"If you can't bear to do it, then leave it to me," Su Muyu said to Xie Zaiye.
Xie Zaiye smiled and shrugged. "I was sent to guard this tower at sixteen. I've spent more time in this Ten Thousand Scrolls Tower than with my own family. I've grown somewhat attached to it. To destroy it with my own hands... I still find it hard."
"Understandable." Su Muyu pushed the nearby torches to the ground one by one, then walked out of the top floor with Xie Zaiye. But when they reached the next floor, Su Muyu suddenly turned back.
"What is it?" Xie Zaiye asked.
"I forgot something. Wait here for me." Su Muyu turned and headed back to the second floor.
Xie Zaiye watched Su Muyu's retreating figure, his heart in turmoil. Su Muyu was already severely injured. After observing him closely, Xie Zaiye was certain he was barely holding on, likely to collapse at any moment. His hands trembled slightly. He desperately wanted to pick up the longbow and shoot an arrow into Su Muyu's back, changing the outcome of tonight's conflict. This was the real task the three elders had entrusted to him when they left him behind.
Their three families had resided in Heaven Revelation City for generations, always relying on the Shadow Sect. How could Su Muyu's words alone change such a relationship? The elders' earlier compromise was merely due to the circumstances. If they could turn the tables now, then...
Xie Zaiye gripped the longbow with his right hand, his left hesitantly reaching for an arrow. The trembling in his hands gradually spread throughout his body. Victory would change everything. Defeat would mean certain death for him, and the Dark River's vengeance against the three families would be relentless. The choice was indeed difficult.
But by the time Su Muyu's figure disappeared at the top floor entrance, Xie Zaiye still hadn't drawn an arrow. He exhaled deeply, all tension leaving his body. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he felt a wave of fear, his mind blank. He didn't know how much time had passed when Su Muyu returned to his side. The top floor was now completely engulfed in flames, the heat snapping Xie Zaiye back to reality. "What... what did you go back for?" he asked.
"That's not something I can tell you," Su Muyu replied, extending a hand. "Lend me your bow."
Xie Zaiye startled. "You... what are you planning?"
"You didn't want to destroy this tower yourself. Lend me your bow to save some time," Su Muyu answered.
"Oh. Right." Though still confused, Xie Zaiye handed over his longbow and the quiver at his waist.
Su Muyu took them and, mimicking Xie Zaiye's earlier method of igniting the top floor torches, broke the tip off an arrow and lit it from a nearby torch. He drew the bow and fired. The arrow cut through the air with a gust of wind, passing right before Xie Zaiye's eyes, who finally fully regained his senses. "You know archery too?"
"I've studied it," Su Muyu said, firing another arrow and quickly setting the current floor ablaze. "Is there anything you'd like to save?"
"Me?" Xie Zaiye was puzzled. "What do you mean, Head of the Su Family?""For example, there might be intelligence about your enemies here, or all the information about someone you love. Normally, you can't casually flip through a single page due to the Shadow Sect's rules, but today you can take them all away. I won't stop you." Su Muyu drew another feathered arrow.
Xie Zaiye chuckled and scratched his head. "I've been guarding this tower since I was sixteen. What enemies could I have? As for someone I like, they're not some big shot, just—"
"No need to tell me. That would be your weakness. If we ever become enemies again, that would be your vulnerability." Su Muyu cut him off.
Xie Zaiye immediately realized his mistake and didn't continue. Since childhood, his family had held him in high regard, appointing him as the tower's guardian leader at sixteen. Though he had honed formidable martial skills, he was far less adept in schemes and intrigues compared to others—let alone Su Muyu, who had once been a Puppet of the Dark River. He even began to suspect that the opening Su Muyu had exposed earlier was deliberate, a test for him.
"Let's continue." Su Muyu, bow in hand, descended the stairs.
At Yan Gui Terrace.
Xiao Chuhe, who had been drowsy, suddenly widened his eyes and turned excitedly. "Master, over there—a fire has really been lit!"
"Yes. This fire has finally been kindled." Ji Ruofeng also stood up, resting a hand on the long staff at his waist. "I've waited a long time for this fire."
"That direction is..." Xiao Chuhe thought for a moment. "The Grand Preceptor's residence? Old Seven's maternal grandfather's estate? Master, do you have a grudge against that old man?"
"That old man isn't worthy of my enmity. He merely inherited his ancestors' glory." Ji Ruofeng patted Xiao Chuhe's shoulder. "Let's go. We should head down."
"To the Grand Preceptor's residence?" Xiao Chuhe was eager.
"Looking for excitement?" Ji Ruofeng rapped Xiao Chuhe's forehead.
"Of course! Someone setting the Grand Preceptor's residence ablaze at night—what a spectacle!" Xiao Chuhe replied.
"We can't go. You know that's the residence of the Imperial Consort's father. Think about your status—can you afford to be seen there tonight?" Ji Ruofeng said helplessly.
"Fine, fine." Xiao Chuhe scratched his head. "I was just saying."
Outside the Grand Preceptor's residence.
Bai Hehuai gazed at the burning tower and exhaled in relief. "He did it."
Mu Yumo smiled. "I told you—when Moyu and Chang He work together, they never fail."
"Someone's coming." Bai Hehuai frowned slightly as a carriage slowly halted outside the residence. A tall man stepped down, clad in a Purple Python Robe, exuding an air of nobility. His features held a hint of delicacy but were also laced with ruthlessness. As he tilted his head slightly, Bai Hehuai, hidden in the shadows, felt a chill run down her spine. Logically, her position shouldn't have been visible, yet she distinctly sensed the man's gaze upon her. But he soon turned away, and a youth in purple robes leaped from the carriage, following the man into the residence.
Bai Hehuai turned to ask Mu Yumo, only to find her face deathly pale, her hands trembling uncontrollably. She quickly grasped Mu Yumo's icy fingers. "What's wrong?"Mu Yumo's lips trembled slightly. "That person just now was too terrifying."
"Did he attack you?" Bai Hehuai asked.
Mu Yumo shook her head. "I wanted to release my Soul-chasing Spiders to test his capabilities, but..." With a sweep of her long sleeve, she revealed the ground littered with spider corpses before them.
"All my spiders died in that very moment."
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