Hou Jin introduced the young man. "This is Bai Guo, the son of my late sworn brother. Circumstances have brought him extremely close to Lady Clear Sky. She took this young man under her wing as her personal disciple, and they traveled together for almost a year."

  Wu Rong's eyes widened in shock. "And what exactly brings you here to testify about your master, Bai Guo? Has she mistreated you?"

  Bai Guo bowed. "Your majesty, I am young, lacking in ability and wisdom. In my foolishness, I rushed to swear fealty to a person I knew nothing about. But still, over time, her true character shone through her veil of secrecy, revealing our natures to be completely incompatible. Though I cannot claim that I was mistreated under her care, still, I realized... should she be allowed to roam free, I fear that her actions may bring about untold suffering to the innocent. And to remain under her allegiance would leave me with no choice but to perpetuate these evils in tandem with her. And I found this unacceptable. But because this lowly Bai Guo hadn't the skill to stop her, I had no recourse but to come beg your majesty for help."

  Wu Rong covered her mouth with a sleeve, mulling over his words. "What is your background, young man?"

  "I worked as a guard at my uncle's inn in the lands of the Wuyi. I have no history with sects. My education and martial arts come from my late father, and uncle Jin... that is to say, Investigator Hou Jin had also contributed a great deal."

  "You speak well for someone so young." Wu Rong said. "I was expecting to hear about a more formal education. But I suppose since you come from Wuyi, there'd none of that to be found there..."

  She impatiently flicked her sleeve. "Well then, let's proceed. Firstly, let's finally hear her name. I'd quite like it if I could stop hearing this woman referred to by a dozen different titles."

  Bai Guo replied, "Apologies, your majesty. Though I was her disciple, she still refused to dispense with her name."

  "So it must hold some kind of meaning." Wu Rong concluded with a frown. "And not just to her, but to anyone that might hear it."

  "I believe so, too." Bai Guo concurred. "Though she had told me that she wanted the jianghu to name her for her deeds."

  "That's crap. She's hiding something..." Wu Rong harshly muttered, catching herself a moment too late. She cleared her throat.

  The two investigators paused, pretending not to notice her rude outburst; the bodyguard threw the Jade Princess a sideways glance.

  Bai Guo, thinking he had caused an offense, hastily added, "But she seems to have a preference for the title of Golden Witch. When necessary, she uses it to introduce herself to those who have no knowledge of her."

  "It will do." Wu Rong said. "Continue. Tell us of her motives."

  "The Golden Witch has the incredible ability to master any technique after seeing it just once." Bai Guo explained. Wu Rong and Cao Lai raised their eyebrows in disbelief. "She seeks out experts from all over the world to steal their techniques."

  Wu Rong's frown deepened. Her mouth moved, and the men braced themselves, anticipating another curse from her lips.

  "If that really were her goal," Wu Rong spoke slowly, almost methodically, as though her temper was about to burst at the seams with even a momentary lapse in focus. "Or to be more exact, if that were her only goal, then there would be no reason to go out of her way to preserve the lives of her foes as she had been doing. What do you think, young man?"

  Bai Guo bowed his head after a moment of hesitation. "I believe your majesty speaks true. But then... Then I'm afraid I don't know what her true intentions could be."

  "Subjugation." Wu Rong succinctly declared. Hou Jin understood her meaning immediately and paled; Bai Guo was grasping the meaning much more slowly, but he still felt his stomach sinking. Cao Lai was the only one among the men to remain unperturbed.

  "The dream of every martial artist of the age." Wu Rong explained. "She is instilling fear into the hearts of the world's finest. These people, they don't recognize anything beyond martial might. In their eyes, when it comes to the right to rule, even the Mandate of Heaven can't compare. Tao Geming was among many to attempt this very thing in the past, though he is the only one who lives to this day. And whatever it was that stopped him from trying to wield his authority after he had finished his gauntlet might not stop her. Or they've united with the sole purpose of overcoming that obstacle, whatever it may be..."

  Wu Rong closed her eyes and sighed heavily.

  Bai Guo gulped loudly in the resulting silence. He forced himself to speak. "Is there any way to stop her?"

  The Jade Princess slowly opened her eyes. Bai Guo felt uneasy under her intense stare.

  "Of course there is. I have a plan." Her words, her confidence, washed over Bai Guo like spring water. "You've performed a meritorious deed by bringing this all to my attention. But I'm sure you knew that this would be just the first step. I need to know if you're willing to see this through to the end, young Bai Guo."

  Bai Guo fell to his knees. "If there truly is a way, then this Bai Guo is willing!"

  "Excellent." Wu Rong exclaimed. "Tell me, how have you parted with your master? Are you still on speaking terms?"

  "We..." Bai Guo knew what her question held in store for him. "...agreed to meet again soon..."

  Wu Rong nodded. Next, she called forth her servants, who brought her paper, a brush, and readied the ink.

  Wettened brush in hand, the woman spoke without looking his way, "Tell me everything you know about her. And I do mean everything. Spare me not a single detail, not even her height and weight. Describe every fight you've witnessed, every expert she's fought, every skill and item in her possession, every technique you've seen her use, and even the ones you've seen her merely see. I mean it, young man - recant your journey down to every last step if you can."

  As she requested, Bai Guo began to tell his story. Their audience which started in the evening continued throughout the entire night. Wu Rong was meticulous, and Bai Guo wasn't thorough enough to her liking, and so the scene resembled an interrogation. Every once in a while her brush would fly to record whichever nugget of information she deemed worth preserving.

  Bai Guo held nothing back. He revealed his master's peculiar sense for qi; he even went as far as to detail the first part of the cultivation method she had imparted upon him, every line getting written down in quick order.

  When there truly remained nothing more to say and the young man had nothing left to do but to repeat his story from the very beginning, the Jade Princess finally put down her brush.

  "The next step," She said, taking a moment to rub her weary eyes, "Is for you to meet with the Golden Witch. Continue to play the part of her disciple. Tell her about an expert residing on Mount Hua. He is known as the Sword Sage - in all the realms, none have studied the sword as extensively as he. Your task is to feed into that obsession you mentioned she has and make her seek him out."

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  "And then?" Bai Guo asked with bated breath.

  "That is all that's required of you. Let her go through with that test of skill of hers. Then do as you deem fit. Things will fall into place on their own. You'll see."

  Bai Guo seemed doubtful, but could do little more than lower his head and acquiesce.

  Finally, the audience concluded. When the two investigators had left, Wu Rong wrote a letter, and, attaching Bai Guo's story to the bundle, sent off a courier.

  Her straight back finally slackened after that. A temptation arose to let sleep take her right there on the desk.

  "Are you sure this is wise, your majesty?" Cao Lai's steady voice kept her awake. "What if that boy is deceiving us and his loyalties still lie with his master? Even that cultivation method he gave us - that's not really proof. There's no way to find out if it's real or if he just made it all up to prove his loyalty. Especially not in short order... Frankly, it's not safe to verify it at all. It could cripple anybody that tries it, and it might not even do so instantly, but over a long time. I've even heard of manuals that are beneficial at first only to destroy you from the inside later."

  "I had considered that." Wu Rong said, lifting up her head. "It's a risk to be sure, but we have no other means by which to engage in an offensive against her. And her initial obscurity has set her so far ahead of us that we can't afford to tarry for even a moment longer. Even if Bai Guo betrays us, it would only speed up the inevitable."

  Wu Rong sighed. "And we have no choice but to use her disciple if we expect this to work. The Sword Sage is an obscure recluse; she might never hear about him on her own. And if she only learns about him after her goal has been fulfilled, even he might not survive when put up against all the people she might be able to muster. Worse yet, at that point, he might not have a reason to fight against her at all."

  Wu Rong continued, "But if we try to spread the rumor about him ourselves, she might grow suspicious - or more likely, that Tao Geming will grow suspicious on her behalf. He might even find out about our plot. So then before they head to Mount Hua, the two of them might come pay a visit to us to clear the matter up... or to kill us all. Needless to say, it would be a disaster. But if the information comes from a source that she believes to be trustworthy... Even if Tao Geming suspects foul play, she might be disinclined to take his side. According to the young man, their relationship is rather strenuous."

  "Do you think the Sword Sage can defeat her?"

  "You're asking me?" Wu Rong smirked. "Martial arts are your expertise. How would I know? But there's not much we can do to help him. According to the boy, she has even mastered the art of poisons. And we don't have anyone even half as good as the Five Venoms Devil, let alone someone better than her." A sudden thought interrupted her smile. "Actually, there could be just one thing... I need to send another messenger..."

  "The question I'm really asking here is - what are we going to do if he fails?"

  "Then it's all up to the heavens."

  Her words briefly silenced the room.

  Cao Lai brought up another concern. "Knowing what we now know of her motivations... or more accurately, that particular obsession of hers with martial arts, I can't help but wonder if sending her after the Sword Sage is wise. What if that eccentric takes a liking to her attitude, and instead of killing each other, they decide to study the sword together?"

  "The thought has briefly crossed my mind." Wu Rong shook her head. "But I don't think it's likely."

  "And why's that, your majesty?"

  "Because that Tao Geming is at her side."

  ...

  The Jade Princess' letter found its way high above the clouds. A lone middle-aged swordsman carried it ever higher up along the steep and precipitous paths of an enormous mountain. He was dressed in the attire that made him resemble the scholars of the old - a pale blue, hemmed robe, and a dark, elongated hat, three golden lines embroidered down its length. The immense alacrity and ease of his perilous ascent betrayed his skills in martial arts, and still his trek remained an ordeal that spanned several hours.

  When he had finally reached the top, he found another swordsman sitting at the cold peak. This man, younger in age than the messenger, was dressed in much the same fashion, though the blue of his robe bore the hue of deep azure. Jet black hair ran long past his shoulders. He held a sheathed sword in one hand and a book in the other. The weapon in his grasp far exceeded the length of an ordinary straight sword. His dark eyes bore into the pages with intensity bordering on the manic. His obsessive and yet dignified bearing reminded of a dragon coveting a great treasure.

  The messenger remained stock still, not daring to make a sound for a long time.

  "Your presence disturbs my concentration." The man said, unable to pry his gaze from the pages. His subordinate fell to the ground and began to kowtow, but it had only made the man more impatient. "Out with it." He demanded.

  The subordinate rushed to explain, presenting the letter, "We've received a message from the capital, master. They're asking for your sword."

  The master scoffed. "That Wu Rong must be out of her mind if she thinks she gets to call on me again. She squandered my good will just like she had squandered my time. I will not endure another needless summon. Do not bother me with this again."

  "Well, master..." The disciple hesitated. "It's just that this matter... it appears to involve... him..."

  The dragon's eyes shook. There was a singular name which no one dared to speak aloud on his mountain. And though it had still remained unspoken, he knew exactly who it was.

  With effort that seemed monumental, he pried his eyes away from the tome.

  "Bring it over." His order was like a hiss. Without letting go of his sword, he quickly scanned through the letter, and decreed, "I will act. Notify the other students."

  "The others already know. We deliberated for a long time before we decided to bring the matter to you, master. We would not dare disturb your studies lightly."

  "Well done." The dragon offered his curt praises. "Wu Rong left instructions for a formation. Follow them to the letter. When they arrive, put me on notice and hide. I shall receive them in person."

  The disciple bellowed his affirmations, bowed, and took his leave.

  "I wonder if you truly have the gall to set foot on our mountain again." The dragon pondered aloud, his voice tinged with cold fury. He took his sword into his lap. His fingers frantically gripped at the hilt.

  Finally, the Sword Sage laid bare his blade.

  Its entire length ran as dark as a starless night. He raised it high, watching the sun through its mirror-like polish.

  "Of course you do, you lowly creature. As if shame could keep you away. Hurry along, senior martial brother. Help me affirm the path that I have chosen."

  ...