Nine Nights Owl Song

The fourth day of the third month in the eighteenth year of Yong'an.

Jiangnan, Qingxi Town.

Su Jiuge stood in front of an inconspicuous courtyard house, with Shen Qing following behind her.

From Luoyang to Qingxi Town, she rode for a whole day and night, changing horses three times, without closing her eyes once.

The wedding date is March 9th, and she doesn't have much time left.

The faceless daughter lives here.

According to the intelligence from Qianji Tower, Wumian's real name is Zhao Tiesheng. He is from Jiangnan. He was poor when he was young and was taken away by the owner of the former photography studio. He learned martial arts and became a first-class assassin.

He sent most of the money he earned from killing people to his daughter who stayed in his hometown—a daughter he never mentioned to anyone, yet for whom he was willing to do anything.

The name Zhao Tiesheng is so common that you would easily lose it if you threw him into a crowd.

His daughter, Zhao Xiaohe, is fourteen years old and attends a girls' school in Qingxi Town. She lives with her grandmother.

A girl's laughter echoed from the courtyard, as clear and melodious as birdsong on branches in March.

Su Jiuge pushed open the door and went inside.

A peach tree grows in the courtyard, its blossoms in full bloom, the pink and white petals covering the ground.

A girl wearing a light green jacket was squatting under a peach tree picking up petals. She put the petals one by one into a bamboo basket, her movements very light and slow.

Hearing the door open, the girl looked up.

It was a delicate face, with curved eyebrows and a smile on its lips, completely unlike the cold and hard face of the faceless one.

She resembles her mother, according to the intelligence report from Qianji Tower.

"Sister, who are you looking for?" the girl asked softly.

Su Jiuge looked at her and remained silent for a moment.

"Are you Zhao Xiaohe?"

The girl nodded.

She didn't know Su Jiuge, and she wasn't afraid.

A girl who grew up in the water towns of Jiangnan, well protected by her grandmother and father, was unaware of the wickedness of human nature.

She stood up, brushed the dirt off her skirt, and asked with a smile, "Is my sister a friend of my father's?"

Su Jiuge did not answer.

She walked up to the girl, squatted down, and looked her in the eye.

Zhao Xiaohe looked into Su Jiuge's eyes, those bright black eyes that had been on the battlefield, killed people, and seen the deepest darkness in the world.

The girl didn't flinch; she just tilted her head and looked at Su Jiuge.

"Sister, your eyes are so fierce."

Su Jiuge didn't know how to answer.

"I'm not your father's friend."

Zhao Xiaohe blinked, her smile unchanged.

"So you're my father's enemy?"

Su Jiuge fell silent again.

"No, not exactly."

Zhao Xiaohe smiled again.

"So who are you?"

Su Jiuge looked at her and suddenly remembered someone.

Su Wan'er.

When she was five years old, Aunt Zhou brought her from the countryside to the Marquis's mansion, and she called her "elder sister" with a smile.

Zhao Xiaohe was more innocent than Su Wan'er. Her smile contained no unease or ingratiation, only purity—like a piece of paper that had never been written on, like a piece of snow that had never been stepped on.

Su Jiuge stood up.

"Your father is in some trouble, and I'm here to help him. Would you like to come with me to a safe place?"

Zhao Xiaohe did not hesitate.

She put down the bamboo basket and went inside to pack her belongings.

Grandmother had just woken up from her afternoon nap and came out of the house. When she saw Su Jiuge, she looked her up and down.

The old man was over seventy years old, with completely white hair, a hunched back, and failing eyesight, but he was still in good spirits.

"Is the young lady a friend of Tiesheng?" the old man asked.

Su Jiuge nodded.

"Tiesheng ran into some trouble while he was out doing business, so he asked me to pick up Xiaohe and reunite with him."

The old man had no doubts.

Her daughter died, and her son was away from home all year round. She was raising her granddaughter alone, and her only hope was her son.

She held Su Jiuge's hand and said a lot of things, saying that Tiesheng had suffered since childhood, that he had let his daughter down, and that Xiaohe was his lifeblood.

Su Jiuge listened without saying a word.

A mother's longing for her son.

Faceless was a fearsome assassin in the martial arts world, but in his mother's eyes, he was just a poor child.

Zhao Xiaohe came out of the house, carrying a blue cloth bundle on her back. She had changed into a clean set of clothes and had her hair combed again.

She ran to her grandmother, hugged the old woman's waist, and buried her face in her grandmother's arms.

The old man stroked her hair. Su Jiuge stood at the courtyard gate watching this scene, a scene she had seen many times in her dreams. She had never seen it before. Shen Shi must have wanted to hold her like this too, but she had never given Shen Shi the chance.

Zhao Xiaohe let go of her grandmother and ran to Su Jiuge.

"Sister, let's go."

Su Jiuge turned around and walked out of the courtyard.

Shen Qing waited outside the courtyard gate. When he saw Zhao Xiaohe, his gaze lingered on her face for a moment before moving away.

Zhao Xiaohe looked at him with a smile. "Hello, brother."

Shen Qing did not respond.

Zhao Xiaohe didn't mind and skipped along behind Su Jiuge.

Su Jiuge turned around and glanced at her.

The girl didn't know that her father was an assassin, how many people he had killed, or that he was now wanted by the government.

All she knew was that her father was away doing business and only came back to see her once in a long while, and each time he came back he would bring her lots and lots of things.

On the evening of the fifth day of the third lunar month.

Su Jiuge brought Zhao Xiaohe back to Luojing.

She went directly to the Dark Pavilion's stronghold in Luoyang—the general store in the southern part of the city.

Looking at the dimly lit tunnel, Zhao Xiaohe asked, "Sister, where is this?"

Su Jiuge looked at her. "The place where your father lives."

Zhao Xiaohe's eyes lit up.

She followed Su Jiuge into the tunnel.

At the end of the tunnel was an iron gate, behind which was a small room.

Inside the room, a man sat in a chair with his back to the door. His hair was disheveled, his clothes were stained with dust and dried blood, and his shoulders were trembling slightly.

"Dad!" Zhao Xiaohe called out.

When Wumian suddenly turned his head and saw Zhao Xiaohe, the expression on his face was one that Su Jiuge had never seen on anyone before—a look of utter despair.

"Xiao He..." Wumian's voice was hoarse, and tears welled up silently like a river bursting its banks, streaming down his cold and hard face.

Zhao Xiaohe ran over and threw herself into Wumian's arms.

"Dad, I miss you so much. You haven't been home in so long."

Faceless held his daughter, trembling all over, his lips shaking uncontrollably, unable to utter a single word. Su Jiuge looked at them, remaining silent.

Wumian raised his head to look at Su Jiuge, his eyes bloodshot.

Su Jiuge knew what he was talking about—why? Why did you hurt my daughter? She looked into his eyes.

"I didn't touch her. I brought her from Qingxi Town to reunite you. It wasn't blackmail; it was a deal."

The faceless lips moved a few times.

"The photography studio is finished. The imperial court is besieging it, and you can't stay in Daliang anymore. If you die, what will happen to your daughter? What will happen to your mother?"

Su Jiuge's voice was so calm, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

"If you join the Dark Pavilion, I will give you a new identity and a place to stay for you and your daughter. We will also take care of your mother."

Zhao Xiaohe pulled on the sleeve of the faceless man.

"Dad, my sister said she's going to take us to a safe place. Are you going?"

Wumian lowered his head and looked at his daughter's face, tears falling to the ground drop by drop.

He held Zhao Xiaohe's hand, looked at Su Jiuge, and his voice was hoarse.

"I've killed many people. Do you trust me?"

Su Jiuge looked at him. "You've killed those who deserved to die, and you've killed those who didn't. I won't pursue the matter of the photo studio. From now on, you'll only kill those who deserve to die. The rules of the Dark Pavilion are: do not kill the innocent, do not harm the loyal and good, and do not do unjust things."

Wumian remained silent for a very long time. Then he stood up. He walked to Su Jiuge, knelt down, and kowtowed.

"Zhao Tiesheng is willing to serve the Pavilion Master with utmost loyalty."

Su Jiuge looked down at him. "From today onwards, your name is Zhao Tiesheng. The Faceless Shadow Studio is dead."

Faceless—Zhao Tiesheng raised his head and looked at Su Jiuge.

His eyes were still red, but they were shining.

Su Jiuge turned and walked out of the house. Zhao Xiaohe chased after her and grabbed her hand. "Sister, thank you." Su Jiuge looked at her. "What are you thanking me for?"

Zhao Xiaohe smiled sweetly.

"Thank you for letting me be with Dad." Su Jiuge looked at her, remained silent for a moment, and said something that even she herself hadn't expected—"From now on, call me Sister Jiuge."

Zhao Xiaohe was stunned for a moment, then smiled even more brightly.

"Sister Jiuge!"

Su Jiuge did not respond; her lips merely twitched slightly.

March 5th, night.

Su Jiuge returned to the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence. Madam Shen was waiting for her to have dinner. Four dishes and a soup were laid out on the table, and osmanthus cakes were steaming in a dish.

Su Jiuge sat down next to Shen Shi, who then served her a bowl of soup.

"Where did you go? You haven't been back for two days."

Su Jiuge took the soup bowl.

"I went on a long trip to take care of some business."

Shen did not press the matter further.

Su Jiuge took a couple of sips of soup and suddenly spoke, "Mother."

Shen looked at her. "What's wrong?"

Su Jiuge was silent for a moment. "It's nothing."

Shen didn't press further, and instead placed a piece of pork rib on Su Jiuge's plate. "Eat quickly, it won't taste good when it gets cold."

Su Jiuge lowered her head and ate. She almost blurted out, "When I saw a little girl calling her father today, it reminded me of you." But she didn't say it.

On the sixth day of the third month, outside Luoyang City, at Shili Pavilion.

Zhao Tiesheng stood in the pavilion, looking into the distance.

Zhao Xiaohe was chasing butterflies on the grass nearby.

Su Jiuge walked into the pavilion and stood next to him.

"The Dark Pavilion has arranged a new identity for you. Your name is Zhao Tiesheng, a merchant from Jiangnan who owns a silk shop in Luoyang. Your daughter, Zhao Xiaohe, is studying at a girls' school in Luoyang. Someone will pick up your mother in a few days."

Zhao Tiesheng turned around and looked at her.

"I never thought this day would come. A home, a stable home, where I don't have to hide anymore."

"New identity, new destiny."

Su Jiuge's voice was calm.

"You've paid off your past debts. From now on, you're on your own. If you stray from the path, you know the rules of the Dark Pavilion."

Zhao Tiesheng looked at her.

"Master, why are you helping me?"

Su Jiuge was silent for a moment. "Because you have a weakness. People with weaknesses won't go too far astray."

Zhao Tiesheng remained silent for a long time. "You're right. Xiaohe is my life. Before, I didn't know what else this life could do besides killing."

Su Jiuge didn't reply, but turned and walked out of the pavilion. Shen Qing emerged from the shade of a tree and followed her. After walking a short distance, she suddenly stopped and looked back.

Zhao Tiesheng was squatting on the grass when Zhao Xiaohe tucked a wildflower behind his ear. He didn't flinch, letting his daughter do as she pleased. Su Jiuge watched this scene for a long time.

The assassin, Faceless, is dead. Zhao Tiesheng is the one who survives.

A father, a businessman, an ordinary person. This is who he should be.

March 6th. Three days until the wedding.

Su Jiuge stood in the courtyard of the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence, looking at the pomegranate tree in the yard.

The pomegranate tree sprouted, its tender green leaves swaying gently in the spring breeze. Zhao Tiesheng joined the Dark Pavilion, and the deputy head of the photography studio became its top assassin.

This is Su Jiuge's rule.

Kill those who can be killed, take those who can be taken in, and change those who can be changed.

The way to use people is not to kill everyone, but to turn useful people into your own.

Shen came out of the house.

"Jiuge, try on your wedding dress. This is the last time we'll make some alterations today, or it'll be too late tomorrow."

Su Jiuge turned around.

"They're here."

Su Jiuge tried on her wedding dress, a bright red silk dress embroidered with phoenixes in gold thread.

She stood before the bronze mirror, looking at the woman in the red wedding dress reflected there. She was a stranger. She didn't resemble herself; she looked like someone she didn't know.

But this person is to marry the sixth prince, Xiao Yan, on the ninth day of the third month. She had no choice.