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If she wanted to protect herself and live to see the wonderful sight, she knew that she needed to prepare. At night, lying on her bedroll, when nobody was looking, she started working on an array formation that was familiar to her. It was the one she'd used to spy on the elders during the provincial tournament when Qi rong fei had been summoned before Wu dong shi. 

In between the loops made by the night guards, she discreetly cast the array on a tiny stone tablet. Now where to stash it? Hiding the tablet in Li yun's affairs or those of his lieutenant was too risky. The next best option was to slip it into the rucksack of one the members who was always hanging out near them. It would allow her to have eyes and ears without needing to be present.

After another week of travelling, the spying paid off. Li yun finally called a halt to the strenuous march at midday. They stopped near a stream. The men drank from the stream and refilled their water skins while he called Gu ding and a few of the men in for a private discussion. 

Noticing the movement, Bai li yue activated the array stone that was paired to the one she had hidden on one of the mercenaries. The discussion had already begun when she tuned in.

'-already know your mission, Da mo. You leave tonight. Gu ding, you and your men go north while the rest of the men go east and around to flank the den. The rest of the boys will be on spear duty. Gu ding and myself have the highest cultivation, so we will go in to attack. You wait for my signal to attack.'

They conferred some more and agreed to let their men rest for the night. This mission was the most important they had ever taken; maybe the most important they would ever take. There was no possibility for failure. 

Li yun picked two of his men to join Da mo and motioned her to join them. They were finally making a move. Li yun produced a folded map and explained their team's mission. 

'I will now satisfy your curiosity. I refused to answer your questions because our mission is of a sensitive nature. We had to be on our guard against spies.'

He said.

'So am i worthy of your trust?'

'That remains to be seen.' 

'And should i also excuse your company's deplorable behaviour towards me? The Li yun i was recommended to turned out to be a disappointment, but what do i know? I'm only an adventurer.' 

She couldn't resist giving him a jab. The false smile slowly disappeared behind hard eyes. He wasn't amused.

'Believe what you will, but i am known for bringing all my men back alive; not for being kind or fair.'

She couldn't fault him for her beliefs and so looked at the map instead.

'What do you need us to do?'

He took a moment to look at each member of the group before pointing at a spot on the map.

'This is our current position. I have chosen you four specifically to act as a scouting team. Two days west of here lies the cave of the bone corroding spider. The savage beast acts as the guardian of a thousand year golden fruit which is our target. You are not to approach the creature, only study it until our arrival. Understood?'

If Bai li yue hadn't overheard the discussion between Li yun and Gu ding, she might have believed this story. 

'Rest for a while. I'll notify you when it's time to head out.' 

He gave them one last instruction before striding back into the tent that had been set up.

She walked leisurely to a spot under a tree to enjoy the wildfruits she'd picked off a tree. With her small dagger she peeled the skin off the wildfruit. It was tough and bitter unlike the sweet juicy flesh inside. 

She was reconstructing Li yun's plan in her mind. The men in her group had one of two missions. They either had orders to keep her as far away as possible from the real mission or two: overpower and kill her. The thousand year old fruit couldn't possibly exist, she was willing to bet her finger on that.

'Hmm…there's no way i'm foregoing the flood dragon. i didn't remain this patient just to be sent on a decoy mission.  

The four of them set off from the camp just after lunch and headed westward. She had to give the men some credit as they positioned themselves around her.

As if i wouldn't notice.

Night came fast and closed in around them isolating them from the world outside forcing them to make at the foot of a hill. With the fire lighting the small area around their camp, they sat close to the fire to offer them reprieve from the darkness and settled down to wait for morning.

Elsewhere, the silence of the forest ended. A large head followed by a long trunk erupted out of the pool. The large white scaled flood dragon stared at the approaching mercenaries with a cruel gaze. It had been decades since the last group came seeking its demise. They had all died. Every single one of them was now a frozen statue adorning his cold water abode. It had a few more spaces left for newer trophies. 

Roooaaar!

The loud roar that shook the ground. The cold wind froze the ground and the grass. 

The men quickly slapped protective talismans onto the bodies and readied their weapons as they crept closer to the pool. 

Li yun cursed under his breath. He and his men were halfway to where they were supposed to be when a blast of cold wind hit them. Gu ding had been impatient as usual, launching the attack before they were all in place.

'That fool will be the death of us all!' 

He broke into a run racing towards the flanking position. There was no time to waste when the battle had already broken out. He gave the signal to attack: a whistle that pierced through the surrounding area. They charged from the other side of the pool and into the fray. 

The spearmen went first. Their spears whistled through the air like flying snakes in a ring formation. Their job was to distract and restrain the movement of the flood dragon. 

Clank! Clank! Clank!

The spears hit scales that were too hard to pierce through with simple weapons. Li yun reminded his men to activate their talismans if they felt their protective shields failing. He left the spearmen to their job and flew to where Gu ding was preparing to launch another attack. He had already hurled his hand axe when Li yun landed at his side. The silver axe cut through the air. The blade was aimed at the snout of the beast. It cracked a scale and rebounded back to its owner.

'You were told to wait.'

'You were taking too long, boss. Every minute we spend here is another minute for others to notice our business.' 

Gu ding countered matter of factly.

Li yun couldn't argue. He knew how much this mission meant to his friend and long time colleague. They were both desperate: at the end of their tethers. That was the only reason they'd dared to accept this mission that would normally take between fifty and a hundred men. There was no turning back for them now. He channelled his energy into his blade, activated a shield talisman and nodded at his friend. 

'I'm going in. You know what to do.' 

Li yun sped off. His feet eating up the distance between them and the pool. His foot found purchase on a rocky outcrop as he neared his quarry. He sprung into the air, his sword raised over his head.

At this moment, the flood dragon exhaled a puff of frosty breath at him. Li yun twisted his body out of the way, he avoided the full effect of the cold breath. 

A handaxe whistled by and drew the attention and ire of the flood dragon. It roared again, sending chunks of floating ice flying. They blocked the path of the axe and sent it hurtling back to its owner. The chunks of ice crashed into the group of spearmen. Their shields shook under the assault but held fast. Blood dripped from the corners of their mouths as the barrage of ice missiles continued. 

Li yun stood in the air in front of the flood dragon that stared at him like an insect.

'Pesky human pests!' 

The words came out in a guttural tongue. 'None of you shall walk out of this place alive!'

Li yun tightened his grasp on his sword and attacked. The flood dragon ignored the spears and rushed headlong to confront Li yun. 

It slammed into li yun who tumbled back a few dozen metres before catching himself. He righted himself and sprung forward again. The first clash ended in his loss. Their duel- if it could be called one- was unfair to Li yun. 

This time, he avoided the slam attack with a big leap. Another hand axe caught the flood dragon's attention. The next minute, Li yun condensed his momentum and slashed at the neck of the creature. His sword drew a line of blood that quickly frosted over when it came into contact with air. 

The spearmen suffered another assault of ice missiles. The cold was unrelenting and had already seeped into their boots from the ground. It was something they hadn't accounted for. Gu ding was also occupied fighting off the breath of cold air shot at him. He activated talisman after talisman to shield his body against the cold. His own life was in peril. He couldn't come to the assistance of the freezing spearmen. 

'Gaaahhh!!' 

Gu ding roared, pushing back the cold one foot, two feet, ten feet from his body. 

'Fall back!' He ordered them as he hurled his two hand axes to intercept the incoming wave of ice missiles. 

The men quickly responded. They backed away as fast they could slapping more protective shield talismans on their armour. Two spearmen stood where they were. They were frozen solid. They had lost. The expressions of fear and determination were at odds with their imperceptible deaths.

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