Chapter Five.

As the carriage rides away,Duan Xinyue walks into Qingfeng Pavilion lazily. The showgirls who have been watching him from inside run towards him to satisfy their curiosity.

"Who were you with in the carriage?"

"Is it a noble lady?"

Qin Lanhua comes to his rescue as she shoos the showgirls away.Duan Xinyue heads upstairs to his room to take a rest. He sits at the dressing table and wipes his sweaty face using a small wet towel.

A knock is heard at the door and the door creaks open revealing Su Jiali carrying a tray with a kettle,a cup and small pieces of jujube cake in a bowl. She places the tray on the table,takes the wet towel from Duan Xinyue and helps him to wipe the sweat off his face .

"I heard you didn't eat anything before you left."

Duan Xinyue replies with a 'mmm' weakly.

"I brought you your favourite jujube cakes. We're out of white dew wine so I brought you chrysanthemum tea instead,"Su Jiali says smiling warmly.

Apart from Qin Lanhua,Su Jiali is the mature one of all the showgirls and she understands Duan Xinyue the most . She is also the most beautiful among the showgirls.

At Ziran Sect,the disciples are having a day off from their daily martial arts practices. Some are washing clothes while others are fetching the water. One of the junior disciples Mu Zixin comes carrying three boxes of snacks. Mu Zixin is a tiny playful eleven year old boy. He's known for his charismatic and carefree character. He loves sneaking out to go to Meanders City to buy snacks. He buys snacks for her sect sisters who wash his clothes in exchange. Mu Zixin is fond of his second eldest Martial Sister Chen Ruolan.

"Mu Zixin,come over here,"Chen Ruolan commands.

"Shi Jie,do you need more water?"(Shi Jie meaning 'Elder Martial Sister')

"No. Is Shifu back?"

"I think I saw a carriage outside the gate when I sneaked in but the carriage doesn't look familiar," Mu Zixin says looking up as if he's trying to remember something. His face brightens as if he has remembered something exciting.

"Shi Jie,I've got more exciting news,"he exclaims excitedly.

"What is it?"

All the other girls suddenly stop washing their clothes and assemble to listen to Mu Zixin's piece of news.

"Guess what happened at Lord Du Yuan's birthday banquet?" He asks fuelling their curiosity."Shifu lent his 'Ziran Zhuzai ' sword to Duan Xinyue to perform a sword dance,"he adds as the girls boo in unison revealing their disbelief.

"That's impossible. Shifu cherishes his sword so much. He never lets anybody touch it even Shi Xiong has never touched it."(Shi Xiong meaning 'Elder Martial Brother')

"I'm telling the truth. The news is all over Meanders City."

When their eldest Martial Sister arrives,the girls quickly disperse and go back to doing laundry. Cai Huifen,the eldest Martial Sister is known for her seriousness when it comes to performing tasks. People say she's an ass kisser , always trying to please her masters and the eldest Martial Brother Hong Rong,the only guy she smiles at.

In Long Gong County there is a temple called Redemption Temple where despicable sinners go to live willingly to repent their sins before their death. In one of the Temple's private chambers,a man in a hooded cloak is talking to an old man in a monk's attire. The old man's face and expressions can be clearly seen while the other man's face is slightly exposed but you can't get a clearer view of his face. The man in monk's attire is Guo Mulang.

"I didn't expect you to come so soon,"Guo Mulang starts the conversation.

"Lao Guo,I think I've found your silly disciple,"the other man says teasingly (Lao meaning'Old')

Guo Mulang's face brightens as he fixes his sitting posture,ready to get more of the good news.

"I'm not sure of his real name though."

"Back then,when I recruited disciples to Yanshi Sect(Yanshi meaning 'rock') ,most of them were orphans and had lowly names so I gave them new names to get rid of any differences associated with names and also to hide their identities. When Yanshi Sect was attacked,that disciple of mine was only thirteen years old. Even though there was an elder disciple,he wasn't strong and talented as him. I entrusted him to lead the other disciples to Wushu Mountain Sect to meet my martial brother but three months later he was banished from the sect and disappeared ever since then," Guo Mulang narrates.

"Didn't you ask your martial brother where he went?"

"The next time I visited Wushu Mountain Sect,my martial brother was already dead."

"What was the name you gave that disciple of yours?"

"Wei Er. I gave them all a common surname and number names as as their first names coinciding with their age. He was Wei Er ,Er as in number two,"Guo Mulang clarifies.

"So the eldest was Wei Yi?"Guo Mulang nods,"I will come back when I find more clues," the man adds .

The man in hooded cloak disappears without a trace. Guo Mulang lowers his head as if regretting something.