"You're hurt?"

Tantai Qingyue lifted her arm, glanced at it and shook her head. "A small cut. It does not matter. Liu Baiyi's sword really is fast."

Ning Chen remembered the two of them as two blurs of white, rushing at each other and brushing past... That must have been when Liu Baiyi cut her.

No wonder the old Heavenly Master had said she'd lost on both counts, the sword and that breath!

Ning Chen said, "Come on. I'll take you to the Imperial Physicians' Bureau and have Zisu bandage it."

"No need. I am not that delicate... I am a little tired. I am going back."

Tantai Qingyue went a few steps, then stopped and looked back at him. "The old Heavenly Master and Liu Baiyi are both at the summit of the martial way. You want to learn the sword. Liu Baiyi is the best teacher there is."

Ning Chen grunted. He'd already thought of that!

Tantai Qingyue left, her skirts swirling behind her.

Ning Chen shrugged, turned, and went to the Imperial Physicians' Bureau to find Zisu.

Zisu had been living at the Bureau lately, handling the medicines and nursing the Xuan Emperor's health back.

Ning Chen sat and talked with her a while, then asked for some medicine for sword and blade wounds and took it over to Tantai Qingyue.

She was settling her breathing to recover, so he didn't disturb her. He left the medicine with the young palace maid who waited on her and went.

Once he was out of the palace, Ning Chen didn't go home either. He went to Old General Chen's residence.

The old general was in fairly good spirits.

Ning Chen swallowed his grief and clowned around for him, acting cute and playing the fool until the old general laughed out loud.

The old general was a candle guttering in the wind, and he might go with the next gust, any day now. There was no medicine for this. All anyone could do was wait and see how much time heaven would leave him.

All Ning Chen could do was…