Xiao swirled around. On the roof sat a man about fifty, his elbows propped behind him on the roof beam. He was clearly a nightwalker - most likely a knight - yet he wore all white, as if he wanted to draw attention to himself. With a flash of white, he landed in front of Xiao, causing Xiao to gasp out loud. The old man smirked and pulled out a flask of wine. He uncorked it and drank probably all its contents before putting it back again. Xiao was so in awe that he didn't make a sound.

"Alright little swordsman," the old man repeated, "what were you practicing just now?"

"Senior, I was just frollicking about," Xiao said modestly. In truth, he had been doing a mix of all the swordplay he knew.

"I can tell," the old man said abrasively. "Though you are putting too much effort into those useless things."

Xiao furrowed his eyebrows just a little bit in anger though his smile was still in place. The combination made his expression quite unnatural.

"Don't you believe me, little swordsman?" The old man laughed. "Alright. I'll let you see what I can do."

Before Xiao knew it, his sword was in the old man's hand and the old man started a sequence that was fast as lightning. If he didn't concentrate, Xiao thought that the old man would be a blur of white. By the end of the sequence, Xiao was speechless. He could tell this old man was way better than his mentors and everyone he had encountered.

"Senior, that - "

"You believe me now, huh?" the old man said. "I'll teach you it."

Xiao's eyes lit up. "You will?" he fell onto the ground and kowtowed, calling him mentor.

The old man laughed and didn't both to help him get up - not that it was hard to, but it was an etiquette. "What I am about to teach you is better than all that you've learned from your mentors," he said. At this, even though Xiao had come to the same conclusion, Xiao felt incumbent to say something. However, his new mentor cut him off with another laugh. "I know you are loyal to your mentors. After all, you've stayed here for a week just to get old man Maguire out of jail."

Xiao didn't like the way he talked about Grandmaster Maguire. Be it anyone else, he might have laughed. He found this knight refreshing from the calm, serious grandmasters he knew. He liked that he drank alcohol and that he laughed so much.

"Let's focus, now, alright?" the old man said. "I'll teach you the Lightning Sword. I'll show you what to do and you'll copy it."

Xiao hadn't even heard of anything called the Lightning Sword. It wasn't in the sword sequences indexes he had read. He nodded.

The old man only then pulled out a short sword, perhaps two thirds of Xiao's Severus' length. Still in a fast pace, he taught Xiao the sequence. It was hard to follow. Every few moves, the old man would pause and demand Xiao to copy it. When he did it wrong, the old man's face fell and he would say the most insulting things to Xiao and then demand him to do it again until he got it.

After a while, the old man stopped. "You know, Xiao Sa, I was told that you would go to great lengths to study swordplay," he said. "Yet now that I look at you, you're not even putting in effort. I had thought that you would learn the whole thing in one night."

"Mentor," Xiao fell to the ground in fear and kowtowed. "I am trying my best. I am just stupid, that's all." He tried not to show fear and frustration in his voice but they were plain.

The old man huffed. "Well, if I'm feeling up to it tomorrow, I'll come back and teach you the second half."

Xiao nodded. "Thank you, mentor."

The second night, as soon as Cole and the rest left, Xiao went to the back and practiced what he had learned yesterday. The whole day, he went through the sequence in his head. He had thought that he was doing pretty good, especially with a sequence so hard, but the old man who he didn't even know the name of was so adamant in excoriating him. That made him determined to learn the sequence by heart.

At around two, a laugh pierced the night again. Swirling around, Xiao saw his new mentor sitting on the rooftop in the same position as last night, as if he had never left the place. If his mentor had meant to kill him, ten of him would have died by now, he realized. That was how good his mentor was at nightwalking - Xiao didn't detect him at all.

The old man jumped down and pulled out his own sword. "Let's not waste time, little swordsman." 

That night went smoother and the old man even praised him once. After teaching him the whole thing, the old man took a step back. "Show me the whole thing then."

Xiao complied. He felt his body blend into the air as he twisted and turned, brandishing his sword around. Before he was done, the old man kicked him on the back. Startled, Xiao nearly stumbled and fell.

"Is this the best you can do?" he asked. "Start from the wrist flick and strike again."

Xiao did. It went on for a long time until the old man was finally satisfied. "Practice this more and you'll get it," he said. 

Xiao thanked him.

"This comes with a price," the old man told him. "You are now indebted to be, little swordsman."

Xiao froze but then relaxed. Having learned an incredible sequence, he didn't care for whatever he had to do. "What do - "

"It's simple. When I ask you to, you will have to kill a man for me."

Xiao's eyes widened. "Any man?"

The old man laughed but his eyes gleamed menacingly. For the first time, Xiao realized how dangerous this person in front of him was. His insides recoiled in fear. "Any man I want dead. And if you don't do it, I'll kill you instead." Then he grinned, quite like how Xiao would have and disappeared over the rooftop in two steps. Xiao stood there, frozen, wondering at his own intimidation.

Cole found him sitting up, waiting for him. "How did it go?" Xiao asked as soon as he entered. But then, he descried the grandmaster and Weiyu behind him. He rushed up and helped the grandmaster into a chair. 

"Mentor, are you well?" he asked. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a bitter tang of having just called the old man in white his mentor.

Grandmaster Maguire didn't notice Xiao's sudden change of air and smiled at him. "I'm quite well. It's thanks to you that I am."

"Mentor, you ought to rest," Xiao said. "After you eat and - "

His mentor smiled. "Don't worry about me Xiao. You look quite exhausted yourself."

"But mentor, were you harmed? What was the verdict?"

George sat down on a chair hard and sighed. "The King killed Tatum but let the Lady off, saying Tatum put everyone against her."

Xiao's head snapped to Weiyu. "What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'll head back to Wyatt City tomorrow morning," she replied. "Prefect Michaels will get someone to escort me."

Xiao nodded. "Let me send you off." Then he turned back to his mentor. "Mentor, what do you intend to do now?"

Seeing that he didn't intend to rest, Grandmaster Maguire answered. "I will have to go back to Sunfall Temple to settle a few things. Then, I'll come to the south again. I fear that even after Roche, there will be other problems."

"With the Ravens?" Cole asked.

The grandmaster shook his head. "I doubt they will really interfere with Xenon's affairs, though other people will impose a threat."

"What do you mean?" Xiao asked.

The grandmaster looked at Cole and they seemed to share an understanding. Grandmaster Maguire then stood up and nodded at George. "Thank you prefect."

"Grandmaster, are you leaving already?"

Grandmaster Maguire nodded. "I'll get an early start."

Xiao rushed forward. "Mentor, are you rested enough? At least eat something."

His mentor smiled. "Don't fuss, Xiao. You've grew quite like Bradley."

Xiao didn't know whether he felt happy with the compliment or saddened by the mention of his beloved. He just fished out ten taels of gold and handed it to his mentor. "Take care, mentor." He knew there were no words that could stop his mentor from leaving. As a monk, he came and went as he pleased - much like other knights, really. If he made up his mind, he would leave. So he walked his mentor out of the residence and would have went further if he wasn't stopped.

"You need to go to Roche, Xiao," his mentor told him. "Trust Cole and stay safe."

Xiao nodded. "I will, mentor." He watched his mentor leave and he felt very much alone as he stood there. After a while, he got back to the residence and into his and Cole's room. Cole was waiting for him. 

Xiao flopped down beside him. "How was being an officer, then?"

Cole smiled. "Capital." Both knew they were forcing smiles onto their faces.

"What did mentor mean when he said that other people will impose a threat? Who?" Xiao asked.

Cole made a small grimace. "The Anlang Sect and other bandits."

Xiao froze for a second. "I see."

"It's as expected," Cole said. Xiao waited for him to elaborate and to profess that he was on Xiao's side, but he didn't.

"So now we go to Roche and get rid of the abductors who will be backed by the Anlang Sect," Xiao summarized. "Man, I don't think I've had this much fun the past two years combined." Cole chuckled lightly. Xiao looked at him. "When it's all over, what would you do?"

"Business as usual." He didn't ask him the question and Xiao didn't know what to answer anyway. "The fact that two Ravens still remain in Xenon will be a problem later on," he said. "Our king is truly too muddle-headed."

Xiao hummed in agreement and he let Cole go on about the government and the sovereign because he enjoyed listening to Cole talk about something so dear to him. He remarked that once he had done the exact same with Bradley.