The sun sank toward the western mountains, at an inn in the Eastern City of Chengtian Prefecture.
The window of a street-facing room on the second floor stood open. Ye Jingtang stood before it, watching the red sun about to sink behind the distant peaks.
At a table not far behind him, Fan Qinghe held a cotton ball, her eyes full of distress as she dabbed a fair little arm.
"You're a girl. Of all the things you could learn, why external martial arts? Look at how they beat you, all black and blue..."
"Achoo-"
Zhe Yunli wore a black swordswoman's dress, its front gray with lime powder she had not managed to brush off. Her bamboo hat hung on her back, and some powder still clung to her pinned-up hair. Her eyes had been cleaned, so she could open them now, but their rims were still red. From time to time, she sneezed and grumbled.
"Northern Liang's martial artists really have no martial honor. A grandmaster, and he still throws lime-with chili powder mixed in! Has he no shame...?"
When she fought Zhao Dong, her slender blade had been ill-suited to blocking heavy chops from his large saber, forcing her to brace its spine against the blows. Several blue-purple marks from the blade's spine showed on Zhe Yunli's arms beneath her rolled-up sleeves. Ye Jingtang would have considered them nothing, but on a young girl, they still looked alarming.
Niao Niao stood on the table, behaving quite considerately now, rubbing its head against Zhe Yunli's shoulder, presumably meaning, "There, there, it doesn't hurt."
Rather embarrassed at being fussed over like a little girl by Aunt Fan and Niao Niao, Zhe Yunli lifted her chin and puffed out her chest.
"There's no need for medicine. I've practiced the Flame-Rebirth Diagram.