Dao-Treasuring Peak, Path-Seeking Courtyard.
The spirit pine flourished, and the fragrance of tea filled the air.
Bai Tingshan rose and bowed, explaining his purpose. "True Lord, my daughter and I have come to pledge the demons of Crouching Tiger Mountain to the Truth-Seeking Abbey, in hopes of receiving your protection.
"You already know something of our origins. Two years ago, when Su Wei—Tiger Girl—advanced to the Qi Refining Realm, her bloodline reverted to its ancestral form, further awakening her White Tiger bloodline.
"A year ago, after the Truth-Seeking Abbey's promotion ceremony, we had barely returned home when the tiger clan of the Western Wastes suddenly came calling. They said my late wife was a member of the White Tiger Clan who had been lost beyond their borders, and they wanted to take my daughter back to acknowledge her ancestors and rejoin the clan, nurturing her with all their resources.
"I used a secret art from my inherited Bai Ze bloodline to divine her future. I discovered that if she returned to the clan, her fortune and peril would be uncertain. Only by seeking refuge with the Truth-Seeking Abbey could she gain a thread of hope for survival."
Bai Tingshan pulled Bai Suwei down to her knees with a thump, his manner earnest. "I have stalled until now, but there is nothing more I can do. I am willing to bring the demons of Crouching Tiger Mountain into the Truth-Seeking Abbey's service, running your errands and attending you before the saddle and behind the horse. I ask only that you take pity and shelter my daughter.
"I dare not ask you to make an enemy of the White Tiger Clan on her behalf. I only hope you can intimidate them enough to give them pause, so that even if the worst