The Golden Witch arrived at the village where her disciple was supposed to be making his inquiries only to discover that the settlement was almost completely empty. With her supernatural senses, she instantly realized that Bai Guo was not present.

  Of the four people she perceived in the vicinity, three were martial artists and were moving about from place to place.

  Silently and swiftly, the Golden Witch moved towards the trio. She found them smashing down doors with their axes and tearing houses apart in search of treasure. But each time they would emerge disappointed. The houses had long ago been cleaned out of everything valuable by the fleeing denizens.

  When their eyes coincidentally came across the woman in white, the rogues froze, stupefied by the sight of her. They regained their wits only when she began to walk towards them. One of the three stepped forward, boldly approaching.

  "Hey, lady!" The bearded man called out, giving his best approximation at a friendly smile with limited success. "So you really do exist! Our chief's been looking for you. Why don't you come with us?"

  They soon arrived within reach of the golden woman's arms. One moment the man was standing up, the next, he crumbled hard into the dirt, his neck and shoulder bent and twisted. Though it hadn't looked that way, he was still alive, and his unconsciousness had temporarily spared him the agony of his condition.

  The other two had heard the distinctive thwap of a landed strike, but hadn't seen her white sleeves so much as flutter to make the attack.

  They were instantly struck by terror. To them it looked like their compatriot had been brought down by magic. They turned tail and ran, only to find that the blonde ghost was already behind them, her long arms holding them in place by their collars.

  One of the two fell down, unmoving. The last man struggled even harder, but he felt her long fingers wrapping around his neck, hoisting him up with a single arm.

  "A young man with a sword was at this village. What have you done to him?" She asked, her golden eyes cold.

  "What young man!" The bandit squirmed, speaking fast. "Lady, there's nobody here! We haven't seen a soul! I really don't know nothing! I'm beggin' you, please spare me!"

  The yellow eyes stared him down relentlessly. But the ire within them suddenly slackened, as had her grasp. Apparently, she believed him. The man fell to the ground.

  The Golden Witch hissed inwardly, "I just can't stand him! I knew I shouldn't have let him out of my sight again. Just where did he go? And what am I supposed to do now?"

  The bandit could almost feel the woman's frustrations spiking again. He trembled and desperately kowtowed down in the dirt.

  The Golden Witch finally came to a decision. "Get up. Take me to your chief."

  ...

  Bai Guo arrived at the town and found it on high alert, armed men patrolling every lane and corner, racks of weapons arranged by the door of every house. It seemed that these people were prepared to defend their homes to the last. Bai Guo couldn't help but wonder if it was in vain. Even if they fended off the small fry, what hope did they have against the Sleeping Asura? Perhaps they had an expert of their own?

  Since the townspeople seemed so organized, Bai Guo decided to first investigate from the inside.

  Though the guards stopped him, thinking he was one of Song Quan's brigands, he managed to talk his way past them by claiming to be Wan Bu's city dwelling son from afar, out on a chore to purchase food and medicine for his father. Since one of the guards had heard of the man in question, they let him pass.

  Within the settlement, despite the looming threat, the market square was bustling with activity. The denizens were going about their day seemingly without any worry. Bai Guo searched for someone to ask about the bandits.

  Before long Bai Guo began to feel like he was being watched. On the other side of the square, he discovered a pair of big eyes gaping at him, and his own eyes widened. Even with hair on her head, even without a sword at her hip, he immediately recognized the nun who once claimed to be a monk.

  They struggled to keep their eyes on each other past the ever shifting crowds, leaning and craning their necks as though they were afraid of losing sight of one another for even a moment. When Bai Guo walked to the side, blindly trying to make his way around the people, Chun De traced his steps like a mirror image.

  Bai Guo pointed to the right with his thumb just before he finally lost sight of the girl. Hoping that his gesture was understood, he made his way out of the town in a hurry.

  It appeared that Wan Bu was right. She had been doing some infiltrating of her own.

  He waited for Chun De at a small grove, and soon saw her short figure approaching.

  "Chun De..." Bai Guo muttered. "Hair really does make you look-..."

  But the distance between them suddenly came down to nil. Bai Guo's mind blanked at their sudden proximity. It was only at the very last moment that he noticed the sword in her hand.

  And all throughout, she kept her big eyes on him, unblinking, as though entranced.

  She brought the steel down on him hard. Bai Guo caught it with his father's sword. His feet slid back along the grass. Chun De's knuckles were white as she pressed the sword against him.

  When he hadn't perished beneath her first strike, frustration briefly clouded her features. But then, like a drop of water coming upon a roaring bonfire, it boiled up into a fierce rage. Right before his very eyes her face contorted into a gruesome mask of hatred.

  Never before had Bai Guo been the subject of such intense loathing. He found himself completely overwhelmed.

  "Chun De!" He called out her name as though making a desperate plea.

  "Not another word!" She shrieked.

  Their swords separated for just a moment. Chun De began to rain down fierce strikes like a steel hail. Bai Guo had no desire to remain in reach of her sword. But each time he made to flee, he was stopped dead in his tracks by yet another swing. He simply couldn't shake her off no matter what he did.

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  "Chun De, wait!" Bai Guo gritted his teeth as he warded off blow after blow, his arm growing numb. Even with all the supernatural stamina he had possessed, he knew he wouldn't be able to endure this onslaught for long. "I just want to talk to you!"

  "You killed them!" Chun De wailed. "You and your master! You killed everyone! It's all because of you!"

  "You're right... You're right!" Bai Guo exclaimed. "I'm sorry! I was blind to it, but I understand now! I swear!"

  "What do you understand?!" She screamed. "I wish I could make you understand! I wish I could kill everyone you've ever loved right in front of you just to give you a proper taste! Oh, how I wish I could! And not getting to do that will always be my biggest regret, second only to ever letting you speak to me with that rotten mouth of yours! I'll cut you into mincemeat! And then that master of yours!"

  Pushed to the brink by her ceaseless attacks, Bai Guo attempted to make her back off with a feint. But it was as though she hadn't noticed it at all. Chun De simply ignored what could have been a lethal strike and pressed on with her barrage.

  Bai Guo nearly tripped over his own feet as he scrambled to rectify his failed maneuver. Chun De's sword bit into his side and blood spewed across the grass. Bai Guo only barely got away with his torso still in one piece.

  The pain sent a jolt throughout his entire body. He felt his troubled mind clear up in an instant, and for just a moment his sword felt light in his grip.

  But Bai Guo stayed his hand.

  "You're right!" He called out. "I know I deserve a thousand deaths! But first I want to stop her. And I can't do it myself. And you know you can't do it either! She's just too strong! But there is a way. So please, Chun De, hear me out!"

  Her assault suddenly halted. Her fury was gone. Her countenance had turned so still, so stiff, that it bordered on the unsettling.

  "Drop your sword then. I'll hear you out."

  Faced with her monotone demand, Bai Guo shivered. No matter how much he yearned to do as she said, his fingers refused to slacken.

  Bai Guo knew that to lose hold of his sword meant certain death.

  Because what she said was nothing more than the brazen lie of someone not at all used to deception.

  There was nothing but coldness and cruelty in those big eyes of hers. Bai Guo was certain that Chun De would run him through before he'd get to say a single word.

  And that was when it truly hit him.

  He could not talk his way out of this. Every word he rallied to the cause would only make her hate him more and more. And as her hatred grew, so would the insidiousness of her methods.

  This was not the Chun De he was used to, but the demon that the old monk Exorcist had painstakingly attempted to suppress.

  And the demon wanted him dead, no matter the cost.

  As if she could smell the fear on him, Chun De realized the pointlessness of her attempted restraint. She gritted her teeth until they nearly snapped and charged at him once again.

  And as Bai Guo's arms grew ever weaker under the weight of her blows, he knew that there was very little time left for him to make his decision before it would be made for him.

  With no options left, Bai Guo braced himself. But even with his mind made up, at his level of skill, there was nothing he could do but gamble with his life and pray for the best. If he had hoped to stop her, he had no choice but to match her mad rhythm, to throw himself against her with the same wild abandon.

  Bai Guo lunged forward, performing the First Step. Their swords collided, steel scraping against steel in an ear-splitting shriek. Their blades veered off-target but still struck flesh.

  Chun De's sword sunk deep into his shoulder. Bai Guo's edge pierced into her chest, right above her heart.

  Blood spewed everywhere. Chun De's footing gave away first and she stumbled back. Bai Guo, stunned by the pain, ended up dragged along with her until they hit a tree and collapsed against it.

  When Bai Guo regained his wits, he looked into her big eyes. He found them empty, devoid of life, staring off into nothing. He was frightened, thinking that she had already expired. But then her gaze met his.

  It was as though there was simply no strength left for animosity within her. Chun De looked at him only with disappointment and bitterness. Her skin grew pale as snow. Vermilion pooled in the grass beneath them. And still the blood kept gushing out of her wound without end.

  "I'm sorry, Chun De." Bai Guo's eyes welled with tears. "I never meant for it to turn out this way! If I had known, if only I had known... I would have never...!"

  Chun De looked away with a slight frown. She stared at the blue sky.

  "I thought..." Chun De forced out. "Maybe with enough time... Maybe... I could set him back on the right path. Just like the old man once did."

  Her small body suddenly trembled. She grabbed Bai Guo's arm. Her big eyes stared at him, flickering with the last embers of her life.

  "But if he meets that woman again, there'll be no hope left. I'm just sure of it." With what little remained of her strength, Chun De pleaded, "If you meant even a single word of what you said... Please... don't let them meet..."

  With that final hope on her lips, she passed away.

  "I'm sorry, Chun De..." Bai Guo wept. "But when it comes to her, I just can't do a single thing! Even now, when I finally found a way to stop her... The moment I laid my eyes on her, I gave up on everything so easily! And this is the result. I've just been fooling myself! There's just no end to my excuses! I'm sorry!"

  Cradling Chun De's lifeless body, Bai Guo cried for forgiveness. But his words fell on deaf ears.

  ...