Xian Wu had a bad hangover

The first thing Xian Wu remembered when he woke up was that Lai Yiteng had not been wearing any shoes outside last night.

What a strange thing to remember before anything else.

He rubbed his temple. Then he rubbed it again, harder.

Oh, what a hangover…last night he...Xian Wu decided to think of these matters later. He rolled out of bed and fixed up the worst parts of his appearance. When he stepped out into the inn hallway, he saw that the entire door to Lai Yiteng's room had been destroyed into bits of wood.

"…" Yeah, things got violent last night. He peeked inside Lai Yiteng's room.

Inside, the younger was gone.

"…Yi'er?" he called, but knew quite well of the truth.

Lai Yiteng was probably too nervous about being captured and fled. If he left him behind, then surely it was because he wasn't interested in having him as a teacher any longer, too.

Xian Wu sighed.

Was this all because he got too drunk last night?

What man wasn't allowed to go out and have a nice drink every now and then! To go and see some beautiful women…how would one survive without these things?! He just wanted a break from all the responsibilities and pressures, you know?

Xian Wu sighed heavily again until his knees bent and he was crouching on the floor.

Oh yes, it was coming back to him…he fought some elder from Lushang Sect.

Whoops.

He's probably dead by now. That was his one-of-a-kind blue centipede vein-degrading poison. He swore a few more times.

Okay, but what else….

Shit.

He tried to get Lai Yiteng on his back for a piggyback ride...when the kid despises contact with other people. Xian Wu knew this well, because whenever he took Lai Yiteng's pulse he would tense, flinch, or even tremble slightly.

Fuck!

After Lai Yiteng declined his piggyback ride, he tried to force him into a piggyback ride and tore his robe...does it get any worse than that? What else is he forgetting??

As a nervous tick, Xian Wu brought up his fingers and tried to play with his green-dragon jade earring. This was a priceless heirloom from his deceased shifu. He remembered seeing his shifu wearing it on a snowy mountain top, overlooking vast sloping forests below as his silvery-gray hair billowed out.

H-He actually…gave it Lai Yiteng as like a little 'oh don't be mad at me for ruining your robe' consolation!! Xian Wu facepalmed.

He needed his earring back!

And yeah he needed Yi'er back, too!

They were both gone...

Just because Lai Yiteng didn't want anything to do with him anymore didn't mean that Xian Wu would merely give up. He couldn't let this slip through his fingers, like he had failed to save others he cared about long ago, how could he dare give in early and allow it to repeat? No. He would just have to explain things a little more carefully to Lai Yiteng, then get him to tolerate his presence again.

If he did it once then he could do it twice.

But where did that twerp go?

Xian Wu gave a lopsided grimace as he thought on that.

A town? No, unlikely. These places were to crowed and busy for Lai Yiteng to feel comfortable right after being attacked.

Ugh, he needed to give Lai Yiteng the detoxifying agent, too. There could be repercussions if he stopped taking it suddenly, although he was not certain how severe they would be.

If the youngster had decided to go out into the boonies again, a big forest, or through the mountains in the northeast, he wasn't sure how he'd ever find him…and fuck, this headache was killing him. Throbbing again and again, how was he supposed to think properly...

"Sect Master Xian."

"Goodness!" Xian Wu jumped upright from the scare. It did not take him long to recognize the voice as Song Zhenxi's, but it definitely caused his heart rate to accelerate. "Why do you have to appear so suddenly?"

As expected, Song Zhenxi, dressed in dark clothes, stood a few feet away from Xian Wu. There were no noises made as she opened the inn door and stepped inside, that was the kind of ultimate tier assassin that she was.

In fact, Song Zhenxi was the daughter of Xian Wu's shifu. They shared the same silvery hair.

In any case, Song Zhenxi just narrowed her eyes at Xian Wu and scoffed.

"It's not my fault you're so oblivious! Naturally I didn't end up returning to the Sect yesterday because of all the racket that occurred last night. I kept watch nearby."

Xian Wu rubbed his sleep-logged face and deadpanned. "But you didn't lend a hand?"

"Of course not, that would compromise my cover. However, I did tail Gojun Lao for a few hours after he'd retreated to cover up your careless mistakes. He died around midnight from the poison, bled all over the road, too. I finished off his disciple and hid both of their bodies in the depths of the forest, so they shan't be found for several months. Even if Lushang Sect wants to point fingers, they won't have any solid evidence..."

"Uh-huh, that's nice," said Xian Wu with a yawn. "So? Why have you graced me with your presence again?"

Song Zhenxi seemed vaguely amused. "While I was tied up with that other business, Mildew has found that man you're so fond of."

"Mildew has?" Xian Wu was stunned.

Mildew was the name of Song Zhenxi's hyper-intelligent crow.

Apparently she heard some foreigners up north using the word 'mildew' to describe brown moldy things, and since the crow had splotches of rust-colored feathers on its wing tips she named it 'Mildew'.

Mildew could track targets, seek out evil beasts and ghouls, and peck out eyeballs. These were only the most basic of the bird's skills, its full potential was something even Xian Wu did not know. He also did not know its gender.

But it was even better than a guard dog.

In general, though, Mildew would only listen to Song Zhenxi's commands because they'd made a blood pact. If Xian Wu tired to make the bird do anything, Mildew would only dive bomb his head.

But Xian Wu did not know why Song Zhenxi had bothered sending her crow after Lai Yiteng. When they were drinking last night he could tell that she was uninterested in him, perhaps even a little hostile.

"I figured," Song Zhenxi explained for him, "that you would merely order me to search for him, or spend a disquieting amount of time searching for him yourself, so I just took matters one-step ahead. I know you well, Sect Master Xian, never forget that."

Xian Wu gave a faint smile. Haha…true. She was used to his antics. He nodded, smoothing his bed head with flourish (but had no intentions to actually brush it), and paced towards the door.

"Good work. Then I won't have much trouble finding him."

Song Zhenxi muttered, "Stalker."

"…" Xian Wu gave a helpless expression, somehow offended by this remark. "That's not really a fair thing to say...give me some credit for being a patient man. If I don't go after him, there's probably no one else who will. Isn't that sad?"

"Excuses."

Xian Wu whined, "Why do you have to be so mean…"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, am I that bad? Should I offer to fetch him for you instead?"

Xian Wu paused, and then awkwardly laughed that off. He remembered that he'd lost his earring to Lai Yiteng, and Song Zhenxi would wring his neck if she found out that her father's heirloom had been given away so easily! Plus, she would just do whatever was necessary to bring Lai Yiteng back, which might include breaking arms or legs.

No, now was not the time to complain.

Xian Wu wore a change of clothes, drank some water to try and clear his head, and scarfed down a few things for breakfast. Then he went outside to be blinded by the sunlight.

Painful as it was, he saw Mildew perched on a nearby flag post.

The crow cawed obnoxiously a few times. It only quieted when Song Zhenxi leapt onto a nearby rooftop, clinging to the shadows. She made a complex finger sign at Mildew, and then the crow cawed more understandingly before taking off into the air.

Xian Wu squinted at it as it became a black dot in the distance.

"Er…how am I supposed to follow it fast enough?" he asked Song Zhenxi.

She shrugged without a word and then disappeared. This time she was really, truly returning back to the sect. If the Sect Master couldn't sort all this out within the next month she would drag him back herself.

Xian Wu quickly realized that he was going to have to run his legs reaaaally fast in order to keep up with Mildew. He would even have to use his martial arts.

And so the greatest marathon of his life began.