These sudden changes had erupted at their elbows. Only when the flashing blades settled did the two men's faces become clear before the boy and girl.
[Qinghuang] Xu Yanhe, [Purple Bamboo] Xu Jianzheng.
"What were you in such a hurry to charge in for? Now you've beaten the grass and startled the snake, and we've no one left alive."
"How was I the one who startled the snake? Didn't you see his expression had already changed? He only grabbed his saber to buy himself time to swallow poison! If I hadn't charged in, you weren't even looking this way!"
"You could have told me first-"
"I told you, there wasn't time!" Purple Bamboo rolled his eyes, then turned and cupped his hands to the two of them. "Young Hero Pei, Young Sect Leader Li, my brother's a little slow. Please don't take offense."
Qinghuang remained composed and proper, greeting each of them in turn.
Pei Ye returned the greeting and sheathed his sword, looking at the hideously deformed corpse on the ground. "Seniors, what's going on here?"
Purple Bamboo was looking at it too. Shaking his numbed wrist, his face grim and brows knitted, he said, "I'm just as baffled. Let's report it."
Northern Bowang City, an inn, third floor.
The lodgings throughout the Prefectural City were still packed, but with the Autumn Competition over, the occasional vacancy did open up. The guest in this room had only moved in two days earlier.
The man sat upright, holding a fine brush, his eyes closed and his body still. A broad illustrated scroll lay spread across the entire table before him.
It was a map of Bowang City.
There was only one copy of the "Soul-Seizing Sword Theft" case file, but the map was not unique. This replacement for the