HomeTales of Dark RiverAn He Zhuan: Act Three - Chapter 3

An He Zhuan: Act Three – Chapter 3

“Uncle Zhe is my father,” Bai Hehuai said with a smile.

Su Muyu paused briefly, then turned to continue forward. “The Divine Physician jests. That’s impossible.”

“Why do you say I jest?” Bai Hehuai pressed.

Su Muyu noticed his lighter dimming and gently blew on it. “Dark River members never marry outside the clan. Some have broken this rule before, marrying and having children with outsiders, but in the end, they and their entire families were erased. Uncle Zhe was once the Puppet Master and still holds high status in the Su family. He couldn’t possibly have a daughter outside.”

Bai Hehuai pursed her lips. “I see. I was indeed speaking nonsense—merely curious. All this killing between you people is just because the Grand Elder won’t step down, right? You said Uncle Zhe was the previous successor candidate, and after he stepped down, wasn’t it you? Why doesn’t the Grand Elder just pass the position to you?”

Su Muyu shook his head. “I’m not of the clan by birth. I’m a Nameless One. In Dark River’s hundreds of years of succession, no Nameless One has ever become Grand Elder.”

“Does Dark River have a rule preventing Nameless Ones from succeeding as Grand Elder?” Bai Hehuai asked.

Su Muyu paused. “No such rule exists.”

“Then what’s there to worry about? You should just succeed as Grand Elder.” Bai Hehuai scratched her cheek. “The Grand Elder is strange, making you Puppet Master but not giving you the position.”

“If the position were truly given to me, this internal strife wouldn’t be these undercurrents—it would be open sword-drawing conflict. The so-called Nameless Ones, even after the naming ceremony joining the three families, are still not viewed as true clan members. Back then, due to special circumstances, the Grand Elder made me succeed as Puppet Master. These years, I’ve wanted to give up the position, but the Grand Elder wouldn’t allow it.” Su Muyu suddenly stopped walking.

“What’s wrong?” Bai Hehuai asked.

Su Muyu turned and sat down, breathing lightly. “My apologies. Please wait a moment, Divine Physician.” He then gently pressed three acupoints on his shoulder and began circulating his qi while sitting cross-legged. Bai Hehuai stepped forward and discovered Su Muyu’s shoulder had been bleeding all along.

“You’re wounded?” Bai Hehuai frowned.

“That young swordsman from the Xie family—his bladework was stronger than I imagined,” Su Muyu said gravely.

“Sometimes I don’t understand you. You have someone beside you whose medical skills are first or second in the world, yet you endured this wound the whole way? Was it so hard to tell me?” Bai Hehuai bent down and touched the blood on Su Muyu’s shoulder. “Fortunately, there’s no poison on their blade. This small wound is too simple. Don’t circulate your qi yet.”

“Alright.” Su Muyu nodded.

“No matter how strong someone is, some burdens can’t be carried alone.” Bai Hehuai took out a medicine bottle from her robes and sprinkled some powder on Su Muyu’s shoulder. “Take three deep breaths, then begin circulating your qi.”

Su Muyu sighed softly. “One has to try.”

“Try what? Death ends everything.” Bai Hehuai gave Su Muyu a sideways glance. “Do you want to die?”

“Many times, I feel death wouldn’t be so bad,” Su Muyu said quietly.

“Idiot.” Bai Hehuai cursed under her breath. “We healers hate people like you who don’t cherish their own lives.”

Su Muyu waved his hand to circulate his qi. After the energy flowed through his body once, the bleeding on his shoulder stopped. He stood up and continued forward. “In Dark River, life is something very ethereal to us. Because we can take others’ lives at any moment, and our lives can be taken by others at any moment.”

Bai Hehuai watched Su Muyu’s back. This man who appeared so cold yet often revealed a gentleness unusual for Dark River members—just when she had begun to feel close to him, he suddenly seemed strange again.

“Never mind, after this job, we probably won’t meet again anyway.” Bai Hehuai followed after him.

In Jiuxiao City.

In a secluded courtyard.

A middle-aged man in black clothes sat on a rocking chair, his head slightly bowed, gently swaying back and forth, having dozed off. Until a crow flew overhead. The middle-aged man suddenly opened his eyes, his hand flicking slightly, sending a small knife flying from his hand that struck down the crow.

“Bad omen,” the middle-aged man cursed softly.

“Family Head!” A black-clad assassin guard immediately bowed to accept punishment. Beside him was the current Su family head, Su Jinhui, known for his usual calm and magnanimity, but whose anger, when roused, had severe consequences.

“What are you afraid of? It’s just a crow—I merely cursed.” Su Jinhui patted the man’s shoulder. “Sons of the Su family shouldn’t be so timid.”

The man hurriedly stood up, speaking no more.

At this moment, a bald, muscular man walked in from outside. “Family Head.”

Su Jinhui raised an eyebrow slightly. “How goes it?”

“The Xie and Mu families joined forces to breach the Spider’s Nest. It appears they haven’t obtained the Sleeping Dragon Sword, but they’ve indeed broken through the Nest’s defenses,” the bald man reported.

“Xie Ba and Mu Zizhi, those old foxes, actually working together.” Su Jinhui took out a string of prayer beads, leisurely fingering the bodhi seeds. “What about Su Changhe? Did he receive the message to act immediately?”

“He only replied with two characters: ‘Unsuitable,'” the bald man said with a cold smile.

“Unsuitable.” A fierce light flashed in Su Jinhui’s eyes. “What’s unsuitable?”

“Master, this ‘unsuitable’ has two interpretations. First, with the Xie and Mu families joining forces and fighting the Grand Elder’s side, it’s unsuitable for our Su family to interfere now. Second, Family Head, you’ve already entrusted Su Changhe with full authority over this operation, so it’s unsuitable for you to issue orders at this time,” a middle-aged man in gray clothes beside Su Jinhui said with a smile.

“Master, that kid Su Changhe just doesn’t want to fight Su Muyu,” the bald man said disapprovingly. “I say, give me command of the troops, and I’ll lead men in right now to help you seize the Sleeping Dragon Sword.”

The middle-aged man shook his head with a smile. “Only Su Changhe can deal with Su Muyu. And if our Su family obtains the Sleeping Dragon Sword while having both Su Changhe and Su Muyu, then the Mu and Xie families won’t be able to stir up much trouble.”

“You mean…” Su Jinhui frowned.

“Family Head, Su Changhe has moved,” another person walked in from outside. “He and Uncle Zhe have left the Jiuxiao Inn.”

“Dawn is approaching.” The middle-aged man looked up, touching the sapphire ring on his hand. “We originally planned to wait longer, but now it seems there’s no need.”

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