Shadow Heir II: Dark Glory - Chapter 8

By the time the two returned to the living room on the first floor, Mu Qianyu’s face was tinged with pink. Her gaze was composed, her words few and clear, her mind was somewhere else.

That was when her phone suddenly rang.

It was a call from her eldest uncle, Mu Shanhou.

“Qianyu,” he said, voice heavy with reluctant resignation, “the family meeting is being held at the old estate in an hour. You must attend. Steel yourself beforehand.”

Mu Shanhou was soft by nature. Though he had always looked after Qianyu, he was helpless against their aggressive Fifth Uncle, Mu Xudong.

Mu Qianyu hung up, rising to her feet.

“Yenxi-jie, I’ve got to go. Emergency family meeting.”

But what she was walking into this time wasn’t a room full of impulsive cousins like at the hospital.

It was a den of seasoned old foxes.

Su Wuji immediately stood. “Hero saves beauty? That’s my cue—I’m going with you.”

“No need,” Qianyu said with a soft laugh. “I can handle it. I’m not some naive damsel, you know.”

Su Wuji stared at her breathtaking face and clicked his tongue. “Naive or not, you do look pretty damn sweet.”

Qianyu glanced at him, unreadable, then smiled faintly. “Less flirting, more healing.”

She didn’t scold him for teasing her.

Su Wuji blinked, a little stunned. “Wait… That almost sounded like real concern.”

“If you think so, then it must be,” she said lightly.

Without arguing, Mu Qianyu said her goodbyes to both Yenxi and Wuji. But the moment she got into her car, she took out her phone and sent a message:

You must’ve seen last night’s battle.
What do you think of him?

As it turned out, Mu Qianyu had always had protection in the shadows. Yet the man driving her—Li Qingchen—seemed to know nothing about it.

A response came almost instantly:

He’s not bad.
Worth placing on your board.

Mu Qianyu’s lips curved into a subtle, dazzling smile.

But just two seconds later, the smile faltered. Her lashes trembled.

Another message had come in:

By the way, he was already injured before the fight.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken that hit.

…

After Qianyu left, Park Yenxi turned to Su Wuji with a quiet, probing look.

“I honestly don’t think there’s anyone in Linzhou capable of injuring you,” she said. “So who was it?”

“Two hired killers from Myanmar. Came for Mu Qianyu.” Su Wuji sighed. “If I hadn’t already taken an internal injury, I wouldn’t have been stabbed at all.”

Yenxi’s eyes sharpened. “Internal injury? When?”

Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed his wrist and laid it across her thigh. Her fingers pressed gently to his pulse.

A minute later, she murmured, “Pulse is deep. Your lungs are a little damaged—it’ll take time to heal. But… why is your heart beating so fast?”

Su Wuji smiled slyly and glanced at his right hand.

“You just pressed my hand into your thigh, and it’s very tight. You think my heart wouldn’t race?”

Yenxi looked down, and her eyes froze.

His hand was still nestled against her plush thigh, fingertips nearly grazing the sensitive line where softness curved toward forbidden territory.

One more centimeter, and he’d have brushed the garden gate.

“Your racing heart has nothing to do with injury,” she muttered, snatching her hand back and smacking his arm. “Focus. We’re talking about your condition!”

Wuji grinned. “Before I left home, my dad tossed me some ragged little manual and told me to mess around with it. I ended up screwing myself up trying to practice it. Look—this one.”

He pulled a crumpled booklet from his pocket and tossed it to her.

Yenxi opened it, and her expression changed the moment she saw the cover.

“Nanhai Notes? The legendary Nanhai Notes?!”

“It’s rare?” Wuji asked, eyebrows lifting. “I ran out of toilet paper that day. If the pages weren’t so thin, I might’ve used it.”

Yenxi nearly choked. “Even if this is just a translated copy, it’s one of Huaxia’s highest martial treasures! And you were gonna wipe your ass with it?!”

Wuji shrugged. “Highest treasure, huh? Never heard of it.”

She smoothed the creased pages with reverent hands. “They say when your dad swept through the world, he relied on nothing but a four-edged bayonet… and this manual.”

“My dad?” Wuji raised a brow. “You mean my dad dominated the world?”

“You seriously didn’t know?”

“He never talked about it. You can’t find anything online either.” Wuji scratched his head. “Honestly, I always thought he was more of a mess than me…”

He paused, reconsidering his words, and choked back the final “-hole.”

Yenxi explained, “When your father was in his prime, the Su family was at its peak. But the Old Master feared the country being dominated by one family and ordered everyone to withdraw from the capital.”

She continued, “All related stories were scrubbed from the internet. Most young people today don’t even know the Su family existed.”

Wuji’s face darkened. “So I could’ve been living the sweet life as a third-gen heir… but when my dad kicked me out, all he left me was two hundred yuan.”

He’d even pretended to be rich on a blind date with Qianyu, claiming he funded Queen Bar himself.

Yenxi chuckled. “Maybe Uncle Su wanted to toughen you up.”

“Tch. He just gets off on giving me weird assignments and watching me suffer.”

Wuji’s gaze drifted to the Nanhai Notes.

“If I’d known that book was worth anything, I’d have sold it for a damn good price.”

Yenxi caught the shift in his tone.

“So you helped Qianyu… because Uncle Su told you to?”

Wuji grinned. “That, and because my aunt said if I didn’t keep her happy, she wouldn’t send me any money.”

“Zhiya-jie did well.” Yenxi couldn’t help laughing. “But that’s not the only reason you stepped in.”

“There’s more. Word is, someone in the capital’s taken an interest in Qianyu.”

At that, Wuji found himself picturing her soft smile, those crescent-moon eyes.

His smile faded, just slightly.

“And me? I need an excuse to make the capital remember the Su family.”

Make the capital… remember the Su family.

“Not just the capital,” Yenxi said, sitting up straight. Her gaze gleamed with a seriousness he hadn’t seen before.

“All of Huaxia.”

…

“Making all of Huaxia remember the Su family…” Wuji sighed. “Sounds like a heavy load. I don’t want to carry it.”

Yenxi’s eyes softened.

“I can give you a push from behind,” she said gently. “Help you keep going.”

“A push from behind?” Wuji’s grin turned crooked. “That sounds kind of… suggestive.”

He quickly caught himself, glancing at her with mock innocence. “So, if I help Qianyu now… You won’t be jealous?”

Yenxi laughed. “If you’ve found a sister-in-law that pretty, I should be thrilled.”

“She is pretty. But she’s got her ambitions. And I’ve got my moves to make. Right now… we’re just using each other.”

Wuji’s tone was clear-eyed.

But Yenxi’s smile hinted otherwise. “That’s not how I see it.”

“You women are all the same—so nosy.”

Wuji pulled out his phone and made a call.

“Xiao Pang, get me a solid ride. We roll out in thirty minutes.”

He paused, then grinned.

“We’re going to crush the Mu family.”

“Got it, boss. Understood loud and clear,” came the eager reply.
“A sturdy car. We flatten the Mu clan!”

TRANSLATOR’S NOTES

[1] Huaxia – An ancient poetic name for China, often used in nationalist or epic contexts.
[2] Nanhai Notes – Fictional martial manual; “Nanhai” means South Sea. Likely a legendary book tied to Su Wuji’s father’s past.
[3] Sister-in-law – Here used playfully by Park Yenxi to refer to Qianyu, hinting at her approval or teasing about a future romance.

This is INK HUB, your translator speaking. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out if anything seems off. Things are heating up—thanks for reading!