Guarding the River of Time-Chapter 245 - 239: Irretrievable Time and Space, Sorrows of Small Figures
He still remembered, two years ago, there was a similar wooden coffin of this material appearing on the river surface.
It was also a black coffin.
But although it was very similar, it wasn’t the same one; it should be of the same category and material.
In the next second, Su Mu crossed his arms over his chest and said to the black coffin in front of him, "Come out."
With those words, the black coffin was opened, and a person crawled out from inside.
He was wearing a black robe, his skin was purple-black, with two silver fleshy horns on his forehead, his face was gloomy, his eye sockets were deep, and his pupils were dark with flecks of black light swirling constantly.
Upon seeing Su Mu, the man in the black robe also felt a tightness in his heart and his breathing became somewhat irregular.
"Was it you who crossed clandestinely?"
Su Mu stared at the man in black robe and questioned him.
Upon hearing this, the man in the black robe shuddered. Being questioned with such authority made him somewhat uncomfortable because he was always the one questioning others. But under pressure, he slowly responded, "It was indeed wrong of me."
"I hope the senior will forgive me."
He used his clone to travel against the River of Time to the past because he was afraid of being noticed, which would lead to the failure of the assassination, so he chose to cross clandestinely.
He had heard long ago that a tremendously powerful River Guardian had come to this River of Time, so to prevent any accidents, clandestine crossing was the safest, yet also the most dangerous method.
"Steal one, punish with ten."
Su Mu did not listen to these meaningless apologies. Just apologize for crossing clandestinely? If this got out, wouldn’t everyone want to cross clandestinely in the future?
So, a punishment of stealing one and paying ten must be enforced to serve as a deterrent.
Upon hearing this, the man in the black robe was dumbfounded. Punish... ten?
"What does that mean?"
"It means you need to pay ten times the crossing fee." Su Mu added, "If you had openly given something, I wouldn’t make it difficult for you. Why engage in these sneaky actions?"
Upon hearing this, the man in the black robe was also a little stunned; did crossing involve so many causal ties, and all it really took was to pay the crossing fee??
"For everyone crossing, regardless of gender or age, I treat all equally; absolutely fair."
"As long as you can pay the crossing fee, I will let you pass."
Upon hearing Su Mu’s words, the man in the black robe felt as if he had been severely hit, frozen in place.
If he had known it was this simple, why plot such a big circle?
If he had crossed openly, Huang would have been eliminated long ago.
Now it turned out, not only did he fail to eliminate Huang, but he also ended up indirectly helping him grow, and his clone was even captured and brought back to the River of Time, leading to a complete failure!
The man in the black robe began searching through his treasures because his purpose for this trip was to eliminate the yet-to-grow Huang, and he hadn’t brought treasures with him, so to pay ten times the crossing fee was indeed something he couldn’t afford!
After searching for a long time, he only found two or three presentable treasures, a copper mirror, a jade pendant, and a talisman.
After receiving these three magical treasures, Su Mu examined them, confirmed they were treasures, and accepted them: "Seven more to go."
Upon hearing this, the man in the black robe awkwardly laughed and said, "Senior, you can see, this is just a clone, and I didn’t bring out any treasures, could I owe the seven for now?"
Su Mu, of course, could see the other’s embarrassment, so he waited for him to say that sentence.
He had even prepared the contract for the debt, promptly handing it to the man in the black robe, saying, "Just press your blood mark."
But the man in the black robe said, "Senior, I swear on my character I will definitely pay it back, can’t we skip this?"
Upon hearing this, Su Mu sneered and said, "No, this is the rule; you cannot break the rule for just one person. Moreover... character guarantees are the least trustworthy to me."
In a previous life, he had a gambling buddy who always swore "character guarantee", promising to pay back next month.
Under Su Mu’s compulsion, he, a great ancestor, was forced to press the blood handprint, never imagining... that he would have a day like this.
After signing the debt contract, Su Mu put it away.
"Alright, you can leave now, go back where you came from, don’t loiter on the river."
Su Mu gestured to the man in the black robe to leave.
"Senior, could I ask you a favor?" The man in the black robe thought of a perfect plan.
If he could get this man’s help, wiping out Huang would be as easy as waving his hand, and for someone like him guarding the River of Time, wiping out Huang was just a minor effort, with no causal involvement.
"If successful, next time, I will personally come with significant gifts to repay you, senior." The man in the black robe respectfully cupped his fists towards Su Mu.
Upon hearing this, Su Mu didn’t hesitate for a moment and waved his hand, saying, "I never get involved in any affairs of those crossing the river, you’d better leave now."
Over the years, quite a few people sought my help—mostly for revenge or chasing enemies and such—but I refused all.
Su Mu’s intentions were straightforward, he only wanted to maintain order on the river, earn enough Favor Points, and leave this place early.
"Senior... I"
"What ’I’? I’m not targeting you personally; it’s the principle for everyone, I won’t help any."
"Hurry up and go."
Seeing Su Mu’s tone turn impatient, the man in the black robe activated the black coffin beneath his feet and headed downstream, disappearing at the end of the river path soon after.
....
After sending off the man in the black robe.
Ye Fan, Wu Shi, and others appeared again on the River of Time, preparing to return the way they came, back to their own timeline.
When seeing Ye Fan and others passing by, Su Mu, who was patrolling the river, called out to the three, "Hey, stop."
Ye Fan, with a puzzled face, turned around and asked: "What’s up, senior?" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
"Pay the fee, why are you still so recklessly unaware of the rules?" Su Mu reprimanded Ye Fan.
Upon hearing this, Ye Fan’s eyes widened in disbelief: "Senior, didn’t I already pay?"
"Paying once for crossing once," Su Mu explained.
"Huh?" Ye Fan’s mouth gaped open.
"Just put it on the tab for now, remember to pay it off next time, along with the old dues."
Su Mu naturally knew they couldn’t come up with the treasures, but he couldn’t let the rules be broken.
.....
"Thank you, senior, for stepping in." The Fierce People were indifferent to the treasures, instead expressing gratitude towards Su Mu.
If not for Su Mu’s intervention, not only would the rescue have failed, but even their own lives would have been at risk.
Of course, Su Mu knew what was going on, so he simply waved it off, saying, "It was because that person broke the rules, crossing clandestinely, that I stepped in."
Wu Shi also expressed his gratitude to Su Mu with clasped fists.
Ye Fan, while a little cheeky with words, was also sincerely grateful in his heart for Su Mu’s intervention.
.....
"Go back now, I have to get busy again."
Su Mu waved to the three as he spoke.
"If you are free, senior, you’re welcome to visit Beidou as a guest. By then, I will repay all debts and host you well," Ye Fan said to Su Mu with cupped fists.
