Damned officials!

By noon, Dyeing Street was sparsely populated.

Ye Jingtang led his horse back to Twin Osmanthus Alley, pondering ways to catch the Wingless Owl all along the way. The old alley was quiet, and he could hear birdsong coming from its depths far ahead:

"Coo, coo~..."

Outside the courtyard wall, he rose onto his toes to look inside. A few more furnishings had appeared in the clean, tidy courtyard, and the melon trellis in the far corner had been rebuilt.

A beautiful young married woman in blue had gathered her skirt in front of her legs and crouched beneath the trellis, digging small holes beside the wall with a little hoe.

Her figure was already exquisite, and the way she crouched with her skirt gathered up traced a full-moon curve beneath her slender waist.

The fluffy white "Winged Owl" diligently picked seeds out of the little cloth bag beside her, hopped over to deposit them in the holes, then opened its beak to beg for food with a silly look that said, "Has Niao Niao been good?"

"What are you planting? Bitter melons?"

Seeing Ye Jingtang return, Luo Ning put down the hoe and went to the courtyard gate, keeping an eye on the alley entrance.

"How did your inquiries at the Black Bureau go today?"

She reacted this way because Zhe Yunli was out. If Luo Ning failed to keep watch, the moment footsteps sounded, this little rogue was sure to drag her inside.

Somewhat amused, Ye Jingtang fetched a small stool from the kitchen and sat beneath the eaves.

"Pretty smoothly. I met Qiu Tianhe."

Luo Ning's guarded expression stiffened slightly, suspicion appearing in her eyes. She did not approach.

But after Ye Jingtang described Qiu Tianhe's appearance, her expression turned to surprise. She came over to the eaves and asked:

"How did you meet Qiu Tianhe? The Black Bureau let you into the dungeon that easily?"

Ye Jingtang set another small stool beside him.

"I'm a law-abiding citizen with a clean background and decent saber skills. Asking an official for a little favor so I can meet a great hero of the martial world is perfectly reasonable. What's so difficult about it? Come sit down and talk."

"..."

Luo Ning glanced at the two stools together. After a brief hesitation, she approached, moved hers a little farther away before sitting down, and had Niao Niao squat between them. She asked softly:

"How is Qiu Tianhe faring?"

"He's locked up two levels beneath the Jade Resonance Tower. Never mind the iron locks and bars-he's also been dosed with Soft-Bone Incense. I doubt he even has the strength to stand. As for rescuing him, forget it. Sneaking into the dungeon to break him out would be harder than assassinating Prince Jing outright. I doubt anyone in the world could manage it."

Worry appeared between Luo Ning's brows. "Of course I know the chances are slim. Qiu Tianhe saved Yunli's life. If we ignore him, she'll feel guilty for the rest of her life. Sigh..."

Ye Jingtang smiled. "But that doesn't mean there's no way."

"Hmm?" Surprise flashed in Luo Ning's eyes. "You have a way to save him?"

Ye Jingtang nodded, but instead of explaining immediately, he looked her over.

"This is something that could cost me my head. If you want my help, Lady Luo, shouldn't you show a little sincerity?"

?

Luo Ning straightened slightly and reached for the flexible sword at her waist, her gaze cooling.

"Ye Jingtang, I spared you over what happened last time because I thought your nature wasn't bad. If you don't know your limits and keep demanding more, trying to use this to threaten me..."

Ye Jingtang shook his head. "I'm not asking for anything improper. Just answer a few questions."

"What questions?"

"Lady Luo, are you actually married?"

Luo Ning's lovely face flushed with anger. "Yes! I've been married for years. Everyone in the martial world knows it."

"You don't even know how to hold a man. You're so inexperienced you don't even know how to moan. How is that like a married woman? I think you're still a virgin..."

Shing-

Before he finished speaking, a gleaming sword pointed at his neck.

Luo Ning's face turned scarlet at his filthy words.

"Married means married. Marriage is about love. What does it have to do with whether we've done that sort of thing? Say anything that vulgar again, and I'll cut out your tongue!"

Never done it... So she really is a virgin...

With a rather peculiar look in his eyes, Ye Jingtang pushed the blade aside.

"Your husband really is squandering heaven's gifts. Was he injured somehow and unable to perform?"

Luo Ning pointed the sword back at him and glared.

"What business is it of yours? Do you think everyone is like you, thinking only about women's bodies, and that marriage means you have to bed someone? Yunli's master treats me with the utmost courtesy and respect. She's far more upright than you, better-looking than you, and better at martial arts too..."

???

Ye Jingtang had no idea where to begin with this absurd speech. After holding his tongue for a long moment, he could only ask in bewilderment:

"Why are you comparing me to your husband? Are you deliberately trying to annoy me and make me jealous?"

Luo Ning opened her mouth, realized there was something wrong with what she had said, and changed the subject.

"Stop talking about things that damage both our reputations! What exactly is your plan to save Qiu Tianhe?"

Ye Jingtang stopped sparring verbally with Lady Luo and took a wanted notice from his robe.

"When I went to the Black Bureau today, Prince Jing took a liking to me because I'm handsome and good with a saber. I was told to find an opportunity to learn Qiu Tianhe's saber techniques and teach them to Prince Jing. Naturally, if I learn someone's martial arts, I owe him a debt. To keep me from becoming a faithless scoundrel, Prince Jing is willing to make an exception and release Qiu Tianhe from the dungeon to live out his remaining years in the Capital City. The price is that I'll have to work for the court from now on."

Luo Ning listened quietly, inwardly frowning. Prince Jing's terms seemed generous, but were actually exceedingly cunning.

Ye Jingtang would learn the saber techniques, then serve the court as Qiu Tianhe's successor in exchange for his release from the dungeon.

As soon as Ye Jingtang complied, a bond would form between him and Qiu Tianhe.

To avoid implicating Ye Jingtang, Qiu Tianhe would never take a single step outside the Capital City for the rest of his life, even without shackles on him. He would effectively become a prisoner for life.

And if Ye Jingtang valued loyalty and affection, he could only work wholeheartedly for the court to keep Qiu Tianhe off the executioner's block.

One condition would bind both men fast. Prince Jing would pay nothing and even gain Qiu Tianhe's saber techniques for free...

After pondering for a moment, Luo Ning said coldly:

"These damned officials are truly treacherous... If you agree, won't you become the court's running dog?"

Ye Jingtang shrugged slightly. "I'm a law-abiding citizen. Being valued by the court is an honor, and I get to learn a set of saber techniques for free. How does that make me its running dog?"

"..."

On reflection, Luo Ning had to agree. Ye Jingtang was unlike her-he wasn't a rebel. Accepting these terms seemed to have no real downside, but...

"You have exceptional talent. An official career will always put you beneath others. After half a lifetime of clawing your way up, you'll at most become some minor ranked official. But in the martial world, with your talent and my connections, I can guarantee you'll rise straight into the clouds and become a formidable overlord whose every move carries weight..."

Looking at Luo Ning as she tried to recruit him, Ye Jingtang asked with a smile:

"Lady Luo, do you want to save Qiu Tianhe, or do you want me to follow you from now on?"

I want both...

Luo Ning hesitated briefly, then sighed softly.

"Once you take this step, you'll sever your path into the martial world. The court will use Qiu Tianhe to threaten you, forcing you never to defy it. Even if you want to serve the court, we were strangers before this. To fasten a shackle like Qiu Tianhe onto you because of Yunli's affairs... I... I truly can't accept that with an easy conscience."

Ye Jingtang pulled his little stool closer.

"If you feel you owe me, Lady Luo, you could find a way to compensate me."

?

The emotion that had just stirred in Luo Ning vanished like smoke. She gripped the sword hilt at her waist, her eyes cooling.

"What do you want?"

"To learn martial arts. What did you think, Lady Luo?"

I thought you wanted me to...

Luo Ning's expression softened a little.

"If you truly are willing to help Yunli save Hero Qiu, why shouldn't I teach you all my martial arts? But from now on, you'll be at court and I'll be in the martial world. We'll go our separate ways... Sigh~"

She left the rest unsaid, but such things happened all too often in the martial world.

Men once as close as brothers were forced to turn their blades on each other because one held loyalty in his heart while the other harbored a chivalrous spirit. They could only wait until they met beneath the nine springs to reconcile.

It was undoubtedly the saddest thing in the martial world. Neither side was wrong, yet neither could do anything about it.

Luo Ning had once had such a friend. They had been as close as sisters, but after she joined the Sky-Pacifying Sect, they became strangers who would never cross paths again for the rest of their lives.

Whatever she thought of Ye Jingtang, sharing a roof now was a bond granted by fate. How could she not worry that they might fall into that same wrenching predicament someday?

Ye Jingtang had not thought that far ahead. Seeing Luo Ning grow melancholy, he comforted her:

"Better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes than moisten each other with foam to survive. You'll get your wish, Lady Luo, and I'll have a bright future too. Why worry about what lies ahead?"

"If one day we meet again in another part of the martial world, and you hold high office while I'm still an outlaw..."

"Then I hope you'll take good care of yourself, Lady Luo. If you're still as peerlessly beautiful as you are today, I certainly won't crush a flower with a ruthless hand."

?

That remark wiped out all Luo Ning's wistful melancholy. If he wouldn't ruthlessly crush the flower, then he would covet her beauty, seize her as a slave or concubine, and ravage and discipline her to his heart's content?

For a woman of the martial world, that was worse than death!

Luo Ning's face darkened, and she cursed softly:

"Damned official. I'd die before letting you have your way."

Ye Jingtang chuckled twice and stopped teasing her. He gestured at the wanted notice.

"To win Prince Jing's appreciation, I first have to complete an assignment to prove my ability. Do you have any way to catch the Wingless Owl?"

Luo Ning put away her icy gaze and studied the notice carefully.

"The Wingless Owl... He's quite well-known, and his lightness skills probably rival mine. With no information and only a wanted notice, how are we supposed to catch him?"

Ye Jingtang was troubled by this too. After some thought, he said:

"The Wingless Owl stole from the Cloud-Cutting Palace to learn lightness skills. But after succeeding, instead of keeping a low profile as a thief, he spread word of it everywhere and built his current reputation. That means he's like most people in the martial world: he likes fame and doesn't want to parade fine silk in the dark."

Luo Ning understood. "Since he likes fame, he must care about his reputation. People in the martial world hate nothing more than someone using their name to swindle others and ruin their good name. Impersonate the Wingless Owl and do something disgraceful-the nastier it sounds, the better-and let word spread through the martial world. He's keeping a low profile in the Capital City. If he hears someone is impersonating him and making a huge commotion, he'll certainly be displeased..."

Ye Jingtang nodded. "If I were the Wingless Owl and heard rumors like that, I'd most likely investigate what happened. Even if I suspected it was bait laid by the authorities, I'd come take a look at what game the court was playing. As long as he makes a move, I'll have a chance to catch him."

Luo Ning thought this had a good chance of working and asked:

"You're rather sly and slippery. What are you planning to steal to stir up rumors and lure the snake out of its hole?"

Ye Jingtang took that entirely as praise and shrugged slightly.

"What I steal has to be valuable. That way, outsiders will believe I'm the Wingless Owl and spread the story in private. Second, the theft has to sound disgraceful when word gets out, or the Wingless Owl might simply accept this 'fame' with a smile and ignore it. Ideally, it should also dispel any suspicion of bait laid by the authorities. I'm still struggling with that. Do you have any good ideas, Lady Luo?"

Luo Ning thought seriously for a long time before asking tentatively:

"Hmm... The female prince's gold-thread bellyband?"

What?!

Ye Jingtang's expression froze.

Stealing Prince Jing's bellyband really would achieve all of those things at once: it would be priceless, idle gossips would chatter endlessly, the Wingless Owl would be ashamed to be associated with it, and suspicions of official bait would vanish.

But how was he supposed to get his hands on it? Did he have a death wish?

"You must be joking. Even the Wingless Owl himself couldn't steal that. Even if I wasn't stealing it and went to borrow it in the name of investigating a case, Prince Jing would have me flayed alive... Lady Luo, are you trying to kill me with a borrowed blade?"

Knowing this rotten idea would not work, Luo Ning frowned.

"I'm not a burglar. How would I know what's disgraceful to steal? You're investigating a case for the authorities. They should prepare something like that for you. Surely you aren't actually going to steal it yourself?"

Ye Jingtang smiled. "Actually, the gold-thread bellyband is a pretty good idea. There's just no way to borrow it... I'll go ask at the Black Bureau..."