Lakhuto awoke to the sound of shouting downstairs. Some of the patrons were unhappy with their bill after a night of eating and drinking to keep warm during the storm.

It was chilly. Cold air had seeped into the room throughout the night. He shivered and looked for his robe, which would at least provide some warmth. It was, however, not there. In its place was a sloppily written note that he could make out with some difficulty:

“Going out for a bit. If I’m not back by noon, just head over to Yi Kang’s house without me. I’ll find you later.

“Also, I needed to borrow your robe.”

Wei Zhen running off by himself was not too unusual, he thought. Over the course of their journey he had gone off on his own to get some air a few times. He always managed to find his way back after a day or so. Sometimes he would even bring back food, which he more than likely stole from a poor unsuspecting family.

Lakhuto circulated qi throughout his body to warm himself up, then walked downstairs to wait for the servant Yi Kang would be sending over to fetch them. Although it was now close to noon, he hoped to still be able to eat a breakfast before leaving. As he entered the dining room, a man flew past him and hit the wall with a loud thud.

“You’re going to force us to pay for staying here when we had no choice? You won’t be getting a single piece of silver out of me. And I think I’ll be taking more food, as well!” A large man with an unkempt black beard yelled at the poor innkeeper he had just thrown against the wall.

Lakhuto imagined that the burly man must have been a soldier in his youth and wondered if he had any kung fu training. Unable to allow someone who had done nothing wrong to be bullied, he leaped in front of the innkeeper to protect him.

“Have you no shame? Taking things without paying and picking on the weak! Pay this man and leave without causing anymore trouble!”

“Mind your own business, kid.” The man turned around to try and leave the inn without paying, but Lakhuto grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“Pay him.” Anger was clearly visible on Lakhuto’s face. How could someone be so rude to a man who had provided a place to stay during a blizzard?

The man swung around, throwing a right hook toward his face. Lakhuto let go of his arm and jumped back, narrowly dodging the blow.

Without a sword, Lakhuto had little martial skill. Most of his training and time had been devoted to mastering Mount Kunlun’s sword skills. He had picked up only a few unarmed moves over the years and prayed they would be enough to defeat this man. Judging by how clumsy and weak his first move had been, the man did not seem to be well trained, or possess any internal skill.

Lakhuto waited patiently for the man to attack him again. He was relying on a counterattack to end the fight in one move.

The man went in with another clumsy right hook. Now was his chance. Lakhuto swept his arm away in a circular block known as Cleaving the Glacier. It was a move from Snow Palm, which Grandmaster Wu had taught him when he was very little to explain the concept of yin and yang.

He then followed up with a swift palm strike to the chest, which turned the man’s momentum against him and sent him crashing into a table at the other side of the room.

Lakhuto walked over the man, pulled a few pieces of silver from his pouch, then went to check on the innkeeper and helped him onto his feet.

“Are you alright, sir?”

“I’ll be alright. I truly am fortunate to have such an honorable and skilled young master show up.” The innkeeper bowed, showing his respect and gratitude.

“There should be enough money here to pay for the table I broke as well.”

The innkeeper bowed again and took the money to settle the bill.

A few minutes later the door swung upon and two servants walked in, bringing a gust of cold air with them. They saw Lakhuto prodding a man, who remained knocked out on the floor, to make sure he was alright. He was rude, but Lakhuto would not be able to forgive himself if he had truly injured the man over a petty dispute.

“You must be one of the young masters our lord sent us to fetch.” The two servants bowed in greeting.

“Is the other one around here as well?” The second servant added.

“He will join us later. Please, lead the way.”

They left the inn and trudged through the streets, still thickly covered with snow. The sun had begun to peak out from behind its grey cover. The city would be dealing with the aftermath of a record snowfall, and its heralding of a long and bitter winter, for weeks to come, yet the sun promised hope of returning warmth.

After a half-hour trek, they neared the elegant gate of Yi Kang’s mansion. This man must be an important city official, Lakhuto thought. His house is the biggest I’ve seen so far.

As they began to walk through the gate, the servants recoiled in shock as they saw a bloodstained ghost gliding on the rooftops behind them, sending miniature avalanches crashing down onto the street in his wake.

“Wei Zhen!” Lakhuto called out in surprise and concern. “What have you done to my robe?”

He jumped off a nearby roof and stumbled over to the gate. It had been a few hours since his fight with Master Fei, and the gashes in his arm had spread blood all over his outfit as he ran. He had run laps around the city, hiding in alleyways and random trees, in the hope of throwing Fei off his tracks before meeting up with his friend.

“Don’t worry, it will wash out.” Wei Zhen said through winces of pain, holding his still dislocated arm steady. “I need help popping this back in.”

“What about the blood?”

“It’s not as bad as it looks, really. I made a new friend.”

While Lakhuto inspected his wounds, visibly worried about the state his friend had shown up in, a pair of hands covered their mouths and pulled them inside the gate. They felt multiple acupressure points being hit, and then the world went dark.