Chapter Twelve: The Unfortunate One

The goddess, seeing that Suhe could barely protect himself, still told Huai Yin to fall back. After parrying a lethal strike, she curled her lips in a cold sneer. "You’re nothing but a clay idol crossing a river, and yet you wish to play the hero and take the lead? If I don’t teach you a lesson, do you really think you can come and go as you please in this world?"

With that, she gathered her power and shouted, "Year by year, the cold river flows, bearing witness to countless rises and falls." Instantly, a rumbling filled the hall, and the rocks overhead began to crash down, leaving the two men nowhere to hide.

Huai Yin gripped his blade and dodged left and right, barely keeping his footing. Pointing angrily at the goddess, he shouted, "Hey, you vicious shrew, you’re going too far! Don’t think I’m not fighting back because I’m scared of you—I’m just taking an intermission!"

"How noisy," the goddess snapped, her brows arching in fury. With a sweep of her sleeve, another killing blow flew toward him.

Suhe, gripping the sword Minshu, twisted his blade, and a flurry of keen sword energy instantly broke her attack. Whirling around, he unleashed a surge of sword-light, and a sword formation erupted from the ground, trapping the goddess completely.

He said, "You are mistaken. It is not noise, but truth. If you so despise this fate, why not end your life here and now? Perhaps that will repay your mountain of sins." As he spoke, his gaze swept over the shattered puppets, smashed to bits by falling stones.

The oil lamps spilled, the red gauze caught fire, and the souls imprisoned within, bereft of shelter, began to dissipate. Once, these had been young women, delicate as flowers; now, they scattered like fireflies, looking to the goddess with pleading eyes, desperate for help, yet unable to speak.

Among them, Miss Youyi was the most pitiable. Her body still hung from the beam, but her soul was fading into nothingness. Had she known life would turn out this way, she would have lived quietly as a minor immortal—it would have been better than this. She looked toward the entrance, her heart breaking, her parents nowhere to be seen. Grief overwhelmed her, and her soul scattered fastest of all.

The goddess, pressing her palm to her sword, showed not a hint of regret. "They are nothing but offerings. If I value them at all, it is for their fortune. Without me, they would never know the wonders of the divine realm."

"Sophistry."

"I speak only the truth. It is you who dare not accept it. They all offered themselves willingly—when have I ever forced anyone? This is a bargain freely made. If they die, who else is to blame? Hmph, it’s all fate. The only difference is, their fate was unfortunate enough to meet me."

Suhe drew Minshu again, his brows growing ever sterner, the energy around him whipping his robes into a frenzy. Suddenly, his sword flashed with speed, the afterimages dazzling, making it impossible to tell reality from illusion.

"So, a voluntary bargain, is it? Then today, I see no reason not to keep you here."

The goddess raised her eyelids in disdain, eyes glinting with a twisted smile. "Keep me? I doubt you have the life for it." In a sudden movement, she summoned a jade cup shaped like a lotus leaf, draining the crimson wine within. Her lips, glistening red, radiated both allure and coldness as she spoke with a thousand shades of seduction, "Or perhaps, you can’t bear to part with me?"

"Enough of your nonsense—prepare to die." Suhe seethed with anger at her shamelessness. Her words were slippery, her tone never serious, and her flippant manner only made him more resolute—he showed no mercy in his attacks. Even this was only a sliver of the goddess’s true power; if he failed to stop her here, there would be no escape once her true form arrived.

So, disregarding exhaustion, he poured all his cultivation into his sword. In an instant, the goddess’s expression changed dramatically. Her gaze flickered as she summoned her sword, spinning it rapidly to form a net of blades, intending to ensnare Suhe and turn the tables.

But Suhe had anticipated this, having learned from their previous exchange. He set a trap, feigning a fierce assault that was, in fact, a ruse. When the goddess cast her sword net, she immediately sensed something was wrong and tried to withdraw—but she was a step too late.

Suddenly, a broadsword pierced through her abdomen.

The goddess froze for a moment before recovering. She forced her energy outward, blasting Huai Yin away from behind her, and then wrenched the blade from her body. With every step toward Suhe, hatred and murderous intent radiated from her. "You plotted against me? You colluded with another to betray me?"

As she spoke, she unleashed the full weight of her divine might, and Suhe nearly buckled, his knees threatening to give way. Yet a gentleman kneels only to heaven, earth, and righteousness—he forced himself to stand.

Huai Yin was not so fortunate. Already battered inside by the goddess’s earlier blow, now he suffered under her crushing power and could only curse his luck. Nothing good ever came of being a member of the Baili clan. He wondered if this was the end for him.

Suhe struggled to endure, and the goddess’s eyes grew bloodshot with rage, her only desire to tear him apart. As she stepped free of the sword formation, it shattered.

"You think you could entertain me with such trifling tricks? Should I call you stupid, or just laugh at your pitiful ignorance?"

With a flick of her fingers, she sent a blade of energy slicing into Suhe’s knee. He staggered, the color draining from his face, but he gritted his teeth and stood tall.

The more resolute he became, the more the goddess despised him and wanted to break him. "Trying to play the stoic? I’ll oblige you." She fired another volley of energy at his knees. When he still did not fall, she raised her sword with one hand, aiming for his heart.

Huai Yin watched in panic—this was not how he imagined things would go. "So you’ll oblige me? I thank you for it," Suhe suddenly replied, his gaze icy.

He twisted aside, letting the blade pierce him without striking a fatal spot. With one hand, he seized the goddess’s right wrist, relinquished Minshu, and channeled his true energy, landing a direct blow to her heart.

Instantly, deathly silence fell over the hall.

Suddenly, a cracking sound came from the goddess’s body. Her once flawless face split like shattered porcelain.

"Guh… guh…" She clutched her throat, desperately trying to speak, but her body could no longer resist the onset of destruction. In a flash, a stream of light burst from the crown of her head, circling several times before shooting through the layers of barriers toward the sky.

Outside, the waiting woman and Lin Mao leapt up in terror. The couple hurried together, the woman fretting, "Husband, what do we do?"

They had assumed that no matter the chaos inside, the goddess’s power would prevail. Who could have guessed the unremarkable youth had such ability?

Lin Mao clenched his fist. "We leave."

"Go where?"

"Follow me and you’ll see." With that, he transformed and vanished. The woman glanced back, stamped her foot, and slipped away as well.

Within the hall, the swaying curtains caught fire, flames licking up and sending the fabric tumbling to the ground. A strange wind blew embers onto the young lady’s corpse, and the fire roared, swiftly reducing her to charred remains.

Huai Yin leaned against the stone wall, carefully polishing his blade. "Didn’t expect you to be so ruthless," he remarked quietly.

Suhe glanced at his wounds, large and small, and sat cross-legged, drawing two porcelain bottles from his sleeve. He tossed one to Huai Yin, opened the other, and took out a pill for himself, speaking evenly, "In this world, who can claim not to be ruthless?"

"True enough." Huai Yin nodded, opening the bottle and sniffing. "Not bad—medicine from Leaf Valley, you’ve got connections. Any more? Seeing as I nearly lost my life, spare me another bottle?"

He popped a pill into his mouth and crunched it like a broad bean. Suhe looked at the bottle in his palm, hesitated a moment, then tossed it over.

Huai Yin caught it with both hands and grinned. "Very nice, thanks."

"Since you aided me, a few pills are hardly worth mentioning." Suhe closed his eyes and began to regulate his breathing. Wisps of white vapor rose from his body, and his bleeding wounds visibly knitted together. External injuries healed quickly; the inner ones would need time.

The pill brought relief to Huai Yin. He tucked the bottle away, treating it like treasure, and resumed polishing his blade. "No big deal. Just my rotten luck to end up in this cursed place. Since I was here, I couldn’t just watch you die, could I? Besides, we have a bit of history, after all."

Though that history wasn’t exactly pleasant. Still, after two encounters, acquaintanceship was inevitable. He snuck a glance at Suhe to gauge his reaction.

But Suhe, having borne the brunt of the goddess’s wrath, was more seriously wounded. Whatever Huai Yin said, Suhe barely heard.

Receiving no response, Huai Yin simply made his blade shine. After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Suhe opened his eyes and stood, thanking Huai Yin. "Thank you for watching over me."

"Think nothing of it. If you can walk, let’s get out of here. No one should linger in a place like this." Huai Yin waved his hand, his gaze passing over the chaos.

Suhe inclined his head. "Thank you, brother."

"Don’t be so formal. Call me Huai Yin. ‘Brother’ sounds too distant—haven’t we risked our lives together?"

"Very well. My name is—"

"No need. Even if you don’t say, I know who you are." Huai Yin arched a brow.

"Forgive my discourtesy," Suhe replied. The man’s forthright manner made him smile despite himself; his efforts at disguise seemed superfluous now.

"Let’s go. I’m a straightforward man. Last time, I took money to avert disaster for another—you understand. This time, it was just chance. There’s no bad blood between us. So you—well, it’s understandable, don’t worry about it." Sheathing his blade, Huai Yin threw an arm around Suhe’s shoulders.

Suhe stiffened—apart from Li Bo, he had never been so close with anyone. For a moment, he didn’t know how to react.

Huai Yin didn’t care for such details; he just wanted to get out of this haunted place, dragging Suhe along.

As they stepped through the archway, they ran into Steward Zou, who had just returned with news. Seeing Suhe, Zou knew things had gone awry and tried to flee, but Suhe was faster. Before Zou could move, a surge of hidden force pinned him in place.

"What now? You mean to kill him?" Huai Yin glanced at Suhe.

"Kill or maim, do as you like," Zou retorted, his neck stiff. He was prepared to die rather than betray his master.

Suhe raised his eyes, calm. "Why would I kill you? Your master and mistress have already fled. What’s the use of killing a small fry?"

"Then what do you want? Catching me but not killing—what, are you going to set me up as your ancestor?"

"I want to make a deal with you."

"No." Zou refused instantly. This was a cat offering a gift to a mouse—no good intentions.

"A reasonable answer. But it’s not up to you." Suhe turned to Huai Yin. "Any suggestions, Huai brother?"

Huai Yin chuckled. "What do I know? If you ask me, just kill him. This one’s clearly a loyal servant—he’d never betray his master, no matter what you offer."

Suhe considered this. "True. In that case, I’ll have to send you on your way."

Zou straightened, defiant. "Go ahead. If I so much as frown, I’m your grandson."

But as soon as the words left his mouth, terror seized him. "You… you…"