"You're the one who killed Little Boss Nalan? Tell me the name that you hid behind when you did your work," the older woman said, her eyes gleaming with a hint of sharpness that wasn't there moments ago.
"I've been using the name 'Hua Qianhu,'" Wu Ling answered truthfully. There was no reason to hide any of this from his own sect. "Though I also answered to 'Sister Vixen.' One man I encountered recognized me from an earlier encounter in Silver Sword City," he added after a moment's thought.
"I referred to myself as 'Little Lingling' in that encounter and he seemed to have a firm memory of it. I killed that man before interrogating Nalan Jiang, though, so no one should be looking for me under that name."
"So you're the infamous 'Sister Vixen,'" the matronly woman said. "One of the Little Bosses of the Mountain's Bones gang made some noise about looking for you several days ago. They call him 'Gao the Glutton.'"
"Gao and his men are here?" Wu Ling said, his brows arching in surprise at the news. "I thought I'd given his men the slip. If he arrived here several days ago, why is he still here? I'd have thought he would move on when he didn't find me, just like the last time I ran into his men."
"Ah, I think this is your own poor luck or the Glutton's great fortune. While hunting for you in the wilderness, he managed to obtain the egg of a Seven-Colored Serpent," the older woman explained. "There is no shortage of alchemists and beast masters who are interested in that egg so after strutting it around Bufa City long enough to make sure everyone knew he had it, he's entered it in the upcoming auction. He won't leave here until the auction occurs in seven days."
"Since he has several men with him, you should consider wearing a mask when you move around town," Madame Cixiu said. "I can provide you with one that will also help to mask your aura. People may still perceive you as an Understudy but they won't be able to sniff out your bloodline or more distinctive elements of your aura. It's not a perfect disguise, but it should help until you can leave. I don't recommend lingering unless you want to clash directly with Gao," she advised.
"I had intended to ask for a mask," Wu Ling said, glad that the House Mistress had offered. "Thank you. I don't know how long we'll stay," he continued. "I had hoped to attend the auction myself. My companions and I have a few rare treasures of our own to sell but we also spent longer recovering from our last battle than expected and the alchemist in our group broke through a few days before I did. We were hoping to turn our spoils into fresh supplies for the rest of our journey," he explained.
"It's not impossible for you to attend the auction. I can help broker your items, leave them with me, and let me work with the auction house. You only need to attend if you want to bid on things," she offered. "I can also recommend a quiet place for you and your companions to stay. You may not enjoy as much freedom to see the sights of Bufa City if you wish to hide from Gao, but you can always do your sightseeing when he leaves after the auction."
"That's probably wise," Wu Ling agreed. "Thank you, for all the help."
"We're all sisters of the sect," Madame Cixiu said with a smile. "And you've brought me a gift just by visiting. Now, since you're being hunted, I'll write out instructions for places that you can trust to stay safely and dangers you should be aware of. While I do that, please write out your report to the sect. You said you also had personal letters to send?"
"Yes, three of them, though two are going to the same person," Wu Ling said, bringing out two letters along with the small painting he'd prepared for Yao Meifeng.
"Spirit crystals or contribution points? Your report to the sect is of no concern but personal letters are twenty spirit crystals per sheet of parchment or two hundred contribution points," she explained. "Messages go out in the evening and should arrive at the sect by early morning. Typically, we'll get replies from the sect the morning after the sect receives our report but it may take an additional day if people are slow to respond."
"Unfortunately, I used most of my contribution points to get supplies for this trip," Wu Ling confessed, fishing out most of his meager supply of spirit crystals. As painful as the expense was, he expected to make back several times what he was about to spend when they auctioned off a few of his totems and the pelts and fangs of the Red Mist Wolves.
"Well, seeing as you've become an Understudy since leaving the sect, I imagine that whatever you spent your points on was well worth it," the older woman said, setting a hand gently on Wu LIng's shoulder and smiling warmly.
While Wu Ling prepared his report to the sect and chatted away with Madame Cixiu, Su Xiang and the others settled in at an alehouse called the Rolling Bones near the entrance to Bufa City. The common room was boisterous and several tables were host to games of dice or cards. As much as people like Fang Lin wanted to retreat to a private room, the Rolling Bones had none to offer, leaving the group to cluster around a table near the entrance while waiting for Wu Ling to return.
After an hour of drinking cheap wine and snacking on some of the saltiest boiled peanuts that Su Xiang had ever been served, the group's quiet conversation was interrupted by a harsh voice shouting from the doorway.
"Xiang! It's you! Where. Is. That. Whore. Lingling?" The burly man shouting from the door stared at Su Xiang with eyes that glowed dully, like embers of rage just barely stoked to life. "Where. Is. The. One. Who. Did. This. To. Me?" San yelled, pointing to the mass of scars along his neck.
"Sister Su," Xiong Dahuo asked, staring from the fuming man to Su Xiang. "You know this man?"
"I'm afraid I do," Su Xiang said, standing to face San. "She isn't here," she told the man, loudly enough to be heard over the noise from several nearby tables. "And I won't help you find her. Now go, I don't want trouble with you."
"Too. Bad. I. Want. Trouble. With. You!"