Wanxi rose with caution.

Little Bird was a good friend of his. He had spent many days talking and laughing with her. Her lack of eyesight did nothing to dull her cheerful and pleasant disposition, nor did it affect her martial prowess. She hailed from the Beggar’s sect, an unorthodox and loosely affiliated group of martial artists who called the streets their home. Contrary to their name, there was much money to be found within the sect and many of its members lived comfortable lifestyles. But Little Bird was a traditional case: abandoned as a child and raised by some unnamed master to excel in the art of information gathering.

The things one says, Instructor Xia always warned, can be dangerous. Always treat the things that are said with confidence as if the whole world has heard them. Wanxi had initially thought this to be paranoid and a waste of mental energy. But Little Bird consistently proved these warnings to be true. Her ability to listen into the private lives of others was unmatched. If something was said in the Black Heron sect, there was a good chance that Little Bird was aware of it. This prowess demonstrated the true talent of the Beggar’s sect. There was little coin to be made begging in the gutter. But there was an incredible amount to be made by knowing a little bit about everything.

“Little Bird! My friend! You have come at an interesting time. As you can see,” Wanxi gestured to the room cluttered with its upended contents, “our fellow student Mitugwa has been the victim of a burglary. And I am helping to solve this crime.”

To an outsider it may have seemed rude to point out a visual clue to a blind person, but Little Bird was nothing if not comfortable with her visual impairment. She joked about it and was unafraid to mention it when necessary.

“Yu Wanxi you are too sweet! Is it normal for the Wudang to gravitate towards princesses in distress? Or just ones that you have a fancy for?” The blind girl flashed a beaming white grin. While at the Black Heron school she dressed finely, wearing quality clothes, keeping her hygiene impeccable, doing her hair into stylish buns. According to her, the most important part of gathering information was looking the part so that no one assumes you do not belong.

“The Wudang clan doesn’t… This isn’t…” The boy blushed furiously looking at the Ryukyuan girl, who was now moving to get up. “Wait! Princess?! What did you hear, Little Bird?!”

The girl at the doorway stepped back, swinging her walking stick around in an arc to check the ground. She casually tilted her head back towards the door as she walked away.

“Oh nothing!~” She sang out. “Sorry to intrude! I’ll leave you two to clean up!”

Wanxi dashed towards the door, towards Little Bird. She was his good friend, but she was just the worst possible person at keeping secrets. If the fact that Mitugwa was a royal got out among the school it would absolutely muddy the waters and make this investigation more difficult. And who knew what it would do for the safety of this girl that was already concerned about her secret identity?

“Little Bird! Stop! I need to know what you heard, right now. This is serious.” He was at the doorframe. She was playing up her blind-person-walking act as she sauntered away, letting her cane bounce off the wooden decking beneath her.

“You know the rules of the Beggar’s sect! I have to abide by them. Information has costs. KEEPING information has costs, too.” She put all of her weight on her staff and vaulted herself into a flip, landing a distance away, opposite of Wanxi under the covered gallery.

“And you know that I do not have the money to pay you.” Wanxi, following his departure from the Wudang, had essentially traveled with the clothes on his back.

“Then you know what you have to do to keep me quiet.” Little Bird pulled her staff back and twirled it over her shoulder, spinning it back over her upper body several times. By the time it rested, pointed directly at him, with her in a low fighting stance, there was a blade attached to the end. The hidden guan dao polearm did not surprise Wanxi, as he had seen this trick before. In fact, in any dealing with the Beggar’s sect, it was safe to assume that they were heavily armed no matter how impoverished or feeble they appeared.

“If it’s a sparring match you seek, then how am I to refuse?” The Wudang swordsman pulled out his straight sword and stepped into the gallery.

The air was crisp and easy to breathe, the faint whiffs of the cooking fires in the nearby kitchen barely perceptible. A finch rested on the handrail nearby. Mitugwa joined the pair outside and watched with confusion as Wanxi approached his friend with a deadly weapon.

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“I’ve been waiting for this.” Little Bird pulled back, standing on one leg, her polearm raised above her head, her other hand flat to balance. “Do you think your Wudang sword can defeat me? Swallow forest drill!”

Little Bird launched into a forward lunge towards Wanxi, snaking the polearm down. The attack was quite far from him and the initial strike was meant only to build momentum. She twisted her body, allowing the guan dao to lead as she spun around. The weight and force as she came around propelled her upright as the weapon came crashing down is a heavy vertical slice. Wanxi raised his sword and stepped aside, allowing the blade to catch and guide the powerful strike. The blade slammed into the wooden floor of the walkway, wedging itself into the beam.

Wanxi took this moment to strike at Little Bird’s hands, slicing upward. His weapon struck the staff repeatedly, as the beggar darted her hands back and forth along the length of it. Each time her fingers were only millimeters away from being sliced off by the sharp jian’s cutting edge. But like a game, she danced around the stuck weapon, carefully dodging the proding attacks. Wanxi finally got into a position where he could run his blade along the entire length, scraping against it.

To his surprise, Little Bird still held onto the guan dao, her palms on the opposite side, her fingers nimbly pinching around. The awkward angle surprised him, as did the swinging kick that she launched into from that pinned position. He staggered back as the blind girl landed in front of him, the weapon now dislodged from the floor.

“Downward chop!” Once again she brought the weapon down and once again Wanxi deflected. But this time the blade stayed in her control. “Wheel position!”

The polearm whirled around as she controlled its path, creating a blurred cloud of danger in front of her. The weapon rotated and spun, seemingly in a perpetual state as the momentum had built. It flowed off her shoulders, back, and chest as she used her own body to provide points to swivel and pivot. Wanxi felt the pressure and backed away, allowing his sword to connect when she came too close. The ringing of metal on metal filled the hallway. Approaching such a lengthy weapon when it had achieved such velocity was nearly impossible for a sword. Even if he timed his attack when the blade was furthest away, the blunt end could easily poke and jab at him. And in that time the blade would be able to return.

“Flying strike!” Her grip shifted to the end of the staff, allowing the energy that came from swinging the weapon with such speed to send her upwards into the air. She flipped and splayed her legs, once again bringing down the full weight of the guan dao into a diagonal slice. Wanxi dove to the side, barely vaulting over the slanted slash. She was close to the ground, both hands on her weapon, arcing it around her back preparing for a low sweep. “Horseshoe cut!”

Sensing the fruitlessness of a straightforward sword fight, Wanxi plunged his jian into the wooden floor and hopped up, gripping the hilt. He focused his energy on his feet and legs, moving the flow downward, kicking against the flat of the sword. He flew upwards, somersaulting and twisting overhead. The guan dao loudly clashed against his sword, sending it rocketing off, where it unceremoniously connected with a wooden pillar, clanging to the ground. The bird that had been resting nearby flew off in a hurry.

Little Bird gasped and went to wheel around with her glaive only to freeze in place.

Wanxi had his left arm wrapped around her neck and his index and middle fingers against the small of her back, directly next to one of the central qi lines.

“Let me see if I can remember what Instructor Moyi taught us. Somewhere around here is the Gate of Life. One quick jab and you will be crippled for a week. It would be a sorry sight, my friend.” He twisted his fingers against her lumbar, moving closer to the central vital qi point.

“In some parts of the world, threatening to further disable a blind woman is considered dishonorable.” The beggar choked out. She released the grip on her weapon and allowed it to clatter to the floor, then raised her hands in submission.

“You are so right. Where were my manners! Mitugwa, would you mind if we invite our friend here into your room? Just for a quick chat.”

The noble girl had already gone to grab the sword with the intention of tossing it to Wanxi if he needed it back. She stood up and admired the view. She sauntered over to the pair.

“Oh my, but I’m afraid my room is a mess! You see, some villain has trashed it in an effort to steal from me. I would be a terrible host if I brought you into my home without a proper cleaning, to mention nothing of the snacks and treats such an honored guest deserves.” She picked up the staff, admiring the design. She gave an impressed recognition as she twisted one section, causing the blade to retract with a mechanical thunk.

“Oh you don’t… You don’t have to worry about me! Cleaning doesn’t matter too much to someone who is…” She squirmed in her position, the words coming out forced for air. “Both blind and from the gutter. I’m willing to bet it’s nicer than some of the places I’ve slept before! Haha! Ha…”

“You see? And I promise she’ll be on her best behavior. Being a QUIET and HELPFUL,” Wanxi pushed into her back twice to illustrate his point, “guest.”

Mitugwa rolled her eyes and shook her head before motioning the entangled pair into the ruins of her bedroom.