Su Muyu stopped and swept his long sword fiercely around him in a circle. A surge of sword energy severed the lanterns held by the children, sending them flying. Su Muyu then swung his sword forward, cleaving the dense fog before him.
The long-haired man, seated on his palanquin, glared fiercely at Su Muyu and drew a bizarrely long sword.
Su Muyu leapt forward, landing in front of the palanquin. He swung his thin sword, clashing with the long-haired man’s blade.
Su Muyu yelled in a low voice, “Run!”
The long-haired man flicked his sword, sending Su Muyu flying back. He sneered, “Run? You think you can kill me?”
Su Muyu flipped in mid-air, landing gracefully. He twirled his thin sword lightly, not even glancing at the long-haired man as he turned his back.
The long-haired man frowned slightly, about to give chase. But his palanquin suddenly fell apart beneath him. He leaped back ten feet, then looked down to find a tiny red dot on his chest, slowly spreading outward.
“When did you…” The long-haired man’s voice trembled slightly as he spoke.
Su Muyu slowly walked forward, sheathing his thin sword back into the paper umbrella. He raised the umbrella, tilting his head slightly as a raindrop hit his face. Once again, he murmured softly, “Run.”
This time, the long-haired man didn’t hesitate. He immediately turned and fled with all his might, disappearing from sight in mere moments.
Su Muyu gripped the umbrella handle tightly, forcibly suppressing the killing intent in his heart.
But though the long-haired man was gone, the lantern-bearing children remained. The dense fog gradually dissipated with his departure, and the children struggled to their feet, each one gravely wounded.
They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with fear. Undoubtedly, they all believed Su Muyu would kill them.
Su Muyu opened his umbrella, shielding himself from the sudden spring rain. The canopy dipped slightly, obscuring his eyes.
The middle-aged man he had been playing chess with suddenly appeared before him. Su Changli, Su Hongxi, and Su Ziyi stood behind the middle-aged man.
“Changhe’s intention is that when the new Dark River emerges, there should be no more lantern-bearing children, nor soul-guiding ghosts,” the middle-aged man said slowly. “Therefore, he arranged this assassination.”
Su Muyu turned around, hesitating for a moment. “Changhe… he wants to change the Dark River?”
“Cross the Dark River, and you will reach the other shore. There, it should no longer be an eternal night, but there should be light,” the middle-aged man said in a deep voice.
“Does the other shore truly exist?” Under the night sky, a woman wearing a rabbit mask raised her head, gazing at the moon as she spoke softly.
“What are you looking at, sister?” The woman in red walked out of the house and asked the rabbit-masked figure.
“Just looking at the moon.” The rabbit-masked woman turned around, facing the physician who called herself Bai Hehuai. “Has the Divine Doctor finished the acupuncture treatment? Is the Patriarch feeling any better?”
Bai Hehuai clapped her hands. “Piece of cake! It’s just the second most potent poison in the world. I’m the junior aunt of the world’s greatest physician, after all. No problem.”
The rabbit-masked woman nodded. “Then thank you for your trouble, divine doctor.”
“Sister, you were born so beautiful, it’s a shame that you wear a mask every day.” Bai Hehuai said softly.
The rabbit-masked woman laughed. “Divine Doctor, you jest. Since I’m wearing a mask, how could you possibly tell whether I’m beautiful or not?”
“I can read bone structure, you know. I am a divine doctor, after all,” Bai Hehuai took out a piece of osmanthus cake from her bosom and took a bite. “Don’t even need a living person standing in front of me. Just show me a hand, and I can picture that person’s face. So even with your mask on, I know you’re a stunning beauty, sister. And your companion, Chou Niu… I don’t even need to see him to know he lives up to his name. Ugly as an ox!”
The air around them froze for a split second, then a roof tile above Bai Hehuai’s head suddenly shattered.
The rabbit-masked woman coughed lightly. “Don’t disturb the doctor. You’re not good-looking to begin with.”
Bai Hehuai, seemingly oblivious, continued, “I think you and Su Muyu make a good match, sister. One a stunning beauty, the other fresh-faced and handsome. Are you two a couple?”
“Hahahaha, you think we’re a good match?” The masked woman burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Bai Hehuai raised an eyebrow, taking another bite of her osmanthus cake, as she heard faint laughter echoing from several places around them.
“Scram. Stop following us for now,” the rabbit-masked woman waved her hand, shattering three more roof tiles.
Bai Hehuai pulled out another piece of osmanthus cake and offered it to the rabbit-masked woman. After a moment’s hesitation, the woman removed her mask and accepted the cake.
As Bai Hehuai had said, the face beneath the mask was indeed worthy of the phrase “a stunning beauty.” Though Bai Hehuai herself was also a beauty, the eyes and brows revealed by the mask held a captivating allure that few men could resist.
The rabbit-masked woman took a bite of the osmanthus cake and smiled. “Delicious.”
“I only brought one box. Once we’re in the North, we won’t find osmanthus cakes this good,” Bai Hehuai finished her own piece and clapped her hands. “Sister, you haven’t answered my question yet.”
The rabbit-masked woman waved her hand dismissively. “Kui and I are certainly not a couple. In the Dark River, if you get married, you have to step back and handle internal affairs. Very few married members take on field missions.”
“What if you’re not married, but simply like each other?” Bai Hehuai asked.
“Does Kui even like anyone? I feel like he doesn’t like or dislike anyone. He’s quite dull, yet his dullness is somehow interesting,” the rabbit-masked woman pondered, then replied.
“Why is he dull, yet interesting at the same time?” Bai Hehuai asked, puzzled.
“Being ugly and dull is simply uninteresting. Being attractive and dull, however, can be intriguing,” the masked woman nodded. “That’s right, that’s it.”
Bai Hehuai was momentarily taken aback, then laughed. “Sister, you make a very good point. But has Kui always been like this?”
“Yes, at least he was like that when I first met him. He’s different from those who came out of that Refining Furnace. No, wait, I should say he’s different from everyone else in the Dark River,” the woman replied.
Bai Hehuai frowned slightly. “Refining Furnace? Kui… was he a Nameless one before?”
The woman’s hand, holding the osmanthus cake, paused slightly. She asked with a hint of suspicion, “You seem to know a lot about our Dark River?”
Bai Hehuai scratched her head, “It’s all stories my master told me. Oh right, sister, what’s your name?”
The rabbit-masked woman swallowed the last bite of her osmanthus cake, “My name is Mu Yumo.”