“You don’t look worried, for someone ready to duel.” Rui Bao said.

Qian Shanyi glanced at him over the top of her book. There were bags under Rui Bao’s eyes as he squinted at the light framing her face, waiting for her response. It must have shaded her face dramatically, and helped her read, which is exactly why she chose this spot to wait.

She was balancing a plain chair on its hind legs, her back to the pillar of the world edge at the central square of Glaze Ridge. Her feet were propped up on a table they brought along from the tavern, right next to a Shatranj board and an incense stick lit to measure time. It wasn’t the most comfortable way to sit, but it looked impressive and kept the chakram hidden on her back from digging into her skin, which was much more important.

Underneath the table laid a long crate of cheap wood and straw, built by Wang Yonghao to her specifications. It was as tall as she was, and about two feet wide, keeping their other weapons safe and hidden from prying eyes.

“You don’t look rested, for someone who sleeps all day,” Qian Shanyi responded casually, going back to her book.

She was worried about the duel, of course - that was why she picked up the book, to keep her mind occupied, instead of going over her plan for the hundredth time. She was healed, rested, and trained, and arrived at the square a good half an hour in advance - all that remained was to wait, and adapt to the circumstances.

“Must you be so cold, darling?” Rui Bao sighed. “Will you not even grace me with a smile?”

“Must I be cold?” she asked rhetorically, not looking up. “No. Will I be? Yes.”

Rui Bao was, undeniably, useful - if he hadn’t informed Wang Yonghao that Jian Shizhe left town, they might not have figured out his plan. But that didn’t mean she was particularly happy to see him, not after what he said last night.

And he could be useful whether he was happy or not.

Rui Bao pursed his lips at her, but brushed her earlier comment off easily enough. A shame. “What are you reading?” the pest asked her again.

“Gildenighter and the Eelwoven,” she said, angling the book so that he could see the title. She didn’t deign to explain more. It was a new book in a series of adventure novels, one she read years ago - this one about a perilous track through a condemned city infested with sentient eels. Light reading, easy on the mind.

Wang Yonghao glanced at her, a silent question if he should assist her in his eyes. She shook her head slightly. He was playing shatranj against Wang Muchen - an ordinary person they hired for the day, to help with carrying things and running messages around town. A friend of Chu Lin, fit and young - he usually helped out by bringing supplies into the restaurant in the morning, and then did odd jobs around the city during the day. That his family name was also Wang amused her greatly - even though it was one of the most common family names in the empire. Wang v Wang, winner Wang.

“I see you haven’t brought a fourth chair,” Rui Bao continued after an awkward pause, glancing around the table.

“Honorable immortal, if you require -” Wang Muchen said, attempting to rise out of his seat. He seemed a bit overwhelmed, honestly - meeting one cultivator in person was already a rarity, and now he was surrounded by three.

“No, no, stay,” Qian Shanyi said, motioning to him with her foot. “He can find his own.”

Wang Muchen looked at her, eyes uncertain. “I can -”

Qian Shanyi glanced at the shatranj board. He seemed to be losing, so perhaps that is why he wanted to flee. “I will pay you two silver yuan to ignore Rui Bao entirely,” she drawled, flipping to the next page. “An ignorant dog can hardly sit at the same table as us humans, can it? Rui Bao won’t be sitting on any chair of mine.”

Wang Muchen immediately sat back down. For some unfathomable reason he decided to gamble money with Wang Yonghao, but thankfully, the two stuck to small bets. Two silver would just about make them even.

“Not your chair,” Wang Yonghao noted automatically, moving a figure on the board.

“I paid for the tavern room,” she said, waving him off. “It’s the principle of the thing.”

Rui Bao glared at her, eyebrows furrowed. She kept watch of him out of the corner of her eye. “A dog, huh? You really detested my advice this much?”

“That I did.”

“Can you at least explain what I did wrong?”

“Does a dog deserve an explanation?” she asked rhetorically, not lifting her eyes off the book.

Rui Bao snorted angrily, and pointed at Wang Muchen. “Four yuan to give me your chair.”

“Five. Keep ignoring him.”

Rui Bao’s left eye twitched, a crack passing through his usual nonchalant confidence. “Eight yuan.”

“Ten.”

“Twelve.”

“Fifteen.”

“Two golden yuan,” Rui Bao snapped, glaring at her, too caught up in the haggling to realize he was being baited. In many ways, he was just as arrogant as Jian Shizhe. He waited a moment, but she stayed quiet, idly flipping to the next page. “Well? Nothing more to say?”

She looked at him as if he was stupid, which he was. “I have just gotten you to pay two gold yuan for a chair you could have gotten from any restaurant around here for free,” she said, “what does that make you if not my dog?” She motioned to Wang Muchen, who was looking between the two of them expectantly. “Pay the good man, and take your chair. I suppose I’ll give you your explanation, since you’ve begged for it so much.”

Rui Bao’s eye twitched again, a slight blush coming to his cheeks at being so blatantly tricked. He pulled his head back and laughed, concealing his embarrassment. “Quite a trick you’ve pulled on me,” he said with a slight grin, counting out the coins, dropping them into Wang Muchen’s hand without a second glance. Two days ago, she would have described it as roguish; today, it just seemed annoying.

The commoner accepted the money gratefully, grinning from ear to ear, and bowed deeply towards her. That was probably a good month of wages for him, and a paltry sum for Rui Bao. Leaning against Wang Muchen’s ear, she whispered that he should find a new chair from one of the restaurants around the square - but not to hurry back. All else being equal, she preferred not to air sect laundry in front of outsiders.

“I’ve talked to some of the women of the Northern Scarlet Stream sect this morning,” Qian Shanyi said, once Wang Muchen had left, and Rui Bao sat down, anger hidden deep within his dark eyes. “Asked them about Jian Shizhe. They told me such interesting things.”

“What did they tell you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow with some concern.

She stayed quiet, letting Rui Bao stew in the possibilities, visions of the worst. Wang Yonghao gave him a judgmental glare as well, complimenting her game. She talked to him after they came back from the square, and patiently explained the situation, what everything meant and implied. She was getting a lot better at making him understand, knowing which metaphors to pick and which to avoid, which made the unpleasant talk blessedly quick.

“Nothing I did not already expect,” she finally said once Rui Bao started to fidget, “he is pushy and rude, crosses boundaries. The female sect’s disciples warn each other about him, avoid crossing paths, training at the same time or place - and not just because he is so quick to draw his sword.” She glanced up from her book, meeting Rui Bao’s eyes. “In other words, the same as a hundred other pieces of trash who think of themselves as gods.”

She had a lot of experience with those. It took her two and a half years of careful work to fully clean her sect out. Fortunately, she no longer needed to be subtle.

Rui Bao frowned, his annoying little smile having been washed away as if she dumped a bucket of cold water on his head. “I have heard nothing of this.”

Qian Shanyi shrugged easily, eyes falling back down to her book. She suspected it was a half-truth at best, but it was pointless to argue. “Why would you have heard of it? You are not a woman. Little point in informing you, if you did not ask yourself.”

“What does that matter?” Rui Bao snapped at her, “I would have done something about it if I knew! I would -”

Qian Shanyi snorted. “Now that’s a lie,” she said, closing her book and putting it down on the table, focusing on Rui Bao fully. “You haven’t done shit about it.”

“Well if only I knew -”

“You should have already known,” she cut him off. “What do you imagine happens when you leave an aggressive pest like Shizhe alone with a woman? Do you think he becomes kind and understanding, less prone to see every little thing as an insult to his honor? How do you imagine he handles rejection?” She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “You saw that armor of his. What do you think it represents, as a symbol?”

At least Rui Bao had the decency to look a bit ashamed. It took less than a week for the pieces to click together for her - but he was friends with Jian Shizhe for years, at least based on the cultivator almanac. It took a blind man to ignore the sun shining down on his face.

“And what happens when something goes wrong?” She continued, ”If it’s his word against hers - who will the people believe? And you must know the saying - that cowards have as much honor as women, children and mortals? Which woman except me would have dared to duel that prick, risked being killed or maimed?” She lifted her feet off the table, letting her chair slam down into the ground, momentum carrying her forward to lean towards Rui Bao. “I’ve seen Jian Shizhe’s dueling record. He had three duels with you - and then another twenty with others. You could have made him stop - promised to take the place of anyone else he challenged. But you did nothing.” She bored her gaze into his eyes, staring him down. “And that’s what disgusts me about you. You stood aside and did nothing while Jian Shizhe continued to fester.” She bared her teeth in a scowl. “And then you dared to ask me to apologize to that fuck?”

He broke off first, looking away into the square. She leaned backwards, picking her book up again, and sighed slightly. “Thankfully, trying to burst into my room was the worst of it by far. No aphrodisiacs, not that anyone recalled, or we would have been having a very different conversation. He is not that far gone, not yet.”

Now Rui Bao looked appropriately contrite. Perhaps not a completely lost case. “It’s already noon,” he said, clearly trying to pivot away from the topic. She let him: she said her part. “Jian Shizhe should have already been here.”

“Fifteen minutes before noon, actually,” she said, gesturing to the smoldering incense stick at the edge of the table. “He will show.”

“Unless he is dead,” Wang Yonghao chimed in.

“Dead?” Rui Bao exclaimed, looking between the two of them in worry. “Why would he be dead?”

“All sorts of things happen on the path of cultivation,” Qian Shanyi said neutrally, “but I do not think he is dead. For all his other faults, little Shizhe is a fairly competent cultivator.”

Rui Bao sighed, and rose, beginning to pace, worry plain on his face. Minutes passed. The noon came and went.

Jian Shizhe did not appear.

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

“Why is he still not here?” Rui Bao asked, leaning on the table, twenty minutes after noon. There was a small depression on his lip, where he bit it too hard a minute ago.

“He will show,” Qian Shanyi repeated neutrally. Asking questions she had no way of knowing right before her duel was flatly rude, but the earlier discussion already annoyed her enough that this barely registered. She wasn’t the type to be unbalanced by something like that.

As she glanced over the square again, her eyes caught a spot in the distance, flying through the air, one that soon resolved into a short cultivator standing on top of a flying sword. Building foundation, almost surely - though dressed strangely, in neither robes nor a cloak, a strange, long dark brown garment flapping all around him in the wind. She could see many pockets, and from the glint of metal, could tell that half of the buttons on the front were surely missing. He didn’t look like a cultivator, frankly - oily hair, a bit of a stubble. If she passed him on the street, she would not have turned a second eye.

He was also looking directly at her. Their eyes crossed. From this far away, it was hard to tell - but she thought she caught a smile.

“Do you know who that is?” she cautiously asked Rui Bao, gesturing to the strange cultivator as he landed on the square. It was a bit more crowded today than usual, cultivators and ordinary people gathering at the edges for a good show, brought about by the rumors Wang Yonghao spread, but the people parted for the new cultivator. Despite their shared look, the newcomer did not approach, and instead headed directly into one of the restaurants, taking a table with a good view of the square.

“Never seen him before,” Rui Bao said, after he realized who she was gesturing at. “Just a loose cultivator, probably.”

“Loose building foundation cultivator?” She asked incredulously, glancing back at Rui Bao. “One that looks like a bum? Not to say it couldn’t happen, but…”

Wang Yonghao tensed, hearing them speak, and turned to look as well. She caught his eyes, willing him to be calm, and he shook his head, shrugging slightly. Not someone he recognised either, then.

This could be Wang Yonghao’s luck again, or it could be nothing. She wasn’t even entirely sure that the cultivator was looking at her - from that far away, it could have been any one of them, as they were the most notable group on the square. Surely it was unrelated.

And yet, she felt her skin crawl on the back of her head.

“I could ask, if you want?” Rui Bao said, giving her a pleading look. Trying to make up for his earlier misstep? One could only hope.

“No,” she said dismissively after a short pause. “Perhaps he is simply here to watch the duel. Let him be.”

She couldn’t call off a duel based on a vague suspicion. After they were done - there would be time enough to find out more. And with the crowd of cultivators at the square, perhaps the rumor mill would already do most of the work for them.

It still gnawed at her. Her plan was already stretched to the very limits - any unexpected factors could drive it off course entirely.

Just as she went back to her book, hoping to restore her calm, they all felt a slight tremor pass through the ground. Shatranj figures on the board shook slightly, Wang Muchen grabbing the table to keep it stable.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“What was that?” Rui Bao asked, looking around warily.

“That,” Qian Shanyi said, closing her book with a sigh and putting it down on the table. Just her luck. “I think, would be Jian Shizhe.”

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

“Sweet heavenbreakers, what did he do?” Rui Bao whispered in shock, looking out over the long thoroughfare.

Qian Shanyi’s guess about where Jian Shizhe would appear was misplaced, and they had to walk a quarter of the way around the central column to see him approach. Rui Bao walked at her side while Wang Yonghao followed a bit behind, bringing their crate along. Wang Muchen stayed behind, told to pack up their table and chairs and move them away from the action.

Far in the distance, a rainbow sun walked above the city skyline on slender legs of light. If Qian Shanyi tuned out the glare, it looked somewhat like a cross between a crab and a porcupine - clawed arms as long as its legs, and a comparatively smaller body, covered in long, razor-sharp spikes of glass, each a good meter long. It stalked closer, the small figure of Jian Shizhe barely visible on its back, moving deceptively slowly and quietly - though sometimes, when he sent it into a run, the earth shook with its sheer mass.

They did not hear any screams, which boded well.

“Brought one of his demon beasts, it seems,” Qian Shanyi noted, studying the glass shambler. It was larger than what they expected… but not so much she couldn’t slaughter it.

“That is not one of theirs -” Rui Bao snapped at her, before stopping, and drawing a shaky breath. “I’ve been through their stables. It’s freshly caught.”

“So it is,” she said neutrally, and then turned to Wang Yonghao with a light grin. “Well, Yonghao, how lucky are you feeling today? Leg or stomach?”

“Oh go talk to an Illihveli, Shanyi,” he scowled at her joke. She laughed at the insult, and he sighed, turning back to study the demon beast. “I still think it should be the stomach,” he said after a moment. “Leg is too risky for you, harder to hit, especially with the glare.”

“Stomach is risky too. The scales there are thicker, no?”

Rui Bao glanced between the two of them, face full of slowly dawning terror. “You still want to fight him?”

“Of course,” Qian Shanyi said as if it was self-evident. Which it was. “We have a duel scheduled.”

“You can’t do the duel!” Rui Bao said angrily. “That thing is a danger to everyone!”

The crowd filling the rooftops and edges of the square finally started to notice the creature as well. It churned, like water in a pot of noodles about to boil over, people moving to and fro. Some of them - the smarter ones - have started to leave, or at least move towards easier escape routes. Idiots moved closer.

Even if Qian Shanyi knew she could swiftly kill the creature - the bystanders didn’t. And even she wasn’t entirely sure she could avoid all collateral damage. But people expected a spectacle, and not catastrophe. They expected things to be under control up until it all went south. At least some of the cultivators were already trying to convince the ordinary people to leave, led by disciples of the Northern Scarlet Stream sect. She didn’t have to deal with that problem, on top of everything else.

“Hm.” Qian Shanyi smirked at Rui Bao. “I am sure you are mistaken. I was told Jian Shizhe is harmless. Surely he wouldn’t bring an untrained demon beast into the middle of town.”

The wounded look he gave her almost made up for the annoyance of having to listen to him defend Jian Shizhe. Almost.

“Besides, how will you stop the duel?” she continued in a sober tone, “Claim it is too dangerous? Until it breaks out of control, it is your word against his - and even if you question him, what then? Another duel? You can’t put out a fire with more fire.” She shook her head. “The only one who could order him to stop is Jian Wei, and I know he still has not returned. At least we have a lot of cultivators here, to put it down quickly if it proves necessary.”

She left a letter for Jian Wei when she went to the sect in the morning, describing the broad terms of her deal, and requesting a meeting. He promised to be back today, after all - and Liu Yufei, the disciple who handled his mail, said he should be back about an hour after noon.

Rui Bao’s eyes dimmed the longer she talked. Conceding the point. “Do you even have anything that could go through the glass spines?” He asked in dismay. “They are hardened, tough as stone. If you can’t climb up, you would have to kill it from the ground.”

“I have my ways,” she said neutrally. Legal gray zone: best to say as little as she could.

Rui Bao paused, then stepped back from her, looking at her in suspicion. “You knew about this?”

“Suspected.” She snorted. “If I knew, I would have told the empire.”

Rui Bao bit his lip, glancing back at the glass shambler. It was closing in quickly. “Brain,” he said, ”I do not know how - but if you want to kill it, you go through the brain. It’s under the jaws.”

“Aren’t shamblers always killed by evisceration?” Wang Yonghao said curiously. “That’s what they told me, at least.”

“When hunting, the brain is too valuable. But if you eviscerate it here, it will go on a rampage,” Rui Bao said, already heading towards the incoming glass shambler. “I’ll talk to Shizhe, try to convince him to stop.”

“Convince him?” Qian Shanyi laughed. “You are fooling yourself.”

“Come now darling, don’t underestimate me!” he said, turning back to send her another smile. “And at least it will buy some time for the people to get away from the square.”

“Well, thank you for your help,” Qian Shanyi called after him, shaking her head slightly. “and for your advice.” Turning around, she snapped her fingers at Wang Yonghao. “I’ll need more power. Box, two shots instead of three. Let’s get them ready.”

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

Rui Bao came to Glass Ridge to have fun, and now his entire morning was ruined. As usual, none of it was his fault. He really wished other people knew how to relax as well as he did.

A little voice in the back of his head whispered that Qian Shanyi was right, that he did ignore Jian Shizhe far too much - but she was not here, and thus easy to put out of his mind. She seemed like a lost cause, anyways - after that look she gave him, he didn't think they had any future.

Oh well. A single sword does not a refiner make, as they say. He felt his usual smile return to his face - light, but confident, like a ray of sunshine through the clouds. Women loved that smile, and he loved his women. Perhaps if he showed off, stopped this duel - he could find another cute disciple for the night. Just something to amuse himself with.

Like this glass shambler Jian Shizhe found. It shone like a lighthouse of doom and slaughter - though not his, of course. Even with this, Jian Shizhe could never hope to beat him.

He hummed a tune as he strolled towards it - at speed, but not so quickly to be rushing. He never rushed. Usually other people would handle things by the time he arrived, which suited the young master of the Flowing Scarlet River sect just fine.

Seeing it in the middle of town had… surprised him for a minute, the prospect of civilian deaths throwing him off his game - but really? They weren't his responsibility in the first place. They were Jian Shizhe's, and that of the Northern Scarlet Stream. Which meant he could once again enjoy himself and not worry too much about it.

“Shizhe! What a beautiful shambler you have there." He called out once he was close, grinning in just the right way he knew put Jian Shizhe on edge. "A new one?”

The glass shambler didn't even slow down. "Out of my way, Rui Bao."

"Is that a way to speak to your friend?" His grin grew. Close up, with a trained eye, he could see a way to climb along one of the legs - there was a trick to it, to not get cut on the glass. He could take it down alone if need be.

In response, Jian Shizhe did something - a twist of the chains, a shouted command - and his glass shambler swiped at Rui Bao with a claw. His sword was out of its scabbard with a single thought, blocking the strike if not the momentum, and he flipped over his head to bleed it off, pirouetting down the street.

"Woah, come on," he said, making a mocking bow with his sword. "If you are here for the duel, then at least talk to your second?"

The danger, the speed - it all gave him such a good rush. Almost like when he dated that building foundation lass, traveling from the Frozen Wastes Mountain, and they made out on top of her flying sword. What was her name again?

The glass shambler stopped, pulling him out of his pleasant memories. "I don’t need a second," Jian Shizhe called down from up high.

"Of course you need a second." Rui Bao scoffed. "Are you a duelist or a wet blanket?"

He could feel the disdain, even from this far out - but little Shizhe could never refuse a bait like that. "Fine," Jian Shizhe said, and set the shambler in motion again. "Follow after."

"Come now, at least bring me up?"

A claw came down, slower this time, and Rui Bao hopped on top. It carried him up, above the rooftops, and onto the shambler's back. He hopped off, grabbing onto one of the long black chains encircling the shambler to steady himself. They were all but invisible from down below, beyond the glare of the refracted sun.

As he looked around, he saw dozens of talismans plastered onto the shambler's back, for pacification and control, half of them already burned through. No wonder it was so docile after less than a week of training: not truly tamed, just contained.

He stepped carefully down the length of the demon beast, easily keeping his footing, and came up to stand next to Jian Shizhe. He was secured down, a safety chain around his waist and a pair of control chains in his hands, pulling and twisting them, switching to other chains for other commands.

His robes were clean in the way that a skirt left to hang out in the rain was clean - no stains or smells, but creased, fabric drying in whatever shape it pleased. His eyes were red from the wind and rain, with thick bags under them.

"You look exhausted," Rui Bao said, suppressing an errant yawn of his own. "Sleep well?"

"I will sleep when we are done here," Jian Shizhe ground out, teeth clenched.

Did he sleep at all?

"Mhm. What’s your plan for Shanyi?” he said, looking carefully into Jian Shizhe’s face.

He was met with a defiant scoff. Was that bloodthirst in his eyes? Jian Shizhe had never killed anyone, but Rui Bao never saw him go this far before either.

“How long have you trained this one?” Rui Bao said, moving to a different question. “Three days?"

"Enough," Jian Shizhe suddenly snapped. His lips twitched unnaturally, face twisting into a grimace. Stimulant overuse, if he ever saw one. "It obeys. That’s all that matters."

Rui Bao raised his hands defensively. Jeez, he was never this bad before. Like a dog that was beaten with a stick until flesh and bone gave way to pure snarling fury. He briefly debated if he should push - it wasn't really his job - but it really would be a bad look to let all those civilians die. "And if it breaks free?" he asked.

"It won’t," Jian Shizhe gestured to a bag, tied down to one of the chains. The shambler below their feet stepped out into the square, long legs easily avoiding the crowd. "I have two submission seals left if I need them. Now get off, and do your job, second."

Rui Bao sighed. Yeah, trying to talk him down really was a lost cause. He hopped onto a claw again, letting it carry him down to the ground, and looked over the talismans on the sides of the demon beast as he passed.

He never cared for rearing demon beasts - needing to deal with manure and fodder and grooming them always seemed so... outer disciple to him. It still seemed like there were just barely enough talismans for a beast of this size. If it rampaged, would two submission seals stop it? He doubted it, but he was not an expert.

Then again, if he got to kill it and heroically save the audience all around the square, would he not be all the better for it?

He stepped off the claw, and headed towards Qian Shanyi. Whatever preparations she and Wang Yonghao had made, he couldn't see them - she was simply leaning against the pillar of the edge of the world at the center of the square, her leather cloak draped carelessly over her right shoulder, left hand resting casually on the pommel of her sword. Wang Yonghao stood just to her right.

The unimpressed look she gave him as he approached was like a stab straight through the heart - as if he truly was just a stray dog coming over to beg for scraps. His grin faltered, turning into a scowl, before he pulled himself back together.

"Jian Shizhe had granted me the honor of being his second for this duel," he announced, bowing before her and projecting his voice to be heard all across the square. "Who is yours, honorable cultivator Qian Shanyi?"

Her look grew colder still. "Couldn't convince him, huh?" she said quietly. "This is a waste of time."

"It gives people time to leave," he said, equally quietly.

Qian Shanyi glanced around the square, then shrugged. "Everyone who wanted to go had already left. Those who remain think it is safe, because you look ever so confident. No, what it really does is give the demon beast more time to break free, and for the idiots to get their courage back and return."

He couldn't help but glance around just like she did. He felt his confidence falter ever so slightly, before it sprung right back. She wasn't wrong - but then again, he'd need a bit of an audience for his inevitable heroic rescue.

"But very well," Qian Shanyi continued, raising her voice to be heard across the square as well. "Yonghao."

"Yes?"

"Wasn’t a question," she said, lowering her voice back down and angling her head in his direction. "You are my second. Just follow Rui Bao's lead, you’ll be fine."

Rui Bao nodded in satisfaction, and exchanged bows with Wang Yonghao. More time in the spotlight for him. "Before we begin, would the duelists like to investigate the field?" he called out.

"A waste of time." Jian Shizhe's voice, from high above. Rui Bao shot him an annoyed glare, though he could barely see him beyond the light reflected off the glass shambler. He all but said Rui Bao was wasting his time. Perhaps once Qian Shanyi lost her duel, he'd duel him right after.

Qian Shanyi's lips twitched in disdain. "If cultivator Jian Shizhe does not wish to do so, I won’t either," she cut back, letting the whole crowd hear. "In fact," she continued, and Rui Bao suddenly got a terrible feeling. “Cultivator Jian Shizhe,” she said with a mocking bow. “Fellow cultivator Rui Bao had advised me last night that we should end this with an apology, and avoid the fight altogether.” She paused for emphasis. “So if you would fall down on your knees, kowtow to me and apologize, I will forget all about this duel.”

Rui Bao winced, and looked at her, feeling betrayed. That is not what he meant!

All he got in response was a light shrug of one elegant shoulder.

"Is there -" he began, desperately hoping to stall more.

"Enough," Jian Shizhe cut him off, his voice just short of a rage-filled scream. "It is time. Cultivator Shanyi! I am the righteous cultivator Jian Shizhe, of the Northern Scarlet Stream sect! I am the uncontested sword saint of the Dancing Sunlight sword art! I have slaughtered the Four Dragons of the Jagged Canyon, ones that have terrorized the countryside for many months! The glass shambler beneath my feet is the largest one in the history of our sect, chained by my hands alone! All know my name and the weight of my words and deeds! You have offended my honor, and for your insult, you will pay in blood!”

Rui Bao breathed out some tension he held, while he and Wang Yonghao retreated a distance away. That was a very traditional opening to the duel, to exaggerate one’s achievements. It let their opponent show more courage, by deciding to proceed with the challenge even if the techniques sounded like they could topple mountains. And it let them save face if they lost - after all, their opponent was so mighty.

If Jian Shizhe bothered to do this - that meant he still wanted to give Qian Shanyi an out, slim as it was.

"Cultivator Jian," Qian Shanyi replied coldly, staring up at the glass shambler. "I am one Qian Shanyi, of the Sky Void Temple sect. I am but a humble seamstress and an immortal chef, with no notable techniques to my name besides those of every obedient and virtuous housewife."

Rui Bao winced again, much harder this time. This was a slap to the face. Was she so tired of living that she sought her own death?

Qian Shanyi bowed deeply. "To slaughter or surrender," she finished.

"To slaughter or surrender!" Jian Shizhe cried out above.

As soon as the last word was spoken, Qian Shanyi’s sword burst out of its scabbard, cutting through the air and into the glass shambler’s belly. Rui Bao only had a moment to catch sight of some small bundle tied to the sword’s handle. The sword buried itself deep into the glass spikes, sending out sparks, jets of spiritual energy fighting against the strength of the glass - and failing. Qian Shanyi frowned, fingers of her left hand folded in a gesture, directing the sword.

Jian Shizhe laughed uproariously. “Pathetic! You expect your trash technique to pierce through my glass shambler? Its scales are as strong as steel! You might as well be asking -”

Rui Bao saw Qian Shanyi twitch her left hand ever so slightly, fingers folded together. He braced himself, but in all the wrong ways.

The explosion tore through all of his senses, as if the entire world shattered and then put itself back together. The body of the shambler jerked upwards, like a ball kicked up by an invisible giant. Jian Shizhe was sent to his knees, barely managing to hold on to the chains around him, as the shambler thrashed in agony.

Ichor and shattered glass spilled out in equal measure, showering the ground beneath in glittering blackness. The blast left behind an enormous gash, a crater in the shambler’s body. The shambler stumbled, jerked sideways, its jaws open wide in a scream - silent, for Rui Bao’s ears were already ringing deaf.

Still alive. She missed the brain.

With wide eyes, he stared at Qian Shanyi. That was no technique. That was a crystal bomb, and a potent one at that. Where did she get it?

In one smooth movement, Qian Shanyi tossed her leather cloak aside, revealing two more swords she hid beneath it, and sprung into motion, dancing around the shambler's clumsy, agonized strikes. She moved as if she had practiced this exact fight a dozen times already, with a wide, maniacal smile playing out on her face. She clipped one of her swords to her side, the other flashing out of its scabbard, blade parrying claw and pincer.

Where did she get three swords?

There was a second bundle, tied to the handle of the sword clipped to her side. Another crystal bomb?

With damning realization, he thought back on what she said. Sky Void Temple? What sect was that? She never mentioned it before.

Who in the Netherworld’s name was this woman?