An old man dressed in grubby, drab-coloured robes opened the door at the Toble's manor. It must be one of their servants. He didn't open it all the way, but peeked at them through a small gap. His wrinkled face was tanned from all the years he'd spent under the sun. However, he didn't seem unkind, only wary. 

Xiao and Bradley rushed to bow down and salute him. "Good afternoon, sir."

"Good afternoon, young masters," he said in a croak. 

"We are here to visit Leon Toble," Bradley told the servant. "Could you pass the news on to the master?"

The old man hesitated. "Young masters, you must not be native here. Two days ago, Master Toble was hurt."

"By what?" Xiao instantly asked.

The old man frowned. "My master cannot see any visitors."

Bradley pushed Xiao to the side and took the remaining dessert box that Xiao did not inhale. Bradley gave the old servant the box and bowed again. "Sir, we heard of the injuries that Master Toble acquired and we came specifically to offer some condolences."

The old man looked them up and down, eyes lingering longer on Xiao, and then nodded curtly. "I'll report it."

Xiao let out a long breath as he left. "Man, I was holding my breath in fears of offending him."

Bradley snorted. "Tie up your hair next time. If you clean up nicer, you might be less ugly."

Xiao laughed but didn't say anything. Soon, the servant came back and led them in. "Young masters, Master Toble isn't well enough to sit and see visitors. Both his legs are injured too severely."

"That's nothing to us. We can go and check out his injuries," Xiao said. "We can also go and get some medicine for him if he needs it."

The old servant's face softened. He could tell that the two men really wanted to see his master. After a few seconds, he said "follow me".

They went into the humbly decorated place and entered the temporary ward. Three women were flying around the place, getting water, taking in food and medicine, and taking out used bandages. When they saw Xiao and Bradley following the servant, they started.

"Doug, who are the visitors?" Lady Toble asked.

"Lady Toble." Bradley ran up two steps and bowed down. "We are here to visit Leon Toble."

Lady Toble grimaced. "My son is injured, young knight."

Xiao stepped up. "We are here because of the injuries, madame."

Lady Toble looked him up and down distrustfully. Xiao held her gaze as she did so.

"Please madame, we are here to get rid of the traffickers, and we are hoping Leon could help us," Bradley said.

"Help you?" one of the maids spoke up incredulously. "He's injured!"

Xiao grinned. There was rarely a maid who would be like this. "We were hoping for some information."

The maid snorted and went inside with her jug of water. A silence fell outside the room and they heard the conversation inside.

"Weiyu, what's going on outside?" a man's voice asked.

"Master Leon, you don't know. There are these two guys outside wanting to see you."

"What for?"

"They want you to help them with the traffickers. They want information, apparently."

"What do they look like?"

"Not good looking."

"I meant - "

Xiao interrupted them. "Mr. Toble, if you help us out, an evil will be eradicated from your land."

"Help me up, Weiyu," Leon Toble said. 

Lady Toble looked at Xiao and Bradley. "Come on in, young masters."

The room smelt heavily of medicine. A young man sat on the bed leaning heavily on several pillows. He saluted them and they returned the gesture.

"I am Bradley Howell and this is Xiao Sa," Bradley introduced, using Xiao's last name to his malcontent. "We were hoping if you could tell us how you got the injuries."

Leon grimaced. "Alright."

Xiao smiled at how easygoing Leon was and listened.

Leon was an officer in Wyatt City. Seeing as the Maiden Case was getting out of hand and the mayor not doing anything, he and a few other officers had taken up patrolling at night to get rid of the traffickers. Leon himself had captured a trafficker two nights ago when he met the culprit. He was hoping to interrogate him but then two more men came and the three men surrounded him and tortured him to the state he was in now.

Xiao clenched his fists. "These dogs are too ruthless!"

"I hope you knights could help us with this evil," Leon said as he sent them off. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help but my friends in the town hall can help you."

"Thank you," Xiao said. The three bid each other goodbye and Xiao and Bradley went off for food as per Xiao's request.

"What do we think?" Bradley asked on the way.

"We didn't really learn anything new," Xiao said. "But the government must have been bought by the traffickers if the mayor isn't doing anything."

"I suppose," Bradley said.

They entered a crowded restaurant and sat in window seats. They ate in silence, both caught up in everything they've seen and heard today. Then, a swish of grey caught Xiao's eyes outside the window. He swung his head in the direction of the movement and saw the corner of a grey robe disappear around a clump of trees. He watched as a woman in red follow into the clump of trees a few moments later.

Xiao looked at Bradley who was already opening his mouth. 

"Let's go."

Bradley walked speedily towards the place but Xiao stopped to talk to a waiter. "We'll be back soon, alright?" he said, handing him a few silver pieces.

The waiter looked bemusedly after the two customers who ran towards a clump of trees.

They moved soundlessly as the skilled knights they were and they saw, through the trees, two figures. The woman was swinging her body about and talking in an animated fashion to the priest. The priest held her and was laughing.

Xiao scrunched his whole face in disgust and Bradley huffed lightly. Presumably, the woman was talking about her day. "And then the girl was like who are you. Obviously, I said I'm Monica and all that and that the guest house needs a new servant. She was definitely in need of money because she agreed right away. I suppose she thought that with a woman as an owner, she won't be harmed." She laughed.

"So she came with you?"

"Of course!" the woman said. "Who can refuse me?" She leaned even closer to the priest.

Xiao closed his eyes. What was he watching?!

"Did you give her the drink?"

"Yeah. She took it all gratefully too. Silly little thing she was. But she was definitely good enough," she added. 

The priest laughed. "Alright, alright. We'll have some fun tonight then, Monica." He made to lean in and Bradley pulled Xiao away. The latter was peaking between his lashes at intervals.

When they went back to the restaurant, Xiao stared at the meal blankly.

"That was disgusting," Bradley said, slamming his hands down onto the table and startling the neighbouring diners. "What kind of priest would do that!"

Xiao shook his head to get what he watched out of his head. "They have a maiden. It seems that some maidens were taken willingly by this Monica. We've got to save her before the priest does something."

Bradley nodded. "We'll go tonight and teach that scoundrel a lesson."

Xiao pushed away the food and picked up his bottle of wine. "I don't think I'll want to eat ever again."

Bradley smiled meekly. He called over the waiter and paid.

It was almost dust when they headed back to the guest house but Frank wasn't in his room.

"Where did Frank go?" Xiao asked. "We have information."

"He said he went to some scholar's place,"  Bradley said. "He's probably still there."

"Scholar?"

"His friend here, probably. We'll tell him when he gets back. Then we can all go together."

Xiao nodded and sank on to the bed. "Man."

"What?" Bradley asked.

"Nothing," Xiao said. "Just - I've never investigated a case before. It's all been wandering around Xenon's mountains and plateaus, prairies and forests. Going a-boating and hiking, visiting some statues and pagodas. And then I'll save people on the way. But look at us now! We are taking up real tasks!"

Bradley smiled. "Alright, alright."

Xiao sat up. "What?"

"It's really not much to lament about."

"I'm not lamenting."

"Just don't say a-boating again."

Xiao laughed and laid down again. "C'mon, we need to rest."

Frank came back a while later and Xiao and Bradley told him what they'd seen and heard. 

"The priest?" Frank said disbelievingly. "When we talked - "

"Frank-Ge! We'll just go check it out tonight. If he doesn't have the girl, then ... " Xiao trailed off. Then what did he and Bradley see? 

Frank nodded. "Alright. I'll come along."

When it was one in the morning, they left the place and headed to the temple. With their skills, it took at most five minutes to go across the city. They climbed up to the roof outside the second floor of the temple and peered in through the window. The priest's back faced them and he was reading something. 

Frank glanced at the two of them, his eyes saying "what did I tell you?" 

The priest flipped over the page and scribbled something. Then, the room's door was flung open. A man about thirty stormed in. "Priest!"

The priest looked at him. "Knight Curtis, what can I help you with?"

"Stop Knight Curtis-ing me, you old bastard. Give me some of the drug."

Xiao, Bradley, and Frank looked at each other in surprise. The priest was in charge of making the drug?

"Knight Curtis, I can't. I don't have enough."

"Last time you said that you're making some."

"And I still don't have enough. Other groups are demanding them at a rate faster than I can supply."

"Get some of your slaves to do it then!"

"The monks are smart enough to figure out what the drug is for," the priest said slowly, as if explaining the concept to a slow child.

"So what? They can't do anything about it, can they?"

"I rather not the information be leaked," the priest said. "Knight Curtis, why do you need the drug?"

"I deserve to have more than one dose on me at all times," Curtis said. "I am not like the others."

The priest chuckled lightly. "You're still doing the same work as the others."

Curtis slammed the hilt of his sword on the priest's desk. "What are you saying? I deserve to be treated better. I'm going to meet the High Doctor soon!"

Then, a woman appeared in the doorway. "Blake, the girl - "

Bradley started. "I'll go get her." Then he went off to the third floor where a room was lit up.

Frank made to stop him but he had already disappeared around the corner. The older knight shook his head at his hot-headed friend.

The priest looked at Curtis. "Please go and get Maiden Fiona like you were told to."

Curtis stood there for a moment and glared at the priest and the woman before kicking over a stool and storming out. 

Xiao saw him exit the temple a few moments later and shot a short arrow at his back. As his arrow left his hand, he was already heading down towards the trafficker, sword in hand. 

Xiao was confident that the trafficker would be hit, but the man must have heard the wind the arrow carried with it because he turned and caught the arrow. Xiao's eyes widened at this but he didn't even have time to be surprised. The trafficker threw the arrow back at him.

It was good he had his sword in his hand. He knocked the arrow away and jabbed at Curtis. Curtis was ready for him. Curtis used a generic White Lark sword sequence but his every move was brilliantly delivered. Xiao had underestimated him. But he wasn't so good that Xiao wouldn't be able to defeat him. 

However, with the amount of sword clashing noises, the priest had jumped out of the window from the second floor and came at Xiao. Xiao still wasn't worried but he wondered where Frank was. It would be way easier to kill the criminals if it was two on two. 

Thankfully, Frank came right after the priest and two pairs of fighters swirled around in the yard of the temple. Xiao wanted the whole thing to be done with, so he pulled out a dart and threw it at Curtis. Curtis didn't avoid it this time and was struck in the arm. Xiao lunged to seize him and Curtis made to run. Xiao got out a lasso and threw it exactly over Curtis' head and around his neck. This was used by officers and Ning had taught him. He then tied Curtis up and went to help Frank get the priest. By now, the priest realized that it would be useless to try and defend temple so he feigned a jab at Frank and jumped out of the fight. Then he turned tails and jumped over the wall.

Xiao shot a dart at him and then rushed to chase after him. However, the dart missed and the priest was really fast. He was already a good distance away when Xiao jumped onto the wall.

"Xiao, let him go," Frank called.

Xiao hesitated. Shouldn't they kill all the criminals? But he knew he wouldn't be able to catch up. He slashed the air with his sword and turned back.