When the Snow Ends, Old Friends Part - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Before the hour of the rat, the snow had thickened by another layer.

The old ferry crossing was hauntingly empty.

The river was half-frozen, and three derelict boats sat moored by the shore, their masts heavy with accumulated snow.

When Shen Yanqiu and the others arrived, there wasn’t a single lamp in sight.

Liu Shisan squatted down first, feeling the footprints on the ground.

“Two people were here,” he said. “One light, one heavy. The heavy one has an unsteady gait on the right foot, likely from an injury.”

“You still have that same old knack,” Shen Yanqiu remarked.

Liu Shisan stood up. “It’s how I earn my keep. Better than you lot from the ‘righteous sects’ who only know how to read people’s expressions.”

Ma Huichuan was about to snap back when a voice suddenly drifted from the shore.

“After all these years, the first thing you do when you meet is still bickering.”

The group turned their heads simultaneously.

Gu Tingyun stood in the shadow of a derelict boat.

He was dressed entirely in black, his shoulders covered in snow. He held a lantern in his left hand, while his right hung at his side. His face was pale, yet a faint smile lingered at the corners of his lips.

He looked just as he did every time he returned late in the past, pushing open the door to the side courtyard of Zhao Ye Tang.

But no one stepped forward.

Ma Huichuan was the first to strike.

The light of his blade pressed down, lunging straight for Gu Tingyun’s face.

Gu Tingyun stepped aside to evade. He didn’t draw a weapon; he simply raised a hand to catch Ma Huichuan’s wrist, using the momentum to press down.

Ma Huichuan’s foot slipped, and his knee slammed heavily onto the wooden planks.

“Good strength,” Gu Tingyun said. “But too much temper.”

Ma Huichuan wrenched himself free, his eyes bloodshot. “You think you’re worthy of mentioning Zhao Ye Tang’s techniques?”

Gu Tingyun looked at him, his voice softening. “Xiaochuan, it’s been ten years. You’ve grown taller.”

Those words were like pouring oil on a fire.

Ma Huichuan raised his blade again.

This time, Shen Yanqiu blocked him.

“Enough.”

He stared at Gu Tingyun, asking one word at a time, “You wrote the letter, and you sent the items. Now that we’re here, what do you want to say?”

Gu Tingyun looked down at his blood-soaked sleeve, as if only just remembering he was injured.

“First, the most important thing,” he said. “I wasn’t the one who sold out Zhao Ye Tang.”

Liu Shisan let out a scoff. “That statement is exactly ten years too late.”

“I know.” Gu Tingyun smiled faintly. “But it’s better than not saying it at all.”

“Cut the nonsense,” Wen Bieyu spoke up. “Why is Xiao Chunfeng in Yan Hui City?”

“Because Xue Zhongshan intends to use it to clear a path.”

Gu Tingyun looked up, meeting Pei Zhaoshuang’s gaze.

“Before the hour of the pig tomorrow night, Army Supervisor Han Su will use the pretext of searching for rebels to seal off the West Market and Guannan Ward. He will then use the Garrison Camp to deploy troops and open the West Gate. Those entering the city won’t be government forces, but the private army Xue Zhongshan has been raising outside the city. Xiao Chunfeng will be released into the alleys first, followed by arson. Once enough people are dead, every debt can be pinned on the remnants of Zhao Ye Tang.”

Pei Zhaoshuang’s expression changed instantly. “Do you have proof?”

“Half of it.”

Gu Tingyun pulled a thin ledger from his robes and tossed it onto the snow.

Ma Huichuan picked it up first. He flipped through a few pages, and his expression darkened immediately.

It was a water transport ledger.

It clearly detailed the whereabouts of military rations, armaments, and medicinal supplies in the North over the past three years-and there were gaps everywhere. The missing batches hadn’t rotted on the road; their trails had been systematically erased, layer by layer.

“Where is the other half?” Shen Yanqiu asked.

“In Han Su’s hands,” Gu Tingyun said. “There is an old cellar beneath the North Gate Armory. Hidden inside are letters between Xue Zhongshan and the Northern Di, as well as border defense maps.”

Pei Zhaoshuang looked at him. “How do you know this?”

Gu Tingyun smiled. “Because for the last ten years, I was the one delivering those things for him.”

As those words fell, even the wind seemed to stop for a moment.

Shen Yanqiu’s hand rested on his sword hilt, silent.

Liu Shisan stared at Gu Tingyun, his smile gradually turning cold.

“So?” he asked. “Do you want us to thank you now, or are you looking for praise for how well you’ve handled the dirty work all these years?”

Gu Tingyun looked at her, seemingly giving her words serious thought.

“None of that is necessary,” he said. “I only need you to believe that tonight’s situation is real.”

Wen Bieyu suddenly stepped forward and grabbed his injured left arm.

Gu Tingyun’s brow twitched in pain.

Blood dripped steadily from his sleeve.

“How did this happen?” she asked.

“An accident on the road.”

“Gu Tingyun.” Wen Bieyu’s voice was soft, yet it carried a heavy, oppressive weight. “Try telling me one more lie.”

Gu Tingyun looked down at her. After a moment, he said, “Han Su grew suspicious. I was only able to get out tonight by killing one of his personal attendants.”

“What about Han Su?”

“He’s still alive.”

“Then you won’t be living much longer either,” Liu Shisan remarked.

Gu Tingyun gave a faint smile. “I never planned on living very long anyway.”

At those words, Liu Shisan’s expression changed instantly.

“Cut that crap.”

Gu Tingyun didn’t respond to him, shifting his gaze to Shen Yanqiu instead.

“The cellar keys are on Han Su’s person. If we don’t get the evidence before tomorrow night, people in the city will start dying.”

“What do you want to do?” Shen Yanqiu asked.

“We split into two groups,” Gu Tingyun said. “Pei Zhaoshuang, go back and stabilize the Garrison Camp; don’t let Han Su mobilize the troops first. Shen Yanqiu, take men into the Armory. Xiaochuan, go to the Investigation Bureau to find the old files-dig out every single one of Xue Zhongshan’s transfer documents from the past three years. Liu Shisan knows the city’s back alleys best; no one is faster than him at escorting people, delivering messages, or covering a retreat. Bieyu, you come with me.”

Wen Bieyu looked at him coldly. “And why should I go with you?”

Gu Tingyun replied, “Because when it comes to the solution for Xiao Chunfeng, you are the only one I trust.”

Liu Shisan let out a scoffing laugh. “You certainly have it all mapped out. What about yourself?”

Gu Tingyun paused, his voice flat. “I’m taking you all to see Han Su.”

Shen Yanqiu stared at him. “And if this is a trap?”

Gu Tingyun nodded. “Then you can kill me right now.”

As he spoke, he actually took a step forward.

The snow crunched softly under his feet.

He stood right before the tip of Shen Yanqiu’s sword and looked up at him.

“Shen Yanqiu.”

“Tonight, you can ask me everything you didn’t have the chance to ask ten years ago.”

“But if you still want to protect Yan Hui City, you have to trust me this once.”

Shen Yanqiu’s grip on his sword tightened bit by bit.

Only after a long silence did he sheathe the blade.

“Just this once.”

Gu Tingyun seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, yet perhaps he didn’t.

He looked toward Liu Shisan.

But Liu Shisan didn’t look back.

He bent down to scoop up some snow, packing it into a ball before crushing it slowly between his fingers.

“I’m agreeing to help this city, not you.”

“I know,” Gu Tingyun said.

“One more thing.” Liu Shisan looked up, glaring at him. “If you ever dare to make a decision on your own again, I’ll be the first one to turn on you.”

Gu Tingyun smiled. “Fine.”

Liu Shisan cursed immediately. “Stop smiling. It’s annoying.”

The sound of whistling arrows suddenly erupted in the distance.

Gu Tingyun’s expression shifted. “Move!”

In the next instant, over a dozen black arrows tore through the snow from the woods on the opposite bank.

Gu Tingyun reached out to push Wen Bieyu aside, but an arrow grazed his own shoulder.

Shen Yanqiu drew his sword to meet the attack.

Pei Zhaoshuang also unsheathed her blade, snapping two arrows mid-air.

Liu Shisan reacted the fastest, grabbing Ma Huichuan and rolling behind the derelict boat. “Stay down! There’s more than one group!”

Sure enough, several dark figures suddenly lunged from beneath the water’s surface, charging straight for the wooden pier.

Gu Tingyun finally drew his saber.

The blade was narrower than it used to be, but its steel looked even colder.

He cut down the foremost attacker with a single strike, his voice low and grim. “Han Su’s men are here. There’s a secret passage under the boat. Retreat!”