No flowers, no wine, just the rain of Qingming;
Blades and swords pave the path to severed souls.
...——
Another spring rain fell, veiling Nine Heavens City in mist. On one side of the street, a child held an umbrella to shield his father from the rain as the man squatted silently, burning paper money. On the other side, a bustling tavern echoed with the sounds of drinking and laughter. Sorrow and joy mingled in the Qingming mist, carried by the rain over this northern city.
After all, honoring ancestors was merely a tradition—true grief had long since faded with time.
On such a chilly spring day, warming oneself with a cup of wine was the proper way.
Su Muyu opened his oil-paper umbrella and strolled leisurely down the road. A faint trace of melancholy lingered between his brows—so subtle it barely registered as emotion, yet so deeply ingrained it seemed woven into his bones, lingering endlessly. It suited the Qingming scenery well. A golden paper offering drifted down from the sky, landing on his umbrella. With a gentle twist of the handle, he flicked it away.
Inside the tavern, Bai Hehuai had just taken a sip of wine, warmth spreading through her body. She smiled. "Waiter, this wine is quite good. What's it called?"
The waiter tossed his towel over his shoulder and grinned. "This is Tusu wine."
"Tusu..." Bai Hehuai swirled her cup, her gaze shifting slightly to watch Su Muyu pass below, umbrella in hand. Softly, she murmured, "Old man, that name... isn't very auspicious for him."
Su Zhe shrugged. "Not for me either."
On the opposite rooftop, four figures in bamboo hats appeared. All but the leader wore unsheathed blades at their waists.
"Xie Family," Su Zhe remarked with another shrug.
Bai Hehuai set down her cup. "What's your plan, old man?"
Su Zhe chuckled. "Su Muyu said he'd present his terms to Su Jinhui. One of them was to let me leave Dark River. I don't trust The Head, nor do I trust Su Jinhui—but I trust Su Muyu."
"Be careful," Bai Hehuai sighed.
"Relax. It's just escorting Su Muyu for a stretch of the journey." Su Zhe stood, the golden rings on his Buddhist staff jingling like ghostly chimes in the Qingming air.
The Xie Family blade masters on the opposite rooftop heard the chime of the rings and looked up, spotting Su Zhe.
"It's Su Zhe of the Su Family," the lead blade master said slowly, her voice clear and melodious yet laced with authority.
"So it's this little girl," Su Zhe muttered, popping a betel nut into his mouth as he studied the face half-hidden beneath the bamboo hat. "Xie Huaqing of the Xie Family."
"Eat too many of those, and even boiling water won't burn your throat—until your whole mouth rots," Bai Hehuai warned.
"Just to ward off the chill. I'll stop after this fight." Su Zhe leaped into the air, swinging his Buddhist staff down hard toward the four blade masters.
"Block!" Xie Huaqing barked.
Two blade masters lunged forward, raising their longswords to clash against Su Zhe's staff.
"Lock!" Xie Huaqing commanded.
The two blade masters twisted their swords sharply, and as the three landed, Su Zhe's staff was pinned against the rooftop by their blades."Enough!" Xie Huaqing turned to Su Zhe, her eyes flashing with a trace of ruthless killing intent.
"About time." Su Zhe sneered, his hand suddenly twisting before releasing. The Buddhist staff continued spinning several times, directly knocking away the two long sabers. He then gripped it tightly again and swung it toward Xie Huaqing. Three golden rings shot toward her.
A cold glint flashed.
Xie Huaqing's saber left its sheath, only to return in an instant.
The three golden rings were deflected, flying toward Su Muyu below.
Without even turning his head, Su Muyu lightly spun his paper umbrella, rainwater cascading down and knocking all three golden rings to the ground.
Xie Huaqing lowered her head slightly, activating her Hundred Eyes Divine Sight, spotting the longsword at Su Muyu's waist. The sword bore a dragon's head at its hilt, eyes tightly shut as if in deep slumber.
"The Sleeping Dragon Sword!" Xie Huaqing exclaimed.
"Indeed, the Sleeping Dragon Sword." Su Zhe, holding the Buddhist staff, advanced toward Xie Huaqing and swung down without the slightest regard for her beauty. Xie Huaqing sidestepped, and half the eaves collapsed under Su Zhe's strike. Another cold glint flashed as Su Zhe retreated, his chest robe sliced open, before flipping backward onto the long street, sending rainwater splashing everywhere.
"Stop him," Xie Huaqing commanded solemnly.
The three other swordsmen immediately responded, their three long sabers cutting through the rain as they attacked Su Zhe simultaneously.
Su Zhe flipped midair, striking the ground heavily, causing dozens of golden rings to leap up and force the three sabers into defensive positions. The swordsmen, skilled as they were, instantly wove a Blade Net, the crisp clinking sounds indicating all the golden rings had been deflected. Unfazed, Su Zhe glanced back to see Xie Huaqing already pursuing Su Muyu from behind.
"Did The Head pass the Sleeping Dragon Sword to you?" Xie Huaqing whispered.
"The sword is now in my hands, but it is not for the Xie Family," Su Muyu replied indifferently.
"Hand it over!" Xie Huaqing reached out to seize the sword.
Su Muyu sidestepped gracefully, turning to face her. He lifted his paper umbrella slightly and said softly, "Go back and tell Elder Xie to stop now, and all will be forgiven."
Xie Huaqing smirked coldly and swung her saber. This time, her weapon was fully revealed to all—a slender Tang Saber tinged faintly with red. She practiced the art of the draw, where the act of unsheathing and resheathing determined the outcome. But she knew that against Su Muyu, victory couldn't be achieved in a single stroke, so she switched to another technique.
The technique was called "Returning Wild Goose."
Spring startles the northern geese back; the frozen swallow heralds thunder!
Su Muyu tapped his foot and retreated three steps as Xie Huaqing's saber flashed past his throat. Her blade shifted again, delivering three rapid strikes in an instant. Yet Su Muyu still held his umbrella, relying solely on the Su Family's Ghost Shadow Steps to evade her attacks.
"Afraid to fight me? Where's your sword?" Xie Huaqing hissed.
Su Muyu lifted his umbrella slightly once more, then swirled his left hand, condensing a stream of rainwater between his fingers. With a flick, he sent it shooting toward Xie Huaqing. Caught off guard, she couldn't dodge in time—her bamboo hat was split cleanly in half and sent flying, revealing her strikingly beautiful yet fierce face, her eyes still wide with shock.
To wield rainwater as a sword with such ease?
Su Muyu turned and continued walking away.Xie Huaqing quickly reacted and was about to charge forward again when a Buddhist staff suddenly rested on her shoulder.
"Little girl, you'll have to defeat me first," Su Zhe said with a laugh.
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