“W… what?!”

“Mitugwa, I don’t remember your room looking so… Hm.”

Wanxi surveyed the scene. The room looked as if a tornado had ripped it apart. The bedding had been torn off. The drawers at the writing desk were pulled open and their contents were emptied onto the floor and desk. The traveling chest containing her personal effects had been opened by force, the latch ripped open. It seemed as if nothing had been left untouched by whatever criminal had intruded on this private space.

Mitugwa’s expression went from shock and bewilderment to panic. She dashed in, going straight to the wall to the left of her bed. The dorm rooms all had similar decor. In each was a couplet of hanging scrolls flanking the bed. The calligraphic words on each scroll, written with an expert and careful hand, contained words from the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters.

Mitugwa pulled the scroll aside, causing it to unceremoniously plummet to the ground with a clatter. To the untrained eye, all that was behind the scroll was a plain wooden wall, but with a well-placed tap, a secret compartment opened. The girl fumbled around in the compartment for a few moments, swearing to herself. She began pounding on the wall with her fist, before slumping down holding her head in her hands on the floor. The sound of the girl sobbing filled the space.

Wanxi took an unsteady step into the room, his hand outstretched, despite having nothing to reach for. He noted the scroll slouched against the wall. The words, normally too esoteric and riddle-like for his taste, seemed ironic. “The Buddha said: ‘When an evil-doer, seeing you practice goodness, comes and maliciously insults you, you should patiently endure it and not feel angry with him, for the evil-doer is insulting himself by trying to insult you.’”

Wanxi wished that Mitugwa wouldn’t cry. Ever since he was a child, he struggled to contain his emotions when surrounded by other people who were upset. It bled over from their heart to his. The idealized vision of a stoic swordsman never contained weeping. It was perilous to be a sentimental swordsman. It upset him that he was becoming upset on Mitugwa’s behalf. Tears welled as he came upon the crouched girl. He knew that if he spoke, his voice would quiver and his control would break. He had promised to help find the thief that stole a comb. He swore on the honor of his clan. Hearing the wavering voice of someone there to support you would not inspire confidence. So instead he remained silent and wrapped his arms around his new friend, cradling her while he quietly tried his best to remain composed.

------

The two students of the Black Heron sect sat on the wooden bedframe. The bedding was still piled in a heap on the floor. Mitugwa looked miserable. Wanxi couldn’t blame her. Having her private space desecrated and ransacked must have been terrible. She was already an outsider being judged by the students of the school with suspicion. Now she no longer had a safe place to retreat to be away from the leering eyes of unprovoked judgment. This kind of violation was inexcusable. This was the kind of malicious and hateful act that the Wudang clan stood against.

“We will find whoever did this and we will bring them justice. My sword shall seek the truth.” Wanxi tried his best to speak in the manner of seriousness that he had heard his elders use during times of conflict.

The Ryukyuan girl stared straight ahead and nodded her head ever so slightly in agreement. She closed her eyes and breathed in. When she breathed out, her back straightened and she composed herself. Her eyes opened with an intensity and fire that roused Wanxi’s spirit. Determination in the face of hardship was the way of the wulin. Instructor Xia always said that one must be like a pine on the cliff’s edge: leaning into the impossible odds, standing proud over the precipice.

“Wanxi, it was not only my comb that was taken. An essential elixir that I require to maintain my connection with the Goddess of Mercy was also stolen. I need to get both of them back.”

“Can you tell me about this elixir? Surely that takes priority over the comb!”

“I….” Mitugwa steeled herself, her hands gripping at her thighs through the colorful robe. “I cannot tell you about the elixir. But both are extremely important to me.”

“Then please tell me what you can. If we are to investigate this, I need to know as much as possible.” Wanxi leaned forward.

“You must promise on your honor as a fighter, on the honor of your clan, to keep this a secret. Can I trust you to do that?” Her expression was dead serious. The beautiful flower kept in place by her headband only added to the drama of the moment.

“I have promised myself to this cause. The Wudang do not break their bonds. You have my word.” Wanxi brought his fist to his open hand to signal his acceptance.

“Good.” As she spoke, the words seemed to come from a place of practice, as if she had thought of them many times before. “I am of noble Ryukyuan blood. My father is in line for the throne of the kingdom. And I, being his only child, am therefore also in line. I was sent to the Black Heron school for training and for my own protection. I am not the only person in the line of succession and so long as that is true, I will always be at risk. Nobles plot and scheme and poison and kill and I must be able to defend myself. I cannot let others know about this or my life may be in danger here. And now I am worried that someone has found out my secret.”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Seriously? You are….” Wanxi trailed off, stunned. “...If that is the case, then we must bring this to Master Bao! He would need to know this and he can help protect you!”

“I don’t know if I can trust Master Bao! He knows where I came from and who I am! What if he has been bought out by a rival family member? Someone must know that I am a noble. That is the reason why they stole the comb!”

“I don’t follow. How does a comb play into all this? That seems like it’s the least of your concerns right now.” Wanxi narrowed his eyes and folded his arms.

“The comb is ancient. It dates back to the first Ryukyuan king. It is one of the royal treasures! If someone stole it, they could say that they were related to the noble lineage and also lay claim to the throne. Mother gave it to me for safe-keeping and so I could not be replaced by some impostor if anything happened to me. Only the noble families would know about the minor royal treasures. Whoever stole it must know of its significance!”

This was all so much more than Wanxi was expecting. He knew the comb was important to Mitugwa but had no clue that it was something beyond sentimental attachment! Suddenly he was embroiled in some kind of royal intrigue! And over a piece of hair finery, no less. But the course seemed clear, at least.

“So we need to find the person that stole the comb. That much is obvious. But what is not obvious is why the thief returned to steal your elixir! Surely they could have taken both at the same time.” Wanxi scrutinized the room. “Whoever this thief is clearly knew where the comb was. When I uh… was here last… er… the room seemed spotless. Now it’s a mess! The thief must have returned while we were away at the patio to try to find the elixir. But why return at all? It seems strange to take one item and come back to take another.”

Mitugwa pursed her lips.

“I don’t know. It is odd…” She stared at Wanxi, her gaze was intense and discerning. “Can you be honest with me? Why were you here before? You said you didn’t know. Well… I need to be sure that I can trust you.”

“I wasn’t lying then. I really don’t know why I came to your room.” Wanxi felt a knot in the center of his stomach, some kind of winding anxiety that twisted and gripped inside of him. “I had heard so many things about you from the other students. They called you a foreigner, a witch, all sorts of nasty things. I thought it was ridiculous but I was, well, I didn’t know how to approach you. I didn’t even know if it was true. And somehow I got it in my mind that maybe I could, I don’t know, prove to myself that you weren’t a witch if I saw that you lived like everyone else. It’s so foolish and stupid and I don’t know what I was expecting to find. I’m so sorry.”

Wanxi was blushing furiously and avoiding the finely dressed princess’ gaze. He reverted to his bad habit of running his hand along a length of hair, using the tactile smoothness as a kind of anchor. He was ashamed that he had made the decision to sneak into her room. He was ashamed that he was caught in the act. He was ashamed to admit it to her. And now he was ashamed that he had intruded upon literal royalty. This was the kind of dishonorable thing that he hated and had fought against when he was sent away from the Wudang by his father. He had allowed his curiosity and poor judgment to overwhelm him.

“I’m not happy about that. But I appreciate the honesty. And considering you and I were together when my room was ransacked, I don’t think I have any choice but to trust your words. Whoever stole the comb must have also known about the elixir I had hidden away in the alcove in the wall. They stole the comb and then returned while we were away to find the elixir.” Her tone indicated a matter-of-fact, business-like approach. It was clear that she wanted to address the problem at hand before dealing with how she felt about Wanxi.

“Maybe when I came into the room, I scared them away?”

“But there is only one door, and the paper on the window is still intact. They couldn’t have left.”

“Exactly! Look!” Wanxi hopped off the bedframe and got to the floor on his hands and knees. “There is space under the frame. What if they heard me coming, hid under the bed, and then when we left they started looking for the elixir? They must have torn the room apart because you were able to hide it so well! Where did you keep the comb?”

“It was just in the drawer of my desk. Mother told me specifically not to hide it so that it would not look important.”

“That follows perfectly with the timeline! They came in, found the comb in the drawer, hid under the bed, then wrecked the room to find the elixir.”

Mitugwa followed him to the floor to look under the bed. She stared into the darkness under the wooden structure then back at Wanxi.

“How did this come to you so quickly?” She asked in bewilderment.

“I… don’t know!” Wanxi pulled back onto his knees. Once again he was being honest about his thoughtless actions. But at least in this case it was from something positive. “It all just came to me in a flash.”

“It’s incredible. It perfectly explains what happened. Now all we have to do is find who actually did it.”

There was the knock of wood on wood behind them at the entrance and they both whirled around out of surprise. At the doorframe was the student known as Little Bird, her milky white eyes staring unblinking and unfocused at the world around her. Her walking stick was casually feeling out the threshold of the door without intruding inward.

“Hello! Pardon the interruption but I heard some banging earlier and quite a bit of talking. Is everything alright? Do you need any help?”