When navigating the treacherous waters of power, remember that not all who oppose you are enemies, and not all who aid you are friends. The true art lies in recognizing which is which.


    —Master Song Lin, Schr of the Jade Path


    Xin brushed her sleeve. "Massacred the county lord? On what evidence do you make such ims?"


    "The proof drips from your very robes!" Ren Chun flourished his sword in an borate pattern. "Your guilt stains you crimson!"


    "The county lord was my father." Xin’s words cut through his theatrical disy. "And that happened a week ago. This blood?" She lifted her stained sleeve. "It’s so fresh it hasn’t even dried properly."


    Ren Chun’s dramatic pose faltered. The tip of his sword dipped toward the ground as confusion spread across his features.


    "Our house manager decided the family si ring would look better on his finger." Xin’s lips curved into a cold smile. "He thought to im our city manor for himself. I corrected his misconception."


    The martial artist’s de wavered further, uncertaintypletely recing his earlier bravado.


    Xin swept her arm toward the assembled guards and their captain. "And now we find the city magistrate acting in a manner most peculiar."


    She tilted her head. "How interesting that he orders my arrest immediately after I executed the conspirator. Almost as if..." She paused for effect. "He stands in open rebellion against House Lin."


    The guard captain stumbled to his feet, though Ren Chun remained standing on his sword, pinning it to the ground.


    "Seize the criminal!" The captain jabbed a finger toward Xin.


    "How can I trust your words?" Ren Chun asked. "Tales spread of a cultivator murdering the county lord’s family. I tracked these rumors here, and now find you—another cultivator—iming to be of that same house!"


    Xin stared at him. "Hah?"


    The bronze scroll case clicked open beneath her fingers. She extracted the official mandate, its bronze metallic sheen catching the morning light. The familiar weight of House Lin’s seal pressed against her palm as she held it aloft.


    "I bear House Lin’s seal and on an official mandate for the city magistrate." She raised her chin. "Prepare to receive the mandate."


    A solid thud echoed behind her. Xin nced back to see her two guards drop to their knees, fists pressed to their hearts in formal salute.


    A dozen guards broke from the toon’s formation, creating a smaller group to the side. They dropped to their knees in perfect unison, armor clinking against the stone.


    "We guards from House Lin remain loyal! We receive the lord’s mandate!" The front guard pressed his fist against his chest.


    Xin turned to Ren Chun. She gestured toward the remaining guards still following the captain. "See? They’re the traitors."


    A frown crossed her lips. "Did they hire you to help them or something?"


    "Of course not!" Ren Chun’s face twisted in horror. "I merely passed through and witnessed what appeared to be injustice!"


    Before Xin could respond, Ren Chun spun and struck the guard captain square in the jaw. The captain crumpled without a sound.


    Xin watched in disbelief as Ren Chun bounded between the remaining men. He moved with inhuman speed, striking precise points that dropped each guard unconscious. His movements flowed like a dance—punch, dodge, weave, strike—leaving groaning bodies in his wake.


    Seriously? Xin stared as the self-proimed justice seeker continued his non-lethal rampage across the courtyard.


    When he finished, Ren Chun dropped into a bow before Xin. "My sincerest apologies for the misunderstanding, Miss Lin. I shall resume my search for the true rogue cultivator elsewhere."


    He turned to leave, but Xin’s mind raced. The game knowledge she had didn’t really trante into politics, events, and people five years before the game even began. And a wandering martial artist might know things I’d never learn on my own without guidance.


    "Wait." Themand rang across the courtyard.


    Ren Chun froze mid-step, pivoting back to face her.


    "You’ve caused me quite the inconvenience." Xin gestured at the unconscious guards scattered across the stones. "How am I supposed to question them now?"


    "Inconvenience?" Ren Chun blinked.


    "Indeed." Xin tapped the bronze scroll case. "You forced me to reveal both mandate and seal before their proper time. Such matters require... precise handling." She squared her shoulders. "Since you’ve disrupted my ns, you’ll apany me to the city magistrate to witness the consequences."


    There probably weren’t any. She was just being melodramatic… but he didn’t need to know that.


    "But I helped you!" Ren Chun pointed at the scattered unconscious guards. "Besides, we’re both merely at the body refining stage, taking our first steps. Shouldn’t we work to separate ourselves from worldly concerns?"


    The morning breeze rustled through the courtyard as Ren Chun adopted a more serene expression. "I understand that, as the lord’s sister, you’re more deeply entangled in these matters than I am. But I’ve already freed myself from such trivial bindings!"


    Is he serious? Xin suppressed an eye roll. "Hah? You just knocked out half the guard force. If you leave now, won’t that cause me even more trouble?" She crossed her arms. "You’ll owe me quite the debt when I have to work to clear your name."


    Uwfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    "Clear my name?" Ren Chun’s eyebrows shot up.


    "Of course." Xin gestured at the unconscious bodies littering the courtyard stones. "You attacked city guards. Some might evenbel you a criminal if the wrong version of events spreads."


    Horror spread across Ren Chun’s face. "But I fight for justice!"


    "Yes, yes. Justice." Xin nodded with exaggerated patience. "And now you owe me two or three favors, and you’lle deal with the city magistrate with me."


    The city magistrate’s great gates slumped against thepound walls, the massive wooden structures knocked off their hinges. That’ll take a hundred men with pulleys to fix.


    Xin traced the splintered edges with her gaze. The recement magistrate—a minor official she’d promoted with the same method as she used in her family manor for the house manager—would have to deal with the mess. She would need to write a letter to her mother exining everything, but she’d do that when she had some free time and was settled.


    At least Mother’s orders remained clear: maintain existingws, take no drastic actions. The scroll in Xin’s sleeve confirmed her authority as a deputy house member. Simple, straightforward, and exactly what she needed right now.


    Ren Chun’s back drew her attention as he walked ahead. His movements spoke of years of training, each step measured and bnced. His master Hong Bi—whoever that was—had molded him into a weapon far beyond her current capabilities.


    If he decided to fight me now... She suppressed a shudder. Her few days of cultivation wouldn’t stand against his experience.


    But his earnest promations about justice revealed a different kind of weakness—one she could use.


    Why let all that strength chase abstract ideals when it could serve concrete purposes?


    Her two guards fell into formation as they passed through the broken gates. Their boots crunched on scattered splinters.


    Ren Chun turned and pressed his fist to his palm in a formal salute. "This has been most interesting, Miss Lin. I trust justice has been served." He pivoted to leave.


    Xin reached out and grabbed Ren Chun’s shoulder. The muscles beneath her fingers turned to stone.


    "And where exactly do you think you’re going?"


    He turned to look at her. "Isn’t our businessplete?"


    Augh bubbled up from Xin’s chest. "You helped with the gate and guards—tasks I could have handled myself. By my count, you still owe me two favors."


    "Tw-two?" Ren Chun’s eyes widened. "But why?"


    "Simple arithmetic." Xin tapped her fingers against her sleeve. "You started with three. I still had to deal with the city magistrate alone, plus clear your name from that mess. One favor down, two to go."


    The morning sun caught the gilded roof of the treasure pavilion as Xin pointed toward it. "I need to visit there. Let’s go and I will consider how you can repay me."


    "I can’t!" Ren Chun stepped back, shaking his head. "I have a quest, I have to—"


    Xin raised her hand. "Stop. How long will this quest take?"


    "Uhh..." Ren Chun shifted his weight. "Two days?"


    Xin nodded. "Two days works perfectly. Return to the city manor then—after your quest."


    Confusion flickered across Ren Chun’s features. The morning sunlight cast shadows beneath his furrowed brows.


    Xin stepped forward and pped his back with an open palm. "What are you waiting for? Isn’t your quest important? Something needing justice?"


    "Oh! Yes!" Ren Chun brightened. "I should hurry if I want to return in time."


    He crouched, muscles tensing, thenunched himself upward. His form sailed through the air,nding gracefully on the nearest rooftop. In three quick bounds, he disappeared over the curved tiles.


    Could I learn to move like that? Xin studied the path he’d taken, mapping the angles and distances in her mind. The qingong technique would prove invaluable for bothbat and stealth. Perhaps I’ll convince him to teach me when he returns.


    The busy morning crowds parted as Xin strode toward the treasure pavilion.


    Merchants called their wares from wooden stalls while the scent of steamed buns wafted through the narrow streets. Her boots clicked against the worn cobblestones, echoing off the closely packed buildings.


    The treasure pavilion’s outer wall gleamed as they approached. Xin passed through the iron-bound gate into the serene garden courtyard. Carefully trimmed bushes lined stone paths, while a small stream burbled beneath a decorative bridge. The main building cast long shadows across the precisely raked gravel.


    A servant in blue silk robes bowed. "Wee to the Treasure Pavilion."


    "Please inform Master Qingfeng that Lin Xin requests an audience."


    Movement caught her eye. In the courtyard’s corner, two cultivators hunched over a go board. The same pair she’d noticed on her previous visit—the pavilion’s security team. Their matching indigo robes marked them as martial brothers from the same sect.


    Xin pressed her right fist against her left palm and bowed, offering a formal cultivator’s greeting. The pair exchanged nces before returning shallow nods. ck and white stones clicked against the board as they resumed their game.


    A different servant appeared and gestured toward the main building’s entrance. "Master Qingfeng will see you now in the tea room."


    Xin followed the servant through polished double doors into the pavilion’s main hall. Lantern light cast a warm glow across wooden pirs and decorative screens. Her boots whispered against smooth floorboards as they approached an ornate staircase.


    The servant’s silk robes rustled with each ascending step. The wood creaked beneath their feet, marking their progress to the second floor. Paper screens lined the hallway, filtering sunlight through delicate patterns of birds and flowers.


    A sliding door scraped open, revealing Master Qingfeng seated behind a low table. Steam rose from an elegant tea service, carrying the distinct sweet-herb scent of Heaven Grass tea. The aroma brought back memories of her first visit, when she’d desperately needed help.


    "Please, sit." Master Qingfeng gestured to an embroidered cushion.


    Xin lowered herself onto the cushion and bowed. "Thank you for receiving me, Master Qingfeng."


    "My investment appears to have yielded promising returns already." Master Qingfeng’s eyes sparkled with amusement. "Your qi speaks volumes about recent changes."


    "As promised." Xin straightened her spine. "Though new circumstances bring new challenges. I hoped you might assist."


    Master Qingfeng poured the tea with practiced grace. A warm smile spread across his features. "Isn’t that why everyonees to Treasure Pavilion?"