Shui was halfway through her seventh revision of the auction house plan of conquering and domination when the window behind her, in the office she made for herself within the warehouse’s second floor, creaked open.More like shrieked to announce an intruder. Shui jumped out of her seat and nearly swung her hammer at the intruder only to freeze when she recognized the Qi associated with said intruder. She watched as the window simply opened, a leg swung over the sill, and a body followed with casual grace. The man landed before her like he had been doing said window slinking for a very long time with how professional he made it look. Zhong Da landed on the warehouse floor without a sound. His single arm adjusted the borrowed blade at his hip while his prosthetic, the Arm of the White Feathered Swan, caught the lamplight and threw pale reflections across the ceiling. He straightened his robes, brushed dust from his shoulder, and surveyed the room with a practised sweep cataloguing exits, threats, structural weaknesses, and the emotional state of every occupant within a single heartbeat.His eyes found Shui.Shui's face split into a grin so wide it threatened to bisect her skull. "Senior Zhong Da!"She launched from Fao Wen's chair and crossed the room in two bounds. She slammed into him with a hug that would have shattered a lesser man's spine. Zhong Da absorbed the impact with a grunt and a half-step backward, his single hand finding the top of her head and holding it there for a moment before gently prying her off his midsection."Senior Zhong Da, you came to visit! Did you see the banner? Long Ti stitched it himself! It looks like a mushroom but it's actually a hammer and I think it's beautiful and everyone agrees because nobody has said otherwise and—""So…" Zhong Da's voice cut through her torrent like a blade through wet silk. "I heard you asked Patriarch for Qi Stones?"Shui's grin (...)