Bai Guo dared not even breathe too loudly as the standoff between the two masters continued. He glimpsed at Ling Ling, and found her in a similar state, covering her mouth in shock.


    But no matter how much time had elapsed, neither party sprang into action.


    Cui Shen rose from his bow and said, "It appears that revealing the oath may have been the right call after all. Perhaps lady Ouyang has realized that pushing your master may not result in a beneficial outcome."


    The corners of lady Ouyang''s lips briefly twitched downwards.


    Cui Shen continued, "Since, after all, this is the person who defeated Deng Hong. The fighting style you taught me precludes working in tandem with another, which means that she achieved the merit without my help. And having traveled with this person for some time, I believe that master is making the right call. I don''t imagine someone of the Golden Witch''s temperament is capable of enduring much scrutiny."


    "Just where do you find the courage, worm, to talk to me that way? Your new mistress must be quite skilled indeed for you to grow so fearless." Lady Ouyang kept her eyes firmly affixed on the Golden Witch as she spoke. "What a shame for her that she has not yet realized how disloyal of a stray she''s picked up."


    Finally, she directed a question at the Witch. "What do you want?"


    "Teach me about poisons." The Golden Witch answered plainly.


    "What a ridiculous demand." She scoffed. "You don''t even realize the weight of what you ask, do you? However skilled you might be, you''re not very bright."


    "I''ll accept you as a master if that''s what it takes."


    "Your dog was just finished telling me that your word is next to worthless. Even if I was interested in a new disciple, you would be my very last choice."


    The Golden Witch frowned. "What a flimsy excuse."


    "An excuse is more dignity than you deserve. But I don''t need a reason to reject you. You wasted your time coming here. Go back, and take the mutt with you. His diseased flesh is not even good for soup."


    "I''m not going anywhere until you teach me."


    Lady Ouyang breathed out sharply. "What are you, a child?"


    But the Golden Witch was resolute. "I''ll stay for as long as it takes for you to change your mind."


    "If it pleases you." To the surprise of everyone present, Lady Ouyang had suddenly conceded.


    Cui Shen turned to the golden haired woman with worry. "Must I really explain what makes this a bad idea? Master is someone who can kill without ever drawing a blade, as quickly or as slowly as she likes, as subtly or as openly as she wants. You got a definitive answer. She''s not someone who will ever budge on this. You should get out of here while you still can, this is already a far better outcome than I expected."


    But she only waved her sleeve at him. "I''m not giving up on this. I''m waiting as long as it takes."


    When the matter seemed settled, lady Ouyang took a step forward.


    But suddenly, a man''s voice boomed across the clearing.


    "Don''t waste your time. I can settle this for you right now."


    The sound seemed to come from endlessly far away, and yet as if carried on the waves of his own voice, the speaker had abruptly appeared on the edge of the flower field.


    Tao Geming glared at them all through his perpetual scowl.


    Of all present, none had been more surprised by his appearance more than the Golden Witch. "It''s you! How did you...?"


    "You may be strong," He replied. "But you''re easier to trick than a child. Now keep your mouth shut before you spill all your secrets to this old bag as well. I''ll explain later."


    Cui Shen clutched his sword. "Why are you here, Invincible Blood Sea?!"


    "The Yellow Fox showed me something good, so I''m returning the favor."


    Lady Ouyang slipped her backpack off her shoulders as she turned around to face the new intruder. Her back became straight as an arrow.


    The Golden Witch was fuming. "What are you talking about?"


    Tao Geming said, "I''m going to definitively prove to you that you''re wasting your time on this hag. I''ll do this by beating her to a pulp. I''m not restrained by some stupid promise, after all."


    "I''ve done nothing for you. You don''t owe me any favors."


    But the Invincible Blood Sea paid her no heed, and began to slowly approach lady Ouyang. "Poison is just a toy for women and children, and it only works on those as weak as women and children! Shower me in as much of that crap as you want. It won''t work! Before people like us, it''s nothing more than harmless rain."


    Lady Ouyang''s face hadn''t flinched, but fury raged in her dark green eyes. "What a strange hobby you have, Tao Geming, going around seeking death."


    Cui Shen threw a glance at the Golden Witch. He found her staring at the intruder with scorn, but it quickly became clear to him that she had no intentions to act. Bitterness washed over him; he gripped his sword until his pale knuckles grew red.


    He was the first to move. Flashing his sword, he reached Tao Geming in two vast steps and slashed at the man''s neck.


    A blunt, metallic sound blared over the field. Without even looking his way, Tao Geming stopped the bare steel with his palm and wrapped his fingers around it. Cui Shen struggled to move his sword.


    "Sir Shen!" Exclaimed Bai Guo, drawing his own sword. No fool to the folly of his action, the young man turned to the Golden Witch. "Master!"


    But his voice died in his throat when he came to the same realization as Cui Shen - though she appeared frustrated on the surface, it was clear that she had decided that now, of all times, would be the moment for her to exercise the rare restraint.


    Finally, the Invincible Blood Sea spared Cui Shen a derisive glance. "Just by feeling out the qi contained in your sword, I can tell what a sorry state you''re in. I could kill you now without even touching your body. Consider yourself lucky to have the friends you have. Now withdraw your internal energy before you hurt yourself."


    "You think I''ll let you do as you please?" Cui Shen asked through gritted teeth.


    Lady Ouyang sighed. "What a worthless gesture. Don''t presume to act on my behalf, Cui Shen. Retreat. You are not his match without my tools."


    No matter how hard he tried, Cui Shen could not regain control of his weapon. At his master''s words, intensity drained from his demeanor. Tao Geming released his weapon.


    Cui Shen drew back, his head lowered.


    "Well, granny?" Tao Geming taunted. "Need a moment to go fetch your powders?"


    "Cocksure buffoon." Lady Ouyang flicked her sleeves, producing two long needles. "Poison is not all there is to my arsenal."


    She flung one of them at his eye with preternatural accuracy. It flew faster than a loosened arrow, and crossed the field in an instant.


    Tao Geming lowered his head, and the needle struck him above the brow. It plinked harmlessly off his forehead as though it was made of iron.


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    A small sphere whistled through the air as it shadowed the needle, shattering on the ground between the man''s feet and erupting into a gray cloud. The smoke hadn''t spread far, and it seemed to possess a peculiar weight, as it promptly began to cling to the earth. The flowers it touched had wilted almost immediately.


    Lady Ouyang disappeared from her original spot as soon as the bomb had burst. She darted around the field, sending a barrage of needles from every conceivable angle into the smoke cloud, her speed so incredible that only a scant few torn flower petals indicated her passing.


    Once the smoke dissipated completely, the old woman had stopped. Tao Geming stood where he was, utterly unphased. The dozens of needles she had thrown at him were scattered all over the ground.


    "Are you done?" He asked, turning to face her.


    But a sharp pain suddenly stiffened his motion. Tao Geming looked down on his side.


    A needle was sticking out.


    Lady Ouyang flashed a creepy smile. Her first outward display of emotion proved deeply unpleasant. The old woman''s face seemed thoroughly unused to assuming such a position.


    Tao Geming gripped the needle and pulled it out. His blood trickled down the metal, but his sharp nose also detected a trace of a toxin on the projectile.


    He cast it aside, and it clattered against the metal covering the blackened grass. "So that''s where your namesake comes from. The Five Venoms must correlate to the five senses. I couldn''t hear that last needle because my hearing has gotten worse."


    Lady Ouyang''s joy began to fade into her usual unflappable expression. "I correctly surmised that you are only "invincible" to that which you can perceive. You have impressive control over your internal energy, yet you waste it on tricks such as these. In your arrogance, you ceded the initiative and allowed me to deal the first strike, and with that alone, this fight is as good as over."


    Tao Geming stretched out his hand. Something dark flowed through his skin, converging into a black spot on the tip of his little finger. Lady Ouyang stared intensely as two purple drops seeped through the skin and dripped to the ground. The darkness in his flesh dissipated.


    "I let you do as you please, and this was all you could manage." He said, withdrawing his hand. Tao Geming lowered his stance. "Now let''s see what I can achieve in the same amount of time."


    He made a mad dash for the old woman. Lady Ouyang''s movements were fast, but also subtle and soft in a way that kept the flowers only lightly disturbed; in contrast, Tao Geming trampled across the field like a raging bull.


    Though she made to retreat, he was soon upon her. Her hand darted into one of her pouches and flung red dust into his eyes. Tao Geming took it in stride. Though his eyes watered and reddened, it hadn''t slowed him down. The man swung a heavy hand at her, and she was sent flying and tumbling underneath the tall flowers.


    "Mistress Ouyang!" Ling Ling screamed.


    He gave chase, and, making out her clothes on the ground, stomped at a limb. Under his foot he felt not flesh, but straw, and from within, green smoke erupted into his face. Tao Geming brushed it aside with his palm. He also felt a pang of pain on his sole. Lifting up his leg, he discovered that iron caltrops were hidden in the strawman. They pierced through his skin ever so slightly, failing to even draw blood, and he brushed them off.


    Tao Geming''s ears picked up the old woman running behind him, and he turned. To his surprise, she stopped, her head lowered. The arm he had struck was dangling at her side, bent at a sickening angle. She made a show of discarding her weapons and untying her pouches.


    "I concede." Lady Ouyang solemnly declared. "There is nothing I can do to you. It''s your win."


    Tao Geming snorted. "Do you see now?" He addressed the Golden Witch. She didn''t seem pleased at all.


    He began to walk towards the manor. "I''m not spending the night in the swamp. Accommodate me."


    "Little Ling, house the guest in a room in the eastern wing." Lady Ouyang promptly said.


    "But mistress...!" The girl mustered up a protest, but the woman pacified her with a glare.


    "Since it''s getting dark, the rest of you might as well stay too." Her suggestion shocked the three martial artists, but they didn''t refuse; even Cui Shen seemed disinclined to the idea no longer. As they were passing lady Ouyang by, she stopped the Golden Witch. "As for you... I''ll house you somewhere else, away from the men, in the room opposite to mine. Little Ling, lend your room to the guest."


    The disciple bowed, and carried out her master''s instructions.


    Bai Guo entered Cui Shen''s room to try and make sense of the day''s events. "How did he find us? How did master not notice him? What in the world was he talking about, and why did he do all that?"


    Cui Shen patiently endured his barrage of questions. "I don''t know. But all awfully convenient."


    Bai Guo was flabbergasted by his statement. "What do you mean, sir Shen?"


    "Your master received the benefits of my guidance and managed to conduct her test of skill in the usual fashion that she enjoys, all the while holding to her word on a technicality."


    The young man shook his head. "That''s impossible. We were all together the entire way here. When could they possibly have had a chance to collaborate like this without us knowing?"


    "She spent that entire night in Yiqin chasing Tao Geming alone. They could have colluded during that time. It explains how he eluded her senses on the way here - she simply ignored his presence."


    "I don''t think so." Bai Guo denied it without even thinking. As his thoughts ran, he began to justify his position. "Tao Geming is an expert in the arts of internal energy; he might have come up with a method for evading master''s senses. Maybe that''s how he got away from her that night. And using that same method, he could have trailed us here."


    "And I would have been inclined to agree with your theory had he used his advantage to harm your master instead of helping her."


    Bai Guo shook his head again. "Come on, sir Shen. You know what she''s like. This is not like her at all, she wouldn''t do this."


    "We don''t know what she''s like, boy. Don''t let your feelings cloud your judgment. If we look at things objectively, the fact is that we know next to nothing about her, not even her name."


    "We don''t know master''s background, but after spending so much time for her, I''d say we do have an estimation of her character. And this is just not how she goes about things."


    Cui Shen had nothing to say to that. While still not entirely convinced, he found it difficult to disagree.


    They both heard someone stomping down the hall. A door had been flung open. They perked up their ears and listened, though there was no need to strain, as the furious voice of the Golden Witch reverberated across the entire wing.


    "Explain yourself!"