Ma Yi recalled their brief but memorable encounter, when those golden eyes had picked his pitiful figure out of the crowd and stared him down like a piece of meat. Every fiber of his being was telling him to extract himself from that situation as quickly as possible.

  It had turned out that she had mistaken him for someone else. She did not know him, not by name nor by his old reputation. It was hard to believe because it meant that she had uncovered him on the spot by a feat of intuition alone, seeing right through his miserable appearance. Though then again, she seemed to know a thing or two about his status; not that there was any weight to it in the modern day. Or perhaps she simply knew the old tales of the Beggar's Sect, and merely used the parallel to jest about his poverty.

  But either way, Ma Yi never gave her exact words much thought; instead he believed his own intuition and keen perception for danger, letting the worst case scenario take the foreground in his mind. His biggest fear at that time was that someone with such preternatural senses would not be easy to escape from. Fortunately, this particular concern hadn't come to pass - the strange woman was easy enough to deceive. Like a simple beast, her attention had been readily diverted by the prospect of another tasty meal.

  "I don't know who this is." Ma Yi said, finally taking his eyes off her portrait and leaning back in his seat. But to himself he thought, "Looks like she won the battle against Tao Geming. Strange, then, that I hadn't heard the news of his death."

  Ye Wenyan sighed, still with that polite smile on his face. Ma Yi knew that his body language had already given away his recollection of the person depicted on the wanted poster, but his character would not allow him to concede the matter so easily. And besides, his words were true by sheer technicality.

  "This woman's movements have recently drawn our attention." Ye Wenyan explained. "She appears to be travelling the world, challenging every expert she can find."

  "See, you already know more than me." Ma Yi grumbled, dismissively waving his hand. "Keep up the good work and leave me alone."

  "Well, that's just the thing, elder Ma. Even on a good day, it's been next to impossible to track her. None of our usual methods were working. It's like she always knew when she was being tailed." Ye Wenyan said.

  Ma Yi chuckled to himself under his beard, thinking, "No wonder! It's like she can smell the martial arts on someone. How could you jokers hope to keep up?"

  "...But now that she's travelling together with the Invincible Blood Sea, we can't even make a token effort without risking certain death."

  The amusement had abruptly drained from Ma Yi's grizzled features. He sat up straight. "Her and Tao Geming are travelling together?"

  "We can't shadow them directly, but there is no shortage of witnesses to the commotions they're causing. Over the course of just the past month, they went through the Silver Blade, Light Qingge, and Twelve Feet of Steel!"

  "They're all dead?" Ma Yi asked. He recognized all three of those names, but so would just about anyone not completely ignorant of the world. All three of them had held sizeable domains and vied for supremacy over more.

  "No. None of them were killed. And their territory remains under their control. But there is no telling how many more fell prey to her before we launched our investigation. As you may imagine, no sect wants to admit defeat, and will come down hard on anyone willing to spread those kinds of rumors, so information has been hard to come by."

  A silence descended upon the room. As Ma Yi pondered the matter, Ye Wenyan's beady little eyes glinted with cunning, pleased that his words had incited the beggar's curiosity. But Ma Yi's mind was dwelling not on the implications of her actions, but rather, those of his own.

  "I'm the reason those two met." He realized. "Anything they do from now on is my responsibility."

  But he was not entirely oblivious to what the investigator had been driving at either. Eventually, Ma Yi glanced at his companion and broke the silence. "I'm guessing the lady in the palace isn't thrilled by what their antics appear to be building up to and wants them stopped."

  "Elder Ma, nobody is talking about anything so drastic." Ye Wenyan rushed to reassure, very smoothly dismissing the actual question. "We would simply like to keep an eye on them. And because our Bureau's abilities are so lacking, we wish to ask you and your beggars for help. You would be generously compensated, of course, in whichever manner you prefer. I understand the peculiarity of your chosen lifestyle, but surely we could figure something out..."

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  Ma Yi's face scrunched up into a grimace of distaste. He put his hand up to stop the man from speaking any further. Though Ye Wenyan hoped that the beggar was still considering his offer, in truth, Ma Yi's mind had been made up already.

  "But how could this be...?" He thought. "What reason could they possibly have to work together? I was so sure that those two maniacs would be unable to bear having to walk upon the same earth. Don't tell me he was instantly smitten with her upon first sight. I would never have expected something so human out of that Tao Geming, but I guess he is just a man despite it all. But could that really be it? It all seems just so unlikely..."

  "And more importantly... What the hell am I supposed to do about this?"

  The beggar rubbed his beard in tense thought. Finally, he laid his palm down on the desk.

  "I won't be able to help you with what you ask." He declared. Just as Ye Wenyan was about to protest his decision, Ma Yi raised his hand again. "Tao Geming is one thing, but that woman is impossible to track. In the past, she had managed to instantly out me as a martial artist. So the truth is, I suspect I can't track her any better than the rest of you."

  His words had the investigator's squinty eyes gaping wide open in shock. Ye Wenyan's breath caught in his throat and he found himself at a loss for words.

  "But I will be doing something about this all the same." Ma Yi said. Those words shocked the investigator even more. Just as he was about to open his mouth to reply, Ma Yi stood up. "Show me where they were seen last."

  With the beggar suddenly spurred into action, Ye Wenyan decided to let him do as he wished. On Ma Yi's insistence, they set out immediately.

  As they rushed out on horseback, Ye Wenyan pivoted back to the discussion of the reward. "Elder Ma, it's not right for a man of your skills to be living like this. You've already done more than enough in your long life to merit a decent position. The Lady Consort holds you in high regard, and it pains her to know that you insist on living like a dog. Pardon my expression, but it's true! Even I'm not oblivious to the upsides of a humble life, but you've taken it far beyond all reason."

  Ma Yi scoffed. "The older I get, the more convinced I become that the Beggar's Sect had things all figured out just right."

  "Must you really cling to their principles like this? No disrespect, but the Beggar's Sect doesn't even exist anymore, and hasn't for a long time."

  "As its chief and sole remaining member, I'm the one who gets to decide that."

  The beggar's confidence compelled Ye Wenyan to ask, "Could it be that you've decided on a successor?"

  "As if I'd tell you!" Ma Yi laughed. "Why, so that you could go pester him for favors as well? Unlikely!"

  They galloped down a dirt road in silence. Eventually, Ma Yi continued, "...To tell you the truth, I found no one else who deserves to learn the sect's martial arts. It may have come to pass that, in our day and age, there's not a single man left alive possessing a truly righteous demeanor."

  "Surely it can't be as bad as you say..." Ye Wenyan muttered.

  Ma Yi shook his head. "Maybe it's hard for you and that Jade Princess of yours to tell from the comforts of the capital, but life has never been harsher, the people's hearts never darker and greedier. There are no principles or laws left beyond the strength of one's arm and the reach of the steel in one's hand. And these are things you'd only ever truly grasp by living at the very bottom. Riches and authority dull the senses. Even when faced with the suffering directly, you will never be able to understand it from atop of a throne."

  "I can't say that I agree with you completely, elder Ma." Ye Wenyan protested. "The Lady Consort governs with remarkable propriety, keeping the people in her heart at all times, in every decision. I think you would never find yourself in disagreement with her leadership. And I say this knowing quite well how readily you take issue with authority, elder Ma."

  Ma Yi snorted. "If that's true, then it will become self-evident in due time. But as things remain, I refuse to contribute any more to the suffering that goes on in this world."

  The more they spoke, the more mystified Ye Wenyan became by the beggar's intentions.

  As their trip continued, try as the investigator might to coax it out of him, Ma Yi would not reveal his plans.

  ...