The moon set as the sun rose, and with dawn came a gentle spring rain.

Though Jiuxiao City was in the North, its rainy season brought unavoidable humidity. Bai Hehuai sat by the railing, eating the red rice cake—a Jiuxiao City specialty—that the hunchbacked elder had brought this morning. Thinking of Su Muyu’s words from yesterday, she smiled and looked down: “You said you’d keep me safe without fail. If I call out now, would you appear? Su Muyu!”

“How’s the taste of Jiuxiao City’s red rice cake?” Su Muyu’s cool voice suddenly came from her left. She turned sharply to find him standing there with his umbrella.

“You… you startled me! When did you get there?” Bai Hehuai asked.

“I promised to keep you safe. I wouldn’t lie about that.” Su Muyu gave a faint smile.

Bai Hehuai rarely saw Su Muyu smile and was momentarily stunned. She then turned away and said, “This red rice cake can’t compare to Jiangnan’s osmanthus cake, but I suppose it’s edible. By the way, Su Muyu, I’ve thought of a way to cure the Patriarch, but…”

“Speak freely,” Su Muyu replied directly.

“It’ll cost extra!” Bai Hehuai held up two fingers and rubbed them together.

Su Muyu shook his head helplessly: “They say divine physicians heal the world and save people. How did you end up so money-obsessed?”

“Only with money can one live without worry and focus on studying medicine. If you can’t even feed yourself, how can you expect to research immortality medicines?” Bai Hehuai retorted.

Su Muyu sighed softly: “Medicine King Xin Baicao had unmatched medical skills, yet I never heard he was greedy for money.”

“Is this Medicine King Valley?” Bai Hehuai asked.

Su Muyu shook his head: “No.”

“Am I Xin Baicao?” Bai Hehuai asked again.

Su Muyu continued shaking his head: “Of course not.”

Bai Hehuai held out her right hand: “Then pay up!”

Su Muyu closed his paper umbrella and walked to Bai Hehuai: “How much extra does the divine physician want?”

“I want this courtyard.” Bai Hehuai knocked on the wooden railing beneath her. “After this is over, give me this Spider’s Nest!”

Su Muyu frowned slightly: “What do you want this place for?”

“With all these mechanisms, I’ll feel safe. My hidden identity is exposed now—don’t I need a secure place to set up my medical house? Otherwise, I’ll have assassins like you hunting me every day.” Bai Hehuai took a bite of red rice cake. “One word—yes or no?”

“Jiuxiao City is in the North, and the red rice cakes aren’t even good. I fear you won’t be comfortable here. If I’m still alive after this is over, I’ll convert your White Crane Medical House in Jiangnan into a Spider’s Nest. How does that sound, Divine Physician?” Su Muyu said slowly.

Bai Hehuai’s eyes lit up: “Such a good deal! It’s settled then!”

Su Muyu nodded: “Then it’s agreed.”

“By the way, where’s Ugly Ox?” Bai Hehuai asked, puzzled. “Haven’t seen him all morning.”

“Ugly Ox is out on a mission,” Su Muyu said calmly. “You won’t see him for a while.”

“Oh.” Bai Hehuai nodded, not asking further.

At that moment, in a deserted street of Jiuxiao City, Ugly Ox was pinned to the ground by a blade.

The blade was long and narrow yet heavy, curved like a crescent moon, with a dragon coiled along its back.

It was a Dragon Fang Blade, modeled after one of the three great evil blades of ancient times.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Ugly Ox? The mighty Ox of the Twelve Earthly Branches, mask destroyed, skulking around the city for half a day trying to escape?” A man in a long robe stood lazily against an abandoned shop doorway, hands tucked in his sleeves, mockingly watching Ugly Ox on the ground.

“You’re from the Xie Clan.” Ugly Ox growled.

“Indeed. You probably haven’t seen us, but I saw you on the day you became one of the Twelve Earthly Branches. I attended the ceremony when you put on that mask and swore lifelong loyalty to the Patriarch. Now your mask is broken, and you’ve fled the Spider’s Nest—so you’ve betrayed the Patriarch?” the robed man said softly.

“What’s it to you!” Ugly Ox tried to break free, but the Dragon Fang Blade pressed down another inch.

“Don’t move,” the blade wielder said deeply.

“When he says don’t move, he means it. My brother here might look simple, but his blade work is sharper than anyone’s, as you’ve just experienced.” The robed man shrugged. “Draw us a map of the Spider’s Nest’s mechanisms, and we’ll spare your life.”

“In your dreams.” Ugly Ox slammed his palm against the ground, leaping up to land on a nearby eave.

“Knock him down,” the robed man waved his sleeve impatiently.

“Very well.” The blade wielder struck upward, shattering half the eave. Ugly Ox leaped back three steps, preparing to flee, but as he turned, the Dragon Fang Blade was somehow already waiting, knocking him down again.

Among the Twelve Earthly Branches, Ugly Ox was often assigned by Su Muyu to coordinate overall operations due to his steady nature. In terms of pure martial arts, he was among the weaker members. Though being chosen as a Spider Shadow member meant he was once outstanding among the various clans, he never expected to be so thoroughly outmatched by a Dragon Fang Blade.

“Who are you? I’ve never heard of the Xie Clan having such a skilled Dragon Fang Blade wielder,” Ugly Ox shouted while swinging his sword.

“Of course, you haven’t heard. To deal with Spider Shadow, each clan has secretly trained a group of experts, each no less skilled than your Su Muyu,” the robed man laughed.

“Su Muyu—I want to cross blades with him,” the blade wielder knocked Ugly Ox’s sword flying with one strike. “How does your swordsmanship compare to his?”

“The Chief’s swordsmanship is a hundred times better than mine,” Ugly Ox said angrily.

“I hope you’re not lying.” The blade wielder flashed past Ugly Ox, then sheathed his blade.

The robed man frowned urgently: “Why did you kill him?”

“He wouldn’t have talked. I could tell,” the blade wielder turned around.

Ugly Ox watched blood pour from his chest. He struggled to turn, facing the blade wielder, and asked slowly: “What’s your name?”

“Bu Xie,” the blade wielder replied.

Ugly Ox frowned, not understanding if this meant “you’re welcome” or was a name, but he had no chance to ask. He fell backward, hitting the ground heavily.

“I meant, my name is Bu Xie,” the blade wielder continued. “Xie Bu Xie of the Xie Clan.”

The robed man walked to Ugly Ox’s corpse, impatiently kicked it to confirm he was dead, then kicked Xie Bu Xie: “A rare opportunity, and you just killed him like that?”

“He wouldn’t have talked,” the blade wielder repeated, then turned and walked away on his own.