Moonlight

Nie Zeng walked toward Tie Linglong in the moonlight. "Hello."

Tie Linglong turned to glance at him but said nothing, as though she wasn't pleased to see him.

Nie Zeng didn't mind. The Little Girl had always been rude. He planned to patrol the area, but somehow, on a sudden impulse, he asked, "You seem troubled. Did Shangguan Fei upset you?"

"None of your business." Tie Linglong's brusqueness took Nie Zeng by surprise. "Stay away from me."

"Hmph." Whatever fondness Nie Zeng had felt for her vanished. He turned and walked away.

Tie Linglong felt a little guilty, but didn't want to apologize. "Come back. I want to spar with you again."

"Sorry, I don't have time right now," Nie Zeng said without looking back. There was no sound behind him. He took a few steps, then did something else he couldn't help himself from doing: he drew his saber and turned around. "But it shouldn't take long to beat you."

"Ha!" Tie Linglong's pride was roused too. She drew her saber and looked around. "This isn't a good place. Let's go somewhere else."

Tie Linglong headed for the front courtyard, then suddenly leaped onto the roof. Nie Zeng followed and came up with an idea. He whispered, "Let's change the rules. We'll fight up here, but we can't alert the guards."

Tie Linglong nodded. The residence belonged to Lu Qiying. It looked ordinary, and its defenses were lax. Only two saber-wielding guards patrolled at night, and they didn't come around often. It was easy to avoid them, but the clash of two sabers would still attract attention.

It was a peculiar duel. Both combatants were fiercely competitive, and the first thing their teachers had taught them was never to hold back. But they couldn't block with their sabers; they