The Scum Is A ***

Youyou Inn. 

"I hate you! I hate all of you!" Xi Ning stomped her feet in anger when her hand became numb after Xi Ming knocked her sword off her hand. "What are you all beating me up for?! I'm a girl, damn it!" she cursed. Xi Shi just snorted and resumed practicing while Gong Xian and Xi Xing paused to look at her having a tantrum.

"No girl can curse like you." Xi Ming said. "Stop whining. You've never had proper training before we left Shanliang. Everybody is afraid to hurt you because you're too pampered by grandfather." He told Xi Ning. He's referring to Xi Peng - their grandfather.

"So what?!" Xi Ning said as she threw her sword on the ground. "I don't like fighting, anyways!" she said as she kicked her sword lying on the ground. Since she never used her sword, her sword spirit hasn't been wakened, too. 

Xi Ming frowned. "Tomorrow is the Solo Stage. Whether you like it or not, you can't step off the stage without just reason if you want to forfeit your match." He said. "At the least, you have to be injured." He added.

"I can't take it!" Xi Ning screamed. "All of you are ganging up on me! All of your are just bullying me since we're not in Shanliang!" she said as she waved her hands in frustration. "I'm going to tell grandfather – !" she said and walked away, her cheeks puffed up in anger.

Xi Ming sighed as he watched her leave. Gong Xian and Xi Xing resumed practicing. "I should tell uncle." He said and went to the room where Xi Ling and Fei Lin are staying. "Only sect leader Fei can stop grandfather." He added. He's referring to Fei Huang.

Zhongcheng Inn.

The poisoned needles hit the tree's trunk after Jing Hei jumped away to dodge. "Are you sure you should be here loitering?" Qian Lin asked Jing Hei, but he still ran after him.

Jing Hei laughed. "I can't believe you have the nerve to say I'm loitering, when you can't almost not hold yourself back to skewer me." he told Qian Lin as he swung his sword to deflect the needles. "Oh – " he said and tilted his head to avoid the needle that flew past his sword. "Uncle Rui let us have a day of rest, as following the competition's schedule." He said. "He is also busy himself, so he has no time to check on us." He added.

"How about Jing Cheng?" Qian Lin asked after he pinned Jing Hei on the wall by his sword when Jing Hei deliberately exposed an opening.

"Went to patrol the city." Jing Hei answered as he pulled the sword off his sleeve that was stabbed. 

"And Jing Bai?" Qian Lin asked as he sheathed his sword. 

Jing Hei shrugged. "Also went to patrol – " he said and made a pause when he remembered something. " – with Zheng Yi." he added. 

Qian Lin was surprised. "Zheng Yi?" he said. "How can he be sure it's him?" he asked. It's not a secret that the people of the Righteous Alliance were all wrapped up from their head to feet.

"Who knows, aside from Jing Bai?" Jing Hei said and pinched Qian Lin's cheek. And also aside from him. They're twins, so they could sense each other's thoughts. Like how he can spot Qian Lin from thousands of people is how Jing Bai can accurately identify Zheng Yi from the other Alliance's members.

Somewhere within the city. 

"Are you hungry?" Jing Bai asked as he and Zheng Yi walked around to patrol.

"… we're not here to eat." Zheng Yi told him.

Jing Bai smiled. "Food gives us energy. We can't work without energy. So we need to eat." He told him. When Zheng Yi didn't respond, he just shrugged. Earlier, he, Jing Cheng and Jing Hei were called by Jing Rui. However, Jing Hei already slipped away to go to Qian Lin. Jing Rui can't spend more time to be angry at Jing Hei. He took them to the Alliance and were told to patrol despite they had to rest for the day as participants. Since the Zunjingde Sect is the host for this year's competition, Jing Cheng and Jing Bai were to patrol the city. The Alliance lent their disciples to go with them.

Jing Cheng respectfully declined while Jing Bai shamelessly picked one among the many – Zheng Yi. Underneath his mask, Zheng Yi frowned and was forced to leave with Jing Bai. In order not to expose himself, he acted like the other Alliance's disciples - they act with indifference. However, his face cracked when he heard what Jing Bai said after they left the Alliance.

"Are you done with your acting?" Jing Bai asked and grinned at him. "Don't force yourself, Yiyi. I don't want you to burden yourself – " he told him. 

Zheng Yi finally snapped and he punched Jing Bai.To which Jing Bai easily caught his fist and pulled him away.

"How do you know it's me?" he finally can't help but curiously ask. 

"You guess." Jing Bai just said as he pulled him to one of the food stalls.

Zheng Yi tried to think. "… my height?" he asked. He saw Jing Bai shook his head. "My voice?" he added. Jing Bai shook his head again. "My built?" he asked again.

"Wrong." Jing Bai answered.

"Then, what is it?" Zheng Yi asked, his voice tired. He's really at his wit's end as to how Jing Bai could accurately recognize him. 

Jing Bai looked at Zheng Yi before he looked away. "Your eyes." he answered.

"Huh?" Zheng Yi said. He thought he heard him wrong. My eyes? He thought. 

"How can you work if you can't see, right?" Jing Bai asked and smiled. Only the eyes of the Alliance's members are exposed. 

Zheng Yi stared at Jing Bai. He doesn't know why… but, he felt, that moment, Jing Bai's smile is sad. That made him stop asking him. 

Jing Bai paid the food and then they left. This time, they walked in silence. The Alliance's disciples are all prohibited to speak unless it's necessary. Thus, Zheng Yi not speaking is reasonable. However, for a person like Jing Bai to suddenly become silent… Zheng Yi suddenly feel uncomfortable. This guy always pesters me. Why did he become silent now? He thought. 

"How can I know it's you?" the child asked as he stared at another child who's on top of the wall and is about to leave.

"Just look into my eyes. I'll trust you to recognize me." the child, with the eyes like the universe that is filled with stars, answered and smiled at him. 

Jing Bai sighed and scratched his head. It's him who told me, but now he's the one asking me… he thought as he glanced at Zheng Yi who's silently walking beside him. He immediately slowed his pace when he sensed Zheng Yi's slightly panting. It's warmer for the Alliance members who were covered up. It's harder for them to breathe since they're wearing a mask. Their movements are also more restricted, and their body felt heavier because of the additional clothes they wore. 

Jing Bai took out his water and handed it to Zheng Yi who's sweating and panting. "Want some?" he asked.

Zheng Yi looked at the water before he looked away. "No, thanks." He said and walked faster, passing by in front of him. 

Jing Bai looked at his back. "So shy…" he smiled and kept the bottle before he chased him. Even though he's so willful before… he thought when he remembered the child sneaking in their backyard. He's wrapped from his head to his feet and only his eyes can be seen.

"So hot…!" a child exclaimed before he fell off the wall. BAM! A loud thud can be heard when his body hit the ground. "Water…" he said, his voice is hoarse because of his parched throat.

"Wha - !" Jing Bai was so panicked to see a child who's covered up from his head to his feet lying on their backyard, he forgot to ask whose child it is. He immediately ran to check if the child was injured from the fall and is breathing. Thus, he unwrapped the child's mask and was shocked to see a beautiful face. His eyelashes are long and his nose is tall. His skin is fair and his lips are pinkish, but currently looked dry because he was dehydrated. 

Jing Bai suddenly felt ashamed because he was staring for so long at the child's face. He immediately fed him water, but after a while and the child is still unconscious. As he stared at the child, waiting for him to wake up, he remembered his mother had told him to be respectful of the others. He saw the child's face is bare and remembered that the child's face was covered before. Thus, he immediately covered the child's face once again – albeit the disappointment he felt.