The two Elders of the sect turn to the disciples Lai Ming and Xia Jing, who pick themselves up off the ground.

  “Elders!” Xia Jing says. “I have a message from Qiu Tai.” she holds out the piece of paper she had kept clutched in her hands.

  The elders look at each other in surprise, before Elder Wu steps forward to take the paper and read it. Her eyes show relief, before changing to worry. She hands the note over to a curious Elder Li Quon, who glances over at Elder Wu.

  “Have you ever heard of a demon before?” He asks her.

  “My master spoke of them, but even he had never seen one.” She replies with a frown. “I’d assumed them to be some kind of misidentified spirit beast.”

  “You know what this means, right?” Li Quon says, putting the note into his pocket. “If what Qiu Tai says is truth, then the Matriarch will have to move. The other sects will notice.”

  “They already know something is wrong.” Wu Li Mei responds before turning her attention back to the two disciples waiting with bowed heads. “We must hurry back before their reinforcements arrive.”

  Wu Li Mei walks down the road, before stopping and looking back at the disciples. “Good job.” Her eyes look at them both fondly, her veil hiding her full expression.

  ***

  Another night passes with the both of us waiting. I use the time to practice my swordsmanship with Qiu Tai, or play music on my flute. I don’t dare play one of the requiems, fearing someone might notice the change in the qi of the area.

  On the morning of the next day, Qiu Tai looks in the direction of the camp surrounding the portal, her gaze fixed for a minute as if waiting for something.

  I follow her gaze, unable to see the camp through the trees and plants.

  The world stills, all sound disappearing as Shia slithers up my chest and around my left arm.

  Qi bursts out in a wave over the forest, creating a wind that rushes through the trees and plants. I pale as the aura of Matriarch Wang Hua hits me. She is in the late stage of the Dao Shaping realm, and her power affects the very reality of the world around her.

  To my surprise, a similar but smaller aura answers not too far from where we are hiding.

  The echo of a third aura erupts from near the mine I’d rescued Qiu Tai from. The third aura makes me gag as its decay and hunger filled essence hits me.

  “The demon.” Qiu Tai says, her eyes catching mine, filled with a quiet hatred forcing me to look away. “It won’t take long for it to get here. Let’s hurry to the Matriarch.”

  We lead our horses to the road, mounting them once we are on stable terrain. Then we set off at a gallop to the beacon of our matriarch’s power.

  We are ignored on the road as lone riders rush past us, too distracted by the urgency of their missions to see past whatever glamor Qiu Tai has over us.

  As we approach, the auras of many Nascent Soul Elders and their counterparts in this world reach us. Qi rushes through the air as mortal soldiers run by us, escaping the battle of cultivators.

  Many other minor auras are in the mix and I can feel the cultivators of this world being pushed back.

  Qiu Tai leaps from her horse, grabbing me and causing us both to tumble to the ground.

  We roll for a few seconds from the speed, and I get up to see the poor mare I’d been riding eviscerated into two pieces. The other mare rears up at the sight, turning and galloping away from the scene in fright.

  Qiu Tai reaches into her ring’s storage from beside me, pulling out many paper birds, whispering to them and throwing them into the wind.

  Strikes of qi aim for the paper constructs, but the wind makes them dance and they go on their way merrily.

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  Qiu Tai dusts herself off as she stands up, then draws her sword from the sheath at her side.

  My eyes widen in surprise at the strange red color of the sword, Qiu Tai’s spirit turning even sharper as soon as her sword is drawn.

  “You escaped being the Demon’s prey, did you?” A man says, descending from the sky, two wings of fire holding him aloft. His presence is that of a Nascent Soul, and his spirit burns sickly with pain. “It’s a pity, I was looking forward to hearing your screams.”

  Qiu Tai ignores him, smiling with bloodthirst, “I work to fulfill my oath.” The spirit and qi around her gather at her words, moving into a cyclone and forming into blood red pages. A strange, yet familiar text fills the pages of blood, hurting my eyes as I try to read them.

  The man doesn’t wait for Qiu Tai to finish her technique as lances of flame are shot out.

  Qiu Tai’s eyes fill with blood, turning them a murky red and giving her a haunting gaze.

  Pages move out of the cyclone, the text flowing off the pages to write words I should not know.

  Judgment.

  Final.

  The flame lances halt mid air as the man coughs blood “You-” He starts.

  More pages escape from the cyclone, forming another word, the meaning of which I again somehow know, despite my lack of recognition of the letters.

  Death.

  The man falls from the air, his wings of fire extinguished.

  Qiu Tai walks to the fallen man, while I watch from where I still lie on the ground. The man stares up at Qiu Tai, trying to say something. Qiu Tai doesn’t show any emotion as she stabs him through with her sword. “I work to fulfill my oath.” she repeats, her sword seeming to absorb the blood of the fallen cultivator.

  The blood drains from Qiu Tai’s eyes as she turns to me, her sword returning to its sheathe.

  She stumbles on her way to me, but covers it well. I get off the ground to lend her a shoulder to lean on.

  We continue down the road at a reduced pace towards the auras of our sect, most of the fighting having moved to a standstill. I can still sense all three auras of the cultivators in the Dao Shaping Realm, which means the fight is far from over, but the cultivator in the Dao Shaping Realm who had been fighting the matriarch seems to be retreating to the demon.

  The sight of two familiar Elders approaching from the sky makes me smile, although they look worse for wear themselves.

  Elder Zhu Chen features a cut across his cheek, while Elder Wu has several long gashes in her robe, with small bloodstains beginning to show.

  They land in front of us and Elder Wu moves to help support Qiu Tai.

  We rush back to the camp, where relief hits me at the sight of hundreds of men and women in the robes of my sect. All my energy seems to leave me, and Elder Zhu Chen has to lend me his arm as I nearly collapse.

  The sight of two familiar disciples running towards me brings tears to my eyes to the point where I can’t make out Xia Jing and Lai Ming’s faces. But I could never forget their spirit. Lai Ming’s spirit is cooling, like ice on a summer’s day. Xia Jing’s spirit is warm and serene, with the occasional bubble of excitement mixed in.

  I leave Elder Zhu Chen to collapse in their arms. I can’t stop myself from crying as they hold me.

  “Do- hic, are-” I can’t even get the words out as I cry.

  “Don’t worry. We’re here for you. We never gave up on you.”

  After a good minute of crying, it turns into sniffles. I look up to see the Elders gone, leaving us three girls alone.

  Lai Ming and Xia Jing look at eachother, seeming to share a silent conversation.

  “Come on Sister Lin, let’s get you washed up.” Xia Jing says, looking back at me. She turns me towards the tents, keeping her hand on mine to let me know she is there.

  “I have to help the elders. I’ll meet up with you later.” Lai Ming says, moving away.

  I nod, not trusting myself to speak.

  Xia Jing leads me towards a tent and I realize how filthy I am. I haven’t washed in more days than I’d like to admit. I think I might still have some of the blood on me from when I rescued Qiu Tai.

  There’s a bath already prepared by a servant, waiting for me in the tent. Shia slips from my robes as we enter the tent.

  I unbuckle my sword and remove my flute. Then I realize with dismay my robes are sticking to me in spots.

  Xia Jing offers to help me with my robes and I accept, realizing moments later the embarrassment I should have.

  Xia Jing is professional in her help, and when I am unrobed, I notice many small cuts and bruises that had escaped my notice over the past few days.

  “Are you hurting?” Xia Jing asks before I step into the water.

  I shake my head, letting my hair hide my expression. “I’m alright.”

  Blood and dirt turn the bathwater a strange shade of brown.

  Xia Jing calls the servant to draw another bath while I get as much of the many layers of sweat, dirt and blood off of me as I can.

  Once the water is filthy, I transfer to the new bath, relaxing as the hot water does its magic.

  Xia Jing stays with me in the room, but for once I don’t get embarrassed. Her presence is comforting. My muscles relax one by one, leaving my body in a strange sense of euphoria.

  “Don’t get too comfortable. There’s a real bed waiting for you, you’ll want to try it before falling asleep.”

  I nod, my eyes already closed as I slip further into the water. “I’m ready for a bed.”

  “Come on.” Xia Jing helps me out of the bath and into a new pair of robes, then gently guides me to another tent with a real bed.

  My eyes are already closed by the time I fall into it.

  I sleep deeply.

  I dream of my mother.

  I dream of her rocking me back and forth in her arms.

  I dream of her soft lullaby.

  I dream of her laughter.

  I dream of her somewhere far away, watching me with care.

  She looks into my eyes, smiling when she recognizes me.

  She mouths words I can’t hear, but I know their meaning.

  “Hi, my little one.”