Chapter 410: The Legendary Snow Princess
As night slowly fell, Yun Che followed the man toward a remote area on the southern edge of Shenhuang City.
“You... why did you help me?” After a long silence, the man asked cautiously. Like Yun Che, he was someone who had endured countless pursuits and brushes with death. His sense of vigilance and intuition were in no way inferior to Yun Che’s. Thus, he could tell at a glance whether someone harbored ill intent or ulterior motives toward him. From Yun Che’s demeanor, he sensed not a trace of malice or scheming.
“Consider it my long-dormant healer’s heart suddenly awakening,” Yun Che replied, inwardly sighing in regret. A healer’s heart—one that loved all under heaven and sought to save the world—had once been the entirety of his soul and the core of his master’s teachings. But ever since his master was forced to his death, that healer’s heart had been replaced by boundless hatred. Since then, on the Cang Yun Continent, he had never used his medical skills to save anyone.
“Uh...” The man was utterly baffled by the answer.
“You said you once obtained half a Phoenix Sunflower?” Yun Che asked casually.
“Yeah,” the man nodded. “The number of Phoenix Sunflowers that grow each year is already extremely small, and the Fenghuang God Sect almost always monopolizes them first. So a while back, I had to sneak into one of the Phoenix God Sect’s treasure halls. But there were many protective profound formations scattered around. I barely stepped inside and accidentally triggered one, so I had to flee... but luckily, I managed to grab that half-stalk of Phoenix Sunflower before I escaped. The reason I got it so easily was probably because it had lost too much of its medicinal power, so it was carelessly tossed into a jade cabinet.”
“Then... have you ever heard the name ‘Hua Minghai’?” The man’s eyes sparkled as he asked.
“Hua Minghai? Never heard of him. Is he some big shot?” Yun Che said.
“Holy crap!!” The man jumped straight up, gnashing his teeth and roaring, “You... you... you don’t even know the Snow Princess, fine, but you’ve never heard of the great name Hua Minghai?! He’s the legendary ‘Ghost Shadow Saint Hand,’ the most awesome figure in the entire Tian Xuan Continent... ahem, one of them! That name—even if you ask the mud loaches in the mud, they’d know it like thunder to the ear! How could anyone not have heard of it?!”
“Ghost Shadow Saint Hand? What a cheesy nickname.” Yun Che curled his lip.
“~！#￥%...” The man’s facial muscles twitched as if he wanted to jump on Yun Che and fight him. “You... you wouldn’t happen to have traveled here from another world, would you?”
Yun Che turned his head and nodded very seriously. “You could say that.”
“Damn!”
“Could it be... that you are this ‘Ghost Shadow Saint Hand’ Hua Minghai?” Yun Che gave him another once-over.
“That’s right, it’s me!” Hua Minghai puffed out his chest, but then his eyes twitched uncontrollably. Damn it... This was the first time I’ve openly and close-up shouted my name at someone... and this guy hasn’t even heard of me!
“Oh, I see.” Yun Che said very flatly. “So should I call you Xiao Hua, or Xiao Hai?”
“... Let’s go with Xiao Hai.” Hua Minghai almost cried. I’m nearly thirty, and this kid doesn’t even look twenty.
“Tell me about the Snow Princess. Why is she so famous?” Yun Che asked curiously.
“Ahem, don’t you want to hear some of the great deeds of the Ghost Shadow Saint Hand first?”
“No.”
“！#￥%...” Hua Minghai took a deep breath and used all his willpower to calm down before saying, “The Snow Princess is hailed as the treasure of the Shenhuang Empire, the darling of the Phoenix God, and a miracle granted to Shenhuang by the heavens. In the past, people only knew her name but never saw her face. When the Snow Princess was thirteen, she appeared on the Shenhuang City tower for some ceremony. That day, auspicious snow fell over Shenhuang City—a place that had not seen snow for ten thousand years. When the Snow Princess appeared, the entire scene fell into dead silence. Everyone who saw her was instantly entranced, as if beholding a fairy descending to the mortal world... The next day, she was hailed as the number one beauty of Tian Xuan, unprecedented and likely never to be equaled. There isn’t even anyone worthy of being mentioned in the same breath.”
“Thirteen? Number one beauty of Tian Xuan?”
“That’s right. That year, the Snow Princess was only thirteen. She should be sixteen now, so she must be even more breathtakingly beautiful. Unfortunately, since that single appearance three years ago, she has never been seen in public again. No one knows what she looks like now.” Hua Minghai said with a look of longing.
“Three years ago, did you see her?” Yun Che asked.
“No, I heard it from others...”
Yun Che curled his lip. “Then how do you know she’s really that beautiful? For a woman, thirteen is not even mature, let alone fully developed. No matter how good she looks, how far can it go?” His voice paused as he thought of Jasmine—when he first met her, she was also thirteen, and the impact she had on him was even greater than Xia Qingyue’s...
But Jasmine was an anomaly that couldn’t be judged by the rules of this world. How could this so-called ‘Snow Princess’ compare to her?
“As for the auspicious snow falling, that’s even more nonsense. Shenhuang City has summer all year round. Where would snow come from? I suspect both the title of number one beauty and the snowfall are just things the Fenghuang God Sect orchestrated to consolidate their prestige.”
“But everyone says so...”
“I only believe what I see with my own eyes. What I hear, I take with a grain of salt.” Yun Che said lazily. “If we’re talking about the world’s number one beauty, I think only my wife deserves that title... Anyone can claim it themselves.”
“Tch...” Hua Minghai gave a small snort, then said, “I heard that the Snow Princess will also be present at this Seven Nations Ranking Battle. I’ll definitely sneak in to see what she really looks like. You interested?”
“Not interested.”
“...”
At a corner on the very edge of Shenhuang City, Hua Minghai stopped in front of a small, nearly abandoned house. He held his breath, quickly scanned his spiritual sense around, then whispered, “This is it... come in with me.”
The door opened, and a strong medicinal smell hit them. It was clearly a temporary dwelling, very simply furnished. On the small bed farthest inside, purple crystals sparkled with deep, dreamy light. On top of the purple crystals lay a thin woman. Hearing the door open, she stirred and spoke in a weak, urgent voice: “Husband... you’re... back...”
The voice made Hua Minghai jolt. He rushed in and threw himself beside the bed, saying excitedly, “Xiao Ya, you’re awake... I’m sorry you woke up without me by your side. You must have been worried again... How do you feel now? Does it hurt a lot?”
Yun Che stepped lightly inside and stood behind Hua Minghai, glancing at the woman’s face. She was emaciated beyond recognition, her face deathly pale. Her eyes were half-open, the light in them hazy and unfocused—such eyes could barely see anything.
And the most striking feature on her face was her forehead—there, clearly imprinted, was a deep blue-black mark.
Seeing that blue-black, Yun Che’s brows furrowed slightly.
“It’s okay... I just woke up... I feel... much better...” The woman forced a smile. Just then, her peripheral vision caught a blurry figure. She said softly, “Husband... is there... a guest?”
Before Hua Minghai could speak, Yun Che said, “Hello... My name is Ling Yun. I’m a friend of Hua Minghai.”
“Friend...”
Those two casually spoken words made a strange light shine in the woman’s eyes. She said excitedly, “You really are... husband’s friend? Husband... is he really... your friend?”
Yun Che was slightly taken aback, but Hua Minghai understood why she was so agitated. He nodded firmly and said, “Mm! Xiao Ya, he’s a friend I met outside... If he weren’t a friend, how would he know the name Hua Minghai?”
“A friend... husband’s friend...” She smiled, a pale but happy smile, murmuring softly, “Husband has a friend... husband really... has a friend now...”
“...” Yun Che exhaled quietly, stepped forward, and said, “I am not only Xiao Hai’s friend, but also a healer. I came here with Xiao Hai to see if I can treat your illness... Xiao Hai, move aside a little and let me examine her condition.”
Hearing this, Hua Minghai quickly stepped aside, staring intently at Yun Che. “Big brother! Please, I beg you—do everything you can to save Xiao Ya. If you really can save her...”
In front of Xiao Ya, he couldn’t finish the second half of his sentence. Though he knew he was nearly ten years older than Yun Che, he called him “big brother” from the depths of his soul. If Yun Che could really save her, he would willingly call him “grandfather” for life. And just because Yun Che was willing to come here with him, he was already filled with gratitude.
“I will do my best.” Yun Che said calmly, then walked to the woman’s bedside and looked at her forehead. The blue-black at her brow showed that the terrible cold poison in her body was about to invade her brain.
The purple crystals beneath her—each one was priceless. Because each was the purest Purple Vein Heavenly Crystal! Her body was severely depleted, and she had survived years under such terrible cold poison mainly because of these Purple Vein Heavenly Crystals wrapping around half her body.
“My name is... Ru Xiaoya. Can I call you big brother... like my husband does?” She suddenly said in a weak voice as Yun Che watched her.
“... Hmm.” Yun Che nodded in acknowledgment.
“Thank you... big brother...”
“Why thank me?” Yun Che asked.
“Thank you... for being willing to be Xiao Hai’s friend.” Ru Xiaoya said with sincere gratitude. “These years, to keep me alive, my husband has abandoned his family’s principle of only robbing the rich to help the poor and roaming freely, and instead went everywhere stealing large amounts of spiritual herbs and Purple Vein Heavenly Crystals... Because of me, he has no friends... and cannot have friends...”
“I don’t want to be a burden to him anymore. But I’m also very afraid of death... because if I die, my husband will truly be left all alone... Now he finally... has a big brother... that’s... good...”
Ru Xiaoya’s voice grew softer and softer until she finally fell asleep. Her body was too weak; speaking so much was a huge drain on her.