Tang Daiyu leaned back and stared at him in shock.

"Zhou-ge?"

He coughed, and more blood painted his lips. Alarmed, she reached forward, about to help, when her hands froze just mere inches away from his chest.

I only know how to use Hei Siwang. I can't help him.

Worry flashed in her eyes, and she quickly used her sleeve to wipe the blood from his mouth. "Zhou-ge..."

He gave her a faint smile. "It's okay, Ah Daiyu."

"I wouldn't exactly say that, seeing how sickly pale you look, Master Liang."

Liang Yingzhou turned around. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. Tang Daiyu leaned around him to see who it was.

She cried out, "Physician Wang!"

Wang Yishen walked between the dumbfounded Li Xun and Xue Longxian, approaching Liang Yingzhou. He eyed the other man, taking in his condition.

"What happened to you?"

"My martial arts are no longer compatible with my qi."

"That would explain it. The clash would harm you. But how did it get this way all of a sudden? Your martial arts didn't conflict before."

Tang Daiyu spoke up while pointing to Liang Yingzhou, "Because this idiot chose to exchange my qi with his."

"Your qi?"

"My impure qi that came with my martial arts. The impure qi is only compatible with one martial art... Hei Siwang."

Wang Yishen stared at the duo in front of him, surprise and disbelief evident in his eyes. "Is this the truth?"

Liang Yingzhou nodded solemnly. "Yes."

He circled his hands and showed Tang Daiyu's black qi that was formed from Hei Siwang. Tang Daiyu followed his motion and showed Liang Yingzhou's pure white qi. Wang Yishen pointed back and forth between the qi's, dumbstruck.

"Wha-? How? When did this happen?"

Back and forth, Liang Yingzhou and Tang Daiyu explained everything. When they were finished, Wang Yishen shook his head, amazed.

"I can't believe this. This has never been done before."

"Hei Siwang has broken many ancient boundaries," Tang Daiyu said quietly. "Both good and bad ones."

"Such an evil martial art. Why did you learn it?"

Instead of looking at him, she turned towards Li Xun and Xue Longxian. Her hands clenched tight, nails cutting into her palms. Speaking coldly, she answered, "To avenge my family."

From the killing intent in her eyes, they shrunk away. Remembering a technique taught to her by her father, she pulled out her fan and spun it on her hand. After having gained enough momentum, she twisted her wrist so the fan laid horizontally to the ground. Her eyes glinted, and she swooshed the fan upwards. Dust and other particles flew up into their eyes.

Quickly taking advantage of the distraction, she pulled Liang Yingzhou and Wang Yishen away. She led them through Chang'an until they reached a blackened and burnt residence. Looking up, her eyes filled with sadness.

On a plaque above, the once shiny bronze words Tang Residence had tarnished. Liang Yingzhou took in a sharp breath.

"I haven't been here in years."

"It seems like a different life," Tang Daiyu agreed.

She led the two men inside and over to the least damaged room. As they were walking, her eyes took in the dilapidated sight of her childhood home. Sadness washed over her, and her shoulders sagged.

"Ah Daiyu, are you okay?"

She shook her head no. "It was dark the night we were taken from here. I was never allowed to return, so I haven't seen the full damage until now."

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing that could've been done. My family was targeted. I would've lost them eventually anyways."

Liang Yingzhou's heart ached for his mei mei. Tang Daiyu turned and noticed him watching her.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just hate to see you upset."

She blushed. Wang Yishen coughed politely.

"Young Lady Tang, the Royal Family will spare no expense in hunting you. You know Chang'an better than either I or Master Liang do. Is there anyway out of the capital without anyone knowing?"

She nodded and smirked. "Yes. If fact, my father built an underground passage out of Chang'an. When thing began to get worse, he worried about us, so he made a getaway. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to use it."

"Where is it?"

Waving her arm, she said, "Follow me."

Tang Daiyu led them towards the back of the property. She wound around the weeds and dead shrubbery of the garden and walked towards her room. They followed her inside.

"Ah Daiyu, why your room?"

Without turning around, she quipped, "I'm surprised Zhou-ge remembers which one was mine."

He coughed and cleared his throat before recomposing himself. "Did your father build the passage out of your room?"

She turned around and shook her head. "We're just passing through. Baobao liked to stay with me, so Father added on a section to my room. The passage is beneath it."

"Why didn't you escape through it that night?" Wang Yishen asked.

"A beam fell in the middle of my room," she answered as she stepped over the very beam. "Hot with red-orange embers, my way was blocked. Plus, my priority was getting to Baobao. The smoke was thick, so I had to get us both out into the open air as soon as possible. Otherwise, we'd die from smoke inhalation."

She swept into the addition and squatted down. She moved a few of the burnt floorboards, revealing a hole in the ground.

"See?"

"Where does it lead to?"

"I actually don't know. My father always just said it was an escape route. He was quite reluctant to say where it goes."

"So our only choice is taking an old passageway with an unknown destination?" Wang Yishen asked doubtfully.

"If you don't want to risk running into Head Eunuch or Official Xue again, then yes," Tang Daiyu argued. "But if you'd rather walk the streets of Chang'an, then be my guest. You're not wanted by the Royal Families of Chang and Heping. I am, so I will be trusting my father and taking the passageway."

Without waiting for a response, she hopped down into the darkness. Liang Yingzhou turned towards Wang Yishen.

"Are you coming with us?"

The physician shook his head. "No. I'll lead the others away from here. Get Young Lady Tang to safety. Good luck, Master Liang."

"Thank you, Physician Wang."

Then, he too hopped down into the darkness.

~~~

At the bottom, Tang Daiyu grunted as she landed. Without a light, she groped around to feel for the walls. Then, an idea came to her. She held out her hand and summoned a little qi to light up the passageway. When she saw torches on the wall, she sighed.

"If only we had something to light them with."

A thud hit behind her. She turned around to see Liang Yingzhou.

"Is Physician Wang coming?"

He brushed himself off before they began to walk.

"He offered to be the bait. Careful with using qi. You'll tire yourself eventually."

"I know, but otherwise we won't be able to see anything. I can last for a while."

"My qi is foreign to your meridians and chakras. I would suggest that you don't overstrain yourself. Until your body adjusts, you won't be able to do certain things."

Her lips drew into a thin line. She knew he was right, but didn't want to admit it.

Instead, she asked, "Will I be able to learn my family's martial arts finally?"

"I should think so. My qi is used to working with it; so in theory, it shouldn't be too difficult for you."

After a moment's silence, Tang Daiyu murmured, "Zhou- ge, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

She stopped walking.

"For disappointing you. For the fact that you have to deal with the side effects of Hei Siwang. For hurting you. For-"

He silenced her. Her eyes widened, and for a brief moment, she considered biting his hand that was covering her mouth.

"You have nothing to apologise for, Ah Daiyu."

Sadness and guilt flashed across her face. He watched as watery tears appeared in her eyes. His heart clenched.

"I grew up without parents. Yours were the closest I had to real ones. But still, I can't even begin to imagine your pain. The things that you have done may go against my principles, but I understand why you thought you had to. You are not a disappointment, Tang Daiyu. Your parents would be very proud to see the young lady you grew up to be. You're fierce and strong. Courageous and loyal. Caring and understanding. Tang Ru and Bi Mingyu could not have asked for a better daughter."

He took a deep breath in and let it out. "And I've already told you that the qi exchange was my choice. I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to."

She closed her eyes, trying to ignore his kind words.

"How can I not be a disappointment? My shifu knew my father and told me that they had argued over Hei Siwang. My father despised the fact that it existed. If he knew that I learned it, what would he think?"

"Chancellor Ru knew about Hei Siwang?"

She nodded. "The night he taught me Four Winding Snakes, Shifu, admitted that he knew my father. He told me then."

"Ah Daiyu, I think your father would understand that you had no other choice at that time. If you wanted to survive, you had to gain the upper hand."

She let out a long, sad sigh and shrugged. "Let's just keep going, Zhou-ge."

He agreed, and they continued down the passageway.

~~~

When they finally came to the end of the passageway, there was a ladder. Unsure of where it led to, Liang Yingzhou offered to climb up first. At the top, he slightly cracked open a trapdoor. Looking around, he noticed it was some room. Seeing no one, he crawled out and turned around. Holding down his hand, he waited for Tang Daiyu to reach the top. She took his hand, and he helped her up into the room.

"Where are we, Zhou-ge?"

"I don't know."

Then, a voice answered, "Don't worry, you're safe here."