Lu Na took a left instead of right from her brother’s quarters. She walked through a short maze before reaching a walled off section of their Lu compound. Lu Tien ordered the wall to be built overnight by overpaying workers to get it done after the incident with the Wintersweet Sect.

While her father was generous toward his sworn brother, the Marquis Sun Wentai, he feared his potential reprisal more for not being able to protect his daughter. He reserved the largest space within the compound for Sun Ren and her bodyguards. Lu Tien also offered her brother, Sun Bofu, to stay with them, but he refused.

Lu Na knew why. They had a regiment of soldiers hiding within Blossom Scent Parlor. It amazed her at how they hid so many people there.

Sun Ren didn’t have that issue. For the Marquis’ daughter to have so many bodyguards was expected. So they needed the space and formed their own little base within the Lu compound.

When the bodyguards saw Lu Na walking toward them, their eyes lit up. They jogged over to her and quickly ushered her in before anyone else saw them. They both wore bright red tunics with the “Sun” family name sewn into the back and shoulders.

“Young Miss Lu, you shouldn’t be walking around alone like that. If your family guards see you, they’ll admonish you again,” one bodyguard said.

“Thank you ladies,” Lu Na said. “Where’s Young Miss Sun?”

“Senior Sun is practicing in the courtyard. She asked to not be disturbed until she is finished, but I’m sure she will make an exception for you.”

“Please take me to her.”

“Of course. This way.”

Lu Na followed them to the courtyard. Once there, they left her.

Sun Ren stood in the middle of a patch of grass surrounded by Lu Tien’s specially imported flowers. There was only a table off to the side. She wore her dark red dress that had the “Sun” family name stitched onto her back. It was the only compromise she made while staying as a guest within the Lu compound.

Sun Ren had her sword raised and pointed in front of her as she took a narrow stance. She raised her sword and led it with her other hand in a high sweep of the sword into a downward cut. Then followed that into a figure eight spin before coming to rest.

“Sun Ren has such restrained power,” Lu Na’s spirit said. “If she practices a few more years, she will be a master swordswoman.”

Lu Na nodded in agreement. Although she didn’t have any basis of understanding for sword place, but Sun Ren’s movements were very different compared to the ones her father hired to perform. Her sword moved with deadly precision while her body moved with patience, as if her life depended on every strike. She was a honeybee floating among the flowers.

No, Lu Na could never see her as a harmless honeybee. She was a deadly wasp with fatal precision.

“That was beautiful,” Lu Na said after Sun Ren finished with her sword form.

“Good morning Na Na,” Sun Ren called. “If you want, I can always teach you as well. Then we can practice together.”

“I would love to learn, but maybe after I figure out how to get my mother’s hairpin to work.”

“So, how did you sneak out of your room this time?” Sun Ren put away her sword and wiped her forehead. “Did you pretend to be a maid again?”

“I didn’t. The maid tunic is just more comfortable to move in. I wouldn’t want to run away from home in a dress again.”

Sun Ren smiled.

“We won’t have to run away ever since the Wintersweet Sect has stopped pursuing us. Besides, I’ll save a lovely hemp tunic for you in my pack just in case.”

Lu Na smiled weakly. The last thing she wanted to do was flee for her life again, but the maid’s tunic was also better for her work, anyway.

“I didn’t have to sneak out this time. My brother woke up. He asked for me.”

“That’s good. That means he’s getting better. I’m sorry that not even my doctors could heal him faster.”

Lu Na cupped her hands and bowed low.

“No, I thank you for inviting them over in the first place to see my brother. They helped a lot in speeding along his healing.”

“You never need to thank me for helping you or your brother out.” Sun Ren lifted Lu Na up. “And you don’t have to be so formal to me. No one else is around. It’s just us here. My junior sisters would allow no one to come in without me knowing. Especially not after the Wintersweet Sect attack.”

“Thank you. I don’t know what I did to deserve such a friend as you.” Lu Na followed Sun Ren to the nearby table.

“I never had time to tell you what your mother did for me.” Sun Ren poured a cup of tea for Lu Na.

Lu Na bowed her head in thanks before sipping the cup of tea.

“Your mother convinced my father to teach me the art of war, the same he taught my brothers,” Sun Ren continued. “You can’t understand how unfair it was for me to be taught some basics of the summoner arts by the teachers while my brothers were learning how to command, lead armies, and fight while I was expected to one day marry someone to enrich our family.”

Lu Na smiled.

“Of course I do. Why do you think I’m so useless in summoner arts? My spirit is laughing at me right now.”

“No, I’m not. Well, not much anyway.”

“But you had your mother. She led the way for me. And if she stayed with you all those years ago, she would have taught you to become a strong summoner in your own right like your brother.”

“Maybe I’ll be able to ask her one day if I can get the stupid hairpin to work. My spirit can’t help me.”

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“Hey, your mother was paranoid. She wouldn’t tell me a lot of things.” Lu Na’s spirit sounded annoyed as if she were spitting out those words. “But as long as she delivers on her promise, I will continue to help you.”

Sun Ren patted Lu Na’s arm.

“You will. I have faith in you. Your mother has faith in you. I can’t wait to talk with her again and tell her about all the things I’ve accomplished.”

Lu Na was glad that at least someone benefited from her mother’s quirks even when she wasn’t around. In a way, she couldn’t complain as her mother gave her a great friend.

“Senior Sun, Elder Hen from the Wintersweet Sect approaches,” Ma Yunlu said.

“Welcome him when he gets here,” Sun Ren said.

The tall bodyguard in red bowed low before leaving.

“I’m glad to see Ma Yunlu walking around,” Lu Na said.

Sun Ren frowned.

“She’s the strongest leader in my group. There was no way some second-rate disciples were going to take her down. But the same can’t be said for a few of my fellow disciples. If your brother didn’t protect them, they might have died. And for that, you and your family have my eternal gratitude.”

“It was my fault they attacked.”

“No, it was my father’s. His decision to bring his entire force to quell the rebels without caring for his own family was reckless. If he left even a skeletal crew, it would have been enough to remind the sects that imperial authority still exists in the city.”

Sun Ren’s hands turned into fists.

Lu Na reached over and clasped Sun Ren’s hands.

“Everything worked out in the end.”

Sun Ren took a deep breath. Her eyes focused on the archway that led into her courtyard.

“Yes, everything worked out in the end,” Elder Hen said. He was dressed in a dark purple tunic and flanked by five bodyguards. “I’m glad to see Young Miss Lu here as well. This makes my trip easier.”

“I’m going to busy myself with something while he’s here. I don’t want to see him.” Lu Na’s spirit disappeared from her awareness. If only she could do that as well.

Lu Na pulled back her hands, arranged her face to be as neutral as possible as she’d practiced over the last few weeks, and turned toward the Elder of Wintersweet Sect. If there was something she learned from this incident was that she could use the lessons of politeness as a weapon.

Lu Na got up and curtsied.

“Greetings and welcome to my home.”

Sun Ren cupped her hands together, but didn’t bow.

“Welcome. Please have a seat and some tea.”

Elder Hen nodded and strode into the courtyard like he was back in his own sect compound. His long white hair was tied up into a bun.

Lu Na understood his confidence. She saw what he could do even against immeasurable power. With a simple command, he could level their Lu compound with ease. Yet, she saw how feeble Elder Hen had become since last they met. There were more creases on the face, as if to prove more could fit on such a creased face already.

“Sorry for the sudden intrusion.” Elder Hen took a seat and poured his own tea. “I came to discuss a very important matter with you two ladies.”

“What can we do for you?” Sun Ren asked.

“Well, let’s start with your progress on that hairpin. You wouldn’t go back on our arrangement, would you?”

“Reporting to Elder Hen, I have had no luck in discovering its secrets,” Lu Na said.

“It’s a shame you wouldn’t let my sect look at it. We have so many experts from all over the country.”

“I would rather destroy it than give it to you or your sect,” Lu Na clutched the phoenix hairpin within her chest pocket.

Elder Hen smiled and nodded. The heavy creases in his face relaxed for a moment.

“I thought we would be past this by now. If it wasn’t for me and my sect working tirelessly to convince Magistrate Hu and Governor Gao that it was all a misunderstanding, we would be having this conversation in a jail cell. I’ve shown my generosity and kept my end of the bargain by letting you escape my Wintersweet Sect. I’m only expecting you to keep yours.”

“We’ll keep our end of the bargain. Besides, you have spies watching the Lu compound like a hawk,” Sun Ren said.

“Oh, you noticed them?” Elder Hen’s left eyebrow raised, shifting his scar. “It’s time to get more experienced seniors.”

“Honored Elder, I doubt you came all this way to check up on my progress, or lack thereof. What else can we do for you?” Lu Na asked.

Elder Hen smirked.

“I liked you better when you were insolent, Young Miss Lu. At least then I knew you were being truthful there instead of throwing all these hidden daggers at me with your every glance.”

“I’d like to throw more than that at him,” Lu Na’s spirit said.

Lu Na knew her spirit wouldn’t be able to stay away.

“Ah, your little spirit is back. I’ve always been very curious about her, but not today.” Elder Hen reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a small bag. “I need your help with something.”

“Honored Elder, your money is no good here,” Lu Na said, pushing the bag back to the old man. Besides, however much he had in there couldn’t compare to the value of the very seat he sat on.

“Well, it has something to do with you as well. You need to help bail my son out of jail.”

“And why would you need us to help you with that?” Sun Ren asked.

“His name is Hen Li and he wants nothing to do with me.” Elder Hen looked away. This was the first time that Lu Na saw the old man drop his pride. But also the name rang a bell.

“Oh! The monk,” Lu Na said.

Elder Hen nodded.

“He had a major fight with Wong Yoong, one of my sect’s senior disciples, and a constable caught him. He was apparently helping some Young Miss escape, but he still took the punishment. When I went to see him, he wouldn’t even look at me.”

“And you want us to bail him out?” Sun Ren asked. “Why would he come with us? Why don’t you ask the Young Miss he helped?”

“Young Miss Lu was the one he helped.”

Lu Na totally, absolutely forgot. She wanted to crawl into a hole. It wasn’t her fault. She was so busy figuring out what her mother’s hairpin did she forgot all about helping the monk. He saved her from the constable who was bringing them to Magistrate Hu. The same magistrate whose son she kidnapped and held for ransom.

If she ended up in Magistrate Hu’s hands, she probably would have suffered more than at the Wintersweet Sect.

“Sorry Honored Elder, that was my fault,” Lu Na said. She cupped her hands and bowed deeply. She meant this apology. “I didn’t know he was your son. After this, I will go with Sun Ren to bail him out immediately. And your money really is unnecessary. Unlike his father, Hen Li is an honorable man.”

“There you go with those barbs. But it’s fine as long as you bail him out and tell me what you find out from the hairpin. I’d hate to organize another sect-wide search for one Young Miss Lu again.”

Elder Hen got up to leave.

Lu Na followed suit and curtsied.

“Honored Elder, I hope you have a safe journey back.”

“Yeah, we wouldn’t want you to trip and fall on your face,” Lu Na’s spirit said.

Elder Hen chuckled.

“Sometimes I think your spirit is too honest for her own good. But it’s refreshing to see children behaving like children.”

“Are we really going to bail out his son?” Sun Ren asked.

Lu Na bowed.

“Of course, Young Miss Sun.”

Sun Ren rolled her eyes.

“You can drop the act. He’s gone.”

“Oh, Young Miss Sun, you mistake me. This is not an act. Until I can create an invention that can compete with all of you, I’m going to keep being respectful.”

Lu Na was someone on a mission to find the secrets that her mother left behind and her mother. Once that was done, she was going to come back and pay the Wintersweet Sect back for everything they’ve done to her and all the other Lu maidens in the city. She will show this old man how childish she really can be.