THREADS · READER SAFE

Blood River

暗河传

China · 2025 · 38 episodes

Sarcastic Warning: Contains Maximum Tropes. It's the classic drama bingo! Our heroine somehow ends up caught in a dangerous assassin guild's power struggle where everyone wants to be the boss, and naturally, she's probably tied to some mysterious male lead who's either trying to save her or use her.

17Characters 7/20Connections 1/9Arcs 3/15Timeline 100%Mapped
Story movement

Story Arcs

1/9arcs
Political EP 1–38

The Other Shore Plan

Su Chang He gathers a faction of like-minded Blood River members called Other Shore, aiming to drag the guild out of the shadows and into legitimacy as a proper sect. Su Mu Yu is initially skeptical, fearing the powerful forces behind Blood River will exact a heavy price for such change, but he gradually comes around to the cause. The plan requires securing an alliance with Prince Langya to enable Blood River's transition into the light. The arc culminates in the guild's uncertain but hopeful new status as an organization still chasing its ideal of reaching the other shore.

Su Chang HeSu Mu YuMu Qing YangXiao Ruo Feng
Who carries the story

Characters

17characters
Main Role

Su Mu Yu

苏暮雨
Support Role

Su Chang He

苏昌河
Love Interest

Bai He Huai

白鹤淮
Mentor

Su Zhe

苏喆
Love Interest

Mu Yu Mo

慕雨墨
Support Role

Tang Lian Yue

唐怜月
Support Role

Mu Xue Wei

慕雪薇
Family Member

Mu Ming Ce

慕明策
Antagonist

Mu Zi Zhe

慕子哲 (romanization approximate; not confirmed in sources)
Support Role

Mu Qing Yang

慕青羊
Mentor

Su Yun Xiu

Support Role

Xiao Ruo Feng

Antagonist

Ye Ya

Antagonist

Luo Tian Xiang

洛天翔
Support Role

Li Han Yi

李寒衣
Support Role

Xiao Yong

萧永
Support Role

Xie Xuan

谢宣
What ties them together

Connections

7/20connections
Su Mu Yu Sworn Siblings Su Chang He

Once outcast children taken in together by Blood River, Su Mu Yu and Su Chang He grew up as inseparable sworn brothers, sharing near-total trust. As Su Chang He's methods grow more ruthless in his push to reform Blood River, their diverging visions strain the bond, but the underlying loyalty between them never fully breaks.

Family · Changed
Su Mu Yu Mentor Su Zhe

Su Zhe, the former holder of the "Kui" codename, mentors Su Mu Yu as an elder of the Su family. He fights alongside him during the succession crisis and transfers part of his own qi to save Su Mu Yu after a near-fatal battle.

Mentorship
Su Zhe Parent Bai He Huai

Su Zhe is Bai He Huai's father. Their relationship connects the Su family and the Baihe Medicine Hall storylines, and his fate is tied emotionally to hers as her presumed death and eventual survival play out.

Family
Su Yun Xiu Mentor Su Mu Yu

Su Yun Xiu serves as the martial arts master to both Su Mu Yu and Su Chang He. Her guidance shapes their combat skill, and she later makes a unilateral decision affecting Su Mu Yu's personal life by concealing Bai He Huai's survival from him.

Mentorship
Su Yun Xiu Mentor Su Chang He

Su Yun Xiu is master to Su Chang He as well as Su Mu Yu, tying her role into both leads' training and backstory.

Mentorship
Luo Tian Xiang Enemy Su Mu Yu

As Left Shadow Guard Commander of the Shadow Sect, Luo Tian Xiang stands on the opposing side from Blood River and Su Mu Yu within the story's political conflict.

Conflict · Unknown
Li Han Yi Rival Su Chang He

Li Han Yi and Su Chang He cross paths in Tianqi City while both are there watching over Prince Langya. She notes his growing strength with a mix of wariness and respect, and the two share a mutual acknowledgment that they might spar again someday.

Rivalry
Where it happens

Places

10places
Kingdom

Beili Kingdom

The overarching realm in which Blood River is set, home to the imperial court, the three founding clans, and the various sects and cities that make up the jianghu world. Its politics, including the imperial succession, intertwine directly with Blood River's own power struggles.

Hideout

Blood River

The shadow headquarters of the assassin guild of the same name, run by the Su, Mu, and Xie families under the Patriarch. It serves as the base of operations for the Spider-Shadow unit and the setting for much of the internal power struggle following the Patriarch's poisoning.

City

Tianqi City

The capital of the Beili Kingdom, home to the imperial court and guarded by the Four Guardians, including Tang Lian Yue as the Black Tortoise. Much of the drama's political intrigue, including dealings with Prince Langya, unfolds here.

City

No-Sword City

The city ruled by Zhuo Yuluo, father of Su Mu Yu, and the place of Su Mu Yu's origin before the family tragedy that led him into Blood River. It represents his lost former life and identity.

City

Wushuang City

A city ruled by Song Yanhui, home to the Lunwu Hall and its Four Seekers of the Swords Art. It factors into the wider jianghu politics surrounding the sword deities and sects that interact with Blood River's story.

City

Xueyue City

Home city of Li Han Yi, the Snow Moon/Xueyue Sword Deity and Second City Lord. It is one of several sect-affiliated cities tied into the drama's broader martial world.

Other

Wangchengshan Sect

A martial sect led by Lv Suzhen, home to sword deities such as Zhao Yuzhen. It is one of the jianghu factions whose members become entangled in conflicts connected to Blood River.

City

Muliang City

Home city associated with the Lone Sword Deity, Luo Qingyang, one of the sword deities referenced in the broader martial world surrounding Blood River.

Company

Yellow Springs Pawnshop

A pawnshop connected to Mu Ying, a disguise specialist formerly known as its Ferryman before being taken in by the Su and Mu families. It ties into the backstory of characters recruited into Blood River's network.

Other

Medicine King Valley

A medicine-focused sect associated with the Medicine King and figures like Night Crow, an ex-disciple who becomes a antagonistic force working for the First Prince. It connects to the poison and medicine subplot involving Bai He Huai and Mu Xue Wei.

Who holds power

Organizations

6organizations
Guild

Blood River

The realm's most feared assassin guild, jointly formed and run by the Su, Mu, and Xie clans, capable of striking down royals in court and crushing great sects in the wild. Operating under a single Patriarch, it commands the direct assassin unit Spider-Shadow. When the Patriarch is poisoned, the fragile three-clan alliance shatters into a ruthless power struggle, and the story follows efforts to pull the guild out of the shadows and into legitimacy.

Family

Su Family

One of the three founding clans of Blood River, home to Su Mu Yu, Su Chang He, and Su Zhe. The family's internal power struggles intensify after the Patriarch's poisoning, with leadership eventually passing between its members as the guild's overall structure shifts.

Family

Mu Family

One of the three founding clans of Blood River, associated with poison arts and divination. Following the Patriarch's poisoning, the Mu Family becomes one of the clans vying for the top seat, with leadership passing through several members over the course of the succession conflict.

Sect

Tang Clan

A martial clan known for poison mastery, referred to in some sources as Tangmen. Tang Lian Yue is one of its key members and eventually rises to lead it as Tang Laotaiye, a position that places new burdens on his personal relationships. The clan becomes entangled in Blood River's wider conflict with the Shadow Sect.

Agency

Shadow Sect

A covert organization tied to the Imperial court, led by Yi Bu, functioning as an instrument of court intrigue and control. Its First Guardian Division, Hawkeye, and commanders such as Luo Tian Xiang carry out its operations, frequently putting it in direct conflict with Blood River and its allies.

Royal Court

Beili Kingdom Imperial Court

The imperial court of the Beili Kingdom, home to the Emperor, Crown Prince Xiao Yong, and Prince Langya (Xiao Ruo Feng). Court politics and succession struggles intersect with Blood River's own power conflict, particularly through the assassination of Xiao Yong and the alliance formed with Prince Langya.