HomeTales of Dark RiverAn He Zhuan: Act One - Chapter 9

An He Zhuan: Act One – Chapter 9

Su Muyu halted, sweeping his sword in a sudden arc to draw a circle around himself. A blade of sword energy severed all the children’s lanterns simultaneously, sending them flying. He then thrust forward another strike, directly splitting the thick mist before him.

The long-haired man sat in his sedan chair, glaring fiercely at Su Muyu as he drew an oddly-shaped sword.

Su Muyu leaped forward, landing before the sedan chair, his thin sword clashing with the long-haired man’s blade. Su Muyu spoke in a low voice: “Run!”

The long-haired man swung his sword, knocking Su Muyu back, sneering, “Run? You think you can kill me?”

Su Muyu flipped in mid-air before landing steadily. He twirled his thin sword lightly and turned his back on the long-haired man without so much as a glance. The long-haired man frowned slightly, about to pursue, when his sedan chair suddenly shattered beneath him. He leaped back three zhang, then looked down to find a red spot appearing on his chest, slowly spreading outward.

“When did you…” the long-haired man’s voice trembled slightly.

Su Muyu walked forward slowly, sliding his thin sword directly back into the paper umbrella. He pulled the umbrella up and tilted his head slightly as a raindrop struck his face. Once again, he whispered: “Run!”

This time, the long-haired man didn’t hesitate. He immediately turned and fled with all his might, disappearing in moments. Su Muyu gripped the umbrella handle tightly, forcibly suppressing the killing intent in his heart. Though the long-haired man had fled, the lantern-bearing children remained, struggling to their feet as the mist gradually dispersed with their master’s departure. They were all severely wounded. They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with fear, convinced that Su Muyu would kill them.

Su Muyu opened his umbrella to shield against the sudden spring rain, its canopy tilting down to hide his eyes. The middle-aged man who had played Go with him suddenly appeared before him, with Su Changli, Su Hongxi, and Su Ziyi standing behind him.

“Chang He’s intention is that when the new Dark River emerges, there should be no more lantern-bearing children, no more soul-guiding ghosts,” the middle-aged man said slowly. “That’s why he arranged this assassination.”

Su Muyu turned around, hesitating, “Chang He wants to change Dark River?”

“Cross Dark River and you reach the other shore. There, it should no longer be eternal night, but light,” the middle-aged man said gravely.

“Does the other shore truly exist?” Under the night sky, a woman wearing a rabbit mask lifted her head to look at the moon and spoke softly.

“Sister, what are you looking at?” A woman in red robes walked out of the house, addressing the masked figure.

“The moon,” the rabbit-masked woman turned to face the self-proclaimed physician Bai Hehuai. “Has the Divine Physician finished administering the needles? Is the Patriarch’s condition improving?”

Bai Hehuai dusted off her hands: “It’s nothing special, just the world’s second deadliest poison. I am the world’s greatest physician’s… junior uncle, after all. No problem at all.”

The rabbit-masked woman nodded, “Then we trouble the Divine Physician.”

“Sister, you’re so beautiful, it’s such a shame to wear a mask daily,” Bai Hehuai said dreamily.

The masked woman laughed, “Divine Physician jests. Since I wear a mask, how could you know whether I’m beautiful or ugly?”

“I can read bone structure, I am a Divine Physician after all,” Bai Hehuai pulled out a piece of osmanthus cake and took a bite. “I don’t need to see a whole person standing before me – even just a hand would be enough to imagine their appearance. So, I know Sister is of celestial beauty without you removing your mask. As for your companion Ugly Niu, I don’t need to see him either – as his name suggests, he’s quite ugly!”

The air froze for a moment, and then a roof tile above Bai Hehuai’s head suddenly shattered.

The rabbit-masked woman coughed lightly, “Don’t disturb the Divine Physician. You were never good-looking to begin with.”

Bai Hehuai seemed completely unaware, continuing, “I think you and Su Muyu would make a good match, Sister. One of celestial beauty, one of refreshing handsomeness. Are you two together?”

“Hahaha, you think we’d make a good match?” The rabbit-masked woman burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Bai Hehuai raised an eyebrow and took another bite of Osmanthus cake, hearing very faint laughter from several places around them.

“Get lost. Don’t follow us for now,” the masked woman waved her hand, shattering three tiles on the eaves.

Bai Hehuai took out another piece of Osmanthus cake and offered it to the masked woman. After some hesitation, she removed her mask and accepted it. As Bai Hehuai had said, the face beneath the mask truly deserved to be called celestially beautiful. Though Bai Hehuai herself was beautiful, the eyes and brows beneath the mask held an additional allure that no man could resist.

The masked woman took a bite of the cake and smiled, “Delicious.”

“I only brought one box. Once we reach the north, there won’t be osmanthus cakes this good,” Bai Hehuai finished her piece and dusted off her hands. “Sister, you still haven’t answered my question.”

The woman waved her hand, “Lord Puppet and I are certainly not a couple. Once people in Dark River marry, they usually retire to handle internal affairs. Few continue carrying out missions.”

“What about being unmarried but simply liking each other?” Bai Hehuai pressed.

“Can Lord Puppet even like anyone? I feel he neither likes nor dislikes anyone. He’s very boring, yet interesting in his boringness,” the woman pondered.

“Why boring yet interesting?” Bai Hehuai asked, puzzled.

“Being ugly and boring is just boring, but being handsome and boring is a unique kind of interesting,” the masked woman nodded. “Yes, that’s it.”

Bai Hehuai paused, then laughed, “Sister, that makes so much sense. But has Lord Puppet always been this way?”

“I suppose so, at least since I’ve known him. He’s different from others who emerged from The Crucible. No, I should say he’s different from everyone in Dark River,” she replied.

Bai Hehuai frowned slightly, “The Crucible? Lord Puppet was once a Nameless One?”

The woman’s hand paused mid-bite, asking suspiciously, “You seem to know quite a lot about our Dark River?”

Bai Hehuai scratched her head, “They’re all stories my master told me. Oh right, Sister, what’s your name?”

The rabbit-masked woman swallowed her last bite of osmanthus cake: “My name is Mu Yumo.”

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