“Do you want this sword?” The Water Official spoke casually as if discussing something ordinary. “I can give it to you.”
Su Muyu extended his left hand: “Then give it to me.”
“Use the hand you normally wield a sword with. This time is different from the last—once you take this sword, you must keep holding it,” the Water Official said mysteriously.
Su Muyu shook his head: “Since Su Jinhui didn’t take the sword, I will return it to the Patriarch. What happens next will be his decision.”
“As the Patriarch said, you’re a person of principle. But setting principles aside, in your heart, don’t you detest being an assassin?” the Water Official asked with a smile.
Su Muyu didn’t answer the question, merely bowing slightly: “It seems Your Excellency has no intention of returning the Sleeping Dragon Sword to me.”
“You can try to take it,” the Water Official held the Sleeping Dragon Sword horizontally before him. “If you can.”
“Very well.” Su Muyu leaped forward, his Fine Rain Sword thrusting out as he passed by the Water Official. The strike was so swift that Bai Hehuai couldn’t even see it clearly, and hadn’t even sensed Su Muyu leaving her side.
“Instant Kill Sword technique?” The Water Official nodded. “Not bad. It seems you returned to No Sword City and recovered those lost sword manuals. I wonder, have you also learned your father’s sword techniques?”
Su Muyu looked at his Fine Rain Sword—there was no blood on it, only rainwater.
“Unfortunately, there’s one thing that even the fastest sword cannot cut—water.” The Water Official raised his hand slightly, and the falling rain slowly condensed in his palm. He flicked a finger, sending the water stream toward Bai Hehuai.
“Stop!” Su Muyu shouted, immediately swinging his sword to block in front of Bai Hehuai, but the water stream dispersed into mist halfway through. When Su Muyu turned back, the Water Official had vanished.
In the Spider’s Nest.
The Patriarch sat in a bamboo pavilion in the courtyard, watching the rain curtain, speaking softly: “So it’s you who came.”
“Heaven Official bestows blessings, Earth Official pardons sins, Water Official resolves calamities. With the Dark River in such chaos, naturally I come to eliminate disasters,” the Water Official was suddenly sitting atop the bamboo pavilion.
The Patriarch said gravely: “Who gave the order to kill Second Master Tang?”
The Water Official played with the Sleeping Dragon Sword in his hands: “The one you already know about, of course.”
The Patriarch sighed softly: “Was everything that’s happened within his expectations?”
The Water Official flung the Sleeping Dragon Sword downward, piercing through the pavilion to embed itself before the Patriarch: “He’s not a sage—how could he calculate so much? What’s happening now has exceeded even his expectations. But he’s eager to see what kind of new Dark River will emerge from all this.”
The Patriarch nodded: “Whatever kind of Dark River it becomes…”
The Water Official smiled: “It shouldn’t include you anymore.”
The Patriarch stepped forward to grasp the Sleeping Dragon Sword: “I can go to the Homeland.”
“Hahaha, the Homeland! The legendary pure land of the Dark River, where one can truly lay down the blade and live as an ordinary person. But you’re the Patriarch—you should know the Homeland has never existed! It’s a lie.” The Water Official’s expression turned strange as if hearing something particularly amusing.
“I’ve been Patriarch for thirty years, longer than any before me, so I’ve also done many things they couldn’t achieve.” The Patriarch drew the Sleeping Dragon Sword from the ground, and the dragon’s eyes at the pommel opened once more.
The Water Official swept his long sleeve, his form instantly disappearing, dissolving into the rain.
“You dare defy the Three Officials? You want to fight me?” The Water Official’s form had vanished, but his voice remained.
The Patriarch laughed boldly: “In my thirty years as Patriarch, the only thing I’ve never done is surrender. You want to use my death to wash the Dark River in blood for a new beginning, but I think only with your deaths can the Dark River have a new future.”
“The Dark River was never your Dark River, nor does it belong to us Three Officials of the Soul-Summoning Hall. It’s merely a blade in someone else’s hand. We don’t have the right to decide its fate—only the one holding the blade does.” The Water Official suddenly landed, striking the ground heavily with his palm, sending a water column shooting toward the Patriarch.
The Patriarch swung the Sleeping Dragon Sword at the water column. But as the Water Official had said, water cannot be cut—the column passed straight through the sword toward the Patriarch’s face. The Patriarch smiled coldly, extending a finger to lightly touch the water column, instantly freezing it solid. With a horizontal slash, he shattered it into ice fragments.
“Ah, I forgot—though you were born to the Mu family, before becoming Patriarch you lived with the Su family.” The Water Official’s expression changed slightly. “I didn’t expect you to know Su Jinhui’s Frost Sword Energy too.”
“Not just know it—I’m stronger, much stronger!” The Patriarch gripped the Sleeping Dragon Sword with both hands and thrust it into the ground. “For example, this move—he couldn’t do this!”
Instantly, frost covered the entire courtyard. The rain transformed into large hailstones crashing down, far faster and more intense than the technique Su Jinhui had used against Mu Ciling in the Su family courtyard. More terrifying still, all the frost winds and hail simultaneously struck at where the Water Official stood.
“Heaven and Earth’s Extreme Cold, Wind Blade Frost Sword!” The Water Official spread both hands, releasing an invisible energy that blocked the frost winds and hail three feet away.
“Even with my white hair, even if you think I’m no longer fit for this position, I’m still the strongest in the Dark River!” the Patriarch roared.
The Water Official watched the frost winds and hail gradually closing in on him, his brow slightly furrowed. He smiled coldly: “I didn’t expect the Snow Falls on Single Plum poison could be cured. I should have killed that girl earlier. Keeping her alive will bring trouble.” His body suddenly spun, barely pushing back the frost winds and hail for a moment before leaping up to escape.
“Stay!” The Patriarch pulled up his sword and swept it skyward, instantly freezing the entire courtyard wall with frost energy. Though frost touched the Water Official’s ankle, his form still dissolved into the rain, disappearing beyond the wall. The Patriarch lowered his sword, breathing heavily.
Su Muyu and Bai Hehuai arrived at this moment, both startled by the ice-covered courtyard. Su Muyu touched the frost on the ground, saying softly: “This frost energy is even more dominating than the Old Master Su’s.”
The Patriarch looked at them: “You encountered the Soul-Summoning Hall’s Water Official earlier?”
Su Muyu nodded: “Yes, but he didn’t seem to be here to help us.”
The Patriarch laughed coldly: “He’s not here to help anyone.”