Keen Blade sighed as she saw the lands of the Liquid Sword sect disappear off into the distance. Usually, she felt exhausted after attending to business, but for some reason, this visit had left her energized. She felt fresh, ready to tackle her next challenges. It was like the burdens on her back had been lessened, freeing her of the gloomy load.

She idly looked at the bottles her disciple was carrying. Was the change due to the effects of that drink? It certainly had played a part, but she felt there was more to it. Even if she had some of that rather pleasant drink back at the sect, she doubted it would feel the same.

A big part of it had to be the company – she could not imagine herself sharing the bottle with any of the elders back at the sect, the night would surely become just another bothersome errand.

She felt her mind wandering back to her visit. Chatting with that man had been pleasant, it had been... liberating to complain about her issues. In a way, it was wrong to reveal such things to a member of a vassal sect, but strangely, she felt that it would turn out alright.

There was something to that man... on the second day of her visit, she had felt her eye drawn to him now and then. The way his disciples looked at him – it was a look of absolute trust. She had not seen such bonds before, there had been a closeness there. It was like there was less of a barrier between master and disciple.

And the man did have a rather dashing beard...

“Master, the report is ready for you.”

She shook the inappropriate thoughts out of her mind and turned to look at her disciple. Yes, the trip to that sect had been just a little trek on the side. Her purpose here was more serious.

“Did you manage to interrogate the captive? What did you find out?” She asked.

Her disciple bowed to her. “We managed, it was confirmed that he had been a member of a group raiding the Slime sect.”

Keen Blade felt her hands tighten into fists. Truly a most troublesome matter.

“Did you find out anything about that technique?”

The disciple looked over a jade slip with an uneasy expression. “Yes, the report is... troubling. It seems they received that technique from a demonic cultivator who had called himself [Lord Bloody Massacre].”

Keen Blade felt her heartbeat quicken. “That is not a name we have heard before. A new arrival?”

Her disciple handed the jade slip to her. “He seems to be a cultivator of great power who came here from an upper realm, no-one is sure of the extent of his power.”

Keen Blade grimaced; this was getting more troublesome by the minute. She felt her gazing drawing back towards the already distant Thousand Lakes sect.

If only she could ignore this business, try that hot spring again and have a few more drinks... She sighed – it was of course but an idle dream. She turned her gaze back ahead.

Work never waited.