A strange atmosphere suddenly filled the room.

Bai Hehuai turned around, gently fanning to disperse the incense smoke.

The Patriarch’s hand rested on the Sleeping Dragon Sword beside him, lost in thought.

A tacit understanding seemed to form between them as they fell silent. After a moment, Bai Hehuai finally spoke, “Patriarch, I’ve thought of a way to completely purge the poison from your body, but it’s somewhat dangerous.”

The Patriarch’s face twitched slightly, “Oh? Do tell.”

In the courtyard, Mu Yumo had put her rabbit mask back on and continued gazing at the bright moon. Suddenly, a white paper butterfly floated down from the sky. Mu Yumo raised her finger, and the butterfly landed on her fingertip, fluttering gently before bursting into flames. Mu Yumo swung her hand sharply, shouting, “Take the Patriarch and go!”

Inside the room, Bai Hehuai and the Patriarch exchanged glances. She quickly extinguished the incense and shouldered her medicine box: “Such a brief moment of respite, and now we’re fleeing again.”

The Patriarch dressed and took up the Sleeping Dragon Sword: “Once you cure me, no one will dare come!” A loud crash resounded as a hole was blown through the back wall, revealing a carriage waiting outside.

“As expected of Spider Shadow – every movement so swift,” Bai Hehuai remarked admiringly as she carried her medicine box out.

Soon, only Mu Yumo remained in the courtyard. She raised her hand lightly, and nearly a hundred white paper butterflies rose from all directions, their wings fluttering with an ethereal glow, both beautiful and eerie.

A tall man landed on the courtyard wall, wearing strange clothing that appeared to be woven from pure black feathers.

“I expected some great master, but you look like a crow,” Mu Yumo sneered.

The man looked down at her and flicked his finger, sending a needle so fine it was almost invisible. Mu Yumo couldn’t see the needle but felt its powerful force approaching. She instinctively stepped back, saying gravely, “Dragon’s Whisker Needle. You’re from the Tang Clan.” As she finished speaking, a crisp sound like breaking eggshell rang out – her rabbit mask had shattered instantly, the Dragon’s Whisker Needle having sliced through it.

“Tang Clan, Tang Lianyue,” the man’s voice showed no reaction to the beauty revealed beneath her mask.

Mu Yumo started, “Tang Lianyue! The Black Tortoise Guardian of Tianqi City!”

“You’re not who I seek. Where is your Patriarch? I must see him,” Tang Lianyue said slowly.

Mu Yumo forced down her panic and laughed, “Even if you are the Black Tortoise Guardian of Tianqi City, firstly, this isn’t Tianqi City, and secondly, Dark River has never taken orders from the imperial court. How dare you think you can see the Patriarch at will?”

Tang Lianyue shook his head, “I’m not here as the Black Tortoise Guardian of Tianqi City but as a disciple of the Tang Clan. Your Dark River Patriarch killed our Second Master. I’m here to settle that account.”

Mu Yumo was even more shocked. The Patriarch’s assassination of the Tang Clan’s Second Master was secret – even within Spider Shadow, only a few knew the details. How did Tang Lianyue, all the way in Tianqi City, learn of it? She said gravely, “Guardian, where did you get this information? What if it’s merely baseless rumors?”

Tang Lianyue replied, “On Second Master’s chest was a sword mark, extremely fine and thin, yet it had completely shattered the heart within. Only one sword in the world could do that – your Patriarch’s Sleeping Dragon Sword.”

Mu Yumo grew increasingly alarmed but maintained her composure: “Nonsense. Who told you this?”

Tang Lianyue said slowly, “Someone from your Dark River.”

“You believed someone who simply claimed to be from Dark River?” Mu Yumo countered.

“That person’s words carried some weight when spoken as a member of Dark River, even though I despise him. Of course, some things become clear once you see them yourself.” Tang Lianyue turned around. “The Patriarch isn’t here. Only you remain, and all this talk is merely to buy time.”

“Leaving so soon?” Mu Yumo waved her hand, sending the paper butterflies speeding toward Tang Lianyue.

“Mars Paper Butterflies.” Tang Lianyue’s black feather robe floated slightly as dozens of hidden weapons flew from his sleeves. Sparks flew as the butterflies burst into flames three zhang from his body, scattering as ash in the air.

Such mastery of hidden weapons… As a member of Spider Shadow, Mu Yumo was naturally one of the Mu family’s finest of her generation. In her years as a Mu family assassin, she had faced many hidden weapon masters, but never had she seen such technique and speed as Tang Lianyue’s. Was this the power of one who topped the Hundred Knowledge Hall’s rankings? Mu Yumo stepped back, clasped her hands, and shouted angrily, “Rise!”

“Simple tricks.” Tang Lianyue stepped forward, crushing a black spider beneath his foot. The spider had blended perfectly with the courtyard wall, nearly impossible to detect. “You used the Mars Paper Butterflies as bait to let this Netherworld Spider approach me. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

“Fool who thinks himself clever,” Mu Yumo smiled.

Tang Lianyue suddenly sensed something amiss and leaped back sharply. With a tremendous boom, the Netherworld Spider exploded, shattering half the courtyard wall. Tang Lianyue landed three zhang away, saying gravely, “Netherworld Spiders typically attack with poisoned silk. What did you put in that spider?”

“What the Tang Clan fears most is exactly what I used!” Mu Yumo laughed. “The Thunder Zhenzhus from the Thunder Pavilion’s Lei family!”

Tang Lianyue looked down to find dozens of spiders crawling densely at his feet. He recalled rumors from long ago: “You’re the Spider Woman of Dark River’s Mu family.”

“I hate that title!” Mu Yumo cursed.

A series of explosions followed, destroying the entire courtyard wall in an instant. The black feather robe flashed once in the firelight before vanishing.

Mu Yumo breathed a sigh of relief: “It seems the Guardian of Tianqi isn’t so formidable after all.”

“The Tang Clan doesn’t fear the Lei family fortress,” a calm voice suddenly sounded behind her. “So I don’t fear your Thunder Zhenzhus.”