Old Street Retreat
You sidle up to Nie Shuixian and whisper firmly, “Now is not the time to get into an argument with them. I do not think you are going to like your mother’s ‘discipline’.”
She seems to agree, albeit somewhat nervously. “But, what should-“
Stepping in between the twins and Madam Nie, you adjust your sleeves. “Let’s employ my favourite of the Thirty-Six Strategems.” Without warning, you whip around and strike out at the two girls with your palms. Controlling your qi perfectly, you generate just enough force to send them flying off without causing them serious injury. “Retreat!” you shout out.
“Tian’er, go after them. Even if we cannot detain Xu Jing, we can still bring the girls back,” orders Madam Nie.
Bai Jiutian prepares to give chase, but stops immediately. You are standing in her way, your hands resting on your hips. She is wary enough that she does not make any rash attempts to force a path past you.
“Staying behind to let them escape? How noble of you, Man Tiger Pig,” she sneers. “Or do you have something else in mind?”
“Are you going to fight us alone?” Madam Nie smiles at you.
“Well…” You take a step forward. And kick up a spray of dirt into their faces. With a mocking laugh, you leap away, following the path where the twins had fled. You catch up to them quite soon; the deteriorating wooden rooftops are proving to be rather hard to step on without risking them giving way under you, while the streets below are dark and abandoned. You do not expect Bai Jiutian or Madam Nie to be left behind for long. Just as Nie Shuixian notices you and waves, your instincts warn you to dodge. You drop down, turning your run into a tumbling roll as a gleaming sword passes through where your chest would have been. As you get to your feet, Bai Jiutian presses the attack, lunging at you with a swift stab. You block her attack with your wodao and draw the blade, forcing Bai to leap back.
“You are really trying to kill me, aren’t you? I thought we were friends.”
She smiles. “If you die, it just means you weren’t good enough to be my ally in the first place.”
“Bai shixiong!” Nie Mudan cries out. “Why? Why are you doing this?”
“I have my reasons,” replies Bai. “Besides, you should be a good girl and come home, Mudan. If you insist on being so stubborn you will ruin everything, even your father’s plans.”
“Keep moving!” you shout. “Head for the inn!”
“Y-yes!” Shuixian complies with you immediately, herding her sister away.
“I won’t let you.” Bai’s shadow appears to lengthen – she seems to glide across the darkness with surprising speed, almost catching you off-guard.
Almost.
Your right arm reacts before you can think, striking out at Bai Jiutian with the flat of your sword. As Bai dodges your attack, her attempt to get past you foiled, you leap into the air. At the same time, you unleash a downward strike with your left palm – The Soaring Dragon Descends – and with a loud, crashing noise, you bring down the roof under her feet. It does not buy you much time. Bai Jiutian kicks up the smashed wooden planks and steps off of them lightly, using them as footholds in mid-air to regain her balance. She charges towards you, and the two of you clash swords again, with only the wind beneath your feet.
“You are quite the show-off, aren’t you?” you say.
“You are the last person I want to hear that from.”
Laughing, you spin and kick out from an impossible position. In aerial combat your Wuying Leipo Kick gives you the advantage. You turn Bai into your stepping stone, sending her flying backwards while you hurtle towards the lights of the populated sections. Bai wastes no time in coming after you, apparently forgetting about her mission to retrieve the twins and proceeding to start a running duel through the dark streets and creaky rooftops of the abandoned town. You slip in and out of the shadows, attempting to give her the slip, but Bai is nothing but persistent. Still, you can tell that she is not yet giving her all. Of course, neither are you.
Even as you think that, you make a single misstep. A black cat – some stray surviving on scraps in this dump – scampers across your path with a yowl, startled by your sudden arrival. Even as you adjust your footing to avoid the cat, you realize that by doing so you have slowed down a beat and given Bai Jiutian just the chance she needs to catch up to you. She reaches out for you, her sword poised to skewer you and a smile on her face.
You wonder if she isn’t enjoying this a little too much.
“Shixiong, watch out!” shouts Shuixian, appearing from above and slashing at her senior. This gives Bai plenty of time to evade. She breaks off her attack and spins away elegantly.
“Shixiong!” This time it is Mudan’s turn, and similarly, Bai evades her attack with ease.
“If the two of you are going to call out a warning, what is the point of trying an ambush?” you yell.
“B-but… we just can’t bring ourselves to really harm Bai shixiong!” explains Shuixian.
Mudan adds her retort: “Besides, we saved you, didn’t we?”
“Perhaps you should have saved yourselves.” Madam Nie swoops in; catching Nie Mudan by surprise, she plants a needle in her neck, immobilizing the girl. Just when did she sneak up on you? You glance at Bai, who does not seem surprised; she was probably just the decoy all along. Madam Nie turns towards Shuixian, and you move to intercept her. Bai does not seem inclined to let you interfere, however, and with a flash of her sword she cuts off your advance.
“Mother, what are you planning?” cries out Shuixian.
“Hush. You will know everything soon enough-“
Madam Nie whirls around suddenly, whipping her long sleeves in a circle. Bai too leaps back, her sword moving in a swift arc around her. A dozen tinny, clinging sounds ring out as she deflects as many needles; you see that Madam Nie too has caught an array of needles safely, letting them drop to the ground.
“Tch… didn’t hit…”
Cao’er pokes her head out from a nearby roof, frustration etched on her face.
“I see. This is your doing, isn’t it?” Madam Nie looks up.
“Why, a good wife never lets her husband wander off without taking certain precautions, even if it has to be behind his back.” Qilin is perched on the rooftops, swinging her legs in a carefree manner. “Hi, dear.” With a light hop, she reaches you and wraps herself around your arm possessively.
Yunzi, Armaiti, Lingshu and Yifang appear on the roof opposite, and there is a glint of excitement in the Holy Maiden’s eyes. “This should be a good chance to get some answers,” she says, cracking her knuckles in a very unladylike manner. Lingshu and Yifang leap down, freeing Nie Mudan while Madam Nie is still undecided on her next course of action.
“So, what will you do, Madam Nie?” asks Qilin. “Would you like to continue? It may be interesting.”
“You really do take after me,” sighs the mistress of Huashan. “Tian’er, it is time to go. I would not waste anymore of this night on them.”
“It looks like you like to have your women bail you out, Xu Jing,” says Bai Jiutian. She appears to be unruffled by their sudden appearance and the prospect of an imminent fight; in fact, she looks quietly confident. Yunzi lands by your side, eager to confront Bai, but the Huashan disciple points her sword at your motley crew. A menacing killing intent radiates from her, as does a wave of powerful qi: if you attack now, regardless of your advantage in numbers, there will be bloodshed. Neither Madam Nie nor Bai Jiutian will hold back… and faced with Bai’s killing intent, you get a sudden vision of yourself covered in blood. Blood that is not yours. Helpless. Your helpless self, unable to keep the girls safe.
You make your decision. “This is not the time,” you mutter, holding Yunzi back. If they are willing to retreat and leave the twins in your care, your objective is accomplished. Of course, what comes after will be a problem, but you will deal with that when the time comes.
“A wise choice,” smiles Madam Nie. With a wave of her hand, the darkness seems to encroach upon both her and Bai Jiutian. They back away and are soon swallowed up, and in the next second they are no longer anywhere to be seen.
***
“So, you cannot go a single year without bringing home new women, can you?” Xuezi looks at Shuixian and Mudan, taking time off from snacking on some mantou to make her comment. The twins look rather uncomfortable to be in your room, surrounded by the other girls. Qilin is pacing around them with a predatory look on her face; as they are her half-stepsisters of a sort, you wonder what she thinks of the twins.
“As expected of the greatest pervert and womanizer in history,” says Yunzi.
“Well, he did try to go after my own mother,” laughs Qilin.
“How disgusting.”
“Jing… did it because it was disgusting… right?” smiles Cao’er strangely.
You shake your head firmly and wordlessly.
“Anyway, knowing that woman, we might not have much more time before Nie Wuxing comes looking for his daughters. I would not be surprised if he is knocking at our door any time now,” says Qilin. “What do we do?”
“What do you want to do?” You direct your question at the twins. “I had you run so that you could have time to think, and so that Madam Nie would not control the whole situation. If you want to go back to your father’s side…”
“We want to make him realize that he is wrong about what he is doing,” says Shuixian firmly.
“We don’t really know how to do that, however,” her sister admits, a second later.
“There are three paths for you that I can think of,” says Qilin. “Firstly, you can denounce your mother’s misdeeds in public when your father comes for you.”
“That is likely to disgrace him terribly,” murmurs Lingshu.
“It is also the quickest way,” shrugs Qilin. “You could also return to them, be careful, and bide your time. We will try to pass everything off as a misunderstanding, and everyone gets to save face.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?” asks Yifang. “What if Madam Nie tries something again?”
“Yes,” nods Qilin. “It is a risk they will have to take.”
You wonder if you could try to contact Bai Jiutian and have her work out something for the twins’ safety. Even though she seems to be on the opposing side, she may be persuaded to do something about this.
“We’ve already thought about those two options,” says Nie Mudan. “What is the last path?”
“Have him take responsibility.” Qilin points at you.
“What?” The question is echoed by everyone else in the room.
“Y-you mean…” Shuixian’s face is turning red.
“Yes, just tell your father that Xu Jing is taking all responsibility for his daughters from now on,” says Qilin casually. “He is likely going to be angry and throw a tantrum, but if Jing puts up a good, penitent act he should have no choice but to accept it, especially in front of everyone else. This is the only reason that will work to ensure he lets his daughters go non-violently.”
“This would also harm his reputation, having his daughters taken by a scoundrel of ill-repute,” cackles Xuezi. “A fine, scandalous play, if you can handle the consequences.”
“I must object to this,” says Yunzi suddenly, frowning.
“Me… me too,” Yifang agrees with her, nodding worriedly. “It is just… wrong.”
“Really?” Qilin’s eyes narrow, and she smiles sweetly. “I suppose the added competition worries you?” Outbursts of furious denial meet her verbal jab, and she laughs. “Oh, don’t think I have not overheard what you moan softly at night, while you are asleep and embraced by your dreams. I wonder what dreams they are? Should I mimic your voice? O-“
“T-that’s enough!” Red-faced, Yunzi storms out of the room, followed by Armaiti.
“And that is why chaste holy maidens are such a bother,” grins Qilin.
“Don’t tease her too much. Besides, aren’t you worried about the added competition?” you say, grinning.
“Ah, well…” She wraps her arms around your neck and leans in close to your ear, whispering, “I am not too worried about them; they are no match for me, no? Of course, I may regret underestimating them in the future, but if I think it is the best choice for you at the moment, I will encourage you to make it. So, what do you think?”
You look at the twins. They seem confused and embarrassed; right now, their mental state is one of turmoil. It would probably not be hard to persuade them to take the course of action that you think would be best.
***
A. You will persuade the twins to confront their parents when Nie inevitably comes for them. Though it will likely drag the entire ugly business out into the light, in front of the other orthodox pugilists, this has been a long time coming.
B. You will persuade the twins to return to their parents and bide their time. In order to keep them safe from Madam Nie in the meantime, you will attempt to work something out with Bai Jiutian. With the right incentives, she is likely to cooperate.
C. You will publicly take responsibility for the twins, likely earning Nie Wuxing’s undying grudge. You will have to put up a great act to ensure this does not destroy your current goodwill with some of the Eight Sects, but you do not doubt that you can pull it off.
D. You will not take responsibility, but will push for the twins' bid for independence from their parents. As Nie will not let it go that easily, this is extremely likely to end in a duel of some sort...
E. You should not be the one to decide; you let the twins decide what they want to do for themselves, even if they do not seem to be in the best state of mind to make that choice. You will try to support them regardless.
F. You leave town under the cover of night, heading towards Xiangyang. You suspect that you may be able to find more clues about Madam Nie there to help the twins decide their next course of action, though Nie Wuxing will likely attempt to hunt you down till then.
