In the Su family courtyard.

Su Jinhui smoked his pipe while looking at Su Changhe, who lay before him in tattered clothes, and said meaningfully: “Ah, Changhe, you’re truly all or nothing—when you do act, you shake the entire Dark River to its foundations.”

Su Changhe lay on the wooden couch, waving his bandage-wrapped hand: “Old Master, please don’t mock me. Look how badly Mu Zizhi beat me up—I’m hardly as formidable as you say.”

“Xie Fanhua is dead,” Su Jinhui exhaled smoke and asked quietly, “Surely you knew?”

Su Changhe waved his hand impatiently: “Bah! I killed him. Xie Fanhua was already half-dead anyway. The Xie family people were all waiting for him to die—the younger ones couldn’t emerge while he lived.”

“True. Had he been healthy, Xie Fanhua would have been the next Xie family master, but he had the constitution of a dying man.” Su Jinhui nodded. “Killing him counts as an achievement. But Mu Bai—you shouldn’t have killed him.”

Su Changhe started: “What? Mu Bai is dead too? Who killed him?”

Su Jinhui smiled cryptically: “You don’t know? Wasn’t it you who sent Su Zhe?”

Su Changhe held his head in his hands: “Oh no, oh no! Isn’t Uncle Zhe usually the laziest one? Why did he put in so much effort this time? Now that he’s killed Mu Bai, won’t Mu Zizhi skin me alive next time we meet?”

“Everyone knows that Mu Zizhi, the Mu family master, is a madman,” Su Jinhui set down his pipe. “Killing his son—he won’t just skin you alive, he’ll skin our entire Su family. In the past hundreds of years, the Dark River has had internal conflicts, but the balance of three families has never changed. This time, I fear, will be different.”

Su Changhe covered his eyes: “Old Master, this isn’t my fault! Uncle Zhe did this himself—I told him to kill the divine physician from Medicine Valley, not Mu Bai!”

“Enough, what’s done is done.” Su Jinhui sighed softly. “Once drawn, a sword cannot return to its scabbard. This time, let’s simply make the entire Dark River…”

“Bear the surname Su.”

Everyone present was shocked, including Su Changhe.

Only the scholarly middle-aged man standing beside Su Jinhui smiled slightly, while the bald man fiercely rubbed his bare head.

The courtyard fell completely silent.

Su Changhe broke the silence with a cupped-hand salute: “Family Master’s grand strategy—I, Su Changhe, will follow you to the death!”

“You’ll follow to the death, but what about Su Zhe?” Su Jinhui bent slightly forward, maintaining his enigmatic smile.

But Su Changhe’s hair stood on end—for that instant, Su Jinhui had emanated a terrifying killing intent. Still, Su Changhe maintained his smile: “What about Uncle Zhe?”

“The Great Elder feared Mu Zizhi’s revenge and immediately sent reinforcements to Su Zhe. But someone returned early with news—after killing Mu Bai, Su Zhe didn’t fight Su Muyu, but chose to travel with him and the divine physician from Medicine Valley. They’re currently returning to the Spider’s Lair,” the bald man said with a cold smile.

Su Changhe was stunned. Some of these events had been his careful arrangements, while others were completely unexpected. In his plan, Xie Fanhua’s death was certain, and Su Zhe would help repel Mu Bai out of his old friendship with Su Muyu, while Su Muyu’s current condition would prevent him from stopping Su Zhe from killing the divine physician. But now Mu Bai was dead, and Su Zhe was traveling with Su Muyu—where had things gone wrong…

“Rest and recover for a few days. Su Muqiu will handle the Su family’s activities from now on,” Su Jinhui said slowly.

The scholarly man nodded slightly, glancing at Su Changhe: “Muqiu accepts the command.”

In the Spider’s Lair.

Only eight remained of the Twelve Zodiac Shadows, weapons in hand, guarding the Great Elder’s chamber door.

Inside, the Great Elder lay unconscious on the bed while the hunchbacked elder kept watch, lighting an incense stick.

The Dark River’s Soul-Guarding Incense could maintain life for twelve hours, regardless of injury or poison, as long as a breath remained. If the Great Elder’s poison could be neutralized within these twelve hours, all would be well. If not, even the gods couldn’t save him.

The Shadow members all wore grave expressions. Without Su Muyu, and now with the Great Elder fallen, their hearts inevitably wavered. Outside the Spider’s Lair were their families, but their former clan members now pointed blades at them. Inside was the dying Great Elder—they could kill him anytime if they wished, but even then, their families would never accept them back.

They were destined to remain pawns to be discarded.

The hunchbacked elder placed his iron staff before him, between the Great Elder and the Shadows.

The atmosphere grew subtle and tense.

Until a familiar figure landed before them.

“Chief!” Dragon Chen cried out.

Su Muyu looked at them, nodded, and said solemnly: “Thank you all for your hard work.”

Dragon Chen stepped forward joyfully, but after one step, he saw two more people land—one was the divine physician Bai Hehuai from Medicine Valley, and the other… Dragon Chen immediately gripped his sword hilt: “Su Zhe!”

The other Shadows instantly drew their weapons.

Dragon Chen looked at Su Muyu, his expression incredulous: “Chief, you’ve… betrayed us?”

Su Muyu frowned slightly. Seeing Dragon Chen’s trembling shoulders, he walked forward slowly, patted his shoulder, and consoled him: “If I ever truly betray, I will still protect all of you behind me.”

Dragon Chen froze, then bit his lip, but tears still flowed: “Chief! Joining the Shadows was once such an honor, so why are we now hunted by our own clan members like criminals?”

“The error lies not with you, but with them.” Su Muyu pushed Dragon Chen’s half-drawn sword back into its scabbard. “Uncle Zhe has come to help us. As a former puppet of the previous generation, he’s willing to stand with us.”

Su Zhe smiled: “Indeed! Cleansing the Dark River’s internal strife is our generation’s responsibility!” After speaking, he silently cursed Su Muyu: Don’t go pinning labels on me!

Bai Hehuai quietly rolled her eyes.

Su Muyu looked up at the hunchbacked elder, then at the Great Elder behind him: “And Divine Physician Bai has found a way to cure the Great Elder.”

Bai Hehuai started, then smiled: “Everything will be alright.”

The clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, letting sunlight shine through.

It really seemed as Bai Hehuai said—everything would be alright.

The hunchbacked elder and Su Muyu looked at each other for a long while before he finally picked up his iron staff: “Then let the divine physician make one final attempt.”