Mo Yun hovered in front of Senior Sun. One hand rested on the handle of her sword. Wei Zhao similarly positioned his claws cautiously. The sect master gave off an exceptional air of tension, similar to the taut string of a bow before release.

Though she possessed a heart-shaped face, her sharp monolid crescent eyes reminded both men of the cold blade of a sword. She narrowed her eyes and a flurry of wind ruptured forth from her.

“Sun Yan’zhi, how long will you remain wordless?” Xiao Qing saw the fairy’s lips tremble for a short spell. The fairy continued, “Say something, you damn scholar! Where are your flowery lies now?”

Wei Zhao massaged his neck awkwardly. He then clasped his left hand over his right fist and said , “Oh, esteem Sect Master Mo —”

She whipped her head around and barked, “What? Do you not see me talking?”

Wei Zhao almost barked back. He bit his bottom lips till he tasted the familiar flavor of blood. “Yes, however, the man you are conversing with is not only an exile of your great Yue Yun Sect, but a wanted criminal. I am in charged of his capture under orders of General Bo Ling. As the entire Empire knows, General Bo Ling is the not only a blood brother, but the actual brother-in-law, of Emperor Zhou — may He live ten ten thousand years.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Oh, how strange that my Yue Yun Sect is great and noble and strong? I swear to the Heavens that I could have sworn some mutt slander my great sect’s name by calling it a dump.”

Wei Zhao looked up at the moon and avoided eye contact with the fairy. “My, that fool’s brain must have gone addled from this storm perhaps. Truly, a strange thing to utter. And to the mountain’s face at that!”

“You say this man is a criminal? Sun Yan’zhi may be an exile, but before I was Sect Master, he was my junior brother. He did not have any talent for cultivation and was quite the flower boy of the sect, and it was for that fact he was exiled for being impure. Unless he has made a pass at the Empress — may She live a thousand years — which I highly doubt as he is a coward, what crime could he have committed?”

Wei Zhao drew his eyes onto the Sect Master’s, “His wife, General Yin, is suspect in the assassination of Emperor Zhou. Even now, the court awaits the Royal Physician’s report. It has already been at least a couple hours since she has locked herself within the Emperor’s chambers.”

Wei Zhao studied the Sect Master’s reaction. The fairy’s expression was as still as a mirror’s. There was no shortage nor quickening of breath. As expected of a master, the flow of qi remained uninterrupted and contained even if she was startled.

“And the girl?” She asked.

“Pardon?”

The fairy jabbed her blade at Xiao Qing. The width between the little doll’s eye and the tip of the blade was less than the space a mosquito could fly through. Wei Zhao widened his eyes tremendously. His lips suddenly felt very dry. Yet even after running his tongue over his lips several times, the lips remained dry.

“The girl. This one I’m pointing to.”

Wei Zhao swallowed a breath and said, “She is of course a criminal as well.”

The fairy tilted her head. “You are a talented cultivator, no?”

“My peers believe me to be.”

“How old is that girl?”

Wei Zhao blinked like a frog. “Pardon?”

“The girl. Age, in years if possible.”

“About 5. But—”

“I see. Does the great General Bo Ling suspect a five years old girl to be capable of murdering the Dragon of our Empire, the great Emperor Zhou?”

“How dare you insult General Bo Ling!”

“It was merely a question. Calm yourself. This is still the territory of my Yue Yun Sect, and I will not tolerate your crazed accusations.”

“Tolerate? Tolerate! You have been tolerating that criminal over there for nearly half an hour now. And now you dare question the commands of General Bo Ling and defend the criminal’s daughter. I say you are intent on harboring these criminals on basis— Oof!” Wei Zhao grunted as he caught Senior Sun.

“Do not sully the name of my Yue Yun Sect or my name. You have your criminal. Now go.”

“The girl also. The sins of the tree naturally seeps into its fruit.”

“She is but a young girl.”

“She is a wanted criminal. The General will hear about this.”

“My Yue Yun Sect has been regarded as righteous and loyal to the Emperor since time immemorial.”

“A single mistake will cast you from the favor of the Son of Heaven.”

“Then perhaps you should not dawdle around and deliver that garbage of a man to General Bo Ling.”

Wei Zhao glared at the Sect Master. He unleashed all of his qi at once. Bang! Bang! Bang! Three successions of pops resounded as the storm collided with Wei Zhao’s anger. The force exuded was so great that as soon as the water pellets met one of the shockwaves, the water would evaporate into steam immediately.

The fairy waited patiently for the steam to dissipate. She wanted to make eye contact with Wei Zhao. “Are you done?” She asked. The Sect Master too released her qi. There was no explosion of strength or anger. There was no noise at all.

However, if one looked closely, one would realize with unfathomable fear and surprise that the pellets struck an invisible armor encasing the fairy. As the pellets struck the armor, rather than becoming steam as was the case with Wei Zhao, the water merely rolled off the armor.

That was a true testament of strength: control, stability, and power. There was no special technique involved. It was simply the basics of qi manipulation expanded to its highest form.

“And this is my power. A power loyal to the Emperor, to the Empire, and to righteousness. Do not insult my nobility, Junior. Report this matter however you wish, but know the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the Heavens understand the loyalty possessed by my Yue Yun Sect. A loyalty proven for generations. Now leave!”

Wei Zhao snorted and left with Senior Sun.

Mo Yun looked at the frightened girl, “I suppose I should get you out of those soiled robes.”

I spent so much time reformatting. That was so tedious; I never want to reformat anything manually ever again.