16 Petitioner

In the Magistrate's main hall, an elderly man knelt on the carpet in the middle. Facing him was a long table where Master Huang and up to six people could sit side-by-side. On the far left and the far right of the room were heavy seats, with benches behind them. Riku and the others piled onto the benches, while Madam Huang sat in a heavy chair in front of them. Master Huang took the central seat at the front table, and asked, "What is your petition?"

"Magistrate! Bandits have robbed my farm! They burned my house! My brothers, my workers… everyone has been killed!" the man raised his head.

"I see. Let me see what we can do." Master Huang took out a few scrolls.

Just as everyone was beginning to settle down, the System flared. [Alert: Imminent Danger Detected!]

"Watch out!" Riku jumped up, yelling.

Master Huang looked up with heightened alertness just as the 'elderly man' suddenly lunged forward with a surge of power gathering around his fist. Master Huang dodged as the man and his fist plowed through the table and the Magistrate's seat like they were twigs. Observation notices popped up.

"Dad!" Ruyi screamed.

Madam Huang, meanwhile, pulled the hairpins that tied her hair in a bun and threw them at the would-be assassin. The assassin dodged – the pins pierced deeply into a pillar, disappearing into it entirely.

Master Huang moved in a blur. His palms glowed yellow as they struck at the assassin too fast for Riku to keep track of. Eight different after-images trailed light as the assassin dodged, blocked, and parried. Two thuds sounded. Blood spurted from his mouth.

Mu, Shui and Jin were on their feet, and Ruyi for some reason grabbed Riku's neck. Riku choked, flailed, trying to get Ruyi's hands off him, but the girl had his throat in a death-grip.

The assassin leapt aside and dashed for the door.

"Stop him!" Master Huang roared, giving chase. Madam Huang flanked him, Mu, Shui and Jin at her back.

There were two regular disciples at the door. They leapt in the assassin's way, one punching, the other kicking. The assassin twisted – his hands lanced out, and both of them went down grasping their own throats desperately.

"Serpent Hands?!" Madam Huang gasped as Master Huang sped up, leaving her and the others behind. He and Shui darted out the door a whole second before she did, while Mu and Jin hesitated to check on the regular disciples.

Meanwhile, Riku was half-wrestling with Ruyi, trying to get her fingers off his windpipe. He activated Stone Skin, but it was taking time, and her fingers were already cutting off his air. "Gubah… urrgheeek…"

But already, Shui, Master Huang and Madam Huang came back to the hall carrying three more injured regular disciples.

"Soong! Ho!" Mu and Jin ran over to them. "Lopez!"

"They're alive. The injuries are not fatal." Madam Huang assured them.

The five casualties were laid out in a row and a physician was summoned.

Riku, meanwhile, nearly died from suffocation.

"Everyone on high alert! Quadruple the guards on duty! Call up Captain Bron! Ruyi, get to the Safe Room…" Master Huang ordered, then trailed off, blinking at his daughter and the Closer Disciple in her hands about to pass out from asphyxiation. "Riku, are you all right?"

"Ga-kukk…?" Riku tapped on Ruyi's hands urgently.

Ruyi loosened her grip, but kept both hands around his throat. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You! What sort of danger have you brought to my dad?"

"What…?" Riku stared.

"I heard about it! You declared war on the whole Ji Clan!" Ruyi snapped. "Was this their doing?"

"Err… Ruyi, I don't think this had anything to do with Riku or the Ji Clan." Shui told her.

Ruyi paused. "Was it the Black Wind?"

There was a short silence. At length, Master Huang said, "Maybe. That guy got away remarkably fast."

"Then it COULD have something to do with Riku!" Ruyi said.

"Or not." Master Huang sighed. "There's too much we don't know. We only know he was fast, used very good light-step movements, and the Serpent Hands Technique."

That wasn't all. Riku checked the Observation notices and found it.

[Lunging Cobra Footwork Technique Observed: 40%]

[Serpent Hands Technique Observed: 40%]

[Willow Steps Observation: 100% Completed. Analysis and Adaptation started.]

[Wing Flurry Hands Technique Observation: 100% Completed. Analysis and Adaptation started.]

[Swallow Flight Projective Technique Observed: 8% Completed.]

[Python Tail Kick Technique Observed: 6%]

That was indeed the Serpent Hands technique that the 'Petitioner' used. Riku stayed quiet, wondering if he should reveal the kick technique and the footwork technique's names, how to explain how he knew, and whether it would help even if he did. The techniques were pretty similar; all three were snake-based. Surely knowing the hands technique was sufficient for them to figure out the assailant?

"Master Huang!" Herman burst in with five other disciples at his back. "We found the petitioners! The real ones! They're dead! The symbol on their bodies…"

Master Huang raised his head. "The snake tailed man. It's Naga, isn't it?"

"The… yes, it is!" Herman stared. "How did you know?"

"The assassin used the Serpent Hands Technique. It's a foregone conclusion." Madam Huang waved it away. "But someone this skilled had to be one of their top members."

"Why?" Shui asked. "Why now?

"I have had no quarrel with Naga." Master Huang frowned. "Perhaps they were hired."

"Again, why?"

To that, nobody could give an answer.

At length, Jin asked, "So… what do we do?"

Master Huang gathered himself, glanced about, and said, "We go on as normal. Nobody is to leak word of the attack."

"As normal? If this were a normal Sunday, seeing as we're not likely to get any more petitions, since the petitioners are dead and all…" Shui paused. "Ranking Tournament?"

Master Huang nodded. "Call it. If anyone asks why some of my disciples are injured, mention only the tournament. We will begin immediately."

***

Master Huang had five Closer Disciples and about two hundred Regular Disciples in five different classes. Each of the classes corresponded directly to a generation of one of the Closer Disciples and one of the five elements. Herman, for example, was a student of the Earth Class – Tu's generation. Jin's generation, the Metal Class, had the newest students. Not every disciple started from scratch - some of the disciples were accepted as Stage 1 or Stage 2 Adepts. Also, not every disciple majored in the element of his/her class.

This much was explained by Shui as he and Riku watched the five classes compete among themselves in the qualifiers. The top ten fighters from each class would qualify for the actual tournament, along with all five of the Closer Disciples and Ruyi herself.

"After that…" Shui pointed. "See those ten stages they're setting up over there? They'll be numbered from one to ten. Anyone from the qualifiers is free to challenge the lower five. Only the lower five and the upper five can challenge each other. Whoever wins the challenge gets to stand on the stage. Whatever stage number you're standing on by the time the dinner bell rings; that's your ranking."

"So… it's duel-based." Riku figured. "How long does a duel last?"

"Until someone gives up, or is no longer able to fight. Master Huang is the judge and referee."

That should solve disputes quickly. All of them were the disciples of one man, so he had the ultimate, uncontested say on all matters. If he unilaterally decided to name Ruyi the champion, all anyone could do about it was congratulate her.

"If you're worried about fairness, I have to say, Master Huang seemed pretty fair to me so far." Shui added.

Riku snorted. "Fairness? Such a thing has never existed. From birth, the very family you're born in already gives everyone a different starting point. Some are born healthy, some are born sickly, and remain sickly their whole lives." Riku turned away abruptly. "There is no 'fairness'."

"Fair judgment, then. Just for this tournament." Shui amended. "Any guest who joins the tournament must agree to at least that much before participating."

"Guests participate?" Riku blinked.

"Why, yes. There are customarily eight slots for guests, to bring the total number of tournament participants up to 56. That is because back in the old days, we used to have one-on-one duels and halve our numbers every round all our way to the finals. These days, the number of guests can vary, but there's usually one or two kids in our generation who comes by."

"When you say 'our generation', you mean…?"

"Ages 9-12." Shui clarified.

That simplified matters. "That's a nice definition. I hope the Ji Clan agrees with you."

Shui grinned. "Why don't you ask them? They're right over there." He pointed.

Coming in the front gate were Ji Thyme, Basil and Iris. This time, however, they brought two older girls along. "Who are those two?"

"The one on the left is Ji Orchid." Shui frowned. "But the one on the right? That's Zhizhu Aulonia. One of the Spider Siblings."

One of the Spider Siblings… Riku instantly gave her his full attention.

There were questions he needed to ask the Spider Siblings. Questions about Tu's death and their part in it…