At the Chenghua Inn in Lulai Town, an emaciated man sat in a dimly lit room, leisurely brewing tea with movements that suggested he had all the time in the world.
Xie Changze and Xie Jinke stood before him like condemned men awaiting judgment, their backs drenched in cold sweat, not daring to breathe loudly.
"You fought with Su Muyu?" The man looked up, his dark eye circles so heavy that he resembled a skeleton wrapped in parchment-thin skin—a corpse that had forgotten to lie down.
"Yes," Xie Changze said quietly, the single word weighted with failure.
With a sharp "pak," the man set a teacup on the table with deliberate force.
Xie Changze and Xie Jinke both trembled involuntarily.
"It's our incompetence! We couldn't match him and let him escape!" Xie Jinke hurriedly explained, the words tumbling out in desperation.
"Ridiculous." The man slowly poured tea into the cup with infuriating calm. "That was Su Muyu—what are you two compared to him? If you could defeat him, wouldn't that make Dark River's Kui a joke? I'm not angry that you lost to him, but that you let that divine physician meet with the Grand Family Head!"
Xie Changze sighed softly, shoulders sagging. "That divine physician had already left White Crane Medicine Manor when we arrived."
"Truly idiots." The man took a leisurely sip of tea and sighed deeply, as if their stupidity pained him physically. "That young woman you let go—she was the divine physician."
"Impossible! That woman looked under twenty—how could she be Xin Baicao's junior uncle? Besides, Su Zhe of the Su family verified she wasn't wearing a human skin mask," Xie Changze frowned, unwilling to accept such a glaring oversight.
"If Su Muyu's group had already met the divine physician, why would they wait at that temple for you? Based on your timeline, the only possibility is that the woman found them and told Su Muyu about your movements. That's why Su Muyu arranged for them to leave first while he stayed to hold you back."
The man shook his head helplessly, like a teacher disappointed in particularly dim students. "It's my fault too—for such an important task, I should have handled it personally."
Xie Changze and Xie Jinke both let out light sighs of relief. The man's tone had noticeably softened; it seemed they would escape severe punishment today—perhaps even escape with their lives intact.
"Now that the Grand Family Head is gravely ill, all three family heads want the position. It's a race—whoever gets the Sleeping Dragon Sword first becomes the new Grand Family Head. At such a crucial moment, I won't punish you. But you cannot fail the next task, or else…"
The man suddenly turned his head and threw his teacup with explosive force, shattering the wooden door to pieces in a spray of splinters.
Su Changhe appeared at the doorway, one hand still cupped to his ear in an eavesdropping pose, caught like a child with his hand in the cookie jar. With the door now in pieces around him, he could only awkwardly lower his hand and scratch his head with theatrical innocence. "Ah, I've been discovered."
"Su Changhe." The man frowned slightly, his skeletal features tightening.
Su Changhe clapped his hands with mock enthusiasm. "Brother Fanhua, your analysis just now was brilliant! I deeply admire it! I used to say the Xie family had the least brains—I take it back, I was wrong!"
The man stood up slowly, his sunken eyes staring at Su Changhe like death itself given form, his lips twitching slightly. "Su Changhe, are you provoking me?"
"I wouldn't dare provoke anyone, least of all you, Death Ghost Xie Fanhua." Su Changhe leaped over the balustrade with effortless grace, landing in the main hall below with cat-like agility.
Xie Jinke rushed out and looked down to see Su Changhe waving up at him with infuriating cheerfulness. He roared in anger and was about to give chase, his face flushed with fury.
"Don't bother," Xie Fanhua commanded coldly. "You're no match for him. Going after him would only bring humiliation."
Seeing Su Changhe's provocative smile—that insufferable, knowing smirk—Xie Jinke was furious but knew Xie Fanhua spoke the truth. In his anger, he smashed the balustrade to pieces, wood splintering under his fists.
"Why do you keep provoking the Xie family?" Su Zhe stood beside Su Changhe, saying helplessly as they walked away from the inn.
"The Xie family is the most fun to tease." Su Changhe stroked his small mustache with evident satisfaction. "Uncle Zhe, let's go."
Su Zhe raised his Buddhist staff and walked out, chewing betel nut as he went with the casual air of a man on a stroll. "The old master sent me to help you this time and said to follow your lead completely. What's your plan?"
"The Grand Family Head is heading north, obviously trying to buy time for that divine physician to cure his illness. Once the Grand Family Head recovers, with his methods, the family heads might be fine, but runners like us will surely face retribution. So our priority this time—the Grand Family Head must die!" Su Changhe raised his eyebrows with cold determination.
Su Zhe nodded slowly. "And then?"
"Who wants to take the blame for killing the Grand Family Head? If the Xie or Mu families are willing, I'll gladly hand over this glorious opportunity. Even if someone hands me the knife, I won't do it. I'll just kill that little girl—with the divine physician dead, however many days the Grand Family Head can live, let him live them! Once the Grand Family Head dies, we can fight those fools for the Sleeping Dragon Sword. When that time comes, with me, Su Muyu, and you, Uncle Zhe, working together, who could compete with us?"
"Wait, wait, wait—how did Su Muyu become part of your alliance? You nearly fought each other today," Su Zhe spat out some betel nut residue and lit his pipe, eyeing Su Changhe skeptically.
"That's the plan for now." Su Changhe smiled with the confidence of a chess master seeing moves ahead. "I've sent a team to intercept Su Muyu. They're not particularly skilled, but they're all surnamed Su and have worked with Su Muyu before. He won't kill them, but Uncle Zhe, you know forcing people back is much harder than killing them. So Su Muyu won't catch up to the Grand Family Head's group for a while. We'll seize this chance to kill that divine physician!"
"The Grand Family Head and that divine physician are protected by the Twelve Zodiac Branches. Are you that confident?" Su Zhe slowly blew out a smoke ring, watching it dissipate in the evening air.
Su Changhe pursed his lips and looked toward the distance, his eyes narrowing as if he could see all the way to the northern capital. "I sent a message north to the imperial city. There's someone there from the Tang family who now holds a high position. They were once renowned in the jianghu. At Nine Rivers Pipa Pavilion, three hidden weapons shocked the world—an extraordinary expert on par with Baili Dongjun and Sikong Changfeng."
"Tang Lianyue." Su Zhe's hand holding the pipe trembled slightly, the name carrying weight like a stone dropped in still water.
"Second Master Tang doesn't live with the Tang family in Shu but bought his residence in Liaoluo City because his peculiar nature made it hard to get along with the Tang family members. In the entire Tang family, besides Old Master Tang who shared a brotherly bond with him, only one person was close to him—Tang Lianyue. I don't know why the Grand Family Head wanted to kill Second Master Tang, but I know Tang Lianyue must want revenge most of all." Su Changhe smiled with dark satisfaction.
Su Zhe's brows furrowed deeply, concern etching lines across his weathered face. "Changhe, this move of yours is very dangerous."
"Imperial dynasties can change at the cost of the world—why can't our Dark River's succession play some dangerous moves?" A flash of ruthlessness suddenly appeared in Su Changhe's usually playful eyes, revealing the killer beneath the jester's mask.
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