A second later, she crouched and rolled to the side. She sensed the killing intent a breath before a handaxe flew over her head. 

'What is the meaning of this?' 

She pointed the arrows in her hand at the handaxe that had almost taken her head off her shoulders.

'Gu ding, is this how you thank your saviour?'

'Die!' 

He roared as he hurled the other hand axe in her direction. She knew it was a distraction because the one behind her was also flying toward her. Attack from the front to hide the army in the rear. Classic!

In the blink of an eye, the bow was back in her hand. She fired two shots in rapid succession and sent the two hand axes off the intended trajectory. A new arrow was in the bow, aimed at Gu ding's head. She wasn't taking any chances.

'What have you done! I'll kill you!' 

He roared in mindless rage. She was a spy. They were in this situation because of her.

'I saved your lives, you foolish old man.'

Li yun who had left to oversee the rest of his men, heard the shout and came back running. 

'Adventurer- Miss Bai. Please-'

'So you know how to beg. I rushed all this way to help you and in return, what do i get when my back is turned? An ax.'

'Take pity on him. Gu ding is in his right mind. This mission was his everything. He had hoped to die if we couldn't succeed.'

'If that's the case then he's better off dead. Better him than me.'

She stared dispassionately at Gu ding. She should release the area and put him out of his misery.

'No, please! Spare him. We, mercenaries, live a hard life. I don't expect you to understand?'

'Why? Because i'm an adventurer?'

She retorted, showing her displeasure. He shook his head but chose not to answer her.

'You saved us from death so there's nothing more to say. Just take your prize and go.'

'Humph!' 

She scoffed. All she wanted was a thank you. 

Not even that, just an acknowledgement of gratitude like not being attacked. 

'I don't want your bounty. You and your men have been incredibly suspicious of me when i've never done anything remotely suspicious. You should thank the heavens that you chose to distance me rather than conspire to murder me as Gu ding had wanted. Otherwise, i don't know what would have become of you all.'

'I am ashamed.'

Bai li yue rolled her eyes. That wasn't an apology. It was a statement of how he felt. 

'Gather what remains of your men and harvest the flood dragon before others who might be in this area come to investigate.' 

She stared at Gu ding lying at Li yun's feet. He had lost his will to fight. 

'Foolish man! Instead of killing yourself, you should devote your life in service to the families of the men you led to their deaths.'

She snarled at him and went to work washing the arrows. 

The coldness in the area lessened now that the flood dragon was dead. The water felt cool on her skin as she submerged her hands in it as she worked. She tested the water several times to make sure, but she didn't feel cold at all. The water was like cold tap water despite the icy vapours rising from the surface. She had been wondering about the flood dragon's wateŕ cave but now that she seemed impervious to the cold, there was nothing stopping her from exploring. She stored her bow and quiver into the spatial ring and dumped her rucksack on the ground. 

Li yun was shouting instructions to his men. There were four of them left. Two had a few wounds and the other two had severe frostbite, but their eyes were bright with excitement. They had survived by some weird coincidence and they were going to be rich men as soon as they arrived back in the city. Two of them stood guard over Gu ding while li yun and the rest began the business of cutting up the body according to its worth. For a creature as legendary as a flood dragon, no part would go to waste. From the scales, to the meat and the bones to its blood: everything was valuable. For now though, the most important thing to harvest was the beast core. They could then find a solution for storing the body to dissect at a later date. All that could wait till they reached safety. 

Bai li yue took a deep breath and slipped into the pool, leaving behind a silent ripple. She dove straight down to the depths. Shafts of light filtered through the surface into the water shedding some light onto the surroundings. Darkness enveloped her as she swam further down. One or twice, she almost turned around but the thought of what lay below, strengthened her resolve. She pushed forward. A hundred metres down, her skin started prickling. The cold was getting to her.

 

Should i turn back? I should turn back.

A few metres down, her foot touched the ground. Her breath was reaching its limit when she spied a glimmer of light. She swam furiously toward the light and fell through an air bubble into an enormous cave. 

White scales littered the ground around her. Going deeper into the cave, she found the frozen status of adventurers tucked into the corners of the cave. The Undefeated blades weren't the first unlucky band of mercenaries to be annihilated by the flood dragon over the years. They might even be the luckiest considering not all of them died and became decorative pieces. She counted up to a hundred statues and then gave up the useless morbid game. 

She picked up several scales and stored them inside her spatial ring. There were a couple of empty cave rooms adjacent to the main cave. She bypassed them and entered the main cave that served as the flood dragon's living quarters. It was the largest cave. She picked up more scales along the way. The cave was dark except for a lone illumination pearl that illuminated the area around the stone bed.

The flood dragon was probably in a long period of hibernation when it was disturbed.

She produced several illumination pearls from her ring and stared in awe at the cave. 

Swords, bows and arrows, scimitars, maces, axes and other types of weapons lay about the cave near the stone bed. All of them exuded cold energy from their blades. After years of being in close proximity to a source of elemental energy, the ordinary weapons were now imbued with cold energy. Further back by the wall was another pile of abandoned weapons. These one lay haphazardly unlike the ones near the bed. The surface of the weapons were covered in frost. They'd grown blunt over the years. There was no time to study them all so she swept everything into her spatial ring. She didn't find much after that except for a few rings and bracelets thrown on the ground. 

She picked up the first one and turned it over in her hand. It looked like any ring, ordinary, nondescript. It reminded her of the ring she wore on her neck. Right. Teacher Chu had told her that the more precious a spatial ring was, the more ordinary it usually appeared. 

She focused on the ring and sensed the space held within the ring. The space was as large as her own. It held several shelves of books, pills, medicinal herbs and mens' clothes, a bed, bones of savage beasts and a store of food that had gone bad after so long. She dumped the food on the floor of the cave and slipped the ring on her finger. The remaining rings and bracelets underwent similar inspection. She dumped food provisions on the floor and slid the ring or the bracelet on an appropriate finger or on her wrist. She had seven rings on her fingers and four bracelets. The gaudiness offended her senses so they joined her personal ring around her neck. She left one ring on her finger. She was planning to give it to li yun for the flood dragon's carcass. Satisfied that she had taken everything of value from the cave, she retrieved the illumination pearls and walked back to the entrance. She broke through the surface of the pond breathing hard. Shivering from the cold, she grabbed her rucksack and found a spot to change into dry clothes. 

Her guards had finally showed up. They were standing beside Li yun giving him a report when she arrived. Most of the members had guilty expressions and avoided meeting her gaze.

As long as they recognised the error of their ways, she wasn't going to rehash the sordid affair.

Li yun and the remaining mercenaries had successfully dragged the 50 foot flood dragon out of the water. The bloody gash in its neck still had cold energy emanating from where its neck had been separated from its body. It would take a few weeks for the cold energy to dissipate from the body. 

Without a word, she stored the carcass inside the ring and threw it to Li yun.

'Let's be on our way. We've already delayed here too long.'

He gave her a nod and gathered the remaining men. The frozen bodies of their former friends were no longer lying about. They'd done their best to bury what remained of them. Li yun walked to her side as they walked back into the forest. His grim look had dissipated somewhat.

'My men told me what happened. You could have left us to die today, but you returned to help us. We owe you our lives. I hope you can forgive us for suspecting you.' 

He wasn't a man who shied from responsibility especially when the other party was graceful.

'There is nothing to forgive. I helped you because i could.'

'Few people are as gracious as you. you also refused to take the prize that was rightfully yours, since you dealt the killing blow.'

'And what would become of your men, your lieutenant and yourself, if i did so?'

'We would survive. It'll be hard for a while-'

'Maybe you and the others will, but not him.' She gestured to a now unconscious Gu ding who was being carried on a stretcher made of wood and grass.

'He wouldn't have survived. Even now, i doubt if he will.'

She murmured. 

'Gu ding has been through a lot. He is a proud man who has suffered too many defeats.'

'There's nothing life likes more than breaking an undefeated blade.' 

She summarised his situation. The statement resonated in the hearts of those who made it out alive. They marched slowly and in silence.

The journey back was slow, but with Bai li yue leading, they avoided most fights. The only time they fought was against a ravenous lone greatwolf. Seeing his men slowly moving to react to the danger, Li yun knew that their mercenary days were behind them. 

Bai li yue fired one of her special arrows at the greatwolf just as it pounced on Li yun. The arrow blasted the creature back the way it came. It fell never to rise. Only a gaping hole remained where its heart used to be. Seeing the savagery contained in a single arrow, Li yun was relieved. The few of them that remained might just survive until they returned home.

One dark night, Bai li yue's ears picked up the sound of movement. Someone was leaving the camp. She took a quick look around and she had her answer. Gu ding. She followed the hunched figure through the trees like a ghost. He ended up at the edge of a cliff. Knowing Gu ding's intentions, she walked out of the shadows, making enough noise to announce her arrival. 

'Go away. Leave me in peace?'

'So that you can fling yourself off the cliff?' She liked the man better when he was being a jerk, she thought. At least then he wasn't a shell of his former self like he was now. The glint of suicidal madness had been present even then, but it had been hidden beneath the surface. Now, there was no need, no need of dissimulation. 

'If you are suffering under the weight of injured pride, then even the heavens can't save you. But if it is guilt for the men who died on that field, then find a way to repay them. Help those they left behind.' 

Gu ding didn't acknowledge her words. If he heard them, he didn't make it known. 

She continued talking, filling the silence with her words and her voice. During the night, the beginnings of an idea was formed from her ramblings. She told him about how he could provide for the families of the dead mercenaries. With the money they end from the mission and the sale of the flood dragon carcass, they could establish a fund for the families of their dead brothers. She detailed her idea not caring if he followed it. He needed a purpose. She was giving him something to keep him alive. 

'Ahhh…'

She yawned. If Gu ding still jumped, she would no longer care after she'd talked all through the night. Just before dawn, she left the quiet man to his contemplation. She figured that if all that talk couldn't dissuade him, then nobody but he, himself could save him. She was glad to hear him limp back to his stretcher in the morning. However, he remained aloof with everyone else including Li yun. 

As the days passed, paths appeared, cutting through the thick vegetation. On the twentieth day of travel, they finally saw signs of life. Their return trip had taken longer due to their unfortunate condition. Gu ding was the worst of the group, the others hadn't gotten away scot free. The four survivors of the battle were suffering from mild to serious effects of cold exposure. A small mercenary group happened upon them and carried the others on similarly fashioned stretchers back into the city. A clamour broke out when they entered the city. 

The guildhall alchemy shop sent for the head alchemist who arrived promptly, but of breath. 

The news had already spread through the city. Several people arrived to meet and question the group. Bai li yue was dismissed after a few questions. She didn't know much; she was an adventurer after all. She took her leave during the ensuing chaos. There was another crowd composed of mercenaries waiting in the hall to hear the fate of the Undefeated blades mercenary company. Those present agreed however, that the mercenary company was done for. Such a loss would be a blight on any company's record. 

During that night, two significant events happened in the city that were tied to the Undefeated blades. Li yun deposited the flood dragon beast core with the guildhall president, earning million gold coins for the company after commission. He also met in secret with appraiser Appraiser Hei kang at the Treasure pavilion.

Appraiser Hei was disappointed by the absence of a beast core, but the full carcass of a flood dragon made up for that. It would fetch the Treasure pavilion a hefty price once it went to auction. He produced a communication stone and sent a quick message to the branch in the capital. 

He finished his conversation a short while later and handed Li yun a purple slate. 

'This is a slate reserved for the highest tier of our clientele. The manager at the headquarters is impatient to see the prize. The slate i gave has a value equivalent to twenty thousand spirit stones.'

That very night, appraiser Hei kang left for the capital. The next day, an attendant delivered a medicinal elixir from the Treasure pavilion to the surviving members of the mercenary company . It soothed their cold limbs and warmed them gently from within and finally eliminating the cold energy. 

Back in the inn, Bai li yue breathed a sigh of relief when she saw no lasting effects of the cold energy to her surroundings. The heap of cold imbued weapons had froze the whole room when she'd taken them out of the spatial ring. The wooden pillar groaned under years of sustained weight. It groaned again and started to splinter. Fortunately for her, she'd quickly stored it away and waited until the cold air to dissipate. In the meantime, she took out the blunt weapons to study. 

'Why are these ones different from the other weapons?'

The dim blades gave her cause for concern. Magical weapons didn't go blunt or dim for no reason.

On the morning of the tenth day, she heard a knock on her door.