Chapter 6 - The Snowfall Before the Reckoning

Naturally, Ruoshui had never heard the name "Mandala Raksha" before. Yet the ominous implication of the name alone was enough for him to imagine the kind of nightmare this woman standing before him must be.

Then she said it—she had also poisoned the wine.

Only then did Ruoshui understand the strange, threefold taste of the cup he drank.

There were three flavors because the wine had been laced with not one, but two poisons.

If not for the system's notification pointing out those three taste layers, he would've never suspected anything. Both poisons were among the most lethal in the world—Shadowless Venom and Bone-Eroding Soulscatter Dust, colorless, odorless, and completely tasteless.

Otherwise, with so many top experts from the Jiang and Jin clans present, someone would've noticed the tampering. But they hadn't—proof enough of how insidious the toxins were.

What was truly intriguing was how the two poisons seemed to conflict with each other. Of the two, Bone-Eroding Soulscatter was evidently the weaker, merely delaying the onset of the far deadlier Shadowless Venom without neutralizing it entirely.

Clues were falling into place. Ruoshui recalled a side quest: [Investigate where the medicine in the empty bottles ended up].

Jiang Ying had carried two vials. They must've contained Shadowless Venom. One was meant for Jiang Xue, by the eldest son's instruction. But what of the second? Who else had been the target?

Putting that aside, there was still the question of the demonic woman in front of him.

What did she want with the cultivation technique?

Surely she didn't possess the rare meridian required to practice it.

Ruoshui voiced the doubt. "That technique is useless without the special meridian. Why would you want it?"

The Raksha turned slowly, her smile unreadable. "That's because you don't understand, dear. For others, sure, it's useless. But my cultivation method is... a little different."

She raised a hand, long crimson nails catching the moonlight.

"I can absorb the essence of others—their very constitution—and make it my own. So even if I don't have the meridian… I will."

Then her expression darkened, her voice taking on a soft, eerie calm. "The bad news? That means more people… must die."

Without warning, she lashed out at Jiang Xue. Her qi surged, spiraling the surrounding air like a vortex, the pressure suffocating.

Ruoshui had already sensed danger halfway through her explanation and leapt to intercept. His palm struck toward her shoulder, aiming to disrupt her movement.

But her hand transformed mid-air—those crimson nails extended, slashing through his palm force like paper.

Ruoshui attacked again, launching a flurry of strikes, forcing her to retreat—but only slightly. She was barely ruffled; not even her sleeves fluttered.

Then she struck.

Her palm landed square on his chest.

The strike turned into a claw.

He felt his body stiffen as her demonic fingers pierced his skin, blood soaking through his robes. A muffled groan escaped him.

This pain system really is realistic, Ruoshui thought bitterly.

With her sinister technique, he felt his strength draining fast. He glanced at his status panel—his health and inner force gauges looked mostly unchanged.

But there—two values were plummeting fast.

Max HP and Max Qi.

His eyes narrowed.

What kind of cursed martial art is this?

If this continued, even if he escaped, his stats would drop so low that the slightest blow could kill him.

The Raksha sighed dramatically, eyes gleaming with theatrical regret. "Oh dear~ Why be so reckless, my handsome stranger? I didn't plan to kill you. But then you had to leap into my arms. What a shame. Now I'll be forced to drain you."

Her tone turned almost chiding toward the end, like a lover betrayed.

It sent chills down Ruoshui's spine. Why does she sound like I broke her heart? The absurdity made him cough up blood.

[Poison Activation Countdown: 00:16:00]

Then—another voice cut through the night.

"Let him go. I'll take his place."

It was Jiang Xue.

His voice was steady. Unafraid.

He had made his decision.

For some, power outweighed human life. But not for Jiang Xue. Not anymore.

If he had to die to save someone who had stood by him, then so be it.

He stepped forward.

The snow fell. Silent. Cold.

Ruoshui stared, something stirring deep in his chest.

Not because of the situation. Not the poison. Not the pain.

But a memory.

A shard of something long sealed.

Wind and frost. A collapsing cliff.

"Your people? Crushed to pieces."

A cruel voice in the storm.

"The White Guardian jumped first. The Black one followed. Both knew the soul-devouring poison wouldn't let them last three days. Better to die on their own terms than become hollow puppets."

In that memory, Ruoshui had said nothing.

He had stood in the valley, alone, hearing the wind, the snow, and the sound of blood dripping into the earth.

And in this moment, something inside him shattered.

[Soul Fragment +10]

The snow seemed to fall again, as if time itself had looped.

Jiang Xue walked toward him, calm and steady—so much like that person from long ago.

[Poison Activation Countdown: 00:03:00]

Ruoshui struggled, summoning the last of his strength. With a sharp motion, he raised a trembling finger.

A thin blade of frost-qi shot out, landing right before Jiang Xue's feet.

"You. Do not. Come closer."

His voice was soft.

But Jiang Xue froze on instinct.

His eyes widened, a strange emotion welling within—something deeply familiar.

The Raksha chuckled. "Such affection. I'm almost envious."

"No need to rush. No one's leaving tonight. I'll send that little Han girl along to join you later. That way, in the Underworld, you two won't be so lonely. Do thank me, won't you?"

Her smile was sweet. Her tone like ice.

She placed her other palm on Ruoshui's body. The drain doubled.

[Poison Activation Countdown: 00:01:00]

In the nick of time, a thought struck Ruoshui.

Would Jiang Ying, the Jiang family's first son, really be so careless? Even if his feelings for his wife had long gone cold, how could he not notice a body double?

He must have known. He'd just been waiting. Waiting for the right moment to eliminate everyone involved.

Ruoshui could now guess the plan—frame Du Yan for having an affair with his wife, let Jiang Xue discover them, then let Du Yan kill him. Afterwards, Jiang Ying would "find out" and execute Du Yan, while his wife would commit "suicide" out of guilt.

Three people dead. No loose ends.

A brilliant plan.

Only Jiang Ying hadn't expected to die first.

What a coincidence that both he and the Raksha moved tonight, Ruoshui thought. Truly... a fated bloodbath.

He smiled at the Raksha.

"Poor woman. You don't even know you've been poisoned with an incurable toxin. A proud queen of the martial world… about to fall."

She sneered. "Still cracking jokes? A pity. That one's not even funny."

But just then, the system dinged.

[Side Quest Completed – New Skill Unlocked]

[Poison has been absorbed]

[Poison Countdown Cancelled]

That mysterious third skill slot—long grayed out—cleared up.

3. True Snowfall Across the Skies"Frost of the heavens, spirit gathered from eight realms. Snow falls endless, obliterating all barriers."Consumes all remaining inner force and most HP to unleash a devastating strike. Fixed power. Emergency use only.

Ruoshui couldn't help but laugh.

Finally.

He activated the skill.

Qi surged through him, shaking the Raksha's grip loose. His hand shimmered with frosty blue light. A sphere of solidified ice energy formed in his palm, its surface etched with intricate frost lines.

He flung his sleeve—and the frostwave shot forward.

The Raksha's expression finally changed.

She hadn't expected him to retaliate.

She moved fast, spinning midair and countering with her own strike—a pair of purple, deathly cold energy blasts.

The two forces collided.

Snow exploded into the air.

Amid the swirling mist, a few droplets of black blood fell, splashing onto the white snow.

The Raksha had been poisoned.

She had absorbed Ruoshui's toxins… along with the latent poison within herself.

Even her cultivated resistance couldn't stop both poisons from finally activating under the stress of battle.

She was strong—strong enough to dominate the martial world. But tonight, her greed had undone her.

She collapsed into the snow, whispering a final bitter line: "Heh… still underestimated him."

Two tokens slipped from her robes.

Who she meant by "him" remained a mystery. Ruoshui? Jiang Ying?

It didn't matter anymore.

Ruoshui sighed, picking up the tokens. The system displayed them as lootable, but with the fresh corpse in front of him, he decided to heed the ancient wisdom: Do not take what you shouldn't.

With the main quest complete, he tossed the tokens back to Jiang Xue and retrieved his bamboo staff, awaiting system transport.

Jiang Xue caught them. The tokens were cold, bloodstained—yet for some reason, they felt scalding hot in his hands.

He had so many questions.

The poison—was Ruoshui alright?

Why had he been here tonight?

Why save him?

But he said nothing.

Would the answers even matter?

Some, he already knew.

Others… maybe not even the man himself knew.

Jiang Xue tucked the tokens away and exhaled.

"Did you know," he said, "I planned to get drunk here tonight… then throw myself into the river."

"I know," Ruoshui replied calmly. "And now?"

Jiang Xue smiled, a bitter but peaceful one.

"…I've changed my mind."

The mist cleared. Stars sparkled overhead.

Jiang Xue lifted his head to the heavens, eyes filled with starlight.

Then, as if recalling something, he turned and asked, "May I ask your name, sir?"

But the man in white was already fading.

A silhouette of light, drifting with the wind.

His lips moved.

Jiang Xue strained to hear.

But in the end, he couldn't make out the name.

The figure vanished into the stars.

After that night...

Jiang Xue changed.

The martial world changed.

But one thing remained.

Every year, on the first snowy night, Jiang Xue—still dressed in white—would bring a flask of wine, two cups, and three small dishes to the river pavilion.

And he would wait.

Watching the snow.

Hoping, one day, to see again that man who walked through the night across a field of falling snow.