342 Ice Beauty Snow Lady
Sikong Qianluo couldn't be bothered to argue with Xiao Se and Ye Ruoyi over nothing. She sat alone on the rooftop. In the past, she had also spent many nights like this, lying on the rooftops of Snow Moon City and watching the moon rise above Cangshan. Back then, she was very curious about what Heavenly Revelations City was like but now that she was really here, she realised that Heavenly Revelations City wasn't that great, after all.
"When can we go back…" Sikong Qianluo muttered to herself as she looked into the distance. Suddenly, she spotted a shadowy figure dropping into the Yong'an Prince Residence. Sikong Qianluo grabbed her Silver Moon spear and grumbled under her breath, "What a bunch of persistent houseflies."
After landing inside the Yong'an Prince Residence, the intruder walked quickly towards the main anteroom, easily avoiding all the guards along the way. Just as the intruder was about to step into the anteroom, a spear blocked her path. Sikong Qianluo clasped her hands as she stood on the roof eaves and leaned over to look at the intruder. She sighed out loud. "Why does such a beautiful lady have to be a killer?"
The intruder was dressed in white fox fur, her hair white as snow, and the expression on her face extremely cold. The woman raised her head and glared icily at Sikong Qianluo. "Zhuque."
Sikong Qianluo jumped down and landed on tiptoes on the tail end of her spear. She returned the glare arrogantly. "Does the Hidden River all like to use code names to call each other? Yes, I’m Zhuque. Who are you?"
"Baihu," the woman replied coldly.
Sikong Qianluo regarded the woman, who was white as snow from head to toe, and laughed. "The name matches." Then, her eyes turned cold and she kicked forward with her foot, sending the point of the Silver Moon spear straight for the woman.
The woman dodged sideways, pulled out a long staff at her waist and smacked the spear back. "Martial arts are pretty good. The brain, not so much."
Sikong Qianluo caught her spear one-handed. "Baihu? Wait, Baihu? The Baihu, as in Qinglong and Baihu?"
The woman withdrew her staff. "It’s either an idiot like Lei Wujie, or an impulsive lady like you. Can’t Xiao Se have more respectable Four Guardians by his side?"
"I have you, don’t I?" Xiao Se and the others had emerged from the anteroom when they heard the commotion.
The woman was obviously Ji Xue, the current Hallmaster of Bai Xiao Hall, and also the present Baihu of the Four Guardians of Heavenly Revelations. She looked at Xiao Se and the others with a cold glare. "You’ve got a real party here."
Sikong Qianluo put away her spear and grumbled, "There’s a proper door to come in from yet you chose to be sneaky. Who’s to blame here?"
"Should I walk in from the main door? Do you know how many pairs of eyes in Heavenly Revelations City are watching this front door now?" Ji Xue snorted with disdain.
Xiao Se smiled and said, "Just come inside." He turned around and walked towards the main anteroom, only to see Mu Chunfeng standing in a daze as if he’d gone stupid. "Mu-xiong, what's wrong?"
Mu Chunfeng whispered, "Her form, like a swan startled into flight, like a dragon meandering in water. Her face, radiant as chrysanthemum in autumn, her figure, as lush as pine in spring. Sometimes showing, sometimes hiding, like wisps of cloud hiding the moon and snowflakes twirling in the wind."
"What are you mumbling about?" Hua Jin patted him on the back.
Mu Chunfeng stepped forward and stopped in front of Ji Xue. "My lady, I’m Mu Chunfeng from the Qingzhou Mu family. It is my fortune to meet you."
Ji Xue looked at him and frowned slightly. "I know who you are."
Mu Chunfeng was overjoyed. "So I’m already that famous."
"The luminous pearl you gave away was sold by that kid for two hundred taels of silver," Ji Xue remarked out of nowhere.
Mu Chunfeng was stunned for a moment but he quickly responded, "Two hundred taels? That eastern sea luminous night pearl is a rare treasure of the world. It’s worth more like twenty thousand taels!"
"Qingzhou Mu family. Each generation beats the last in ruining the family business." Ji Xue continued to walk forward, but was stopped by Mu Chunfeng again. She looked at him impatiently. "What do you want?"
Mu Chunfeng smiled and said, "But I don’t know this lady yet."
"Ji Xue," Ji Xue pronounced each word clearly.
Mu Chunfeng immediately clapped his hands. "Wonderful name, worthy of the lady. Skin white as snow, beautiful makeup and joy is the face of plum blossoms. Send your passions aloft. Lest you be stained by this mundane world. Ji Xue, wonderful, wonderful…"
"Young Master Mu." Ji Xue sighed. "I know that you are learned and erudite. Can you stop reciting poems in front of me?"
"I'm twenty one this year," Mu Chunfeng continued, "I wonder how old you are, and whether you’re betrothed. Oh, oh, I’m not betrothed yet…"
"Move aside!" Ji Xue swung her staff and sent Mu Chunfeng flying.
Hua Jin turned around and walked straight back into the anteroom, as if this disciple had nothing to do with her.
Lei Wujie sighed and went to help him up. "You should at least find out who she is first. She’s not someone you want to mess with."
Sikong Qianluo looked at the way Xiao Se spoke to this woman and couldn’t help feeling that something wasn’t right. He seemed more familiar with her than with ordinary people. Ye Ruoyi walked to her side and said with a smile, "They’ve known each other since childhood. Ji Xue's father is Xiao Se's shifu. In this world, he was the closest person to Xiao Se, even closer than His Majesty the Emperor. Therefore, it’s not surprising that he treats Ji Xue a little differently."
"Oh." Sikong Qianluo was still a little unhappy.
"But the way he treats you is really different." Ye Ruoyi walked back to the main anteroom.
Sikong Qianluo froze in place and mumbled, "He’s… different to me too?"
"Miss… where’s Miss Ji Xue?" Mu Chunfeng walked back with Lei Wujie’s help.
Sikong Qianluo turned her head and asked him, "Young Master Mu, is this lady, Ji Xue, really that beautiful?"
Mu Chunfeng nodded. "I’ve never seen any woman in this world more beautiful than her. One look at her demure smile in the crowd, all other beauties of the world become like dust."
"Dust?" Sikong Qianluo tightened her grip on her spear.
"Dust!" Mu Chunfeng proclaimed resoundingly.
Sikong Qianluo waved a hand and sent Mu Chunfeng flying away again. Lei Wujie sighed and decided this had nothing to do with him anymore. "I don’t know as many poems as you, but I can only say one thing. When Heaven brings calamity, you may be able to survive. When you bring calamity onto yourself, you’re as good as dead!"
Xiao Se returned to the main anteroom and asked Ji Xue, "Why the sudden visit? Did you manage to dig out some information about that matter?"
Ji Xue nodded. "Indeed, I have information. But this information I can only tell you."
Ye Ruoyi and Xiao Se exchanged a glance. Sikong Qianluo was displeased. "We can’t listen too?"
Ji Xue was resolute. "That’s right."
Ye Ruoyi exhaled a breath. "Give us a reason."
Ji Xue looked at Xiao Se. "My father must have taught you. The most important information must be treated on a need-to-know basis. This information, only you and I need to know."
Before Xiao Se could reply, Ye Ruoyi spoke first, "Alright."
Ji Xue nodded. "You’re not bad. Finally, Xiao Se has one reliable person by his side. However, before we get to that, there is something everyone here can know. Not just you, all under Heaven will soon know as well." She waved her sleeve and a scroll dropped into her hand.
It gleamed with golden light.
Lei Wujie exclaimed in surprise, "Could that be the Golden Lists?"
The martial world’s disputes resolved, the Golden Lists decided martial fame.
The last time the Golden Lists were updated, they were at sea and missed it. This time, they were finally able to see it with their own eyes.
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冰姬雪女
The chapter title “Ice Beauty Snow Lady” is a play on Ji Xue’s name. Ji is a common surname, but is also an archaic word for a lady in a complimentary sense. Xue means snow.
Poetry note:
其形也，翩若惊鸿，婉若游龙。荣曜秋菊，华茂春松。仿佛兮若轻云之蔽月，飘飘兮若流风之回雪。
Her form, like a swan startled into flight, like a dragon meandering in water.
Her face, radiant as chrysanthemum in autumn, her figure, as lush as pine in spring.
Sometimes showing, sometimes hiding, like wisps of cloud hiding the moon and snowflakes twirling in the wind.
Mu Chunfeng’s lines in the first poem are from 《洛神赋》 (Luoshen Poetic Essay) by Cao Zhi from the Three Kingdoms period. Luoshen is the goddess of Luo River and the essay describes his encounter with her. The first line is now commonly used to describe the lithe and graceful figure of a woman, like a swan.
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冰雪肌肤，靓妆喜作梅花面。寄情高远。不与凡尘染。
Skin white as snow, beautiful makeup and joy is the face of plum blossoms. Send your passions aloft. Lest you be stained by this mundane world.
Mu Chungfeng’s second poem is from 《点绛唇》 (Dian Jiang Chun) by Song dynasty poet Xiang Ziyin. The poem has a structure of 41 words (the quoted portion is the first 10), with the first stanza comprising 4 sentences and 3 rhymes and the second stanza comprising 5 sentences and 4 rhymes.
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众里嫣然通一顾，人间颜色如尘土。
One look at her demure smile in the crowd, all other beauties of the world become like dust.
Mu Chunfeng’s third poem is from 《蝶恋花·窈窕燕姬年十五》 by a Chinese poet, Wang Guowei (1877-1927). He was inspired to write this poem after he and his friend saw a pretty girl on the street. The rest of the poem also describes the beauty of the girl.
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天作孽犹可活，自作孽不可活！
When Heaven brings calamity, you may be able to survive. When you bring calamity onto yourself, you’re as good as dead!
Lei Wujie’s words of wisdom basically means Mu Chunfeng is digging his own grave. The original phrase is, “天作孽，犹可违；自作孽，不可逭”, which means when Heaven brings calamity, you can try to avoid it; when you bring calamity onto yourself, you won’t be able to escape. The original phrase is from 《尚书·太甲（中）》 (Shanshu, Great Oath (part 2)), one of the five classics of ancient Chinese Literature. See Book of Documents.