"I want those two assassins restrained and taken prisoner! Kill the rest and let's get out of here. It's not safe," said the guard captain, "loot the bodies quickly. We can divvy up the spoils once we're secure."

The guards and the Pan siblings hurried to obey his orders, taking the assassins he'd indicated prisoner, killing any survivors, and storing all the bodies in their storage rings. Jie stored a few of those who were already dead in her ring but refrained from finishing anyone.

The sight made Jie's stomach turn even though she'd seen far worse. Buried within her unease was a deep sense of guilt, however. Once again, she'd avoided dirtying her own hands by directly killing. Leaving it for someone else.

How long am I going to do this? I can't get away with it forever... sooner or later I'll have to take a life with my own hands. Would Ming be disappointed? Maybe... he killed for me... how can I still not consider myself a killer?

It didn't take long and soon, they were back on street level with Jie beside Pan Tian and Pan Zhanshi. The guards formed around them, and the entire group moved at a slight run. Not at full speed, but enough that they could still sense their surroundings and move cautiously while also moving toward where more guards and safety should be waiting for them.

They were all on alert, eyes alternating between scanning the rooftops and the streets around them.

"You shouldn't have run off like that," Pan Tian said after a long, tense silence.

"I wasn't going to just let them kill us," Jie said.

"Still... you should let our guards protect you..." Pan Tian said.

"They did," Jie said, "You had to fight too. Don't forget I'm stronger than you."

"I haven't... I just... never mind..." Pan Tian said.

The silence returned.

They ran across the city and soon came to the massive Pan family mansion. The guards outside looked them over and hurried them inside. Several more guards took the live captives they'd brought and dragged them away. No doubt for interrogation. Jie tried not to think about it and instead followed the Pan siblings into the mansion.

"Nice place," Jie said, hoping to break the silence.

"Thanks," Pan Zhanshi said, "it helps to make trips to the city much easier. Doesn't it sis?"

"Yeah..." Pan Tian said.

Jie frowned. "Are you still mad at me?" she asked.

"Yes... well... no. I get it. I just don't want you getting hurt. I can't believe they dared to attack you while you're under our protection! The nerve of them!" Pan Tian snapped.

"Mmm..." Jie said, "I'm guessing they were from the Chen family?"

"Who else?" Pan Tian said with an edge to her voice.

"Judging by their martial skills, I think they're probably assassins that the Chen family hired. But even so, I'm surprised they sent so many and attacked you the way they did..." Pan Zhanshi said.

"I suppose they don't get many chances," Pan Tian said as though musing out loud.

"You lost me," Pan Zhanshi said.

"Well, think about it. Jie never leaves the Crimson Academy and their defenses are impeccable. It would be freakishly hard to try to kill her there compared to the city. Even our elders might not be able to get through the defenses the academy has," Pan Tian said.

"Can we go to the city lord about the attack on me?" Jie asked.

"Probably not," Pan Zhanshi said, "the Chen family will have made sure this can't be traced back to them. Our interrogators will see what they can get out of the prisoners though. Sometimes people get clumsy."

Pan Tian nodded as though this was normal.

Jie pressed a knuckle against her pursed lips. What could she do about this? She balked at the thought of actually killing someone with her own hands and that made a mixture of guilt and self-loathing well up inside her. But, even if she could get over that... there was no way she could actually kill the Chen family. The children and some of their guards, but their experts? They were far too strong.

"They're just going to keep sending assassins until I'm dead, aren't they?" Jie asked.

"Probably," Pan Zhanshi said.

Pan Tian shot him a glare.

"It's okay. Better the truth than a comforting lie," Jie said, "but, I don't know how to deal with this kind of stuff. What would you do?"

"Well, I'd make sure I had guards with me at all times. But you're with us so naturally that's the case," Pan Tian said.

Jie nodded. She hated just waiting to be attacked over and over again. She didn't regret her actions, but she hated that she should just allow these evil people to do what they wanted. She wished she had the strength to stop them, but also felt her stomach churn at the thought of killing with her own hands, followed by the twisted knot of guilt for not doing so. She tried to push her feelings aside.

"Could I hire an assassin to kill them first?" Jie asked.

"It would take someone incredibly powerful to perform a task like that. Finding someone that strong might even be impossible. The Chen family head, the headmaster, the city lord, our family head... and a handful of other people are the strongest in this region.

"But I can't think of any that would be willing to be an assassin. Except for the Chen family of course. There are some who would probably jump at the chance to kill the Chen family too, but they have lots of allies as well. A move like that could easily plunge the entire area into war," Pan Zhanshi said.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"So... I guess you'd prefer if I didn't," Jie said.

"Unless you get some strong experts from out of nowhere to tip the scales... if you do then let us know and I'm sure our family would be happy to take your side," Pan Zhanshi said.

Jie nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I won't be in the city much longer anyway," she said, "guess I'll just have to be careful for now."

It felt good to be safer behind the Pan family's walls and they all withdrew the bodies they'd stored in their rings. It felt unsettling to Jie how emotionlessly the Pan siblings and the guards stripped the various bodies, using strange scrolls on each item before actually touching it.

Jie just stood there watching them, feeling both sick at seeing so many corpses and useless for not helping.

Still, the guards and the Pan siblings worked with brisk efficiency and they were done in moments and rapidly sorted the treasures into several piles. It was hard for Jie to judge the value of the piles as she had no clue what the worth of the individual items was. But it seemed to her that the Pan family was giving her a slightly larger share with the Pan siblings and guards receiving more equal shares.

Jie thanked the Pan siblings and guards and they all stored their respective treasures in their storage rings. In the end, they each gained some weapons that none of them were particularly interested in. A bit of currency, mostly gold, some low level healing pills and cultivation resources, and the enchanted fabric each of the assassins had worn which seemed to help hide their auras.

Jie doubted that was all the assassins owned and Pan Tian explained that this was likely all they'd brought with them and their full possessions were likely somewhere secret and safe. Perhaps in their guild hall somewhere or in a bank.

Still, even the small number of possessions they'd carried added up to quite a lot given how many bodies there were to loot.

"What were those scrolls?" Jie asked finally.

Pan Tian looked at Jie like she'd asked what color the sky was. "Scrolls of wisdom," she said, "you know, so we know what each item is and can see if it's cursed."

Jie nodded. That seemed wise.

Pan Tian gave her a lingering quizzical look but shrugged it away.

"Well, that's done. Let's go wash off all the dust and blood and put on fresh robes for the auction tonight. We have to look our best, after all!" Pan Tian said. Her face was lit up with a brilliant smile that made Jie's lips twitch, infectious as it was.

Pan Tian grabbed Jie's wrist and led her through the mansion to a humid room with large, box-like shelves lining the walls.

"You can just leave your clothes here if you like, I'll make sure one of the servants cleans them for you," Pan Tian said.

"Leave... my clothes?" Jie said, stunned.

"Well, yeah? You can't take them into the bath with you, silly!" Pan Tian said, "Oh my gosh! Do you have something to wear for tonight? I forgot to ask before!"

"My master gave me plenty of clothes," Jie said, "I'm sure I can throw on a fresh set of robes."

"What about something more formal?" Pan Tian asked as she undressed. Jie looked away and didn't even begin to take off her clothes. After having to be cleaned by someone else in the hospital for so long, she'd hoped that she'd never have to be naked in front of anyone ever again.

"Uh... I don't know," Jie said, "I'll look, I guess. It's just an auction though, I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Jie? Why aren't you getting undressed? Are you shy?" Pan Tian said.

"I'd rather wash up alone," Jie said.

"Really? But then you might run late," Pan Tian said, "aren't you used to it from the academy?"

"The residence they gave me has a bath," Jie said.

"Oh... wow they must've given you one of the amazing ones then," Pan Tian said.

"I wouldn't know. Isn't there another bath I could use?" Jie asked.

"Not really..." Pan Tian said, "the mansion has too many people. We have separate ones for servants, guards, and the family. There's a private one, but my aunt is probably using that and we wouldn't be allowed to use it anyway."

Jie closed her eyes and forced out a slow breath, her jaw clenched.

"Is it that big of a deal? How do you manage back home?" Pan Tian asked.

"I was... it wasn't fun," Jie said.

"It's really not that bad..." Pan Tian said, her tone soft and reassuring.

"It was more complicated but fine. Let's just get this over with," Jie said.

She took her clothes off quickly, as though rushing through it would somehow make this whole thing go by faster. Then, she stashed her clothes on one of the shelves. Jie wrapped her arms around herself, determined to maintain what little modesty she could.

"It's this way," Pan Tian said, her gaze pointedly averted. She led the way through a sliding door and into a tiled chamber.

The floor was wet, and every step came with an accompanying splish. But, there was no bath in sight. Just a bunch of walls with fish heads sticking out. Not unlike shower heads. The walls each had two tiles with runes on them as well.

"Are these... showers?" Jie asked.

"Yes," Pan Tian said, "we'll clean off here and then soak for a bit."

"Why can't you just have a bunch of separate rooms with these in them?" Jie asked.

"Wow... your family must be incredibly wealthy," Pan Tian said.

"Well, you already have the showers, it's not that big a deal," Jie said.

"We'd have to hire runecrafters to do each one separately instead of one big one," Pan Tian said, "it'd cost at least ten times as much. If not more. I still can't believe the academy gave you a bath. How did you get that?"

"They just gave it to me after I placed first in the entrance test," Jie said.

"You placed first? No wonder they spoil you," Pan Tian said.

The two of them showered under different shower heads and when they were done, Jie followed Pan Tian into the bath where they soaked together.

The two of them talked a bit and gradually Jie grew more comfortable. It was nothing like having someone else clean her after all. She wished she could just forget it had ever happened... it'd been utterly humiliating and she'd hated every second of it.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was time to leave the bath and dry off. Once dry, they went into yet another room.

"So, can I see what clothes you have?" Pan Tian asked, "Oooh! Maybe you should wear some jewelry?"

Jie frowned as she thought about how gaudy Pan Keai looked. "No," she said, "I'll just wear my robes."

"Aww!" Pan Tian said, "But why? You can wear some of mine if you like."

"Maybe another time," Jie said.

"You know I'm not going to forget that," Pan Tian said, "one of these days, I'm going to get you to dress up until you sparkle!"

Jie pulled out a set of fresh robes. They were black, so they'd blend in at least a little if they were attacked again tonight. Although, the golden dragons would stand out a little. Ah, well.

"Are you sure you don't want to try wearing a dress and some jewelry?" Pan Tian asked, "You'd look so pretty."

"No. I like robes," Jie said.

Pan Tian frowned. "But, you might like it. Have you ever even worn a dress?" she asked.

"A few times," Jie said, "a very long time ago."

Pan Tian pouted. "This is supposed to be fun. You can just be a girl sometimes you know? You don't always have to be a super serious cultivator," she said.

"A dress would just make me uncomfortable," Jie said, "I had fun at the restaurant. But I'm still me. I'm not going to change."

Pan Tian sighed. "If you're sure. I won't force you, but I still think you're too reserved," she said.

Pan Tian then changed into an elegant, yet slightly girlish dress. It suited her well. It wasn't childish, but it also wasn't trying too hard either. It was... pretty. And, she had only a few pieces of jewelry. Each looked like it'd been chosen with care.

But Jie had no idea beyond that. She'd never bothered to investigate anything like that on Earth. After all, even if she'd succeeded in achieving something despite being unable to move, it's not like it would've mattered. Her body would still have been broken, and no matter how it glittered or sparkled, she'd never have been able to talk with people normally. No polite dinners. No boys. Nothing.

"Jie? Are you okay?" Pan Tian asked.

"Just remembering something," Jie said, "shall we go?"

"Only if you're sure I can't get you into a dress," Pan Tian said with a chuckle.

"Next time," Jie said.

"Do you mean that?" Pan Tian said.

Jie nodded. "I... don't really know about that stuff... it might be nice though. You look like you have taste at least," she said.

Pan Tian giggled. "Don't worry, I wouldn't just drown you under a mountain of jewelry. Less is more," she said.

Jie smirked but held her tongue. Who knew how far Pan Keai could hear at her level of cultivation? She'd made more than enough enemies to keep busy for a while. There was no sense in making more.