Rumours were already running rife among the gathered crowd, but no one believed that he'd fled. Some reported seeing a flying figure fly away with Shen duyi. 

'Was it an elder?'

'Friends, i'm sure it was Shen duyi's invisible guard that took him away.'

Bai li yue had cast off her hooded cloak as she walked around the valley. Tan fu sat up when he saw her.

'Bai li yue, you're still alive?'

'I'm too lucky to die in a place like this. Senior Tan fu, i only now arrived in this region and heard what happened. Where is Lei huojin now? Is he doing well?'

He took her to a camp a day's walk from the valley, where they found Lei huojin nursing his missing arm, a forlorn look in his eyes. Bai li yue had an idea what he was going through. He was in mourning and mourning was something she knew all too well. What he needed was someone to take his mind off the situation and release him from the thought cycle he was currently stuck in. They could do that by moving him to anger or laughter. She fixed a bright smile on her face and called out to him. 

'Lei houjin!'

He looked over in her direction and smiled when he saw her very much alive. The sullen look dissipated.

'Bai li yue! You didn't die. I saw you fall.'

'I was very lucky. I landed on a rock. Another platform picked me up later on.'

'Is that what happened? I'm glad you didn't die?'

'I'm also glad you didn't die. The scholar with one beauty on each arm can only hold one beauty. How unfortunate!'

'Lei huojin, how about changing your title to one armed swordsman?' 

Tan fu jested, taking a cue from her.

'Bai li yue, now that my dream is gone, why don't you become the only beauty on my arm?'

Tan fu's eyes narrowed before he turned away. 

Lei huojin was an idiot. His blindness was turning their friendship into a love triangle.

Bai li yue stopped insulting her grieving friend and laughed instead. 

'Do you want me to die an early death? Lei huojin, do you know how many wo- people are dying to make you theirs?'

'What about you? Don't you want to make me yours?'

'I'm sorry, my friend. I value my life too much to do that.' 

She joked, turning away from his intense gaze. It was too much for her to handle. She'd have to be a fool to not notice the emotions reflected in his eyes. But she didn't feel like facing it. Now or ever. Lei huojin wasn't a bad person. Even with a missing limb, he was bound to find someone to love. She just didn't see herself as that person. It didn't require much thinking she just knew it.

'I asked senior Tan fu, but he refused to answer me. Tell me why you fought with Shen duyi. Was it because of a precious treasure?'

'You could say so.' 

He expertly dodged the question. 

'But i lost it… and my arm too.'

The empty sleeve moved in the breeze accentuating the loss. 

'The blue swallow swordsman is known as the sword king of turtle rock mountain. He lost a leg and an arm to a withering curse, but he never gave up the sword. He learned to use the sword again with his remaining hand and became a famed swordsman equal to Zi yiming, the swordsman of the north.'

'See? Bai li yue is right. If anyone can do it,it's you Lei huojin.' 

Tan fu said, taking a seat at the other side of his friend. There was no reason to tell him about the fight that had just taken place. He would hear of it sooner or later from other people.

Bai li yue spent the remainder of the time with Lei huojin and Tan fu. The former was beginning to drift out of the gloom of losing his arm. He still missed his arm, reaching out to pick a cup or touch his face only to come up empty. But he was getting used to the situation; bit by bit. Other members of the leaderboard dropped by to visit and offer encouragement. 

Fifth place, Dong hulin, hero of the people, was his usual self: dirt faced and absent minded. He had gone off alone in search of a legacy using an obscure map he'd drawn based on research. He'd found something but couldn't make sense of it. Aware of Tan fu's special fascination for languages, he came to ask for help in deciphering the script on an old watermarked book he'd found half buried in mud, alongside a skeleton. 

He stayed glued to Tan fu's side while he worked on the text. Bai li yue checked in on them a few times. Tan fu became more and more engrossed in his work and Dong hulin grew more impatient with him. Whenever it got too stuffy in the tent, Tan fu would sit outside mulling over the letters he was no closer to decoding. He and Dong hulin had come to the conclusion that the writing originated from a place outside their spheres of knowledge. They took to discussing their ideas and theories out in the open. The theory they favoured the most was that of a dead empire. The skeleton most likely belonged to a remnant of the dead empire. Bai li yue, who was an avid follower of their discussions finally got a peek of the book. They showed it to her during one of their theory sessions and she'd been hard pressed not to show her surprise. She almost wept seeing those familiar writing style. The book wasn't the mystical cultivation manual they believed it to be. Rather, it was a record of various magistrate court proceedings in the Heibei province at the turn of the twentieth century. There was a hurriedly scribbled note that trailed off into nothing on the first page of the book… the dying message of the dead man. He was a government official sent to the province by the governor to inspect the work of the city magistrates. An earthquake struck the province in the early hours of morning. He'd been among the survivors, but his luck didn't last for long. Another earthquake struck during the day taking the lives of many of the survivors. The earth swallowed him into its dark depths. He woke up alone, his body broken and life ebbing from his body. He had only a few minutes of life left in him. Those precious minutes were used to pen the message. 

She didn't have the heart to tell them the truth, but seeing Tan fu day in day out stumped for answers, she revised her earlier decision. 

'Senior, the manual isn't what you think it is.' He looked at her open mouthed.

'Did you discover something?'

'Not every word. I knew a hermit who collected books from all over the continent. He taught me a little of what he knew.'

Quickly glossing over the lie, she gave him the gist of the book. Tan fu disappeared back into his tent and returned with the manual for more explanation. She gave him enough information to convince him that she knew what she was saying. He called Dong hulin over and they spent the next day asking her questions and making notes. With her help, they managed to translate a few pages of the book. Dong hulin left the camp, more excited than before. He was going back to the site to find more things. What he had found was evidence of a realm traveller. It was an invaluable relic. 

Bai li yue couldn't say that she was surprised. Another man's meat was another's poison. What was an ordinary book to her, was a treasure in this world.