She took on a few low level gathering missions from the alchemy section and left to meet the Undefeated blades mercenary company at Old gate. There were already a group of mercenaries there when she arrived. She took a spot on the ground beside them when she noticed the blade clasps pinned to their shoulders. Li yun arrived at the head of half a dozen armour clad mercenaries as soon as she sat down. The two groups exchanged greetings and news. Some of them noticed her presence when they saw her approach their leader. 

'You didn't change your mind.' 

He commented by way of greeting.

'Boys, this is… what is your name?'

'Bai li yue.' 

She gave him her name trying not to sigh. He hadn't bothered asking her name in the first place or memorising it after looking at her badge. 

'She will be joining us for the mission. Behave yourselves.'

They nodded at her but no one chose to speak to her. They conversed among themselves while they waited for others to arrive. She walked to Li yun to ask about the mission.

'All you need to know is that you work for me. Just follow my orders and you'll be fine.' 

He replied gruffly and ended the conversation. He called one of the members over and asked him a question. This was a dismissal.

She listened to their murmured conversations; hoping to get an insight on the mission. Since the members knew what the mission entailed why couldn't she? She caressed the bow resting on her knee absentmindedly while she listened. She'd gained a new familiarity with the bow after practising these past two days with it. She could definitely understand the appeal of the bow. The sword was dignified, the sabre unrelentless, the spear, determined but the bow was the most ruthless of weapons. While the other required a certain closeness to the foe, the bow didn't. It was removed, almost impersonal.

The last two members arrived apologising for the delay. With their arrival, the mission was underway. The group of fourteen men and herself entered the forest using the road passing through the old gate. They marched into the forest, with Bai li yue staying on the outside near the middle of the group beside two young men who looked like brothers. They conversed in hushed tones but kept quiet whenever she wandered close to them. 

She rolled her eyes. Where were their manners? They were acting like she had the plague or worse.

Their route led the group through the territory inhabited by a tribe of monkeys. The air filled with screams, hoots and grunts as the monkeys on the trees showed their anger at the insolent intrusion. They attacked the front of the group, flinging rocks and branches at the mercenaries. Loathing to be bullied by monkeys, the group charged forward to engage the monkeys. Bai li yue stood to the side and watched them attack the monkeys in groups of two and threes. The fierce fight ended with the tribe's defeat. The survivors fled for the hills hooting and grunting. The fight over, the men went to work skinning the monkeys, packing the meat in salt and distributing it among themselves.

'Hurry up before the blood draws more beasts to this location.' 

Li yun ordered while keeping an eye out for more approaching savage beasts.

They maintained a hard march till nightfall when Li yun called a stop for the day. Like a well oiled machine, the men worked split into different groups to take care of finding dry wood for the campfire while others began preparing and cooking the meat from earlier in the day and setting up tents for the night.  

Bai li yue watched from the side and set up her folded mat on a bed of grass and leaves. If it didn't rain, she didn't see any reason to pitch a tent. She swallowed her saliva when the aroma of roasting meat reached her nose. Her stomach protested loudly when she ignored her hunger. She heard a snort from one of the mercenaries.

'Adventurers do not partake in our meals. We might have reconsidered if you helped to take out the beasts, but you stood and watched others fight. You won't get paid if you don't work.' 

The one speaking was a bald man possessing a wealth of scars on his face. She noticed that the other members deferred to him and even followed his lead snickering at her as they worked. A few members referred to him afterward by name: Gu ding. He was Li yun's second in command and was well respected. She had no problem with him, but he seemed to have a bone to pick with her. 

This much open hostility was uncalled for. Was this adventurer- mercenary business that big of a deal?

Sighing to herself, she took out a long slice of dried spicy buffalo jerky covered in a nutty paste that has become her meat staple after months of travelling. She washed it down with water and honey mixture and called it a night. The sky was inky black with a few stars. The wood in the campfire crackled softly in the background. She lay down and closed her eyes until she felt the camp activity grind to a halt. There were two guards on watch, while the others rested in their tents. 

Gu ding was inside Li yun's tent. It was her best chance of finding answers to her questions. She slipped out of bed and skirted around the tents keeping to the shadows. She stopped behind a tree near li yun's tent and concentrated. The long distant arrow skill didn't only train the eyes. It also trained the ears. It had taken her a few tries to focus her hearing. It took a little effort to eavesdrop on their conversation. Gu ding was talking.

'What were you thinking, Li yun, bringing a stranger along with us? If this mission fails you'll be to blame.'

'I admit that she's a bit suspicious, it's strange that neither the Strong bulls nor the Black hawks have made any moves so far.' 

'Hmph! If she is suspicious, you should have refused her the job.'

'And then what? We wouldn't know what they are up to. Your brother-in-law at the guildhall won't talk because he leaked the information to us and I have instructed the men to keep silent on the mission target. We can trust our men to be loyal. As yet, the other companies don't know about this new mission. I'm certain of it. She might simply be a spy sent to fish for information'

There was a lull in the conversation.

'So how do you plan to deal with her. I'm up for silencing her. Accidents happen all the time in these parts, no one will question us about a missing adventurer. Those Black hawks have stolen most of our business. I say they deserve it.'

Bai li yue's eyes narrowed until they were thin slits. They were contemplating killing her. Why? It was the very first time in her life experiencing such a mind boggling situation. She'd done nothing except take a job. Despite the animosity, she was still intending to do her job. But murder! They didn't even bother to find out if their suspicions were true. 

 

Da zhou, what have you got me into?

'Not too fast. There is a small chance that she is a nobody. We'd be killing an innocent person. I have a plan to ensure that we complete the mission without anyone knowing. We'll kill two birds with one stone.'

Li yun offered another suggestion to calm Wu ding down.

'I will follow your lead, but if things get out of hand, we'll do it my way. I went to a lot of trouble to get the flood dragon contract and keep it a secret. If we lose it, then our company is done for.'

Bai li yue retreated from the tree and returned to her bed without anyone spotting her. 

A flood dragon! I now understand their caution. People will kill for a mission like that. But, in this case, it's me they're planning to kill. 

The threat on her life was a worrying prospect. She didn't know how to respond to it. Of course, she wasn't about to sit down and accept her death. Now that she was aware of Gu ding and Li yun's thoughts, she could be prepared for all eventualities. However she wasn't going to worry about it until something really happened.

'The undefeated blades hunting a flood dragon, huh?'

From what she knew, flood dragons were rare creatures. They were known as lesser dragons, and like their elder cousins were cruel, but intelligent despots of their territories. Most of the time, they ruled in the shadows from their hidden watery caves. 

'The client must have supplied the location too. Unfortunately, their appetite is bigger than their stomach.'

She turned over and meditated until morning. 

At daybreak, she cleared her sleeping area and sat nearby to wait for the company to break their fast and pack up. The following days passed like the first. 

An unfortunate encounter with sword beak roc forced a few of the members to retire from the front line with injuries. The roc flew off trailing blood behind it. 

The retired mercenaries slowed the company down. Gu ding started pulling her to the front whenever a beast attacked the group. She'd never felt any goodwill toward him but ever since she'd overheard their plans for her, it stood to reason that she didn't want to be near any place where she could be stabbed in the heat of battle. The bow came in handy during the times when she was forced to fight with them.

On the second week of marching, she couldn't take Li yun ignoring her and approached the two brothers.

'Hey, question. Do you two know if we are reaching our destination any time soon? I have another mission starting soon. It would be disastrous if i missed it.'

Instead of a reply, they gave a collective glare. 

'I was hoping for an answer instead.'

'Better mind your business, adventurer!'

'Oh good!'

She turned to face Gu ding. She didn't know when he'd crept up behind her.

'Gu ding, is it?'

'What's it to you?'

'Nothing. But you might want to dial back the attitude.'

'What if i refuse? What are you going to do about it? Are you, a filthy adventurer, going to teach me a lesson?'

She didn't know how it was even possible for the word adventurer to become an insult. 

'I'm not doing this! You're goading me into a fight.'

'Am i? Am i?'

Bai li yue shook her head and distanced herself from him.

 

Great! The whole company is against me. It's only a matter of time before they decide it's too much trouble keeping me alive.

Bai li yue was in a tough situation. She couldn't abandon the group and return to Guangyu city without them believing that she was a real spy for the other companies. They were certain to give chase if she even entertained the notion. She wasn't in the mood to flee from their pursuit. Being pursued by snakes in the forest made her aware of how exhausting being pursued was. 

Staying with them wasn't a better option either but the chance to see a flood dragon of legend made the present treatment strangely worth it. To see a flood dragon! Just the thought of the once in a lifetime experience was exciting. She planned to stay as far away as possible from the creature. If they were so sure of themselves, they could walk to their deaths without her.