A Reckoning of the World Grandmasters: Green Ox, the Storyteller, Dongxuan, and the Land Dragon!

"Young Master Guan, you may not know this, but when I left the capital, I brought several guards. One was even an expert of the Middle Three Realms, and I know a little martial arts myself. I thought nothing could go wrong."

Madam Gongsun smoothed her sleeve, lingering alarm in her eyes. "Who would have thought we'd pass a tavern in the Capital Circuit occupied by a band of martial artists? I'd disguised myself, but an old man with a peachwood staff singled me out and insisted I honor him with a drink."

"That staff looked ordinary, but he struck with vicious force. In just a few moves, he knocked down every one of us. We were in desperate straits!"

She looked toward the woman in the conical hat beside her, gratitude rising in her eyes. "Had my benefactor not stepped in to save us, I fear I would have come to harm."

Madam Gongsun shook her head with a rueful smile. "Bianjing City is now surrounded by all manner of dragons and snakes. Spies from every nation and sects from across the martial world have gathered in the Capital Circuit. Under such circumstances, I had no choice but to turn back."

Her gaze shifted as she studied the woman in the conical hat. "You saved my life, benefactor, yet I still don't know what to call you."

A voice came from beneath the hat, clear as an oriole leaving the valley, yet carrying a bold, spirited edge. "People of the martial world have no use for such formalities. My surname is Lu, and my given name is Hua. Just call me by name."

"Lu Hua." Madam Gongsun murmured the name, her fine brows drawing together. It sounded strangely familiar. The woman was dressed as a Daoist, but Madam Gongsun