What’s a sedan from the demon sect doing here? It must be someone important, for them to be travelling like this. Doesn't matter. I have to stop them and find out what they did to Lanyue!

With a leap, Yuelong launched himself up into the air and into trees. Propelling himself off of the bamboo stalks, he tailed the flying sedan. As he got closer, he noticed that the sedan was a litter, supported by poles hauled over the shoulders of four people dressed all in white.

Yuelong believed in his heart that all from the Bi An Sect were evil, and so he did not have any qualms about what he planned to do next. He snatched up a few leaves, enchanted them with his energy, and shot them at the porters. Upon impact, the porters disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and without the support, the litter started to fall straight downwards.

Yuelong landed on the forest floor and, from a distance, watched the litter’s descent. But before it could crash into the ground, eight ribbons shot out from inside the sedan and wrapped tightly each around a bamboo stalk, suspending the structure in the air.

Hmph. Of course. The rider wouldn't be defeated that easily. But what happened to those porters? Yuelong summoned Cangming and held the sword tightly in his right hand. Never mind. The rider is more important right now.

"Well, well, well." A voice called out from the sedan. "Who do we have here?"

Judging from the silhouette and the voice, whoever’s in there must be a high-ranking female. There are not a lot of powerful females in the Bi An Sect. Could it be the priestess?

The figure, from behind the sedan curtains, threw out two white blobs. They moved on their own and shot out across the forest grounds. Suddenly, they stopped and disappeared into puffs of smoke. In their place, two figures appeared. Both were deathly white, in clothing and skin. The one on the right of the sedan wielded a long staff, with white ribbons and bells hanging at the top. The one on the left held a large sabre in his hand.

Although the two figures were simply standing there, without brandishing their weapons, Yuelong still held his sword up in a defensive stance. What kind of spell is this, summoning people?

Clack! Clack! Clack!

Noise drew Yuelong's attention towards the sedan. A woman was stepping out from it. She was wearing a beautiful kimono, its elegance clear in spite of the darkness that hid the intricacy of its designs. Hiding half of her face was a white fan with black piping lining the top edge. Her hair was tied up into a bun at the back of her head; gold and bejewelled hairpins secured it in place.

"Announce yourself," she said, "and your reason for stopping my litter. I'm in a hurry, so speed it up or die."

"I don't see why I have to make myself known to people of the demon sect," Yuelong responded. "None of you are even worthy of knowing me."

The woman narrowed her eyes at Yuelong. “‘Demon sect,’ huh? You must be a cultivator from one of the other sects. What a bother. Oh well. I’ll know which sect you belong to when I’m done with you."

The woman gently fanned herself. In a blink of an eye, the white of the fan turned black, and the black, white. The bodies of the two figures beside her twisted, and like magic, and like the fan, their entire appearance changed from white to black. They held their weapons up, and without warning, they lunged at Yuelong.

Yuelong dodged the sabre and parried the staff with the sword in his hand. With a swing, he unleashed a cut of energy around him. The woman jumped into the air—dodging his attack—and landed on one of the ribbons that hung from the bamboo trees. Settling down in her makeshift swing, she spectated at the battle below. 

The sabre warrior hacked at Yuelong. Yuelong managed to hold off the blows with his sword, supporting it with two hands. But Yuelong was surprised: the sabre warrior was strong, but his eyes were lifeless, like those in a dull and unfinished portrait. Then, Yuelong heard the sound of bells—he was going to be attacked from behind! Quickly, he kicked the sabre warrior a distance away, and, performing a backbend, he stabbed directly at the person behind him!

Oh? Isn't that the move "The Rainbow Pierces Through the Sun" from the Qianyang Sect? Hmm… The woman looked on in contemplation. She recalled the first time she saw this move used in combat. It was a sickening battle. Siblings were pitted against each other in a fight to the death. The winner had been crowned the leader.

Yuelong's sword had pierced through the stomach of the staff wielder. With a kick, Yuelong flipped up over and behind him—pulling his sword out at the same time. But to Yuelong’s dismay, his enemy was still standing. There weren't even any signs of blood anywhere.

The staff wielder and sabre warrior charged at Yuelong, alternating attacks. Yuelong dodged and parried, and up close, realization struck. These fighters weren't human; they weren't even alive at all! Yes, they charged without hesitation, but their attacks were just random, meaningless hacking! It was like fighting two brainless idiots! But on the other side of the same coin, their movements were unpredictable, making them highly dangerous. Yuelong understood this, and he retreated several paces.

The two lifeless puppets launched an attack once more. They were closing in. At the critical moment, Yixiao Zhenjun leapt into the air. His hands were charged with fire, and just as he was about to land on the ground behind the two, his hands found their mark on back of his enemies’ shoulders. Almost instantly, the fires engulfed the two, turning them into ashes.

Clap, clap, clap.

Yuelong looked up to see the woman smiling at him.

"What a pleasure to finally meet you, Fan Gong-zi."

She jumped down from her swing and landed with a soft clack of her wooden sandals.

"Who are you?" demanded Yuelong. Another one who knows about me? Where did they get all this information? From Lanyue?

The woman hid her face with her fan again. "I am the priestess of the Bi An Sect, Qin Dan."

Ah. No wonder her spells are so unusual and unorthodox. Yuelong pointed his sword at the priestess, holding it only inches away from her throat. "Why are you here on the mainland?"

Qin Dan laughed, the sound like that of an adult trying to mimic the giggles of a child. In a corner of his mind, Yuelong thought that her laughter didn't fit her position as the demonic priestess.

She pushed his sword aside with a finger. "Why do you think I'm here?"

Yuelong ignored the question. "If you're here to bring harm, I will end your life right here."

Though Yuelong wasn’t sensing any malicious intent from her, he didn't want to let his guard down. He recalled something that his father used to tell the disciples: "Rather that you kill the wrong one in misunderstanding than let a criminal go by mistake." Yuelong pointed his sword at Qin Dan once again.

The priestess chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not here for a fight…unless he wants one."

"Who is ‘he’?" Yuelong asked, getting impatient, inching the blade closer to her throat.

"Who else!" she exclaimed. "You know him. I know him. We all know him…"

Could it be!? Lanyue!

"So it's true? That he survived?"

"You ask me, but who do I ask?"  

The two stared at each other, unmoving.

The priestess looked up at the sky and quietly grumbled at how much time Yuelong had wasted. I’m just here to pick that stupid Lanyue up! Just let me go already!

Yuelong’s mind raced. Wasn’t she there when that small village up north burned down a year ago? That was her doing, wasn’t it? She’s the priestess—essentially the Bi An Sect leader’s right hand. She wouldn’t do just anything for anyone who asks, but she’d do almost anything for him. Even slaughter. And now she’s here? Doesn’t that mean that she’s out on an order? On a kill order? That Lanyue…that Lanyue sent her here?

Why, Lanyue? Why have you turned out like this?

He mentally shook himself. No. There has to be something I’m not seeing here. There has to be some other reason why this priestess is here! If I could just get her to lead me to Lanyue. I might be able to find out what happened to him then.

He slowly lowered his sword. "Take me to Lanyue. I want to see him."

"I could take you to him, but in the first place, how do you know that he’d even want to see you?" Qin Dan asked, circling leisurely around him. "Don't forget who betrayed him." She pointed at Yuelong.

"What kind of game are you playing at? I never betrayed him!"

"Oh?" she replied sarcastically. "Is everyone else in the world a liar, then? Is the story of how the great Yixiao Zhenjun betrayed his best friend for the greater good all baseless rumour only?"

"What!?"

Yuelong's mind had been thrown into a state of complete chaos. How could I have betrayed Lanyue? No. No! That's not possible! I would never! What is going on here?

The priestess saw that Yuelong was distracted, and she seized the opportunity to fly back into her sedan. Like before, she threw four slips of paper out from the sedan, and like before, they transformed into four human-like puppets, who began to haul up onto their shoulders the poles of the litter. And before Yuelong could react, the paper puppets had already taken off high into the sky with the sedan, leaving him only to stare after them.

Unease settled in his heart. What is going on in this world? Why are people saying that I betrayed Lanyue? And what happened, to have caused this big of a change in him?

I just don't know anymore.

Yuelong walked back towards the bamboo house. The feeling of unease grew as he entered the clearing.

Wait. Why is the house dark? Is Xiao-Kai asleep already? Adding to anxiety, Yuelong noticed that the door of the house was wide open, and he rushed in, his heart beating in a messy rhythm.

"Xiao-Kai!" he called out.

No answer.

The teacher searched everywhere, but his disciple was nowhere to be found.

 

"What took you so long?" Lanyue demanded, his arms crossed.

"Sorry about that. I had some…interference on my way here," Qin Dan explained, standing as she brushed off bamboo leaves from her exquisite kimono.

"So you’ve dealt with it? It shouldn’t have taken you that long,” Lanyue complained.

Qin Dan lifted the curtain of the sedan for him. "Oh, he was a challenge. Took forever for him to die."

Lanyue hummed. "Really. There shouldn’t be many people with skills that are a match for yours,” he said as he started getting into the sedan. “Who was it?”

"Fan Yuelong."

Lanyue's heart lurched and stopped. He turned and shot a look at Qin Dan. "You…"

The priestess laughed and patted Lanyue on the back with her fan. "Chill out, ge, I was only joking."

Lanyue felt his heart finally start beating again, and he smiled coldly. He looked up at the sky, and casually, he said, "Oh would you look at that, the moon is waning. A new month is upon us."

The smile on the priestess's face vanished.

Lanyue patted her on the back. "Just kidding."

She rolled her eyes and sat beside Lanyue in the sedan. With a wave of her fan, the paper puppets lifted the litter, and off they flew in the direction of the rising sun.