Ning Chen let out a long sigh and smiled wryly. "Three masters above the ranks altogether here, two of them the peak of the martial arts, and we let Kang Baobao walk right out of my prince's residence... This is a real embarrassment.

No, wait. I'm wounded, so her getting past me is understandable... But you two are the peak of the martial path, and you both came off worse against one woman... Uh, not you, Old Heavenly Master. You came out way ahead."

The old Heavenly Master turned red. He wanted to pound Ning Chen to death.

Ning Chen frowned slightly. "Now that Kang Baobao's gotten away, catching her again won't be easy."

Liu Baiyi said, "When a master above the ranks altogether is set on escaping, hardly anyone can hold them."

Ning Chen shot him a look. You sure you're not just making excuses for yourself?

Liu Baiyi, the sword immortal, had been knocked flat without throwing a single move.

Ning Chen sighed. "It's getting late. You two elders should get some rest."

He meant to go see how things were going.

The city gates on all four sides closed at night, so Kang Baobao must still be inside the city.

He hoped they'd find her before dawn.

Ning Chen was about to leave when the old Heavenly Master suddenly said, "I remember now. So it was him?"

Ning Chen turned to look at him. "What are you talking about, Old Heavenly Master?"

The old Heavenly Master didn't answer. He was working out some reckoning on his fingers.

After a while he stopped, brows knitted tight, and said in a low voice, "How can this be? How can they be one and the same?"

Ning Chen looked at him blankly. "Old Heavenly Master, one and the same what?"

The old Heavenly Master looked at Ning Chen. "This Kang Baobao's fate is exactly the same as that of the man who came looking for this old Daoist at the temple ten years ago."

Ning Chen stared at him, stunned.

"You're saying Kang Baobao's fate is exactly the same as…