The next day dawned overcast, grey shadows settling over the debris in the street. A team of people had been dispatched from the capital Maau-dan-si to investigate, so the clean-up stretched into the afternoon as they checked the rubble before it was removed, and interviewed those who had been involved.

Gou Zing stood with Can Bik and Zeng Baak-hap at one end of the mess, along with a few of the members of the Gou Family. Gou Hei Lok was conspicuously absent.

The patriarch, on the other hand, was looking everywhere as if his head was about to fly off.

“Where's that friend of yours? Young Master Gaam Juk Jing, why isn't he here?”

“He doesn't like fuss,” Gou Zing said. “I doubt you'll see him today.”

“Ha, a humble man! I truly misjudged him.”

“No... Never mind...”

His grandfather looked sharply at him. “Where's your gim, boy?”

“I... left it somewhere.”

“What! After what just happened? How can you be so careless?”

“There's no problems, Lord Gou,” said Wong Tang, appearing suddenly behind him with a smile. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am your grandson's Master, Wong Tang.”

“I knew you couldn't be someone ordinary. It is a great honour to meet you, Grandmaster.”

The two elders bowed to each other amicably.

“I've always wanted to greet you. Please, let us return to the inn where I am staying so that I might offer you some tea.”

“That's kind of you, but unfortunately we are just about to leave. Little Gou, is Little Gaam?”

“.. I thought he was still at the teahouse with you, Master.”

The look on her face showed that this was clearly a mistaken thought. “Do you know where he might be?”

“Not really... We will have to look.”

“Stay here. It will be faster for me to check.” The Grandmaster closed her eyes. A golden glow enveloped her body, then suddenly dispersed, a gold wave rippling across the earth. As it passed them, people nearby seemed to feel a little warm.

Within the space of a few breaths, Wong Tang's eyes snapped open, glowing golden, and her voice was a seething hiss. “She's here.”

---

Gaam Juk Jing had been examining the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament grounds since early morning. They were deserted, the tournament having been halted while investigations into the demon attack were completed. He jumped into the arena, looking around him at the stands.

“Hey, the tournament's on hold, dumbarse!” A small group of young disciples in their late teens taunted him from one of the entries to the arena.

“Look at him, got no response! Is he a mute? Hey, dumbarse, are you a mute?”

“How can he answer you if he's a mute?”

“Oh yeah, my mistake, my mistake.”

“Wait, hang on, look at his blades.”

“Whoa, jade hilts? Is he the Jade Exorcist?”

“Now who's the dumbarse? The Jade Exorcist only has one blade, not two.”

“So he's just a poser. Poser!”

“Are you sure that's even a guy? He's kind of girly looking.”

“Are you actually a girl?”

“Only one way to find out...”

“Why do I feel... HUH?”

The gang of troublemakers looked down to find that somehow, their clothing had been sliced to ribbons. There was a little 'click' as Gaam Juk Jing fully sheathed Lou Fu Ngaan. “If you want to see naked people, just strip each other.”

“What the fuck? Was that him?”

“Shit, shit, shit, let's get out of here!”

They ran away as fast as they could while keeping the important parts of themselves covered.

“I forget that there really are such stupid people in the world,” said a familiar voice from behind Gaam Juk Jing. His pupils dilated, as he swung around instantly to face the woman behind him.

“Hello, Little Handsome. It's been a long time, hasn't it? Did you miss me?” Tim Zoeng Baak asked. She wore deep red robes and leggings, the same colour as those worn by the disciples of the Clear Sight School. Even the way she wore her hair made her look like some kind of distorted twin to Can Bik.

But most concerning was the aura that seemed to be flickering around her.

Gaam Juk Jing's hands tightened on the hilts of the two weapons by his sides. His eyes narrowed, flashing silver. “You... What have you done?”

“How do I look? Don't be so shy, Little Handsome. Tell me what you think.” Her mouth opened widely.

His blades answered for him. Tim Zoeng Baak just managed to lean back in time to avoid her head being sliced clean off; as it was, a thin line of blood laced her throat.

“Ha ha! You're so violent, Little Handsome. You want to fight? I'll fight you!”

Gaam Juk Jing wasted no words. He swung the dou and stabbed with the gim, forcing Tim Zoeng Baak to dodge. As fast as he was, somehow, she was able to just avoid his every attack.

His expression grew more and more grim. He hopped back to gain a suitable distance, then fired the strange assortment of metal objects he kept up his sleeves, directly at Tim Zoeng Baak's face.

She howled with laughter, raising her hands with the palms pressed together, her second and third fingers raised. “I'll show you something good!”

She blew at her fingertips.

An enormous ball of fire erupted from her fingertips, roaring towards Gaam Juk Jing as she blew. His metal objects melted instantly. Throwing himself to one side to avoid the flames, he did not allow himself time to be stunned by this unexpected ability.

If he couldn't use scrap metal, he had to use something better.

The two weapons Lou Fu Ngaan and Juk Jing rose out of his hands, and began to spin around him. It was much harder to control two divine weapons than a flock of miscellaneous scrap pieces, let alone while a crazy person was throwing superheated balls of fire around. He felt his body begin to shake from the effort.

With Lou Fu Ngaan defending, he sent Juk Jing flying out, stabbing directly for Tim Zoeng Baak's chest. She drew two knives and deflected the strike, sending flames upwards to engulfed the gim. Gaam Juk Jing brought it back to to him, preparing for another strike, but the metal was blackened and hot. He swapped the roles of his two weapons, Juk Jing now revolving his body in a protective manner, Lou Fu Ngan swinging through the air to chop at Tim Zoeng Baak's body. She parried again, but Lou Fu Ngan sliced through the air clean and bright, no sign of scorching or soot marring its appearance.

“Why are you being so mean to me, Little Handsome? Anyone would think you like me.” Tim Zoeng Baak abandoned her defence, rushing in and flinging her knives, wrapping them in flames. The intensity of the fire was such that the knives melted into lumps by the time they had reached the spot where Gaam Juk Jing had been, but he had already moved behind her.

She swung around, faster than he had been expecting, but he had already made a sweeping motion with his hand, and the remaining knives that Tim Zoeng Baak carried, sprang free, turned, and dived towards her. Every single one left a scratch on her body; she managed to dodge fatal blows, but could not avoid the knives completely.

“Wow, wow, wow! Using my own weapons against me. That's a low way of fighting.”

“Shut up.” Gaam Juk Jing brought the knives around again, sending them flying towards her. She caused a cloud of fire to envelop her, and the knives all melted into nothing.

“Aw, I liked those knives.”

It was a bad match up. Metal cultivation arts were weak to Fire arts, and Tim Zoeng Baak's cultivation seemed to have risen so highly that the only weapon Gaam Juk Jing could use to fight her was Lou Fu Ngaan. Luckily, the only fire that could melt this blade was probably the fire of Lady Ling Gwong herself.

On the other hand, Gou Zing's sword was in a sorry state. It was a powerful weapon in human terms, but it was still only made of fine steel, and it was struggling to stand up to the spiritual power of Tim Zoeng Baak's fire.

Despite the risks, Gaam Juk Jing seized the hilts of both weapons and moved in for close combat. He swung and stabbed, Tim Zoeng Baak ducking and seeking to set fire to him at any moment. Like a deadly game of tag, both combatants tried to avoid the touch of the other's cultivation skills.

Gaam Juk Jing's movements were slowing down. So were Tim Zoeng Baak's, but her eyes glowed with excitement.

“Little Handsome, you're slowing down! How are you supposed to make anyone happy with that kind of stamina?”

There was an acrid smell of smouldering hair. Gaam Juk Jing sliced off the burnt tips of his hair with Lou Fu Ngaan, whilst simultaneously stabbing with the gim. It sliced through Tim Zoeng Baak's ear as she failed to dodge in time.

“OW! Little Handsome, what the heck? That hurt! I'm bleeding!” The hand at her ear came away wet with blood, and between one breath and another, she flicked the blood directly at Gaam Juk Jing. He managed to block the drops with his sleeve, which smouldered as though burning embers had landed on it. Small black holes grew across the grey and white fabric.

“Juk Jing!” Gou Zing's voice rang out across the arena. The fighters didn't even turn to look. Tim Zoeng Baak simply hopped backwards without taking her eyes off Gaam Juk Jing.

“Aw, damn. Playtime's over. I'll kill you next time, Little Handsome!” She threw one last ball of fire at Gaam Juk Jing's head, then dashed away, sparks flying from her feet. There was no catching her.

Gaam Juk Jing tilted his head to one side and let the fireball pass by harmlessly. It dissipated with a fizzle.

“Juk Jing.” Gou Zing had arrived by his side, voice anxious. “Are you alright? You're... singed and sweating.”

“How did Tim Zoeng Baak get so fast and strong?” Wong Tang demanded to no one in particular. In her agitation, golden scales were appearing on her neck.

“That was Tim Zoeng Baak?” Zeng Baak-hap frowned. “She looked...” She glanced at Can Bik, who was staring rigidly in the direction that the crazy woman had fled.

“Gaam Juk Jing,” the Grandmaster asked grimly, “when you fought her... was she...?”

Gaam Juk Jing wiped sweat from his forehead. “She's learnt Fire-based cultivation methods. Very fast, and very strong.” He considered the blacked form of Gou Zing's sword. “She's at the cusp of the Third Daan-tin.”