"Leaving?" A flying knife whizzed past Xie Bu Xie's forehead, embedding itself into the ground before him. "We finally managed to corner a lone spider, and you just kill it like that?"
Xie Bu Xie turned around and looked up to see a woman standing atop the eaves. She wore a unique silver outfit, white silk gloves, and a veil covering her face, revealing only her eyes—her pupils an unusual pale gray. Xie Bu Xie frowned slightly. "Who are you?"
"Mu Xuewei of the Mu Family, codename Poison Flower. Every inch of her is laced with poison—a single touch is fatal. Stay away from her." A robed man leisurely walked up beside Xie Bu Xie and looked up. "Did the Mu Family send only you?"
"Isn't my presence enough?" Mu Xuewei leaped down gracefully, landing lightly before flicking her sleeve toward the two men. A mist surged toward them.
"Dodge it," the robed man warned sharply.
"No!" Xie Bu Xie swung his Dragon Tooth Blade fiercely, slicing the mist into nothingness.
Mu Xuewei sneered. "Your blade skills aren’t bad. Pity..."
"Pity what?" The robed man smirked, flicking his sleeve. The windows of the dilapidated shops on either side suddenly swung open, revealing two Mechanical Crossbows aimed directly at Mu Xuewei.
"He is Xie Qianji of the Xie Family—the foremost master of mechanisms and formations in this generation. From the moment you landed, he’s been leading you to this spot." A man in Taoist robes strolled over from the other end of the street. "We’re all here for the same purpose. Why must we be at odds?"
"Precisely because we share the same purpose that we must be at odds. After all, in two days, we’ll have to entrust our lives to one another," Mu Xuewei said solemnly.
"Hahaha, you’re quite the amusing girl. Your words sound like they’re straight out of a storybook," Xie Qianji remarked, flicking his sleeve again. The windows closed simultaneously.
The Taoist-robed man walked up beside Mu Xuewei and chuckled. "That’s because it is a line from a storybook—Scene Nine of The Storm Over Luoyang , the final showdown."
"Mu Qingyang, so you’re the Mu Family’s fortune-telling Taoist?" Xie Qianji narrowed his eyes at the robed man.
"Indeed. Then let me divine the fortune of this journey." Mu Qingyang pulled out a coin from his sleeve. On one side was a Peach Wood Sword, and on the other, a peach blossom.
"What kind of coin is that?" Xie Qianji asked.
"A Peach Blossom Coin. Rumor has it they were specially made by Zhao Yuzhen, the Taoist Sword Immortal of Qingcheng Mountain. I had someone fetch one for me. The sword side means misfortune; the blossom means good luck." Mu Qingyang tossed the coin into the air. It spun before landing on the back of his hand. He covered it with his palm and asked, "What do you think?"
"This is divination?" Xie Qianji stared in disbelief. "When I was a kid, I’d flip coins to see if I’d pass my trials too. You put on a Taoist robe, toss a Qingcheng Mountain coin, and call it divination?"
"Ah, the greatest truths are the simplest!" Mu Qingyang lifted his hand and glanced at the coin.
Peach Wood Sword.
"Turns out I’m a fake Taoist after all. Inaccurate, inaccurate." He pocketed the coin and stretched. "By the way, is everyone here now?""That's just how he is, no need to be surprised." Mu Xuewei rubbed her forehead, seeming rather helpless with her companion.
Xie Qianji tucked his hands back into his sleeves and shrugged. "We've long heard of this Taoist from your Mu Family."
At that moment, Xie Bu Xie suddenly gripped his long saber, his eyes scanning the street intently. "Someone's here," he said gravely.
"Hahaha, as expected of the best blade among the Xie Family's younger generation. Out of the four, you were the first to notice me." A somewhat eerie voice suddenly rang out. The shop doors along the street opened and closed in an instant as a white figure darted between them, the voice fluctuating between near and far.
Xie Bu Xie's gaze followed the moving figure. Mu Xuewei and Mu Qingyang exchanged glances but made no move, while Xie Qianji closed his eyes, choosing to rely on hearing to locate the white shadow.
"Stop playing tricks!" Xie Bu Xie abruptly turned and swung his saber behind him.
"Not bad!" The white-clad man had somehow appeared behind Xie Bu Xie and was just in time to meet the saber with a palm strike. He wore golden silk gloves and caught the blade directly, then gave it a slight twist. Xie Bu Xie followed the momentum, spinning with the saber and launching a spinning slash at the white-clad man. The man sneered, tapped his foot, and vanished. Xie Bu Xie's strike hit empty air, and when he turned, he saw the white-clad man had landed on a rooftop.
"No need to fight. He's Mu Bai of the Mu Family," Xie Qianji stopped Xie Bu Xie.
"Mu Bai? Mu Zi Zhe's son?" Xie Bu Xie was taken aback.
"How dare you address our Mu Family head by name!" Mu Xuewei scolded.
"I didn't expect the Mu Family to send you. That shows great sincerity," a thin man sitting inside a nearby shop said as its door suddenly opened.
"But the Xie Family's sincerity is lacking, sending a dying man like you," Mu Bai laughed. "Xie Fanhua."
"Because I'm dying, I fear death no longer," Xie Fanhua coughed lightly and stood up, walking out. "Now we're all here. From the Xie Family: Xie Fanhua, Xie Qianji, Xie Bu Xie."
Mu Bai leaped down from the rooftop. "From the Mu Family: Mu Bai, Mu Qingyang, Mu Xuewei."
Xie Fanhua took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from his lips. "The six of us will tear apart the Spider Nest's web three days from now."
At the Falling Nine Heavens Inn.
Su Changhe opened the window, letting in a spring breeze carrying fine raindrops. "What a pleasant season," he remarked with a smile.
"The ones who struck outside the Spider Nest were the Xie Family's blades, but the ones who formed the Heavenly Net Formation were from the Mu Family," Su Zhe said slowly.
"Indeed. The Xie and Mu Families have joined forces, leaving our Su Family isolated and without support," Su Changhe smiled faintly. "But in this battle, there can only be one winner. Even if they ally now, they'll still have to fight to the death later."
Su Zhe asked quietly, "What do you think?"
"Me? I'll just watch," Su Changhe chuckled. "Enjoy the show. Just wait, Uncle Zhe."
"I'll wait, but the old man won't," Su Zhe said solemnly."To hell with the old man," Su Changhe sneered. "If you don't even have this much patience to get your hands on that Sleeping Dragon Sword, then even if you manage to sit on that throne, you'll only die faster!"
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