Chapter One: The White-Clad Enchantress

Ruyi Tavern in Xianyang—one of the most renowned establishments in the Central Plains. Within its halls, a lovely songstress sang sweetly, her voice drifting through the air:

“Maiden’s flower, beauties of the realm as lovely as a painting! Lovely as a painting, faces like jade, lips red as blood! Their hearts gentle as the moon, their love as flowing as water, pure and unsullied as ice and jade, steadfast as iron. Maidens dream, and fates are bound to meet…”

It was a rare sight to see a woman drinking in the streets, rarer still for a woman to drink alone in the famed Ruyi Tavern. This was a quiet, refined young woman, clad in white from head to toe—a dress as spotless as new-fallen snow. Her long, dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, gleaming with luster. Her features were as exquisite as if carved from jade and ice, yet her beautiful, limpid eyes were so cold that none dared meet their gaze.

Fine wine may warm the heart, but it could not thaw the chill in her eyes. Those mesmerizing eyes, beautiful enough to haunt the soul, were now fixed intently upon the cup of wine balanced between her slender, elegant fingers. Lost in thought, she tossed it back in a single bold draught.

The drink was not the celebrated house specialty, but Fenjiu—one of the ten famed spirits of the Central Plains. A fine wine, but a heady one. Even most men would hesitate to down it as she did, cup after cup. Thus, the staff and serving girls watched her in amazement. The songstresses, accustomed as they were to drinking for company, had never seen a woman drink alone so fiercely, nor quaff such strong spirits.

Potent liquor scorches the throat; beauties who depend on their voices would never risk it. One thing was certain: this young woman was desperately lonely. Her solitude rivaled that of the most seasoned wanderers.

Many men, seeing such a beautiful and solitary woman, would let their thoughts wander. Yet there was something about her, an air that brooked no impure desire. Standing before her, one was struck by a chill, a sense of distance as though she were perched high above, unattainable. Those keen, flashing eyes left you unable to meet her gaze.

A handful of local ruffians, intent on making sport of her, were cowed by a single glance—uneasy, not daring to offend.

After finishing her pot of wine and a bowl of noodles, she signaled to the waiter, settled her bill, and departed the tavern.

Her exit seemed to lift a weight from the room. The patrons and staff burst into discussion about the beautiful and mysterious woman.

A sprightly young waiter named Chu Yu picked up her wine cup, mimicking her manner as he tried a sip. “That woman can really drink. Was she a female drunkard in her past life? But no lady lush could ever look like that. I wonder what kind of man could ever win such a cold beauty?”

His companions laughed. “As if a little waiter like you could ever dream of marrying a beauty like her. What are you worrying about?”

It was a winter afternoon—the sunlight outside was balmy and comfortable, but patches of snow lingered in the shade. The woman in white emerged from the tavern and, upon seeing the remnants of snow, felt a sudden, inexplicable tremor in her heart.

White Snow Blossom. There was no such flower in Lady Baihua’s famed “Compendium of Famous Flowers.” Nor was there such a person in the “Registry of Masters” by the legendary wanderer. But in the “Black Demon List” held by the Wulin Alliance Master, White Snow Blossom was named as a fiend.

The Black Demon List read: “White Snow Blossom, female. Known in the martial world as the White-Clad Demoness—beautiful yet ruthless, always garbed in white, ever with a jade flute by her side. Her martial skills are strange and formidable; she has slain and maimed countless heroes of the Central Plains. The greatest threat to peace in the martial world…”

The Wulin Alliance Master, Zhao Wuying, had declared: “The purpose of the Central Plains Martial Alliance is to uphold peace. Our first task is to eliminate the demon heads named in the Black Demon List.”

Wherever these fiends roamed, blood and chaos followed. To restore peace, Zhao Wuying issued the Alliance Master’s command to hunt down these demon heads.

She was one of them—the White-Clad Demoness, White Snow Blossom.

Leaving the tavern, White Snow Blossom walked until she came to a fork in the road, where a stone stele bore the inscription: “Xiao Family Manor.” Clearly, this was the road to Xiao Manor. Pausing briefly at the crossroads, she turned toward the manor.

Xiao Family Manor—a name well-known throughout the martial world, for its master, the hero of the Weishui, Xiao Zhenfen, wielded the Seven-Star Blade, a weapon that struck awe across the land. Xiao Zhenfen was ranked ninth in the “Registry of Masters.”

White Snow Blossom’s purpose was nothing less than to slay this famed hero. Three years earlier, Xiao Zhenfen had aided the mighty Long Wei in injuring her adoptive father, White Eagle. Thus, vengeance was her duty.

To most, the notion of a young and beautiful woman seeking vengeance against Xiao Zhenfen seemed absurd. But upon learning she was the White-Clad Demoness, fear and awe replaced doubt.

White Snow Blossom was the only woman among the five great demon heads listed by Zhao Wuying, and by far the youngest—the others were decades her senior. This, perhaps, made her the most terrifying of all.

Legends of the Central Plains spoke of her beauty and her venomous heart; she was said to slay without mercy, her victims too numerous to count. The legendary wanderer once lamented that as long as White Snow Blossom lived, the martial world would know no peace. Even Alliance Master Zhao Wuying stressed repeatedly the necessity of eliminating this demoness.

Lady Baihua, who wrote the “Compendium of Famous Flowers” and was the most authoritative woman in the martial world, once remarked regretfully, “Though White Snow Blossom is worthy to be listed, I cannot bear to include such a notorious figure.” Thus, her name was absent from the compendium. Yet Lady Baihua also said that the most fearsome woman in the world was none other than White Snow Blossom.

Thinking of this, White Snow Blossom felt a helpless sorrow. Who in the world could truly understand her heart? Though branded the greatest demoness in all the Central Plains, only she herself knew she took no pleasure in killing. She carried no infamous darts from the Tang family, nor a deadly Seven-Star Blade. This journey from the Western Regions to seek vengeance upon Xiao Zhenfen was a duty—her obligation as the adopted daughter of White Eagle.

At last, she glimpsed the grand silhouette of Xiao Manor ahead. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. Two figures approached. The first, a man in his thirties, wore a purple coat and a gleaming sword at his waist—sharp-eyed, shrewd, and imposing. Behind him was another, similar in age and dress—perhaps a brother or a companion.

The man in purple barred her way. “May I ask your name, miss? Whom are you seeking here?”