His gaze was deep and shadowed.

Wu Xie.

An Long narrowed his eyes...

"This is the same person who appeared before... that Great Grandmaster..." Qin Shubao spoke in a low voice to the Scholar beside him. The man nodded slightly, his eyes clear and bright with intelligence.

The second Great Grandmaster.

This was good news.

Sui Yi’s gaze quickly withdrew from Snow God Mountain and fixed only on the towering Sacrificial Altar ahead.

In the center was a tower, with seven linked altars around it.

These altars were nothing more than enlarged versions—by more than tenfold—of the altar on the small island by Luoyang Pier; the Runes on them were also far more intricate and far more ancient.

But Sui Yi’s eyes still focused mainly on that tower.

The style of this tower looked like she’d seen it somewhere before, giving her a faint sense of familiarity.

But that feeling was very bad.

So bad it even surpassed the harm brought to her by the Statue of the Gods; only, the former had been like a real wound to the body, while this tower’s sense of familiarity was a kind of faint dread and... pain?

A sorrow buried deep in memory.

Suddenly a fragment flashed through her mind, one of those she had dreamt of before but never clearly seen.

The pain of being imprisoned... of flesh shaved off and bones crushed.

Sui Yi felt her heart clench a little, the flesh and blood of her back as if half torn away in an instant. Her whole body felt extremely unwell, then the overpowering smell of wine hit her; nausea surged straight up from her chest. Her brows knitted tight as she abruptly set down her cup.

"Um, Shubao, Mr. Sui seems like he’s about to... throw up."

For all his bulk, the fatty was still sharp; even while eating he could keep eyes on six directions and ears on eight, and he was the first to notice the shift in Sui Yi’s expression across from him...

And also the first to GET what kind of physical reaction Sui Yi was having.

His voice wasn’t loud, but...

Everyone looked over, and sure enough, from that subtle yet utterly undisguised expression on Sui Yi’s face, they could all see a hint of...

Nausea?

Oh my god, this was bad!

Whose!!!

All eyes that had originally been fixed on Wu Gen and the others now in an instant jumped to Sui Yi, and in the next instant jumped over to Wu Xie...

You, you, you—yes you~! What are you looking away for! It’s you!

Wu Xie, silent, flicked a glance at another person.

Shang Xiuxun also instinctively looked over, only to notice that Wu Xie seemed to have glanced at her. She suddenly realized that last night Sui Yi really hadn’t been together with that person.

Then... the one who shared a room last night... seems to have been me?

What does this have to do with me! I’m a woman, how could I get a man pregnant? Even if I could... it wouldn’t be this efficient!!!

What are you looking at me for~!

Shang Xiuxun felt her breathing grow a little unsteady.

The atmosphere turned weird all at once.

Sui Yi noticed it too and frowned. At such a critical moment, their brains could still run this wild... you had to hand it to them.

But once Sui Yi swept them with a cool glance, everyone quickly pulled their eyes back.

It was Liew Baiyi’s laughter that broke the silence.

"Mr. Sui, are you feeling unwell?"

"I’m fine," Sui Yi said faintly, took a sip of water, and no longer looked at him.

However...

Priest Wu Gen suddenly fixed his eyes on Sui Yi. His stare was somewhat direct, sharp, and deep...

The look in his eyes was far too naked.

It even made An Long say, "Looks like this Great Sacrificer of Snow God Mountain seems to have something to say to Mr. Sui..."

Priest Wu Gen did indeed have something to say.

Sui Yi listened as well.

The north wind blew, carrying bits of ice and snow.

"You are one abandoned by time, cursed by Heaven, who has forgotten all that came before and severed worldly bonds of love. If you persist in searching, you will brew an even greater calamity. The people by your side will, because of you, have their life force extinguished and their souls dragged down..."

Priest Wu Gen’s voice was very strange, like that of an old crone: rough and hoarse. Coupled with that sharp gaze and those words, it conjured up a truly terrifying effect.

Many people turned their eyes to Sui Yi.

An inauspicious person?

Most of those present perhaps did not fear life or death, but not a single one could ignore their friends and family being dragged down by them. So a prophecy like this was anything but light.

Dugu Mingyue’s expression shifted. He was about to angrily denounce this person for spouting nonsense.

Sui Yi spoke first.

"What is called fate only exists because great fear gives rise to great Divine Skills. I do not fear fate, and naturally the people by my side do not fear it either."

"Since there is no fear, a prophecy like yours, sir, is probably useless..."

What kind of calm and confidence was that, and what kind of trust?

An inauspicious person?

It suddenly seemed ridiculous.

Sui Yi tapped her fingers lightly on the cup, her gaze hooked like a sliver of Yin Yue.

"The Shichen Chinese Time when North Star Moon Tread and Tengu Spirits intersect is about to arrive. The Snow God Festival can begin."

Just a few breaths ago it had been Priest Wu Gen weaving a terrifying atmosphere of prophecy, but in the blink of an eye, Sui Yi had lightly and casually dissolved it, reversed it, and turned it into her own stage.