Mu Zi Zhe was not only an elder of the Mu Family and the chief instructor of this generation's Nameless Ones but also the heir apparent to the next head of the Mu Family. As for Su Muyu, he was merely a Nameless One who had just emerged from The Crucible. How could someone of his standing dare to threaten Mu Zi Zhe?
At this moment, Su Jinhui, the head of the Su Family, finally stopped gazing at the sky and suddenly gripped the long sword at his side.
"Head of the Family, after all, they are just two Nameless Ones. It's not worth clashing with the Mu Family over them," whispered a Su Family elder beside him.
"I could kill you with just a flick of my finger right now," Mu Zi Zhe sneered at Su Muyu.
Su Muyu took a deep breath. He was well aware of the gap between himself and Mu Zi Zhe, but if he gambled everything, he still had a ten percent chance. As for what would happen after killing Mu Zi Zhe, he had no idea.
He only knew that if he wanted to live even a moment longer, he had to kill the person standing before him!
"Stop!" A deep, aged voice boomed from afar. Everyone was startled by the sound, and all the disciples present—except for the heads of the families—dropped to one knee, clasped their fists, and shouted in unison, "The Head!"
An old man leaning on a silver dragon-headed staff slowly approached Mu Zi Zhe and Su Muyu, flanked by several burly assassins.
"The Head!" Mu Zi Zhe withdrew the True Qi from his hands and bowed his head.
The Head acknowledged him with a faint nod before turning his gaze to the bloodied Su Muyu and the barely breathing Su Changhe lying on the ground. "For a hundred years, only one person has ever emerged from the Ghost Cry Abyss. By doing this, you are challenging the authority of the Dark River—and my authority," he said gravely.
Su Muyu stared at The Head. He knew this man's status within the Dark River, and only he could save them now. Gritting his teeth, Su Muyu declared, "But both of us must live."
"Do you think the two of you are worth the Dark River breaking a century-old rule for?" The Head asked.
"We are!" Su Muyu proclaimed loudly.
"Oh?" The Head chuckled.
"In six years, the two of us will become the finest assassins the Dark River has seen in a century!" Su Muyu shouted. "The entire Dark River will change because of us!"
"Idiot!" Su Changhe laughed weakly from the ground. "Now we're really going to die together!"
Mu Zi Zhe sneered. Such brazen words in front of The Head—even if the Su Family's head were willing to intervene, it was unlikely they could be saved now.
"Among the three families, which one do you wish to join?" The Head suddenly asked after a moment of silence.
Mu Zi Zhe was stunned and immediately stepped forward. "The Head, no! Don't listen to his nonsense!"
"Rules exist to be broken. Over the past century, the Dark River has broken many rules, but only when the violators had the strength to back it up. Today, I can break this rule and personally conduct your Surname Conferral Ceremony. But if you fail to live up to your words, in six years, I will come for your life myself," The Head said, flicking his hand and sending Mu Zi Zhe stumbling aside. "Dying by my hand is a hundred times more painful than dying by anyone else's."
"Thank you, The Head, for your mercy. Both he and I will join the Su Family," Su Muyu said slowly.
The Head turned to look at the Su Family's head atop the high platform. Su Jinhui rose to his feet and spread his arms. "The Su Family welcomes both of you!""Have you thought about what name you'd like?" The Head asked again.
Su Muyu looked up at The Head. "I want to be called Su Muyu."
"Why is that?" The Head smiled kindly.
"That day my entire family was killed. My father placed me in a wooden barrel, and I floated down the river to this place. It was evening, and there was a moderate rain." Su Muyu spoke slowly.
"That's a good name." The Head took another step forward, looking down at Su Changhe on the ground. "And you? What would you like to be called?"
"Su Changhe," Su Changhe said through gritted teeth.
"Su Changhe." The Head turned around as the guards beside him raised black umbrellas, surrounding him to escort him away. "That's quite an ambitious name."
The Head walked far, far away under the protection of his guards. Su Muyu watched him, as did the others, all waiting for The Head to speak the final words—only then would the Surname Conferral Ceremony be complete. It wasn't until The Head's figure was nearly out of sight that they finally heard those words.
"Very well. From this day forward, the two of you shall be named Su Muyu and Su Changhe, officially joining the Dark River Su Family!"
"Double suns mean prosperity and brightness. Changhe means bringing the Dark River out of the shadows into the light." Inside the carriage, Su Changhe awoke from a long slumber, recalling the scene from his dream as he murmured to himself.
Beside him, Su Zhe chewed on betel nut, leaning lazily against the side in a daze. Noticing Su Changhe was awake, he grinned. "Slept so soundly—what sweet dreams did you have?"
Su Changhe wiped the sweat from his brow and smoothed his small beard. "Not a sweet dream, just some very old memories. Back when Su Muyu and I were still Nameless Ones."
"That was a long time ago. Back then, I even taught you swordsmanship. You were noisy as hell, and that Moyu kid was as silent as a stone. Dunno how you two ended up sticking together," Su Zhe remarked.
"At that time, you could say The Head saved both our lives. And now, I'm scheming day and night to hunt him down on the family head's orders." Su Changhe laughed self-deprecatingly. "Repaying kindness with enmity, wouldn't you say?"
"Young man, you've got no martial virtue," Su Zhe raised his smoking pipe.
"What can I do? When the instructors taught us, they wanted us to become ruthless killing machines devoid of emotion." Su Changhe shrugged. "By doing this, I'm just repaying The Head's kindness in raising me!"
"If we're talking shamelessness, you're number one in the Su Family!" Su Zhe gave a thumbs-up.
"Uncle Zhe, do you have any friends?" Su Changhe suddenly asked.
"I did. They're all dead," Su Zhe exhaled a slow smoke ring.
"What about family? You're from the main branch of Dark River—shouldn't you have married and had children by now?" Su Changhe asked curiously.
"I did. They're all dead too." Su Zhe's expression flickered in and out of view through the smoke. "Once had a daughter, delicate as carved jade, adorable as a porcelain doll."
"What a pity." Su Changhe didn't press further. He lifted the carriage curtain, and a spring breeze blew in, carrying a few raindrops with it. The air felt refreshing against his skin."It's raining again." Su Zhe narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Do you think it was also drizzling like this on the day Su Muyu sat in that wooden barrel, floating down the river to Dark River?" Su Changhe murmured.
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