Over the course of just a few weeks, the Golden Witch and Tao Geming had gone through four experts more. Stood upon a tall stone tower, her eyes gazed down on her next prey. The hem of her white robe billowed in the wind.

  Pan Mingli, a tall, lithe man who favored the sword and had earned dozens of titles over his life, proudly observed the rows and rows of young men vying for a spot in his recently established Luwu sect. He remained unaware of the presence above him.

  Time passed, and the sun shifted across the blue skies. The trials long ago began in earnest. Still, the woman remained unmoving.

  Tao Geming appeared atop of the tower, his arms crossed. As he glanced at her, he discovered not a trace of those obsessive sparks that so frequently lit up her yellow eyes. Instead they were plagued by melancholy.

  "What are you waiting for?" He asked. "It's unlike you."

  His question lingered in the air for a long time.

  "I'm just not feeling it today..." She finally said.

  "You?" Tao Geming was shocked. "Are you sick?"

  "Perhaps it's better to do this some other day." The Golden Witch sighed. She then spoke vaguely, as if the matter had only just sprung to her mind, "And anyways, I think it's about time for me to fulfill that other obligation I had."

  "You 'think'? I bet you've been counting the days." Tao Geming snorted. "You really are sick. And what a revolting sickness it is. I don't want to hear about this. Get your head out of the clouds, Fox! Get down there and do what we came here for!"

  The Golden Witch furrowed her brows. Her voice grew stern. "I'm not doing this today. Take me to Chang'an."

  The two of them left. Pan Mingli forever remained blissfully oblivious of the calamity he had avoided that day.

  ...

  Bai Guo wandered the streets of Chang'an, trying to occupy his agitated mind with the marvels of the city. Nearly every building, chiseled out of beautiful stone, had him staring in wonder.

  He heard that the city was home to almost a million people in all, a number he could hardly wrap his head around. He had considered himself a seasoned city dweller, and over the course of his travels visited countless settlements, but the scale of this place still left him feeling like a helpless bumpkin. No matter how long he trotted the immaculately clean roads, he found himself incapable of reaching the edges of the city, and this was only within the regions that he was allowed to roam freely. Many parts of the old capital had been sectioned off entirely to accommodate those of higher status. Bai Guo rued his inability to witness those places.

  Stores and peddlers offered every which ware and service, even those that he could never conceive of. He discovered the existence of something as outlandish as a store that sold books, and something as baffling as schools that taught martial arts for nothing more than mere money. And at the end of every week they would fill up with people; apparently, a local law mandated regular training from every citizen.

  Bai Guo had changed out of his investigator uniform and discarded every possible association to the Jianghu Investigative Bureau. There was simply no telling when his unpredictable master might deign to make her appearance, and the thought kept him restless and tense at all times. As the young man explored the city, he squandered the gold his master had given him for his travels on every luxury that passed him by, hoping the frivolities could ease his anxious heart.

  When his wealth finally ran out, he ceased his daily wanderings and wasted his days away at a lavish inn he had carefully picked out among many others.

  Even with everything that had been said and done, doubts still gnawed at him relentlessly. Bai Guo had it arranged with the Bureau that they would discreetly notify him when his master had entered the city, so there was not much left for him to do but try and drink his worries away.

  And though he had believed himself prepared, trouble managed to find him all the same.

  A servant approached his room.

  "Young master, there's a woman outside, asking for you." He explained. "She won't give her name."

  Bai Guo felt a chill run down his spine. The drink ceased its hold on him.

  "What did she look like?" Bai Guo asked. When the man gave him a description that did not match his master at all, he breathed a sigh of relief. But still he felt that something was amiss, and decided to take his sword with him.

  Outside, he found a woman dressed in black. Bai Guo knew he recognized her instantly, but still couldn't believe his eyes.

  "We meet again, Bai Guo." Liao Lan called out. "Do you remember me?"

  "You're... my benefactor, lady Liao!" He exclaimed. "You saved me from the Kunlun Sect!"

  "So you do remember." She maintained an aloof air of subtle displeasure.

  "How fortunate!" Bai Guo said. "I thought I'd never get the chance to thank you properly."

  "So you claim to be thankful?" Liao Lan scoffed. "But would someone truly grateful try to hide a crime against their benefactor?"

  "How have I offended you, lady Liao?" He stammered.

  "You dared to offend my precious disciple, and now you feign ignorance?" Liao Lan pressed. Her words alleviated none of Bai Guo's confusions. The woman sighed, shaking her head. "It's too late to be sorry now."

  At that moment, a frowning girl stepped up behind her. She turned up her nose at the sight of him.

  "You're...!" Bai Guo exclaimed again, but then the wind quickly left his sails. "...That girl from the Kunlun tournament!"

  "I am Shao Luli." The girl's frown deepened. "I've had enough of your disrespect! Receive my stance!"

  "What?! Wait!" Bai Guo sputtered, but Shao Luli drew her sword and lunged at him. To the young man's shock, she was fast; quicker than he expected, and more importantly, quicker than he remembered her during the trials.

  Bai Guo hastily drew his sword. But just as he prepared to ward off the blow, he felt a gust of wind behind him as Liao Lan appeared at his heels. The master was so much swifter than the disciple that he hadn't seen her move at all.

  Though she hadn't done a thing and merely stood there, it was enough to distract him, and he tarried in his defense.

  Shao Luli's sword plunged into his gut. Bai Guo's eyes widened, his complexion turned pale. Everything had transpired so quickly, so suddenly, that at first he couldn't even feel any pain.

  The moments dragged on. Sweat dripped down his head as he braced himself for the agony to come. But it was like his body shut down. Still he couldn't feel the wound.

  And still...

  ...And still...

  "...It's a toy." Bai Guo frowned.

  Shao Luli drew back her blade. She demonstratively pressed her palm against the tip of the sword. The weapon folded into itself.

  The two women cackled fiercely.

  "Why would you do that?!" Bai Guo cried out.

  "Oh, don't begrudge us, little brother." Liao Lan forced out through her fits. "We've been on the road for so long! Your little playacting lifted our spirits right up! Thank you for playing along with us!"

  "You really have a talent for it! It was so convincing!" Shao Luli added. "It's like you really were about to give up the ghost! You've improvised such a marvelous little act for us!"

  Their laughter drowned out Bai Guo's incessant grumbling. But some spiteful word of his finally drew their ire and they shot him cold glances.

  "You were about to show your gratitude, right?" Liao Lan asked. A smirk curled her lips; she hid it behind a sleeve just a moment too late. "Go on then."

  "You...!" Bai Guo's face glowed red. He was eager to pay his respects not so long ago, but the situation had changed. But still, it was the proper thing to do, so what choice did he have? His knees hit the stone road and he prostrated himself before his savior.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Shao Luli was so thrilled by the sight that her little hands curled into fists and her arms swayed slightly at her sides. Her eyes frantically darted between her master and the crumpled Bai Guo beneath her feet. Liao Lan cared little for Bai Guo, but instead relished in her disciple's joy.

  Once the two had finally had their fill, Liao Lan let Bai Guo up.

  "Good boy." Liao Lan cooed. "You can get up now. We need to talk in private."

  They entered his room. Just when Bai Guo assumed that the worst was finally behind him, Liao Lan began to explain her purpose.

  "We met under very strenuous circumstances and have never had the chance to introduce ourselves properly. I am Liao Lan. I dedicate my humble skills to service to the common people. This is my disciple, Shao Luli, whom you're already acquainted with."

  "In the jianghu they call my master Unrivaled Heroine Liao." Shao Luli pitched in. "You'd best remember that."

  Liao Lan continued, "Not so long ago, I became your master's disciple, which makes us martial siblings. This Liao Lan greets you, martial brother Guo."

  Liao Lan cupped her hands and bowed.

  Bai Guo gaped at her, the words stuck in his throat. The younger woman's glare snapped him out of his stupor and he hastily returned the bow.

  And as he did so, a thought crossed his mind. "Wait a minute! Doesn't this grant me seniority over them? This makes me miss Liao's senior martial brother! And Shao Luli, being the disciple of my master's disciple, is my martial niece!"

  When Bai Guo lifted his head, he felt momentarily emboldened by his realization. But behind their polite smiles, lurking in the two women's eyes was a prevalent yet subtle disdain, and suddenly his tongue wouldn't turn to announce his discovery.

  "If I bring it up now," Bai Guo thought, "They might prank me with a real sword next."

  Liao Lan said, "You see, I was tasked with ensuring that you'll receive your master properly." She glanced around the room. "I see you've picked out a fine establishment, but why haven't you prepared this place for her?"

  "I'm renting the next room over just for her..." Bai Guo explained.

  Liao Lan shook her head. "For a woman such as your master, how could you think that might be sufficient? How could someone of her fame and stature possibly find any peace in a place where she would be gawked at endlessly by every passing stranger? You should have rented out this whole place."

  "This place has hundreds of rooms!" Bai Guo protested. "I can't afford that."

  Liao Lan offered the young man a pitying smile. "Well, aren't you glad that in her infinite wisdom your master sent me to help you? Just leave it all to your auntie Lan."

  Bai Guo winced ever so slightly, thinking, "Not even if the heavens come down on my head am I ever calling her that."

  He put on a forced smile and bowed in gratitude, letting her do as she pleased. And indeed within the day the guests and visitors began to clear out of the establishment. Bai Guo scratched his head, but had little desire to inquire into Liao Lan's methods. From the brief glimpse he had had into her character, he figured that he wouldn't enjoy knowing about them. The two of them settled into another room nearby.

  Bai Guo had more pressing matters to worry about. Knowing that his master would arrive any day now had his heart beating like a drum. With their eyes on him, and the inn turned into such a conspicuous, empty place, he had no way to get in touch with the Investigative Bureau, and they likewise wouldn't be able to pass a message to him either. He had no choice but to wait.

  But something about the two women's presence helped Bai Guo pull himself together. Perhaps it was the shock they put him through that jolted him wide awake. He ceased the drinking and returned to habitual practice with the sword. The sight of his master's figure performing his father's sword moves had been forever burned into his mind, and even his bout of idling couldn't hamper the accuracy his recollection.

  One day, as he was practicing the stances in the courtyard, Liao Lan approached him with a polite smile.

  "Brother Guo, have you been practicing your master's internal energy method?" She asked.

  "I try from time to time, but I haven't progressed much." Bai Guo explained. "I don't dare attempt it for more than a little bit at a time. It's just too dangerous. Why do you ask, senior?"

  "My disciple and I have both been taught the method as well, and though I am also incapable of practicing it for very long without master's aid, I managed to at the very least use some of my meager knowledge of meridians to guide Shao Luli through the earliest stages. I suspect brother Guo is still around the same level. What would you say if auntie Lan helped you out in the same fashion?"

  The moment Bai Guo thought back to what the practice looked like, where every misstep was potentially fatal, with his life and future constantly in his master's hands, and imagined this woman in her place instead, a shiver ran down his spine.

  To bare his back to this viper?!

  "...Not a chance." Bai Guo rejected her flatly. The words were out of his mouth before he knew it. He had no opportunity to soften the blow.

  "Are you sure?" Liao Lan pressed on, her smile tightening. "It might not leave master with a good impression if she discovers that you've been slacking while she was gone."

  "I appreciate the offer," Bai Guo lied, "But no."

  By now her face was taut like a bowstring, ready to snap at any moment. She suddenly began to walk towards him, and the young man subconsciously flinched back.

  Liao Lan very gently grabbed his sword hand. Bai Guo put up a slight resistance but it brought him only a brief pang of pain; she pried his fingers apart with ease and took his father's sword.

  "When you're transitioning from the fifth stance into the sixth," Liao Lan suddenly began to explain, "Your elbow is too stiff and you toss your shoulder too far. You're losing out on a lot of speed and power, and it becomes far easier to throw you off-balance."

  She then demonstrated the way she would have performed the moves. Her sword whistled sharply, and Bai Guo, loath as he was to admit it, had an inkling that her observation was sensible.

  Liao Lan gave him back his sword. Bai Guo tried it her way and felt that it was indeed better.

  "Thank you for the hint, senior." He said.

  "You don't need to be so formal with me. Just call me auntie Lan." The insistence within her polite tone held a touch of insidiousness. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

  And then she left.

  Bai Guo shivered again. Whether she intended to earn some extra favor with his master through him, or to simply outright kill him and blame it on his sloppy control over his energies... Bai Guo found himself disliking both outcomes almost equally, and had no desire whatsoever to go so far for a bit of martial progress. Just like Liao Lan's disciple, the master gave him an equally bad feeling, diluted only in part by her rescue of him.

  And so nearly a week had passed. The master-disciple pair gave him plenty of space, and spent most of their time in the city, most likely keeping watch for the Golden Witch.

  Finally, the day had come. At noon Shao Luli rushed into his room, urging him to get ready to receive the grandmaster.

  "Thank you for notifying me, martial niece." Bai Guo said with a little smirk, and the remark he snuck in instantly lit a fierce flame in the girl's eyes. But it was an inopportune time for her to do anything but ignore it.

  Already they could hear several sets of feet hurrying towards them from the hall.

  "I thought I'd be stepping out...?" Bai Guo muttered. "It's not really appropriate to make her come to my room like this, is it...?"

  Shao Luli seemed confused as well, but the party was approaching swiftly. There was little time for them to do anything before the visitors arrived.