"What??? Did I hear her right? Is she ...serious? That ..that Guardian...Did she seriously say she would not come before me again unless I was more of a leader?"

"She has a point. She was assigned a task. To protect her leader. She takes it very seriously." Ge Ban confronted the unsteady and outraged man.

"Take a seat, Anshi. We have been friends a long time and were made comrades in sorrow in Yunmeng when the prince sent his assassins. I believe I have the right to be blunt. Sit down now before I knock you onto the cushion."

Stunned, Anshi sat abruptly down. Ge Ban sat next to him. "I am going to tell you a bit about Lan Sya Mu and you will listen. And you will drink a lot of strong tea as I speak. When the bath is redrawn, you will soak it again, and again if needed. I have sent a sleeping tea to Sya Mu's tent, although she thinks it's to revitalize her. She will finally sleep for the first time in two days."

Anshi had enough face to look ashamed.

"Barely ate a full meal. Spent huge blocks of time trying to cover every inch within miles looking for you, often by herself."

"I had no idea."

"Yet, a good leader should have been aware. What else did you think she... the rest of us...were going to do? Drink more tea, Anshi...another pot is brewing."

"Do you know how long I have known Sya Mu?" he began. "She was five years old, and I was fifteen and cultivating alongside Lan Xi Chen and Lan Zhan. Her parents were part of those training us in martial arts. Her father was one of Lan Qiren's spy system and trained us in espionage techniques. I can kill with a piece of rice paper! [Remind me to show you sometime!]

Her mother was a Captain in the Flyer Corps. Lan Xi Chen learned all he knows from her, and nobody can touch him in the air. You should have seen her. We all had crushes on that woman. Sya Mu is like her. Beautiful and lethal. Quite a heady mix. The only thing that tempers it is their single-minded devotion to their jobs, at least for some men.

What? Even if you are head-over-heels with The good Minister, you have to admit she is something else. All Lan, that one is. But at the time, she was skinny, with knobby knees and sharp elbows. And freckles too. And intense. She had this little wooden sword and copied everything we did. Damned annoying, but she never stopped dogging us, imitating everything we did. We allowed her. It was clear even then that the kid had talent."

He noticed Anshi was totally engrossed in the story by now. Good. He wanted her humanized in his eyes. Not seen as a grouchy, unreasonable restraint on his freedom. Damn it, they all had a vital job to do, and he was making it impossible to do right now.

"We were all stunned when she chose Yindao Guang as her cultivation tool. The navigational spear is one of the hardest tools to master that we have. She accomplished a miracle with it one day; the day we fought Meng Shi's forces. After you ...won the day for us, you were in a desperate state. Lan Xi Chen was even worse." Lan Ge Ban paused and closed his eyes, while the memory of the frantic aftermath made him pause to gather his thoughts.

"Lan Zhan and the flyers somberly landed in Cloud Recesses the next night, just after 7:00. Captain Lan Sya Mu had navigated the flight with her spear, Yindao Guang. Its golden light illuminating the way. She had directed its glow forward, guiding the group carefully, adjusting elevation and compass points in order for the transport team to avoid any obstacle in their path. They stopped only long enough to hydrate, eat and check on Lan Xi Chen's condition. Lan Zhan was pragmatic in allowing the strongest flyers to share the burden of his precious cargo, but he had flown close to each man who had carried his brother. They were exhausted as they landed at the Minshi. They carried the sleeping Sect Master into his bedroom."

"She was amazing, they told me. Tireless and precise and she landed them safely. But then, if she has a job to do, she does it well. You are basically her greatest challenge and her only failure. She has even stood up to Lan Zhan and won her skirmish."

"Lan Zhan. I find that hard to believe."

Oh, that tussle was good! And I was there to watch that one...

"Lan Zhan and Wei Ying rode two white war horses up the mountains, trailed by our group of Guardians chosen for the trip. When they arrived at a certain point, Wei dismounted and left his horse in the care of the Guardians and Lan Zhan gave strict instructions to them to stay fixed in this area and to go no further unless summoned by a blue flare. All of us Guardians were not pleased. These two had a reputation for getting into trouble, but a direct command was a direct command. The men started to pitch camp. Lan Sya Mu walked over and glared at Lan Zhan and Wei Ying.

"We are accepting this order, however, if you are one minute late...that is ONE minute past noon tomorrow, I will vacate the order, and we will come looking for you." Lan Zhan stared at her, and Wei Ying grinned in happy compliance. The young Captain simply stood in front of the horse and refused to budge. Wei Ying nudged Lan Zhan in the back.

"We have just wasted THE ONE minute, Dearest."

Lan Zhan sighed and nodded a curt agreement, and Lan Sya Mu backed away.

He muttered, loud enough for her to overhear as he rode past her, "She will be the biggest thorn in Anshi's ass."

She shouted after him. "Then you better give him fair warning, Lan Sect Leader!"

Lan Zhan wheeled his horse around a quarter turn and shot her an evil-side glance. She raised an eyebrow at him. Wei Ying leaned over and gave his husband a quick nip on the shoulder. "Stop fighting with your cousin. You know you have that effect in all of those Lan women, always getting on their nerves. Husband, we have some things more important to take care of." Lan Zhan obeyed, but not before he pointed a warning finger at Lan Sya Mu, who shrugged her shoulders and turned her back.

"That brat will pay. " He grumbled.

"And then she will make you pay. Then you will make her pay...and meanwhile, Xi Chen and I will sit back, place bets and eat candied hawthorns! What fun!"

We heard Lan Zhan snort in laughter."

Anshi laughed out loud. "And my brother was right. She is a major thorn in my ass!" But he quickly calmed, looking downcast. "But she is a thorn I am lucky to have."

He looked regretfully at Ge Ban

"I have a lot to make amends for. And especially to Lan Sya Mu. I need to get myself gathered together by morning. Will you be willing to help me?"

" Of course. But first, more tea  then the bath again. That rotgut you consumed is still present and I have my orders, too!"

A/N As usual, with my tales about Anshi, I will occasionally quote passages from Meng's Revenge. They will always be in italics, to make the new-coming readers acquainted with his history as well as Lan Sya Mu's Enjoy!