In the pre-dawn hours, a final layer of thin mist lingered over the surface of the Huan River. Any light or sound was diluted by the watery haze, evaporating without a trace after only a moment.
Much like those secret emotions—no matter how they surged within a person’s heart, they were ultimately destined to fall into a silent stillness.
Inside the small window draped with gauze curtains, Su Muhe slowly lowered her head, looking at the unsheathed, rusty blade held horizontally against her waist.
The obedient smile on the youth's face seemed like a memory carved into his very bones through repeated refinement, yet the hand holding the sword between them carried a primal instinct.
It was a subconscious reaction—an aversion to being touched, a need to maintain distance from anyone. In the past, on rainy days, she too would subconsciously avoid puddles, curling herself beneath an eave where the edge of her world was visible at a single glance.
In truth, aside from raising the hand that held the sword, he made no other move. But Su Muhe knew she could no longer approach him by even a fraction of an inch.
She looked up at him, only to unexpectedly meet a pair of indifferent eyes. The youth’s silhouette was elegant and upright, like a wild plantain tree growing by a wilderness stream—sturdy branches and soft leaves coexisting, born with a romantic air that seemed made to catch the rain and cradle sorrow. Yet, deep within those eyes stripped of their disguise, there was a barrenness more desolate than jagged mountain rocks.
She felt a shock at the truth she glimpsed in that instant, but within a single breath, those light brown eyes had returned to normal. A docility rose up like the sea of mist drifting over the river tonight, veiling all his thoughts.
"Sailing at night, the wind and waves are high. Second Miss should stand firm."
Su Muhe parted her vermillion lips, but before she could speak, the blade at her waist was gone. The distance between them returned to what it had been before.
Silence spilled from the shadows beneath their feet, spreading across the four walls of the cabin, enveloping every inch of the air.
She used to be very good at living with this kind of silence.
During the years when her elder sister began following the family managers to inspect the accounts and her elder brother began "meeting friends over wine" until late at night, she had spent day after day wandering alone in her small courtyard or kneeling beside her grandmother, listening to Buddhist sutras she could almost recite backward. The sound of prayer beads clicking and her grandmother’s monotonous drone could last from sunrise to sunset, but she felt it was a silence more terrifying than true wordlessness. Gradually, she had transformed from the little girl who fought against it into the silence itself.
Yet at this moment, for some reason, she suddenly found this silence unbearable, and she lacked the courage and experience to break it.
After an unknown amount of time, the gauze curtains stirred slightly. A faint sound drifted from the river, seemingly just the cry of water birds or wild ducks.
Li Qiao’s figure finally moved. He turned his head and looked out the window.
The wind blowing from the east grew sharper. For a moment, the mist was parted like a veil, and an inconspicuous red dot suddenly lit up on the pitch-black river before vanishing into the wind.
It flickered and faded in an instant; if one did not look closely, they would think it was merely moonlight reflecting off the water.
However, the moon was about to hide behind the horizon, and the sun was still far from rising.
The sound resembling a waterfowl's cry rang out again, drifting indistinctly across the river. It was muffled, sounding perhaps like an early-rising boatman shouting something from the opposite bank.
In the next heartbeat, the youth who had been standing under the flickering lamplight was no longer there.
Su Muhe could not react for a moment. After a stunned pause, she finally picked up her lantern and chased out the door.
Li Qiao’s figure was stopped by the railing on the side of the deck. He did not speak, his gaze fixed on the dark silhouette of a cargo ship out on the river.
Looking at the expression on his face, Su Muhe finally understood what he had been contemplating during the countless times he had looked out the window tonight. He was calculating the distance between himself and that cargo ship.
The two vessels were not close. If the wind had not scattered some of the mist, perhaps even that faint silhouette would have been invisible.
A distance of less than a hundred yards—not exactly far, but not close either. Because there was nowhere to gain a foothold on the open river, even a master of lightness skills would find it difficult to leap onto the ship in a single bound.
Li Qiao’s gaze shifted to the surrounding water.
He had to wait for an opportunity.
Silence returned to the river; neither sound nor light appeared again.
Yet his heart beat faster and faster, a powerful premonition flooding his entire body. He could not wait any longer.
Reaching into his clothes, he pulled out the smoke pellet the woman had insisted on shoving at him earlier. With a flick of his wrist, the pellet flew toward a patch of reeds hidden in the mist, carrying a gust of sharp wind. There was a soft *thud*, and the next moment, a flurry of waterfowl cries and commotion erupted from the reeds.
Accompanied by the sound of wings flapping against the water, several black shapes flew out of the mist—night herons startled from their rest.
As the birds skimmed across the river, one happened to fly swiftly between the two cargo ships. In that split second, Su Muhe felt the glass lantern in her hand wobble. The youth was no longer by the railing.
She shielded the flame with one hand while squinting into the distance. She saw a black figure step off the gunwale and glide soundlessly toward the water. His robes fluttered like the black wings of a water bird, vanishing in an instant into the chaotic haze of the early morning river. The hunting sound of the wind whipping his clothes faded away with him.
A cry caught in Su Muhe’s throat, and she ultimately swallowed it back down.
The Su family boatmen were gathered in the bow drinking fermented plum juice. Someone noticed the light from her glass lantern and poked their head out lazily to look, only to pull back in.
This boatman had clearly behaved this way for more than a day, and he wasn't the only one on the ship like that. After all, not needing to pay much attention to the Second Miss’s affairs was the first lesson he had learned during his first month working for the Su Estate.
At the stern, a maid in pink sensed the movement. Carrying a freshly prepared incense burner, she hurried out of the cabin, looking around nervously with anxiety she couldn't hide.
"Miss, where is he? Has he already left...?"
Su Muhe ignored Shang Qu, her eyes still fixed on the grey, distant horizon.
It was the direction of the Su family’s other cargo ship.
Long before they had set sail, she had seen the half-lit lanterns at Baosu Wharf. When she knocked over that glass lantern, she knew he would surely appear tonight, though she hadn't expected him to come specifically to her boat.
She could see through his intentions at a glance, just as she could see the sharpness and emptiness hidden beneath his proper, docile exterior.
But for some reason, seeing the way he left just now, she suddenly felt a flicker of doubt regarding everything she had previously glimpsed in him.
He likely didn't even know for sure if that was the ship he was looking for, yet he had headed toward it without hesitation. He was supposed to be careful, cautious, never easily revealing his other side—yet when he left, he seemed so hurried, so reckless, not even bothering to hide his martial skills from her.
The east wind rose again, Su Muhe’s face shifting between light and shadow under the dancing flame.
Her grandmother was a devoted Buddhist who always said that life was a cultivation of saving oneself and others, requiring a "karmic opportunity" to bring enlightenment. But as she ate those cooled vegetarian meals day after day, staring at the high walls of the estate, she never felt her life could have such a thing as a "karmic opportunity."
Her heart had been consigned to silence for years, yet Heaven had allowed him to board her ship tonight.
How could this not be a karmic opportunity? It *had* to be her opportunity.
The flickering flame inside the glass lantern gradually steadied. When Su Muhe spoke, her voice was as melodious and soft as usual.
"Shang Qu, is my umbrella here?"
Shang Qu froze, then lowered her head guiltily.
"The... the umbrella is with Manager Guo. When we boarded earlier, he had Sister Mei Chong come and take it, saying it was for the Eldest Miss..."
Her "dear" elder sister, who required soft carpets to be laid on the path to her carriage, how could she possibly lack for a worn-out oil-paper umbrella?
There was not a hint of resentment or anger on Su Muhe’s face, only the cold indifference of one who had seen through the fickleness of the world.
"No matter. We will have a chance to take it back."
Standing by the railing, Su Muhe quietly let out a smile.
She had found a reason sufficient to convince herself to step into a new realm, and everything about to happen was the beginning of that realm.
She felt that the reason the youth had left so hurriedly was not, in the end, for someone on that ship, but for something inextricably linked to himself. Just as the reason she appeared on the Huan River tonight was not actually to "encounter" him, but for a matter concerning herself that she simply had to do.
Such was the nature of karmic opportunity.
Their paces were so perfectly aligned—a moment earlier or later would not have worked, yet they converged at this very instant. Even if they were each running on paths meant only for themselves, she firmly believed they would eventually reach the same destination by different routes.
Just as the plantain leaves would eventually be drenched by the fine rain.
****** ****** ******
In the night sky, a youth’s figure flashed past like a sharp blade slicing the mist in two.
A startled night heron skimmed over the water, unaware of a black shadow rapidly approaching from above, gradually overlapping with it.
Every moment was timed perfectly.
Li Qiao’s toes landed on the night heron’s back, and he used the momentum to leap again, heading straight for the port side of the cargo ship.
A faint firelight glowed from a narrow, long hole beneath the gunwale, and there was no place to stand on the bare side of the ship. Li Qiao focused his gaze on that opening, his killing intent making his eyes pierce through the darkness and mist like arrows. The rusted blade at his waist was already unsheathed, held high in his hand. His body arched in mid-air like a bow, aiming at the rapidly approaching hull.
His left-handed blade struck heavily against the opening where half a wooden plank was missing.
With a sharp *crack*, the narrow gap turned into a large hole. Amidst flying splinters, he seemed to hear someone calling his name.
It was a strange feeling.
In the past, when he raised his blade, he heard only screams and pleas for mercy; he almost never heard anyone call his name. Those people wouldn't know his name. Even if they did, they wouldn't call him with that tone.
In an instant, the youth’s lean frame nimbly slipped into the ship, landing in the hold where the firelight flickered.
The flames on the floorboards had already begun to spread. At a glance, he saw the figure curled into a ball against a wooden crate.
It was her. So he hadn't misheard; she *was* calling his name.
In all those past days and nights, whenever she called him like that, demanding a response, he always had to carefully restrain the surging killing intent and savage instinct in his heart. But after practicing so many times, starting from a certain day, he had unknowingly become proficient at it. Even he could no longer tell if it was merely an act or another instinct that had seeped into his very marrow without him realizing it.
Just like this very moment—before he could even think it through, he had already answered involuntarily.
"I'm here."
The figure huddled against the crate finally moved.
He saw that familiar, thin little face turn toward him. Her black-and-white eyes widened instantly, shining like stars on a clear night.
"How did you..."
How did he get here?
He thought she knew.
She didn't need any smoke pellets or signals. As long as she called him, he would come to her side.
The youth’s light brown pupils were illuminated by the firelight. The mist that always seemed to linger within them was instantly dispelled, leaving only a clear radiance.
The woman stared into those eyes, but only for a stunned moment. She quickly remembered something and hurriedly reported the current crisis.
"An assassin from Tingfeng Hall! That... that needle thing!"
As soon as Qin Jiuye finished speaking, the third person in the cabin recovered from the sudden intrusion and struck first to seize the advantage.
With a flick of her wrist, Xin Yu sent three poisoned needles flying toward the exposed youth.
In a dark environment with blind spots, the person familiar with the surroundings would inevitably seize the initiative. And in a cramped space, small and flexible weapons held the upper hand.
Possessing both advantages, as an assassin, Xin Yu indeed had no reason not to strike.
But perhaps she should have been more cautious.
*Clang, clang, clang.* Three crisp sounds. The youth cleanly parried her preemptive strike, just as he had in the backyard of Tingfeng Hall that day.
At that time, she had a mission to complete. Realizing she couldn't eradicate him within a few exchanges, she had left quickly and thus had no chance to carefully observe his martial style. But with that single strike that had just broken through the ship’s hull, she saw it clearly.
That was by no means a blade technique an ordinary wanderer could figure out through self-study. It was a killing art that could only take shape after at least a thousand real battles and the accumulation of years.
Despite lurking within the Su Estate, she believed she hadn't been away from the martial world for too long.
When had such a figure appeared in the Jianghu, and why had she heard nothing of it?
The firelight turned the center of the cabin a brilliant red. If one stared at it for too long, the surrounding dark corners became even harder to see.
Qin Jiuye lay motionless on the floor, trying her best to shrink into a tiny ball. She didn't dare breathe, fearing she would cough from inhaling the smoke and burden her companion who had come to save her. But she couldn't stop worrying, so she strained her ears to listen to the movements around her. However, aside from the sound of the burning fire and her own heart beating like a drum, she could hear nothing clearly.
But she knew that in the darkness where the firelight could not reach, two terrifying demons were silently confronting each other, their killing intent ready to explode at a touch.
*Thump, thump, thump.* A flurry of muffled footsteps came from above.
Perhaps because the firelight had pierced through the hull, or perhaps because of the sound of the ship being damaged earlier, someone had finally come to check this sealed cabin.
However, that unlucky soul only had time to open the hatch and take three steps down before a needle landed right in the center of his face. His entire body went stiff, and he tumbled down the wooden ladder. The person following him screamed and turned to run back.
Air rushed in from the hatch, connecting with the hole in the hull. The fire instantly surged.
The moment the firelight flared, the situation reversed in an instant. The youth’s blade cut through the darkness and flames, surging forward like a silent, invisible tidal wave. The killing intent seemed to suck the air dry, enveloping everything in a sense of suffocation.
Xin Yu involuntarily took a step back.
In her dozen or so years in the Jianghu, she considered herself a veteran of countless battles. Being able to come and go as she pleased was her proudest skill as an assassin hidden in the shadows. Thus, she had never truly witnessed what it meant to have nowhere to hide and nowhere to run.
In this world, how could there be a blade one could not evade?
Before she could understand, the blade was already upon her.
A cold chill pierced through her chest and abdomen. She could almost feel the rusted blade scraping against her bones with a screeching sound, followed by a long-absent sensation of pain.
But she was, after all, a battle-hardened assassin. After a brief stall, she ruthlessly pushed against the blade to break free, immediately changing her stance to use footwork for a circular, evasive battle.
But no matter how she changed her moves or held her breath to dodge, the shadow behind her always knew her position instantly, using that same simple, unadorned blade technique to drive her into a corner.
"Azure Blade... You are the Azure Blade..."
The woman in purple finally realized something. She made a swift decision, spat out a curse, and rushed toward the wooden ladder, stepping over the corpse to flee.
Li Qiao immediately sensed her intent and pursued her. Seeing this, Qin Jiuye grew frantic with worry, shouting at the top of her lungs behind him.
"Don't chase her!"
Though Xin Yu was both suspicious and hateful, she was not the priority tonight. The priority was the reason behind her appearance here and the secret hidden on this Su family ship...
However, no matter how she shouted, the youth’s figure did not pause.
He could respond to her call across dozens of yards of river, yet now he seemed unable to hear her voice at all. Like a hound that had caught the scent of blood, too excited to stop, he chased his prey and vanished into the pre-dawn night.
"Don't chase! No..."
A cloud of thick smoke choked her throat, and Qin Jiuye couldn't stop herself from coughing.
If she had felt touched by someone's "loyal protection" just moments ago, she was now the most failed master under heaven, watching her own disobedient, vicious dog run off after a fox until he was out of sight, refusing to return no matter how she called, leaving her to stomp her feet in rage.
What was wrong with him today? Last time at Tingfeng Hall, when she told him not to chase, he had obediently stayed. This time, for some reason, he had become so reckless.
Her trembling pupils froze as Qin Jiuye fitfully recalled that during the fight, Xin Yu seemed to have shouted something at Li Qiao at the very end. But she had been too far away, and the sound of the fire burning the cabin had shattered those few words into pieces.
What did she shout? What exactly was it? The tone of those words seemed somewhat familiar, as if she had heard them somewhere before...
The fire in the cabin grew brighter, and the black smoke grew thicker. The scorching heat pulled Qin Jiuye out of her thoughts. Knowing she couldn't linger, she swayed as she stood up, dragging her legs—which were soft from exhaustion—toward the hatch. As she passed the fallen boatman, she instinctively reached out to check his pulse, but it was already too late.
In truth, if there had been the slightest error or a moment’s hesitation earlier, the person lying dead here might have been her.
Qin Jiuye collected her thoughts and hesitated no longer, struggling up the wooden ladder.
The deck was a cacophony of noise; it seemed to have fallen into total chaos. People were shouting to catch the assassin, others were screaming about the fire, but there was no sign of Li Qiao or Xin Yu.
Firelight poured out from the hold, burning ever more fiercely. Now, let alone the boats on the river, even those on the shore would notice this unusual sight. It was only a matter of time.
Qin Jiuye raised a hand stained with black soot to wipe her face. Keeping her head down and covering her nose and mouth, she blended in with several running boatmen, shouting along in a coarse voice.
"Fire! Fire!..."
She shouted a few times, then suddenly realized something was wrong. She stopped and looked back, only to find the boatmen were no longer moving. They stood a short distance behind her, watching her warily.
Qin Jiuye gave an awkward smile.
"What is it?"
A somewhat familiar figure stepped out from among the boatmen—it was the Su Estate manager, Guo Rengui.
Guo Rengui held a wet cloth over his nose and mouth. His small, sharp eyes were pinned on her, his voice thick with suppressed rage.
"Bind her for me."
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
洹河 | Huan River | The river where the events take place.
苏沐禾 | Su Muhe | The Second Miss of the Su family.
李樵 | Li Qiao | The youth/guard accompanying Qin Jiuye.
商曲 | Shang Qu | Su Muhe's maid.
眉冲 | Mei Chong | Another maid in the Su household.
郭仁贵 | Guo Rengui | A manager of the Su Estate.
青刀 | Azure Blade | A title or name recognized by the assassin Xin Yu.
心俞 | Xin Yu | The assassin from Tingfeng Hall.
走水 | Fire / "Water is running" | A traditional Chinese euphemism for a fire breaking out.
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