"Leave the Su family, go where you want, do what you wish. Something forbidden for centuries—our old master is willing to make an exception for you." Su Changhe shook his head repeatedly, his tone mixing admiration with resentment. "Such generous terms... Sometimes I'm truly jealous of you. Though we came from the same crucible, the old master's favoritism toward you is excessive."
"And if I refuse?" Su Muyu asked.
"The old master pulled you from the river and raised you all these years. How long have you been with the Grand Family Head? How can your bond with him compare to your ties with the Su family?" Su Changhe countered with pointed logic.
"My ties with the Su family are indeed deeper than those with the Grand Family Head. But I am now Kui, and can only be responsible to the Grand Family Head." Su Muyu shook his head gently, his resolve unwavering. "I'm sorry."
"Right, right, exactly like this. I gave the old master the same response, knowing you would say this." Su Changhe shrugged, his wrist turning with practiced fluidity as he gripped his dagger. "Then the old master said, 'If that's the case, kill him.'"
Su Muyu's grip tightened around his paper umbrella. "Does the old master intend to gain the Grand Family Head's position through rebellion?"
"It's not just the old master who wants it—the Xie family wants it, the Mu family wants it. So this position can only go to the strongest!" Su Changhe's expression hardened. "In the end, this all stems from you. In previous generations, the next Dark River Grand Family Head was always succeeded by Kui directly. But this generation's Kui is you. Who are you? You're Su Muyu, just like me, Su Changhe—we both came from nameless origins." Su Changhe sneered with bitter contempt. "Someone of nameless origin has no right to lead all of Dark River."
"I don't want this position. Once the Grand Family Head recovers, I'll discuss this with him and let him choose a suitable successor for the position of Kui," Su Muyu replied reasonably.
"Sometimes you're terrifyingly strong, and sometimes adorably naive." Su Changhe bent slightly, shaking his head with genuine bewilderment. "If not for your martial prowess, you'd have died hundreds of times by now."
"Back then, if he weren't both terrifyingly strong and adorably naive, you wouldn't have become Su Changhe." Su Zhe entered the courtyard, leaning heavily on his Buddhist staff, taking his place beside Su Changhe with an air of inevitability.
"Uncle Zhe." Su Muyu bowed respectfully, though his posture remained guarded.
"Little Muyu, you and little Changhe are about evenly matched, but with me added in, what do you think?" Su Zhe shook his Buddhist staff deliberately, its golden rings creating crisp collision sounds that echoed through the courtyard like a death knell.
"If Uncle Zhe and Changhe join forces, I naturally wouldn't be a match, but everything deserves at least one attempt." Su Muyu bent slightly, his killing intent gradually condensing like frost forming on winter grass. The three of them had once fought side by side against the Demon Sect's invasion, and they knew each other's capabilities all too well. Anyone attempting to fight the other two simultaneously would have only one path—fight to the death.
"I guess 'stubborn as a mule' refers to you." Su Changhe leaped forward, charging at Su Muyu with explosive speed. Su Muyu dodged sideways, and Su Changhe's dagger shot out like a silver serpent, slicing through Su Muyu's demon mask and continuing its deadly trajectory toward the statue of Patriarch Lu in the main hall.
For an instant, the statue's eyes seemed to move.
The dagger embedded itself in the statue's brow, and the entire sculpture immediately shattered into fragments. A scream rang out from behind it, followed by a white shadow that burst through the roof and fled into the night sky.
Su Changhe looked up at the white-robed figure standing on the roof and sneered with dark amusement. "Mu Zhi of the Mu family, did you enjoy your eavesdropping?"
Mu Zhi pressed several major acupoints on his chest to stanch the bleeding, his face pale but defiant. He sneered back, "The Su family plots rebellion!"
"As if the Mu family doesn't want it, as if the Xie family doesn't want it?" Su Changhe extended his hand toward the hall with casual confidence, and the dagger immediately flew back to his grip as though magnetized. "Starting a fight needs only one reason, but the outcome depends solely on one's strength."
Mu Zhi snorted coldly, then leaped away and fled into the darkness beyond the temple grounds.
Su Changhe gripped his dagger and turned to Su Muyu. By now, Su Muyu's demon mask had been split in two and fallen to the ground, revealing the young face beneath for the first time.
As Bai Hehuai had predicted, beneath the mask lay a handsome, cold face, though his furrowed brows carried a hint of melancholy that spoke of burdens carried too long.
"Changhe." Su Muyu raised his paper umbrella slightly, preparing for the inevitable confrontation.
"Enough." Su Changhe suddenly withdrew his dagger and straightened up, his killing intent instantly dissipating by half. He stretched lazily, as though they'd merely been sparring. "If you used your sword formation, the cleanup would be too troublesome. Let's end it here today. How could I kill you? We're the best of brothers, after all."
Su Zhe suddenly began giggling with peculiar high-pitched sounds and took out his pipe, leisurely lighting it as though violence hadn't just been narrowly averted. "That's right, we're all good brothers, let's talk things through."
Su Muyu sighed in relief, stepping back several paces while his eyes still carried traces of vigilance.
"But failing the old master's task means death for me too. An arrow released cannot return—the Grand Family Head must die this time, and I must obtain the Sleeping Dragon Sword." Su Changhe turned away, his voice carrying finality. "Prepare yourself, Su Muyu."
Su Zhe watched Su Changhe leave and took a long puff from his pipe, his tone shifting to melancholy contemplation. "This little Changhe, often speaks nonsense, few words worth believing. But I believe what he just said—he won't kill you. You are the best of brothers."
Su Muyu looked at Su Zhe and smiled faintly. "Uncle Zhe, I've noticed when you speak seriously, your dialect suddenly becomes perfectly standard."
Su Zhe raised his eyebrows with mock innocence. "Oh? Is that so?"
On the main road, a carriage sped along at remarkable pace. Bai Hehuai sat inside, feeling no bumps whatsoever, and couldn't hear any outside sounds. She curiously knocked on the wooden panel beside her. "This carriage is quite interesting."
The Grand Family Head reclined on a soft couch, smiling with evident satisfaction. "This is something Master Ban Three of the Ban family created. It completely isolates the interior from the outside."
"Then if someone comes to kill us, wouldn't we be unaware?" Bai Hehuai asked with genuine curiosity.
"Hahaha, this carriage has thirteen mechanisms, each extremely deadly. Master Ban Three claimed that unless he came personally, even hundreds of experts couldn't breach this carriage," the Grand Family Head explained as he sipped his tea with leisurely confidence.
"What if Master Ban Three came?" Bai Hehuai pressed.
The Grand Family Head's smile didn't waver. "Ten days after completing this carriage, Master Ban Three died."
Bai Hehuai's eyes narrowed slightly, her medical instincts immediately suspicious.
"He died of illness," the Grand Family Head emphasized deliberately.
Bai Hehuai let out a light breath, not entirely convinced. "Then if I cure the Grand Family Head, will I also die of illness?"
The Grand Family Head laughed heartily and patted Bai Hehuai's shoulder with reassuring warmth. "Of course not, you're a divine physician. Moreover, can I even be cured?"
"Snow-Fallen Plum Branch." Bai Hehuai pursed her lips, her expression turning grave. "I can only say, Grand Family Head, that you can survive, but as for how long..."
"That's enough!" The Grand Family Head set down his teacup with finality and closed his eyes, unwilling to hear more of his uncertain fate.
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