The newcomer was naturally Mu Qingyan.
Having been absent for most of the day, it was unclear what he had been busy with. A faint stubble now lined his well-defined jaw, and his gray fur cloak was draped over his shoulders. In his hand, he carried a bulging bundle, seemingly wrapped with half of his torn cloak.
“Why didn’t you leave the mountain?!” His dark eyes glared at Cai Zhao with displeasure.
Cai Zhao touched her ear. “You’re still on the mountain too.”
“You promised me before we parted!”
“It’s all the same. No need to fuss over it.”
As they spoke, Duan Jiuxiu finally crawled out from under the collapsed roof, clutching the apricot-yellow jade vial tightly in his hands. The moment he stood up, without even brushing off the snow on his body, he yanked open the stopper—only to find the vial completely empty. Enraged, he roared, “Cai Zhao, you little wretch! You dared to trick me! This is an empty bottle! You even swore on your aunt—”
“Wait, wait, turn the bottle upside down and see if there’s anything inside,” Cai Zhao quickly interrupted.
Duan Jiuxiu held his palm beneath the mouth of the vial and carefully inverted it. After a long pause, two drops of transparent liquid slowly fell out.
He: “…”
Cai Zhao smiled. “See? There is Snowscale Dragon Beast Saliva in the bottle. I didn’t lie to you.”
“Cai Zhao, you wretched little brat! You’re toying with me!” Duan Jiuxiu flew into a rage and lunged at her. But just as he got close, a blinding red light flooded his vision, accompanied by a surge of profound and refined Inner Force.
Realizing the danger, he swiftly leaped backward.
At that moment, Qi Nong and Hu Tianwei, who had seen the collapsed roof from afar, arrived and immediately flanked Duan Jiuxiu to protect him.
Duan Jiuxiu shielded his heart meridian with one hand before speaking. “Young Master Yan, what formidable palm strength. You must be Cai Zhao’s bodyguard.”
Mu Qingyan ignored him and instead asked Cai Zhao, “You told them I’m your bodyguard?”
Cai Zhao muttered, “I also told them you went down the mountain to spread word about Duan Jiuxiu and his disciples. Now everything’s exposed.”
Mu Qingyan narrowed his long eyes. “So you planned to rely on lies to get by? Haven’t you heard that the righteous path is broad and straightforward?”
Cai Zhao: “…When you lecture me about what’s right and wrong, you sound exactly like a righteous sect disciple.”
Having been ignored for so long, Duan Jiuxiu grew even angrier. “You little wretch! You destroyed the Snowscale Dragon Beast Saliva—now pay with your life!” With that, he prepared to charge forward with Qi Nong and Hu Tianwei.
“Let’s talk this over, let’s talk this over.” Cai Zhao put on a smile. “Earlier, I was just joking. The Snowscale Dragon Beast Saliva is actually hidden away. I’ll retrieve it for you later, Elder.”
“Nonsense! You think I’ll fall for your lies a second time?” Duan Jiuxiu bellowed. “The Snowscale Dragon Beast Saliva can’t be stored outside! And yesterday, when everyone was packing in the ice cavern, I saw clearly—you didn’t bring any bottles or jars! How could you possibly store the saliva?!”
Qi Nong immediately praised, “The Venerable One observes with meticulous detail and keen insight. Qi Nong is deeply impressed.”
Hu Tianwei echoed the sentiment.
Cai Zhao looked puzzled. “Why would I need bottles or jars? It’s not hard to carve a small ice vial from a chunk of hard ice. After pouring in the saliva, I just sealed it with snow and ice and hid it in a marked spot. It’s not like this place is warm enough to melt the ice vial.”
Duan Jiuxiu, Qi Nong, and Hu Tianwei: “…”Cai Zhao turned her head: "I understand quite well. Elder Duan's schemes... don't seem particularly impressive. As for cultivation talent, it's merely average—he was easily beaten by my aunt when she was just twenty. What exactly did the former Demonic Cult leader see in him?"
Mu Qingyan said leisurely, "Perhaps the old leader thought Nie Hengcheng was too shrewd and capable, so he wanted to adopt a simple and honest foster son as a counterbalance. He just misjudged—there's nothing simple or honest about him, but he is certainly old."
Cai Zhao: "You're really cruel."
"Flattery, flattery." Mu Qingyan looked around. "Where's Zhou Zhiqin? You killed him."
Cai Zhao reflexively replied: "I did... Wait, you also figured out that he discovered Nie Hengcheng's divine skill and pieced everything together?"
Mu Qingyan was taken aback: "So all their scheming was for Nie Hengcheng's divine skill?"
Being extremely intelligent, he quickly grasped the situation. "Right, Chen Shu had been secretly teaching his brother Chen Fuguang. Chen Shu died during the Zhou family's siege, so Zhou Zhiqin—"
Cai Zhao interrupted: "How did you realize Zhou Zhiqin was suspicious?"
Mu Qingyan glanced at the master-disciple trio opposite them. "Jin Baohui and Lan Tianyu were tight-lipped, but they nearly let slip several times during the journey. Each time, Qi Nong and Hu Tianwei subtly cut them off."
After a moment of recollection, Cai Zhao nodded. "Exactly. In fact, on the first day, Lan Tianyu almost revealed they'd been to this snowy mountain before, but Qi Nong pretended to twist her ankle to interrupt."
Mu Qingyan: "But after we reached the mountainside, they stopped restraining Jin and Lan, letting them say whatever they wanted."
Cai Zhao sorted through her thoughts: "Because they never intended for us to leave the mountain alive. At first, we were still close to the base, so they feared we might notice something and flee. Once we ascended past the midpoint, they no longer cared."
"Correct." Mu Qingyan said. "But isn't that odd? Leaving aside Jin Baohui and Lan Tianyu, Zhou Zhiqin and Dongfang Xiao are renowned heroes of the martial world. If Demonic Cult members were slaughtering innocents, wouldn't those two step in to help?"
"Right! Why didn't I think of that?" Cai Zhao widened her eyes, murmuring, "Even if I'm 'weak in martial arts,' you, Zhou Zhiqin, and Dongfang Xiao against Hu Tianwei's trio—the odds wouldn't be bad. Why were they so confident they could kill us?"
"Because Dongfang Xiao and Zhou Zhiqin were in league with them all along. If a fight broke out, I'd be hopelessly outnumbered." Mu Qingyan sneered.
"Have you two finished?!" Duan Jiuxiu suppressed his anger. "Hand over the saliva now, and I might spare you!"
Qi Nong added, "Given the esteemed leader's reputation, he wouldn't bully a young girl. Just give it up."
Cai Zhao rolled her eyes. "Elder Duan might have spared me earlier, but now that you know no one at the mountain's base is aware you're alive and that you've obtained Nie Hengcheng's divine skill, you'd never let either of us live—do you think I'm too stupid to realize that?"
Mu Qingyan adopted a patient, scholarly tone: "Elder Duan, let me teach you something. In situations like this, threats and deception won't work. You should offer to share Nie Hengcheng's divine skill with us—then we might be willing to hand over the saliva."
Cai Zhao frowned. "There's only one vial of saliva. How would it be enough for five people to cultivate?"Mu Qingyan tilted his head. "So it wasn't enough after all. That means this method works. Never mind—Elder Duan and his two disciples have already descended the mountain anyway."
Duan Jiuxiu grew increasingly agitated. "You don't know when to quit, do you? At a time like this, you're still spouting nonsense. There are three of us and only two of you. If we fight, you'll surely lose."
Cai Zhao suddenly noticed the furry bundle in Mu Qingyan's hand twitching. "...What did you put in there?"
Mu Qingyan shook the bundle by its corners, and four small, white-furred heads popped out. Each was only the size of a palm, their claws not yet fully grown, their round heads nuzzling against each other as they blinked bewilderedly at their surroundings.
"This is..." Though vastly different in size, the ears, limbs, teeth, and those eerie blue eyes paired with white fur immediately reminded Cai Zhao of their adult counterparts. "Are these Snow Mountain White-haired Hous?!"
"Most likely the offspring of the two that attacked us," Mu Qingyan said. "After we separated at the ice cave entrance, I followed the one injured internally and tracked it back to its den, where I found these four cubs."
"Why did you capture them? Can they be used for cultivation too?" Cai Zhao asked in surprise. "Come on, they're just babies." Though adult White-haired Hous were ferocious, these four fluffy cubs were undeniably adorable, and she couldn't bear the thought.
Mu Qingyan flicked her forehead in exasperation. "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind—can't you think a little further?!" Raising the bundle high, he shouted, "You lurking coward, show yourself now!"
"If you don't come out, I'll smash these four cubs to death! Their parents died for you—even beasts show loyalty, yet you still refuse to reveal yourself?!"
Mu Qingyan infused these words with his inner energy. Though not particularly loud, they rippled outward like waves, shaking the snow from the surrounding pines.
Duan Jiuxiu's heart clenched—this young man's cultivation was formidable, not to be underestimated.
The others, however, were baffled about whom Mu Qingyan was calling out to.
After a long wait, Cai Zhao couldn't help but ask, "Who are you calling for... uh...?" Before she could finish, a chunk of ice and snow behind the cliff suddenly shifted.
From a distance, no one could make out what was happening, but a figure draped in a snow-white cloak emerged from behind the icy rocks and slowly approached the group.
When the figure pulled back its hood and lifted its head, everyone except Mu Qingyan gasped in disbelief.
—It was Qian Xueshen, the man who was supposed to be 'dead'!
"You... how is it you?" Cai Zhao was stunned. "I clearly saw you..." That frozen head, its expression forever locked in terror, had rolled right to her feet—she'd seen it with her own eyes.
Mu Qingyan's expression remained icy. "That was likely one of Jin Baohui's guards. During the first violent tremor in the ice cave, he dragged the man into a side tunnel and knocked him out. When the Jade-Eyed Ice Crystal Python attacked, he pretended to dodge into the tunnel, used the Body Transformation Art to disguise the guard as himself, then woke and pushed him out."
"Normally, the Body Transformation Art would reveal itself after death, but if the body was frozen beforehand, it might delay the reversion—thus completing his plan to escape like a cicada shedding its shell!"
Duan Jiuxiu's mind raced, and he blurted out, "The Body Transformation Art? You're from the Thousand Faces Sect!"Then he asked, "Why are you opposing us? Who exactly are you?!"
Qian Xueshen's expression was unfamiliar—cold and detached, utterly unlike the cheerful, lazy young man Cai Zhao knew who loved to complain and slack off. He slowly spoke, addressing Mu Qingyan: "Did you kill Xue Zhu?"
—Xue Zhu was clearly the name of that White Fur Hou with internal injuries.
Mu Qingyan, unusually, didn’t argue. He shook his head. "Duan Jiuxiu’s Wind Thunder Palm has been renowned for years. Those struck by it have their internal organs shattered—even first-rate experts can rarely withstand it. That White Fur Hou was already dying halfway through its run and ended up crawling back to its den. I followed the trail of blood it vomited to find the nest."
He had always been ruthless, with countless lives taken by his hand. Yet when he saw the pleading look in the White Fur Hou’s eyes as it lay dying, something inexplicably stirred in him—it was the look of a dying mother, filled with selflessness and endless worry for her young.
Sometimes, beasts understand parental love better than humans.
After digging the four cubs out of the den, he had initially planned to leave immediately. But when he saw them whimpering from hunger, their eight big blue eyes tearfully fixed on him, he had no choice but to stop and soften some dried rations to feed them, nearly missing Cai Zhao as a result.
"You cunning little rat! Finally decided to show yourself?" Mu Qingyan said coldly.
"I wronged Xue Feng and Xue Zhu," Qian Xueshen murmured, then turned to Cai Zhao. "Young Lady Knight Cai, I wronged you too. But I never meant to deceive you."
He continued, "When did Young Master Yan notice my flaws?"
Mu Qingyan replied, "It was the ice wall where the corpse holding the saliva jade vial was—that wasn’t a solid block of ice at all, but many ice fragments piled together and then frozen over with water. I’ve struck real solid ice walls before; the force feedback is completely different."
"You’re familiar with the ice cave’s layout. Paths that take us an hour or two, you can take shortcuts to get ahead of us. That corpse and jade vial were arranged by you after faking your death and circling around, weren’t they? And that Jade Goddess Statue on the ice earlier—you slipped out the night before under the pretext of relieving yourself to set it up, right?"
Qian Xueshen remained indifferent. "Wrong. That Jade Goddess Statue was originally placed by ancient people to warn climbers that the ice behind it was hollow, with a massive ice cavern beneath where giant serpents lurked. I moved the statue back several dozen feet to ensure you’d fall into the cavern."
Cai Zhao felt her voice falter. "...Did you also kill Zhou Yulin and the innkeeper?"
Qian Xueshen nodded. "The innkeeper was one of their lackeys—he deserved to die. Zhou Yulin was no saint either. In the Central Plains Martial World, he played the part of a noble, upright young master, but every time he came to this remote, frozen town where no one knew him, he used a fake name—either drinking himself into a stupor or defiling the local girls."
"I never imagined, I never imagined..." Cai Zhao muttered to herself, dazed.
She had never met Zhou Yulin, but in her mind, members of the Zhou family were either as refined and considerate as Zhou Yuqi or as cheerful and chivalrous as the brothers Zhou Yuqian and Zhou Yukun.
Who would have thought—even the grandest tree has withered branches.
"You little brat!" Duan Jiuxiu roared in fury upon realizing he’d been tricked. "You’ve grown tired of living, daring to mock me! I’ll end you right now..."“Did you want the Snowscale Dragon Beast’s saliva?” Qian Xueshen said coldly. “The vials of saliva in their hands were all placed by me. Guess how much more I have left. But you, your lover, and your disciple—all of you can now practice that divine skill.”
Duan Jiuxiu halted his descending right palm.
Qi Nong and Hu Tianwei tensed, stepping forward from either side to urge Duan Jiuxiu to stay calm.
Mu Qingyan declared loudly, “You schemed meticulously, luring us step by step into the depths of the snow-capped mountains, leaving the Snowscale Dragon Beast’s saliva as bait to make us fight until both sides were exhausted. You even raised two White Fur Hous as helpers—just who are you?!”
Qian Xueshen smiled bitterly. “Earlier, you guessed they didn’t want you to leave the mountain alive. So let me ask you—if a family of hunters had encountered them back then while they were searching for the Snowscale Dragon Beast in the mountains, what do you think they would have done?”
A realization flashed in Cai Zhao’s mind. “That family—the ruined house halfway up the mountain—was yours?! Your surname is Qian—you’re that family’s child!”
“The surname Qian isn’t anything special. My master saved my life and taught me the skills to take revenge,” Qian Xueshen said indifferently. “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 the hunter’s surname again…? I remember now…”
Hu Tianwei struggled to recall. “I think it was Tao.”
Duan Jiuxiu feigned regret. “I only remember that the young wife was quite lovely. A shame we couldn’t keep her.”
Deep hatred burned in Qian Xueshen’s eyes. “That was my aunt. My infant cousin was smashed to death in his swaddling clothes, and then your lover twisted my aunt’s neck.”
Duan Jiuxiu stroked his chin. “No helping it. Qi Nong is just too jealous—can’t stand seeing a pretty woman.”
“Oh, Master, really!” Qi Nong actually managed to sound coquettish.
Qian Xueshen spat the words through clenched teeth. “Sixteen years ago, when you couldn’t find the Snowscale Dragon Beast, you set off black powder explosives recklessly on the mountain, causing an avalanche that buried you all. It was my father and uncle who dug each of you out and carried you home to recover. And the first thing you did after regaining your strength was slaughter your saviors!”
“You repaid kindness with cruelty—you’re worse than beasts!”
What happened in the Martial World sixteen years ago?
Back then, Cai Zhao hadn’t even been born, and the Battle of Green Gauze River had just ended.
The Demonic Cult and the Big Dipper Six Sects were both on high alert—the former fearing the latter would press their advantage and attack the Nether Bamboo Path, the latter worried the former, unwilling to accept defeat, would retaliate with even greater ferocity.
While the entire Martial World’s attention was focused on this, in the frozen, snow-covered mountains of the far north, unnoticed, a group of scheming villains was working diligently for their ambitions.
The Tao family of hunters was merely a small stone on their path—not even an obstacle, just something that might have inconvenienced them, so they kicked it aside without a second thought.
Duan Jiuxiu couldn’t care less. “No helping it. Zhou Zhiqin and Dongfang Xiao had their reservations—they were afraid people would find out these two righteous sect heroes were mingling with Demonic Cult members. So we had to act.”"At a time like this, you're still trying to shift blame. Truly, the older you get, the more of a coward you become. You're not even fit to polish Nie Hengcheng's shoes!" Mu Qingyan said coldly. "Zhou Zhiqin and Dongfang Xiao may fear being discovered for their dealings with the Demonic Cult, but aren't you afraid your faked death might be exposed? If word gets out about your search for the Snowscale Dragon Beast, and Han Yisu—who isn't dead yet—figures out someone is trying to secretly learn his master's techniques, you won't be able to hide even if you flee to the heavens or burrow into the earth!"
"How dare you!" Hu Tianwei snapped.
Duan Jiuxiu raised a hand to stop his disciple and said gravely, "If you say so."
"My family had nothing to do with the Martial World and didn't even know you! How could we have revealed your identities?" Qian Xueshen shouted.
Duan Jiuxiu merely raised an eyebrow. "The stakes are too high. Best to be thorough."
A fire of rage burned hotter in Cai Zhao's heart.
When she was young and listened to Cai Pingshu's tales of fighting injustice, she had focused more on how Cai Pingshu and her companions defeated their enemies, outwitted dangers, and gained fame. The process was exhilarating, the endings heroic—the victors returning in glory, the villains punished. But she had never considered the innocent families harmed in those stories.
Only now, seeing Qian Xueshen standing alone, hearing his past, and recalling that dilapidated wooden house with the howling wind—once filled with the laughter of a kind family—did she understand what her aunt had truly fought for.
Unable to contain her anger, she took a step forward.
Mu Qingyan grabbed her arm and whispered, "My meridians aren't fully healed yet. The two of us are no match for the three of them. Now that we know their crimes, we can plan our revenge later."
Cai Zhao knew he spoke the truth. Raising her voice, she called out, "Qian Xueshen, let's go. I'll avenge you later."
Qian Xueshen shook his head. "Thank you, but no need."
He looked up with a smile. "When you tampered with the snow hut's walls earlier, did you notice how easily the bamboo split? Actually, I built this hut. At this altitude, there are no more resting points—the last stone hunter's cabin is even lower than where my home was."
"For sixteen years, they never stopped searching for the Snowscale Dragon Beast. But they grew smarter—instead of drawing attention themselves, they sent underlings to investigate and set up an inn at the mountain's base as a lookout."
"Over a year ago, I finished building this hut and set everything up. Unfortunately, I was careless and revealed my identity, captured by a group of gray-clad men. Luckily, Xuefeng and Xuezhu were clever and capable. They stuck to the plan—when someone reached this hut, they would attack. Zhou Zhiqin's son was bitten to death by Xuezhu, who left scales from the Snowscale Dragon Beast beside the corpses."
"When the innkeeper came to collect the bodies and found the scales, he reported it immediately. After Jin Baohui confirmed their authenticity, they all gathered at the Great Snow Mountain again. During my captivity, I was frantic every day. Fortunately, Young Lady Knight Cai rescued me, or years of effort would have been wasted."
Duan Jiuxiu grew impatient. "Enough rambling. Where did you hide the saliva?"
Qian Xueshen ignored him. "I'm telling you all this, Young Lady Knight Cai, to let you know I've prepared everything. I can avenge myself."
Hearing these words that sounded like a farewell, Cai Zhao's heart grew uneasy.Qian Xueshen looked at Duan Jiuxiu. "There was indeed a Snowscale Dragon Beast on this mountain. When my father and uncle were children, they found some fallen scales and even collected a few drops of saliva left on the snow—it's an excellent tonic, good for clearing heat and moistening dryness. When someone had a fever from wind-heat, calling a doctor wasn't even necessary; the saliva alone could save lives."
"Unfortunately, that Snowscale Dragon Beast died twenty years ago." Qian Xueshen smiled strangely. "Though it's dead, my family still has some of its saliva left. The Snowscale Dragon Beast's saliva congeals in the cold and can stay preserved in ice for decades without spoiling."
Duan Jiuxiu and his disciple began breathing heavily.
"Elder Duan, do you remember the recliner you slept on at my house sixteen years ago? Right beside it on the floor, there was a trapdoor that could be opened. Beneath it was a hollowed-out block of ice. My mother took out a freshly frozen plump chicken from there right in front of you to make soup—do you recall that?"
Duan Jiuxiu vaguely sensed something significant, yet couldn't quite grasp it.
Qian Xueshen enunciated each word clearly: "The Snowscale Dragon Beast's saliva was in an icebox next to that chicken."
Duan Jiuxiu's heart turned cold with a sharp pang of regret—had he searched more thoroughly back then, he might have obtained the divine skill sixteen years earlier. At his age, how many more sixteen years could he afford to waste?
"Hand over the saliva!" His ferocity surfaced as he advanced step by step toward Qian Xueshen.
Qian Xueshen smiled faintly. "Ah. Young Lady Knight Cai and Young Master Yan, safe travels. Elder Duan and you two, please follow me." With that, he swiftly dashed toward the icy mountain rocks he had emerged from earlier.
Duan Jiuxiu immediately lunged after him, with Qi Nong and Hu Tianwei close behind.
Qian Xueshen's lightness skill was decent, but no match for Duan Jiuxiu's. Within a dozen yards, he was nearly caught.
At that moment, Qian Xueshen's right hand touched the icy mountain rock and yanked hard on a hidden rope behind it.
With a thunderous crash, the semicircular ice sheet centered around Qian Xueshen and facing Duan Jiuxiu's direction shattered violently—Qian Xueshen, Duan Jiuxiu, Qi Nong, and Hu Tianwei all plunged back into the ice cavern.
Cai Zhao gasped in shock and was about to rush forward when Mu Qingyan firmly held her back.
—A massive white python's head rose high from the hole where the four had fallen, its jade-green eyes cold and sinister, flicking a foul, blood-red tongue.
"This is the lair of the Jade-Eyed Ice Crystal Python!" Cai Zhao paled in terror.
Mu Qingyan's face was taut: "This place isn't safe either. Let's go, quickly!"
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