Chapter 6#
If You See SnowCh6 - Divine Little Brother Yu’er#
Regarding the title
Sang Chiyu spent the entire night fusing his heart core, while Su Ruhui tossed and turned, unable to sleep. To protect his chastity, Su Ruhui had fought with Han Ye. It would have been fine if he had killed Han Ye, for the Underworld revered strength above all. Whoever possessed the power became the boss. Killing the boss wouldn’t incite vengeance, it would only make others bow down and acknowledge you as big bro. But now Han Ye was alive and well. Setting aside the fact that Su Ruhui would now likely be suspected by the Paradise Pavilion of not being the real A-Qi, Han Ye’s vindictive nature meant he would never let this go.
Oh well, if he died then he died. It’s not like he hasn’t died before. Su Ruhui thought to himself, death was the kind of thing you just get used to after experiencing it a few times.
It was just that his weak and helpless husband really made him worry.
What exactly did Sang Chiyu do wrong to become like this?
And what had become of his old friends, scattered to the ends of the earth?
He drifted off into a hazy sleep, his consciousness thinning like a faint thread, pulling him back to the shimmering spring sunlight of days gone by— a past he could only revisit in the dreams at midnight. This time, he dreamed of himself at ten years old, still a disciple under the White-robed Sage, Ming Ruowu, and residing at the picturesque Zhuoluo Mountain’s Buliao residence. Back then, he and Sang Chiyu were not yet enemies, and he was still a fine young master of prestige.
His master was a man of extraordinary medical skills and tightly sealed lips. Many people suffering from embarrassing ailments that couldn’t be discussed openly would come to the Buliao residence for treatment. When Su Ruhui was ten years old, Dantai Jing sought out his master, asking him to treat someone.
“Shh–”
Su Ruhui poked his head out of the grass, followed immediately by two more heads emerging behind him. The one with the round face and almond-shaped eyes was his shimei (junior sister), Zhou Xiaosu. The one with the oval face was Jiang Xueya, the twelfth young miss of the Jiang family. Jiang Xueya had been practicing medicine and martial arts on Zhuluo Mountain, making her somewhat of a shijie (senior sister) to him.
“Will this divine didi (little brother) really be here?” Jiang Xueya asked, “Why haven’t we seen him at all?”
“Yeah shige (senior brother), you better not be tricking us.” Zhou Xiaosu added.
“Who’s tricking you? When a-jiu knocked on the mountain gates, I was the one who opened it. I saw everything with my own eyes.” He pressed his finger to his lips again. “Shh—let me see if a-jiu’s here.”
He looked around and chuckled, “It’s a ‘maze array’ designed to conceal people. No wonder we couldn’t see them. I just learned this star array a few days ago. You two wait here; I’ll go find him.”
Before the two could respond, he turned and slipped into the maze array. In Zhou Xiaosu and Jiang Xueya’s vision, his silhouette twisted momentarily before vanishing entirely. Su Ruhui crouched low as he moved beneath the trees. Looking back, he saw spirit stones buried around several ancient trunks. Complex star lines intertwined between them, making up this “maze array.” He tiptoed past the oddly shaped rocks and boulders and entered a chilly cave. At the end of his vision sat a small stone bed. A child wrapped in a white cloak sat against the wall, hugging their knees. Their figure resembled a solitary and lonely little mushroom, isolated from the world.
Su Ruhui entered the cave. Hearing footsteps, the child turned his head to look at him. Dark eyes and a clear gaze— the face beneath the fur-lined hood was small, utterly unlike Su Ruhui, who had spent the entire day in the mountains and forests, his head now covered in leaves. In an instant, two pairs of eyes met.
Su Ruhui approached him curiously and asked: “I’m Su Ruhui. Who are you? Why did a-jiu hide you away?”
The child didn’t utter a sound, staring at him silently.
“What did you eat to grow up so beautiful?” Su Ruhui plucked up the courage to poke his icy cheek. “Jiang Xueya will be furious when she sees you later. She always says that she’s the most beautiful in the world.”
After talking for so long, the child still didn’t respond. Su Ruhui scratched his head and said, “Why aren’t you talking? Are you scared of me? Don’t be afraid, I’m not a bad guy. I’m actually a really good person, specializing in beating bad guys. The person who brought you here, Dantai Jing, is the Grandmaster of the Kunlun Secret Sect. He’s my a-jiu, and his younger sister is my mother. You’re his disciple, so we’re practically family.”
He deliberately kept his father’s identity a secret. The gap between a noble and a commoner was distinct, and he feared this didi would stop playing with him once he learned the truth. His father was a commoner, an unknown teacher whom his mother had chosen for his good looks and forcibly brought into the border capital’s palace.
A fruit forced to ripen is not sweet. Su Ruhui learned from rumors that his parents were a couple that resented each other. Even more tragically, his mother died in a civil uprising shortly after giving birth to him. His father, destitute, squatted under a large tree teaching people to read while carrying his infant son on his back. He had even set up stalls selling straw sandals. His uncle Dantai Jing, unable to bear the sight, took him in and entrusted him to the White-robed Sage Ming Ruowu for schooling. His father would visit occasionally, each time bringing strange wooden puppies with three heads to amuse him. These puppies even had hidden mechanisms inside. Pull the string on their butts, and they’ll run around with noise, barking away with “heh heh”.
He really wanted to say that puppies with three heads were terrifying, and dogs that went “heh heh” instead of “woof woof” were even scarier. But since he was such a sensible kid, he always pretended to love them and accepted them every time.
He picked up a stick and wrote his name on the ground. “Here, this is my name: Su Ruhui’s Su, Su Ruhui’s Ruhui. What’s your name? Write it down for me.”
Su Ruhui offered him the branch, but the child didn’t take it, his arms still wrapped around his knees.
Su Ruhui thought the child wasn’t willing to talk to him, and felt a bit disappointed. He was just about to withdraw his hand when he heard a tiny voice.
“Yu’er.” The little boy said softly, “My name is Yu’er.”
Su Ruhui’s eyes brightened, “Yu’er! Such a pretty name. Wait for me, I’m gonna go bring Zhou Xiaosu and Jiang Xueya.”
He dashed off after dropping those words. Yu’er stood there dazed for a moment. Then, a clamor erupted from the cave entrance as Su Ruhui led two little girls inside. The girls spotted Yu’er and swarmed around him like butterflies, cupping their cheeks as they stared at him. Su Ruhui beamed with pride, saying: “See, I didn’t lie. I told you he was handsome!”
“What’s wrong with him? Does he have to stay here every day and can’t go out?” Zhou Xiaosu’s eyes filled with tears, “Oh poor thing.”
“Right,” Su Ruhui asked Yu’er, “Why did a-jiu lock you up?”
Yu’er voice was soft, “He said because I will harm people.”
“Harm people?” Su Ruhui was confused.
Jiang Xueya clenched her fist. “I get it! It’s because Yu’er is too beautiful, the Grandmaster thinks he’ll cause trouble.” She fumed, “Yu’er, don’t listen to their nonsense. You’d never harm anyone, it’s those stinky guys who cause trouble. When they harm someone, they love blaming it on us beauties.”
“He’s a guy.” Su Ruhui reminded her.
“Yeah, yeah,” Zhou Xiaosu added, “From now on we’ll take you out to play! Let shige dig out these spirit stones to let you out. We’ll send you back in the evening and put the stones back, and master and a-jiu won’t find out. If they do…”
Jiang Xueya continued: “Then you can just say Su Ruhui kidnapped you and took you out to play.”
They yapped and chattered away, unaware that Yu’er wasn’t paying attention to the conversation. He lowered his long and upturned lashes, studying the characters on the ground.
Su Ruhui protested, “You guys are something else, always dumping everything on me. Last time we stole the money together, but I was the only one who ended up kneeling before the ancestors.”
No one paid him any mind. Zhou Xiaosu clapped her hands and said: “Let’s have Yu’er join our gang!”
She pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her bosom and spread it on the stone bed. “Divine Dragon Gang,” was written on the right, while the left listed the gang leader as Su Ruhui. The head of the Azure Dragon Hall was Zhou Xiaosu, and the head of the Crimson Dragon Hall was Jiang Xueya. Each name was stamped with a bright red fingerprint. The remaining sections for “gang leader’s wife,” “gang members,” and “servants” remained blank.
Su Ruhui introduced Yu’er: “This is the gang I founded, the Divine Dragon Gang. Once our gang grows stronger, you’ll be one of its elders, just like Zhou Xiaosu and Jiang Xueya.”
“I like red, so I’m the leader of the Crimson Dragon Hall. Xiaosu likes blue, so she’s with the Azure Dragon Hall. What color do you like? I’ll add it for you,” Jiang Xueya said.
Yu’er shook his head.
“What do you mean by shaking your head? You don’t have a favorite color?” Zhou Xiaosu lowered her head and saw Yu’er’s snow-white feet. “Oh my, you don’t have any shoes! How can you go out to play without shoes? There are so many small rocks outside.”
“His hair isn’t even tied up,” Su Ruhui said. He pulled the ebony hairpin from his own hair bun and used it to gather Yuer’s hair into a small bun.
Jiang Xueya decided, “Then you’ll be the gang leader’s wife. From now on, have Su Ruhui carry you on his back. He’ll also be responsible for your new clothes, hair ornaments, and cosmetics. If you want to buy anything, just ask Su Ruhui. This hairpin is too plain. Have him buy you one made of gold in the future.”
Su Ruhui rolled his eyes.
Zhou Xiaosu hesitated: “But he’s a boy.”
“So what?” Jiang Xueya didn’t care, “My old man has three male concubines.”
“What is a male concubine?” Yu’er gently furrowed his brows, his delicate features veiled in a mist of confusion. This sight was too beautiful– Zhou Xiaosu and Jiang Xueya were both mesmerized and couldn’t get enough.
Su Ruhui exclaimed: “Jiang Xueya, stop spouting nonsense. I don’t want some gang leader’s wife, I want a little brother!”
“Alright, then you’ll be the younger brother. Su Ruhui will support you anyway.” Jiang Xueya made a decision, swiftly writing down Yu’er’s name. She took out a small box of red ink paste, took Yu’er’s hand, and pressed to make a fingerprint on the sheet of paper.
Before Yu’er could react to what was happening, everything had already been arranged. Su Ruhui had long grown used to it. Jiang Xueya and Zhou Xiaosu dug traps for him on the daily. There was no other choice. Someone had to carry little Yu’er, and counting on Jiang Xueya and Zhou Xiaosu was out of the question. Su Ruhui crouched down before Yu’er. Yu’er hesitated for a bit before slowly climbing onto Su Ruhui’s back.
Su Ruhui sprang to his feet and rushed out like a gust of wind with Yu’er bouncing on his back. The spring breeze blew his hood off, ruffling his black hair. It was only later that Su Ruhui learned Sang Chiyu didn’t know how to read back then. The first three characters he ever learned were— Su, Ru, Hui.
~
Su Ruhui woke up just as the sky was beginning to brighten. He finished dressing and pushed open the window. There sat Sang Chiyu outside, his wooden crutch leaning against his feet. Hearing the sound, Sang Chiyu turned his face and quietly looked at him. Black hair, black eyes, just as beautiful as when he was a child. Su Ruhui couldn’t help but wonder: What on earth did he eat to grow up like this?
“Do you want to see Jiang Xueya?” Sang Chiyu asked.
“Ah?” Su Ruhui wondered, “Why do you ask?”
“You were saying her name in your dreams.” Sang Chiyu replied.
Su Ruhui’s bed was right by the window. Who knew how long Sang Chiyu had been sitting there before he overheard Su Ruhui’s sleep-talking.
“……” Su Ruhui coughed nervously. This kid didn’t hear me say anything else in my dream right?
Su Ruhui might have seen wrong, but Sang Chiyu’s eyes appeared to have dimmed a bit. Sang Chiyu shifted his eyes, avoiding his gaze, and said, “Return to the Jiang residence today.”
“Return to the Jiang residence?” Su Ruhui frowned thoughtfully. According to custom, the bride should return to their parents’ home within three days of the wedding, yet they had been married for four or five days already. The Jiang family also hadn’t sent anyone to inquire, likely not caring about this useless son. Still, returning to the Jiang residence wasn’t a bad choice. With its heavy security, the Underworld’s people wouldn’t come looking for trouble.
Su Ruhui nodded. “Alright, let’s go back.”
He might even be able to find some news about his shimei. Ever since she got married and he became imprisoned in Kunlun, he hadn’t seen Zhou Xiaosu in ages.
Sang Chiyu lowered his eyelashes and said nothing more.
Sure enough, he understood that Su Ruhui had always been thinking of Jiang Xueya in his heart.
Suddenly, a “beep” sounded in Su Ruhui’s ear.
Dii– zU28HC
Temporary Task Issued: Look for Jiang Xueya
Task Description: It’s been ages since I last saw my old friend. Let’s see if she’s been doing well these days.
Time limit: One day.
Task Reward: System’s worship and praise x1 k9jdV1
Su Ruhui: ???
What kind of dogass bullshit is this reward?
The author has something to say:
Hehehe, from now on it’s Sang ge pretending to be a weakling.
TL corner:
Su Ruhui: Oh yeah I should go back, I forgot all about my shijie until now
Sang Chiyu after sitting outside his husband’s window all night: Sure enough, he’s been thinking about Jiang Xueya this whole time : (
Because Su Ruhui has a gege complex (he likes it when people cough Sang Chiyu calls him ge), I’ll be leaving all sibling related forms of address in pinyin. Let me know in the comments if you want all forms of familial address in pinyin, like with uncle/a-jiu, or something different. I’d love the feedback ! : D
Also! Not IYSS related but happy birthday to one of my favorite MCs from one of my favorite novels, Wen Shi from Panguan~ 4axAuV