Part 19 – Close Encounters Leaning heavily on Jin Ling, Lan Sizhui grinned as they made their way down the street, his dark eyes glassy and unfocused. “Hahaha! That was fun, wasn’t it?” “Fun for you, maybe,” Jin Ling groused, straightening Lan Sizhui against him when he started to slouch. “I felt like I was

Part 18 – The Music Man Lan Sizhui set down his bowl with a cheery clack. “Not bad, is it, Young Master Jin?” Jin Ling humphed. Crossing his arms, he slumped back into his seat. For a while, he and Lan Sizhui drank and chatted while the working girls kept a respectful distance—and their flirtatious

Part 17 – Hands Off It wasn’t so bad, at first. Entering the teahouse with Lan Sizhui, Jin Ling was greeted by name and title at the door. Even Fairy was welcomed right in as the “Honorable Hound of the Great Sect Leader Jin.” Though Jin Ling hated to admit it, he couldn’t help but

Part 16 – Men About Town Stuffed full of Yunmeng’s finest fare, Jin Ling had been feeling quite content. Then the bill for dinner had come in, with all of its excesses in generosity, and he’d realized he’d left his money pouch back in Lotus Pier. He was so used to charging credit in his

Part 15 – The Benevolent On the outskirts of Yunmeng, Jin Ling and Lan Sizhui parted ways with Wen Ning. Cities were just no place for a fierce corpse like him. Still, Lan Sizhui was disappointed to see him go, and Jin Ling was disappointed that Lan Sizhui was disappointed. Despite his bold speeches to

Part 14 – Mishap Smirched with dust, straw and feathers, Jin Ling, Lan Sizhui and Wen Ning exited through the village gates. Glumly, Jin Ling brushed himself and Fairy off as best he could. His booted foot lashed out at a rock stuck in the road, which didn’t budge from its depression in the slightest.

Part 13 – Misfits Between the best friend he’d ever had and his bullying tyrant of an uncle, choosing sides hadn’t been all that difficult. Even if Jiang Cheng hadn’t forced him to it, Jin Ling had been poised to take off after Lan Sizhui anyway. The only reason Jin Ling had wanted to attend