While the two of them did not return for the night, Zhang Chengling made the decision to chase after that black swarm of women. He did not dare to go too close for fear that he would be discovered, yet he was also afraid that someone would recognise him. Thus, he picked up a block of mud by the roadside to smear his face dirty, and mussed up his hair with his hands, disguising himself as a child beggar.

He tracked them for a whole day. This group of women were like sadhu--they travelled very quickly on foot and did not rest, only stopping at a small inn when the sky darkened once again. Zhang Chengling observed them from afar, and felt that Gao Xiaolian was suffering beyond description. Harshly dragged along the journey like this, he thought, she would be barely hanging onto life if they continued on their journey for a few days more.

Coming out here of his own accord was a decision he had made after mustering up his courage; after mustering up his courage once, he couldn't resist doing it a second time. In his mind, he started to formulate a plan to rescue this Miss Gao during the night.

He watched those women in black enter the inn, smeared another handful of mud on his hands and followed them in, pretending to beg. After wandering around once, obtaining a few copper coins from his begging, he memorised which room Gao Xiaolian had been shoved into. Then he squatted outside the inn like a real beggar child, with his head lowered as he sat on the steps, hugging his knees. No one paid any attention to him; even though it was a prosperous era, there were still child beggars of this sort everywhere. He waited till it was late at night before he finally sat upright, limbered up his numb arms and legs, and prepared to infiltrate the inn.

He muttered the mantra for the Nine Palaces Steps, as though reciting it would make him a little more skilled, and silently wove his way through the guest rooms.

Out of the blue, a black shadow dropped from above him, catching him off guard--it was one of those black-clothed women! She, too, did not make a sound; upon facing him, she immediately started to strike at him.

Although Zhang Chengling did not have much confidence in himself, he had undergone half a year’s training under the two great experts Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu. With his additional diligence, he was long incomparable to how he had been before. Instead of going toe to toe against her, he glided outwards past her like a fish, and then met each of her blows.