The man in the demon mask led Bai Hehuai out of the side room. Inside, the old man had fallen into a deep sleep after taking the pill Bai had given him. The two made their way towards the main hall of the Taoist temple.
“My master met me when he was ninety and I was only five. He saw my extraordinary talent, recognizing the potential in me to become a future Medicine King. To prevent my senior brother from snatching me away, he took me in as his last disciple. Sadly, he passed away just two years later, and my medical skills were mostly taught by my senior brother. But in terms of seniority, I am indeed the junior martial aunt of the current Medicine King, Xin Baicao.”
Bai Hehuai pulled out a piece of osmanthus cake from her pocket and started to eat it as she walked.
“I see,” the man in the demon mask said. “But if that’s the case, why aren’t you in the Medicine King Valley? Why have you come all the way to Jiangnan?”
Bai Hehuai tossed the osmanthus cake in her hand. “It’s clear you’ve never been to the Medicine King Valley, There are only three thatched huts, two pigs, one horse, seven sheep, and a large vegetable field. Is there any place in the world more boring than that?”
The man in the demon mask asked in confusion, “Is it really that desolate? I thought the Medicine King Valley would be quite prosperous.”
“My master left behind an ancestral instruction: when practicing medicine under the name of the Medicine King Valley, we cannot charge high fees, no matter who the patient is. So, the Medicine King Valley is actually very, very poor. When my senior brother passed away and Xin Baicao took over as the Medicine King, I left. After all, I’m the junior martial aunt, and he can’t control me. I carefully chose Jiangnan because the people here are very wealthy!”
Bai Hehuai took a bite of the osmanthus cake. “Besides, the osmanthus cakes here are delicious.”
“I see. I hadn’t expected that.” The man in the demon mask shook his head slightly.
Bai Hehuai glanced at him. “You’re a strange one. I’ve told you so much, and all you say is ‘I see.’ Aren’t you curious how I figured out your identity?”
The man in the demon mask adjusted his mask. “You’re an old acquaintance of our Patriarch, so naturally you’ve heard of us.”
“When I was little, I didn’t want to study medicine, so I pestered my master to tell me stories. For every story I listened to, I would study medicine for an hour. His stories often featured an organization called the Dark River. It’s said to be the most formidable assassin organization in the world, made up of three families: the Su, Xie, and Mu. The leader of the three families is called the Patriarch, and under him is the elite assassin squad, Spider Shadows. The twelve strongest members are codenamed after the twelve zodiac animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. The people I saw today wore masks of these animals, and their sword hilts were engraved with the twelve Earthly Branches. It was all a bit too obvious. And you, wearing a red demon mask and attending the Patriarch, are naturally the leader of the Spider Shadows – the Kui!”
TN: The twelve Earthly Branches or Terrestrial Branches are a Chinese ordering system used throughout East Asia in various contexts, including its ancient dating system, astrological traditions, zodiac and ordinals.
After finishing an osmanthus cake, Bai Hehuai clapped her hands in satisfaction.
The man in the demon mask sighed softly. “I once asked the previous Kui the same question. As assassins, we should do everything we can to conceal our identities. So why do we, the elite assassins, wear our identities on our faces?”
“What did he say?” Bai Hehuai asked.
The man in the demon mask suddenly began to slur his words a bit. “He shaid, ‘It’sh a matter of ritual an’ persheption, you don’ know anythin’.’”
Bai Hehuai was taken aback, “‘It’s a matter of ritual and perception, you don’t know anything?’ Why are you suddenly slurring your words?”
“It wasn’t me who was slurring,” the man in the demon mask corrected. “It was him.”
Bai Hehuai’s eyes widened in realization. “Could it be that the person I saw earlier today was the previous Kui? Was he carrying a Buddhist staff covered in golden rings? Did he like to smoke and chew betel nuts?”
The two entered the main hall. The man in the demon mask looked outside and whispered, “Uncle Zhe is here too. Is anyone else with them?”
“And a man with a mustache…” Bai Hehuai sensed a change in Kui’s tone. “It seems the Dark River isn’t as united as my master’s stories made it out to be. The Patriarch is on the brink of death, yet the Su and Xie families are trying to intercept me before you. Do they want the Patriarch dead?”
“A lot of things have changed over the years.” The man in the demon mask raised his head and called out, “Dragon!”
A figure in a dragon mask descended from the roof, landing on one knee. “Kui, Dragon is here.”
“Take this divine doctor with you and lead everyone north. Leave a marker in Jiuxiao City, and I will come find you,” the masked person said in a low voice.
Bai Hehuai frowned slightly. “You’re not leaving? You’re staying behind to stop them?”
“You’re right. They do want the Patriarch dead. But as long as I live, I won’t allow it to happen.”
The Kui gently waved his hand, and the Dragon vanished. Shortly after, faint rustling sounds echoed through the Taoist temple as the hidden assassins began to move.
“Then let’s hope we meet again in Jiuxiao City, Kui.” Bai Hehuai turned around.
“There’s no need to call me Kui,” the man in the demon mask said softly. “Just call me Su Muyu.”
“So your surname is Su,” Bai Hehuai recalled the slurring man with the Buddhist staff and the young man with the meticulously groomed mustache.
“Yes,” Su Zhe said, looking down at the medicine bottle on the ground below the cliff. A small green snake coiled around the bottle, flicking its tongue leisurely. “Just like him, my surname is Su.”
Su Changhe laughed. “It seems she saw through your trick, Uncle Zhe. She only walked a mile before tossing aside your medicine bottle.”
Su Zhe thrust his Buddhist staff into the ground, then bent down and reached out to collect both the medicine bottle and the small green snake. The “Fragrant Revitalizing Ointment” he had given her did indeed have healing properties, but he had added a unique herb that was undetectable to ordinary people. His trained green snake, however, could follow its scent for miles. He hadn’t anticipated that the woman in red would see through his plan so quickly.
He sighed lightly. “Perhaps we were mistaken.”
Su Changhe raised an eyebrow slightly. “Mistaken about what?”
“Perhaps,” Su Zhe murmured, “we let the real Divine Doctor slip through our fingers.”
Su Changhe stroked his mustache. “Fortunately, I made some preparations of my own.”
“Oh?” Su Zhe grasped his Buddhist staff.
“I sent someone to follow the two from the Xie family. If they get any leads, my man will send word to me.” Su Changhe extended his hand, and a carrier pigeon landed on his palm. He removed the message capsule from the pigeon’s leg, opened it, and read the contents. “Pure Yang Temple of Eternal Life.”
Su Zhe smiled. “You’re quite clever.”
Su Changhe shrugged. “I’m lazy, so I just have someone follow the diligent ones. I might be a few steps behind, but I’ll never be late. Let’s go, Uncle Zhe. The old man back home is probably getting impatient.”