By the time Chang-li returned, laden down with the generous provisions the thankful villagers had pressed on him, it was nearing nightfall. Joshi had gathered wood to make a fire in the ruined courtyard. Chang-li added their new supplies to their existing bags, which were tucked in a sheltered corner formed by an ancient rock wall.

"Have you found anything valuable yet? Books, scrolls, cultivation treasures?"

Joshi shook his head. His face was clouded with disgust. "Nothing but debris and refuse and the traces of these animals' filthy lives. We will have to bury the bodies. I have dragged them off to the side, but they will begin to rot and stink."

Chang-li had anticipated this and borrowed a shovel from the villagers. He went a few dozen yards from the ruins, just to the edge of the overgrowth, and began to dig a pit.

It was grim work. Chang-li tried to focus on the task and not the purpose of it. He wasn't used to this sort of labor. Sweat ran down his brow, and his hands very quickly began to crack and bleed. He tried various techniques to strengthen them with mixed success. Chang-li scolded himself for not having studied something that would help.

Joshi appeared at his elbow. "Here." He took the shovel and set to digging with a ruthless rhythm that made Chang-li feel inadequate. Chang-li busied himself with helping clear away stones.

When the trench was five feet deep and long enough for a single body, they paused. Chang-li considered the pit. It seemed small for so much labor. "We're cultivators, not laborers," Joshi complained. "There should be a better way to do this."

"Probably established sects have weaves they teach their lesser minions for just this sort of thing," Chang-li suggested.

"Combine red and yellow, blast the dirt to the sky?" Joshi suggested with dark humor.

They switched off, cycling Purification of Mind and Soul to recover their strength in between sessions. As night fell, the pit was about half of what it needed to be. They retreated back to the ruins and broke out the food Chang-li had brought, feasting in silence. Chang-li forced his thoughts away from the fight to considering what might still await them.

"Have you found anything to indicate these are the Morning Mist ruins?"

Joshi shook his head. "Nothing. But your map said this is the place."

"If we read it right," Chang-li said, "then yes. If not..." He let his words stretch out. Joshi didn't answer. "The bandits were looking for something here," Chang-li said at last. "We know they didn't find it. And Prism Eri sent one of her people. She must have had a reason for being here. There's secrets here, I know it."

"I hope that woman does not return," Joshi said, and Chang-li agreed fervently. They were no match for that woman. She might not be a Prism, but she was far beyond them.

"Would we know if she's remained behind, watching?" he asked. "What if she's hoping we lead her to what the Yellow Masks couldn't?"

Joshi set down his bowl and sticks and stared into the fire. "It's a possibility," he agreed. "I've got Magen watching, but she's strong enough to hide herself from all of us. What else could we do, though? We'll have to hope she's not here. We can't be looking over our shoulders all the time."

As Chang-li finished his meal, he stared into the fire, watching the flames leap up and down. He'd become accustomed to sleeping out now and almost enjoyed it. He leaned back and tried to picture what this place had been like when it was intact.

There were multiple buildings here gathered around this courtyard area. A ruined well stood in the center of the courtyard, its stone wall falling down. He looked earlier, and it was full of debris.

"That Yellow Mask said something about a cave," he remembered.

"We'll search for it tomorrow," Joshi said. Chang-li went to his pack and got his bedroll, spreading it by the fire. As he did, he stared into the pack at the pen case and slapped his own forehead. "Of course!" He picked the pen case up and sat down beside the fire again. "We'll ask Wulan. He'll know," he said happily and channeled lux into the pen case.

A moment later, the irascible shade appeared. Wulan lifted off into the air, spinning around, then turned back to Chang-li.

"Where are we now?" he demanded.

Chang-li was taken aback. He'd expected the ghostly scribe to recognize this place. "Ah, this is the Morning Mist headquarters, I hope."

"Nonsense," Wulan said briskly. "My sect's headquarters are a marvel. The great white stone walls reflecting the sun, the chattering acolytes rushing back and forth in the outer courtyard, hoping to catch the notice and approval of one of the inner sect members." He drifted off and looked about again, then turned back to Chang-li. "Wait, how long has it been?" His voice quavered.

"We were hoping you'd know," Chang-li said. "Is this the place then?"

"I... It's hard to tell in the dark. It's ruined. But perhaps... You say you followed the map. You followed the map, right?" Wulan looked about, wringing his hands.

Chang-li nodded. "We did."

"Then..." Wulan hesitated. "Then perhaps this is the outer court after all. And... The training rooms and libraries and barracks and all are gone." His voice rose as he spoke until he sounded in terrible pain. "How could they be gone?" he demanded.

Stolen novel; please report.

Chang-li was surprised by his vehemence. "You told me yourself the sect was destroyed."

"Yes, but..." Wulan fell silent. After a moment, he spoke again. "My memories of that destruction are fragmented and painful. My memories of the sect as a living, breathing place to which I dedicated fifty years of my life are bright and overpower that nightmare. This, though, this says the nightmare was real."

"Enough of that," Joshi said impatiently, leaning toward the shade. "There were a bunch of bandits here. We cleared them out."

"How dare they?" Wulan asked. "I hope you paid them for their insolence."

"We did," Joshi said. "We will bury their bodies tomorrow."

The shade cackled. "Excellent, excellent. I should have bonded with you instead of the scribe. You're a man of decisive action. And what of the shades of Morning Mist. Have you found them yet?"

Chang-li shook his head. "Nothing alive or dead. No sign of Morning Mist at all, if it isn't these ruins. Could they..." He hesitated. "Well, I know shades cannot last indefinitely without maintenance. Is it possible they've faded over the years?"

"Perhaps, but the Shade Library is not, of course, in the outer court," Wulan said. "You'll have to visit the inner sanctum to find them."

Chang-li seized on that. "Inner sanctum. Where is that?"

"Well, it's..." Wulan hesitated. He stopped speaking abruptly. His mouth opened once or twice, but no sound came out. "The inner sanctum is..." And he abruptly stopped speaking again. Wulan snarled and cursed. "Damn it. Those oaths were to death. They shouldn't hold me anymore."

"Ah," Chang-li said. "Did you perhaps take a vow to protect Morning Mist secrets with your life?"

"Yes," Wulan admitted.

Then there was something here worth protecting. Delightedly, Chang-li turned back to Joshi. "We'll find it," he swore. "We have to."

"It would help if you could give us some hint," Joshi said. "Are we not Morning Mist ourselves?"

Wulan frowned. "You are," he conceded, "but you haven't been accepted by a Morning Mist elder. And so I cannot break my oath." But he perked up. "You are bright and resourceful young cultivators. You'll find the secret. Never fear. And once you do, once you've found the inner sanctum and the Shade Library, wake me again and help me to join my former sectmates. I'm sure they will reward you for your diligence and service to the sect." With that, he spun on the spot and then disappeared back into the pen case.

Chang-li and Joshi stared at each other. "He's not particularly helpful, is he?" Joshi asked.

"I look forward to having him severed from my soul," Chang-li said fervently. "But that's enough for me. This is the right place, and there's more here for us to discover. We'll find it tomorrow."

In the morning, they buried the bodies in the mass grave, then turned back to the ruins of the sect, getting a vision now for what it must have looked like. The way the stones had fallen, some of these buildings had been four or five stories tall. A fragment of staircase stood in one sheltered spot, spiraling upwards to nowhere. Any trace of books, furnishings, or treasure was long gone. But perhaps the inner sect had been more protected.

As they hunted around through buildings, Joshi gave a shout, "In here!" They pushed their way through an opening in the rock stone wall of the mountain that veered up behind the ruins. It was overhung with vines.

When they stepped through, they found themselves in a carved passage. Chang-li conjured a lux light, a simple pattern for him now, and kept it bobbing at their heads as they went. The passage was beautifully dressed stone with a flagged floor and brackets on the wall at intervals that had once held lamps of some sort.

The passage was wide enough for several people to walk side by side. The roof was a good eight feet overhead, and there was no trace of damp anywhere in it. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust that kicked up in puffs as they went along. There were tracks in the dust, nothing fresh, presumably from the bandits when they'd first found this place, but not recent. The dust had settled again. The bandits had inspected this passage and found it wanting.

Chang-li and Joshi found why after half an hour or so of the dark passage. The corridor led to a set of steps leading downward to absolutely nothing. They ended at a smooth stone wall without any decoration.

Chang-li ran a hand along it in case there was something his eyes couldn't see. Joshi stood back and studied it. Then the barbarian enforced his fist with lux and pounded on the wall.

"What are you trying to do?" Chang-li demanded.

"I'm listening to see if there's anything behind it," Joshi explained and shook his head. "If there's a space behind this wall, I can't hear it."

"We must have come a mile or more. We're far under the mountains here." Chang-li channeled green lux at the wall, wondering if it would reveal some secret. Nothing.

Chang-li sat on the steps and stared at it as time ticked on. There had to be another solution. There had to be. If this was an entrance to Morning Mist's inner sanctum, then it would be something that made sense to cultivators. Chang-li closed his eyes and reached out with his lux senses, seeing the wall that way, feeling it.

It felt like a slab of rock. He debated summoning Wulan again and seeing if they could trick the shade into giving them some hint, some clue.

"What does it take to enter?" he asked aloud.

The passageway all around them lit up with a blue glow. A whisper echoed about. "You must be vouched for by a full disciple of Morning Mist."

Chang-li jumped to his feet, looking around. Joshi had his hands up, ready for an attack, but nothing more came. Chang-li forced his racing heart to settle. Whatever this working was, it had been waiting for a long time.

"We are both of Morning Mist," he called. "Look." He held up his hand and pointed at the signet ring. "Let us enter."

The voice boomed again. "You say you are of Morning Mist, but how do we know this is the case?"

Now Chang-li had a use for Wulan. He pulled the pen case out and summoned the shade. "Wulan," he urged, "tell this — whatever it is — that we are Morning Mist cultivators."

Wulan looked around. "Ah, you've engaged the guardian. Well done. I had nothing to do with it," he added hastily, clearly speaking to whatever was watching them. "They figured this out on their own. I have not violated my oaths." He made a throat-clearing noise. "Ah, I am Scribe Wulan of the Morning Mist Sect."

"You are recognized, Wulan," the voice said.

Wulan blinked. "Oh, well, yes, that's nice." He pointed at Chang-li. "This one I can vouch for. He has sworn himself to me and given his word and oath to help me with my deathbed wish to return to Morning Mist and see the sect restored. He is Morning Mist. The other one," Wulan shrugged, "he's a cultivator, ambitious, good candidate for Morning Mist, and he has proclaimed himself such, but I can't vouch for him myself."

The guardian voice boomed again. "Then we are at an impasse, for the one you vouch for has not sufficient rank to enter, and the one of sufficient rank you cannot vouch for."

Joshi took two steps toward the shade and loomed over him. "Vouch for me."

Wulan crossed his arms over his chest. "No."

Joshi shook his fist with the Morning Mist signet ring on it. "I am the only Morning Mist cultivator at Peak of Spiritual Refinement that exists in the entire world. If you deny me, you deny any hope of resurrecting your sect."

Wulan shrugged. "Well, could be worse. We'll just wait here until Chang-li figures it out, then, shall we?" And he disappeared again.

Chang-li channeled more Lux into the case, but Wulan remained stubbornly absent. The two argued with the door, but the guardian did not answer again.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.