Chapter 34#
If You See SnowCh34 - This Little Brat Likes Him#
A puppet carriage carried Su Ruhui and Su Yu back to the Shunkang community. Su Ruhui stopped at a food market along the way to buy meat to cook at home. He remembered that Su Yu had mentioned wanting to eat rougamo, so he specially bought some beef tenderloin. After selecting the meat and preparing to pay, he looked up and saw that the originally big bellied butcher had transformed into Han Ye.
Han Ye reached out his hand. “What are you standing there for? Give me the money.”
Su Ruhui placed the copper coins in his hand and took the strip of beef. Han Ye weighed the coins in his hand as he asked: “Why did Dantai Jing summon you to Beichen Palace? What did you talk about?”
Su Ruhui silently went on alert.
How did this guy get news of it so fast? He must have planted a few pairs of eyes in the Secret Sect, and they must be pretty high in rank at that. Lying would easily be exposed, so Su Ruhui decided to be honest, donning a smile: “Today, the Eagle Guard led us to visit the Infernal Prison’s ice cellar. Who would have thought that it was actually Su Ruhui’s mechanical arsenal in there? This little one has some knowledge of mechanisms, and my hands were itching to touch, so I accidentally awakened some mechanical beast puppets. Dantai Jing suspected that I was Su Ruhui and summoned me to Beichen Palace for questioning.”
Han Ye’s lips curled into a smirk, his gaze sweeping a round over Su Ruhui’s face. His fingers curled into claws, and he suddenly attacked. Su Ruhui instinctively tried to dodge, but then remembered that A-Qi was just an Underworld thug; his skills were probably nothing special, and attacking now would give him away. So he forced himself to stay calm, letting Han Ye drag him into the back of the shop. Han Ye grabbed him by the neck, slammed him against the wall, and sneered, “You’ve got some nerve, lying to me.”
Su Ruhui cried out in protest, “I’m not lying!”
He was clearly telling the truth, only omitting the parts about Su Gou and Shen Tu. Why did Han Ye think he was lying?
“I forgot to tell you earlier, Su Ruhui is still alive in the Immortal’s Cave. How could Dantai Jing possibly mistake you for him?” Han Ye patted his face, “I’ll give you three breaths. You’d better come up with some believable nonsense by then.”
This statement was like a lighting strike straight to Su Ruhui’s head. Su Ruhui was still alive? Impossible, he clearly died five years ago! If “Su Ruhui” is in the Immortal’s Cave, then who was he?
“Your information is wrong.” Su Ruhui said with difficulty, gripping his hand.
Han Ye coldly snorted. He pulled out a true speech talisman and stuck it on Su Ruhui’s forehead.
“Why did Dantai Jing summon you to Beichen Palace? What did you talk about?” He asked again.
Su Ruhui gritted his teeth and retorted: “My answer is still the same even if you ask me ten thousand times! Dantai Jing suspects that I’m Su Ruhui!”
One could not lie under the effects of true speech. If someone did, they would immediately vomit blood. The young man before him, aside from having some difficulty breathing from being choked, showed no other symptoms. Han Ye frowned and withdrew his hand: “You’re not lying?”
Su Ruhui coughed incessantly and didn’t want to deal with him.
Han Ye kept muttering, “How could this be? My information couldn’t be wrong. Su Ruhui must be in the Immortal’s Cave. You also said before that the Jiang family suspects that there is a secret treasure in the Immortal’s Cave, protected by a maze array that even cultivators of secret arts cannot penetrate. That secret treasure is Su Ruhui.”
Previously, when Su Ruhui was imprisoned in the Immortal’s Cave, Dantai Jing did indeed use a maze array to surround it. However, the array wasn’t meant to contain him. It was meant to block those outside who sought to rescue him from the Kunlun Secret Sect. It wasn’t the maze array that held Su Ruhui captive, but rather Sang Chiyu, who guarded the cave entrance day and night for twelve uninterrupted shichen.
Han Ye fell deep in thought, while Su Ruhui felt equally puzzled. How did Han Ye get news that he was still alive? Today, Dantai Jing’s attitude towards him was even stranger. His a-jiu was a decisive and ruthless man. Years ago, when Su Ruhui had killed two Secret Sect officers, Dantai Jing had enforced the law with iron impartiality, interrogating then sentencing him a date of public execution. Su Ruhui had fled the Secret Sect, yet Dantai Jing’s pursuit of him had never ceased for all these years.
Now, Dantai Jing was solely focused on obtaining the puppet’s secret key, and he firmly believed Su Ruhui had it. Logically speaking, there’s absolutely no way he would let Su Ruhui go.
But he did.
There was one more major point of doubt: Why was he so adamant that Su Ruhui had created a super first-grade puppet?
Su Ruhui’s heart pounded like a drum, a terrifying suspicion suddenly flooding his mind. Hearing is deceiving, seeing is believing. Had Dantai Jing actually seen the puppet? He coughed, and his peripheral vision swept over to catch sight of the bronze mirror resting on the sales counter. It was an old object, its surface covered with grime and reflecting a mottled, ghost-like figure. Su Ruhui decisively reached into his waist pouch and pulled out a “Divine Eye” talisman.
On the other side, Sang Chiyu stopped at the back window of the shop. Su Ruhui had been buying meat for too long, so he came over to check. As soon as he stepped onto the main street, he saw Han Ye dragging someone into the shop. He didn’t rush to rescue the person but instead scanned the surroundings. Several pairs of eyes were fixed on the butcher shop. They were from the Underworld, disguised as passersby and vendors—or perhaps they had been lurking in the border capital as merchants all along.
Secret Arts: Mind Reading.
The cultivation level was too low; he could only listen to one person at a time. No wonder Su Gou couldn’t read his mind. He brushed past these street thugs, listening to their inner thoughts of “What is boss doing with that kid” and “Are they having sex in there.” He frowned and circled around to the back window. The window was slightly ajar, and he saw Su Ruhui’s profile as well as Han Ye whispering something beside him.
He lowered his head, drew back a crossbow string, nocked a short arrow, and aimed at Han Ye beside Su Ruhui.
He didn’t really care whether Han Ye lived or died; he just found the guy a nuisance. Han Ye was always bothering Su Ruhui, so it was better to kill him. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he suddenly realized a problem: if Han Ye died, would Su Ruhui be sad?
After a moment’s hesitation, he activated his “Mind Reading” arts on Su Ruhui. Unfamiliar thoughts surged towards him, each word and phrase like a whispering murmur—
“Why did a-jiu let me go?”
“Did a-jiu see the super first-grade puppet? Why is he so certain that the key to the super first-grade puppet exists in this world?”
“If Su Ruhui is still alive, then who am I? Could it be… that I’m the super first-grade flesh puppet?”
In that moment, two people— both hearts were shaken to their core.
Su Ruhui stared into the bronze mirror and activated the talisman. The scene before him changed instantly. Flesh and skin peeled away, revealing skeletal forms. Han Ye became a standing skeleton, a fiery red heart beating rhythmically in his chest. The rammed earth brick walls became transparent, and he saw people coming and going on the street, all of them skeletons with blue meridians intertwined like a web, pulsing with flowing blood.
His gaze shifted back to the bronze mirror, where he saw his own reflection. The same skeletal frame, the same spider-web-like meridians. Only at the center of his skull, there was an additional gold-colored star array core. He clearly saw his snowflake emblem, nestled in that insight star array deep within his skull.
This was the fundamental difference between puppets and living humans. Whether it’s a fourth-grade wooden puppet, a third-grade iron puppet, a second-grade leather puppet, or a first-grade flesh puppet, they all need a core star array. Even a super first-grade flesh puppet cannot escape this ironclad law.
It took but an instant for the world to turn upside down. It was as if all sounds had faded away from him, leaving the world in utter silence— So silent that Su Ruhui could hear the sound of his own heart collapsing.
He was not Su Ruhui. He was a puppet created by Su Ruhui himself.
“What’s wrong with you?” Han Ye gently shook him. “Why are you spacing out?”
Su Ruhui snapped out of his daze as if waking from a deep sleep, “What’s wrong?”
“I called you and you didn’t answer,” Han Ye frowned at him, “as if you were dreaming.”
Wasn’t he pretty much dreaming? Su Ruhui thought to himself in sorrow, was there some kind of mistake, was there a problem with the talisman? He suddenly remembered the secret the system had revealed to him; so this was what “not human” meant. A sense of unreality washed over him. His name didn’t belong to him, his memories weren’t his own, and perhaps even his emotions weren’t his as well.
Su Ruhui scratched his head, beginning to give up on himself in despair. He was Su Ruhui’s creation, so shouldn’t he be calling Sang Chiyu mother?
“House Head,” Su Ruhui asked with his head bowed in dejection, “Am I a lot like Su Ruhui?”
“Very similar,” Han Ye said, crossing his arms and looking him up and down. “When I first met you, I thought he had come back.”
Su Ruhui lowered his eyes in avoidment and asked again: “Then how do you think I compare to Su Ruhui? Are there any differences between us?”
“…” Han Ye’s brows furrowed even more. “Why are you suddenly asking this?”
Su Ruhui sighed, “It’s nothing, I just feel like my life is incredibly fake. I thought I was myself, but in the end, I’m just a fake, a substitute. You still haven’t answered my question: how do I compare to Su Ruhui?”
“You think you can compare to him?” Han Ye sneered, “Even a hundred of you wouldn’t be as good as one Su Ruhui.”
Su Ruhui sighed once more, “I know.”
Seeing this guy look utterly dejected, Han Ye didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt very uneasy. Ever since he had started suspecting A-Qi for lying, A-Qi had begun to have this look of having eaten the wrong medicine. Han Ye reflected that it all seemed to stem from Su Ruhui. A-Qi had been constantly comparing himself to Su Ruhui.
Han Ye had heard that stand-ins were prone to jealousy because they know in their hearts that they cannot compare to the person their lover truly loves. So they constantly try to prove they’re better than that person, more deserving of love.
Didn’t A-Qi not like him? Why does he care so much about Su Ruhui?
Han Ye looked down at A-Qi. This boy was indeed very similar to Su Ruhui, flexible and glib. But Han Ye also felt there was something different between them, what was it? The boy in front of him looked dejected, like a wilted morning glory. He seemed… he seemed a little cuter than Su Ruhui.
“Are you very upset?” Han Ye asked.
“Yeah, I’m so upset I could die,” Su Ruhui said, covering his face.
This brat had fallen for him after all, Han Ye thought. His earlier resistance was likely because he didn’t want to be a substitute for Su Ruhui. Han Ye couldn’t help but smile. What a stubborn little guy. He not only didn’t hate him, but also appreciated him a little.
“Is there anything else?” Su Ruhui stood up, “If not, I’ll be going. I’m in a hurry to get home for dinner. Life may be fake, but food must still be eaten.”
He descended down the stone steps, facing the bustling crowd. Just as he was about to leave the butcher shop, Han Ye suddenly reached out and pulled him back. He lost his balance and stumbled back two steps, bumping into Han Ye’s arms just as a carriage sped past.
“Watch the road, don’t get distracted.” Han Ye scolded.
“Oh…” Su Ruhui waved dismissively, “I’m going.”
“Wait!” Han Ye ordered him to stop.
Su Ruhui turned around. The seventeen-year-old boy, clad in a black robe, had shed much of his youthful innocence and had become a striking man. He stood tall and slender like a cedar tree in the bustling crowd. The masses blurred into indistinct shapes, while he alone shone with vivid clarity.
Han Ye turned his face away, for his light was too dazzling.
Han Ye said: “You don’t need to compare yourself to Su Ruhui. You’re not inferior.”
Su Ruhui twisted his mouth into a crooked smile before turning and disappearing into the crowd. The moment he blended in, his smile instantly vanished.
He and Su Ruhui had one very significant difference: their memories.
Su Ruhui knew the method for crafting super first-grade puppets, but he did not. He hadn’t obtained all of Su Ruhui’s memories. Besides the super first-grade puppet key, Su Ruhui might have been hiding something else.
If he was a puppet, then he was neither A-Qi nor Jiang Quexie. This meant someone killed A-Qi and replaced him with Su Ruhui’s super first-grade puppet to then pose as Jiang Quexie. Who was that person? What’s so special about Jiang Quexie’s identity, and why did that person have to use this identity for him?
Jiang Quexie was Jiang Xueya’s youngest brother. A-Qi had been undercover (as Jiang Quexie) at the Jiang residence for half a year, during which time Jiang Xueya had not yet been imprisoned. Furthermore, Jiang Xueya was one of Su Ruhui’s few friends, and the only one he could contact while trapped in the Immortal’s Cave.
The answer lied with Jiang Xueya. He must find Jiang Xueya.
He returned to the puppet carriage and bent down to enter the compartment. Sang Chiyu sat upright on the side. His expression was as undisturbed and indifferent as ever, pitch-black eyes like a silent and deep pair of lenses.
Su Ruhui sat down opposite him, snapped his fingers, and the carriage started with a rumble.
Sang Chiyu gazed out the window. Light and shadow shifted on his face as the crowd outside the carriage receded rapidly, just like the surging flow of time.
Some people’s sorrow gush forth like raging rivers, shattering the heavens and splitting the earth. Others are like hidden currents beneath calm seas, suppressed and restrained. Sang Chiyu was precisely the latter. The deeper his sorrow, the more silent he became. As dusk descended, the world bathed in the glow of the setting sun, as if everyone seemed to be enveloped in a layer of orange-yellow honeycomb. He couldn’t help but recall those years in the Immortal’s Cave, when Su Ruhui had leaned close to his ear and whispered: “Sang Chiyu, would you cry for me if I died?”
Would he? He asked himself.
“I just found out some news.” The man across from him suddenly spoke up.
He quietly turned his face to look at the puppet Su Ruhui.
“I have a friend, whose father died and left behind a young, beautiful, and lonely little lover.” Su Ruhui crossed his arms and tilted his head, “If my friend took on the role of his father to look after this little lover for the rest of his life, would the spirit of his father in heaven be extremely fulfilled?”
Sang Chiyu’s brows knitted together inch by inch.
Su Ruhui smiled and said: “I think he would.”
Sang Chi clenched his fists so tightly that his veins bulged. He coldly snapped: “Shameless scoundrel.”
Su Ruhui startled, “I was talking about my friend, why are you getting mad at me?”
Sang Chiyu ignored him and turned to leap out of the carriage. Like a black swallow darting into the wind, his figure vanished in a flash. Su Ruhui threw himself outside the carriage window, but failed to catch even the corner of his robe.
“Su Yu!” Su Ruhui panicked and yelled out, “Sang Chiyu!”
The author has something to say: TJs4Yt
Yang Su: I thought this was a substitute (stand in) romance novel.
Su Ruhui: Turns out it’s a stepmother romance novel.
TL corner:
Gasp, who would’ve thought that Su Ruhui already knew Su Yu was Sang Chiyu! Stares at camera. Can anyone guess when he knew?