Liu Mingyan huffs a laugh into her throat, an absent part of her mind noting the shudder and filing it away to follow up on. "I do not doubt it. I intend to admit no defeat today, however."

She changes course, pulling Susan away from the wall and depositing her--gently but urgently--onto the bed. She steps back momentarily, undoing her belt and allowing her robes to finish the fall they had already started, leaving her only in her trousers and boots.