Chapter 14
Liao thought to circumvent the problem of the poisoned Dao by taking his weapon to the judge’s station immediately following breakfast, well before the first match was to begin. This would accomplish several things, or so the young Warrior thought. First, he would eliminate the wait while they performed the scheduled weapon appraisal and subsequent cleansing at the time of his match. The blade would still be subject to that appraisal, but having presented it early, he would be able to avoid the delay of having the blade cleaned at the time of the match. He would also, he hoped, eliminate the required investigation this way. Finally, he hoped that coming forward would remove any possible suspicion of the part of the judges that he had contaminated his Dao.
When he arrived, howe
