The spring thunder rumbles.
“Whoa!” Su Muyu abruptly pulled on the reins, calming the black steed beneath him that had suddenly grown skittish. This black horse was a fine steed he had carefully selected, and it wouldn’t normally be spooked by a mere clap of thunder. Once the horse had calmed down a bit, Su Muyu raised his head and looked at the three figures who had suddenly appeared before him.
The leader of the group carried a massive sword on his back. He was a burly man with a gentle smile on his face. Beside him stood two women with alluring figures. One was dressed in bewitching purple, while the other wore flowing red robes that resembled dancing flames.
The burly man smiled, “Brother Yu, you truly live up to your name. Wherever you go, rain follows.”
Su Muyu frowned slightly. “Su Changli, Su Ziyi, Su Hongxi. Did Changhe send you?”
The burly man, named Su Changli, nodded and said, “Big Brother sent me. He said to stop you, and if that’s not possible…”
Su Hongxi, the woman in red, giggled, covering her mouth. “Then we’ll have to put you to sleep.”
Su Muyu’s pupils narrowed slightly, and he immediately dismounted. A small, crimson flower, strangely alluring, shot towards him, thrown by Su Hongxi with a flick of her wrist. As Su Muyu landed, the flower whizzed past his head, its six petals suddenly bursting open, instantly piercing through the body of the black horse. Su Muyu hurriedly opened his umbrella and retreated, shielding himself from the splattering blood.
Su Ziyi sighed softly, her voice alluring, “Sister Hongxi, don’t be hasty. Surely you don’t think you can kill Brother Muyu with just one Six-Leaf Flying Flower?”
Su Muyu looked at the black horse lying on the ground, his face expressionless. “You want to stall me.”
Su Changli had no intention of hiding anything, and nodded directly. “Big Brother wants the Patriarch dead, but he doesn’t want you to die. So the best way is to stall you.”
“Do you really think I won’t kill you?” Su Muyu turned around, slightly raising his oil-paper umbrella to reveal his eyes.
Su Changli and the other two were startled.
The killing intent that flashed in those eyes made the hair on the three of them stand on end. The giant sword on Su Changli’s back even started to vibrate involuntarily.
The seductive expression on Su Ziyi’s face froze, leaving only a single bead of sweat, the size of a bean, slowly trickling down her forehead.
Because the man with the umbrella was suddenly standing behind them.
If Su Muyu had wanted to attack, they would already be dead.
“Changhe believed I wouldn’t kill you, so he sent you to stop me. He thought he could read my mind. But I was once the Su family’s Umbrella Ghost, and now I am Kui, leader of the Spider Shadow assassins. I have killed many people, and there are times when I cannot control my urge to kill.”
Su Muyu gently twirled the handle of his umbrella.
Su Changli swallowed hard, struggling to raise his hand under the immense pressure and placing it on the hilt of his sword.
“Are you going to draw your sword?” Su Muyu asked coldly.
Su Changli’s heart skipped a beat, his back drenched in sweat, and his hand on the sword trembled slightly. He forced a smile, “I just thought it was too noisy!”
Su Changli pressed down hard on the hilt, and the vibrating sound was instantly suppressed.
“Go back and tell Changhe that he cannot kill the Patriarch,” Su Muyu walked forward. “And he won’t be able to.”
After Su Muyu had walked a hundred paces away, Su Changli collapsed onto the ground. Su Hongxi and Su Ziyi, beside him, were also drenched in sweat. Su Changli licked his lips and said with a wry smile, “Big Brother really put us in a tough spot, making us deal with Brother Yu. I felt like Brother Yu didn’t even need to lift a finger, his killing intent alone could scare me to death.”
Staring at Su Muyu’s departing figure, Su Hongxi murmured, “Do you think if I unleash all my flying petals at him right now, I could hurt him?”
Su Ziyi sneered, “You can try.”
Su Hongxi reached into her bosom, her face suddenly changing.
“Well?” Su Ziyi asked.
Su Hongxi waved her hand, scattering red petals on the ground. She said with a bitter smile, “When Su Muyu passed by us just now, he destroyed all of my Six-Leaf Flying Flowers.”
Su Changli glanced at the corpse of the black horse in front of him and said in a deep voice, “This horse is dead. He is very angry. If you weren’t Su Hongxi, you might already be dead.”
“For a horse?” Su Hongxi frowned.
Su Changli stood up. “Brother Yu is a very strange person. It’s hard to see through what’s behind those eyes of his, what he’s thinking. In the entire Dark River, I think only Big Brother understands him.”
“So our mission is accomplished?” Su Ziyi asked.
“Yes, it’s done. Funny enough, we’re among the top assassins in the Dark River, and the mission big brother gave us was merely to kill a horse.” Su Changli rubbed his temples. “The rest is up to them.”
“It’s you.” In the woods, Su Muyu stopped and gently raised his oil-paper umbrella.
A middle-aged man with a black cloth wrapped around his eyes sat there. In front of him was a teapot, a chessboard, and a sword. Hearing Su Muyu’s voice, he seemed pleased and nodded. “Long time no see. No, I should say, long time no hear.”
Su Muyu’s grip on the umbrella tightened, his voice tinged with anger. “That Su Changhe!”
“Don’t blame Changhe. I came here on my own.” The middle-aged man said lightly, “I thought we wouldn’t have a chance to see each other again after this, so I came here to see you and have a chess game.”
“I’m on my way. I don’t have time.” Su Muyu walked forward with his umbrella. “Teacher.”
The middle-aged man smiled, “You always call me Teacher, but I was just an instructor at the Refining Furnace. I didn’t teach you martial arts, and your Eighteen Swords Formation has nothing to do with me. We’ve only played chess a few times.”
“Back then at the Refining Furnace, if it weren’t for you, Teacher, Changhe and I might have died long ago.” Su Muyu lowered his head slightly, his expression respectful.
“You know, my swordsmanship is quite poor.” The middle-aged man raised his head, even though he couldn’t see Su Muyu.
Su Muyu looked at the sword on the table, seemingly guessing something.
“Then let’s play a game of chess.” The middle-aged man reached out and placed a black stone on the chessboard.
Su Muyu closed his umbrella and sat down at the stone table, raising his hand to place a white stone on the board. “Teacher, you came here to persuade me to join forces with Changhe?”
The middle-aged man nodded. “You two have worked together to overcome many crises. You are the most incredible duo the Dark River has seen in a century. This time, I believe you can do it again.”
“In the past, we were always on the same side. But today, he wants to kill someone I swore in blood to protect with my life.” Su Muyu said in a deep voice.
The middle-aged man was taken aback for a moment, then asked, “Is the Patriarch worth it?”
Su Muyu hesitated for a moment, then said, “He’s not worth it.”