Chan Bik instantly began to fire off blazing points of light. Gaam Yuk Ying dodged each one, the sparks hitting the grass with a sizzle. The smell of scorched vegetation soon filled the air.

Gou Dzing had raised the ground beneath himself and the two women, rapidly raising them above Gaam Yuk Ying. At the same time, earth and limestone was worn away below Gaam Yuk Ying's feet. He leapt nimbly, climbing out of the pit to find a burning net of grass falling from above. His dou blurred, slicing the grass to tiny smouldering shreds that rained around him. The ashes were still hot, but he didn't flinch as he continued his climb up through them. The sides of the pit began to collapse in, too slow; Gaam Yuk Ying rose out before it collapsed and headed directly for Cheng Baak-hap, who was standing on the highest mound. He reached her in the blink of an eye, but the ground caved out suddenly beneath their feet. Cheng Baak-hap disappeared into a hole, and the earth curled up and over Gaam Yuk Ying like a fist. The grass before him caught fire.

He shot out through the remaining gap between the earth and the fire, directly into Gou Dzing's fist, which hit him in the chest, knocking him to the ground, and he plowed several bou before coming to a stop. Recovering and twisting to avoid Gou Dzing's next blow, he had no time to retaliate as Chan Bik jumped forwards, firing off her points of light.

If he turned to deal with one, the other would take advantage of his change in focus, constantly moving around. He could dodge their attacks but not return them.

Jumping back brought him to the edge of the cliff, and Gou Dzing and Chan Bik pursued him, harassing him from both sides. With the ground crumbling beneath him and searing points of lights narrowly missing him, he took a running leap off the cliff.

Chan Bik and Gou Dzing rushed forwards.

“Stop! Come back!” Cheng Baak-hap cried out in warning.

They halted, but Gaam Yuk Ying had enough of a break to recover. He shot suddenly up over the cliff edge, his fingers hitting the paralysis acupuncture points at the joints of both of Chan Bik's arms. He turned and lightly flicked Gou Dzing directly over the heart with a finger before the latter could even react. Then he turned to look at Cheng Baak-hap.

She sighed. “It was worth a try. You're just too fast.”

“Are you giving up?”

“What do you think I should do?”

“Stop stalling. I know there's a trap.”

Cheng Baak-hap laughed. “I shouldn't treat you like an dummy, should I? I keep forgetting after hanging around with Gou Si-hing and Chan Si-mui.”

“Hey! Don't slander your companions like that!”

“Cheng Si-dze, you're so mean!”

Still, Cheng Baak-hap remained where she was standing. “I'm afraid you'll have to come and get me, Gaam si hing. I can't move from here.”

Gaam Yuk Ying disappeared and reappeared only a few bou away from Cheng Baak-hap. She stood perfectly still. His silvery eyes darted around, taking in the grass.

Without warning, he swung Lo Fu Ngaa at Cheng Baak-hap's feet. She dropped instantly, a huge and intricate web of roots and grass disintegrating below her. A cavern of water opened up beneath her.

Gaam Yuk Ying jumped straight down, seizing Cheng Baak-hap. Dropping Lo Fu Ngaa, he jumped upwards, curling his foot to send the dou spinning strongly into the cavern wall, where it wedged itself, while reaching for the limestone on the other side. The stone was soft and crumbling, but enough – he jumped from tiny foothold to foothold, emerging from the pit. The others stood waiting nearby.

“Got you.” Cheng Baak-hap, her arms around Gaam Yuk Ying's neck, smiled. She had a very narrow wooden needle pressed to Gaam Yuk Ying's neck.

“No, you don't,” Chan Bik sighed.

Gaam Yuk Ying's hair was loose. The metal clasp that had held it in place had been compressed into a tiny flat plate that blocked the wooden needle. He dropped the girl and examined the remains of his hair clasp. “Hm.”

Cheng Baak-hap laughed ruefully and lay flat where she had been dropped. “Now that's cheating.”

Gaam Yuk Ying shook his sleeves, and an assortment of coins and miscellaneous metal objects including hinges and beads dropped out. “I always carry a few things to use.”

How the hell did you run around with all that and not make a huge clattering noise?

“So why did you use your hair clasp?” Cheng Baak-hap asked, as he was eyeing the object sadly. Under his gaze, the metal bent back into a clasp-like shape, but it was clear that it would no longer work or look as it had.

“Nearest to my neck. You almost won.”

“That was great!” Gong Lau Yan grinned. “Strategy by Little Cheng, restriction by Little Gou, offence by Little Chan. Good teamwork and use of your skills.”

“We still didn't win.”

“You haven't had much experience with fighting. Little Gaam has.”

Three pairs of suspicious eyes turned to look at Gaam Yuk Ying, but no one asked any questions.

“We'll be leaving early tomorrow morning. Why don't you go down into the city?” Gong Lau Yan suggested. She grinned at Gou Dzing. “You might recognise some of the faces there.”

“Sounds good. Everyone coming?”

“I need to wash up first,” said Chan Bik, looking at her scuffed and sweaty clothing. “Give me a moment.”

She ran to the cliffside and disappeared.

“She just keeps getting faster and faster. You'll be in trouble one day, Yuk Ying.”

“The two of you should probably wash up as well,” Wong Tang advised.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

“Will you be coming too, Master?”

“No, the three of us will stay here. I don't like such crowded places.”

When Gou Dzing and Cheng Baak-hap were gone, the Grandmaster turned to Gaam Yuk Ying. “You didn't find her.”

“No, Divine Empress.”

“That's a worry.” Gong Lau Yan grimaced. “That might mean that there's more going on there than just a single, simple troublemaker.”

“We don't have any more time to look for her. Did you send notices out to the different sects?”

“Yes, Divine Majesty.” Maan Dzi King's voice was subdued.

“I don't like it.” Wong Tang blew smoke out from between her teeth in irritation. “But we can't give her any more attention right now. You're dismissed, Little Gaam.”

“Yes, Divine Empress.”

“Wait...”

Gaam Yuk Ying paused on the very edge of the cliff.

“You did the right thing.”

“... I know, Divine Majesty.”

He hopped over the edge.

----------------------------------------

“Gung-gung!”

“Hey, brat! Why haven't you visited home recently?”

The four disciples had regrouped and descended to the streets of Yuk-hoi, where the air was simmering with excitement and adrenaline. Small fights kept breaking out everywhere like little fires, but they died out quickly as the competitors kept each other in check. Everyone was itching for the tournament to start.

As they wandered through the streets, a old man, straight-backed and powerfully built, had called out to Gou Dzing. They had the same strong eyebrows, the same decisive jaw. The old man wore high-quality robes and a gim at his hip.

Gou Dzing strode up to him with a big smile. “I've been busy, Gung-gung. What are you doing here?”

“Watching the tournament, of course. Half the family is here for it. You're taking part, right?”

“Huh? No, no, we're just passing through.”

“We?”

“Oh yeah, come and meet my friends. This is Cheng Baak-hap and Chan Bik.”

Suddenly a whole pack of people was crowded around them until they could barely breathe.

“Waaah, two pretty girls!”

“Wait, is this the Cheng Baak-hap? We finally meet you!”

“Chan Bik-ah, are you from the Chan Family near Maau-dan-si?”

Gou Dzing tried to introduce all the faces that popped up in front of the two girls. “This is my Second Uncle, my Third Aunt- Oh, Cousin Hei Lok?”

Cheng Baak-hap awkwardly tried to fend off all the curious questions, Chan Bik moving to shield her despite being shorter.

“Ah, Yuk Ying, over here!”

“... Did he say Yuk Ying?”

The questioning finally came to a halt as everyone turned to look at the newcomer. Gaam Yuk Ying had a chicken skewer in either hand and was eating them like he's never been fed in his life. He continued to try and strain to eat even after Gou Dzing pounced on him cheerfully.

“Everyone, this is Gaam Yuk Ying!”

If the family were hoping for further explanations, they were disappointed. Gou Dzing simply continued to hang around Gaam Yuk Ying's neck, sparkling, and Gaam Yuk Ying continued to stare regretfully at the chicken skewers that he now couldn't get to his mouth.

Grandfather Gou eventually greeted him gruffly. “Gaam Yuk Ying, is it? Pleased to meet you... That dou at your side...”

“Ah, Yuk Ying, Gung-gung was the one who gave permission for our jade to be used to make your dou hilt.”

Gaam Yuk Ying awkwardly bowed, as best he could with Gou Dzing dangling around his neck and a stick of chicken in each hand. “Thank you, Gung-gung.”

Who was this kid, calling the patriarch of the Gou Family so familiarly?

Grandfather Gou's face twitched, but he felt he couldn't say anything with his eldest grandson plastered over the boy. “I see you are wearing the robes of the Reflective Arts School of Mount Faa. Have you been at the Sect long?”

Gaam Yuk Ying shook his head.

“It's been just over a year,” Gou Dzing interpreted.

“Can you not answer for yourself, boy?”

“Sir,” Chan Bik interjected anxiously, “Gaam Si-hing is not a very talkative person. Please don't misunderstand, he's not being deliberately rude.”

Grandfather Gou couldn't resist patting her on the head, and she smiled awkwardly in response. “What a good girl. Well, if that's how it is. I understand some martial artists have eccentric personalities...”

“Like yourself, Gung-gung?” Gaam Yuk Ying asked without malice. Cheng Baak-hap and Chan Bik both clapped their hands to his mouth, too late.

Gou Dzing hastily stepped between his grandfather and his boyfriend. “Uh... Gung-gung... Yuk Ying didn't mean anything by...”

“Well, maybe he did, he's born in the Year of the Monkey, after all,” Chan Bik added.

“Can si mui, you're not helping!” Gou Dzing yelled, sweating, his grandfather looming closer and closer as a huge, indistinct but clearly angry shape. Suddenly, a small figure popped up between them all.

“Hey, boy, why do you keep looking at the ground? You've got really pretty eyes.” The young woman Gou Dzing had addressed as Cousin Hei Lok peered at Gaam Yuk Ying with a bright smile.

Gou Dzing grabbed Gaam Yuk Ying's head and buried it in his chest, arms hiding his face from view. “Hey! No looking!”

“What the heck, Cousin Dzing! Why are you being so weird?”

“I'm not being weird! He doesn't like it!”

“Mm mmph mm...” Gaam Yuk Ying said, articulately.

Gou Dzing released him. “Huh?

“I want to eat,” Gaam Yuk Ying said again.

“Your face is red...” Cheng Baak-hap smirked, her eyes foxy. Gaam Yuk Ying gobbled the rest of his skewers before Gou Dzing could put him back in a headlock.

The expression on Grandfather Gou's face became calm once more. Okay, I understand. “This disrespectful little brat will get a lesson from me later.”

“Uh, Gung-gung, I think you mixed up your thoughts and your speech.”

The rest of the family had already turned their attention back to the two girls, bombarding them with questions. Age? Cultivation level? Skills?

Only Hei Lok seemed interested in Gaam Yuk Ying. “What's so special about him, Cousin Dzing?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don't act dumb.”

“I'm not- Laai-laai!”

From behind the crowd of family members, they could just about see the tiny, wizened form of an old woman, bent over a walking stick.

Gou Dzing pushed through his family to greet her. “Laai-laai, how are you?”

His grandmother smiled good-naturedly in response, her face crinkling like an old apple. Gou Dzing gestured Gaam Yuk Ying over.

“Let me take those sticks... Laai-laai, this is Gaam Yuk Ying. Yuk Ying, this is my Laai-laai. Can you look after her? She's not a cultivator, she has no spiritual powers, so she is very frail. She means a lot to me, do you understand?”

“NO!” Everyone was almost knocked flat by Grandfather Gou's shout. He practically teleported to his wife's side, hiding her with voluminous sleeves. “I'm not letting that little brat come anywhere near my precious Sek Ying!”

“Gung-gung.” Gou Dzing's voice was was firm as rock. “Perhaps you don't understand Gaam Yuk Ying's personality, but believe me when I say that Laai-laai will be safer with him than with anyone else here.”

“What are you saying, you brat?”

“I'm saying I would trust Yuk Ying with my life, and I'd trust him with Laai-laai's too.”

The two men glared at each other.

“If anything happens to her-”

“Nothing will happen to her, Patriarch Gou,” Gaam Yuk Ying said quietly.

Grandfather Gou felt a soft hand pat his own. His wife smiled sweetly up at him.

“... Sek Ying...” He made a pitiful face. “Tell me immediately if this boy is bad to you!”

Gaam Yuk Ying held out his hand to the old lady, who continued to smile as she took it. She was as light as a bird, even as she leaned on the young man's arm. She looked into his face and nodded cheerfully.

Grandfather Gou coughed gruffly and turned back to his grandson. “Are you really not competing?”

“I'm afraid we have other business, Gung-gung. We'll come and watch some of the tournament, though. Who would you recommend seeing?”

“Ah, well, there are a few strong contenders this year...” Grandfather Gou threw an arm around his grandson and they walked away, chattering about this cultivator and that martial artist, although not without one last glare from the Gou Patriarch in the direction of Gaam Yuk Ying.

“So, what's your relationship with Cousin Gou?” Gou Hei Lok asked Gaam Yuk Ying.

“Boyfriend,” Gaam Yuk Ying replied bluntly.

Chan Bik smacked her forehead. Cheng Baak-hap sighed into her sleeve. The Gou Family members who had not followed Gou Dzing and the family head stared at Gaam Yuk Ying, speechless.

“No wonder!” Gou Hei Lok exclaimed, clapping her hands. “He looks at you the way Gung Gung looks at Laai Laai. Hopelessly romantic, both of them. But Yuk Ying... Can I call you that?”

A sinister smile crept across her face.

“Cousin Dzing is the eldest of our generation in the great Gou Family. He has a high reputation as a cultivator – if he competed at this Dragon and Phoenix Tournament, he would crush everyone easily. He's handsome, and has a good personality. What makes you think you can stand by his side?”