"My surname is Wang. Given name: a single character, Yu." Wang Yu introduced himself, then indicated Li Yunxiu inside the canopy. "And this is my wife, of the Li family."
"Brother Wang! Honored sister-in-law!"
Names exchanged, the ox-cart rolled on. Puning County was not far now; within the hour, its pounded-earth walls came into view.
"Senior Brother Fang!"
They had barely reached the gate when a Taihua disciple in a long robe of deep green, longsword in hand, came ducking out of the tea house beside it.
"Junior Brother Lin."
"This is my junior brother, Lin Zhiyuan," Fang Shaobai told Wang Yu, then turned back to the disciple. "Brother Wang is a friend — we took to each other like old friends at first meeting."
"Greetings, Brother Wang! Greetings, honored sister-in-law!" Lin Zhiyuan was all courtesy, and all astonishment underneath.
Fang Shaobai was free and easy with everyone; he looked approachable, and he could make friends with anyone. But "like old friends at first meeting" — that, he had never once said of anybody.
"Is that Flower-Plucking Young Lord, or whatever he calls himself, still in Puning County?" Fang Shaobai asked. "And how did this affair drag in Master Hongzhao too?"
"Still here. Last night he raided the Xu household. The young lady of the house came to no harm, but the Xu patriarch took a palm to the chest — he's coughing blood."
Lin Zhiyuan went on, "Master Hongzhao came for his disciple's sake. His disciple Fazhu is a distant relative of the Zhou family, and was a guest at the Golden Lion Fort these past days. When he crossed paths with the Flower-Plucking Young Lord, he stepped in as duty demanded — and was gravely wounded for it.
When word reached Master Hongzhao, he tracked the man all the way here to Puning County. He even traded blows with him last night, but couldn't hold him."
"Oh?" Fang Shaobai was a little surprised. "Even Master Hongzhao couldn't keep him? Not bad, for a flower thief."
"It's mostly that Master Hongzhao's lightness art falls short of his," Lin Zhiyuan said. "That Flower-Plucking Young Lord truly has superb lightness skills — he twisted away in mid-air, slipped the master's Vajra palm force, and fled beyond reach."
Fang Shaobai nodded. "Let's get inside the walls first. I ran into Curly Bear on the road — he says the county's crawling with other hard cases?"
Lin Zhiyuan led the ox-cart in through the gate, answering as they went. "There's Duan Ping the Gold Saber; Meng Chonghu, the Iron Palm That Splits Mountains; and the Jiang brothers — the Twin Heroes of the Southern Mountains.
Duan Ping and Meng Chonghu have an old grudge. They brawled on West Street yesterday and wrecked seven or eight shopfronts before Master Hongzhao talked them apart."
Fang Shaobai nodded, enlightened. "No wonder Curly Bear made himself scarce."
Curly Bear ran his hall in Puning County, set his rules, collected his protection money — and in exchange kept the merchants from being robbed, burgled, or harassed. But a Gold Saber and an Iron Palm were plainly beyond his weight class, so all he could do was clear out.
"All of them here for Zhao Yu, I suppose? The capital's bounties must be rich indeed." Fang Shaobai's tone turned wry. "The Twin Heroes of the Southern Mountains have always styled themselves righteous paragons. Wading into water this muddy — I'd not have guessed."
Lin Zhiyuan laughed. "The Jiang brothers were saying only yesterday that they're not in it for the reward — they're ridding the people of a scourge."
The group returned to the inn, where the Taihua Sect had one more young disciple — Wei Yan, who took turns with Lin Zhiyuan watching the east gate for Fang Shaobai's arrival, and was currently asleep upstairs.
At the sight of Fang Shaobai, Wei Yan lit up like a festival. "Senior Brother's here! That Flower-Plucking Young Lord is a dead man!"
Fang Shaobai waved it off. "Save the flattery. Report."
Wei Yan's eyes slid, curious, to the three strangers leaning in nearby, listening intently and showing not the slightest intention of leaving.
Fang Shaobai shook his head. "Brother Wang has seen much of the world. He may well have ideas worth hearing."
With his senior brother's blessing, Wei Yan spoke plainly. "After the Flower-Plucking Young Lord succeeded at the Golden Lion Fort, he announced he would bed the young ladies of all three of Puning County's martial households. And then he actually came to Puning County."
Lin Zhiyuan picked it up. "Wei Yan and I happened to be in the county already. We crossed him once yesterday — we're no match — so we sent to the sect for help."
Puning County lay in Hangu Prefecture, squarely in the Taihua Sect's sphere. The three small martial households — the Xus and the rest — and the Golden Lion Fort besides, all sent gifts to Taihua at every festival: protection money, by any politer name.
Taihua's young disciples did most of their knight-erranting around Hangu Prefecture too, which was why they'd been on hand at all.
"And I happened to be near Puning County, and intercepted the messenger halfway," Fang Shaobai said.
Lin Zhiyuan's face cleared. "So that's how you came so fast! I thought we'd be lucky to see help from the sect by tomorrow."
Wei Yan said, "Brother Lin and I had already planned to stand watch tonight — one of us at the Luo house, one at the Lius'."
Fang Shaobai nodded. "But we don't know which house he goes to tonight."
"Should we put our heads together with Master Hongzhao?" Lin Zhiyuan offered. "You two split the houses, one each?"
And that was when Wang Yu suddenly asked, "Didn't he fail at the Xu house just last night? Why are you all assuming he won't go back to the Xus'?"
"Master Hongzhao was at the Xu house last night," Wei Yan said, reflexively. "How would he dare go back when..."
"Hm?"
All three of them caught it at once. If Master Hongzhao went to the Lius' or the Luos' tonight, then the Xu house stood empty — and the Flower-Plucking Young Lord was fully capable of working that out himself.
"Wei Yan and I will stay at the Xus'," Lin Zhiyuan said.
Fang Shaobai shook his head slowly and looked at Wang Yu. "Brother Wang. Your instruction?"
Wang Yu rubbed his chin and asked Lin Zhiyuan, "The Xu, Luo, and Liu households — where do they sit in the city?"
"The Xus are in the north. The Luos and Lius are both in the south, not far from each other."
Just then, the inn's waiter knocked at the door. "Hero Lin, Hero Wei — a reverend master of the Great Vajra Temple is downstairs asking for you."
Fang Shaobai rose. "I'll go and..."
"Wait." Wang Yu stopped him.
Fang Shaobai looked at him. "What is it?"
"Let me think." Wang Yu kneaded his brow. "There's an idea in here somewhere, but it won't line up yet. Give me a moment to sort it."
Lin Zhiyuan said softly, "We can't leave Master Hongzhao standing in the hall, though. Why don't we go and receive him, and Brother Wang can think at his leisure?"
Wang Yu was still lost in it; Fang Shaobai started for the door — and then Li Yunxiu finally spoke. "Brother Fang cannot go down to meet Master Hongzhao."
"Why not?" Lin Zhiyuan asked, before he could catch himself.
Li Yunxiu looked at Fang Shaobai. "You intercepted the messenger halfway. Which means Taihua's reinforcements were not due until tomorrow, yes?"
Fang Shaobai nodded. "Yes."
She turned to Lin Zhiyuan. "And you said a moment ago that the Flower-Plucking Young Lord's lightness art is above Master Hongzhao's?"
This time it was Lin Zhiyuan who nodded. "That's right."
"Then so long as you don't show your face — isn't it true the Flower-Plucking Young Lord still has no idea Taihua's reinforcements have arrived?" Li Yunxiu asked.
"Correct." Fang Shaobai nodded. "However bold he is, he'd never dare show himself in Puning County once a Taihua master is known to be inside it."
Li Yunxiu understood that perfectly well, and pressed on. "So tonight, as far as he knows, all he faces is Master Hongzhao — whose lightness art he outclasses. In which case: is it not possible that the Flower-Plucking Young Lord is quietly tailing Master Hongzhao, to learn where he'll be tonight?"
"It's possible." Fang Shaobai thought about it, and a light came into his eyes. "You mean..."
Li Yunxiu turned, smiling, to Wang Yu — and Wang Yu, the pieces settled at last, took the thread. "I mean: stay out of sight. Wherever Master Hongzhao goes tonight — you go to the opposite place."
"Well reasoned!" Fang Shaobai drove fist into palm, delighted. "Brother Wang, honored sister-in-law — such minds! Shaobai bows to you both!"
Li Yunxiu smiled and went one step further. "If I've read it rightly, Master Hongzhao also believes the man will strike at the two southern houses tonight. So he most likely intends to ask Hero Lin and Hero Wei to hold the Luo and Liu households, while he waits between the two for a signal — they're close together, and he can arrive in time.
Of course," she added, "if he has thought of the possibility that he's being followed, he may well double back to the Xu house after dark himself."
Fang Shaobai turned at once to Lin Zhiyuan and Wei Yan. "Go down and see Master Hongzhao. Don't mention that I'm here."
"Understood!" The two nodded and went down to receive their guest.
When they returned a little later, the look they gave Li Yunxiu was pure admiration.
They didn't need to say a word; Fang Shaobai already knew. She had read even Master Hongzhao's mind to the letter.
Wang Yu gave Li Yunxiu a thumbs-up. "Impressive!"
She laughed softly and said to Fang Shaobai, "Hero Lin and Hero Wei stand watch in the south tonight. The Xu patriarch lies wounded; the Flower-Plucking Young Lord failed last night, and his pride is bleeding; and tonight is his last chance."
Fang Shaobai's eyes gleamed. "So tonight, the Xu house — without fail!"
***
Night, and a small wind.
No stars tonight; only one lonely moon hung high, laying stripe after stripe of pale light over a Puning County long since sunk in silence.
"The air is dry! Mind your lamps and fires—!"
The night watchman wove his slow way through streets and alleys, brass gong in hand, striking it once every stretch of road — waking the sleeping town just enough to check the dark around it for danger.
The Xu manor had lived through last night's chaos: master wounded in his bed, young mistress nearly ruined. Tonight the household's men had lit the compound bright as day, lanterns blazing, patrols crossing and recrossing the courtyards.
On a watchtower not far from the manor, Wang Yu, Li Yunxiu, and Ziling had settled in to watch the show, tucked into the night's shadows where only a careful eye would ever find them.
"Where's Fang Shaobai?" Wang Yu peered hard, by moonlight and lantern-glow, and found no trace of him.
"If you could spot him from here, the Flower-Plucking Young Lord would already be gone," Ziling teased.
Wang Yu nodded and turned to Li Yunxiu for reassurance. "Fang Shaobai can beat this flower thief. Right?"
Li Yunxiu sighed. "If the first man of Taihua's young generation — an Innate expert in his own right — couldn't even take one moderately famous flower thief, the Taihua Sect might as well resign from the Seven Great Sword Sects."
Wang Yu blinked. "Fang Shaobai is an Innate expert?"
Li Yunxiu smiled. "What did you think he was?"
At that instant, a clear whistling cry rose from the Xu manor's rear court, and a white shadow leapt skyward, streaking for the walls.
In the next breath, a line of sword-light rose from a corner of the dark — under the moon it might have been a bolt of lightning. Even hundreds of paces off, it forced the three on the tower to narrow their eyes, a jolt of dread knocking through their chests.
A scream — then the flutter of wind through robes.
By the time the three of them opened their eyes again, Fang Shaobai was standing on their watchtower, one man dangling from his hand — a man in white, spotted now with small blooms of red.