Zhao Fu sprang up. Once he reached the fourth floor, he stopped running and strode down the corridor with a hand on his sword, heading for the separate little chamber to the east.
He stopped before the door. The smell of lacquer still lingered, trailing inside, but a tall woman stood blocking the entrance.
"J-Jade Feather." Zhang Junxue gripped her saber and recited her lines. Zhao Fu seemed not to hear her. He charged forward and swung his sword, scabbard and all. Zhang Junxue raised her saber to block, only to be knocked straight aside.
Who could a few pale words reading "No unauthorized entry" stop?
Zhao Fu pushed open the door and swept his gaze across the room. A lacquer-stained garment lay inside, the window stood wide open, and the person was nowhere to be seen.
He frowned, strode to the window, and leaned out to look down.
Tall, dense willows screened the view. Coming down from here did indeed offer a small blind spot, but anyone running farther back could no longer conceal their tracks.
He called over a constable downstairs and questioned him. The constable looked up and shook his head blankly.
Just then, Li Piaoqing and Pei Ye caught up from behind. Zhao Fu turned and said coldly, "What does the Emerald Feather Sword Sect intend by harboring a criminal?"
Li Piaoqing turned to Zhang Junxue in surprise. Only now did Zhang Junxue haltingly finish the second half of her line. "The Emerald Feather Sword Sect... failed to stop the criminal. He charged in and escaped."
"..."
Zhao Fu searched the room with his eyes. A sect's private chamber could well have concealed mechanisms.
Yet after searching the room several times, he found nothing.
His expressionless face darkened, and he left with a hand on his