The cliff was the only flat snow-covered area within a hundred miles. Twenty zhang away from the cliff stood a thatched cottage, its exterior completely covered by thick snow. Only a few tall snow pines stood behind it, their old red ribbons fluttering in the wind, bringing a splash of color to this pure white world.
Inside the cottage, a warm stove burned in the center. Duan Jiuxiu sat cross-legged in a corner, meditating with his eyes closed. Hu Tianwei sat by the stove warming himself, while Zhou Zhiqin leaned listlessly against another corner.
Hu Tianwei smiled and beckoned, “Hero Zhou, come warm yourself by the fire. We’re all grieving over Hero Dong’s tragic death. It’s best if you try to accept it and move on.”
Zhou Zhiqin mumbled, “I never thought… never imagined… We were sworn brothers, as close as family. We’ve faced death so many times, yet he died here…”
“It’s not just Hero Dong. Old Jin and Old Lan are gone too. Our losses this time are truly devastating,” Hu Tianwei sighed.
Zhou Zhiqin coldly retorted, “Hmph, stop pretending. I don’t see you being particularly sad.”
Hu Tianwei laughed, “The dead are gone. What’s the use of excessive grief? You should be thanking me. The white beast that ate your son killed one of ours, and the other is fatally wounded. It won’t live long.”
Zhou Zhiqin replied, “I didn’t see it with my own eyes. How do I know you’re not just boasting?”
Hu Tianwei frowned, “What, do you still want to hunt down the remaining white beast? What if we encounter that blue-eyed ice crystal python again?”
Zhou Zhiqin let out a cold snort but said nothing.
“Never mind, let’s have a drink to warm ourselves up.” Hu Tianwei picked up the wine pouch by the stove, took a sip himself, and then offered it to Zhou Zhiqin.
Zhou Zhiqin hesitated, then walked towards Hu Tianwei. He took the pouch, wiped his mouth, and was about to drink when the snow cottage door burst open. A snowball flew in rapidly, knocking the wine pouch from Zhou Zhiqin’s hand.
Cai Zhao, panting, leaned against the doorframe. “Hero Zhou, don’t drink that wine! It must be poisoned!”
Zhou Zhiqin was startled, Hu Tianwei delighted, and Duan Jiuxiu’s eyes snapped open, gleaming like a venomous snake spotting its prey.
“Miss Xiao Han, you… Didn’t you go down the mountain?” Zhou Zhiqin asked in surprise. “Where’s your brother?”
Cai Zhao waved her hand dismissively. “Hero Zhou, never mind that now. Do you know that man isn’t Hu’s old servant? He’s Elder Tianji, Duan Jiuxiu! He’s not dead; he faked his death to escape the kill order years ago!”
Zhou Zhiqin looked incredulous but decisively moved away from Hu Tianwei to Cai Zhao’s side.
Duan Jiuxiu slowly stood up, cackling, “I was just wondering how to find you, and here you are, delivering yourself to our doorstep.”
Hu Tianwei obediently went to support him.
Cai Zhao said hatefully, “Evil demons like you two who have committed so many atrocities should have been dismembered long ago! Hero Zhou, let’s join forces and kill them!”
Zhou Zhiqin slowly unsheathed his sword with its heavily nicked blade, then handed Dong Xiao’s intact sword to Cai Zhao. He said gravely, “Duan Jiuxiu, years ago you massacred Qingfeng Temple, committing countless bloody crimes. Since my sworn brother Dong is gone, I naturally must avenge him!”
“Hero Zhou, you truly are a righteous man!” Cai Zhao took the sword, her eyes showing admiration and respect. Then she turned and cried out, “Villains! Prepare to die!” With that, she lunged towards Duan Jiuxiu and his disciple.
“Well said!” Zhou Zhiqin followed suit.
Duan Jiuxiu and his disciple remained expressionless, maintaining defensive postures. However, as Cai Zhao approached midway, Hu Tianwei finally couldn’t suppress a slight opening of his mouth, revealing a few sharp teeth, his eyes flashing with anticipation and joy.
In that split second, a silver light suddenly flew from Cai Zhao’s left wrist, striking the left pillar with a clear sound. With a powerful twist of her wrist, her entire body flew to the left like a light-colored kite. Just as she was about to hit the pillar, she used one foot to pivot, shooting back like a fully drawn arrow. By then, Zhou Zhiqin was already in front of her…
In an instant, as if a beam of golden-red light had broken through dawn, an unstoppable, vigorous sun fell straight down. Zhou Zhiqin let out a miserable cry, drawing an arc in mid-air before crashing heavily into the corner.
The cottage suddenly fell silent.
Duan Jiuxiu and his disciple were too shocked to move, watching as Zhou Zhiqin howled in pain on the ground—a deep, bone-deep gash ran from his left shoulder to his lower abdomen, and his sword-wielding right hand was severed at the wrist.
In truth, from the moment Cai Zhao flew away from him, Zhou Zhiqin knew something was wrong. As a renowned expert among the Six Northern Sects, he had made a feint forward and managed to turn in mid-air, raising his sword to defend.
Unfortunately, what he faced was no ordinary weapon.
“The… The Yan Yang Blade?!” Zhou Zhiqin, clutching his split abdomen tightly and fighting through excruciating pain to sit up, stared fixedly at the dazzling weapon in Cai Zhao’s hand. “You… you’re Cai Zhao?!”
“It’s been a long time since we parted in childhood, Uncle Zhou. How have you been?” Cai Zhao spoke slowly.
Zhou Zhiqin’s face was full of anguish. “Child, have you gone mad? Why did you attack me?!”
Cai Zhao smiled faintly. “Stop pretending. My aunt and father grew up in Peiqiong Manor. They could recognize the Zhou family’s swordsmanship with their eyes closed. Although I don’t have eyes on my back, in that split second when I leaped away, I saw Uncle Zhou’s sword in the opening stance of ‘Drinking Under the Moon.'”
“At that time, we were still half a room away from them. ‘Drinking Under the Moon’ is a close-combat technique. Uncle Zhou, who did you intend to kill then?”
Zhou Zhiqin broke out in a cold sweat. “No, no. They said you were one of the demon cults, that you killed Lan Tianyu and Jin Baohui, so I… I just…”
“Please, Uncle Zhou, stop joking,” Cai Zhao said coldly. “Whether I’m from the demon cult is debatable, but Hu Tianwei is undoubtedly the chief disciple of a demon elder, with countless blood debts. You can sit by the fire and share wine with him, yet try to kill me. Who do you think is the fool here?”
Zhou Zhiqin was speechless, his pleading gaze turning towards the corner. But as soon as he moved slightly, Cai Zhao’s icy voice rang out, “Elder Duan and your disciple had better not move a step.”
Indeed, Duan Jiuxiu and his disciple were about to step forward, but they froze when they saw Cai Zhao’s left hand holding a small apricot-yellow jade bottle. She was only half a step away from the stove and could easily throw the bottle into the fire.
They immediately halted.
“I assume Jin Baohui told you what’s in this bottle,” Cai Zhao said, showing them the vial.
The master and disciple stared intently. It was indeed the three to four-inch long apricot-yellow jade bottle Jin Baohui had described, with an old copper wire around its mouth. Hu Tianwei said, “Who knows if there’s any venom in the bottle? Stop playing tricks!”
Cai Zhao frowned. “You don’t believe me? No matter, I’ll sprinkle a bit for you to smell.” She pushed the jade stopper with her left thumb, about to open the bottle.
“No need, no need!” Hu Tianwei shouted immediately—such a small bottle couldn’t contain much venom. It would surely be reserved for his master first, with only leftovers for himself. He certainly didn’t want to waste a single drop.
“Elder Duan and your esteemed disciple, please stand far away, preferably against the wall,” Cai Zhao said with a smile.
Duan Jiuxiu snorted, “Don’t pretend to be a tiger using a fox’s power. If we kill you, we can still get the bottle.”
Cai Zhao’s face darkened. “The snow scale dragon beast’s saliva doesn’t freeze in cold but melts with heat. Elder Duan, what do you think will be faster: me throwing the saliva into the fire, or you pouncing on me? You two subduing me, or me severing my heart meridian?”
The girl’s earlier attack on Zhou Zhiqin, though calculated to seem accidental, showed exceptional precision and power. The master and disciple pair knew clearly that even if they worked together, they couldn’t subdue the girl in just a few moves.
“Such a pretty young lady, are you willing to die like this?” Hu Tianwei forced a joking tone.
Cai Zhao replied calmly, “My great-uncle Cai Changfeng died alongside Elder Tianxuan without fear. My aunt Cai Pingshu used the self-destructive Heavenly Demon Technique to kill Nie Hengcheng, life for life. Do you think I’m unwilling to sacrifice my own life?”
Hu Tianwei’s smile vanished as he turned to his master, only to find him equally silent.
If it were anyone else, they might not believe such willingness to die. But coming from a Cai family madwoman, they unconsciously believed it ninety percent.
“Whether I die or not isn’t important. What’s important is that without this snow-scale dragon beast’s saliva, your future might be quite embarrassing,” Cai Zhao said, her smile blooming. “Of course, if you can find another snow-scale dragon beast, you can still obtain the saliva. However…”
She tilted her head slightly as if looking towards the mountain peak outside. “The last confirmed sighting of a snow-scale dragon beast was one hundred and sixty years ago. Though there have been rumors of hearing its cry since then, they’re just rumors. By the way, what did your informant tell you? How did he know the snow-scale dragon beast had appeared?”
“What informant!” Hu Tianwei couldn’t contain himself.
Cai Zhao replied, “The innkeeper who died at the inn. Wasn’t he your spy at the foot of the mountain?”
Duan Jiuxiu grinned, “Clever girl. Yes, Feng San (the innkeeper) was our informant. He obtained a scale from the mountain folk. I had Jin Baohui examine it, confirming it was indeed from a snow-scale dragon beast!”
Cai Zhao chuckled softly, “I thought it was something more. It’s just a scale. The beast might have died long ago. Or perhaps it simply flew away.”
The girl smiled, “Isn’t the saliva in my hand easier to obtain?”
Duan Jiuxiu gritted his teeth but had no choice but to compromise. He retreated several steps until he was against the wall, right next to Zhou Zhiqin.
Hu Tianwei had to follow, asking as he walked, “What exactly do you want in exchange for the saliva?”
Cai Zhao replied, “Simple. Just kill Uncle Zhou.”
Hu Tianwei was stunned, “You… what did you say?!”
Cai Zhao added, “To prevent any trickery, I want you to cut off Uncle Zhou’s head. Once I see his head separated from his body, I’ll leave the jade bottle and go.”
The girl’s face was as beautiful as a peach blossom, yet her words about beheading someone were so casual that even Hu Tianwei, accustomed to killing, was momentarily shocked.
Zhou Zhiqin hurriedly hugged Duan Jiuxiu’s leg, pleading repeatedly, “Don’t, don’t kill me, please…”
Duan Jiuxiu remained motionless, laughing coldly, “Indeed, a little bitch raised by that bitch Cai Pingshu, equally vicious!”
Cai Zhao’s face immediately darkened. “I suddenly don’t want to live anymore. I’ll die with you all.” She moved to pull out the bottle’s stopper, pretending to pour out the saliva.
“No, no, stop!” Hu Tianwei shouted repeatedly. “Let’s talk this through. Why are you going crazy?”
Cai Zhao coldly stated, “I don’t want to hear any more disrespectful words about my aunt.”
Hu Tianwei broke out in a cold sweat. “Master misspoke… I mean, Master just spoke carelessly, he didn’t mean to disrespect your aunt! Besides, your aunt nearly wiped out our entire sect back then. Wouldn’t it be strange if we didn’t curse her?”
Seeing Cai Zhao about to pour out the bottle again, Hu Tianwei had to give in. “Alright, alright, we won’t say anything, we won’t say anything!”
Only then did Cai Zhao replace the stopper.
Duan Jiuxiu was furious, gritting his teeth, “Don’t bluff. If you push me too far… hmph, I might not need this saliva after all. You must die!”
Cai Zhao shook her head, “Even if I must die, you two will surely die more miserably than me. The great demonic taboo forbids outsiders from learning demonic martial arts, violators are tortured to death. Do you know what tortures there are…”
She recalled the scary stories Mu Qingyan had told her late at night. “A hundred years ago, someone stole demonic martial arts. After being caught, they were turned into a human candle. They say it was a slow fire, burning for two whole days before death. The body had shrunk by half, dried like human jerky.”
“Seventy years ago, someone from the Siqi Gate snuck in to steal techniques. They were executed by lingchi, supposedly sliced over a thousand times. All the skin and flesh were cut away, yet they say the person could still breathe.”
“Over fifty years ago, a daring bandit broke the taboo again. The demonic punishment hall drove red-hot iron rods into his vital points. He screamed for three days and nights before dying…”
“Enough, stop talking!” Hu Tianwei’s shocked face twitched uncontrollably.
“You two have already been expelled from the demonic sect,” Cai Zhao continued, maintaining a calm expression while inwardly disgusted by these torture methods, silently cursing Mu Qingyan for unnecessarily scaring her.
“…If people found out you not only tried to steal techniques but attempted to steal Nie Hengcheng’s divine skills, I wonder what fate would await you two.”
Duan Jiuxiu’s face was extremely unpleasant. He kicked away the still-pleading Zhou Zhiqin. “Kill you, and no one will even know I’m still alive.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
Cai Zhao smiled lightly and asked, “Why don’t you ask where my ‘brother’ went? He escaped here too, after all.”
Duan Jiuxiu paused, stopping in his tracks. “Where did your brother go?”
“Wrong again. You should first ask Uncle Zhou if I have a brother,” Cai Zhao said amiably.
Duan Jiuxiu suppressed his anger. His gaze swept over Zhou Zhiqin, who quickly said, “No, no. Cai Zhao only has a younger brother. She has no elder brother.”
“Then who is he?” Hu Tianwei pressed.
“Naturally, he’s my bodyguard,” Cai Zhao explained. “Young Master Yan was injured earlier, so I ordered him to go down the mountain first. He knows what he needs to know. Whether I return or not, he will surely not cover for you two.”
“He would leave you alone on the mountain?” Hu Tianwei doubted.
Cai Zhao replied frankly, “I am his master. A servant naturally obeys his master’s orders.”
This convinced the master and disciple pair.
Duan Jiuxiu’s face was full of killing intent. “So, in a few days, everyone in the martial world will know I’m still alive?”
Cai Zhao nodded, “Ah so that’s why you need this snow-scale dragon beast’s saliva. It’s the only thing that can save your lives.”
Hu Tianwei grew increasingly nervous, at a loss for what to do.
Suddenly, Duan Jiuxiu laughed. “Don’t talk nonsense, little girl. This accusation of stealing techniques is just a fabrication by your Northern Chen Six Sects to frame me. Your aunt failed to kill me years ago, and now you’re trying to provoke Shen to do it. My sworn brother won’t fall for such tricks so easily.”
Knowing he wouldn’t admit defeat readily, Cai Zhao said, “Fine, let’s discuss this properly then.”
“Ever since I saw you at the inn and throughout our perilous journey, I’ve been puzzled. Why would your disciples, Chen Fuguang, Jin Baohui, Lan Tianyu, Uncle Zhou, and Dong Xiao work together to brave Snow Mountain despite your differences? What could unite you all?”
“It wasn’t until Jin Baohui revealed in the ice cave that he was after the Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva, and Elder Duan’s identity was exposed, that I began to piece things together. As this idea became clearer, Uncle Zhou and Dong Xiao could no longer hide their involvement.”
She glanced disdainfully at Zhou Zhiqin on the ground and continued, “Chronologically, it started with the Qingfeng Temple massacre. I suspect that when Elder Duan slaughtered everyone there, Dong Xiao didn’t just luckily escape – the Elder spared him.”
Duan Jiuxiu cackled, “Correct. Everyone at Qingfeng Temple, regardless of age or gender, was tough. I was getting bored with the killing when I suddenly came across this coward. He not only wet himself in fear but also kowtowed, begging me to spare his life! Heh, I decided to let the dog live, thinking he might be useful someday.”
“The Elder was indeed far-sighted. He did prove useful later, didn’t he?” Cai Zhao said mockingly. “My aunt led people to eliminate the Elder’s disciples and strongholds one by one until she finally caught you. If I’m not mistaken, it was Dong Xiao who secretly intervened, allowing you to escape with your life.”
Duan Jiuxiu bared his yellow teeth. “That coward may lack courage, but he’s not short on brains. His senior, Daoist Yunzhuan, was already incapacitated, leaving him as the sole survivor of Qingfeng Temple. Cai Pingsu handed me over to him for disposal. The coward then proposed to torture me to death, suggesting I be thrown into a crocodile pond to be eaten alive. Meanwhile, he secretly sent a message.”
“Within a day and night, as they brought me to the crocodile pond, Tianwei had already arranged for people to dig a secret tunnel beneath the muddy bottom. After I was thrown in with stones tied to me, Tianwei immediately rescued me and left a corpse of similar build and clothing. Once the crocodiles had mostly devoured the body, leaving some floating limbs, the deception was complete.”
“Scum!” Cai Zhao felt furious, thinking about how her aunt’s hard work had been wasted by such despicable people.
After calming down, she continued, “Then came Chen Shu’s death. After my aunt broke his Five Poison Palm technique, he lived in constant fear. I’ve heard that while Nie Hengcheng was cruel to outsiders, he treated his people with great affection. I guess he took pity on his disciple’s severe injury and taught him the newly learned divine skill… Is that right, Elder Duan?”
Duan Jiuxiu said, “That’s right. Nie Hengcheng may be a scoundrel, but he treated his four disciples like his own sons. Chen Shu was a waste, unwilling to patiently cultivate high-level martial arts. Instead, he practiced the inferior Five Poison Palm technique for quick fame. Hah! Since ancient times, there have been no shortcuts in martial arts cultivation. He deserved to have his life-saving skill broken by Cai Pingsu!”
“Later, he hid in Youming Huangdao to practice in seclusion, but even that he couldn’t do it properly. Being hot-tempered and unable to endure provocation, he risked leaving for some trivial matter. As a result, the Peiqiong Manor people discovered his whereabouts.”
Cai Zhao nodded, “That’s how it happened. Chen Shu brought many skilled Evil Sect members with him at that time, and Peiqiong Manor suffered considerable losses in eliminating him.”
At this point, she suddenly turned to the ground, “Uncle Zhou, come to think of it, you’re the root of all this, aren’t you? Without you, none of this mess would have happened, and your beloved son wouldn’t have died.”
“No, no, it wasn’t me…” Zhou Zhiqin covered his wound, his face pale. Meeting Cai Zhao’s cold gaze, he finally admitted dejectedly, “Yes, it was me.”
Cai Zhao continued, “Uncle Zhou, as Uncle Zhou’s right-hand man, you were inevitably in charge of the aftermath once all the Evil Sect members were eliminated. I guess you found something on Chen Shu’s corpse. Was it a letter?” She stared intently at Zhou Zhiqin.
“…It was an unfinished letter,” Zhou Zhiqin said, his face ashen. “We had been pursuing him for days and nights. Chen Shu knew he couldn’t escape us, so he tried to have his subordinates break through to deliver the letter. But we arrived before he could finish writing it.”
His mind wandered, unconsciously returning to that rainy morning. After a night of fierce battle, the courtyard of the inn was littered with the bodies of Evil Sect experts, blood mixing with rainwater to stain the ground red. The Zhou clan disciples were exhausted, and as the future manor lord’s right-hand man, Zhou Zhiqin was responsible for the cleanup as usual.
When he touched Chen Shu’s corpse, for some reason, he was compelled to search the body. He found a broken jade bottle that still emitted a strange grassy scent, both sweet and spicy, as well as half a letter.
“That letter was for Chen Fuguang, wasn’t it? About Nie Hengcheng’s divine skill?” Cai Zhao asked.
Zhou Zhiqin nodded, “Chen Shu wrote in the letter that his life was nearing its end. He was having a trusted subordinate deliver Nie Hengcheng’s Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva to his younger brother. Combined with the mental cultivation method Chen Fuguang had memorized earlier, it would allow him to master the first level of Nie Hengcheng’s divine skill.”
“So you harbored evil thoughts,” Cai Zhao said coldly.
Zhou Zhiqin’s pupils dilated, “It was Nie Hengcheng’s divine skill! Even just the first level had unimaginable power. Old Sect Leader Yin Dai used to be evenly matched with Nie Hengcheng, but after Nie practiced that divine skill for a short while, the old sect leader was no longer his match… I wanted to practice it too. Once I mastered it, I wouldn’t have to be some damned right-hand man anymore, and wouldn’t have to exhaust myself and put on a fake smile to do dirty work! My talent and martial arts are no worse than Zhou Zhizhen’s, so why can’t I be the manor lord?!”
Unmoved, Cai Zhao said, “There’s something I need to tell you, something my aunt said. Every time there was a martial arts competition at Peiqiong Manor, you only lost to Uncle Zhou by one or two moves, so you thought your martial arts weren’t much inferior to his – but actually, Uncle Zhou was going easy on you. My aunt used to criticize Uncle Zhou for not being honest, but he said that it’s not easy for Zhou clan disciples to grow, so they need encouragement and comfort.”
“If he had fought with all his strength, he could have made you eat dirt within a hundred moves,” she sighed. “In the end, it’s still my aunt who understood.”
Zhou Zhiqin was thunderstruck, “No, it can’t be true, it’s impossible…”
Hu Tianwei sneered, “Old habits die hard. Even if Zhou Zhizhen could defeat Zhou Zhiqin within a hundred moves, his resentful thoughts would persist.”
Zhou Zhiqin seemed to deflate like a paper figure drained of its spirit, shrinking into a corner.
Cai Zhao continued, “So, everything connects now.”
“Uncle Zhou discovered Chen Shu’s brother’s secret, but he didn’t know Chen Fuguang or where he was hiding – Chen Shu had protected his brother so well that ordinary people couldn’t find him. Uncle Zhou must have searched for a long time before realizing he couldn’t obtain the divine skill alone, so he had to find help.”
“His first helper was probably Dong Xiao, who thought searching blindly was pointless. Evil Sect people should be found by their kind. That’s where you come in, Elder Duan.”
“Elder Duan, you had deep roots in the Evil Sect. Even after suffering heavy losses, you surely still had some remaining influence. And you weren’t content to hide your identity forever, so both sides struck a deal.”
“After Elder Duan found Chen Fuguang, you needed the Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva. I guess the Evil Sect didn’t have any more saliva, so you had to try your luck on this great snowy mountain. Then you needed someone skilled in exploring snowy mountain terrain like Lan Tianyu, and someone proficient in beast taming who could identify the Snow Scale Dragon Beast’s saliva, like Jin Baohui.”
“And so, the team was complete.”
Cai Zhao looked at Duan Jiuxiu, “Elder Duan, did I get it right?”
“Right, of course, you’re right,” Duan Jiuxiu smiled sinisterly. “However…”
Suddenly, there came a knock at the door.
Cai Zhao was startled.
Who could be knocking in these remote, snowy mountains?