Lin Yang froze with indecision. For one thing, he doubted he could escape from this Yang Yi with his current abilities. But that was no matter. He knew the risks before he decided to mess with him and the others that morning. A little pain was worth it to farm those ripple points.

The reason he was so undecided was because of his present company. He was going to implicate Yu Mo and the others in this struggle if things went on the way they were going. They were trying to keep their heads down for some reason, but now they'd be implicated for being close with him. 

Lin Yang couldn't help but sigh. It was hard to believe he'd only been in the outer sect less than a few hours. He'd already amplified the one-sided enmities he'd had before, and was now probably the target of the whole damn place. 

He took a step forward, looked Yang Yi in the eye, and spat to the side. 

“It's fine. I know what I did wrong, brother Yang. I'm willing to follow you without any struggle.”

“Like you have a choice,” Yang Yi snorted. 

Lin Yang took another step forward but took the chance to subtly signal backwards with his hands. It was a plea for them to go, to hurry before Yang Yi paid them too much attention.

Yang Yi’s eyes narrowed, as if he'd seen the signal. Then his eyes widened, and Lin Yang felt a moment of dread. Had he just given his enemy an idea?

“Water always finds its level, they say. You've found yourself a few fellow trashes to band with, huh?”

“What fellow trashes? These random guys just happened to be walking the same way I was, so I joined them for a bit,” Lin Yang tried again.

“Why would I believe what you say, waste? You and your friends will know the meaning of pain today! Come to think of it, the three of them still have their cultivations intact,” Yang Yi said with a cruel smirk.

Lin Yang took a step back, not quite understanding the emotions roiling through his gut. It wasn't that he liked them or anything. He only didn't want to get others involved, because then there would be guilt and other emotions, and maybe even a sense of belonging.

“Go!” a stern voice said from behind him. 

Lin Yang was confused, but then Yu Mo dashed past him, somehow faster than he'd ever shown before. Lin Yang heard the crack of bony flesh on flesh, and suddenly Yang Yi was yelling. Yu Mo had slapped him straight on the face, but the slap had achieved nothing except enrage Yang Yi.

Lin Yang didn't understand what they were doing. At least until a large hand fell onto his shoulder. He looked back to meet the normally distracted eyes of Ru Gou, the largest member of the team. And then he was summarily lifted by the waist and placed on Ru Gou’s shoulder.

“Haha, I'm the greatest dancer of the Hehuan sect, the world famous Yu Mo! Today, I shall teach you the best version of the joyful steps technique, practically!”

Lin Yang couldn't see what was happening back there, as he was busy dangling on the back of a giant. He didn't understand what was going on at all.

At least until Ru Gou about turned with him still hanging on. Now Lin Yang saw Yu Mo. The ratty boy had a big goofy smile on his face, running about, surrounded by five others. He was playing around with them with some beautiful, almost magical footwork.

The gigantic Ru Gou started running, Lin Yang's world started shaking violently. The last thing he saw was Yu Tangming coming out of nowhere and ambushing one of the five people surrounding Yu Mo. Her palm seemed to shine with qi, meaning she was probably using a technique.

He heard people screaming and scrambling to get out of the giant's way. Here and there, menial labourers carrying baskets of laundry and other things also tumbled.

This kind of thing was illegal, but apparently it happened more often than anyone in the inner sect knew. The Outer sect elder had implied as much.

But then Lin Yang it hit Lin Yang . If said elder realised Yu Mo and Tangming had used their qi to help him, wouldn't they be in trouble? Because if he was the elder, he'd only turn a blind eye when it benefited him. He was the authority, after all. Abusing his power was not hard at all. But why did elder Hao have so much power in the outer sect to begin with?

He was still lost in his head when he noticed both of Yu Mo and Tangming alighting on either side of the big guy. 

“Alright, Mo, think you can find us a way to get to the skill pavilion fast? At this rate, it doesn't matter if everyone knows where we are.”

“Got it,” the little boy said, although Lin Yang noticed he was breathing heavily already. This was taking a bit of a toll on him.

“You think you can escape!” Yang Yi screamed as he and his gang gave chase.

But they weren't the only ones after Lin Yang in the outer sect. 

And he had no choice but to stay quiet on Ru Gou's shoulder. He watched as his three acquaintances hustled to run through the paths of the outer sect. 

Yu Mo seemed to practice a movement technique, so he was the fastest. Tangming was only able to barely keep up by using qi to power her body. She practiced a palm technique. Even though it was offensive enough, Lin Yang knew this palm technique was stronger in defense. It was the original's favourite technique.

The giant seemed to be tasked with keeping Lin Yang in his grasp. He wasn't even using qi, but he could effortlessly keep running after the other two. 

They stayed on the main paths, for some reason. Lin Yang would have expected them to take the side streets, but every few metres he'd see small alleyways. The group never took them though, preferring to stay on the larger paths.

And then they came to a path surrounded by fenced buildings. These were probably the private abodes of the strongest people in the outer sect. The outer sect was like a large version of the halls of the outer sect. 

Here and there, Lin Yang could see a few street vendors. Here was a group of labourers getting in and out of houses with baskets of laundry. The walls surrounding these private houses were about a few inches taller than six feet.

And then suddenly, Lin Yang heard a familiar bellow from up ahead, where he couldn't see. 

Ripple points obtained (anticipation): 0.1 (Ye Haotian)

They were to be hemmed in from both front and back, yet they continued running forward; at least until Yu Mo turned suddenly, climbing over one of the fences with hand holds Lin Yang hadn't seen before. The giant, Ru Gou, only used his right hand to get a hold of the top of the wall, his left hand still supporting Lin Yang. He didn't see how Yu Tangming did it, but she was also not to be left behind. 

They kept running, always following the bigger paths. For options, Lin Yang realised. 

Because on another path, the thuggish gang leader also appeared, surrounded by his gang, twirling a bunch of daggers and tasting them with his tongue. Yu Tangming threw a bunch of baskets filled with dirty clothes and rubbish at them; and Lin Yang's group found themselves forced to step off the main path. Luckily there were lots of side paths to choose from. 

As he bobbed up and down on the uncomfortable shoulder ride, Lin Yang got his first sight of the technique pavilion. At least he could finally see it, he thought. But that may not be such a good thing. It was too far.

But they never stopped running, circling. Always getting closer.

And then it was the final stretch, the home run. They were on a path bounded by well trimmed shrubs. It was a straight path, strewn with gravel, and it led straight to the technique pavilion. 

Ru Gou ran, Lin Yang was jostled, up and down, but he could see the path under him. They were getting closer and closer when suddenly…

“Shit!” he heard Tangming’s voice yell. “How did they know we were going here?!” 

“I mean… it's not that hard to guess. This is only one of two places they wouldn't be able to touch us. Three, if they knew about the hide out. I'm guessing they just gambled,” Yu Mo stated, cheerful as always, even with his words coming out in pants.

“That was rhetoric!” Yu Tangming snapped.

“I was also just rumbling on, you know? Trying not to panic,” Yu Mo said. “But how are we going to get through this?!”

“Gou, throw!” Yu Tangming said.

Now, Lin Yang heard their panicked dialogue, but he couldn't exactly see what was going on ahead. But when Tangming said throw, he heard this sinking feeling. And then he was held by his waist again, and tossed bodily into the air, like he weighed nothing.

And then he was tumbling uncontrollably. The ground came closer and closer with every bound. How high had he even been thrown? Was he going to go out with a splurt? Again?

He could see a group of chasers from behind them on the path. And in front, in their path, he could see the beefy gang leader surrounded by a wall of equally beefy men. He had his hands folded across his distended chest, and his lips curved in a smirk. And yet Yu Mo and the others were still charging him.

When he was less than two feet from the ground, he felt something collide with him in mid-air, and then he was being gently shifted. 

In the end, he was nestled in the arms of a girl… like a baby; in a princess carry.

“I got him!” Yu Tangming called out. “Gou, chargeee!”

And the normally reticent giant let out a roar as his speed suddenly skyrocketed. He wasn't using any techniques yet, but pure qi manipulation. Yu Mo was right on his tail, and Yu Tangming wasn't far behind. 

He might have been in an embarrassing situation, but Lin Yang found himself hugging her waist. He held on to her firm waist as hard as he could.

“Hey, you're cutting off my blood circulation!” she yelled.

“...Sorry…”

“And why are you so damn heavy?!” 

“Princess!” Yu Mo guffawed from a few inches ahead.

Ru Gou's charge finally had the wall ahead getting a bit antsy. Because there was a faint, barely perceptible quivering of the Earth with every step the giant took.

By the time they started to get wary, it was already too late. Ru Gou slammed into Ye Haotian in the centre, and like ten pins the wall started to collapse. But the guy at the centre of the collision, even while circulating qi, must have broken a bone, and he was sent flying at least two metres back. 

Without pausing to survey the situation, Yu Mo jumped over the collapsed wall. And Tangming followed soon after. They were already in the compound, but could not stop just yet. 

First off, they were driven by adrenaline, and second, the enemies didn't seem like they wanted to stop.

“Lin Yang, what are you doing?!” a voice he'd heard for the first time that morning sounded out, as if projected on the air.

Suddenly, on the path far behind them, but still visible, elder Hao Feng appeared, approaching the pavilion at speeds the human eye could barely perceive, like teleportation. 

“I knew you were a bad seed! Barely a few hours and you're already causing this much trouble in my outer sect?! Do you think you are above the law?!”

“Don't stop running!” Lin Yang yelled.

Not that they needed his warning. They were part of this whole mess now, and they knew it too. 

The double doors of the pavilion were only a few feet ahead. It was a matter of striding forward and pushing the doors open, and they'd hopefully be safe.

“You think you are safe?! Wishful thinking!” elder Hao said.

And his aura sharpened, as if it was focused on only one place. Before Lin Yang knew it, all of them were pinned, unable to move so much as a muscle. The elder stopped running, instead choosing to approach them slowly, a smirk plastered on his face. He shook his head in mock disappointment.

Ripple points obtained (glee): 0.1 (Luo Feng)

“I thought you'd last longer than a day. Oh, and you've given me another gift, ho. How well you three hid yourselves.” He clicked his tongue.

“Outer sect elder Hao Feng, what do you think you are doing?” a gentle voice spoke from behind the hardwood double-doors that were oh so close.

Hao Feng frowned, obviously not used to this kind of situation. But then his face hardened and his back straightened.

“I'm trying to punish my charges,” Hao Feng said dismissively. “What's it to you?”

“Are you flaunting the laws of my pavilion?!” The doors seemed to quiver a little.

“Are you the elder of the pavilion?” Hao Feng asked. “Great, go and report to the council of elders. But these brats are not going anywhere today.”

“This is the technique pavilion. Even the grand elder, nay, even the matriarch would have to obey the laws if she came here.”

Lin Yang wondered where this, even if firm, intrinsically gentle and wise sounding voice came from. Was it some sort of artifact spirit? Or maybe there was someone projecting their voice to them. 

But elder Hao Feng seemed to be done with the talking. He suddenly lunged, a burst of aura once again attacking the four on the ground. His shadow fell over them as he got closer. Lin Yang's eyes widened in panic. He tried to force himself to move, but he couldn't extricate himself from Tangming's hands. 

Then Hao Feng collided with a force field that hadn't been there before. He bounced off with an explosive boom, flying metres away. All that force was supposed to be used to crush Lin Yang and the others.

“A mere outer sect elder dares to act presumptuous at the technique pavilion? Do you truly know nothing of the sect's protective formations?” the voice of the pavilion asked, sounding gently incredulous.

Lin Yang, and he was sure everyone else, watched elder Hao disappear. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

“You children…hoo, I wonder how you'll survive this storm. I see what has been happening in the outer sect over the last year. A lot of good seedlings lost, and yet I dare not interfere. If it is fated, it will be. I hope your fate doesn't end here, children. This is the best I can do for you," the voice of the pavilion said.

And it was directly addressing the four of them. They all nodded, not really having expected even this much. 

But the things happening in the outer sect started to carry larger implications. What did the voice mean about the happenings in the outer sect? What was elder Hao's meaning, when he talked of Yu Mo and the others hiding well?

Was elder Hao connected to why they were 'secretly plotting to enter the inner sect'? And why was he clearly using a false name? Well, there was no evidence for that, but the ripple system knew. 

“Now, little brat, I heard what you said to Su Liang yesterday in the council chamber,” the voice said disapprovingly.

Lin Yang was taken aback. He had said quite a lot, especially after he got frustrated with the grand elder.

Suddenly, he could feel someone next to him, breathing down his neck, studying his body intently. Something struck him on his shin.

“Ouch!” Lin Yang cried at the pain in his knee. 

“You best remember not to respect the old, damn brat! I will be watching you. As for the rest of you,” the voice now addressed the compound at large. “remember this is my technique pavilion. If you cause trouble here, your fate will not be half as good as that elder's.”

As Lin Yang got his feet under him, he looked back, only to be shocked by how many people were still there and watching the drama. About a hundred and fifty, half the numbers of the whole outer sect were there, watching the four of them.

It dawned on Lin Yang that maybe he wasn't the centre of attention this time. His three mysterious acquaintances were.