Episode 77: The Upper Hand Moves

Ungrateful ones belittle revenge, apathetic ones loyalty, and heartless ones filial love. The masked maid Zhao Yutai was a swordguard for Xu Fengnian's mother, the young Sword Master from the previous generation of the Wu's Shrine of Swords. A swordguard was selected among children outside the Wu lineage, brought up and trained together with his or her master. This silent figure's life was dedicated to nurturing and eventually burying the master's sword. Accomplished in swordplay, a swordguard might even outshine his or her master in their teenage years. After the coming of age of the master, the swordguard needed only to carry on his or her regular duties and was not required to die for the master. Actually, the House of Wu strictly forbade such deaths lest their swordsmen became emboldened with assurance to fall back on, which would undermine their growth.