I want your Startled Swan Sword... so said the man before her.
The head constable's face went pale. She forced out, "This..."
"Can't bear to part with it? See — in your eyes, a living human life, a girl who strayed onto the wrong path but still has a future, is in the end worth less than a sword." Sun Lang shrugged and smiled. "Little lady, being a partner of justice has its price too, get it? Don't go thinking you get to ravish Saber just because every heroic spirit's had a turn at you first..."
The girl bowed her head slightly and clenched her fists, some war of heaven and man seeming to rage in her heart. After a while of deliberation, she raised her head, looked at Sun Lang long and hard, and suddenly said, "Just this one sword? Nothing else?"
Sun Lang smiled. "Of course. It's a bit of a bargain for you, but one sword is enough."
The head constable ignored the errant's nonsense and asked again, "Then — you can definitely find Qin Yu for me?"
"As long as her body still exists in this world, as long as whoever took her hasn't been ground to powder, then yes." Sun Lang said calmly. "Alive, you'll have her in person; dead, you'll have her corpse."
"The hand behind it all, the ones who took Qin Yu — you can find them too, and bring them to justice?"
Sun Lang answered, "No problem. Whatever enemy we face, whoever stands behind this, I'll stand shoulder to shoulder with you."
"And if you can't do it?"
"If I can't..." Sun Lang mused a moment. "Then I'll give the sword back, I suppose."
"...It won't be that easy." She suddenly smiled, a thread of danger in it. "If you can't, I'll tell my clan you swindled my sword out of me. And besides — if this enemy turns out tougher than imagined, too tough for us to withstand, then I can run home for my clan's protection, at worst grounded a few months. But you... if Guild Leader Hu can't shield you, you won't escape, no matter what. Because the moment you demanded the Startled Swan Sword, this became the purest kind of transaction. I won't guarantee your safety, and I absolutely won't use my clan's power to save you... Even so, do you still want the Startled Swan Sword?"
Sun Lang's eyes lit up. "...Nothing would please me more."
Zhang Yinluo gave him a long look. "Then take it... I hope you understand what you're doing."
She drew a breath, made up her mind at last, and slid a silver bracelet from her sleeve. Fine, intricate patterns were carved into it, and in an instant it blazed with light. Within the radiance, a gorgeous, brilliant glow stretched and unfurled; illusory particles of light condensed into solid form, and a long, slender, nimble sword appeared in her hand, its guard like a wild goose spreading its wings.
The girl gazed at the Imperial Arm in her hand — a divine weapon to make every martial artist in the world tremble, a blade that granted its wielder miraculous power above ordinary mortals. She gritted her teeth and pushed the Startled Swan Sword forward. "Take it."
Sun Lang reached out and accepted it, gripped the hilt and drew — a bright, snow-white edge leapt free, refracting a chill light. "How decisive... You'd cast off so precious an Imperial Arm for a woman you've never even met? You spendthrift girl."
Since she'd given away even this sword, Zhang Yinluo couldn't be bothered to mind a mere verbal jab. She said softly, "Truthfully, it's not only for that... But you can rest easy. My clan has stated plainly the sword was bestowed on me — meaning I have the right to dispose of it. If my clan finds out later, I'll step forward and explain on your behalf; no one will come making trouble for you... Just don't be too flashy with it. This sword holds great appeal for martial artists, and a commoner who carries a treasure invites disaster."
Sun Lang laughed aloud. "Same as I said — nothing would please Sun more. You don't understand: fishing is one of life's great pleasures."
"Suit yourself. Though if you do get killed for the sword, I can recover it openly." Zhang Yinluo smiled, then gazed at the Startled Swan Sword in his hand, and a flicker of relief, surprisingly, crossed her eyes. "An Imperial Arm... a divine treasure countless martial artists would kill for. My clan bestowed it on me and bade me keep it always at my side, nurturing and mastering it. I'm grateful, but I never wanted it. Master often writes to warn me too — not to rely on it, not to drown in its power and renown, or my road in the martial way will only narrow... I don't fully grasp what the old lady means, but deep down I dimly feel this Imperial Arm does me no good. And yet..."
She murmured a few more words to herself, then shook her head with self-mockery. "Why am I telling you all this... you wouldn't understand anyway. In short, it's given. Cut when it's time to cut, end it once and for all, so I don't keep dwelling on it..."
"Not bad, not bad." The errant nodded. "Quite clever."
Zhang Yinluo rolled her eyes. "I gave you the sword outright — sincere enough? Can we go now?"
Sun Lang shook his head. "Now? Of course not."
The head constable arched a brow, her gaze sharpening. It seemed her patience was wholly spent.
"What are you staring for? Go change out of that constable's uniform. You want to go out playing uniform-temptation?" Sun Lang rolled his eyes. "Investigating in that getup? You may as well write 'I'm a cop' in big letters across your face — you'd turn up exactly nothing. Go change, then pick a place to meet. Mm, the Tower of Loyal Valor."
"My home's far from here, so let's not waste the time. But I know a good clothier nearby — I'll just go buy an outfit and come back. You get yourself ready too, and think over a plan of action while you're at it." In the end she'd been thoroughly extorted, so the head constable's tone had cooled a touch. "That's all for now. I'll be back soon."
Sun Lang waved a hand, and Zhang Yinluo left. The understanding between them went unspoken; neither bothered with rubbish like aren't you afraid I'll run.
The errant watched the lady detective out the gate, and only after he heard the hoofbeats did he nod. "This woman's a bit interesting. Just no one to train her — her values are a touch crooked. Tsk tsk..."
Since he'd agreed, he'd do the job right... He meant to go back inside and prepare his gear, but stopped short at once and turned to look. An ordinary-faced, medium-built martial artist in a blue robe stood atop the wall with his hands behind his back, his gaze cold and haughty, looking down on Sun Lang as though sizing up a heap of garbage.
Noticing Sun Lang's gaze turn toward him, the man flickered and was suddenly in the courtyard, standing five zhang from Sun Lang, his eyes still scornful.
"A master." Sun Lang smiled and cupped his hands. "I'm Sun Lang. What's your business?"
"I'm a retainer of the Zhang family." The man seemed to disdain giving Sun Lang his name, and spoke with unusual bluntness. "Charged with secretly protecting Miss Yinluo. You should have guessed why I've come."
"Oh, so that's why you keep trailing this girl all over the place. So you're the legendary master the clan assigns to secretly guard its promising young scions?" Sun Lang seemed not the least surprised by the man's appearance — quite the opposite, he looked ready to swap pleasantries. "I hear that's a thankless job. Because if you ever run into the legendary protagonist, there's a very good chance you and the young lord or lady you're guarding both end up as his stepping stone and his XP for taking off. Truly, I've barely seen a single guardian who tries to fight and block the protagonist and comes through in one piece — odds are even your venerable ancestors get beaten into XP orbs..."
The words had barely left his mouth when a stone shrieked past the side of his head, fast and brutal, and slammed into the wall behind with a thunderous bang. The man, unable to bear his prattle and finding this rambling, clinging pest thoroughly annoying, had simply kicked out a pebble as a show of force.
Seeing Sun Lang seemingly startled by the move, the master gave a cold snort with all a master's flashy cool. "This Startled Swan Sword is not a thing the likes of you may covet. Miss Yinluo is innocent and unworldly and does need tempering, true, but she will not be cheated and deceived by some petty rogue. Out of respect for Guild Leader Hu I won't make things hard for you, but you'll remember this: there are some things in this world that may not be done. That the Miss has a task for you is your honor. Stuff whatever improper notions you've got back down your throat. If the job's done well, a little reward isn't out of the question. As for this sword — you'll go and return it to the Miss yourself, in person, without mentioning my name, without saying I was here. Spin a lie and smooth this over for me, or your hide will suffer for it."
"Oh, this thing? I'm just borrowing it a few days. When I'm done I'll naturally give it back — rest easy. Saying I 'took' it was only to scare your Miss a little, to teach her what a price is." Sun Lang waggled the Startled Swan Sword. "So there's no need for all this talk of killing, master. That hot temper of yours gets your face slapped by the protagonist real easy — don't say you weren't warned."
His expression was earnest and sincere. "Let's all be rational, reasonable, calm, and talk it out... You said it yourself: your Miss needs tempering, and this is between her and me. I didn't even want to get involved; she insisted on hiring me, so naturally there's a price. So she gives me this sword, and she'll learn that upholding justice costs something — and the sword happens to be of some use to me. That's called a fair trade... Of course, I understand your position too. You can't let your clan's treasure fall into an outsider's hands, right? But with skills as high as yours, how would I dare not return it? Your clan's no pushover — so set your mind at ease..."
"A fair trade?" The man gave a cold sneer. "What is fairness? Fairness is this: between the Zhang family of Mingzhou and a mere errant lies a gulf you can never cross. We want you to do something, you do it — no room to resist, no room to haggle. You should count yourself lucky Hu Shouxin stands behind you, which is why I've the patience to speak with you this long — that, too, is a kind of fairness. You are weak, so you have no reason on your side, so you can only heed mine. I'll say it one last time: the Startled Swan Sword is not a thing your sort may lay a finger on. I know what you're after. It is indeed an unawakened Imperial Arm; the clan had the Miss carry it so she could nurture and temper it day and night by a special art, until it fused perfectly with the rhythm of her own true qi and awakened the sword's Imperial dao-rhyme, 'Graceful as a Startled Swan.' A petty mercenary like you, ignorant of the Imperial Arm's heart-method, blind to its true face, yet daring to covet the Great Dao and lay hands on the Startled Swan Sword — it's beyond your measure, the joke of the age. You don't even know the sword's origins, do you? It—"
"I do, actually. The Imperial Arm Startled Swan Sword, from the Rhapsody on the Goddess of the Luo, and there's another called Roaming Dragon." Sun Lang sighed. "Mass-produced goods, mainly for fobbing off the third-class also-rans in the Martial Examination, with the odd one or two leaking out to country bumpkins like you for a taste of novelty... You were given a chance, and you didn't seize it, so — brace yourself, I'm about to flex."
The middle-aged man blanked. "You—"
Then Sun Lang drew the Startled Swan Sword backhand.
The keen blade left its sheath.
The frost-and-snow edge refracted the sunlight, like a wild goose spreading its wings — ethereal, otherworldly.