“Great, just great,” Ku Lo said as he noticed his hands cuffed by iron. “Good job, dude. You tried to get some cheap pussy and got yourself imprisoned by a psycho.” If he could, he would have patted his own shoulder. 

Still, with time, the notion of self-loathing passed, and so Ku Lo began looking for a way out of this mess. 

Nothing. He didn’t find anything helpful. The sole positive was that Rin Tin Tin had dressed him. I could be strapped to a bed, naked. A cold shudder ran through him.

As the shudders passed, the door to his 'cell' creaked open. Through it entered none other than Rin Tin Tin, the person he had attempted to ‘catch’ but had been captured by. 

“Release me!” he shouted at the girl who wobbled into the room.

“No,” Rin Tin Tin said without raising her volume. “But I did bring you food-” She placed a tray filled with food next to him. “How does that sound?” 

Ku Lo opened his mouth. He was about to repeat his demand, however, as he did so a thought entered his mind. Has reciting one’s demand ever worked for anyone? Thus, he closed his mouth without speaking. 

“You aren’t going to repeat your worthless demand?” 

Ku Lo shook his head, slowly looking down. In here, he was on her terms, at least until someone initiated a search for him. “No need. Our sect should investigate if a new disciple goes missing during a party. They’ll find me before I go hungry for a second.”

“How lost are you?” 

“Says?” Ku Lo stared into her amber eyes. 

Before Rin Tin Tin replied, she took out two medallions from her dress. “This one is mine-” She presented the golden one. “This one is yours,” she said, presenting the bronze medallion. “In short, your notion of us being equal is idiotic.”

For Rin Tin Tin, her words must have made sense, yet for Ku Lo they didn’t. Her words served to confuse him further. “We both entered the sect at the same time,” he pointed out. 

“Why should that make us equal?” 

His light-blue eyes shot off her. It would be so nice to have memories about what happened before I reincarnated here… During most occasions, Ku Lo wasn’t a person to look back, but the current situation was enough for him to do so. 

“Okay, maybe we aren’t equal. But the sect should still look for me.” He gave her an inch. 

“I already told everything to the sect.”

Ku Lo blinked. “Y-you did what?” 

“They didn’t care. The elder to whom I reported the news wished me luck with reining you in.” 

Fright overcame his mind and face. Don’t tell me this is a weird universe where the gender roles are super skewed. I hate those, no matter the writer. 

“This is the Yin and Yang Sect, after all.” 

“So the other sects aren’t like this?” No gender role tag? Good.

“No, they are not,” she confirmed. 

“I should have joined a different sect…” He appeared resigned, though it was an act. So it’s this Yin and Yang Sect which has these rules. Thank the gods! Now he knew he needed to get his sorry ass as far away as possible from this sect of lunatics.

“Did you think every sect would be like the Yin and Yang Sect?” 

To maintain the act, he nodded. 

Rin Tin Tin let out a burst of laughter. 

Ku Lo did not interrupt her. 

“Well,” she said, wiping off a tear forming below her eye. “Good for me, I guess.” 

Ku Lo began tapping his foot. What to do… what to do… The current situation appeared rather hopeless.

“Hey, it isn’t so bad for you either,” she said, taking a seat on a stool. “I did some research on your background, and I would say you are still doing great.”

“What do you know?!” he snapped.

“You hail from a mortal family. Against all odds, you somehow ascended into the ranks of Spirit Foundation cultivators. Also, you took part in the Yin and Yang Sect entrance test because you wanted to save your dying little sister with the sect's help.”

“So you know everything there is to know,” Ku Lo sighed, yet his mind was on the information. 

She hummed in agreement. 

I have a dying little sister? This complicates things.

The lack of memories, acquaintances, as well as no differences from his former body had led him to believe that it had crossed over with him. The fact that his body wasn’t in a cliche state of near-death commonly used in reincarnation stories had further strengthened this belief. 

But Rin Tin Tin’s words revealed a problem. 

For if the body had been created, or if the owner had died of external causes, he would bear no guilt. However, with his newfound knowledge, he felt himself to be the direct cause of his body's former owner ‘dying’.

Now faced with the guilt of — though unintentionally — ending the life of another human being, the idea of redeeming himself by fulfilling the deceased’s wishes was a welcomed one.

How am I going to help my little sister? How do I find her even? Ku Lo became focussed on the matter more than he realistically should have. Maybe she’s ill with something I can treat? 

“Now.” Rin Tin Tin speaking brought him back to reality. “You need to eat.”

He took a look at the tray next to him. What a feast. When the tray had first landed, he hadn’t glanced at the meals on it. But now, he found himself craving for these meals ranging from pork to rare sea-life. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen such luxurious foods.

While one eye devoured the food, he could see her smile with the other eye taking glances. I’ll play along. No doubt was this a well-planned action from Rin Tin Tin, who sought to normalise their relationship or something to that effect.

“Will you uncuff me or feed me?” 

“I-I’ll feed you,” she said with a slightly embarrassed facial expression. 

“Fine.” He didn’t care. “Feed me a piece of pork.” As Ku Lo said so, he nudged his ass on the floor closer to the tray. 

Rin Tin Tin did the same with her stool, her free hand going for the chopsticks on the tray. 

The best meal Ku Lo had ever eaten later, he leaned against the wall of his prison cell with content.

“More?” the girl who had been feeding him for the last half an hour asked. 

“No, thank you.” He couldn’t eat a bite more, even if he wanted. Maybe this isn’t so bad… He caught something wrong in his words. Wait for a second… I almost fell for her tricks! 

“Are you sure? The food will go to waste if you don’t eat it.” 

Scary. A shudder ran through his body. Her charms are way beyond mine. Now that he was once again aware of the meanings of her small actions, he couldn’t but fear her. 

“Yes.” 

She nodded. “Then I’ll take my leave-” She took the tray and stood up. “Shout if you need — anything~” she said by the door. 

Ku Lo didn’t respond as he found his eyes staring at her lower backside. Why did she have to be a maniac?

Such a shame, he lamented, taking his gaze off the person disappearing behind the door. 

The door in question began closing, but it didn’t close. 

“I totally forgot,” Rin Tin Tin spoke from the other side of the door, now re-opening. 

Ku Lo's eyes returned to the door just as she re-entered. She’s coming back? he had a frightened, yet also unconsciously hopeful wish. 

“Now that you can’t roam free for the time being, I have to home teach you what I learn in class.”

“Teach me? Class?” 

“Yup-” She sat on her stool. “Us junior disciples need to attend classes, but since you can’t…” she began explaining. 

…

“So what you are saying is that one of our junior disciples locked another one in her house? Am I correct?” An old man sitting on a modest throne scratched his balding head. Just what I needed, another mess. Like I didn’t have plenty of those.

“You hit the nail’s head, Sect Master Rin,” Elder Xin said. 

“Names? Backgrounds?” 

“The boy’s name is Ku Lo, a nobody from a nearby village. Spirit Foundation cultivation,” she said, yet didn’t even mention the imprisoners identity. 

“And the girl?” Sect Master Rin questioned, an eye peering into the elder. 

“She’s… Um…” the elder meandered with her words till Sect Master Rin showed displeasure on his aged face. “A granddaughter of the revered Sect Master.” 

Sect Master Rin had been suspecting bad news; however, this? “Rin Tin Tin, I suppose?” he sighed, his back falling into this throne’s backrest. 

The elder nodded. 

Sect Master Rin let out another deep breath as he fell against his throne’s backrest. It had to be her.

Both of them stayed silent for a minute or two.

The silence broke when Sect Master Rin shooed her with his hand. “Elder Xin, you did the right thing by bringing this information straight to me without speaking to others. Keep it that way. Now go.”

“Yes, Sect Master Rin.” Elder Xin bowed and then walked out of the grand hall.

With her gone Sect Master Rin was left alone with much weighing on his mind. Ku Lo… why him? There are many willing suitors from proper backgrounds, yet all of a sudden you are infatuated with a lucky villager?

Sect Master Rin placed his palms on his throne’s hand rests. It’s best if I go in person. With his hands as support, he got to his feet and began ambling. The faster I sort this mess out, can I continue to deal with the Rising Sun Sect and the High-Mountain Bandits.