Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Weeping Bride (9)

“Him? Not really, he seems quite opposed to all this—he’s rather aloof,” Dayuan said, curling his lip as he mentioned Changgui, clearly showing his disdain.

“Alright, I understand everything now,” Su Man nodded.

“So, can I leave now?” Dayuan relaxed, feeling a sense of camaraderie with Su Man after their conversation. He had wanted to suggest visiting her once his injury healed, but thought better of it—he was somewhat wary of this woman, preferring someone easier to control like Xiao Huan, who would simply obey whatever he said.

“Go ahead, I’ve given you my word,” Su Man replied without objection.

Dayuan loudly thanked her several times, clutching that severed hand as he dashed out without looking back.

But suddenly, pain stabbed through his back. Though the mouth of the alley was right before his eyes, his feet refused to move.

He slowly lowered his gaze, seeing the sharp tip of a small knife blooming through his chest.

He collapsed heavily onto the ground, his fading vision catching Su Man’s expressionless face as she walked toward him.

He tried to speak, but only spat out a mouthful of blood.

Su Man bent over and pulled out the dagger. Dayuan’s body convulsed twice more.

She said coldly, “If you had simply admitted you didn’t love her, that you deceived her, that you never cared about her life or death, I might have respected you a little.”

Using love as an excuse—pathetic!

“You… you promised me…” Dayuan protested, unwilling to accept his fate, desperately grabbing at Su Man’s pant leg, his eyes wide in disbelief, blood bubbling from his mouth as he spoke.

“I only promised to let you leave, not to let you leave for anywhere in particular. You failed to make it out of the alley, that’s all,” Su Man replied.

Dayuan gasped for air, glaring at her, unable to catch his breath, dying with his eyes open.

Su Man kicked his corpse aside, troubled. Now, how should she deal with the body? Throw it in the river? Or walk out as if nothing had happened?

As she pondered, a gentle voice, warm as a spring breeze, suddenly rang out, “Young lady, are you dispensing justice?”

Instantly, Su Man raised her dagger, warily looking toward the source of the voice. A young man in formal ethnic attire stood in the shadow at the corner of the wall, smiling at her. She hadn’t even noticed when he’d arrived.

Seeing her attention, he stepped forward into the light. With every step, the silver earrings on his ears clinked together.

He pointed a finger lightly behind her, and Dayuan’s corpse ignited, turning to ashes in an instant, not even a speck of dust left behind.

Su Man understood—he was much stronger than her.

She lowered her dagger. If such a master wished to kill her, it would be effortless, and he had already had plenty of chances. Since he hadn’t acted earlier, he probably wouldn’t now. In any case, she wouldn’t last more than two moves against him; it was better to face him calmly.

The man watched her drop her guard and, after a brief thought, understood her reasoning. “You’re a clever girl,” he remarked.

“My name is Miao Sheng. Yes, I’m a very powerful celestial master,” he introduced himself without a hint of modesty.

“Su Man,” she replied, neither humble nor overbearing.

Miao Sheng smiled again, “Quite a character, you are.”

“But you haven’t answered my earlier question.”

“What was it?” Su Man asked, but immediately recalled his words—he’d asked if she was dispensing justice.

“Dispensing justice? I’m hardly so noble. I simply found him unpleasant,” she said.

She didn’t know what kind of person Xiao Huan was. If Xiao Huan was just as rotten, she’d probably say good riddance if she saw her again.

“Hm, you really are a strange one, difficult to understand. Just because you found him unpleasant?” Miao Sheng shook his head with a smile—so willful.

“I don’t need you to understand. Think whatever you like,” Su Man replied.

Miao Sheng wasn’t offended. After a moment, as if he’d figured something out, he suddenly said, “Let’s just call it even this time.”

Su Man wasn’t sure what he meant by “even”—was he referring to her killing Dayuan or something else? Since he didn’t elaborate, she didn’t ask.

She tried probing, “So, what do you plan to do next? Want to share any secrets of the Celestial Masters Village with me?”

“No,” Miao Sheng refused flatly.

That was just as Su Man expected; she’d only asked for form’s sake. “Then I’ll be heading out. Are you going to follow me?”

“No, go ahead.”

“Alright, I’ll be off then,” Su Man said, and truly left without looking back.

Luckily, Miao Sheng kept his word.

Looking back, the alley was already empty. Su Man didn’t give it much thought. It seemed Miao Sheng’s appearance was simply to help her dispose of the body, which was actually quite fortunate.

She now knew the truth behind the bride’s leap from the bridge, so she went to submit her task.

Perhaps because she’d chosen to remain in the world of horrors, the reward this time was not real-world currency, but horror coins—fifty in total, ten times the previous amount.

With the task completed, she could relax. Before any new assignments appeared, she could focus on the side quest about the village’s secrets.

She headed to the ancestral hall, wondering if Lin Qi and Huang Mei were still there.

Upon arrival, she was surprised to see Huang Mei and the others actually fighting with the villagers in front of the hall.

Huang Mei, who always seemed small and timid in front of her, now stood like a fighting rooster among the crowd, trembling with either fear or excitement—if Lin Qi hadn’t been holding her back, she might have scratched their faces already. Even so, her voice was full of vigor, rising to a tearful pitch, “Give Su Man back to us!”

Hm? This was all because of her.

One thought sufficed for her to understand. Most likely, Huang Mei had been listening for her voice, and when it suddenly vanished—killed, perhaps—she was now here trying to rescue her?

She glanced at Huang Mei twice. She wanted to save her?

“I’ve told you, this outsider stormed our ancestral hall and died accidentally!” a villager exclaimed, both angry and helpless. Someone broke into their hall; killing her wouldn’t be a problem, but she died in that forbidden place, and without the village chief’s permission, they didn’t dare retrieve the body. How could they return her?

“I don’t care—alive, I want to see her; dead, I want to see her corpse! I don’t believe she just died like that!” Huang Mei’s emotions grew even more intense.

Lin Qi, ever the peacemaker, tried to comfort her, “The dead cannot come back to life. Don’t be so reckless.”

Su Man really couldn’t stand it anymore and interrupted them, “Are you looking for me?”

For a moment, all sounds vanished. Every head turned sharply in her direction.