“Hmph! Who do you think you are, daring to obstruct the business of the Beiming Sect? Once we finish off this assassin, we will come back to deal with you,” one of the black-robed women barked.

Su Lianyun replied, “A mere bunch of lackeys like you dares to talk so big? The Black Asura of the Seven Ghosts Carrying a Coffin since the seven ghosts have appeared, the Asura must surely be nearby. Why does she hide away, sending you few to your deaths instead?”

The moment his words left his mouth, a pitch-black coffin flew through the air. It seemed the person inside the coffin was formidable indeed, managing to fly while lying within such a heavy, bulky casket.

The coffin descended gently. The seven seemingly frail, black-robed women rushed forward to catch the falling weight, splitting into two sides with six individuals while the one who had spoken to Su Lianyun stood at the front, lifting it with her bare hands.

Su Lianyun showed no surprise. He simply rubbed his hands together and smiled faintly, saying, “I was just playing with the snow, and my hands are indeed a bit cold. How about I smash this coffin with my bare hands to warm myself up?”

“Awesome! Perform for us, Daddy! Nan’er wants to watch,” a child’s tender voice called out from inside the house.

“As expected of Su Lianyun, your perception is truly astonishing. This Asura is thoroughly impressed. I hope Hero Su can make things easy for us and allow us to take this assassin back to report on our mission,” a shrill female voice rang out from within the coffin, giving anyone who heard it goosebumps.

“I wouldn’t dare claim astonishing perception. It is simply that your little tricks have far too many flaws. Can you truly not see them yourself? Such martial arts parlor tricks might fool a child, but if you don’t get out of here right now, I will settle both our old and new scores together,” Su Lianyun warned them.

“We have no grievances with Hero Su, so I do not know what old score you speak of. And what new score is there?”

Su Lianyun truly did not wish to recall the incident of his wife being poisoned. Just thinking about how she had almost died brought a sharp pang of pain to his heart, and his voice grew icy cold: “The White Rakshasa injured my wife a year ago. He is a member of your Beiming Sect, isn’t he? Does that count as an old score? Today, you trespass upon my home and intend to commit murder here. Tell me, is that not a new score?”

“But as far as I know, your wife is perfectly fine, while the White Rakshasa was blinded by your sword. That debt was settled long ago, so there is no old score. All beneath heaven belongs to the Emperor; your home is imperial land as well. Since the Beiming Sect operates on behalf of the imperial court, how can you claim we are trespassing? This new score is pure nonsense.”

Su Lianyun was completely enraged by now: “It seems the Twin Perils of Beiming should change their name to the Twin Wives of Beiming. One always long-windedly demands names before killing, while the other spouts endless nonsense trying to reason. It looks like you are forcing this Su to break his peace and start killing again.”

“Hold on! You saved the life of the King of Zhennan. Out of respect for the prince, this Asura will not fight you. We will let you have your way on this matter,” the person inside the coffin stated. After seemingly whispering something to her subordinates, they departed in a great hurry.

Watching them leave, Su Lianyun sneered, “Another bunch of cowards who fear death. Isn’t it exhausting to be so hypocritical?”

In truth, any bystander could see that the Black Asura inside the coffin was absolutely no match for Su Lianyun and lacked even the courage to make a move.

“What a disappointment. I watched for so long and they didn’t even fight. When did Daddy get so much patience?” Nan’er mumbled to himself.

Seeing that a fight had been avoided, Zhong Yueping let out a long sigh of relief. She explained to Nan’er with earnest solemnity, “Nan’er, your father does not have great patience; he simply does not want to provoke the people of the Beiming Sect. Although that person just now was not very powerful, the Beiming Sect possesses plenty of formidable experts. They simply dedicate their lives to serving the imperial court and prefer not to get overly involved in the trivial matters of the martial arts world. When you grow up, you must absolutely avoid provoking the Beiming Sect, understand?”

“I’ll remember, Mommy,” Nan’er replied. Then, seeing Su Lianyun walk in while supporting the injured, masked individual, he whispered to Zhong Yueping, “Mommy, didn’t you and Daddy say that masked people are all shady bad guys? Then why is Daddy bringing a bad guy home?”

“This…” As intelligent a woman as Zhong Yueping was, she was completely stumped by the four-year-old child.

Nan’er’s eyes darted around as he thought of something else, no longer giving Zhong Yueping a hard time. Instead, he ran over to Su Lianyun.

He tugged at Su Lianyun’s leg, saying, “Daddy, teach me how to smash a coffin with my bare hands! I want to learn, teach me, please?”

“The coffin just now was actually made of papier-mâché. Daddy has important business right now, so go play by yourself, Nan’er!” Su Lianyun gently pushed Nan’er away, turning his attention to examine the assassin’s injuries.

As Su Lianyun pressed his fingers against the assassin’s pulse, his expression shifted erratically. Finally, he stared at the assassin in astonishment and said coldly, “Just who are you? How do you know the techniques of reversing blood flow and shifting meridians?”

“Hero Su, I am a disciple of the Heaven’s Secret Sect. Thank you for saving my life just now. I cannot repay you at this moment, but if you ever need me in the future, I will gladly work like a dog to serve you. Please forgive me for disturbing you today; I shall leave right now,” the assassin said, pushing himself up to depart.

Su Lianyun pressed a hand onto his shoulder and said slowly, “So you are an assassin from the Heaven’s Secret Sect. No wonder you know such bizarre, self-harming techniques. I have heard that most members of the Heaven’s Secret Sect are forced by desperate circumstances to become killing tools. Hearing you speak so politely, you must not be an evil person. Let me use my internal energy to heal your injuries; it won’t be too late for you to leave tomorrow.”

“No, my life is worthless, and this minor injury won’t kill me. How could I dare trouble you to heal me, Hero Su? Please let me leave!” the assassin pleaded as he tried to walk out. Unfortunately, his injuries were too severe, and the moment he reached the doorway, he collapsed heavily to the ground.

When the assassin woke up again, he felt that his reversed blood circulation had returned to normal, and his external wounds had been tended to. There seemed to be a pure stream of true internal energy circulating within his body, bringing an immense sense of freshness and comfort wherever it flowed. He knew this was the internal energy Su Lianyun had infused into him to help heal his internal injuries.

His heart was an emotional whirlwind of deep gratitude, utterly at a loss for how to repay Su Lianyun for a kindness that was as high as the heavens and as deep as the sea.

He told himself he could no longer stay and trouble Su Lianyun, so he rose and walked outside. The moment he pushed open the door, he saw Su Lianyun sitting in front of the house, his body completely covered in heavy white snow. Goose-feather snowflakes were falling heavily outside once more; it seemed even the heavens would not permit him to leave.

“Hero Su, it is freezing cold out here, please come inside!” The assassin knelt down, preparing to help Su Lianyun up, but Su Lianyun suddenly stood up on his own.

“Do you know why I saved you?” Su Lianyun said, turning to walk back into the room.

With a creak, the assassin closed the wooden door. Turning around, he saw that Su Lianyun had already poured tea for him, so the two sat down to drink tea and converse at length.

Only then did the assassin learn the reason Su Lianyun had saved him. It turned out Su Lianyun had also been a member of the Heaven’s Secret Sect once, though this was a secret even his wife, Zhong Yueping, did not know, which was why he had not spoken of it openly when they first met.

Upon learning that the assassin belonged to the Heaven’s Secret Sect, Su Lianyun looked at him and saw a reflection of his past self. He had thought he had forgotten those things long ago, but how could one ever completely erase the past?