The newcomer was, of course, Mu Qingyan. After being away for half a day, engaged in unknown activities, he had developed a thin layer of stubble on his well-defined jaw. His gray fur cloak still hung on his body, and he carried a bulging bundle, seemingly made from half of his torn cloak.
“Why haven’t you gone down the mountain?!” His dark eyes glared at Cai Zhao disapprovingly.
Cai Zhao rubbed his ear. “You’re still on the mountain too, aren’t you?”
“You promised me before we parted!”
“It’s all the same now. Let’s not fuss over the details.”
As they spoke, Duan Jiuxiu finally crawled out from under the collapsed roof, carefully protecting the apricot-yellow jade bottle with both hands. After standing up, he didn’t even bother to shake off the snow on his body before opening the bottle. Upon realizing it was empty, he immediately roared, “Cai Zhao, you little wretch! You dared to trick me—this bottle is empty! Even your aunt swore…”
“Wait, wait! Turn the bottle upside down and look again,” Cai Zhao quickly interrupted.
Duan Jiuxiu held out his palm under the bottle’s mouth and carefully turned the jade bottle upside down. After a moment, two drops of clear liquid slowly fell.
He: “…”
Cai Zhao smiled. “See? There’s indeed Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva in the bottle. I didn’t lie to you.”
“Cai Zhao, you little minx! How dare you toy with me!” Duan Jiuxiu exploded with rage and lunged at Cai Zhao. However, as he approached, his vision was filled with a red glow, mixed with a thick, pure internal force.
Realizing the danger, he quickly leaped backward.
At this moment, Qirong and Hu Tianwei, who had seen the collapsed roof from afar, arrived and immediately flanked Duan Jiuxiu protectively.
Duan Jiuxiu raised a single palm to protect his vital points before saying, “Young Master Yan, your palm technique is impressive. You must be Cai Zhao’s bodyguard.”
Mu Qingyan ignored him and instead asked Cai Zhao, “Did you tell them I was your bodyguard?”
Cai Zhao muttered, “I also said you went down the mountain and spread the news about Duan Jiuxiu and his disciples. Now everything’s exposed.”
Mu Qingyan narrowed his eyes. “Do you plan to get by on deception alone? Haven’t you heard that the righteous path is open and clear, and one should walk it?”
Cai Zhao: “…When you criticize me like this, you sound like someone from a righteous sect.”
Duan Jiuxiu, feeling ignored for too long, grew increasingly angry. “You little wretch! How dare you waste the Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva? Prepare to die!” With that, he was about to attack along with Qirong and Hu Tianwei.
“Let’s talk this through, let’s talk this through,” Cai Zhao said with a forced smile. “I was just joking earlier. I’ve hidden the Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva. I’ll give it to the elder later.”
“Bullshit! Do you think I’ll fall for your tricks again?” Duan Jiuxiu raged. “The Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva can’t be left out in the open. Yesterday, when we were packing in the ice cave, I saw clearly that you didn’t bring any bottles or containers. How could you have stored the saliva?”
Qirong immediately praised, “Master’s observation is meticulous and sharp. Qirong deeply admires you.”
Hu Tianwei echoed the sentiment.
Cai Zhao looked puzzled. “Why would I need to bring bottles? How hard could it be to carve a small ice bottle from a block of hard ice? After pouring in the saliva, I could seal it with snow and ice, then hide it in a marked spot. It’s so cold here, there’s no worry about the ice bottle melting.”
Duan Jiuxiu, Qirong, and Hu Tianwei: …
Cai Zhao turned his head. “I understand these things well. Elder Duan’s scheming… seems rather inadequate. As for his cultivation talent, it’s merely passable. No wonder my twenty-year-old aunt could easily defeat him. What did the old Demon Sect Leader see in him back then?”
Mu Qingyan drawled, “The old Sect Leader probably thought Nie Hengcheng was too clever and capable, so he wanted to adopt another son who was honest and simple to balance things out. However, he misjudged a bit—while not exactly honest, Duan is certainly old.”
Cai Zhao: “You’re so harsh.”
“You flatter me,” Mu Qingyan said, looking around. “Where’s Zhou Zhiqin? Did you kill him?”
Cai Zhao reflexively replied, “I did kill him… Uh, did you also figure out that he discovered Nie Hengcheng’s divine skill and pieced together the whole affair?”
Mu Qingyan was taken aback. “So all their fuss was about Nie Hengcheng’s divine skill?”
Being exceptionally intelligent, he quickly understood after a moment’s thought. “Right, Chen Shu had been secretly passing on martial arts to his brother Chen Fuguang. Chen Shu then died in an ambush by the Zhou family disciples. Given Zhou Zhiqin’s nature…”
Cai Zhao interrupted, “How did you notice something was off about Zhou Zhiqin?”
Mu Qingyan glanced at the master and disciples opposite them. “Jin Baohui and Lan Tianyu were tight-lipped, almost letting slip several times along the way, but Qirong and Hu Tianwei always subtly interrupted them.”
Cai Zhao recalled for a moment, then nodded. “That’s right. Actually, on the first day, Lan Tianyu almost revealed that he had been to this snowy mountain before, but Qirong interrupted by pretending to twist her ankle.”
Mu Qingyan continued, “However after we reached the mountainside, they stopped preventing Jin and Lan from saying whatever they wanted.”
Cai Zhao gathered his thoughts. “Because they never intended to let us leave the mountain alive. Initially, when we were still close to the foot of the mountain, they feared we might realize their intentions and escape immediately. Once we reached halfway up the mountain, they no longer worried about that.”
“Exactly,” Mu Qingyan said. “But isn’t this strange? Counting Jin Baohui and Lan Tianyu, Zhou Zhiqin, and Dong Fangxiao are world-renowned heroes. If members of the Demon Sect were to harm innocents, wouldn’t those two step in to help?”
“You’re right. How did I not think of that?” Cai Zhao’s eyes widened as he murmured, “Although my ‘martial arts are weak,’ but you, Zhou Zhiqin, and Dong Fangxiao against Hu Tianwei and the others—the odds aren’t in our favor. Why were they so confident they could kill us?”
“Naturally, it’s because Dong Fangxiao and Zhou Zhiqin were in cahoots with them all along. Once the fighting started, I would have been outnumbered,” Mu Qingyan said with a cold smile.
“Are you two done talking?!” Duan Jiuxiu restrained his anger. “Hand over the saliva quickly, and I might spare your lives!”
Qirong added, “Given Master’s reputation, he surely wouldn’t bully a young girl like you. Just hand it over.”
Cai Zhao rolled his eyes. “Perhaps Elder Duan might have spared me earlier, but now that you know that no one at the foot of the mountain is aware you’re still alive and that you’ve obtained Nie Hengcheng’s divine skill, you definitely won’t let either of us live—do you think I can’t figure out something so simple?”
Mu Qingyan, with a patient and refined expression, said, “Elder Duan, let me teach you a trick. In this situation, threats and enticements won’t work. You should offer to share Nie Hengcheng’s divine skill with us in exchange for the saliva. That might make us willing to hand it over.”
Cai Zhao frowned. “Just one bottle of saliva? Is that enough for all five of us to practice?”
Mu Qingyan tilted his head. “Oh, it’s not enough? Well, I guess that plan won’t work either. Never mind then. After all, Elder Duan and his disciples were supposed to have gone down the mountain already.”
Duan Jiuxiu, feeling extremely anxious, said, “Know your place. At this point, you’re just bluffing. There are three of us and only two of you. If it comes to a fight, you’re certain to lose.”
Cai Zhao suddenly noticed that the fur bundle in Mu Qingyan’s hand was moving. “…What’s in there?”
Mu Qingyan shook the bundle, and four small, white, furry heads popped out. Each was only about the size of a palm, with paws not fully grown. Their round heads bumped against each other as they looked around bewildered.
“These are…” Despite the vast difference in size, Cai Zhao immediately recognized their adult versions from the ears, limbs, teeth, blue eyes, and white fur. “Are these Snow Mountain Bai Mao Hou cubs?!”
“They’re likely the offspring of the two that attacked us,” Mu Qingyan explained. “After we separated at the ice cave entrance, I followed the injured Bai Mao Hou to its lair and found these four cubs.”
“Why did you capture them? Can they be used for cultivation too?” Cai Zhao asked, surprised. “Let’s not. They’re still so young.” Despite the ferocity of adult Bai Mao Hou, these four fuzzy cubs looked adorably soft, and she couldn’t bear the thought.
Mu Qingyan flicked her forehead, saying irritably, “The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind—can’t you think a bit further?” He raised the fur bundle to his face and called out loudly, “You skulking coward, come out now!”
“Come out, or I’ll smash these four cubs to death! Their parents died for you. Even beasts show you loyalty, yet you still won’t appear?!”
Mu Qingyan’s words, though not particularly loud, resonated far like waves, causing snow to fall from the surrounding pine trees.
Duan Jiuxiu was inwardly shocked, realizing this young man’s cultivation was formidable and not to be underestimated.
The others were bewildered, not knowing who Mu Qingyan was calling.
Cai Zhao waited for a while before asking, “Who are you calling… uh…?” Before she could finish, a block of ice and snow on the cliff face suddenly moved.
From a distance, no one could see clearly what was happening. They only saw a figure in a snow-white cloak slowly emerge from behind the ice and snow, gradually approaching them.
As the person pulled back their hood and looked up, everyone except Mu Qingyan gasped in disbelief.
It was Qian Xueshen, who was supposed to be ‘dead’!
“You… how can it be you?” Cai Zhao was stunned. “I saw you…” She vividly remembered the frozen head, its expression frozen in terror, rolling right up to her.
Mu Qingyan explained coldly, “That must have been one of Jin Baohui’s guards, who was dragged into an ice cave and knocked unconscious during the first violent tremor. When the Blue-eyed Ice Crystal Python attacked, he pretended to dodge into the ice cave, disguised the guard as himself, woke him up, and pushed him out.”
“Originally, the Disguise Technique would reveal itself after death, but if the body is frozen immediately, it might delay the revelation—thus completing his cicada-shedding plan!”
Duan Jiuxiu’s mind raced, and he blurted out, “Disguise Technique? You’re from the Thousand Faces Sect!”
He then demanded, “Why are you against us? Who are you?!”
Qian Xueshen’s expression was unfamiliar—cold and calm, unlike the lively, complaining youth Cai Zhao knew. He spoke slowly to Mu Qingyan, “Did you kill Xuezhu?”
—Xuezhu was the name of the injured Bai Mao Hou.
Mu Qingyan, unusually, didn’t argue. He shook his head and said, “Duan Jiuxiu’s Thunder Palm is renowned. Those struck by it have their internal organs shattered—few top experts can withstand it. That Bai Mao Hou was already dying halfway, crawling back to its lair. I found the den by following the trail of blood it coughed up.”
Despite his usual hardheartedness and countless kills, the pleading look in the dying Bai Mao Hou’s eyes had inexplicably moved him—it was the boundless worry of a dying mother for her young.
Sometimes, beasts understand parental love better than humans.
After digging out the four cubs from the cave, he had intended to leave immediately but found them whimpering with hunger. Eight large, teary blue eyes looked at him, and he had to stop to feed them some dried food, nearly missing Cai Zhao.
“You deceitful villain! Finally willing to show yourself,” Mu Qingyan said coldly.
“I’ve wronged Xuefeng and Xuezhu,” Qian Xueshen said softly, then turned to Cai Zhao. “Miss Cai, I’ve wronged you too, but I never intended to deceive you.”
He then asked, “When did Young Master Yan notice my ruse?”
Mu Qingyan replied, “It was the frozen corpse holding the jade bottle with the saliva—that wasn’t a solid block of ice, but many ice fragments piled up and then solidified with cold water. I’ve struck real ice walls before; the resistance is completely different.”
“You were familiar with the ice cave layout. What took us an hour or two to traverse, you could shortcut around to get ahead of us. You set up that corpse and the jade bottle after faking your death, right? And that jade statue on the ice earlier—you placed it the night before when you excused yourself, didn’t you?”
Qian Xueshen replied impassively, “Wrong. That jade statue was originally placed by ancients to warn climbers of the hollow ice layer behind it, with the massive ice cave and giant snake below. I moved it back several dozen zhang to ensure you’d fall into the ice cave.”
Cai Zhao found it hard to speak. “…Did you also kill Zhou Yulin and the innkeeper?”
Qian Xueshen nodded. “The innkeeper was their underling and deserved death. As for Zhou Yulin, he wasn’t a good person either. He acted like a refined gentleman from a righteous sect in the Central Plains, but every time he came to this remote, frozen town where no one knew him, he used an alias, drank excessively, and took advantage of local girls.”
“I never thought… I never imagined…” Cai Zhao mumbled to herself.
She had never met Zhou Yulin, but in her mind, the Zhou family members were either refined and considerate like Zhou Yuqi, or cheerful and chivalrous like the brothers Zhou Yuqian and Zhou Yukun.
Who knew that even great trees could have rotten branches?
“You little bastard!” Duan Jiuxiu, realizing he had been tricked, exploded in anger. “You must be tired of living, daring to fool me. I’ll destroy you right now…”
“Do you still want the Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva?” Qian Xueshen said coldly. “The bottle they have contains saliva I planted. Guess how much more I have? But you, your lover, and your disciple can all practice that divine skill now.”
Duan Jiuxiu immediately halted his descending palm.
Qirong and Hu Tianwei also tensed, stepping forward to advise Duan Jiuxiu to remain calm.
Mu Qingyan declared loudly, “You meticulously planned each step, luring us deep into the snowy mountains, leaving the Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva as bait to make us fight each other to exhaustion, and even raised two Bai Mao Hou as helpers—who are you?!”
Qian Xueshen smiled sadly. “Earlier, you guessed they didn’t want you to leave the mountain alive. So, if a hunter’s family had encountered them years ago while they were searching for the Snow Scale Dragon Beast, what do you think they would have done?”
A thought flashed through Cai Zhao’s mind, and she exclaimed, “That family… in the dilapidated house halfway up the mountain… it was yours?! Your surname is Qian; you’re a child from that family!”
“The name Qian isn’t much,” Qian Xueshen said calmly. “My master saved my life and taught me skills to seek revenge. If I were just an ordinary hunter, how could I deal with these beasts in human skin?”
Duan Jiuxiu grinned. “So you’re that family’s son. What was that hunter’s surname again? I remember now…”
Hu Tianwei thought hard. “I believe it was Tao.”
Duan Jiuxiu’s face showed mock regret. “I only remember that young wife was quite a beauty. Too bad she couldn’t be spared.”
Deep hatred flared in Qian Xueshen’s eyes. “That was my aunt. My cousin was still an infant when you smashed him to death, and then your lover snapped my aunt’s neck.”
Duan Jiuxiu stroked his chin. “Couldn’t be helped. Qirong gets jealous and can’t stand pretty women.”
“Oh, Master!” Qirong surprisingly responded coyly.
Qian Xueshen spat out words through clenched teeth. “Sixteen years ago, when you couldn’t find the Snow Scale Dragon Beast, you recklessly set off explosives on the mountain, causing an avalanche that buried you all. My father and uncle dug you out one by one and brought you home to recover. Who would have thought your first act upon recovery would be to silence us all!”
“You repaid kindness with cruelty. You’re worse than beasts!”
Sixteen years ago, what had happened in the martial arts world?
Back then, Cai Zhao wasn’t born yet, and the Great Battle of Qingluo River had just ended.
The Demon Sect and the Six Northern Sects were on high alert. The former feared the latter would press their advantage and attack Youming Huangdao, while the latter worried the former might retaliate more fiercely after their defeat.
While the entire martial arts world focused on this, in the frozen snow mountains of the extreme north, a group of despicable individuals with sinister intentions were striving for their ambitions.
The Tao hunter’s family was just a small stone on their path, not even a roadblock—merely something that might irritate their feet, easily kicked aside.
Duan Jiuxiu showed no remorse. “We had no choice. Zhou Zhiqin and Dong Fangxiao were worried about people discovering that two great heroes from righteous sects were associating with Demon Sect members, so we had to act.”
“At a time like this, you’re still trying to shirk responsibility. You’ve truly become a useless old man. You’re not even fit to polish Nie Hengcheng’s shoes!” Mu Qingyan said coldly. “Zhou Zhiqin and Dong Fangxiao may have feared being discovered associating with Demon Sect members, but weren’t you afraid of your fake death being exposed? If people learned about your search for the Snow Scale Dragon Beast and Han Yisu, who’s still alive, guessed someone was trying to steal his master’s skills, you’d have nowhere to hide!”
“How dare you!” Hu Tianwei rebuked.
Duan Jiuxiu raised his hand to stop his disciple and said gravely, “You may have a point.”
“My family wasn’t even part of the martial arts world! We didn’t know any of you! How could we have exposed your identities?” Qian Xueshen shouted.
Duan Jiuxiu merely raised an eyebrow. “The stakes were too high. It was better to be safe.”
Anger burned hotter in Cai Zhao’s heart.
Growing up listening to Cai Pingzhu’s stories of fighting injustice and helping the weak, she focused more on how Cai Pingzhu and others defeated enemies, escaped danger with clever strategies, and became famous. The process was exhilarating, the endings heroic—heroes returning in glory, villains punished. But she had never considered the innocent families hurt in these stories.
Now, seeing the lone Qian Xueshen, hearing his past, remembering that wind-blown, dilapidated wooden house that once echoed with the laughter of a kind family… she finally understood what her aunt had been so passionate about.
Unable to contain her anger, she stepped forward.
Mu Qingyan held her back, whispering, “My meridians haven’t fully recovered from injury. We’re no match for the three of them. Now that we know their evil deeds, we can plan our revenge carefully later.”
Knowing Mu Qingyan spoke the truth, Cai Zhao called out, “Qian Xueshen, let’s leave first. I’ll avenge you later.”
Qian Xueshen shook his head. “Thank you, but that won’t be necessary.”
He looked up with a smile. “Earlier, when you were tampering with the snow house’s walls, did you notice how easily the snow bamboo could be cut? I built this snow house. At this altitude, there were no more shelters left. The last brick-and-stone hunter’s lodge is even lower than where my family lived.”
“For sixteen years, they never gave up searching for the Snow Scale Dragon Beast. However, they became craftier, sending subordinates to gather information instead of coming themselves, and even set up an inn at the foot of the mountain as an outpost.”
“A year ago, I finished building this house and set everything up, but unfortunately, I carelessly revealed my identity and was captured by a group in gray robes. Luckily, Xuefeng and Xuezhu were smart and capable, following the plan to attack when someone approached this snow house—Zhou Zhiqin’s son was killed by Xuezhu, who left Snow Scale Dragon Beast scales near a pile of corpses.”
“When the innkeeper came to collect the bodies, he found the scales and immediately reported it. After Jin Baohui confirmed, they all gathered at the Great Snow Mountain again. During my imprisonment, I was anxious every day. Fortunately, Miss Cai, you brought me out, or years of effort would have been wasted.”
Duan Jiuxiu grew impatient. “Why all this rambling? Tell us about the saliva. Where have you hidden it?”
Qian Xueshen still ignored him. “I’m telling you all this, Miss Cai, to let you know I’ve prepared everything. I can avenge myself.”
Hearing these words that sounded like a final testament, Cai Zhao began to worry.
Qian Xueshen turned to Duan Jiuxiu. “There was indeed a Snow Scale Dragon Beast on this mountain. My father and uncle found fallen scales when they were young and even collected some saliva that had dripped onto the snow—it’s an excellent medicine, clearing heat, and moistening dryness, life-saving during fevers when no doctor was available.”
“Unfortunately, that Snow Scale Dragon Beast died twenty years ago.” Qian Xueshen’s smile turned strange. “Though it died, my family still had some saliva left. The Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva solidifies in cold and won’t spoil even if buried in ice for decades.”
Duan Jiuxiu and his disciples began to breathe rapidly.
“Elder Duan, do you remember the couch you slept on in my home sixteen years ago? Next to that couch was a floorboard that could be lifted, revealing a large, hollowed-out ice block. My mother took out fresh, frozen chickens from there to make soup for you—right in front of you. Do you remember?”
Duan Jiuxiu had an uneasy feeling but couldn’t pinpoint why.
Qian Xueshen spoke deliberately. “The Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva was in an ice box next to those chickens.”
Duan Jiuxiu’s heart turned cold with pain—if he had searched thoroughly back then, he might have started practicing the divine skill sixteen years earlier. At his age, how many more sixteen-year periods could he waste?
“Hand over the saliva!” He advanced menacingly toward Qian Xueshen.
Qian Xueshen smiled slightly. “Ah. Miss Cai and Young Master Yan, farewell. Elder Duan and company, please follow me.” With that, he dashed toward the icy rock he had emerged from earlier.
Duan Jiuxiu immediately lunged after him, with Qirong and Hu Tianwei close behind.
Qian Xueshen’s lightness skill was decent, but no match for Duan Jiuxiu. After about ten zhang, he was nearly caught.
At that moment, Qian Xueshen’s right hand touched the icy rock, pulling hard on a hidden rope behind it.
With a tremendous crash, the ice layer in a semicircle facing Duan Jiuxiu’s direction shattered around Qian Xueshen—all four of them plummeted into the ice cave once again.
Cai Zhao was alarmed and about to rush over when Mu Qingyan held her back tightly.
A massive white snakehead rose high from the hole where the four had fallen, its eyes cold jade green, flicking a blood-red, foul-smelling tongue.
“This is the Blue-eyed Ice Crystal Python’s lair!” Cai Zhao exclaimed in shock.
Mu Qingyan’s face was tense. “It’s not safe here either. We must leave now!”