When the Snow Ends, Old Friends Part - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Yan Hui City’s first heavy snowfall of the year arrived alongside the dead.

After the night watch drum sounded three times, three corpses were hung at the intersection of North Street.

When the patrol soldiers burst into the pharmacy, the door panels hadn’t even settled from the force of the push.

“Doctor Wen, something’s happened.”

Wen Bieyu was decocting medicine, her hands never pausing. “How many dead?”

“Three,” the soldier panted. “All hanging at the North Street intersection. No wounds on their bodies, but their faces are all wearing smiles. The Garrison Office requests your presence immediately.”

Wen Bieyu placed the final herb into the pot, covered it, and stood up to grab her fox-fur cloak.

Someone chuckled from the corner.

“The dead aren’t going to run away. What’s the rush?”

The man was huddled against the wall, clutching a white jade wine gourd. His beard was unshaven and his robe was tattered; he looked like a drunkard who had overstayed his welcome.

The soldier, full of suppressed rage, snapped at him on the spot. “Shut your mouth! Human lives are at stake-is this a time for your sarcasm?”

The man looked up slightly. “They’re already dead. How can their lives still be at stake?”

“Are you looking for a beating!”

“Liu Shisan,” Wen Bieyu called out to him. “Shut up.”

The drunkard paused and looked up at her, the faint smile still lingering on his face. “After all these years, you still have that temper.”

Wen Bieyu looked at him. “You’re still alive.”

Liu Shisan curled his lip. “That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

“It wasn’t meant to be.” Wen Bieyu tied the ribbons of her fox-fur cloak. “Since you didn’t die, why haven’t you shown your face in ten years?”

The soldier was stunned.

Only then did he realize that these two knew each other-and it wasn’t just a casual acquaintance.

Liu Shisan stood up and slowly hung the wine gourd back at his waist.

“I left messages at your door,” he said. “You were the one who didn’t see them.”

Wen Bieyu didn’t respond to that, simply heading outside. “Follow me.”

“I just entered the city. I haven’t even had a sip of hot water.”

“Then stay thirsty.”

Liu Shisan chuckled but followed her anyway.

The North Street intersection was already crowded with people.

Three corpses hung beneath the district gate. Snow covered them, yet the smiles on their faces remained frozen. Looking at them for too long sent a chill through one’s heart.

Men from the Garrison Office had cordoned off the street.

Standing at the very front was a young woman in a black cloak. A saber was pressed against her waist, and her expression was cold.

“Doctor Wen,” she spoke. “You’ve finally arrived.”

Wen Bieyu nodded. “Miss Pei.”

Pei Zhaoshuang looked at Liu Shisan behind her. “Who is this?”

Liu Shisan cupped his hands. “Just an idle man. If you don’t mind, Miss, I can help look at the dead as well.”

Pei Zhaoshuang ignored his glibness, saying only, “Don’t cause trouble.”

At that moment, the sound of galloping hooves echoed from the end of the long street.

A group of people approached through the snow. The leader was dressed in white with a crane-patterned cloak over his shoulders, the long sword on his back held steady. When he stepped under the lanterns, his features were as cold as a blade’s edge; even his movement of dismounting was devoid of any wasted effort.

The smile on Liu Shisan’s face faded slightly.

“Shen Yanqiu,” he whispered. “He actually came.”

Shen Yanqiu flipped off his horse, looking first at the corpses and then at Liu Shisan.

He paused for two breaths before speaking. “So you finally knew to come back.”

Liu Shisan said, “If I didn’t come back, how would I know that Great Sword Envoy Shen is so formidable these days?”

Shen Yanqiu didn’t take the bait, only looking at him coldly. “I thought the survivors of Zhao Ye Tang would at least remember to light a stick of incense for the dead.”

Liu Shisan laughed.

“I’ve lit plenty of incense,” he said. “I just don’t know if they ever received it.”

Pei Zhaoshuang frowned. “If you want to reminisce, do it elsewhere. We are investigating a case here.”

Only then did Shen Yanqiu walk beneath the corpses and look up. “This is no ordinary killing method.”

Wen Bieyu had already put on gloves and was peeling back the eyelid of one of the corpses. “It looks like poisoning.”

“What poison?” Pei Zhaoshuang asked.

Liu Shisan looked at those smiling dead faces, and his expression gradually darkened.

“Xiao Chunfeng.”

No one spoke.

Liu Shisan stared at the corpses, his voice dropping significantly.

“The night Zhao Ye Tang was exterminated, the first people to die looked exactly like this.”

As soon as those words fell, the surroundings went silent.

The wind swirled with snow, howling through the street entrance.

Wen Bieyu’s fingers froze.

Shen Yanqiu’s gaze turned cold.

Though Pei Zhaoshuang did not know the details of the old Zhao Ye Tang case, she could tell how much weight that sentence carried.

Just then, more fast horses charged from the other end of the street.

“The Investigation Bureau is handling a case! Bystanders, move aside!”

The newcomer dismounted, his cloak heavy with snow and his official saber hanging low at his waist.

He was young, but his eyes were hard.

He first saw the corpses, then Wen Bieyu, and finally Liu Shisan.

His footsteps came to a sudden halt.

Liu Shisan stared at him for a long time before letting out a chuckle.

“Well now,” he said. “Even Xiaochuan has managed to scramble into an official post.”

Ma Huichuan gripped his scabbard tightly, his voice low and heavy. “You still dare to come back?”

Liu Shisan replied, “I came back to see if you were dead yet. Is that a problem?”

Ma Huichuan ignored him and walked straight to the corpses.

With just one look, his expression changed.

“Everyone, get back!”

Almost at the same instant, a soft click came from the chest of one of the corpses.

Shen Yanqiu drew his sword and slashed, severing the ropes instantly. The body crashed into the snow, its chest splitting open as a pitch-black iron box rolled out.

Pei Zhaoshuang barked a warning, “Don’t touch it!”

The iron box popped open the moment it hit the ground, and a wisp of pale green smoke drifted out, caught by the wind and snow.

Wen Bieyu’s face paled. “Hold your breath!”

The crowd scrambled back.

In the chaos, Liu Shisan was pulled back a step by her, stumbling slightly. When he looked up, he saw someone standing on the second floor of the tavern across the street.

The figure wore a black cloak and stood by the railing, motionless.

Across the swirling snow, the person raised a hand.

A worn silver ring was on their finger.

Liu Shisan froze on the spot.

He recognized that ring.

Ten years ago, when they took their oath on that snowy night at Zhao Ye Tang, everyone had one.

And this one was supposed to be on Gu Tingyun’s hand.

The street was already in turmoil.

After the iron box split open, the green smoke dispersed with the wind. The onlookers at the very front hadn’t had time to retreat; as soon as they inhaled a breath, their expressions shifted.

Someone began to laugh.

It started as a couple of low chuckles, then grew more intense until they were doubled over, laughing until tears streamed down their faces.

“Seal the street!” Pei Zhaoshuang commanded sharply. “Everyone retreat beyond the intersection! No one is allowed near!”

The men from the Garrison Office moved immediately.

Wen Bieyu had already crouched down, fishing a small vial from her medicine pouch. She shook out several pills, stuffing them into the mouths of the two nearest soldiers who had been affected. She then looked up and shouted, “Keep your mouths shut! Don’t breathe heavily! Cover your faces!”

Shen Yanqiu swept his sword back, the wind from the blade pushing the remaining smoke toward the side of the street.

Ma Huichuan also drew his blade, leading the men from the Investigation Bureau to clear the area.

Liu Shisan didn’t move.

He was still staring at the second floor of the tavern across the way.

The railing was now empty.

It was as if that black shadow had never appeared.

Noticing something was wrong, Wen Bieyu asked in a heavy voice, “Who did you see?”

Liu Shisan seemed to snap back to his senses.

“No one,” he said.

Shen Yanqiu turned to look at him. “Your face is white as a sheet, and you’re saying it was no one?”

Liu Shisan wiped his face and forced a small smile. “I’m just sensitive to the cold. Is that a crime?”

“Was the person you just saw Gu Tingyun?” Ma Huichuan’s voice was stiff.

As soon as those words were spoken, the group fell silent.

The wind howled in from the street corner, scraping against their faces like a blade.

Liu Shisan looked at him, then at Shen Yanqiu, before finally saying, “I only saw a hand and a ring.”

“That’s enough,” Shen Yanqiu said. “It couldn’t be anyone else.”

Ma Huichuan’s grip tightened inch by inch until his knuckles turned white. “He actually dares to show his face.”

“What wouldn’t he dare?” Liu Shisan whispered. “He dared to sell out Zhao Ye Tang back then. Coming back now to see if his old acquaintances are dead or not… isn’t that only natural?”

Wen Bieyu looked at the cracked iron box on the ground. “But if he just wanted to lure us here, there was no need to use Xiao Chunfeng.”

Shen Yanqiu’s gaze darkened. “Unless it wasn’t a lure, but a reminder.”

“A reminder of what?” Pei Zhaoshuang asked.

Shen Yanqiu looked up at the three hanging corpses.

“A reminder that the old case of Zhao Ye Tang isn’t over. It’s back.”

After a sudden neigh, Zhaoying charged into the long street and skidded to a halt in the snow.

A wooden box was tied to the saddle.

Shen Yanqiu walked over and opened it.

Inside was a letter and a severed sword tassel.

Liu Shisan’s expression changed completely.

That was the tassel from Xie Qingya’s sword.

Shen Yanqiu unfolded the letter. There was only one sentence inside.

*Midnight tonight, the old ferry crossing south of the city.*

*If you want to know why Zhao Ye Tang was exterminated, come yourself.*

*Gu Tingyun.*