A City Swept by Wind and Snow GL - Chapter 42

◎Xue Qianxun only began to speak at the age of ten, and until Xifeng’s “death,” she was never seen speaking to anyone else. At thirteen, Xue Qianxun’s mind was likely still that of a child of a few years old—pure, stubborn,◎

What Xinghai claimed would shock Xifeng were actually two paintings—portraits of Xifeng. However, Xifeng could not discern anything unusual from the two portraits, one facing forward and one showing her back. She noticed that the front-facing portrait was stamped with a square name seal, the character being “Hong” (Red), and a month seal in the corner, which read “Meng Chun” (First Month of Spring). The back-view portrait only had an introductory seal. Its shape was winding and elongated, containing four ancient characters. Xifeng stared intently, trying to recognize them, and in a flash, the cinnabar brushstrokes seemed to twist slightly. Then she heard Xinghai say: “The paper is not ordinary paper, the ink is not ordinary ink, and the person who painted it is even less ordinary.” The light in his eyes was undisguised excitement, a light that made Xifeng surprised and uneasy.

“Susha Qianxun, do you know who the person who painted you is?” Xinghai asked.

Xifeng ignored Xinghai’s change in address and said: “The ‘Hong’ from Chazi Yan Hong [Purple, Red, and Beautiful]… How would I know her origin?”

“The seafaring family, the Canglang clan, Canglang Hong,” Xinghai said with some pride.

Xifeng was surprised that there were still people surnamed Canglang and couldn’t help but say: “The Canglang clan was once an extremely prominent noble family in the Great Night Dynasty, but later, they tragically suffered the fate of extermination. Among those surnamed Canglang in the world, only the Jianghu Scholar, Canglang Xuenuo, survived, only because once one becomes a Jianghu Scholar, they no longer belong to any family. And Canglang Xuenuo strictly adhered to the principles of a ‘Jianghu Scholar,’ and despite possessing world-shaking martial arts, she did not offer any aid to the destruction of the Canglang family. Could she be a descendant of Canglang Xuenuo?” Mentioning “extermination,” a hidden corner of Xifeng’s heart couldn’t help but tremble, wondering how an emperor of any surname would react upon learning that “Susha” still existed in this world.

“Your guess is correct. In the Great Night era, Canglang and Susha, one scholarly and one martial, were the two major pillars of the royal family. The glory of the Canglang clan was no less than that of your family. Do you know why the Canglang clan was exterminated?”

In the era Xifeng was born, the “Canglang” name had already vanished, and she knew little about that clan’s glorious past. She hesitated slightly, but judging from Xinghai’s tone, he must know more than she did. So she revealed everything she knew: “The imperial edict stated: Canglang plotted rebellion. However, as far as I know, the root cause was: Canglang’s seafaring.”

Xinghai couldn’t help but clap his hands and laugh: “The royal family strictly forbade the Canglang from ‘seafaring’? No, it wasn’t a prohibition, but a fear—they were especially afraid of a family like Canglang going out to sea.”

Xifeng had heard about this history, which dated back over a hundred years, from some of her older brothers and sisters when she was little, but the elders had forbidden them from discussing topics like “seafaring” again. As for the deeper reasons, Xifeng had never considered them. Now, Xifeng couldn’t help but ponder, murmuring: “Could it be that the overseas world held a secret that the emperor did not want the mainland people to know? And the navigators of the Canglang family wanted to leak this secret…”

“The Canglang family never had any intention of rebelling against the Great Night Dynasty,” Xinghai interrupted. “They were merely eager to tell the emperor: our world is actually trapped in an invisible cage.”

Xifeng didn’t understand.

“Little did they know that Emperor Yewen already knew this secret.” Xinghai looked at her, and a peculiar light flickered in his eyes again. “How vast do you think the ‘world’ we know is? Very vast and magnificent, right? In fact, throughout the seven thousand years of the Ye clan’s rule, we have only been living in a small cage within the world. The Jianghu Scholar Canglang Xuenuo called this cage the ‘Suppression Barrier.’ Outside the barrier is an unimaginably great world. The Ye royal family has strictly guarded the secret of the ‘Suppression Barrier’ for thousands of years, until the Canglang family’s navigator, Canglang Huaigui, discovered another world overseas… and, another self.”

“Another self?” Another world was easy for Xifeng to understand, but how could there be another self?

Xinghai made a gesture of “look at this,” and Xifeng followed Xinghai’s gaze to the two vivid portraits, hesitatingly asking: “Did he… discover his artistic talent?”

Xinghai shook his head, saying: “It is the ability to paint the soul. The Canglang clan can paint your soul!”

Xifeng was shocked. This was simply incredible.

Xinghai pointed at her and slowly said: “It’s very crowded in there, two souls vying for one body.”

As if hearing Xinghai’s words, Xifeng felt a weak and urgent response from a suppressed corner of her heart, which Xifeng instinctively suppressed with her mind. From their previous conversation, Xifeng already knew of Xinghai’s knowledge of Dragon Kiss, so she was not overly surprised at this point. She suddenly remembered a more crucial question and asked: “The Suppression Barrier, which covers the entire continent, is so immense. Where did it come from?”

“A God.” Anyone with such divine power could undoubtedly be called a God.

“Where is the God?”

“The God is dead.”

“How do you know?”

Xinghai smiled without speaking, placing a finger on his lips and shaking his head.

A God sealed the entire continent.

The Canglang tribesmen who escaped the barrier possess the ability to paint the soul.

The God is dead.

…

It took Xifeng a long time to recover from this sudden shock, and she finally asked: “Does the current Emperor know about this?”

Xinghai said: “The matter of the Suppression Barrier is the only record Canglang Xuenuo did not pass on to Nangong Qing, so it’s impossible for the eleventh generation Jianghu Scholar to reveal it to the world. Other than that, it depends on whether the remaining documents of the old dynasty’s Tianzao Pavilion have any explicit records—it is said that those documents were all obtained by He Qirui. The He brothers are all shrewd, wise, and profoundly discreet. Even if they knew such heavenly secrets, they would surely not show any sign of it.” Xinghai not addressing the Son of Heaven as “Emperor” made Xifeng realize that his ambition was not only greater than she thought but utterly reckless and blatant. Has Xinghai’s aspiration already surpassed this current “cage”?

“Even your covert agents cannot fathom King Zhuang’s true depth?”

“Forget my covert agents. As King Zhuang’s most relied-upon arm, Great Priestess, how much do you know about him?” Xinghai retorted.

Xifeng smiled bitterly: “King Zhuang has never trusted me. I even suspected several times that he has guessed my identity. Moreover, even setting aside the name ‘Susha,’ King Zhuang would be wary of me because of my relationship with the Dragon Kiss Cult Master. After all, I am the only one in the cult who can communicate with Dragon Kiss.”

Hearing this, Xinghai’s expression turned serious, and he stated sternly: “Today’s Emperor fears Susha, just as the Great Night feared Canglang in the past. Do you know the real reason behind the ‘Demon Slayer Order’?”

“No one in my family went seafaring,” Xifeng deliberately avoided the topic with a joking tone. The past is over, and she didn’t want to bring it up again.

Xinghai sneered: “Extermination is no trivial matter. It wouldn’t be because of some small issue that a large family of nearly a thousand people was slaughtered.”

Xifeng was disheartened. That unforgettable nightmare reappeared in her mind. She had tried her best to shield this cruel memory, but today, she had to face this topic with resilience. Perhaps Xinghai knew more internal details than she did.

“To be honest, the charges for the extermination I know are no different from those announced to the world. The first fuse was: the Emperor’s younger brother, He Qiya, died at Holy Wolf Peak. The Emperor originally intended to arrange his marriage to me. But I brutally killed him. Even He Qirui, being the Emperor, was instantly driven mad upon seeing his third brother’s corpse, wishing he could slaughter everyone. Yet, King Zhuang, He Qishu, remained as calm as a deep pool on a high mountain. He pressed down his elder brother’s sword-wielding hand and merely glanced at me from afar. That unnaturally calm gaze firmly gripped me, making me feel that even escaping to the bottom of the sea would be futile. I believe he deeply remembered my appearance, even though I was wearing a white jade mask at the time.”

Xinghai smiled faintly, as if he could see through everything: “It wasn’t you who killed him, but you could not have revealed the real killer.”

Xifeng continued: “The second charge was: the Susha family possessed the divine artifact Dragon Worshipping Talisman to coerce the Emperor, intending to restore the old dynasty.”

Xinghai commented: “That charge is indeed enough to convince the world. The Susha family has served the Ye Emperor for generations, earning the title of ‘Great Night Sacred Sword.’ Five out of ten elites in the court have Susha bl00d. In that era, instead of saying the Ye clan’s Emperor possessed the country, it was more accurate to say that Ye and Susha jointly ruled the world. Moreover, your family specialized in producing monstrously powerful individuals. Any new emperor would be uneasy, wouldn’t they?”

“No matter how strong, weren’t we still destroyed by the ‘Demon Slayer Order’? When they gained the empire, the He family only had three brothers left, but they had countless masters who swore to serve them to the death, forming an unbreakable royal legion. This must be said to be a miracle created by the He clan.”

“Even facing complete annihilation, did you still not use the Dragon Worshipping Talisman?” Xinghai casually shifted the topic to the main point.

“What is the Dragon Worshipping Talisman?” Xifeng asked him in return.

“One saying is, the one who obtains the Dragon Worshipping Talisman obtains the world; another saying is, the one who obtains the Dragon Worshipping Talisman destroys the world. What does Susha herself say?”

“Since the term Dragon Worshipping Talisman appeared, we Susha have never denied its existence—there’s simply no need to deny it, because no one in our family has ever seen it.”

“Nangong Qing has personally confirmed that the Dragon Worshipping Talisman is a light sword,” Xinghai said slowly, but with powerful force, refuting Xifeng.

The authority of the Jianghu Scholar is universally recognized. Jianghu Scholars are responsible for their words with their honor and their lives. Xifeng claiming that no one in the Susha family had seen the Dragon Worshipping Talisman was not a lie. Could it be that Nangong Qing had seen it?

Xifeng said: “Then what kind of light sword do you believe it is?”

Xinghai said: “Without seeing it with one’s own eyes, it is unimaginable.”

Xifeng remained silent, completely forgetting Xinghai, and fell into a daze.

Xinghai couldn’t fathom what she was thinking and was also stunned for a while. From the first glance, Xinghai felt that her coldness and melancholy were completely inconsistent with her age. Her eyes contained a pool of water that was warm yet still carried the chill of winter. He didn’t know who her tenderness was directed towards, nor did he know the vicissitudes of how many lifetimes and eons had accumulated within her, commanding a sense of awe from an old man like Xinghai, who had lived for so long, preventing him from underestimating her.

“Are you looking for me for the Dragon Worshipping Talisman, or for Dragon Kiss?” Xifeng suddenly spoke softly, her eyes not looking at Xinghai.

Xinghai admitted: “I only want to invite Dragon Kiss back.”

“Then, it is time to tell me what exactly Dragon Kiss is, isn’t it?” Xifeng walked to the portrait, running her hand over the introductory seal with the incomprehensible ancient characters. The cinnabar brushstrokes slowly squirmed under the touch of her fingertips, revealing the recognizable standard characters, as if meant to be shown to Xifeng—”Dragon Image on the Back.”

Xinghai took a deep breath and explained in detail: “Firstly, Dragon Kiss can be said to be the only soul not suppressed by the Suppression Barrier. Of course, outside the barrier, his power would only be stronger.”

Xifeng was aware that a guest soul resided in her body. But she could not yet grasp the implications of “not suppressed by the Suppression Barrier.”

Xinghai continued: “Secondly, Dragon Kiss is the elixir that extends your life. Do you remember how you died?”

Yes, Xifeng had indeed genuinely died once.

“He Qishu’s folding fan contained a sharp blade,” Xifeng murmured in recollection. “That sword pierced through my chest, but it only severed the bl00d vessels of my heart. The pain instantly radiated to my limbs and bones… I couldn’t die right away. As if utterly confident in his masterpiece of a stab, he allowed me to escape and didn’t even bother to take off my mask.” Upon saying this, Xifeng couldn’t help but tremble slightly. That bone-scraping, marrow-piercing pain was unforgettable. And when she used her last bit of strength to reach the person she most wanted to see, the look of extreme pain and devastation on that person’s face made her regret it immensely. Purely for the sake of one last look, she had allowed that person to watch her dying self helpless. She must be a selfish and cruel person.

Xinghai said: “He Qishu is a man who never reveals his full ability. His internal cultivation has actually long reached the pinnacle, unfathomably deep. That one stab only severed one of your bl00d vessels. Bl00d flowed endlessly, but it didn’t kill you instantly. Instead, the invisible sword Qi was transmitted through that wound to your extraordinary meridians, destroying all your channels, so that no physician could work a miracle cure. That kind of death would not have been less painful than what He Qiya suffered. He Qishu rarely takes action himself, only because he feels that few opponents in the world are worthy. I never thought that to avenge his younger brother, he would be so merciless to a young girl. One can only say that this man is extremely ruthless.”

Xifeng smiled bitterly: “No one has treated me like a child since I was ten. And I don’t hate He Qishu. There was no joy in his eyes when he killed me; instead, there was deeper sorrow. He Qiya’s death was gruesome, but at least He Qishu left me with a complete corpse.”

“You are quite magnanimous,” Xinghai gently shook his head. Don’t you remember the pain?

The most painful part was not from the body.

Xifeng recalled the events of several years ago, as if they belonged to another lifetime: Xue Qianxun clung to her desperately, crying until she vomited bl00d. Later, a young man from the family finally found the distraught Xue Qianxun. Xifeng was already delirious at the time, vaguely remembering that Xue Qianxun had erupted with terrifying energy. The young man nearly risked his life to pull her away from Xifeng. Before leaving, he didn’t even have time to say goodbye to the dying Xifeng. However, seeing that person take Xue Qianxun away, Xifeng was able to close her eyes peacefully. That life—the life as Susha Qianxun—the final image, was fixed on Xue Qianxun’s pale face, stained with bloody tears. Parting of life and death.

“But then I came back to life,” Xifeng murmured. “I could see, I could hear, I could make sounds, but those weren’t the words I wanted to say, the path I wanted to walk, or the things I wanted to do. I was still in my body, yet I was like an observer, only able to let another strange power control this body.”

“That is Dragon Kiss,” Xinghai explained. “Dragon Kiss entered your dying body, forcefully repairing your destroyed meridians with his powerful spiritual energy. That was a long process. He originally thought your soul had perished and only focused on repairing this rare vessel, which is hard to find even in a hundred years. He never imagined that due to a certain obsession, you lingered in the lifeless shell, refusing to leave, until the shell was restored to life, and your soul miraculously awakened with it. Although your soul was suppressed to the reverse position, a certain spiritual energy you emitted made Dragon Kiss uneasy. He attempted to devour you several times, but… he ultimately didn’t do it…”

So that was it. No wonder Xifeng always felt herself being swallowed by an endless black cloud. How many times had she been exhausted, almost wanting to give up the resistance… it was all because of that one obsession. This world, because of the existence of a certain person, made her unable to let go. However—”How could it be such a coincidence that Dragon Kiss entered my body at that exact moment?” Xifeng asked.

“This was no coincidence. Dragon Kiss is an extremely powerful soul. The only bodies that can accommodate him are those of the pure-bl00d Susha clan. That is to say, only a few individuals of your Susha family are powerful enough to be the vessels for Dragon Kiss to reside in. Before finding a suitable vessel, Dragon Kiss in his wandering soul state could not be exposed to too much sunlight and mostly hibernated at the bottom of the Nether Sea beneath Holy Wolf Peak. He must have already locked onto you, only waiting for you to grow older. It usually takes until the age of fifteen or sixteen for the ‘vessel’ to reach its optimal state. Who would have thought there would be the disaster of the ‘Demon Slayer Order’? But unexpectedly, your body was far stronger than Dragon Kiss had imagined. Despite your young age and dying state, you miraculously accommodated him.”

“And what would happen if the body wasn’t strong enough?”

“It would explode.” Xinghai uttered those two words flatly.

As soon as those two words left his mouth, Xifeng suddenly remembered the condition of He Qiya’s death. Only at this moment, after so many years, did she finally realize the truth!

Xinghai understood Xifeng’s expression and said: “That’s right, He Qiya died because of Dragon Kiss. You couldn’t have carried the blame for so many years without knowing the real killer, could you? —Speaking of which, I am surprised how Dragon Kiss mistakenly identified He Qiya as a suitable vessel in the first place? He Qiya was indeed very strong compared to ordinary people, but he didn’t have the Susha bloodline… Could it be that Dragon Kiss indeed prefers the body of a young man? It seems these questions can only be asked after he is liberated…”

Xifeng no longer heard Xinghai’s self-talk, only repeating in her heart: “So it wasn’t her…” It was both shock and joy. So Xue Qianxun hadn’t killed He Qiya!

In fact, not only Xifeng, but Susha Xingjian also thought that Xue Qianxun was the one who killed He Qiya. Simply because everyone unanimously believed she had the ability to do so. Moreover, Xue Qianxun at that time did not offer a single word in her own defense. She only showed her joy at the fact that the royal family would no longer take Xifeng away. That pure and fervent smile was heartbreaking.

Xue Qianxun only began to speak at the age of ten, and until Xifeng’s “death,” she was never seen speaking to anyone else. At thirteen, Xue Qianxun’s mind was likely still that of a child of a few years old—pure, stubborn, and mistrustful of everyone except Xifeng. Xue Qianxun’s biological father, Susha Xingjian, once admonished Xifeng: “I hope you will not see her again. Do not let her grow, do not let her think, do not let her have joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness, do not teach her martial arts, do not make her strong… Accompany her from afar, and guard her faithfully. Always keep your life so that you can protect hers. If necessary, only you may kill her.”

It was pitiful that even today, Xue Qianxun stubbornly believed that her parents loved her so much that they isolated her from the world. Even after the entire clan was annihilated, they ensured her escape—this was the proof. She both resented her parents and self-hypnotically believed in their love. Yet, her biological parents only wanted her to be a breathing jade doll. Xifeng silently filtered out Susha Xingjian’s admonition, only firmly remembering “accompany her, guard her.”

“Dragon Worshipping Talisman… Does our family really have it?” The young Xifeng once mustered her courage to ask the patriarch.

Susha Xingjian said: “That is not for you to ask.”

“Then, the Dragon Worshipping Talisman… could it… be a person?” Her voice was trembling.

“…No,” Susha Xingjian finally uttered two words.

Xifeng, however, pushed her luck and asked another question: “Is Susha Qianxun on Holy Wolf Peak the Dragon Worshipping Talisman? Please, don’t lie to me. Tell me the truth, and I promise I won’t do anything!”

Susha Xingjian gazed at her innocent face and surprisingly spoke to her with gentleness and patience: “I am not lying to you. That Susha Qianxun—my biological daughter—she is not the Dragon Worshipping Talisman.” His large hand gently covered Xifeng’s about-to-open lips, and he whispered: “Please promise me, don’t ask me what she is. One day, your brother will tell you.”

Although she didn’t know what the Dragon Worshipping Talisman truly meant, Xifeng always felt it was nothing good, and she did not want that person to be involved with it. She only wished that the lonely jade doll could be a normal person.

“You should have realized from a young age that you are not a normal person, shouldn’t you?” Xinghai’s voice suddenly rang in her ear.

Xifeng’s thoughts were interrupted, and she said: “What is normal, and what is abnormal?”

“Normal is being ordinary. And there are many kinds of abnormal. I hate to deceive you, but your abnormality will bring disaster upon you.”

Xifeng smiled lightly: “I only know that I always bring disaster to my enemies.”

Xinghai said sharply: “That was before you suppressed Dragon Kiss. The renowned Demon King Xifeng borrowed the power of Dragon Kiss’s soul. But since your true soul returned to the dominant position, your martial arts have severely declined. It’s understandable, after all, your soul was suppressed for so long, interrupting your spiritual cultivation. Now your spiritual power is only equivalent to about a year and a half more practice than your thirteen-year-old self. To achieve your current level is already a miracle.”

Xifeng felt a chill at his complete insight.

Xinghai continued: “The death of Three Blades made the person who commissioned him to assassinate King Zhuang a mystery, but this unplanned assassination allowed my covert agents to discover the fact that you were severely wounded by the ‘Fourth Blade.’ With Dragon Kiss’s spiritual power, he would never have allowed the likes of Three Blades to harm this precious body. There is only one truth: the person who fought Three Blades was no longer Dragon Kiss, but you, Xifeng!”

Xinghai stared at the back-view portrait of Xifeng, murmuring: “Dragon. Image. On. The. Back. Susha Qianxun, the terrifying Susha bloodline. Now, your soul’s spiritual power is less than a tenth of Dragon Kiss’s, yet you can use an indestructible will to suppress him back to the reverse position. Do you know, when the covert agent’s report arrived, I was truly startled. I didn’t dare to delay for a moment in sending the invitation to you, for fear that if I delayed even one more day, you would devour Dragon Kiss.”

Xifeng said: “I don’t have such a good appetite. If you’re afraid he’ll disappear, then let him quickly scram.”

Xinghai said sincerely: “If I can help Dragon Kiss regain his freedom, I would be immensely honored. However,” he then said with pity, “the Suppression Barrier is the cage that confines the entire continent, and you are the cage that seals Dragon Kiss. Xifeng, without destroying the cage, how can the prisoner be released?”