You two are seriously twisted

As she was describing the romance and beauty of the martial world to Lin Daiyu, a sudden whoosh sounded outside the door.

Song Qian's expression changed. Shielding her younger cousin behind her, she said quietly, "Stay here and don't move. I'll go outside and take a look!"

Standing warily at the doorway, Song Qian drew her longsword with a ringing clang the instant she opened the door. Its chilling gleam flashed, accompanied by the faint whistle of steel cutting through the air.

There was no one outside, but a dagger had appeared in the doorframe, pinning an envelope beneath it.

She pulled out the dagger, opened the envelope, and quickly scanned the letter inside. Her brow first relaxed, then furrowed again.

"You already left. What did you come back for?"

She sighed softly, then smiled at the worried Lin Daiyu inside the room. "It's nothing. An old acquaintance has returned and asked me to meet her.

"Stay home for now. I'll be back soon!"

Lin Daiyu had only just nodded when Song Qian pushed off with her toes and leaped onto the wall. A few darting movements later, she vanished from sight.

Truthfully, she was terribly envious of her cousin's ability to soar here and there.

By West Lake, willows swayed gracefully and flowers bloomed in profusion.

Both sides of the lakeshore teemed with pedestrians, with restaurants and inns standing in rows. Naturally, a bustling place like this had no shortage of brothels and other houses of pleasure.

Song Qian stood on the lakeshore with her sword cradled against her chest, feeling thoroughly uncomfortable. The playful cries of "Come in and have some fun, young master!" ringing out around her left her inexplicably irritated.

After she had waited a little while, a hazy mist rose farther out on the lake, though she had no idea when it had appeared. A small boat seemed to emerge within it.

An ordinary person could not have made out what lay beyond the mist, but Song Qian's martial skills were considerable, and her eyesight far surpassed that of most people. She could clearly see a breathtakingly beautiful woman, like an immortal maiden, standing on the little boat.

At the sight of her, Song Qian instinctively pursed her lips. She sprang into the air, her toes skimming the water a few times like a dragonfly touching its surface, and landed on the boat within two or three breaths.

The moment Song Qian boarded, the exquisite woman at the bow, dressed entirely in white and ethereal as an immortal amid the mist, slowly spoke with a faint smile.

"It's been a few years. Little Qian, you've grown into a young woman!"

Song Qian gazed at that familiar, incomparably beautiful face. Though she was still angry with her, she had to admit that this woman was the most beautiful person she had ever seen.

After a brief silence, Song Qian said in a low voice, "Since you left, why come back?"

"It seems you're holding quite a grudge against me, little Qian. Won't you even call me Sister Qingxue anymore?"

Song Qian snorted. "You and my brother grew up together. Our families were on the verge of arranging your engagement, but you suddenly left without a word. All you left was a letter saying, 'The world is so vast. I want to see it.' Then we never heard from you again.

"What right does someone as selfish as you have to ask me to call you sister?"

"I'm selfish?"

The smile faded from the woman in white's face, and anger crept into her expression. "Has your brother never told you what he did back then?"

"What did he do?"

Song Qian frowned. "Are you talking about how he's taken to listening to songs in pleasure houses these past few years? That only started after you left. You drove him to it!"

"He's been going to pleasure houses, too?"

The woman froze at those words, then clenched both fists so tightly that her fingers turned pale.

Seeing her reaction, Song Qian's expression grew strange. "So you didn't know?"

"What would I know?" the woman huffed irritably. "I've only just returned from the mountain after making progress in my training. I haven't seen anyone yet. You were the first person I contacted."

Song Qian blinked. "Sister Qingxue, what exactly happened between you and my brother? Can you tell me?"

Lu Qingxue drew a deep breath. After considering for a long moment, she looked at Song Qian's curious face and slowly began to speak.

"I love your brother. I've loved him since we were children. You know that!"

"Even that line in my letter, 'The world is so vast. I want to see it,' was something your brother said when he was little."

Song Qian's expression grew stranger still. "If you love him so much, why did you suddenly leave without a word just before the engagement was arranged?"

"Because your brother infuriated me!" Lu Qingxue ground her teeth as she spoke. "He wouldn't do a single thing that even remotely resembled decent human behavior!"

"What exactly did he do?"

Song Qian could not understand it. Aside from his habit of saying baffling things that revealed a deeper meaning upon reflection, her brother never did anything particularly outrageous.

Lu Qingxue took a deep breath to calm herself, then said evenly, "Before our families were going to arrange the engagement, I went to your house to see your brother.

"He was home alone at the time."

Song Qian's expression changed. "So my brother took advantage of everyone being out, turned into a beast, and... did that to you?"

"If that were what happened, I wouldn't have been so angry that I ran away from home!"

Embarrassment and anger colored Lu Qingxue's exquisite face. "I went to see him that day because I wanted to ask whether he had any objections to the engagement."

"What did my brother say? Did he refuse?"

"He agreed, but he said that while we could get engaged, the wedding would have to wait. I asked him how long, and he said we should wait ten years for a start!"

"Ten years?"

Song Qian counted on her fingers. "You're already a year older than my brother. In another ten years, you'd be twenty-six-an old maid. My brother really did go a little too far there.

"So you refused, Sister Lu, and ran away from home in a huff?"

Lu Qingxue shook her head, her face faintly flushed and her voice a little quieter. "I agreed. I love your brother down to my very bones. Forget ten years-I'd be willing to wait another ten on top of that.

"I told him I could wait ten years, but I made one condition."

"What condition?"

Song Qian thought she understood. That condition was probably what had caused the falling-out between her brother and Sister Lu.

"I said I could wait ten years for him, but ten years was too long. To keep him from changing his mind later, I wanted us to cook the raw rice into a finished meal first!"

"What?"

Song Qian cried out, looking Lu Qingxue up and down with a peculiar expression. "Sister Lu, you're that wild?"

Lu Qingxue turned her head aside, too embarrassed to look at her. "Don't you know what your brother is like? Expecting him to make the first move is harder than waiting for an iron tree to bloom.

"So I cast aside my reserve, threw away my pride, and went for broke. But then..."

"Then what?"

"Just as I was about to undress, your brother seized the chance to strike my acupoints and immobilize me!"

Song Qian felt as though her thoughts could no longer keep up. "What? My brother doesn't like women taking the initiative? He prefers to do it himself and use force?

"You two are seriously twisted!"