"Are you hurt? That looked like a bad fall."
"You saw?" Bai Guo felt surprised. Their little rendezvous was taking place quite a long way from the walls, yet she could still peer through the darkness to watch his clumsy acrobatic escapades. The young martial artist's surprise was quickly overtaken by embarrassment. He moved his arm around, and would describe the pain as moderate. "Ah, I don't know... I think it's okay."
The sparse woods descended into silence. Bai Guo was eager to say something, but found himself at a loss for words, his mind in turmoil. After a while, the senior would finally speak up.
"Lead the way."
Bai Guo stood up and took in his surroundings. "Senior... It's so dark, I'm not sure that I can..."
"The road only goes one way from here."
"But I don't even see the road..."
"Follow me." The woman began to walk, and Bai Guo followed her fleeting figure. "Here we are. I'll tell you when there's a fork in the road."
Bai Guo no longer felt grass beneath his feet, so the senior must have been correct. They both began to follow along. "The darkness doesn't bother you one bit, does it, senior...?"
The senior offered no response to that, and they proceeded in silence for a while. The pace at which they moved ended up rather frantic. What apparently passed for a walk for this woman was very nearly a jog for Bai Guo. Rather than guiding her somewhere, she was the one in the front.
Bai Guo couldn't tell how much time had passed before the senior spoke again. "Needless to say, if you see someone approaching us at this hour, hide."
"Of course..." Bai Guo replied. His eyes darted towards the heavens, and he briefly prayed for a swifter dawn. "Senior..." He began. She didn't say anything in response, and Bai Guo mustered up the boldness to presume that he could continue. "May I be so bold as to ask you for even a scrap of your background?"
Once again, silence. Just as Bai Guo's frustrations began to mount, the woman finally replied. "Ask me something more specific."
"Well... For starters, what is your name?"
"The jianghu will come up with a name for me in due time." Her response carried a note of amusement.
Bai Guo found himself befuddled by such an enigmatic answer. "But... How do I address the esteemed senior during our travels?"
"Address me however you like." She turned her head to him as they walked. From the way she was talking, Bai Guo thought she was smiling. "Why don't you come up with my very first title?"
Bai Guo chuckled awkwardly. "There is no way it would be senior's first title... Right?"
The golden haired woman turned her attention back towards the road. As their conversation was once again about to revert to silence, Bai Guo scrambled to salvage the situation.
"What I mean to say is that, since in my ignorance the esteemed senior's great achievements elude me, I would not be able to come up with a title that would serve as adequate representation of your radiant self." Bai Guo nervously rubbed his hands as he spoke.
"Achievements, huh..." The woman sighed. "I killed that man earlier, did I not?"
"Indeed! May I ask what your relationship was?"
"We didn't have one. That was the first time we've met each other."
Bai Guo found himself thoroughly confused. "But then... how did he end up in your room?"
"He snuck in with ill intentions."
"Ah... I see..." Bai Guo mumbled awkwardly. "So this meeting was... just coincidence?"
"Not entirely." Her reply peaked Bai Guo's curiosity. "I came to this city because I've been meaning to speak to him about a matter that you may find difficult to believe."
"...What would that be, senior?"
"It will be easier for me to show you. About a day from here, we will take a slight detour." The woman's words had once again left him rather mystified, and next to none of his curiosity had been sated. "Anyways, about my first title...?"
"Ah, of course... Uh..." Seeing as the senior had apparently found the conjuration of her first title an interesting enough subject to peel back some of her taciturn attitude, Bai Guo rallied his voice with some enthusiasm. "How did you slay the man? Which one of the esteemed senior's techniques had been used to bring him down?"
"I did not use any techniques. I just threw him."
"But, uh..." Bai Guo meekly protested. "I saw a few puncture wounds on Wei Qing's body."
"Would you really describe that as a technique...? I imitated the pressure point sealing strikes he performed on me as I threw him out."
Bai Guo's protests had suddenly turned enthusiastic. He replied immediately. "I certainly would describe such a skill as a technique, senior. I, for one, couldn't perform a pressure point sealing strike..."
"If you know where the pressure points are located, you can just strike them."
Something about the way she had so callously trivialized the struggles of countless martial artists all over the world had suddenly sapped at Bai Guo's ever dwindling reserves of patience. He praised the heavens for the fact that she was walking ahead of him, for the involuntary grimace on his face had made his displeasure quite unambiguous. He took a moment to gather himself and mustered up the will to continue this conversation.
"But traditionally, such strikes are performed with the fingers, correct? The senior used a weapon. May I ask which weapon the senior favors?"
"I didn't use a weapon."
"He... had puncture wounds...!" Bai Guo wanted to object in a more polite fashion, but ended up blurting it out.
"I must have struck out a little too hard."
"You punctured him with your fingers?!" Bai Guo was baffled. The woman vaguely hummed to the affirmative. "You said Wei Qing performed the strikes on you, did he miss your vital points?"
"He connected quite cleanly. It was pretty impressive considering the circumstances. But he didn't put enough of his internal energy into the strikes, so I could unblock my meridians right away."
"You... You can just do such a thing? The Wuyi sect is most famous for its finger and acupressure techniques, you do not mean to tell me that they can be undone by some trick!"
"It's not really a trick. Even you can do it. It might take you more time, but that's all." From the tone of her voice, it was evident that the woman did not regard the conversation with much gravity.
"...Senior, you overestimate me. I wouldn't even know how to begin accomplishing such a thing."
She had suddenly turned around, startling Bai Guo. Dawn was approaching, and it had gotten bright enough that he could make out the unique color of her vibrant locks. As she drew closer, Bai Guo stilled his breath, afraid that he had somehow offended her.
The woman had reached out to his arm, her large sleeve drooping. She pressed a finger against his left shoulder. "You were hoping to learn something from me, right? Then how about this for a start?" She pressed harder, hard enough for his already injured limb to hurt even more. But suddenly, the pain faded away completely. "Channel your inner energy and try to unblock your meridian. You can work on this on the road."
"Senior... Did you heal my arm?" Bai Guo moved it around and still couldn't feel his injury.
"Not really. I just numbed the pain. The meridian will unseal itself after a few hours even if you do nothing. So take this as a chance to get a better understanding of how internal energy runs through your body." The woman turned away and continued down the road.
"Thank you, senior." Bai Guo performed a hasty bow which she did not see, and swiftly followed her.
After they walked for a while, Bai Guo spoke up again. "How about... Golden Finger Mistress?"
The woman chuckled, and did not respond. Bai Guo did not take it as a good sign. Perhaps noticing his confusion, she spoke. "Wouldn't it be laughable if I nitpicked every title I'm called by? However... I did just mention that I don't particularly care for finger techniques."
Bai Guo felt bitter that his excellent idea had been rejected. "...But you would agree that the word "gold" would not be out of place in the senior's title?"
The senior brushed through her hair. She spoke with a sigh. "I stand out quite a bit, don't I?"
"To put it lightly..."
"After wandering around for so long, I haven't seen even a single person who looks like me."
"What about the senior's family?"
"My parents didn't look like me either." She sighed. "So perhaps it's inevitable that the word "gold" is going to be in at least some of my titles... Not that I mind."
"Where are you from, senior?"
"I could hardly tell you. But at the moment, I am backtracking."
Bai Guo couldn't figure out how to even begin approaching such an answer. Who doesn't know where they come from? The senior was clearly making some kind of joke at his expense, and he didn't want to play along with this tomfoolery. Ultimately, he decided to steer the subject back to the part where it felt like they were making progress.
"Well... Then how about "yellow jade" instead?"
Suddenly, the senior grew annoyed. "I said I wouldn't nitpick it. Gold is fine."
Bai Guo grew nervous as her temper flared up. "Then... how about just Golden Mistress?"
"You're still asking...? What did I just say? Call me whatever you want, that's the whole point." Her long sleeve fluttered as she gestured at him.
"My apologies." Bai Guo said. "But I don't know enough to make a suitable title without offending the senior. If you could share some of your exploits, then I could strive to do better."
"I'm not offended." She replied curtly.
But that did little to avail Bai Guo's fears, so he dared not broach the subject again.
They walked and walked, the sunlight slowly creeping up their backs. Farther up ahead, they spotted houses.
Bai Guo's stomach growled. His eyelids felt heavy. He found it increasingly more difficult to follow along at the woman's rapid pace.
"Senior... how about we rest for a bit in that village? I've been here before, there's a nice inn right there..." Bai Guo pleaded.
"Would half an hour of rest really help you?" She asked. Once again, Bai Guo found himself perturbed by her strange question, but she was quick to elaborate. "There are horsemen riding up behind us. They're probably after me."
Bai Guo turned around, but saw nothing. Nevertheless, he believed the senior, and shuddered. "How did they know? Did anyone see you leave the city?"
"I doubt it. The sect must have sent out people to spread the word that I'm at large."
"Then we can't stop here. We can't even pass through here! The whole village is going to make us out from a mile away."
The senior twirled and turned to face him with a strange smile on her face. "How could we not pass through there? Should we fly over?"
Bai Guo was disturbed by her lighthearted attitude in a situation like this. He had no idea what was a joke with this woman and what was real. Maybe she really could fly, and he was being the fool here for not taking her at face value.
"We can go off the road, and make our way through the wilderness." He proposed.
"How could we not stop there? Are you not hungry anymore?" She continued.
Bai Guo was not a hunter, and didn't know how to subsist off the land. "Well... Perhaps the senior could share some of her rations with me?"
The woman chuckled. "I don't have any rations."
Bai Guo was at a loss. The woman's grin grew larger as she approached. "You're hungry, but you won't eat. We need to move quickly, but you're too tired. You're awfully needy and high maintenance, aren't you? Are all disciples like this?"
"...Are you really suggesting that we just go right in?" Bai Guo stepped back. He was of half a mind to just let her go through with the unreasonable, bullheaded approach she seemed to be hinting at, and let herself get caught. But part of him had an inkling that her eccentric attitude would lead to bloodshed. What were the odds that the people following them now were experts with the skills required to take this woman on, and not just some grunts sent out to sniff out her trail?
This entire half-baked plot of his began to feel like a huge mistake.
As Bai Guo silently wallowed in his regrets, the senior had suddenly brought out two gold taels out from her sleeves. "Let's try your way. Go buy some food and two horses. I'll be waiting on the other side of the village. Nobody will see me."
Bai Guo stepped back again, shocked. That was more money than the young man had ever handled in his life. Not even the richest patrons at his uncle's inn had ever paid with gold. The woman stepped after him, the amusement on her face fading. Bai Guo bowed.
"Thank you, senior." He said, secretly dreading the thought of trading with the villagers with gold. It was bound to attract attention, but he got the impression that trying to bargain with her any more would only spurn her.
Just as they were about to part ways, the senior spoke up. "And also, buy a shovel."
"...Why? If I may ask?" Bai Guo carefully questioned.
"You'll see."
With that, they split up. Bai Guo went directly to the village, while the senior walked off into the woods.
"Maybe Golden Witch would be a better title for her..." He thought, shaking his head.
...