As the young man kept listening, he suddenly heard a soft banging noise. He grimaced, already having a pretty decent guess of what that particular sound was all about.
But when that sound repeated again only a single time, but much louder in volume, followed by the cracking of splintered wood afterwards, he began to doubt his original assumption. He returned to earnestly pondering the source of that strange noise.
He thought back to the woman's strange gesture towards him during the day. At that moment, Bai Guo's mind was greatly tempted into making a ginormous leap in logic.
When he heard the unmistakable sound of clashing steel, Bai Guo realized that even if the situation wasn't quite as wild as he had imagined it to be, it was nevertheless extremely urgent and he simply couldn't tarry.
He thrust his foot at the door. The sturdy wood instantly gave way. The young man still found ways to shock himself with his own strength.
He rushed down the hall, searching for the source of the noises. He discovered that they were coming from a locked room. Again Bai Guo burst through the door, his sword already unsheathed.
He witnessed Liao Lan lying on the bed in her nightgown, the half-naked He Yong towering over her with his saber raised high, and another sword stuck in the wall, hopelessly far beyond the woman's reach.
Bai Guo lunged forward, performing the First Step. He thrust his sword into He Yong's defenseless back. But the sect master heard his explosive entrance and was already twisting his upper body to deflect the blow.
Despite his massive advantage, Bai Guo's strike had been deflected. So fierce was He Yong's defense that the young man felt his arm growing numb, his sword almost flying out of his hand.
Before Bai Guo had even realized, the saber was already being brought down upon his head.
In his peripheral vision, he caught the dark haired silhouette of Liao Lan already standing upright atop the bed. Her figure blurred and unleashed countless strikes upon He Yong's flesh. Each successive strike stripped him of increasingly more motor functions. The giant was unable to neither complete his strike nor commit himself into a different motion.
His heavy weapon fell to the floor, and so did the massive man. He could neither move nor speak, and even his breathing had gone awfully quiet.
Bai Guo raised his sword, but the woman grabbed his hand.
"Don't even think about it!" Liao Lan warned. "Kill him and the Kunlun Sect will spend the rest of their existence chasing you around! And every last member of your bloodline!"
The young man heeded her advice. "Who are you, really?"
"Your master sent me to rescue you. Let's get out of here."
As they were about to step out, Liao Lan suddenly hesitated. She walked back to the collapsed sect master and grinned.
"Again you missed the fruit! Stupid monkey! You'll never have it!" She gloated. He glared at her with bloodshot eyes.
"Is this really the time for this...?" Bai Guo asked. Immediately the woman's impression firmed and she darted out of the room, pulling him along by hand.
Bai Guo ran with her. Liao Lan advanced with confident strides, as if she already knew where to go.
They heard a commotion outside and halted their escape. They warily peered around each corner. Their noses smelled smoke. They could hear something that resembled the sounds of battle.
Suddenly, a sharp scream echoed across the hallways. "It's the Sleeping Asura! Get back!"
Bai Guo once again felt Liao Lan's hand dragging him along. They soon left the mansion, only to behold a sea of flames rampaging across the outer areas.
Suddenly, a short, veiled figure was upon them, brandishing a straight sword. Bai Guo immediately recognized it, and was immediately recognized in turn.
Chun De and Bai Guo called each other's names at the same time. Chun De removed her veil, revealing her big eyes.
Bai Guo asked, "What's going on? What is all this?"
"We're here to rescue you!" She proudly announced, gesturing him to follow. "Come to our temple! They won't follow us there!"
As he ran, Bai Guo saw numerous disguised martial artists taking on the Kunlun disciples. But the smoke and heat had made it difficult to observe anything with detail. He caught glimpse of something massive moving up the mountain road, but couldn't make heads or tails of what it was. The redness of it blended into the fiery backdrop.
They made a successful getaway amidst the burning chaos.
As they made their way lower and lower down the mountain, Liao Lan had suddenly separated from their group. "I did what I had to! You're on your own now!"
"Thanks!" Bai Guo called out as the woman disappeared into the night.
...
Shao Luli was terrified when she heard something banging on the door into her room. She was struck with even more terror when she saw her master, wearing nothing than her nightgown and an expression of indescribable rage, leap at her.
"What have you done?!" Liao Lan pushed her disciple onto the bed and shook her roughly by the shoulders. "What did you tell He Yong?!"
Shao Luli was scared out of her wits. The girl mumbled incoherently. Eventually, proper words began to form. "I just told him about Bai Guo's master. The golden haired lady."
"Why why why?!"
"I just wanted to get him in trouble!" Shao Luli cried.
"Didn't I tell you that they wouldn't disqualify anyone over that?"
The disciple sobbed. "I thought that if I brought it so directly to someone of a really high status, they'd have no choice but to at least do something! Master, tell me, why are you so angry with me?"
"You stupid child! Your foolish prank nearly cost us both our lives!"
She told her the entire story. They cried in fear. Then they cried in relief. No matter how hard she tried, Liao Lan was unable to stay angry at her disciple. She hugged the girl until it hurt.
After listening to their sobs for a while, the ghost that had been haunting them departed.
...
Bai Guo was brought into the old temple. Many monks kneeled on the mats around him, Chun De included.
The abbot addressed him. "I'm afraid you might need to remain here until things outside have calmed a little, Bai Guo."
Bai Guo lowered his head. "I apologize for imposing on you so much." He brought his head even lower down and kowtowed. "Thank you for rescuing me."
Qing Duyi smiled. "Kindness must be repaid with kindness. We have heard that you are quite the righteous young man. It's a rare trait in these trying times."
"I haven't done anything to warrant such words."
The old abbot laughed. "Chun De had told us all about you. You help those in need, and your character is impeccable. You even rescued his life."
Chun De's eyes flickered away at the mention of that event.
"We will always be glad to have you at our temple." Qing Duyi concluded. "Unfortunately, we can offer little in the ways of comforts."
"I'm used to living in the rough. You won't find me to be picky. And I'll do my share of the work."
The other monks exchanged glances and approving nods.
In that moment, an unexpected, unannounced guest had appeared in the room, as though appearing out of thin air.
The white robed woman's appearance had startled every monk present. They all leaped to their feet. Only Chun De's expression shimmered with excitement.
"Master!" Bai Guo exclaimed, his voice brimming with indescribable relief. He was about to drop to his knees again when the woman roughly scooped him up with her long arms and wrapped him tightly.
Bai Guo's feet were swept off the floor; strained noises erupted from his throat.
The Golden Witch set her disciple down after a long moment. She took a very measured glance of him. "You're not injured anymore?"
Bai Guo sighed. She picked a very difficult subject for him to breach.
"I'll tell you a little later." He decided to bide for time. Bai Guo almost felt dirty withholding this information from her, especially when it ended up playing such a vital role in his escape. But it also didn't sit right with him to speak of the man responsible in anything even remotely approaching good light.
Fortunately for him, his master had taken a very tolerant, or maybe even uncaring, stance on the matter.
"I still need to..." Bai Guo tried to get on his knees again. When the Golden Witch once again grabbed onto him and forced him to remain upright, the young man began to grumble. "Master, you had a big role in getting me out of there, just let me show you my gratitude! Why are you always so strange when it comes to this kind of decorum?!"
The woman sighed and finally set him free. Bai Guo tapped his forehead against the floor.
Qing Duyi spoke up. "The master of such an exemplar disciple must be a woman of great character as well. I would like to officially extend our hospitality to you as well."
The Golden Witch glanced at her disciple and asked, "Why are we staying here?"
"Until things outside blow over..." He explained. But on some level he knew that she wouldn't wish to tarry here, especially for such a reason.
Chun De approached her. "You absolutely must stay at least for a little while!"
"Chun De, don't be rude!" Qing Duyi admonished.
"Actually, master, I also think we should stay here for a while." Bai Guo suggested. There was something very leading about his tone. The Golden Witch had been around this young man to glean something from his particular intonation. She wondered what it was about.
She relented to the offered hospitality.