Chapter 7#
If You See SnowCh7 - Because My Heart is Full of Guilt#
There was no time to lose; Su Ruhui packed the wind-stealing spiders and flintlock muskets he’d made earlier into a bundle. He then made a few rougamo and wrapped them in parchment paper for Sang Chiyu to eat breakfast on the road, then headed to the stables to dig out the abandoned horse puppet. These days, no one used real horses for carriages anymore, and everyone switched to horse puppets instead. These contraptions didn’t need food, just enough spirit stones and regular oiling of the gears to keep them running. They were fast too, far more convenient than real horses.
Thankfully, he found that it could be fixed after a thorough inspection. Su Ruhui replaced the balancers inside the horse’s stomach, and the horse was now able to move. He also laid a fluffy little blanket on top of the seats. Sang Chiyu walked over step by step with the support of his crutch, dragging his “crippled leg” to climb onto the carriage. He moved slowly, but Su Ruhui did not rush him. Seeing him get in, he threw the warm rougamo into his arms.
Sang Chiyu caught them, saying: “After returning to the Jiang household, I will inform your father about our divorce.”
With the divorce formally established, Su Ruhui no longer needed to return to the Sang residence. He now understood that when Sang Chiyu had said he would find a way last night, this was the solution he had come up with. After going back to the Jiang residence, the Underworld’s people wouldn’t dare harass him again, so naturally he’d be ok. Since that was the case, why not just kick him out the door? It wasn’t like Su Ruhui didn’t have legs on his own. Why did this brat have to personally escort him there?
Oh… Su Ruhui got it. It was because Sang Chiyu was afraid that the Paradise Pavillion’s people would interfere on the way.
Sigh, this kid. What was the point of him tagging along? The tube of fireworks was all used up, and he could not longer use the Kunlun Secret Sect’s name to scare people off. If they really ran into people, would he use his wooden crutch to smack them to death?
How could he be so kind? Su Ruhui sighed helplessly, raising his hand and giving his forehead a flick.
Sang Chiyu briefly froze, a hint of shock flashing in his dark eyes.
Su Ruhui laughed: “We’ve only been married for a few days before getting divorced. You aren’t afraid of my father beating you to death? Slow down, I know you’re not willing to be with me. To be honest, I’m not willing to be with you either. But getting divorced so soon after marriage isn’t good for my reputation. I was still counting on remarrying after leaving you. If word got out that I was an abuser who beat his ex-husband so much we got a divorce, who would still want to be with me?
Sang Chiyu remained silent for a long time, his raven feathered lashes fluttering. He slowly nodded.
“Can you eat anything right now?” Su Ruhui asked.
Sang Chiyu’s gaze fell on the rougamo in his arms. He was indeed starving after fasting all day yesterday. He opened his mouth to take a bite, and the rich and juicy beef rushed into his mouth, soothing his empty stomach. Sang Chiyu disliked greasy foods, but the meat inside the bun was chewy and firm, and the oiliness was just right. He didn’t hate it.
Su Ruhui was satisfied. He lowered the carriage curtain, pulled the reins, and inwardly commanded: System, lead the way.
【Information Unlocked: Map to the Jiang residence.】
A green arrow suddenly appeared before his eyes, pointing the way. Su Ruhui started the horse carriage. The wheels rumbled along, slowly gaining speed. It became faster and faster, building to a speed as fast as lighting. When it was almost noon, they arrived at the Jiang household. The Jiang family’s estate was located in Jingan, a neighborhood in northwest Yunzhou. It had vermillion gates and white walls, with red lanterns written with “Jiang” hanging from the eaves. These lanterns went as far as the eye could see, with ten steps spaced between each one. Any house hanging with a “Jiang” lantern belonged to the residence.
The gatekeeper’s expression did not change much upon seeing Jiang Quexie. He sent someone to inform the head of the household on one hand and called someone to fetch a wheelchair on the other. As expected of a noble household, the servants were extremely thoughtful, showing not the slightest hint of neglect toward Jiang Quexie. However, this strictly professional demeanor already spoke volumes that something was wrong. Jiang Quexie had grown up in the Jiang residence until the age of seventeen, yet no one had noticed when he was replaced six months ago. Now, the servants’ attitudes toward him were neither warm nor familiar. It seemed the young son of the Jiang family held little presence within the Jiang residence.
【Reminder: Jiang Quexie has twenty six siblings. His father, Jiang Huaicang, probably doesn’t even remember what he looks like.】
This was a good thing. The people who recognized Jiang Quexie were few, which meant that it was easier for Su Ruhui to disguise as him. The servants pushed Sang Chiyu’s wheelchair, bringing him to the small building where Jiang Quexie had once lived. Though remote, it was quite exquisite. The building leaned over jade blue waters, ridges of the roofs standing proud and tall. Red lotuses flourished in the pond in full bloom. A beautiful madam stood by the door’s threshold. Upon seeing Jiang Quexie, she immediately burst into tears and rushed forward, crying out: “My son!”
【Based on her appearance, this person is Jiang Quexie’s thirty three year old birth mother, Bai Caiping. Jiang Huaicang’s thirtieth concubine. From what the system knows, Bai Caiping and Jing Huaicang’s eldest son are having an affair.】
Su Ruhui smiled awkwardly and hugged Bai Caiping, also crying out: “Mother!”
Sang Chiyu nodded at Bai Caiping in greeting, not saying much. Seeing Sang Chiyu, Bai Caiping turned her face away, shedding nonstop tears, “My poor son, it’s all your father’s fault for being so cruel and marrying you off to such a…”
Su Ruhui reflexively glanced at Sang Chiyu. That guy was sitting in his wheelchair and looking at the red lotuses in the pond as if he couldn’t hear a word.
Bai Caiping choked up, “Mother is unfortunate and unfavored in love. You’ve returned home today, but your father will not come to see us. Fortunately your da gege (eldest brother) has always looked out for us, and has already informed the kitchen to prepare a feast. Let’s have a good reunion as a family today.”
Su Ruhui nodded, “Da gege is so good, with him diligently using his body to take care of mother, this son can rest assured.”
Bai Caiping didn’t hear anything off with his words, still crying: “My son ah, you don’t have to force a smile. Now that you’re back by mom’s side, you can tell me any grievances you’ve suffered.
Su Ruhui laughed out loud, pushing Sang Chiyu forward, “Mother worries too much. My husband loves me very much, right, husband?”
Sang Chiyu: “…”
Bai Caiping half believed him, following behind them to enter the small building.
At the feast, Su Ruhui subtly asked about Jiang Xueya’s whereabouts, but Bai Caiping only said: “Twelfth miss commands the Secret Sect’s iron cavalry and is very busy. I am merely a woman who only knows how to embroider and stays at home all day. How could I be able to meet her?”
Looks like he could only find a way when he went out to stroll and see if they could run into each other, Su Ruhui thought. The estate was huge, and even a stroll was going to be long. Just thinking about it made Su Ruhui’s heart ache. After dinner, Su Ruhui led Sang Chiyu back to their room to rest. As they were husband and wife, Bai Caiping only gave them this one room, which was Jiang Quexie’s original room.
Su Ruhui first saw the room’s canopy bed.
【Information Unlocked: Jiang Quexie’s canopy bed. Bai Caiping and the Jiang’s eldest young master had an arduous 300 round battle on it last night before Bai Caiping was exhausted and defeated.】
Su Ruhui silently changed the bedsheets.
Sang Chiyu opened: “You rest here for the night. I will leave first.”
“Leaving right after eating, you’re not giving me any face. I just told my mother you love me very much.” Su Ruhui complained.
Sang Chiyu quieted for a second before responding: “I’m sorry.”
“Must you go?” Su Ruhui sat on top of the bed watching him.
“Mn.”
“Why? Is my room not big enough for this honorable one?” Su Ruhui asked.
Sang Chiyu did not speak anymore. He sat there expressionless, his entire body bathed in light, like a figure sculpted from ice and snow.
Su Ruhui felt depressed. He had no idea why Sang Chiyu had become like this half dead, half alive state. When others treated him harshly, he endured it. Yet when they showed him kindness, he pushed them a thousand li away.
What exactly did he go through?
“Husband ah, look at how you worry me so.” Su Ruhui sighed, “When I beat you, you wouldn’t divorce me. But now that I’m being nice to you, you want to divorce. Why? I’m curious. Tell me the reason, will you?”
Sang Chiyu gazed elsewhere, his dark, deep eyes devoid of emotion. He remained silent for a long time, and Su Ruhui thought he would retreat into passive silence once more when he suddenly replied: “For a guilty heart, to suffer is my part.”
Su Ruhui: “…”
It was exactly the kind of thing Sang Chiyu, with his stubbornness, would do. Su Ruhui didn’t know how to respond.
Su Ruhui continued his questioning: “Is it only when I mistreat you, trample on you, and bully you that you’re willing to stay here? Fine, you should’ve said so earlier. I’m the best at bullying people.”
He abruptly stood up, approaching Sang Chiyu step by step. A wicked grin played across his face. You could tell he was up to no good by just looking at him. He was good looking, and his eyes radiated light whenever he smiled, but he just had to act like a rogue who was anything but good. Sang Chiyu watched him bend down close to him, brows furrowing slightly, “You…”
Before the words fully could leave his lips, Su Ruhui wrapped one arm around his slender waist and slid the other under his knees, lifting him up horizontally.
“What a slender waist.” Su Ruhui remarked with a smile.
Sang Chi Yu’s eyes flashed with surprise, which he instantly suppressed. He coldly said: “Let me down.”
“Didn’t you want me to bully you? I’m not done yet.” Su Ruhui walked to the bedside and tossed him onto the mattress.
Sang Chiyu’s hair bun had gone askew. Su Ruhui knelt and crawled onto the bed, pressing his body close to Sang Chiyu. He reached up and pulled out his jade hairpin, and Sang Chiyu’s jet black hair cascaded down like a waterfall. Su Ruhui grasped his hair in his hands and sniffed it, saying: “Smells so good.”
Such lecherous behavior finally provoked Sang Chiyu’s anger. His face drained of color, his arms propped on the bed trembling. He gritted his teeth with anger: “Get down.”
“What can you do if I don’t get down? You’re a cripple now anyway, secret arts gone too, and your body’s still weak. You can’t beat me.” Su Ruhui grinned, letting go of his hair and lifting his chin. “You look quite adorable like this.”
Sang Chiyu almost couldn’t keep up his pretense, nearly kicking him off the bed. He twitched his hand, then forced it back down. He didn’t want Su Ruhui to know he had fused with the heart core, much less the fact that he had devoured someone.
Sang Chiyu closed his eyes and turned away, unwilling to look at this audacious scoundrel. Su Ruhui leaned in closer, kneeling between Sang Chiyu’s legs. His gaze fell on his earlobe, pure white like a small piece of jade. With a mischievous smile, he blew a breath onto it. Sure enough, the body beneath him trembled, like a plucked string of a qin.
“Why are you… always so shameless?”
Too many people called Su Ruhui shameless, and he usually took it as a compliment. Just as he was feeling good about himself, Sang Chiyu suddenly opened his eyes, kicking out his left leg and hitting Su Ruhui in the knee. Su Ruhui lost his balance, falling onto Sang Chiyu. Sang Chiyu flipped over, and the world spun upside down in the blink of an eye. Their positions reversed, and Su Ruhui was pinned beneath.
Looking up, Su Ruhui found himself staring straight into Sang Chiyu’s deep, dark eyes. Like the deep sea, you could sink endlessly into it. Su Ruhui saw his own astonished reflection in the silent depths of those eyes.
The two people’s gazes locked onto each other, mere inches apart, scalding hot breaths interchanging audibly.
After looking at each other for a long while, Sang Chiyu covered his eyes with his hand.
“Don’t be like this next time.”
Su Ruhui’s view was blocked, preventing him from seeing his face. He could only hear that his voice was slightly hoarse.
Just as Su Ruhui was about to move, Sang Chiyu, thinking he was up to more mischief, flipped him over and wrapped him in the quilt. He rolled him in twice, and the quilt firmly bound him into a human log.
The quilt was wrapped tightly, only exposing his head. Su Ruhui was dumbfounded, “Let me out.”
Sang Chiyu sat up, staring at him expressionlessly.
Su Ruhui wiggled around like a caterpillar, but Sang Chiyu pinned his waist down, preventing him from unrolling the quilt.
“I’m begging you, let me go. I was wrong, I was wrong. Is this not enough?” Su Ruhui pleaded repeatedly.
“Sleep.” Sang Chiyu covered his eyes with his hand.
“I can’t sleep, you let me go. I’m begging you, how about I call you ge?” Su Ruhui was wretched.
Sang Chiyu did not move a single inch, his icy hand resting on Su Ruhui’s eyelids. It was unexpectedly comfortable. Su Ruhui fumbled around for a long time, but ultimately settled down. The tip of his nose was filled with the scent from Sang Chiyu’s sleeve– cold, like the fragrance of the white queen of the night. A deep and sweet sleepiness overtook Su Ruhui, and he truly drifted off into slumber. When he awoke, the sky was fading, and the room grew dim, shrouded in a gloomy miasma. Sang Chiyu was gone, and so was the wheelchair. He probably left.
Su Ruhui turned his head and spotted a communication compass resting at the head of the bed, bearing a solitary seal. It was clearly left by Sang Chiyu to maintain contact. Su Ruhui couldn’t help but smile. After smiling he couldn’t help but be sad. Staying at the Jiang residence was only a temporary solution; he couldn’t possibly dawdle here forever. He had to find a way to deal with Han Ye, that big problem.
He casually lifted his eyes to look outside, then his gaze suddenly froze.
This was because he saw a dark human shadow outside the window across from him. Behind the white Goryeo paper pasted onto the window lattice was a blurry face.
Someone was peeping through the window.
The distance was far, and Su Ruhui was also hidden within the shadows cast by the bed curtains. The figure likely hadn’t noticed Su Ruhui had awakened. Su Ruhui maintained his position, and the shadow also remained motionless. The Jiang family was wealthy, and the window paper was thick, leaving only a vague outline of the face, its features indistinct. Su Ruhui squinted his eyes for half a day but couldn’t make out what the face looked like. He held this position for a long time, his neck growing sore and pricking like pins. Just when he couldn’t hold on anymore, the shadow left.
Su Ruhui internally asked: “System, who is that?”
【The system can only recognize clear images. The subject’s image is blurred and cannot be identified.】
Garbage system. Su Ruhui cursed under his breath. He grabbed the communication compass, put it into his pocket, and quietly felt his way out the door to circle around to the window. The person was already gone, but shoeprints remained on the ground. Su Ruhui stared intently, and his heart instantly grew cold. The shoeprint was identical to the one he had discovered on the Sang residence’s windowsill the day he woke up. Su Ruhui had a highly retentive memory, and it was impossible to have mistaken it.
The killer was in the Jiang family.
TL corner: wFIvxV
Our first physical scene ! ! Su Ruhui reaping what he sowed ! ! 🙈 Ft. small manhua panel with Su Ruhui wrapped up in the blanket burrito