"It's too late for that now." He Yong hadn't so much as glanced his way throughout their entire conversation. "If you pull that boy out after a performance like that, this whole affair of yours will lose all credibility. Let's hope this was just a fluke."
But Tan Huan could tell from the man's tone that he had no faith at all in those last words of his. The skill on display was hard to question.
After another pause, He Yong spoke up again. "Which temple is that little monk from?"
"I do not recall." Tan Huan admitted. "But I could go check his registration right now if you wish."
"You'll find only a single Buddhist temple anywhere in these mountains." He Yong pointed out. "And I can't imagine a monk from farther out coming all the way here just to become your disciple."
Tan Huan nearly sputtered. "You mean the boy might be from the Exorcist's temple? Surely that can't be true. After so many public spiels against our sect, and against violence in general, those bald rogues wouldn't dare to send one of their own to this competition. It would only make them look like hypocrites!"
"Those monks are hypocrites." He Yong asserted. "Don't forget the sole reason their temple still remains in our territory - the demon the Exorcist keeps in his basement."
Tan Huan's moustache wavered. "I still struggle to imagine what purpose this stunt could serve."
"I agree." He Yong admitted. "Look into it after today's matches."
"Yes, sir."
They watched the next battle in silence. Nothing about the young men's display drew a comment from the three elders.
Though He Yong observed their fight attentively, his mind seemed to be elsewhere. He asked Tan Huan, "Who do you think will win?"
The other man realized that his question was not restricted to this match alone. "I believe your nephew has the best chance. He is skilled with all the three weapons, and he is strong as a bull. Though he may not be the best in any particular area, he is the most well-rounded combatant by far."
"That's surprising." He Yong said. "You had them go through our usual trials, didn't you?"
Tan Huan grunted to the affirmative. "Correct. Except instead of having them repeat our techniques, I made the arms test freeform."
"And you mean to tell me that Zhu Da wasn't first in any of the three categories?"
Tan Huan began to feel somewhat nervous again. "Well, yes, but..."
"I imagine that the monk surpasses him in skill..."
Tan Huan pitched in. "Indeed. His knowledge of weapon arts is both broad and deep."
"...But who surpasses Zhu Da in strength and endurance?"
At that moment, Mao Xiang ran Xie Heng through the thigh. Tan Huan continued to explain unabated.
"Contestant Bai Guo has surpassed him in endurance and rivaled him in strength. His match is the last one today." Tan Huan mustered up some confidence as he said that, even though the matter was still up in the air. "But I wouldn't worry about that. His skills are... rather lacking."
Despite Tan Huan's apparent eagerness to disregard the subject, He Yong was unwilling to let the matter rest. "Tell me more."
"He has come from the lands of the Wuyi."
"That's far. Very far." He Yong muttered.
Tan Huan continued. "I'm not privy to the details, but I heard they were going through some kind of upheaval over there. I suppose it's not that surprising for someone to travel so far from there."
He Yong grunted in assent. "If he used to be a disciple in the major sect there, I suppose his results at the trials are to be expected."
"No, apparently he was not, sect master."
He Yong creased his thick brow. Tan Huan elaborated, "His teacher was his father, Bai Yang. They're unaffiliated with the Wuyi sect."
After a momentary pause, He Yong replied, "Never heard of him."
When Zhu Da stepped up and dispatched his foe in one strike, He Yong spoke again. "When the matches end, bring me their evaluations."
"Yes, sect master."
As the pause between the third and fourth matches dragged on, Tan Huan began to sweat.
"What are you waiting for?" He Yong gruffly asked. "Go figure out the problem."
"Right away." Tan Huan lowered his head and rushed out.
The woman beside He Yong smiled slightly. Her interest had finally been sparked. "Getting your boy into the sect won't be as easy as you thought, it seems."
He Yong frowned. "When I agreed to let Tan Huan host this stupid affair of his, I didn't expect him to draw any real talent."
"Well, even if he loses, if these kids put up an impressive enough display, you could use it as justification to push for a higher age bracket for new disciples." The woman suggested.
"By the time the other elders agree to pass that, Zhu Da will be too old again." He Yong rubbed his hands in frustration.
...
Tan Huan arrived in the halls reserved for the contestants, accompanied by the displeased jeers of the crowd.
"What's the delay?" He sternly asked.
Han Gen replied with a lowered head. "We still haven't found anyone. The matches ended sooner than we anticipated."
Tan Huan had no choice but to concur. He expected the fights to give them some time to salvage the situation, but most of them ended in a single blow.
"Here's what we'll do..." An idea came to his mind. "Disqualify contestant Shao and let contestant Guo advance. We'll go ahead with tomorrow's matches to make up for it."
Han Gen considered his plan. "But elder Tan, this is not what the contestants agreed to."
"I'd like to see them refuse!" Tan Huan scoffed.
"Well, that's not exactly the issue here, elder Tan..." Han Gen lowered his head even more. "Contestant Mao had had a lengthy match and he had been injured, and we've only just finished stitching his wound. Even if he agrees to have his match early, in the event that he was to lose, he could blame his loss on our haste. And since we initially declared that each contestant would only be having a single match per day, we would be the ones that broke our own terms, and the event would lose credibility."
Tan Huan rubbed his moustache, furious but unable to argue. "I can't hold these people up much longer than this. If nobody is found in the next twenty minutes, declare that contestant Shao has surrendered."
Han Gen bowed, accepting the order. Tan Huan left.
Bai Guo sighed, conflicted emotions running through his gut. He was relieved, but also ashamed at being relieved. "Master's going to be so disappointed," he thought.
He tried to seek her out in the rowdy crowd, and was surprised to find her absent from her seat.
...
"Why are you cows just standing around?!" Liao Lan shrieked as her tied and paralyzed body dangled from the rope. "Get us down!"
Down on the ground, the five women orbited them awkwardly. "Sister Lan, we can't do that. What if that senior comes back?"
"Obviously she's not coming back! She said that just to scare you, so that I'd be stuck here a bit longer!"
They smiled awkwardly. "We can at least make sure no one bothers you up there."
"You liars!" Liao Lan screamed. "You're standing around to make sure no one else gets me down from here!"
Her companions offered some empty platitudes, but ultimately both parties remained where they were.
Liao Lan bitterly resigned herself to her fate. But her patience didn't last long before she began to complain again.
"How could such a ridiculous looking person be so skilled and yet completely unknown?! It doesn't make any sense! What, did she sprout out of the earth yesterday?!" She directed her ire back at the crowd below. "And you! You all heckled her, why is it just me and my disciple that have to get the punishment?! You do realize that we're all still alive only because of me, right?! I talked her out of doing anything too drastic! It was me! I saved your lives, so the least you can do is untie me!"
And though the women below began to look guilty, they still hadn't dared to help.
In her awkward position, she slowly rotated on the rope to face the girl dangling beside her. "And you! You're just too witty. Your comments were too scathing! Why did you have to go so far as to question her womanhood?"
Shao Luli immediately burst into tears. "I'm sorry, master! I'm so sorry! You're right, we're only alive because of you!"
Liao Lan's anger had abruptly subsided. She rushed to calm her disciple. "Ah, forget it, little Lu. We didn't know. At least the two of us are safe..."
But Shao Luli continued to wail. "I'm going to flunk out of the tournament because of this!"
Liao Lan gritted her teeth. "And we could really use some money after that woman took everything I had... Ah, whatever! We're still alive, so we could always earn more. Don't sweat it, little Lu."
Master and disciple continued to console each other for a time. They then hurled abuse at the traitors below. Time passed.
Suddenly, Shao Luli erupted into a shriek - the white robed woman made her return. The five women dropped to the ground at the sight of her, kowtowing. The Hungry Yellow Fairy effortlessly hopped up the tree and undid the tight knots. The two women screamed as they fell down.
The terrifying senior had then unsealed their meridians and ran off without a word. As Liao Lan and Shao Luli nursed their numb and aching limbs back into a useable state, they briefly wondered what just happened.
The women sheepishly approached to help them up and dust them off. "We were really worried for you there, but it looks like the senior has decided to forgive you. And we truly are grateful to you, sister Lan."
Liao Lan grimaced at them.
"Master!" Shao Luli suddenly exclaimed. "Do you think I could still make it to the competition?"
The disciple recovered much quicker than the master. The Fairy had sealed her a lot less meticulously than her superior.
"You just might! Go, girl! I'll catch up!"
Shao Luli ran clumsily towards the distant arena. She moved her still disobedient body with as much alacrity as she could muster.
When she finally arrived, she found the people leaving in droves. The flickering flame of hope was extinguished. Shao Luli hid in an alley to avoid drawing the attention of the crowd. She slinked down to her knees, once again on the verge of tears. She idly watched the people as they passed her by. Suddenly, a young man caught her eye.
Bai Guo walked about unaware, relief written all over his face.
Shao Luli's sorrow gave way to irreconcilable fury. She began to pound the snowy ground beneath her with her fists.
"And to top it all off, it's that arrogant idiot that gets to benefit from my misfortune! Why, I've never been this humiliated in my life!" She silently seethed, gritting her teeth. "Well, it's not going to be that easy! You'll see!"
...
As Bai Guo returned to his room, Chun De followed along and gloated.
"Your match wasn't just last, it never happened! You're so unlucky, brother Guo! Am I going to get jinxed by being around you?" She laughed.
"You have some interesting definitions for misfortune, brother De. I imagine any other monk would be glad to be in my position." Bai Guo smiled.
"Well, you don't look all that glad to me."
Bai Guo scratched his head. Though he could not be entirely truthful about it, he tried to sum up his feelings. "I suppose, on some level, I feel like I betrayed the expectations of the crowd."
"Who cares about those people?" Chun De took his words at face value. "Let's go somewhere and celebrate."
Bai Guo smirked. "How am I going to celebrate with a monk? You can't drink, you can't eat meat. You can't even buy me a meal, can you?"
"I'm the only one here who actually won something, so you should be treating me!" Chun De exclaimed. A cheeky smile crept up her face. "And if your charity so happens to include some meat and alcohol, well, what can I do?"
"You're the worst monk I've ever seen!" Bai Guo laughed. "But it's too bad for you. I don't have any money on me either."
"Then let's just go take a walk and chant scriptures like good little monks." Chun De sprayed her arms. "And if you're really that hungry, I'll teach you how to beg for alms."
Bai Guo followed the short girl out.