Ye Ya dashed swiftly through the darkness. Born in Medicine King Valley, his martial arts were naturally not top-tier, but true to his name, he excelled in an escape technique particularly suited for the night. He was confident that the swordsman from earlier would never catch up to him.
But what he didn’t know was that this swordsman was the current head of the Su Family, the most skilled tracker and killer in the world.
Ye Ya sniffed the air and came to a sudden halt, lifting his gaze to look ahead.
On the rooftop opposite stood Su Muyu, holding an oil-paper umbrella, his cold eyes fixed on Ye Ya below. An overwhelming killing intent radiated from him.
A name flashed through Ye Ya’s mind—one that shouldn’t have been traveling with Bai Hehuai. He spoke in a low voice, “May I ask if you are…”
“I am.” Su Muyu leaped down, the oil-paper umbrella in his hand blooming like a flower. Blades shot out from within the umbrella, streaking toward Ye Ya. There was no chance for Ye Ya to dodge, but the blades weren’t aimed to kill. Instead, they formed a Sword Net, slamming him against the wall. Only one blade pierced his right shoulder, pinning him firmly to the surface.
Su Muyu took a deep breath and stepped forward until he stood before Ye Ya. “I am Su Muyu of the Dark River Su Family.”
“The infamous Umbrella Ghost. I never expected you to be friends with the successor of Medicine King Valley. How amusing.” Ye Ya chuckled, unafraid.
“Do you think I won’t kill you?” Su Muyu said coolly.
“The Poison of the Medicine Man—only I can cure it in this world,” Ye Ya replied.
“You value your life dearly.” Su Muyu flicked his wrist, and another blade embedded itself into Ye Ya’s left shoulder. “Only those who cherish their lives above all else would study the Art of the Medicine Man, such a vile technique.”
“Vile technique?” Ye Ya sneered through gritted teeth. “What do you know?”
“Your life for hers.” Su Muyu’s voice was icy. “You have no other choice.”
“And once I save her, you’ll kill me?” Ye Ya scoffed. “I don’t expect to keep my life in the hands of Dark River.”
Su Muyu flicked his wrist again, pressing the last blade against Ye Ya’s throat. “I said you have no other choice. Her life for yours.”
After a long hesitation, Ye Ya pulled out a golden box from his robes. Opening it, he revealed a small black insect lying motionless inside, seemingly dead. “Crush this Gu Worm into ashes. Wait two hours, and Bai Hehuai will awaken.”
Su Muyu took the box, his True Qi swirling instantly as he crushed both the insect and the box into dust. With a wave of his hand, the dust scattered across the ground.
“Let me go,” Ye Ya demanded, frowning.
“Two hours,” Su Muyu said flatly.
Ye Ya stiffened, then clenched his jaw. “You don’t trust me.”
Su Muyu said nothing more. He simply sat cross-legged before Ye Ya, closing his eyes to meditate. Pinned to the wall by the blades, Ye Ya had no choice but to wait obediently with him.The night in Nan'an City was serene, with only the chirping of insects rising and falling in waves. After a long while, a whistle sounded from a corner, and Su Muyu opened his eyes. With a flick of his right hand, the blades were withdrawn from Ye Ya's body. Ye Ya groaned in pain and collapsed to the ground.
Su Muyu looked down at him coldly. "Run for your life. If anything else happens to the Miracle Healer, no matter where you flee—even to the imperial palace of Heaven Revelation City—I will find you and kill you!"
Ye Ya sneered. "Such bold words."
"I am Su Muyu of Dark River. There is no one I cannot kill if I wish to." Su Muyu rarely spoke with such arrogance. "Remember that well."
"Then let us never meet again." Fear creeping into his heart, Ye Ya hastily applied some wound medicine to his shoulder before scrambling away from Su Muyu.
Su Changhe emerged from the shadows and asked quietly, "Not going to kill him?"
"I fear he may have held back. If the Poison of the Medicine Man in Miracle Healer Bai hasn’t been fully neutralized, we may still need to track him down later," Su Muyu replied.
Su Changhe nodded. "A fair point. I doubt he’d dare deceive us. At the very least, the method he provided earlier should free Bai Hehuai temporarily. If anything goes wrong, you can pursue him immediately—Ye Ya wouldn’t escape then."
"Let’s wait for Medicine King Xin Baicao to arrive," Su Muyu said, turning to walk back to Crane Rain Medicine Manor with Su Changhe.
"The killing intent you radiated earlier even startled me," Su Changhe remarked softly.
Su Muyu sighed. "You haven’t seen the full extent of the Art of the Medicine Man tonight. In that courtyard, I witnessed firsthand how horrifying it truly is. That place… calling it a living hell wouldn’t be an exaggeration. The thought of the Miracle Healer becoming like that—I couldn’t suppress the urge to kill."
"A sight that even you find terrifying? Now I’m somewhat curious," Su Changhe mused slowly.
"Chang He, don’t take an interest in such things." Su Muyu looked up at the bright moon in the sky. "We want to lead Dark River out of the shadows, but some inhuman practices must never be touched."
Su Changhe nodded. "Don’t worry, don’t worry. I was just speaking idly."
"How is the Miracle Healer now?" Su Muyu asked.
Su Changhe patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Rest easy. Just as Ye Ya said, she woke up after two hours, and she didn’t seem like someone who had just recovered from poisoning—full of energy, as if nothing had happened at all. When she heard you’d chased after him, she grew frantic. No matter what I said, she wouldn’t listen and insisted on coming here to find you, saying Ye Ya was cunning and you might fall for his tricks. What a joke—Umbrella Ghost of Dark River being bested by a physician? I told her to relax, that you’d practically turned Ye Ya into a pincushion with your sword."
"That’s good." Su Muyu exhaled softly. "I never expected to encounter such trouble in Nan'an City, so far removed from the martial world."
Su Changhe stretched lazily. "Indeed. Conflict seems unavoidable anywhere. And with the Art of the Medicine Man surfacing, how many factions will start scheming?"
Su Muyu frowned. "We need to relocate. After what happened today, the prefect’s office will likely come looking for trouble."Su Changhe snorted, "Why change places? I like Nan'an City, I'm staying here from now on. So what if we offended a prefect's office? Are we supposed to be afraid of them?"
Su Muyu asked in confusion, "Why are you so worked up? We won't be staying here permanently anyway, we'll eventually return to Dark River."
Su Changhe paused, then laughed, "Ah, I'd forgotten about that."
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