But I'm a proper river god, you know! - Chapter 30

The clear tea splashed onto the ground, instantly foaming into a mass of white bubbles. Amidst the sizzling sound, the expressions of those present shifted repeatedly.

“Xiaochuan?”

Mu Zhao stared blankly at the spilled tea on the floor, taking a long moment to snap out of his daze. “You poisoned it?”

Yue Tianchuan’s face turned ashen. With a bitter scoff, he tossed the teacup in his hand onto the ground like a man resigned to his fate, offering no denial.

“Xiaochuan! What are you doing?!” Mu Dezhong refused to believe it. He summoned the white lotus on his wrist, but the moment its pristine petals touched the spilled tea, they withered into a scorched black. The potency of the poison was undeniable.

Mu Yi immediately stepped in front of Mu Zhao and Yuan Ji, shielding them from Yue Tianchuan.

Staggering back in shock, Mu Dezhong pointed a trembling finger at Yue Tianchuan, his voice thick with disappointment. “I never thought the biggest traitor among us would be you!”

“Has the young master ever treated you poorly? The River God has no grudge against you—what exactly are you trying to accomplish?!”

“Foster Father.” Yue Tianchuan’s lips twitched. The nearly withered red lotus on his wrist lifted a leaf weakly, and his gaze hardened. “I must avenge my parents.”

“You still remember I’m your foster father?!” Mu Dezhong was heartbroken. After a brief moment of disbelief, as if doubting his own ears, he muttered, “What are you talking about?”

But Yue Tianchuan had no intention of explaining further. If he missed this opportunity, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

His head snapped up, and when his eyes met Yuan Ji’s, he instinctively took a defensive step back.

Yue Tianchuan knew of Yuan Ji’s abilities, which was why he had handed her the first cup of tea. Without her interference, he might have succeeded.

Yet, she had seen through his scheme with just a glance. But it didn’t matter anymore.

How boring.

Having figured out the reason, Yuan Ji inwardly scoffed, her eyes narrowing slightly with disappointment. She had expected something more original.

Leaning lazily against the doorframe, she crossed her arms over her chest and said to Yue Tianchuan, “Enough talk.”

“Naturally.” Yue Tianchuan smirked and clapped his hands. Several dark figures suddenly appeared in the courtyard, their faces uncovered—each marked with the same eight-petaled flower as the previous assailants.

Mu Yi and the others tensed, stunned that these intruders had breached the walls undetected.

Yue Tianchuan leisurely walked behind the newcomers before turning back, his voice icy. “Kill them.”

The group frantically summoned their weapons, only to find their spiritual energy completely drained, their bodies hollow.

Though they tried to maintain composure, Yue Tianchuan saw right through their predicament.

With a light chuckle, he pulled out a pouch of powder and shook it. The others paled, realization dawning. “The water!”

Earlier, Yue Tianchuan had taken advantage of the heat to offer them drinks—that must have been when he tampered with them.

Understanding this, Mu Yi clenched his sword, veins bulging on the back of his hand, but he couldn’t lift it even an inch.

“Damn it!”

Yue Tianchuan’s smile widened. His gaze swept across the room, lingering briefly on Mu Dezhong before settling on Mu Zhao. As if granting mercy, he said,

“I only want his life. If you don’t resist, I’ll spare the rest of you.”

“Traitor! Shut your mouth!” Mu Yi roared, charging forward with his sword, using sheer momentum to deflect an incoming strike.

But the attackers were prepared. With a single blow, they sent Mu Yi and the others flying.

Crashing heavily to the ground, Mu Yi coughed up a mouthful of blood. Seeing this, Mu Dezhong moved to intervene, but Yue Tianchuan suddenly appeared before him. After a flicker of hesitation in his eyes, he flung a handful of knockout powder.

The next moment, Mu Dezhong collapsed, unconscious.

Yue Tianchuan turned his gaze to Mu Zhao. When their eyes met, Mu Zhao froze, unable to comprehend that the boy he had grown up with now wanted him dead. A storm of emotions churned inside him.

Looking down at the still-young leaves on his wrist, he took a deep breath, forced a strained smile, and said to Yuan Ji,

“Elder Sister Yuan, I’m sorry. Stay behind me—don’t get hurt.”

Yuan Ji watched as the leaves on his wrist suddenly expanded—clearly, he had channeled all his spiritual energy into his symbiotic plant.

Qu Yunqing, in the form of a purple sable, scurried up Mu Zhao’s shoulder and bared her teeth at Yue Tianchuan.

Oh no, oh no! This kid’s really in danger now!

Internally panicking, she kept trying to break free of her seal.

Observing the chaos, Yuan Ji sighed and placed a hand on Mu Zhao’s shoulder. “Relax.”

“Elder Sister Yuan?” Mu Zhao gave a bitter smile, shielding her. “I’ve dragged you into this.”

Yuan Ji didn’t respond. With a light chuckle, she flicked her fingers, catching Qu Yunqing mid-leap as the sable tried to claw at Yue Tianchuan, and stuffed her back into Mu Zhao’s arms.

Then she turned her gaze to Yue Tianchuan, his face brimming with triumph, and found it laughable.

Who gave him the confidence to think he could act so boldly in the River God’s temple with just these few men?

With a single raise of her hand, an immense pressure descended from above like a crushing boulder.

Yue Tianchuan and his men hastily erected defensive barriers, but they couldn’t even hold for a second. A sharp crack echoed as the shields shattered. Without even time to scream, they were slammed into the ground.

Mu Zhao and Qu Yunqing blinked at each other: …Huh?

Over?

After a beat of silence, the man and the sable shared a thought: Well, that was anticlimactic.

“Pathetic. To think they’d dare attack in front of the River God.”

Nearby, Wu Boshan and Yan Ku, who had been waiting with ropes as per Yuan Ji’s earlier instructions, shook their heads at the sight.

“That’s gotta flatten their faces,” Yan Ku muttered, wincing as if his own nose ached in sympathy.

The courtyard was paved with spirit stones—hitting them at that force had to hurt.

Beside him, Wu Boshan nodded in agreement, though his focus was elsewhere. “Hope the ground’s not damaged. If it is, they’re fixing it!”

Yan Ku: …?

Fair point!

Exchanging glances, the two hurried over to Yue Tianchuan’s side, pried the men out of the ground, and bound them with spirit-sealing ropes.

Ye Wenshu, who had been peeking from the doorway the whole time, averted his eyes at the sight of their battered faces. “Old Xuan… We got off easy, huh?”

Xuan Chengren was silent for a long moment before replying, “Mn.”

At least they hadn’t been cemented into a wall as fertilizer. That was indeed much luckier.

Yuan Ji clasped her hands behind her back and stepped forward, looking down at Yue Tianchuan’s furious glare. “You’re quite naive.”

Yue Tianchuan choked on his rage, his eyes bloodshot. “When did you find out?!”

Mu Zhao, still subdued, carefully helped Mu Dezhong up and accepted a bowl of water from Fang Mingzhu to feed him, though one ear remained pricked toward Yuan Ji.

Yuan Ji’s gaze dropped meaningfully to Yue Tianchuan’s wrist, which he had been subtly shielding. “When your red lotus awakened.”

Yue Tianchuan’s pupils constricted before the light in them dimmed. He let out a self-deprecating laugh. “I see.”

The entire River God’s temple was under Yuan Ji’s control. The moment she left yesterday, she had sensed an unfamiliar presence inside.

A quick check by A’Tong revealed it was that red lotus.

With a wave of her hand, the cloth covering Yue Tianchuan’s wrist was torn away, exposing the symbiotic plant beneath.

Qu Yunqing, taking advantage of her sable form, hopped down from Mu Zhao and scurried closer for a look. The next second, her beady eyes flickered with confusion.

This aura… It feels a bit like Bai Ying’s?

As Mu Zhao helped the now-conscious Mu Dezhong over, they saw it—beneath the seemingly lifeless red lotus, a black leaf was faintly emerging.

“Parasitism!”

Mu Zhao gasped. “The second branch did this!”

His face darkened. Though he had suspected as much, facing the truth was still hard to accept.

The first branch of the Mu family had many capable subordinates, but if their symbiotic plants withered, they became useless. After Mu Zhao’s father’s death, the second branch had somehow obtained a forbidden technique to revive dying plants.

Fearing their own plants might one day fail, many had defected to the second branch’s side.

It took Mu Dezhong and the others years to uncover the truth—the second branch’s “revival” wasn’t real. Instead, they planted a new seed within the original plant, feeding off its remaining vitality.

A parasitic takeover.

Under the group’s scrutiny, the black leaf trembled as if startled and began retracting.

Yuan Ji reacted instantly. A flash of white light later, Yue Tianchuan curled into a ball, his face deathly pale, while a small sprout now rested in Yuan Ji’s palm.

Channeling spiritual energy to her fingertips, she examined the sprout closely.

A revolting aura laced with something faintly familiar emanated from it. A fleeting image crossed Yuan Ji’s mind—

A vast sea of stars. A massive egg floating atop clouds. Then, a burst of light, and a fragment of the eggshell fell, forming a beautiful mirror amidst the mist.

Snapping back to reality, Yuan Ji studied the squirming black sprout with a frown before summoning a flame.

“Disgusting.”

With a flick of her fingers, she reduced it to ashes, brushing off the lingering residue with distaste.

“Yuan Ji, what’s wrong?” A’Tong sensed the shift in her emotions.

Even when facing those people before, she hadn’t shown such intense revulsion.

“Nothing.”

Yuan Ji’s face remained impassive. She wasn’t entirely sure why touching the sprout had triggered such a visceral reaction.

Her eyes narrowed as she turned back to Yue Tianchuan.

“Ahh—!” A searing pain erupted from his organs, and Yue Tianchuan writhed on the ground, howling. But the agony only intensified.

“Who gave this to you?” Yuan Ji’s voice was cold, her tone sharpening.

The torment wracking Yue Tianchuan’s body worsened, and soon, a foul stench filled the air.

Ye Wenshu silently pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to Xuan Chengren beside him. “Old Xuan… What on earth did this guy do to piss off the River God?”

Xuan Chengren shook his head. He didn’t know either.

“I won’t tell you!” Yue Tianchuan spat through gritted teeth. “Kill me if you want!”

Mu Dezhong looked at his foster son with profound disappointment, his expression conflicted, but he didn’t speak up in his defense.

Just as Yue Tianchuan thought Yuan Ji had no way to break him, she tilted her head and asked mildly,

“Are you sure?”

A chill ran down Yue Tianchuan’s spine. A terrible premonition settled over him.