Meeting a difficult opponent was exciting until one realized that they were on the enemy's land and surrounded by tons of bandits. What made it worse was that Xiao barely managed to get near the pagoda before getting surrounded. 

As soon as he made it onto the island, coming from the east, he tied the boat to a short stump by the water. Then he ran towards the center of the island where lights shone through the trees. The ground had pits and holes at the most inconvenient and unexpected places, making it hard to traverse. When he neared a tall yard wall, he jumped over. It turned out to be the residence of the bandits. There were loud laughter and a waft of good cuisine. He passed by the rooms, occasionally listening in on some gossip. Someone named Peter was cheating on his wife and someone named Josh was seen killing one of his friends. Xiao rolled his eyes at these - he wouldn't put it past the bandits to do things like this.

He headed towards the pagoda, the tip of which he could see over a small hill. However, halfway there was a rotary board he triggered. It was a miracle that he managed to jump away from it before falling in, but a trill of bells sounded in the night. From all around him, bandits surged out. Without a word, they lunged at him, weapons out.

It was natural selection that all the bandits here were more difficult to kill than the others he had encountered. But that would have been fine if it was just those bandits. Xiao hacked them down by the dozens. However, when Noah Sherman came around, the tide turned.

Seeing him, Xiao's blood boiled. He fought him ferociously. Sherman was good. He used the chained metal ball that officers generally used and swung the long chain about him so no one could come close. Xiao had to dodge the ball and the chain, and strike quickly before backing out again. He could feel all the energy drain out of him. For the first time of this scouting, he wished Cole was with him. By now, the sky had brightened up.

"Noah, leave him to me," someone called. Sherman and Xiao jumped away from each other and Xiao tried to reduce the severity of his pants.

An older man dressed in a scholar's robes came into the circle. The crowd gave him a wide berth. "So, who are you, young knight?"

"Xiao."

"Well then, Xiao, rest a little. Then us two can frolic around."

Xiao nodded and his shamelessness crept up. "Have you got any food and water?"

The older man laughed. "Someone go get him some," he ordered. 

"Wait," Xiao stopped him. "Can I get your name, sir?"

"Just call me doctor," the old man said.

"Well, most reverend doctor, you won't be poisoning me, right?"

The doctor laughed. "What kind of person do you take me for, Xiao?"

Xiao grinned. "Yeah, I thought you wouldn't. Thank you, doctor."

As they waited, he looked the doctor up and down. He was as lean as himself, a bit taller, with a sword hanging by his belt. When the food came, Xiao ate with no regard to manners. With a few bites, he finished the steak and the vegetables, as well as the jug of wine. "Thanks, doctor," he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'm guessing we will see who's better now."

The doctor smiled coldly before unsheathing his sword and aiming it at Xiao's neck. He was fast but Xiao was prepared. He blocked it and started using the Mount Huai sequences. The blows were exchanged. Both leaped around, swords flying up and down. However, soon Xiao felt sweat dripping down his face. Then the rain fell and he didn't know whether it was rain or sweat.

Even if he hadn't been fighting the others beforehand, he wouldn't have been able to beat the doctor. He was as swift as a cheetah and his moves were unpredictable. Throughout all of Xiao's knighthood, he had never met a single person who could go on more than fifty blows around him. Now he realized that he just hadn't met the right people.

In desperation, he changed to the Lightning Sequence. Nevertheless, no change was made and he was still being pushed back. Then he added in darts, short arrows, and stones. He shot them three at a time yet the doctor dodged them all.

Laughing, the doctor said "how many more do you have?"

Xiao hated himself for being so useless. He didn't want to just leave though, as that would cause him to lose face. He had eaten here with such self-assurance. So he used up all his hidden weapons on a whim. When he was done, the doctor and all the surrounding bandits laughed derisively. The bandits shouted at him. 

"I thought all Gudu-Xue knights were all gallant and didn't resort to hidden weapons to win!"

"So that's how you've won battles in the past?"

Xiao ignored them and focused on not getting himself killed. But a part of him wondered - how it felt to have a sword pressed against one's neck, how it felt when the blood vessels were slit, how Bradley had felt when he died. Then he remembered that Bradley had been drugged before his death, and he felt even more revolted with the bandits, the organisation, and life. 

Just then, someone shouted loudly outside the crowd. "Stop!" 

Xiao jumped away from the doctor at once, glad for the excuse. A stream of people were entering the fighting ring and naturally the ring turned into two sides of the battlefield, the rescuers' side significantly less in number.

Cole rushed up to him. "I hate you," he muttered as he dabbed away the sweat on Xiao's forehead with his own sleeves. "Why didn't you let me come along? If you were to come and scout I would have accompanied you and you wouldn't have been surrounded like this you fucking idiot. If you had told me, I - "

"You wouldn't have let me come," Xiao interrupted. 

"Because it was a bad idea," Cole said.

Grandmaster Liang addressed the doctor. "William, how about we all go back to our respective places for now and talk on a more pleasant day without the rain pouring down on us?"

The doctor smiled coldly. "Now that you're here, Xu, how can I let you go just like that?"

Grandmaster Liang's polite smile faded. "Doctor Freyer, why do you place yourself on the wrong side of history?"

"Grandmaster Liang, who gave you the right to lecture me?" the doctor shot back.

Xiao's mentor's lips were pursed in a tight line. "Anyone has the right to lecture a criminal. And you, a part of the knight's world too. What are you doing with the Ravens?"

"I've never received anything from the Xenon government or in the knight's world. Why should I work for them?"

"William Freyer! Does that mean you can go about torturing young maidens? Splitting apart families?"

As his mentor spoke, Xiao's whole face scrunched up in an effort not to cry. He knew his mentor was referring to more than the maidens' families but his own as well. Cole sighed quietly beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. They stood apart from the others of the rescue party in such intimacy that even Jonah did not dare approach them. Stephanus, who had arrived that morning too, only watched them with the corner of his eye.

Noah Sherman stepped out from the ranks of the bandits. "This is more than just taking the side of the Ravens. This is about showing the Anlang Sect's repression. Liang, you and your prestigiousness of the orthodox sect has nothing on us. You're nothing to us!"

"Watch your mouth!" Xiao, Stephanus, and Jonah shouted simultaneously. Without a signal or anything, the three disciples gathered behind their mentor, swords drawn. 

"Sherman, you are nothing but a bully," Xiao continued. "Just think of everything you've done. It's a miracle you still haven't been brought to justice. How can you think that you deserve better? What you deserve is to die at the ends of a thousand knives!"

Sherman smirked at Xiao. "I remember you struggling under my hands, begging like a pathetic dog."

"Sherman, shut your mouth about my brother!" Stephanus said, surprising Xiao.

Their mentor hushed them with a glance back. All three lowered their heads but didn't back away. "William, I suppose you want to fight then?"

William smiled. "I would love to, Xu."

Grandmaster Liang unsheathed his sword. To Xiao's surprise, it wasn't the newly discovered Qiushui, but his old sword, Francisco. He looked to Stephanus to ask about it, but Stephanus was turned away from him, face flushed. Smiling with amusement and sadness, Xiao didn't open his mouth.

"Back off, you three," their mentor told them. The three obeyed and headed back in line. Cole joined them. They watched as the two old but dangerous men started dueling. Xiao clenched his fists, terrified for his mentor. And rightfully, he should, as he realised that his mentor wasn't faring much better than he had done.

After a while, his mentor was backing away. Knowing that his mentor was proud and thin-skinned, especially caring about his reputation, he couldn't just jump in. He looked to Grandmaster Ford of Phoenix Mountain. The grandmaster's face was set and his hand was clenched around his sword. After a particularly close call, he leaped into the fight and broke it apart. 

"Freyer, I'll fight with you!"

Xiao, Stephanus, and Jonah ran up to their mentor and half dragged him back. By then, Grandmaster Ford was already engaged in fighting with Freyer. Their bodies were a blur as they fought. However, even after fighting with Xiao and Grandmaster Liang, Freyer was as good as new - and perhaps even more ferocious. 

Xiao looked around him desperately, wondering if they all went up, Freyer would be overpowered. But with just his two younger brothers, Cole, Reece, and Kun, he doubt they could do anything at all. Besides, there were still over fifty bandits behind Freyer. 

"Cole," he said, "after Ford can't fight anymore, you go up. We will tire him out eventually."

"No need," someone said behind them. 

Xiao turned around but saw no one. There was only a gust of wind. He followed the wind and saw that an old, bald man had somehow made his way to the center of the fighting ring. He had startled not just Xiao with his appearance. Everyone had been so concentrated on the fighting and this man was just way too fast. The two fighters broke apart too, Ford panting.

The old man didn't say anything but stabbed at Freyer with a short knife. Freyer jumped away. "Hey! Who are you?"

The old man laughed. "That doesn't matter. But I do want to strike a deal with you, Freyer. I beat you, and you let us all go, how about that?"

Freyer glared at him. "Let's see if you have the ability to do so."

Without a word, the old man slashed. Just by the speed of his first move, Xiao knew he would win. Sure enough, within a minute, the doctor was already backing away, his moves sluggish and imprecise. 

Once again, Freyer leaped away. "Okay! I'm tired today. You lead them away."

The old man laughed again. "Alright, you people, let's get out of this damn island."