A pale figure hurried to and fro, blood dripping down past the hem of her robe. No matter which path she took, she would inevitably find herself retracing her own steps.

Hours of aimless, panicked wandering took a toll on her injured body, and she could bear no more. She found a cave and slunk inside, going as deep as it would go.

And it went deep. Soon not a single ray of the setting sun could reach into these depths. But her golden eyes saw through the darkness, and she made her way through the cavern without having to slow her strenuous pace down any further.

Finally, she reached a dead end.

She noticed a crevice tucked away into the corner of the wall, half-hidden by a formation of stalagmites. If one not well versed with the dark were to approach this place with a torch in hand, the shadows cast by those rocks would render the gap almost wholly invisible. But at the time, the thought hadn't entered her mind; she merely desired a better hiding spot.

The Golden Witch held her hand over the crevice, and felt air flowing through it.

She slunk inside. Her flexibility was such that even her great stature did not impede her.

The narrow tunnel eventually brought her into a spacious opening. The last flickers of the day's sunlight poured down from a thin gap somewhere in the tall ceiling.

Just as the light of day began to wane, so did the light in her golden eyes. Finally feeling a hint of safety, she allowed herself to fall to the cold ground.

...

When night fell, Mao Zixin finally confirmed his foe's demise.

Though he had won, his victory left him deeply unsatisfied. To the very end Tao Geming had made him feel like a fool.

But his duty was not yet done. Fighting off fatigue, he set off on the trail of the golden haired woman, torch in one hand and black sword in the other.

Wu Rong's formation had rendered the tracking process trivial. There was nothing to do but follow a set path. Those who did not know the formation's secrets would forever be doomed to wander in circles.

But Mao Zixin did not run into her even after several loops.

There was a cave along the path, and he deduced that she had to have hidden inside.

As he approached the entrance, just at the edge of his torchlight, Mao Zixin noticed a peculiar discoloration on a patch of grass.

Growing suspicious, he flung his torch forward. At the mouth of the cavern, there was a small clay sphere lying in the rocky outcrop.

"That must be the invisible poison Wu Rong spoke of." Mao Zixin surmised. "How unlucky for her. If she had planted it just a little further in, the grass wouldn't have tipped me off. I'm not a monster of internal energy like her and Tao Geming, so I doubt I could have endured it easily."

Mao Zixin's gaze lingered on the entrance to the cave.

"She must be in dire straits. But nevertheless, she seems to be alive. If she is anything like her companion, then it might be safe to assume that common sense does not apply to her. Nothing short of decapitation will let me rest easy. But even if it weren't for the poison, I'd be a fool to follow her in there. There's no room for my swordsmanship there."

He mulled over his next move.

"Wu Rong didn't tell me how long this woman can go without food, but I doubt it's forever. When she gets hungry and begins to roam the mountain, Wu Rong's formation will guide her back to me. With how profound her cultivation is, it could take months to starve her out. But still... It may be necessary. And if there's no trace of her after two months, I'll send in a student to confirm her death."

With a heavy sigh, Mao Zixin stepped back. "I cannot study the sword in earnest while she's still at large. Once again Wu Rong's task has set back my progress. Well, perhaps this time I cannot blame her. My intervention may have been truly necessary. Had the two of them come at me at once, both using Tao Geming's unorthodox style instead of that feeble mimicry of my swordplay, they would have been difficult to deal with even for me."

He followed the secret path and soon arrived at a wooden house. Bai Guo was already waiting for him inside. There was a cloth bundle on his knees. Within were the two pieces of his broken sword.

Mao Zixin presented Bai Guo with a jade seal, the image of a sword engraved into it. "When morning comes, you must head back to the capital to report our success. You can't linger on this mountain."

"Is it... really over?"

"By the time you get back, it will be." Mao Zixin replied. "Your master has suffered a grievous wound that would have instantly killed anyone else. But her cultivation is only delaying the inevitable."

Bai Guo still looked uncertain.

Mao Zixin noticed his hesitation. "You witnessed our fight. Even if by some miracle she were to reemerge in full health, the outcome wouldn't change. And as long as Wu Rong's formation is in place, there is no escape for her."

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Bai Guo bowed his head. "You're right, senior."

As the young man paid his respects and was about to retire for the night, the Sage suddenly stopped him.

"Wait, boy. Before you go, show me what you can do with the sword."

Bai Guo was lent a sword, and he went through the Fifteen Heroic Sword Steps. But the Sword Sage's interest quickly waned as he observed the motions.

"Where did you learn those?" He asked.

"My late father invented these moves."

"I see. They're good stances. They'll serve you well." The Sword Sage offered his praises. But he hadn't strained to draw out much sincerity; Bai Guo, too, must have known that he was just being polite. "You can leave your broken sword here. Take one of ours instead."

But Bai Guo shook his head. "This was my father's sword. Though it's broken, I'd like to keep it."

"I see..." Mao Zixin waved him closer. He unrolled the cloth and examined the two pieces. "I'm afraid it's beyond repair. If I knew it held value to you, I would have held back."

"You're being too polite, senior." Bai Guo lowered his head.

"Boy, regarding your master..." Mao Zixin began, "Don't take any of what Tao Geming said to heart. Though I do indeed despise him for killing our master, your circumstances are different. Back then, even the disciples could all see the evil lurking in Tao Geming's heart. Master had no right to feign ignorance, yet he allowed that disease to fester until it took his life. You're only doing what he should have done a long time ago - stamp out the evil, prevent disaster. It takes real courage to go against conventions and do what's truly right. You may never be able to grasp the sword's deepest secrets, but your righteous spirit will serve you better than any weapon."

"Thank you, senior." Bai Guo bowed. But Mao Zixin knew that his words were not enough to allay the darkness behind his steadfast gaze, the regrets mauling at his heart.

"What happened here today - do not mention it to anyone." Mao Zixin instructed. "If anyone asks, tell them you don't know where or how your master died. Your mistress already knows this. This mountain must remain undisturbed. We seek neither fame nor the enemies that come with it - here, we dedicate ourselves only to the sword."

Bai Guo nodded.

"Though I don't imagine that the imperial family would mistreat you after what you did for them, if it so happens that Wu Rong manages to come up short, you may come to this mountain for aid. If your request is reasonable and righteous in spirit, you can expect it to be fulfilled."

Bai Guo kowtowed in gratitude.

The next morning, he set off.

...

The Golden Witch awoke again. The moon's pale glow sparsely illuminated her surroundings. Her body ached, her head was pounding. Her consciousness seemed fleeting, threatening to slip away from the slightest lapse in concentration.

She caught a glimpse of an emaciated, bony figure sitting crosslegged against the wall.

"Father...?" She muttered. It was the first thought to grace her mind.

But as her mind grew clearer, she realized that it was only a passing resemblance. She tried to converse with a corpse. She noticed a rusty sword in its lap.

Cradling the wound right beneath her chest, she slowly pried herself off the ground.

And as she took in her surroundings, she felt like she stood in the eye of a storm.

Every inch of the stone walls had been cut, engraved with images and incoherent sentences.

She ran her fingers along the engravings to assure herself that she wasn't just seeing things, that the darkness wasn't just playing tricks on her.

Her eyes finally landed on something that made sense. Her breath caught in her throat.

Crude illustrations, hacked deep into the stone, depicted nine stances with the sword.

And some of the forms she had already seen.

One was for defeating swords. Another for overcoming sabers.

Then a stance to break the polearm, the whip, the mace and dagger, empty hand and closed fist, arrows and projectiles...

Then one stance to instruct in the whole. And finally, the last stance... was for overcoming those like her and Tao Geming, prodigies of internal forces.

The Golden Witch grew weak at the knees. She took the corpse's old sword and began to imitate the depictions with such fervor that she appeared to have gone mad.

But exhaustion came upon her frail body sooner than she could ever anticipate. She collapsed.

"I don't understand any of this..." She panted for breath, dragging herself closer to the wall. Her hands ran desperately across the engravings. "The nine, that's the only comprehensible part about any of this. But I already learned most of that just by watching him fight! It doesn't work against him. It's useless to me. These scribbles don't have... the essence he spoke of..."

But struggle as she might, the darkness took her once more.

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