A City Swept by Wind and Snow GL - Chapter 11
◎The heir of the Shrinking Bone Jin family… “Xi Feng, is your wound fully healed?”◎
Seeing the face twisted and contorted from pain and fear, everyone in the room was shocked. The sudden chill that filled the air was far more chilling than the wind and snow that had broken in through the door.
Xue Qian could not help but call out: “Dan Mo, what’s wrong with you?”
Tang Fei, hating to see a woman suffer, exclaimed with alarm: “Who did this? Who laid hands on her?”
Jin Se turned her head calmly: “She’s been poisoned by a snake.”
Xue Qian cried in astonishment: “Jin Se, was it you?”
“That’s right. I instructed Xiao Qian and Xiao Xun to do it.”
Tang Fei was horrified: “Ah, how cruel! You, beautiful poisonous rose! Should I… should I even forgive you… but Dan Mo is still a little girl…”
Jin Se ignored Tang Fei and Xue Qian, turning to Vermilion Bird: “If you want to hear her speak a few more words, you’d better detoxify her quickly. She looks like she’s about to die.”
Vermilion Bird glared at her angrily, quickly producing silver needles. First, she pierced Dan Mo’s acupoints to block the spread of the venom, then captured the two small green snakes, confirmed the type of snake venom, and used several packets of medicine from her belt to concoct an antidote, forcing it into Dan Mo’s mouth. Then she told everyone: “With just these medicines, the poison in her body cannot be completely neutralized. She may still die.”
Jin Se said coldly: “Who said I wanted her to live a long life?”
Dan Mo’s snake venom was temporarily suppressed, seemingly afraid of Jin Se. She crawled on her knees toward Xue Qian, looking at her for help, and cried pitifully: “Miss Xue… what on earth happened?”
Xue Qian’s heart ached violently. This must be the “substitute” Jin Se had mentioned. She looked at Jin Se, smiling faintly, and for the first time felt true fear.
“Dan Mo, don’t worry, I won’t abandon you,” Xue Qian said, reaching toward her. But at that moment, a white shadow flashed across her vision. The little silver fox leapt in front of Dan Mo’s face, knocking her down. Dan Mo screamed in terror. Xue Qian could no longer restrain herself and shouted at Jin Se: “Jin Se! What are you doing to Dan Mo?!”
Jin Se smiled coldly: “You should ask him what he did to Dan Mo.”
Xue Qian froze. Vermilion Bird suddenly understood and swiftly drew a silver spike, lightly pricking Dan Mo’s cheek.
As the false mask fell away, Tang Fei exploded in shock: “A man?! And an old man at that!”
Jin Se’s tone became serious: “The heir of the Shrinking Bone Jin family, Jin Yu—Uncle. Hehe… reversed aging and changed s3x, isn’t it amusing?”
The man, transformed from Dan Mo into Jin Yu, stopped pretending. He drew a deep breath, his old, small body cracking and twisting as, in front of everyone, he gradually “grew up”—taller, stronger, more angular—until he became a fully grown, robust man.
Vermilion Bird’s eyes widened in astonishment. She had never seen such disguise technique. Not only could the face and voice be mimicked perfectly, even the bones of the body could be reassembled! This was not just disguise—it was… replication!
Jin Yu’s voice returned to its original timbre, slightly hoarse and trembling: “In over fifty years, my disguise technique has never been seen through.”
Jin Se teased: “It lasted fifty years only because you never met me before.”
Jin Yu’s old face contorted in pain, twisted from suppressing the agony: “Truly, in every generation of the jianghu there are madmen. But madness with reason! I want to know—when did you discover my flaw?”
Jin Se smiled: “You might be shocked to hear this… I noticed from the first moment you stepped into Chunjiang Courtyard. First, you disguised yourself as the kitchen cow woman, then the red-card girl Ru Huan, and finally targeted Dan Mo.”
Jin Yu’s shoulders slumped. He murmured: “So it was all under your watchful eye.”
Jin Se continued: “You were careful, I admit. When disguised as the cow woman, you sprinkled seasoning on yourself; as Ru Huan, you used the sandalwood she liked; and when as Dan Mo, you didn’t miss her faint ink fragrance or the leftover paint under her nails. But you forgot one thing: no one can completely erase their own scent.”
Jin Yu said bitterly: “I underestimated your beast-taming skills. But why didn’t you expose me sooner?”
“Because I was waiting for you to transmit crucial information to your master—the leader of Shuiyue Palace, Xing Hai. But waiting ended up harming someone else…” Jin Se’s eyes darkened with sorrow.
Xue Qian had a bad feeling: “Jin Se, what about Dan Mo? Where did you hide her?”
Dan Mo had been sold to Chunjiang Courtyard as a child but was strong-willed and refused to serve customers. At that time, before Jin Se took over the courtyard, Xue Qian insisted on keeping her as a maid. Dan Mo was gentle, shy, and skilled in calligraphy and painting, earning Xue Qian’s sisterly care.
Hearing Xue Qian ask, Jin Se said: “Next spring, the plums in the Anxiang Pavilion will bloom more brilliantly than ever.”
Dan Mo’s body had been buried under the plum tree by Jin Yu.
Xue Qian could hardly believe her ears, devastated: “Since when was Dan Mo no longer Dan Mo?”
“The one you ordered to change the window screens was Jin Yu; the one sweeping snow in Anxiang Pavilion was Dan Mo. Then I moved the real Dan Mo to my room, but alas, I couldn’t save her…”
Tears welled in Xue Qian’s eyes: “Was it that night when Xiao Xue disappeared?”
“By then Dan Mo was already dead. Jin Yu probably didn’t know she was in my room, so they collided accidentally. He had no choice but to kill her. Later, Jin Yu in disguise buried her under the plum tree. Earlier, Xiao Xue, following my instructions, attacked him when he intruded Qiongyu Garden, tearing a piece of flesh from his thigh that night.”
Jin Se stepped on Jin Yu’s left thigh. He cried out in pain, bl00d seeping through his layered clothing.
Jin Se said calmly: “Jin Yu, I respect you as a senior. I didn’t intend to torment you. But for your selfish aims, you spared no innocent girls. So, your death may be more painful than I originally planned.”
Jin Yu’s eyes widened, resolute: “I’ve been in the jianghu for decades. I’ve seen life and death countless times. Do you think I fear your snake venom?!”
Jin Se smiled faintly: “If that were all, wouldn’t it be too easy for you?” She flicked her nails, and several giant centipedes crawled from Jin Yu’s sleeves.
Jin Yu realized these centipedes’ venom was deadlier than snake venom. He panicked, flailing, but the snake poison flared again, sapping his limbs and clouding his mind. The centipedes crawled into his thigh wound, ears, and eyes… He screamed in excruciating pain. Amid the chaos, Jin Se’s voice floated like a cloud: “Jin Yu, what was your purpose in hiring three assassins to kill Prince Zhuang?!”
He Qishu, Vermilion Bird, Tang Fei, and Xue Qian were all shocked.
Jin Yu’s ears were filled with the grinding of centipede jaws, nearly gnawing at his brain. His eyes were crawling with the centipedes’ legs. He was terrified, confused, and unable to speak clearly. Why try to assassinate Prince Zhuang? Why was the Prince in the same room as Vermilion Bird of the Xiaoyao Sect? Who is Jin Se? Is Xue Qian involved? And the young man squatting like a stitched monkey—who is he? Pain overwhelmed his thoughts. He muttered: “Three knives… Prince Zhuang…”
Jin Se’s nail flicking sent the centipedes into a frenzy.
Jin Se continued: “Jin Yu, you truly are Shuiyue Palace’s top covert agent, first-class at stealth and intelligence gathering. But unfortunately, the letter you sent to the palace master Xing Hai was intercepted by me.”
Jin Yu, devoted to Xing Hai, considered the mission more important than life. Upon hearing this, he panicked, forcing out: “Wh-which letter?”
To lure more secrets and unsettle He Qishu, Jin Se said: “The most crucial letter of course. The one containing the Xiaoyao Sect leader’s secrets!”
He Qishu, hearing this, was most shocked, cold sweat dripping down.
—The terrifying Shuiyue Palace!
Three oddities of Shuiyue Palace:
-
Everyone knows it is located under Tianyuan Peak in the northern Zheying Mountains, but no one can enter freely; the entrance is a mystery.
-
Every three years, the palace master Xing Hai issues an invitation for “Tianyuan Martial Discussion,” inviting top experts. The outcome may involve life and death.
-
Shuiyue Palace has more covert agents than any sect. They swear lifelong loyalty to Xing Hai and are embedded among enemies like parasitic venomous insects, ready to strike in coordination.
Before seeing Jin Yu’s true form, He Qishu had no idea how capable Shuiyue Palace’s agents were. Now he understood: in such a short time, Jin Yu knew the highest secrets of the Xiaoyao Sect. What secrets could remain hidden from those eyes? For He Qishu, who prided himself on leaving no flaw, this was a serious blow.
Jin Yu, realizing his critical message had been intercepted, panicked further, shouting with all his remaining strength: “Jin Se! I… I never thought… I, Jin Yu… would be utterly defeated by… a young woman like you!… But… but what does it matter? You kill me, stop me, but you cannot block all intelligence. I know your leader… he… he actually—”
Suddenly, a faint sound cut through the closed door. Something small flew in, hitting Jin Yu’s throat, cutting off the rest of his words.
Tang Fei rushed forward, but Jin Yu was already dead.
“It’s ice!” Tang Fei held the weapon that ended Jin Yu’s life, exclaiming in disbelief.
Everyone turned to the door, seeing a small, neat slit.
He Qishu calmly stood: “His master silenced him.”
Xue Qian could not bear to look, trembling on Jin Se’s shoulder. Jin Se remained calm as still water, her gaze piercing the thick door, clearly seeing the one who delivered the ice strike. She did not believe that person to be Jin Yu’s master.
“Xi Feng, is your wound fully healed?” Jin Se murmured in her heart.