Resumen del episodio 3 de Blood River
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Tang Lianyue cornered Mao the Rabbit, deploying his "Cries of 1,000 Birds" hidden weapons. Mao the Rabbit playfully asked if he truly intended to kill her, claiming she knew no bewitching spells. Tang Lianyue, however, insisted that her bewitching spells would not work on him a second time and demanded to know the Patriarch's motive, offering to spare her life. Mao the Rabbit continued to tease him, suggesting that if he felt anything, he had truly fallen for her.
She even asked him to use a different, more aesthetically pleasing hidden weapon, like the Blood Rose, so she could die beautifully. Before Tang Lianyue could act, Su Muyu swiftly intervened, deploying the "1000-Spider Array" to trap Tang Lianyue and rescue Mao the Rabbit. Mao the Rabbit, grateful for the rescue, explained how her personal Tracking Spider had alerted her to Su Muyu's presence.
She acknowledged that Tang Lianyue had gone easy on her, otherwise she would have surely died, but insisted this was because he was smitten with her. Su Muyu clarified that Tang Lianyue, the Xuanwu Guardian, was known for disliking killing. Mao the Rabbit, however, dismissed this, maintaining her belief that Tang Lianyue was infatuated. Su Muyu conceded that while many women in the Mu family were skilled in bewitching spells, Mao the Rabbit had not learned them.
He then expressed his concern that Su Changhe knew their every move and had even communicated with Tang Lianyue, indicating a mole within Spider Shadow. He stressed the urgency of reaching the Patriarch. Mao the Rabbit then voiced her own profound doubts, wondering if she herself might be the mole due to her wavering convictions and questioning the true meaning of their existence within Blood River.
She asked Su Muyu if he truly intended to fight Su Changhe, to which Su Muyu reiterated his solemn vow to protect the Patriarch's safety until his dying breath. In a flashback, Su Muyu stood before the three officials of the Soul Reapers' Hall, boldly refusing a mission. The officials were aghast, reminding him that no one, not even the Patriarch, had the right to reject their assignments.
Su Muyu explained his refusal to assassinate Zhang Taicheng, the Governor of Luonan, whom he regarded as an upright official beloved by his people. Zhang Taicheng had heroically saved many lives during a flood and exposed corruption, earning Su Muyu's respect. The officials, enraged, retorted that assassins were not saints and must simply obey. They threatened to brand Su Muyu a traitor and execute him on the spot.
At this critical juncture, Su Changhe, known as the Undertaker and a rising prodigy of the Su family, arrived. He eloquently presented Su Muyu's "Three Refusals" for missions: no massacres, no missions without cause, and no missions against his will. Then, in an audacious move, Su Changhe established his own rule: he would personally accept every mission that Su Muyu refused. Initially dismissing this as insolence, one official allowed Su Changhe to proceed, effectively resolving Su Muyu's predicament.
Later, Su Muyu confronted Su Changhe about his intervention. Su Changhe casually claimed he merely "negotiated" and analyzed the pros and cons for the Soul Reapers' Hall, arguing that killing Su Muyu would not benefit them. Despite Su Muyu's suspicions that a fight had indeed occurred, Su Changhe deflected, asking Su Muyu to simply trust him. Bai Hehuai and the Patriarch arrived in Jiuxiao City, a place legendary for the Sword Poet Deity. Coincidentally, Li Hanyi also reached the city.
As they entered, Bai Hehuai inquired about the Patriarch's life before his current title, asking for his birth name—a question considered taboo within Blood River. The Patriarch revealed he was once known as Mu Mingce, and clarified that he only took up swordsmanship later in his life, as the swords of Blood River were typically instruments of murder. Their journey brought them to the Spider's Nest, a heavily fortified stronghold. However, danger was already present.
An ambush began, and Chou the Ox identified the attackers as members of the Xie family. It appeared the Xie family had allied with the Mu family. During the chaotic assault, the assailants deployed the "Heavenly Web Array." Despite the outer defenses, Xie Fanhua, the young master of the Xie family, also known as the Sickly Ghost, managed to infiltrate the Patriarch's carriage.
Xie Fanhua, citing his terminal illness as reason for his boldness, urged the Patriarch to retire due to his age and recent injuries, proposing Xie Ba as a more suitable leader. The Patriarch, however, firmly refused. Xie Fanhua then attacked, throwing a stick of Soul-Calling Incense. The Patriarch, recognizing it as a Mu family weapon, managed to expel the poison using his inner energy.
However, he declared that he would be unable to use his internal cultivation for the next twenty-four hours. Soon after, Mu Kewen, with white hair, a hunched back, and leaning on a cane, emerged to open the main gates of the Spider's Nest. He welcomed the Patriarch, noting it had been 30 years since their last meeting, and expressed his contentment at seeing him once more.
As they entered, Mu Kewen instructed everyone to "Utter no word," a protocol for traversing the Soundless Array. Inside, Bai Hehuai observed Mu Kewen closely and quickly deduced that his hunchback was not a birth defect but a consequence of poisoning. She boastfully claimed she could have cured him decades ago and offered to treat him now, in exchange for the entire residence. Mu Kewen's fleeting hope for a cure vanished at her exorbitant price.
Once in his private room, the Patriarch finally allowed himself to collapse, his earlier composure having been a mere facade. He explained to Bai Hehuai that he had to maintain an appearance of strength to avoid revealing any weakness, especially to Mu Kewen, whose loyalty he could not be entirely certain of after three decades of separation. He confessed the sheer exhaustion of being the Patriarch.
Meanwhile, Su Muyu and Mao the Rabbit continued their journey by carriage, only to discover that Tang Lianyue was still relentlessly pursuing them. Mao the Rabbit bravely decided to stay behind and intercept Tang Lianyue, urging Su Muyu to press on towards Jiuxiao City to reach the Patriarch. She asserted her trust that Tang Lianyue would not kill her and declared that her choice now rested with Su Muyu.
Before leaving, Su Muyu imbued her with some Life-Protecting zhenqi, instructing her to flee if she found herself overwhelmed. Mao the Rabbit then confronted Tang Lianyue, attempting to charm him by recalling their previous encounter. She challenged his resolve, introducing herself as Mu Yumo, the top beauty of Blood River, but questioning the true depth of his feelings. Despite her taunts and admission of his superior skill with hidden weapons, Tang Lianyue found himself unable to deliver a killing blow.
He reiterated that he spared her only because he disliked killing. Mao the Rabbit, however, felt that he was still concerned about her well-being. She confessed that his hidden weapons were too powerful, and she truly believed she might die this time. Nonetheless, Tang Lianyue eventually chose to heal her wounds. That evening, Bai Hehuai attended to the Patriarch. He suggested she perform the Soul-Transfer Technique to diagnose his poison, but she advised against it.
She explained that his weakened state from the morning's battle, combined with the technique's draining effects on both caster and recipient, would put their lives at grave risk. She urged him to rest, confident in the Spider's Nest's impregnable defenses. Later, as she stepped into the courtyard to enjoy the beautiful moonlight, Bai Hehuai was suddenly ambushed by an assassin employing the Su family's Phantom Step martial art.
Despite the surprise, Bai Hehuai skillfully defended herself and managed to immobilize the assassin using the Su family's Three-needle Thread, a technique rarely mastered even by top assassins. As she attempted to call for help using the wooden bird communication system, the assassin unleashed a desperate counterattack, almost striking a fatal blow before a mysterious figure swiftly intervened to protect her.
