruhui and Sang Chiyu. Raging flames hissed and ignited before their eyes, almost licking the dome of the sky. Sang Chiyu slowly drew his saber, and a section of a clear blade emerged from its sheath.

Su Gou stood outside the array: “What a magnificent killing array! Who would have thought that mere mortals, as insignificant as ants, could possess such wisdom? This stormfire killing array is incredibly ingenious, with hundreds of possible variations. Unless you can foresee the future and predict which of the hundreds of possible formations you’ll face, there is absolutely no way for you to escape. May we never meet again, kids.”

Sang Chiyu discreetly observed his surroundings. He specialized in swordsmanship and wasn’t an expert in star arrays. However, all star arrays were maintained by star lines; if the star lines were destroyed by absolute force, the array would cease to function. Su Gou and his clansmen had impure intentions. The fact that the holy maiden risked death just to escape the Snowlands showed the viciousness of Su Gou’s clan. Su Ruhui would never reveal his true identity and hand him over to these monsters. He had to save Su Ruhui, even if it meant exposing his secret arts to Su Gou.

If necessary, he could even reveal his own identity.

Just as he was about to draw his saber, he heard Su Ruhui raise his hand: “Waitwaitwaitwait, I’ll talk, I’ll talk okay?” The person you’re looking for is my unfortunate husband, Sang Chiyu. I’ve seen his body glow. He even stole my secret arts, exactly like the holy child from your clan. Unless there are any surprises, he should be your holy child that fell into the mortal world.”

Sang Chiyu: “…”

Su Gou smiled and nodded, “That’s right. Veins filled with spiritual energy, the secret arts of devour, he is indeed our holy child. You must have already guessed that our race is not ordinary. We come from the treacherous and unpredictable snowstorms. Our people are far superior and far more ancient than you mortals. We are born with powerful self-healing abilities and can naturally regenerate our flesh and blood, while most of you mortals cannot awaken secret arts.”

“Looking down on us so much?” Su Ruhui crossed his arms, “But half of my husband’s blood is mortal.”

Su Gou said regretfully: “The lowly blood of mortals has tainted our holy child. But as you mortals say, within misfortune lies blessing. If he were a pure Yao, he probably wouldn’t be alive today. If I’m not mistaken, your Grandmaster should have removed his heart core, which is why we sent cultivators with Divine Eye to search for him in secret for months, yet still haven’t found him. Ordinary Yao would surely die without their heart core, but Sang Chiyu is half Yao. Without his Yao blood, only his human blood remains.”

Su Ruhui murmured softly: “So that’s why he survived.”

But did his master know this point when he cut out Sang Chiyu’s heart core? Su Ruhui felt a chill run down his spine. He was willing to bet that neither his a-jiu nor his master had absolute certainty that Sang Chiyu could survive losing his heart core. They had planned to trade Sang Chiyu’s life for his own.

“Child, I didn’t expect you to open your mouth this easily.” Su Gou sighed with a smile, “I thought you and that child shared a deep bond, but it seems I overestimated you. My kin were right. The vast majority of mortals are cowards greedy for life and afraid of death.”

Su Ruhui suppressed his complex emotions and composed his mind. He replied: “You’re overthinking it. He’s never acknowledged me at all. Besides…”

Su Ruhui smiled mysteriously and said something that shocked Su Gou to the ends of the earth: srgL8d

“Besides, isn’t your secret arts mind reading? It doesn’t matter whether I say anything or not, you know it all anyway.”

Su Gou’s voice faltered. “How do you know I can read minds? I told you before that my secret arts is ‘True Speech’.”

Su Ruhui clapped his hands. With this clap, Su Gou felt an itch on the back of his neck. A battered little steel spider crawled down from his shoulder, no bigger than a fingernail and as inconspicuous as a speck of dust. He picked up one of the spider’s legs. The spider struggled under his palm for a while before stopping, as if playing dead.

“My wind-stealing spider,” Su Ruhui grinned as he introduced, “That day at the Jiang residence, I happened to overhear your conversation with this. Your secret arts is quite troublesome, and I’m the type of person who overthinks and lets his imagination run wild. I trained myself for a long time to control my thoughts and prevent you from seeing anything you shouldn’t, all for today.

“What do you mean?” Su Gou paused in surprise. “You deliberately let me see what you were thinking today?”

“Pretty much.” Su Ruhui nodded.

“Your recollection of Sang Chiyu’s secret arts going out of control as a child, your secret arts being taken away, and Ming Ruowu transplanting the heart core into you—was all intentional?” Su Gou couldn’t believe it. “How is that possible?”

“Of course it’s possible, how is it not?” Su Ruhui said with a grin, “I’ve long suspected you and Sang Chiyu’s identities before today.”

Su Gou narrowed his eyes. “Right, I see. My clansmen told me that you left the city last night. You saw the spiritual energy veins on their bodies and thought of Sang Chiyu, so you became suspicious of Sang Chiyu’s identity.”

“Not exactly, even before last night.”

“Before last night…” Su Gou lowered his gaze in deep thought. “You first met my clansmen at the Jiang residence, the second time at the Secret Sect, and the third time was last night. Before last night, did I give myself away in the Secret Sect? Or did you already have suspicions at the Jiang residence? How could that be? We didn’t reveal any fatal flaws, didn’t display any flows of spiritual energy, and didn’t show any inhuman strangeness. Why did you think the heart core and Sang Chiyu were related to us?”

“You are a little too confident in your ability to disguise. But, the main reason is that I have seen monsters similar to you before you. In other words, I have seen your kind.”

Su Gou didn’t believe it. “Impossible. Not counting Sang Chiyu, this is the first time our clan has come to the mortal world.”

“Who said I saw them in the mortal world?” Su Ruhui slowly said, “I saw them in the Snowlands.”

Sang Chiyu froze. A sudden flash of memory struck him. The Great Compassion Temple’s A-Nan had said that an eight-armed skeleton had been discovered in an underground cave in the Snowlands, and seven years ago, someone had blown up the cave to cover the strange remains. Now he knew who that person was—Su Ruhui. As far back as seven years ago, Su Ruhui had been aware of the Yao’s existence.

Su Ruhui dusted off his sleeves and crossed his arms: “Ever since that disaster in my childhood, I’ve noticed something strange about Sang Chiyu. I’m not stupid. The lie about saving me with his heart’s blood might have fooled me at ten, but by twelve I knew something was off. Coincidentally, when I was eighteen, I accidentally learned the secret that Sang Chiyu wasn’t actually an orphan of the Sang family at all. Now that was strange. Sang Chiyu’s identity was fake, and the only person who could have fabricated this identity for him was my a-jiu, Dantai Jing. My a-jiu is an extremely rigid person, yet he went so far as to fabricate such a huge lie to protect Sang Chiyu.”

Later, I entered the Underworld and found a guy with “Divine Eye” to take a look at my internal organs. Sure enough, a strange ‘heart core’ had appeared in my chest. Seven years ago, I discovered one of your dead kin in the Snowlands, and found an identical heart core on his body. From that moment on, I knew something was amiss with Sang Chiyu’s identity.”

“You deliberately reminisced about the past in front of me in order to extract the truth about Sang Chiyu’s identity from me?”

“Not bad, I really have to thank you for being so willing to chat with me. If I had run into someone as taciturn as Sang Chiyu, I could yap to him all day and he would probably only say three words.”

“What words?” Su Gou couldn’t help but ask.

“You’re, too, noisy.” Su Ruhui said.

Sang Chiyu: “…”

Sang Chiyu pursed his lips and remained silent.

No way he would say that. He had never said Su Ruhui was noisy.

Su Ruhui laughed, a rare look of melancholy flitting across his face. Actually, that memory wasn’t over just yet. The night he slept with Sang Chiyu, he was suddenly struck by excruciating chest pain. His body had developed severe rejection to the heart core. Ming Ruowu and Dantai Jing secretly entered the small cave that night and carried him away. He had a fever for five days straight, and by the time he was able to get out of bed, Sang Chiyu had already returned to the Secret Sect.

From that parting hence, they had not seen each other for seven years.

More importantly, when he awoke again, a snowflake had drifted down from the sky and landed in his eye. From that moment on, a voice entered his head—the system.

He would never forget that day, when the system’s monotone voice sounded in his ears: oLrRs9

【Detected host has lost his secret arts, the survival rate is below 10%. System activation conditions met. Verifying host information… Verification complete. Host number 000, name: Su Ruhui, gender: male, current status: critically injured.】

【Nice to meet you, I am your system. I will do everything in my power to ensure your survival, until you uncover the mysteries of this world.】