Quiet Verses Beneath the Silken Edict Pavilion

The moon was a hook.

"Silken edicts~"

In the hills behind Mantuo Manor, on the island's deserted western side, a wooden cottage stood between two ridges.

"Quiet verses beneath the pavilion, the hours drag on in the bell-and-drum tower... an oriole's voice calls for Hongniang..."

Two lanterns hung outside the door. Inside, candlelight cast two silhouettes on the window lattice. One woman reclined on a couch, her cloudlike hair piled high, haughty and regal; the other held a pipa, plucking softly as she sang.

"The bright moon hangs above~ is my husband in his study..."

"Whoosh~"

The wind suddenly quickened, like a bird beating its wings. Beneath the night sky, a glint of cold light descended toward the cottage.

Bang!

A hole burst through the window lattice. A long arrow shot inside, passed through the gap between the pipa and the crook of the player's arm, and struck unerringly into the chest of the beautiful woman reclining on the embroidered couch. She screamed, blood spraying everywhere.

The pipa player had just reached the lines:

"Miss~ should Madam learn of this... she'll fly into a rage again, and beat me, her little maid... ah... an assassin!"

"Wretched scoundrel! How dare you shoot from afar!"

"I saw clearly! On the eastern ridge! After her..."

Several furious shouts rang out in succession in the darkness outside. Two old women sprang up and raced east. The ridge was only twenty-odd zhang high and not steep. In moments, they reached the top and leaped into a large tree, where they spotted a dark figure fleeing northwest.

"She doesn't know the terrain. You take the left, I'll take the right. We'll hem her in!"

"Good!"

The black-clad girl fled swiftly, curved saber in hand. She glanced back and saw no pursuers, but the instant she turned forward again, a fierce gust struck toward her face. She hastily leaned backward, planted her left foot, and retreated four or five steps.

"This is bad..."

Before her heels had settled, another fierce gust came from behind, heavy with force, its passage thundering through the air.

"Die!"

The black-clad girl ducked and threw herself forward. A moon-shaped iron staff grazed her left shoulder. Ignoring the pain of fractured bone, she raised her curved saber and slashed at the sun-shaped iron staff striking from ahead. A resounding clang rang out.

The old woman shook both hands and sneered, "A mantis trying to stop a chariot. You don't know your own limits!"

Internal force surged like a tide battering a little boat, hurling the girl backward beyond her control. She looked up to see the moon-shaped iron staff descending from above, smashing toward the crown of her head.

"A mere firefly dares to shine!"

The girl knew she could not escape this calamity.

Either one of the Sun and Moon Twin Staffs was more than her match, let alone the two of them employing their seamless combined attacks.

"Ah~"

She sighed softly. A figure appeared in her cold, moonlike eyes, and she felt she had so many regrets.

"If I'd known, I might as well have..."

"Clink~"

A tempered-steel longsword thrust out of the darkness, instantly splitting into four cold gleams. Like striking a chime stone, they tapped the moon-shaped iron staff in an instant, forcing the old woman's staff half a foot aside. A hand slipped around the girl's slender waist.

"You..."

As though dreaming, the black-clad girl looked up at the newcomer, who likewise wore a hat veiled in blue gauze.

"Go!"

Li Yu gave a low shout. Sword in one hand and the other arm around her waist, he raced into the dense woods.

"How does she have an accomplice?"

"No matter. We'll deal with them both..."

"After them!"

The newcomer's movements were light and flowing. The Sun and Moon Twin Staffs were startled at first, but soon gauged his strength. Confident in their knowledge of the terrain, they plunged headlong after him into the woods. "Pop, pop..." A string of muffled bursts sounded as seven or eight paper packets tied among the branches exploded one after another. White powder showered down on their heads, instantly enveloping them.

"Fuck your mother! It's lime..."

"Despicable scoundrels! Quick, form up!"

The two iron staffs whirled with a fierce rush of wind, sweeping the lime aside, but their pace was slowed all the same.

The two ahead were also protected by their gauze hats and suffered little effect.

Li Yu glanced back and saw that the old women had barely slowed. They were about to emerge from his lime trap. At this rate, they still would not escape. A thought struck him, and he shouted over his shoulder as he ran.

"You old hags! Don't you know you've fallen for a lure-the-tiger-from-the-mountain trick?"

"All forty-four bandits landed together! We're just the two youngest. The rest have gone to capture your madam and young misses... kill us if you like... your madam and young misses will be buried with us anyway! Hahahaha..."

Within the lime trap, the twin staffs kept moving, but their advance slowed.

"Is he telling the truth?"

"It's not impossible. Yan Ruhua said only one assassin had landed, but hasn't another just appeared..."

The two old women were utterly loyal and put Madam Wang first in everything. Although they knew this was very likely a trick, they dared not gamble. Killing the assassins was not the goal; protecting their madam was paramount.

"Back!"

They turned around. The lime behind them had already thinned, and they sped away, skimming over flowers and grass.

"Those two little thieves got off lightly!"

"Hmph. Escaping won't be so easy. The three hundred Camellia Girls and twenty-four sword maids are spread around the island. The moment they spot anything, they'll signal with fireworks. I doubt those two have sprouted wings."

"Then that means only Granny Wind and Granny Thunder are with Miss, and the little miss has no expert beside her at all. Then..."

Their hearts sank, and they quickened their steps. Soon, they emerged from the woods and stood on the ridge, looking into the distance. Fires had broken out in several places in the manor ahead. They were small, but clearly other thieves had infiltrated the estate to cause trouble.

All was quiet before the cottage.

"Yearning, yearning, yearning, yearning with love so deep~ hoping, hoping, hoping to be paired soon~"

When the two old women arrived, they saw several servants carrying away the corpse of the woman in palace dress. Inside, the unfinished pingtan performance continued, but the mistress now sat against a wall, with two expert old women guarding her. There was no longer any possibility of determining her position from her silhouette on the window.

"Why have you come back?" a faint female voice asked from within.

"We feared for your safety, Miss. We were afraid it was a lure-the-tiger-from-the-mountain trick, and that other thieves had slipped in."

The two old women stood before the door, not daring to enter without being summoned, and bowed respectfully.

"Did you catch the assassins?"

"No... no."

"It seems you didn't fall for a lure-the-tiger-from-the-mountain trick, but you did fall for a bluff."

Granny Moon hurriedly said, "You are wise, Miss. This old servant is utterly foolish. Please punish me."

After begging forgiveness, Granny Sun added, "But while on the ridge, this old servant truly did see several fires in the manor ahead..."

Inside the room, the pipa's notes flowed sweetly.

"Step by step, step into the pavilion, add some more, more incense to fill the burner~"

"They're no more than a few petty thieves. With Wind and Thunder here beside me, there should be no trouble. You two go inspect the fires. If you encounter a thief, kill him at once without question if he is a man. If it is a woman, capture her and report back to me."

"Yes!"

The two old women withdrew with their orders and hurried toward the several fires in the manor.

Strangely enough, all four fires in the manor were in remote spots, and none was large.

One was a heap of dry leaves in the woods, another a wrecked boat by the water... the worst had merely burned half a woodshed.

They rushed wearily from east to west, but by the time they arrived, nearby servants had already put out the flames.

"Why do I feel... that this still seems like a lure-the-tiger-from-the-mountain trick?"

The two old women looked at the half-burned woodshed, still trailing smoke, then at each other. Though highly skilled in martial arts, they had little wit. They merely sensed an oddness they could not put into words.

"Miss is wise. Let's go back and report to her."

"Yes. Whatever scheme the thieves employ, their target must be Miss. So long as we protect her, there should be no trouble."

In Mantuo Manor, only the four old women, Sun, Moon, Wind, and Thunder, addressed Madam Wang as "Miss."