"There's a secret passage in the Spider Nest, a very long one that leads all the way to the Three-Mile Pavilion outside the city. Uncle Zhe, why don't we split up? You wait at the Three-Mile Pavilion while I head to the Spider Nest," Su Changhe suddenly suggested halfway through their journey.
Su Zhe stopped in his tracks, planting his Buddhist staff firmly into the ground, his tone laced with dissatisfaction: "The Su Family has so many skilled fighters, why is it always just the two of us running errands?"
"I used to be one of the Nameless Ones. Whenever I tried to get the main family brothers to pitch in, they'd always brush me off. But you and I, Uncle Zhe, we've been through life and death together—I trust you," Su Changhe replied with a laugh, half-joking yet sincere.
"Kid, I know you're scheming something terrible. I won't interfere or stop you," Su Zhe turned away. "I'm just an emotionless killer—I do the job and nothing more!"
"Uncle Zhe, out of everyone in the Su Family, you're the one I respect the most. Don’t die on me, alright?" Su Changhe patted Su Zhe on the shoulder.
"People have three fires on their shoulders—you shouldn’t pat them carelessly. If you extinguish them, death will come for real," Su Zhe knocked Su Changhe's hand away, picked up his staff, and ambled leisurely toward the city outskirts.
Su Changhe exhaled softly, wiping cold sweat from his brow. For a brief moment, he had sensed a sudden surge of killing intent from Su Zhe, though it was quickly suppressed. Had Su Zhe truly attacked, Su Changhe wasn’t confident of victory. Once hailed as the Su Family’s strongest, Su Zhe had never fought at full strength since his injury. To this day, no one in the Dark River knew how much of his power remained. Yet rumors claimed that if Su Zhe were willing to pay a certain price, no one in the Dark River could match him. The rumor came from a Mu Family physician who had treated Su Zhe—its truth was anyone’s guess.
"Truly worthy of being the Su Family’s former strongest," Su Changhe muttered as he turned toward the Spider Nest. Before he had taken more than a few steps, he caught sight of two figures darting swiftly across distant rooftops. Narrowing his eyes, Su Changhe leaped into the air, a flash of cold steel in his hand. A crisp clang rang out as blades collided.
"Su Changhe," one of the figures coughed heavily before swinging a black saber and retreating a dozen steps.
"Deathly Blooming Flowers," Su Changhe stood his ground, grinning. "What an unfortunate coincidence."
Xie Fanhua frowned. "Are you here to block my path?"
"Not at all. I was just heading to the Spider Nest for a look—running into you was pure chance," Su Changhe raised an eyebrow.
Xie Fanhua’s chest heaved as he fought back the urge to vomit blood. He knew better than to show the slightest weakness before this Undertaker. Suppressing his discomfort, he said coldly, "In that case, step aside."
"Though I wasn’t looking for you, now that we’ve met, I ought to give you a proper greeting," Su Changhe twirled a dagger between his fingers. "You’re the Xie Family’s rising star of this generation. Killing you should please the old man enough to stop pestering me."
"Then try it," Xie Fanhua knew further words were pointless. Twin sabers flashed as he lunged at Su Changhe.Su Changhe remained calm and unhurried, flicking his dagger lightly. The saying goes, "An inch shorter, an inch more dangerous." Every time he faced those two black blades, he seemed to place himself in an extremely perilous situation, yet his expression and movements appeared so effortless and natural. He laughed heartily, "It seems the Spider Nest isn’t so easy to break into. Your blade technique is a bit too slow."
Xie Fanhua swung his blades while coughing heavily, but he had little energy to spare for his injuries. Blood splattered onto the two black blades as they slashed through the air, their edge carrying both lethality and a strange allure.
"You want speed? Then how about this!" Xie Fanhua roared in fury.
Su Changhe’s face still wore a faint smile, but his movements sharpened in response. He continued to taunt, laughing as he spoke, "Faster! Even faster!"
"Fine!" Xie Fanhua’s two black blades suddenly pierced through Su Changhe’s dagger defense, aiming straight for his chest. Su Changhe tilted his head slightly, watching as his dagger was knocked into the air. He leaned back abruptly, evading Xie Fanhua’s strike, then flipped forward, landing right in front of Xie Fanhua. His hand shot out, catching the falling dagger mid-air, and slashed downward!
"Silence!" Xie Fanhua bellowed, hastily retracting his blades to block the attack before retreating over a dozen steps in haste.
The outcome was decided.
But there was still one from the Xie Family who hadn’t made a move.
Xie Fanhua glared at Xie Qianji, who had remained motionless in the distance, and growled, "Why have you just been standing there like a fool? Attack together!"
Xie Qianji nodded. "I’ve been observing the flaws in Su Changhe’s Inch Finger Sword. I’ve found some leads. Brother Fanhua, please go first and clear the way for me."
"Fine!" Xie Fanhua leaped into the air, merging the hilts of his two blades mid-flight to form a double-edged longsword. Then, he descended with a fierce strike aimed at Su Changhe. This was Xie Fanhua’s deadliest technique—one that abandoned all defense in pursuit of pure offense.
As a result, his back was left completely exposed.
Yet Su Changhe didn’t strike. He merely smiled faintly, his expression tinged with disdain and pity.
A sudden chill gripped Xie Fanhua’s heart—just before an arrow from behind pierced straight through his skull. His final strike would never land.
Xie Qianji lowered his mechanical crossbow and stepped forward slowly. "He was one of Xie Ba’s most favored disciples. Killing him is tantamount to declaring war on the Xie Family."
"Take his body away. We don’t want the Xie Family catching wind of anything," Su Changhe said, bending down to sever Xie Fanhua’s head with a swift slash of his dagger. "Tell them I did it. What’s there to fear from war? Xie Ba’s enemy isn’t me, nor us—it’s the Su Family. I’m not afraid he’ll declare war; I’m afraid he’s too much of a coward to do it!"
Xie Qianji hoisted Xie Fanhua’s corpse onto his shoulder. "There’s some truth to that. I’ll go back and report to them. But Xie Bu Xie has left—apparently after a fierce battle with Su Muyu. Without him, many things will become troublesome."
"Losing a fine blade is indeed troublesome," Su Changhe mused. With a light step, he appeared beside Xie Qianji and drove his dagger straight into the latter’s shoulder.Xie Qianji winced in pain and let out a low groan, but didn't fight back.
Su Changhe pulled out the dagger and smiled. "The show must go on," he said.
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