"Shifu?!" Liang Yingzhou choked.

The black-clothed man turned to look at him. His fierce gaze unnerved him.

"Yes. I taught Xiao Tang martial arts. That's why she couldn't learn the skills of Swift Breeze Sect. Her's are incompatible with it."

"When? When did you teach her?"

"She was thirteen when she began her learning."

Liang Yingzhou asked her, "Ah Daiyu, how?"

"Shifu taught me when Baobao and I were being kept on house arrest in Peace Tree Inn. I learned over those two years."

Tang Daiyu peered at her master. "Shifu, where did you go? I haven't seen you since you left that night."

"Night?!" Liang Yingzhou screeched. "This man was with you at night?"

"It was safer to teach her then," the man said.

"Excuse me, sir, but how can I be sure you're not lying?"

"Please, Master Liang, you can call me Master Pei."

Tang Daiyu's eyebrows furrowed.

"Shifu," she whined and tugged at his sleeve. "You never told me your name. Now, all of a sudden, you tell Zhou-ge?"

Liang Yingzhou examined Master Pei. Finally, he said, "I don't know of any Pei in the martial arts world. What did you teach Ah Daiyu?"

Master Pei looked incredulously at Tang Daiyu. "He doesn't know?"

She shook her head. "I didn't have the courage to."

"What don't I know?"

"Let me be the one to explain, Shifu. Zhou-ge needs to hear it from me."

Master Pei nodded. He took a few steps back and waited. Tang Daiyu turned to face Liang Yingzhou. Sadness washed over her face.

"Zhou-ge, I know that you probably have many questions. I will answer all of them. It's just..."

"What?"

"Will you promise me that you'll wait to ask questions or scold me until I'm done?"

He nodded solemnly.

She bowed murmured, "Shifu taught me a martial art called Hei Siwang."

Looking up from underneath her eyelashes, she watched as his face changed from reticence to shock and then to horror.

"So... you know what it is."

"Yes," he grounded out.

But true to his word, Liang Yingzhou did not prod. Instead, he waited for her to continue with her explanation.

"Hei Siwang, as you know, is a dark martial art. It uses impure qi to enhance a person's skills with the purpose of killing. I learned a skill called Twelve Point Strike, which is what I used to kill General Ye. It targets a person's meridian system and hits all twelve meridians for a fatal blow. To hide this fact, I took his sword and cut off his head."

She paused, watching for a reaction. Though his face didn't move, she saw the emotions raging in his eyes.

"I also learned an elite, and very difficult to master, ultimate skill called Four Winding Snakes, which I just used to kill Emperor Jianyuan. It targets the major blood arteries in the neck and thighs and draws on the martial artist's impure qi to complete the move with quickness, like a snake would strike. Hence, the name."

Tang Daiyu looked all the way down at the ground, unable to face Liang Yingzhou any longer.

Her voice wavered as she continued, "Because my qi is impure, it will one day destroy me. The side-effects of using Hei Siwang are already affecting me. The pain I was in earlier, that's thanks to my qi surging out of control."

"I'm sure you've noticed the change in my personality. I've gotten more cold-hearted and cruel. That's in part due to everything that happened to my family, but my anger and fury have been fueling Hei Siwang, thus changing me."

Her eyes raised a little as she eyed him. His eyes were locked onto her, and she quickly looked away. Shame and sadness washed over her.

"I never wanted you to find out about this. I knew how you'd feel about it. So, I used a special medicine to keep my qi under control while I was staying at Swift Breeze Sect."

Finally, she looked up and met his eyes.

"That's everything."

"Is there a way to stop this? Can you be saved?"

Before Master Pei could answer, she blurted, "No."

Master Pei eyed her, confused, but Liang Yingzhou didn’t notice, only paying attention to her.

"Zhou-ge, I chose this. Shifu told me the risks from the very beginning, yet I still chose to learn Hei Siwang in order to avenge my family. And now, I've almost reached my peak. Once I cross that point, my physical state will begin to deteriorate."

Furious, Liang Yingzhou rounded on Master Pei. "How could you even suggest this to her?! She's still just a child! With such a price to pay... why? Tell me, why?!"

Within seconds, Master Pei had moved and was standing behind Liang Yingzhou.

Breathing into his ear, he whispered knowingly, "You love Xiao Tang. Why else would you always be so protective of her?"

Instead of answering, Liang Yingzhou spun and pulled out his sword. But the tip was caught between Master Pei's index and middle finger.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Behind the mask, Master Pei smiled. He released the sword and reached up. Untying the mask, he brought it down.

"My name is Pei Xinhui. I come from Guangzhou, in Guang Prefecture of southern Heping. My father is the magistrate there. Also, Hei Siwang is my invention."

Liang Yingzhou's eyes flared with fury. "So the first person you choose to teach is a thirteen year old child?!"

"No, I've taught others before her. How else could the rumours spread? But also, her family needed to be avenged."

Liang Yingzhou suddenly froze. "What do you know about the Tangs?"

Pei Xinhui smirked triumphantly at him. "More than you do, apparently."

He took a deep breath and let out a long sigh.

Walking around Liang Yingzhou in a circle, Pei Xinhui taunted, "Did you know... Xiao Tang used to have nightmares every time she fell asleep? I had to wake her from them multiple times. That's why I trained her at night. So she wouldn't have to deal with the raw pain of losing her parents at such a young age. And yet where were you, Master Liang? Practising martial arts in the east?"

Liang Yingzhou's hands clenched into fists, knuckles whitening. His eyes burned at the man before him, hatred evident.

"So, I did her a favour."

"What did you do to her?" Liang Yingzhou growled.

Pei Xinhui stopped circling like a hawk and turned to face him. "It's simple really. I locked her memories."

Liang Yingzhou's jaw went slack. Tang Daiyu gasped.

"You're the one who locked her memories?!"

“I guessed it was you, Shifu. No one else in the timeframe would've been able to.”

Pei Xinhui nodded. "The technique I used is wearing off. You'll soon remember everything... if you don't already."

He raised an eyebrow at her, knowingly. She winced, guilty. He smirked and chuckled.

"So, you do know.”

She nodded. “I had Master Bei unlock my memories back in Nanchang.”

“Ahh, I’ve heard of Thunder Cloud Sword Sect’s Heavenly Sight technique. Apparently, it must work. And tell me... does your Zhou-ge know as well? Or have you refrained from telling him this also?"

"Not even Crown Prince Luzhen and Emperor Heichen of Great Xia know," Tang Daiyu said. "They prodded me, but I didn't say anything."

"Ah Daiyu, what don't I know?"

She turned to look at Liang Yingzhou. "Why Rong and Prince Yelang faked evidence that led to my parents' arrest and the downfall of the Tang family."

She scoffed, more at herself than anything else. Looking down at the ground, she murmured sadly, "My family's gone because of me."