Cooking smoke curled upward through the heavy rain over the Capital City. The wind scattered the misty clouds of smoke in the rain, leaving only the scent of hearth fires drifting through the streets.
A scattering of passersby hurried along beneath umbrellas, their destinations clear, no longer inclined to stroll leisurely as they would on a sunny day.
Su Mo wore a rain cape and a bamboo hat, its brim pulled so low that no one could make out his face.
He walked through the rain. Water struck his cape and dripped down its palm leaves, drop after drop, until they finally joined into streams...
Su Mo walked straight out of the rain into the Blacksmith Shop. Without removing his hat, he asked directly.
"Is what I ordered ready?"
Hearing Su Mo's hoarse voice, the old blacksmith immediately recognized the customer who had visited the previous night. He put down his work at once and came forward.
"It's ready, it's ready!" The old blacksmith approached Su Mo and said warmly, "Have a seat, sir. I'll have my apprentice fetch it right away."
Su Mo shook his head. He did not sit, but simply stood and waited.
The young blacksmith beside them went into the back room without waiting for instructions and brought out what Su Mo had ordered.
Su Mo took the items, examined them, and nodded. Tossing down a pouch of silver, he turned and left...
He visited several Blacksmith Shops in succession, collecting the equipment he had commissioned.
Back aboard the Painted Pleasure Boat, Su Mo placed a pile of pitch-black objects on the table and stared at them, somewhat dazed.
These familiar objects looked jarringly out of place before Su Mo in this world.
Su Mo had never handled such a thing in his previous life, either. He had merely drawn plans based on his rudimentary knowledge, then asked the blacksmiths to forge the pieces accordingly.
It was not particularly difficult. Understanding the basic structure was enough...
Su Mo drew a deep breath and began assembling it. He had deliberately divided the work among several shops and ordered some unnecessary parts as well, to prevent anyone with ulterior motives from reproducing it from the plans.
Click... click...
The simple yet complex mechanism gradually took shape in Su Mo's hands as he deftly fitted its parts together. At that moment, he felt grateful that the blacksmiths in the Capital City were skilled. Otherwise, assembling it would never have gone so smoothly.
Then Su Mo turned toward the pitch-black arrowhead and fitted it onto a feathered arrow...
Su Mo's hands stopped moving. It was finished!
It lay quietly on the table. The chill and familiarity emanating from it left Su Mo with tangled emotions and a thousand thoughts.
Su Mo gently stroked the pitch-black object, its cold touch traveling from his fingertips straight into his heart.
A black Heavy Crossbow, and a strange feathered arrow...
This was... what Su Mo would rely on. He had obtained the arrowhead by chance. It was an Immortal Object, and it had saved both the little girl and Su Mo countless times...
Su Mo looked at the sky outside the window. His youthful face held a calmness that seemed at odds with his age.
Wait until dark...
Su Mo found a black sash, wrapped it over his eyes, and lay down on the bed to rest...
He needed to grow accustomed to the darkness of this world first...
Night fell especially early on rainy days!
The willow branches beside the river danced in the wind, scattering rain like tears. Moonlight could not pierce the clouds and rain, leaving the rainy night pitch-black.
The scattered lights could not illuminate the streets...
Wind and rain were coming... wind and rain had already come...
Night finally descended...
Su Mo wore black Cloud-Covering Boots and black Night Clothes beneath a long black hooded robe. The black Heavy Crossbow hung across his back, and his entire figure melted into the darkness.
He stood at the boat's prow in the rain, gazing into the night, black as flowing ink, his expression serene.
I'm only going to take a look...
To see the injustice behind those two deaths, to see this world's cruelty, to see what mortals fear, to see how I'll face this world's callous indifference...
All I can do is look...
Luo Yin had said it too: "Why not do something?"
He knew how to avoid risks, and he had made the strongest weapon he could create. The Immortal Cultivators he had seen were not as powerful as those described in the novels of his previous life. They were merely somewhat stronger than mortals.
Su Mo had made inquiries. The Red-Walled, White-Tiled Courtyard stood in a forest beyond West City, an isolated residence in a quiet, secluded spot far from the Imperial City.
What cannot be shown to the world must conceal something sinister!
Pat... pat...
Su Mo pulled the hood of his robe up over his head and stepped into the rainy night, walking toward West City, one step at a time.
His footsteps rang crisply along the rain-soaked path, as though singing a marching song.
Pat... pat...
The Riverboat Pavilion beside the river remained closed that night, just as it had the day before. Only a few candles burned.
In a side room upstairs in the Riverboat Pavilion, the little girl leaned over the table beside the window. Resting her chin in her hands, she gazed worriedly into the boundless darkness outside.
Knock, knock, knock... knock, knock, knock...
A knock sounded at the door, and then Luo Yin entered with a maid carrying a plate of pastries.
Seeing the little girl staring blankly beside the window, Luo Yin smiled faintly. "Still not going to bed?"
"I can't sleep!" The little girl turned toward Luo Yin and shook her head.
The maid set down the pastries, then left on her own, closing the door behind her.
"What's wrong?" Since the little girl could not sleep, Luo Yin simply sat down beside her. She placed the pastries in front of the girl and poured herself a cup of tea.
She was very curious about Su Mo's younger sister, and very fond of her as well. The girl looked bright and lively, yet was obedient and sensible. After arriving at the Riverboat Pavilion, she had gone straight to her room and stayed there alone without making a fuss.
Sometimes, a trace of bewilderment slipped across the little girl's childish face, an expression that did not seem to belong to a child barely past ten.
She's still young, but she'll surely grow into a beauty... Luo Yin sighed softly.
"I'm thinking about Older Brother!" The little girl lowered her head and spoke softly, with a hint of worry.
Luo Yin smiled. They had only been apart for half a day, and she already missed him. What a clingy little girl.
"I haven't asked yet. What's your name?"
The little girl looked at Luo Yin and shook her head.
"You can't tell me?" Luo Yin was puzzled.
The little girl shook her head again. "No, I don't know."
"You don't know?" Hearing her answer, Luo Yin could not understand for a moment.
The little girl nodded and began to explain.
"I don't remember things. I only remember that Older Brother found me. He was afraid I'd suffer all alone, so he wanted to take me with him. I don't remember anything apart from Older Brother, and I can't hold on to those memories, either."
"Then what does Older Brother usually call you?" Luo Yin asked.
"Older Brother calls me 'Little Girl,' of course. He says that when I grow up and remember my own name, he'll call me by it again. But I don't want to remember my name. I like him calling me 'Little Girl,'" she said innocently, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Luo Yin silently took a sip of tea... What a strange pair of siblings.
"What sort of person... is Older Brother?" Luo Yin looked out into the darkness and asked slowly.
The little girl also looked outside, her face turning thoughtful as she recalled the past.
"Older Brother is very clever. We came all the way from Jiangnan to the Capital City, and no matter what problems we met along the way, he could always solve them."
"He's very talented, too. Whenever he has nothing to do, he likes to practice calligraphy, paint, and recite poetry. His poems always give me goose bumps."
Luo Yin nodded in agreement.
The little girl's voice sank as she continued.
"Older Brother is also a very sad person. He always likes to lie in his Rocking Chair at night and stare at the stars, drinking and murmuring something about 'my homeland lies two lifetimes away, within memory, beyond reach.'"
Luo Yin froze, remembering the flute melody from that night, so full of longing for home...
My homeland lies two lifetimes away, within memory, beyond reach...
What did that mean?
"Actually, Older Brother is also a very, very kind person. He always carries other people in his heart! Whenever he meets someone homeless or pitiful, he gives them some of the little silver he has. Sometimes he doesn't even have money left for wine, but he never lets me go hungry..."
Two clear trails of tears fell from the little girl's eyes. At some point, her bright, lively eyes had turned red!
"Why are you crying all of a sudden?" Seeing this, Luo Yin hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away the little girl's tears.
"Yesterday, the auntie who'd helped us before and her baby died right in front of Older Brother. But he couldn't help them at all. It hurt him terribly."
"That auntie knelt in the street, screaming in agony. That feathered arrow pierced her chest... killing her and the baby in her arms. Blood covered the ground... Older Brother can't bear to see things like that!"
The little girl wept bitterly, turning toward Luo Yin with a pleading look. "Fairy sister, can you help Older Brother?"
"I just don't want Older Brother to feel burdened, so I can't cry in front of him..."
"But even though Older Brother doesn't say anything, I know it all..."
"Older Brother only ever smiles at me, but... yesterday, his smile was so sad. He just didn't want me to worry, so he asked you to look after me for a day."
"Older Brother said he had something to do outside, but I know..."
"Older Brother must have gone beyond West City, to the place that the auntie who died in front of him spoke of... the Red-Walled, White-Tiled Courtyard!"
"He said..."
"He was only going to take a look!"
"But..."
"He made a weapon!"
What... Luo Yin sprang from her seat in shock!
He was only a mortal...
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