Li paced worriedly in front of his youngest son’s chambers. His attendants reported that Lán had been acting strangely the past week. They told him that his son had spent days going over every single book in the Great Library, but he never spent more than a minute or two with each book, skimming over them each time. Not only that but now Lán had spent the past three days locked in his room, he wasn't talking to anyone and was taking his meals inside.

“Even after the attack Lán had always tried to put on a bright smile” Li worried “Maybe the pain and frustration has finally gotten to him”

Li always knew that Lán was in great pain, but every time Lán would put on a brave face around his father. On one hand Li respected Lán’s courage as a warrior, but as a father Li couldn't help but be extremely worried for his younger son. Li rubbed his right shoulder where his arm used to be, whenever he became stressed, the wound he had sustained came back to haunt him.

Li paced some more until he finally gathered the courage to knock on his son's door. Silence, then after the most excruciating seconds of Li’s life, his son opened the door.

“Father!” Lán had stood up to greet and hug his dad. “I figured it out, I know how to make everything right again”

Li looked at his son in shock “Maybe the pain has made him lose his mind” he thought.

“Lán, calm down” “What are you talking about?”

Lán composed himself and invited his father into his room. As he sat down on his wheelchair the smile remained on his face.

“Father, I have been thinking about our family's current situation, and I have a plan that can solve it”

Li sat down next to Lán, he still wasn’t sure that he was hearing this right 

“We need three things in order to regain control of Húchéng” Li continued. “Information, money and influence”

Li winced internally, his son was completely right, even though he had lost many men during the attack and many more left after it, out of the three factions the Lúse family still held the most military might, commanding fifty Novice Martial Artists.

“Alright son, what do you suggest we do” Li was beginning to notice that Lán was mentally well, in fact, his son seemed extremely lucid and sharp.

“The Jinzí Merchant Union has us completely beat in finance and the West Wind Taoist sect has the most influence over the people” Lán reasoned “So we start dismantling their sources of power one at a time, but first, we need as much information as we can get” 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Shú studied her mark carefully from behind an alleyway, she hated what she was about to do but her grumbling stomach gave her no choice. Her mark was an easy one, a golden haired noble in a wheel chair.

“Someone like him wouldn't miss his money” Shú thought to herself, she had seen the noble man a few times at the marketplace the last few days. She knew he carried his money in his right pocket and that he stopped by the fruit stand for a few minutes to smell each fruit. 

The man had no guards following him so Shú waited for just the right moment, as the man reached out to give something to the vendor she sprinted around the corner.

She dodged two people carrying supplies and nimbly ducked behind her target. She reached her hand into his pocket, grabbed the first thing she felt and ran for it. 

The man looked at her with a shocked smile, his deep blue eyes completely followed her face for the few seconds she was next to him. And just like that she was gone, Shú ducked into an alleyway before the people from the market had time to react.

She ran until her lungs started to burn, she stopped under some crates and quickly looked around. It looked like no one had followed her.

Shú took a second to catch her breath and looked at her prize, a tightly bound leather pouch. Shú opened it excitedly, maybe, with this, she could stop stealing and do something with her life.

Poof!

A blue powder erupted from the pouch, completely covering Shú in a blue dye, she coughed and wheezed as she tried to get the powder out of her face. She was completely covered in blue. 

“Dammit!” Shú threw the pouch into the wall, she was sure the man kept his money in his right pocket. Shú shivered with a thought “What if he knew I was watching him?”

Shú immediately felt she was in danger, she looked at her clothes, her hair and her skin. She was completely covered in this blue powder and it wouldn't shake off no matter how hard she tried.

She ran to the nearest stream in a panic, she considered jumping in but she had no clue if the powder would only react worse in water. She reached out hesitantly as the people in the street looked at her. 

She was just starting to get the powder off of her when she heard the telltale whistle of the Lúse family guards. Shú’s heart sank into her stomach, the man really had planned all this.

“There, as the young master said, a young beggar covered in blue!” 

Shú started sprinting the other direction and just as she turned around a corner a burly guard with salt and pepper hair grabbed her by the back of the neck.

“Gotcha!” Chief Guard Baek said.