In the Wei Household.
"Sis, tell me the truth. Is Eldest Senior Brother really back?"
A slim young man with delicate features stared at Wei Jiajia with wide eyes.
"Like I said, he is! There's no reason for me to lie to you," said Wei Jiajia matter-of-factly, avoiding her brother's gaze.
"Heh…" sneered Wei Jiaping. "Even at this point, you are still gonna lie to me? "
"Why would I lie to you?" said Wei Jiajia irritably. "I've already told you a million times; Eldest Senior Brother is back. He really is! What can I do if you don't believe me?"
"What can you do? Why didn't you ask him to represent us? Wouldn't that solve everything?" Wei Jiaping clenched his fists. "I would buy your words if I see Eldest Senior Brother standing up for us."
"Eldest Senior Brother has other matters to attend to," said Wei Jiajia hastily. "He'll show up when he's ready. Don't be so impatient…"
"Me being impatient? Is that the problem at hand?!" snapped Wei Jiaping. He stood up abruptly and thundered at Wei Jiajia, "If you have the guts, why not tell the Dagger Gang to not be impatient? I'm sure that will work out well for us!"
"I…"
"Enough of your bullsh*t. I don't have time for this!"
Wei Jiaping broke in, shouting. "'Eldest Senior Brother has other matters to attend to.' How long do you think this lie is going to hold? Do you have any idea how bad things are? In the past two weeks, Eldest Senior Brother hasn't shown his face once. The Dagger Gang is already suspecting… no, they have already been testing us!"
"If the Dagger Gang acts, how many times can you endure their 'tests' without Eldest Senior Brother's aid? Huh?! Answer me, will you?!"
"I…"
"I said enough of the bullsh*t! Give it to me straight. Is Eldest Senior Brother back or not?!" roared Wei Jiaping.
Wei Jiajia opened her mouth, wanting to further the lie, but decided to come clean when she saw her brother's red-rimmed eyes.
"He's not."
Plop!
Wei Jiaping flopped down on the ground like a deflated balloon. He let out a miserable laugh.
"Haha, I knew it. I knew you were lying all along."
"Eldest Senior Brother? Eldest Senior Brother my ass! Hahaha…"
"Stop that, Jiaping," comforted Wei Jiajia, squatting down and wrapping her arms around her younger brother's head. "I'm sorry. Lying wasn't my intention, but what choices did I have? You saw it yourself—the lie was the only thing that kept the Dagger Gang at bay for half a month."
"I know, I know," said Wei Jiaping, drawing a deep breath as he tried his best to calm himself down. He shuddered. "I know why you lied. Look, I didn't want to lash out at you like that either, but this kind of lie isn't gonna last. In less than half a month, the Dagger Gang is already onto something. Now, they have begun to test the waters with small-scale attacks. We might be able to fend them off once or twice, but we'll crumble if the frequency goes any higher. When that time comes, the lie would expose itself."
"I already saw it coming," said Wei Jiajia as she took a deep breath.
"You did?" asked Wei Jiaping, stunned. "Does that mean you have a solution in mind?"
"Of course!"
"No kidding? What is it?" asked Wei Jiaping, overjoyed. "Let me in on it!"
"I'm gonna search out my savior!" declared Wei Jiajia, her eyes shining brightly.
"What?" asked Wei Jiaping, stunned. Quickly snapping out of his daze, he exclaimed in surprise, "Sis, you mean the person who impersonated our Eldest Senior Brother?"
"He wasn't an impersonator. I was the one who made him out to be one," admitted Wei Jiajia with an embarrassed smile. "I know it wasn't nice of me, but I had no other options. It did buy us half a month before the Dagger Gang caught on, no?"
"…Delaying the problem doesn't solve anything," said Wei Jiaping, frowning.
"The time it bought us was essential," said Wei Jiajia grimly. "I deliberately got the word out that Eldest Senior Brother has not only returned, but also took out one of the Ten Great Heavenly Kings of the Dagger Gang the moment he came back. It was actual hand-to-hand combat, and he did it with a single punch, no less!"
"Ten Great Heavenly Kings my ass. Nothing but a bunch of clowns who aren't even at the eighth-grade singing their own praises," said Wei Jiaping, curling his lips dismissively. "But none of these matters. Tell me how you intend to find your savior. Wasn't he wearing a cloak and a mask? How should we find him if we don't even know his name or what he looks like?"
"You don't know, not 'we'," said Wei Jiajia with sparkly eyes.
"You aren't joking, are you?" asked Wei Jiaping, elated.
"Of course not," continued Wei Jiajia confidently. "For the past few weeks, I've been thinking about what happened on that night. That night, I ran past quite a number of people while I was running for my life. However, he couldn't have been any of the people I met at the start."
"Otherwise, he would have acted sooner. There's no reason for him to follow me all the way. That leaves the people I encountered during the latter half of my run, one of them must have tailed me into the alley after seeing that I was in a pinch."
"Or rather, he just so happened to be near the alley right before the incident took place!"
"No way!" cried Wei Jiaping, gaping.
"I thought about it long and hard, but none of the people I met later fitted the description, however…" Wei Jiajia took a deep breath and continued. "However, there was a bus stop near that alley!"
"A bus stop? What does that have to do with anything?" asked Wei Jiaping, puzzled.
"It has everything to do with it. For the past few nights, I went back to the place where the incident happened and took the buses along that road," said Wei Jiajia solemnly. "Bus 303 is the only bus that passes that particular bus stop. After some research, I found out that Bus 303 covers the Western District. Once that person boards the bus, I'm ninety-percent sure I could recognize him!"
"Way to go!" cheered Wei Jiaping, waving his fist. "Once we find him, we can… but wait!"
Suddenly remembering something, Wei Jiaping's expression changed. Hesitation replaced the joy on his face. "Even if we did find him, it wouldn't solve anything, would it?"
"It's true that he learned the Seven Steps Fist from our dojo, but he did not stand up for us directly. Maybe he doesn't want anything to do with us."
"He could have saved you simply because he couldn't stand the sight of a girl getting bullied."
"I know that," said Wei Jiajia, her face calm and collected. "I know that he was only passing by, and it was by chance that he saw or heard me in trouble and acted. When I called out to him, he took off immediately. The message was clear."
"Then why do you still…"
"Let me finish," said Wei Jiajia, raising a forestalling hand. "Once I find him, I'm certain I can convince him to help us."
"How?" asked Wei Jiaping doubtfully.
"Simple. I'm going to strike a deal with him!"
Wei Jiajia's face turned grim. "This is a secret that outsiders don't know, but both of us are well aware that Seven Steps Fist isn't our family's only exclusive martial art!" His eyes widened. "Don't tell me you plan to…"
"You are right. I plan to use the Eight Steps Rising Dragon as our bargaining chip!"
…