Chapter 32 – Who Stole His Essence?

At the entrance of the prison, Xia Jing was standing under the plaque, hands in his sleeves, constantly stomping his feet to keep warm. On this cold day, the chilly wind went straight into his collar.

Su Ru Hui was shivering and sneezing, quickly putting on his robe. Xia Jing saw them coming out and smiled at Su Ru Hui. “Nephew, come with me.”

Upon seeing this person, Su Ru Hui understood. It was Xia Jing who had led Su Gou to the ice cellar, tricking him. Xia Jing must have someone backing him up, and now was the time to meet him. Su Ru Hui had already figured out who the bigshot was. He sighed and looked back at Sang Chi Yu.

Sang Chi Yu grabbed his sleeve and said with a cold face, “I’ll go with you.”

They had nowhere to escape in enemy territory, so they might as well move forward or backward together. Su Ru Hui also put on a fake smile and said to Xia Jing, “Please lead the way, Fourth Uncle.”

In the midst of snowy winter, the quiet palace was buried under white snow. Soldiers guarding the palace stood like silent puppets in the snow. They walked through a long snow-covered street and stone steps that seemed to have no end, and finally arrived at the magnificent Bei Chen Palace.

There were many officials waiting to be summoned standing on the steps, apart from them. The officials formed small groups and whispered when they saw them coming. Fire in front of the palace boiled like a pot, making a gurgling sound. Only officials above the fifth rank were qualified to meet Dan Tai Jing. Su Ru Hui and Sang Chi Yu were dressed in the robes of low-ranking military officers, which made them stand out.

Fortunately, Su Ru Hui had thick skin, and Sang Chi Yu didn’t care at all. Su Ru Hui looked up at Bei Chen Palace and felt sad. He knew that the person behind Xia Jing was Dan Tai Jing, a real weirdo who could see through everything. Su Ru Hui had only come back to life for a few days and had already been exposed. However, he really didn’t want to see his uncle. He was not afraid of anything, except for his uncle.

Xia Jing bowed. “Please wait a moment, nephew. I’ll go in and inform him.”

Su Ru Hui watched him go in and crouched in the snow, waiting for the message. After a while, a limping man walked over and stopped in front of Su Ru Hui. He was wearing black boots embroidered with gold thread, which looked very luxurious. Su Ru Hui looked up and saw a black-and-gold embroidered robe with auspicious clouds on it, followed by a handsome but somewhat cold-looking face. He wore a headdress and a golden belt around his fair chin.

“Jiang Que Xie?” he asked.

Su Ru Hui looked back, and many officials were pointing at him. It seemed that they didn’t know he was Su Ru Hui, or they would have drawn their swords to kill him.

Su Ru Hui stood up and smiled. “Who are you, brother?”

“Don’t try to claim a relative. I am not your brother.” The man snorted. “I am the Crown Prince of You Zhou, Yan Jin Yu.”

[Yan Jin Yu, the husband of Zhou Xiao Su. Hates the host and Sang Chi Yu the most. He often says that you two are a pair of gay lovers. Although everyone thinks that the host and Sang Chi Yu are arch-enemies with deep hatred, only Yan Jin Yu persistently believes that you two have a secret relationship.]

So this was the guy. Su Ru Hui almost didn’t recognize him. The world was really small. Su Ru Hui never expected to see this scoundrel here.

He didn’t think much of this person and had advised Zhou Xiao Su many times not to be fooled by a man’s appearance. Just look at Su Ru Hui – a man so handsome and extraordinary, but unfortunately, he was the biggest scoundrel in the world. Moreover, this guy had a deep-seated hatred with Su Ru Hui and Sang Chi Yu.

However, Zhou Xiao Su was stubborn. When she got married, Su Ru Hui was already imprisoned by the Secret Sect and could not attend the wedding in You Zhou. He sent a mechanized ring through someone else, but he didn’t know if Zhou Xiao Su had received it.

“Why are you here, Jiang Que Xie?” Yan Jin Yu narrowed his eyes and looked at him with disdain. “That Sang Chi Yu has betrayed the Secret Sect and become a traitor, and you even became his concubine. As a man, you should commit suicide to preserve your dignity. You became a concubine and dare to show your face? Even if you don’t kill yourself, you should be ashamed and stay at home, reciting scriptures and reflecting on yourself. Or is it that you lack proper upbringing because you are the son of a concubine? Didn’t your mother teach you these things?”

Su Ru Hui laughed. “What business does the prince have in Bei Chen Palace?”

“I was appointed as a prince, and according to the etiquette of the aristocratic family, I am waiting for the head of the sect to give me the seal of approval,” Yan Jin Yu replied slowly.

“Oh, as for me, I’m just taking a walk,” Su Ru Hui said casually.

“Taking a walk?” Yan Jin Yu rebuked, “How can you, a trivial person, be allowed to wander around in the Secret Sect?”

Su Ru Hui caught a glimpse of the ring on Yan Jin Yu’s hand. Although it looked ordinary, Su Ru Hui recognized it at a glance. Wasn’t this the mechanized ring he made himself? He pursed his lips and said, “This ring looks quite unique, Your Highness.”

Yan Jin Yu showed a proud expression and said with his hands behind his back, “You have a bit of taste. When I fought against Su Ru Hui in the past, I defeated him with just three moves. He begged for mercy under my sword, and sent this ring as an apology. I originally intended to spare his life, but I found this ring interesting, so I let him go. If I had known that he would cause chaos in the world later, I should have killed him back then.”

Su Ru Hui was speechless, and soon felt sorry for Zhou Xiao Su. What did she marry?

“Amazing, amazing.” Su Ru Hui repeatedly praised, “Don’t mention Su Ru Hui. Even I feel inferior.”

Sang Chi Yu silently glanced at Su Ru Hui and said nothing.

Yan Jin Yu sneered. “You should study for a few more years. The Secret Sect is not a place for idle people. Why don’t you leave quickly?”

“I’m leaving, I’m leaving,” Su Ru Hui replied nonchalantly. Seeing Xia Jing coming out of Bei Chen Palace, he said casually, “Hey, isn’t that Commander Xia? It’s probably your turn to enter the palace. Hurry up and get ready.”

Yan Jin Yu quickly adjusted his clothes and waited for Xia Jing’s summons. Xia Jing approached, and just as Yan Jin Yu was about to bow, Xia Jing nodded at him and went straight to Su Ru Hui.

“Nephew, the Sect Leader wants to see you. Go in and greet him now.”

“What? He’s summoning me?” Su Ru Hui pretended to be surprised and grinned, patting Yan Jin Yu’s shoulder. “I didn’t expect the Sect Leader to have time to see a nobody like me. The prince is a busy man, so I won’t bother you. I’ll go in first.”

Yan Jin Yu couldn’t believe it and asked Xia Jing, “Why does the Sect Leader want to see him, a low-ranking military official and a disgrace to his family?”

“Yeah, I’m curious too. Is the Sect Leader going to discuss the Three Obediences and Four Virtues with me?” Su Ru Hui said to Yan Jin Yu. “Why don’t we go in together and you can ask the Sect Leader?”

Even if Yan Jin Yu was slow, he could tell that Su Ru Hui was teasing him. Yan Jin Yu’s face turned pale. “Jiang Que Xie, are you mocking me?”

“Not only mocking you, but I also want to beat you up.” Su Ru Hui didn’t say anything else and smiled, shaking his head and heading towards Bei Chen Palace.

“Jiang family’s bastard, how dare you mock me!?” Yan Jin Yu gritted his teeth and unconsciously touched his mechanized ring. The ring contained three poisoned needles that wouldn’t kill, but would make a person uncomfortable for a while.

As he touched the ring, Sang Chi Yu suddenly kicked him, sending him rolling down the white marble steps like a soccer ball in front of everyone’s eyes.

Yan Jin Yu’s servants cried out and chased after him, shouting, “Prince, Prince!”

Everyone crowded around the steps like a pot about to boil over. Sang Chi Yu stood on the high steps, his expression indifferent. He acted like he had just kicked a soccer ball, not the esteemed Prince of You Zhou. He was just an inconspicuous military official, but he exuded a proud and unyielding aura. Even Su Ru Hui didn’t expect him to have the audacity and stared at him in shock as Yan Jin Yu rolled farther and farther away.

“Do you always kick people you don’t like?” Su Ru Hui asked.

No wonder you have poor people skills, brother.

Sang Chi Yu replied coolly, “If he dies, it’s my responsibility.”

Xia Jing stroked his beard. “Su Yu, the Crown Prince of You Zhou is known for being vindictive. You’re in for some trouble.”

In reality, Su Ru Hui was worried about Su Yu. Su Ru Hui was already backed into a corner, and he had nothing left to lose. He was not afraid to offend Yan Jin Yu, and his crime would not be greater than what he had done before. Su Yu was a young man who had suffered since childhood and had just entered the Secret Sect. He had already offended the aristocracy, and he was likely to encounter more trouble in the future.

Su Ru Hui had originally intended to leave Su Yu outside the hall. If he couldn’t get out of Bei Chen Palace after he went in, the Secret Sect wouldn’t make trouble for a child like Su Yu. But the situation was different now. It was better to take Su Yu with him to the dragon’s den.

“You make things difficult for people,” Su Ru Hui said.

Sang Chi Yu walked toward Bei Chen Palace. “There’s no need to fear.”

“I have to leave Yan Jin Yu some face. He is my junior sister’s husband.” Su Ru Hui caught up with him.

“She may not appreciate it,” Sang Chi Yu replied.

Su Ru Hui was speechless.

This kid was right. Su Ru Hui thought to himself that he and his junior sister had long been like strangers. When Zhou Xiao Su got married, she didn’t even send him an invitation. If she had sent him one, Dan Tai Jing might have agreed to let him go take a look.

Su Ru Hui suddenly ran back to the stone steps.

Xia Jing asked in surprise, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to kick him again!” Su Ru Hui yelled.

The three of them entered the hall together. An imposing black-clad man knelt on the high platform, his long silver-gray hair hanging in front of his knees. His bearing was like that of a king, and his presence was like that of Mount Tai. Standing in front of him, one would unconsciously want to kneel down. The door behind Su Ru Hui and the others closed, leaving only the dim yellow light from the candles on the walls. Dan Tai Jing was like a delicate statue in the candlelight, with his eyes closed, his gray eyes lowered and his eyebrows furrowed, showing a Buddha-like compassion.

[Dan Tai Jing, the Grandmaster of Kun Lun Secret Sect, a venerable virgin. A month ago, Dan Tai Jing suffered a tragic deflowering, but his virginity record remains at 100 years old, surpassing all male creatures in the 48 states of Great Jing.]

Su Ru Hui was shocked and couldn’t recover for a long time.

Author’s Note:

I found that some readers seem to have misunderstood the relationships between the characters, so I’ll explain them here.

Su Gou = fake Jiang Xue Ya = centipede demon

The real Su Gou had long been impersonated by the centipede demon and had already been crushed into powder. The real Jiang Xue Ya was imprisoned in the Secret Sect and her whereabouts are currently unknown.