Ren pushes open the door to Yuanding's hut, still clutching the pillbox as he steps inside. The door slides shut as Ren takes in the scene before him.

  The inset cooking fire is naught but ash, a slight chill in the air as Yuanding uses the gardening chest as a seat. He sits with arms folded and a sullen look upon his face. His bow leans against his leg while his quiver lies across his lap. A shallow grunt is his greeting when Ren enters the room.

  In the middle of the hut, kneeling down on the floor, is the talisman expert—or, as Zhurong called him, 'Tally.' A stack of thick paper sits by Tally's side, tied together with a carefully wrapped silk ribbon. On his other side is a collection of sharp-tipped brushes of varying sizes alongside a small, palm-sized clay pot. The pot's lid has a clasp keeping it tightly shut, presumably so the valuable cinnabar-ink doesn't spill.

  "This is just incredible!" Tally's words lack the shake and shiver of fear as he waves a hand at the talisman before him. Perhaps being away from the source of his terror is good for him? Or maybe he has such an obsession with talismans that his fright falls to the wayside? "Absolute genius!"

  "What makes this talisman deserving of such praise?" Ren asks as he slides down next to Tally, careful to avoid disturbing the purposefully arranged tools of the talisman trade.

  "Just look at it!" Tally gently lifts the talisman up, making sure to blunt his excitement lest he damage the old paper. The talisman is the same as when last Ren looked at it, a collection of fine swirls, loops, and crosses done in a minimalistic design. A wonderful work of art by all reckoning, no doubt, but the way Tally speaks of it implies something deeper, something more magical.

  Ignoring the temptation to open his third eye—the nearby Zhurong would surely overwhelm his senses again—Ren considers what Tally might mean. The talisman manages to mask the presence of the giant gingko through some unknown means, so perhaps it is the method that has Tally so worked up?

  "Just tell him already!" Yuanding grunts from atop his chest, annoyance rising in his gaze.

  Tally flinches, but this does little to dampen his enthusiasm. Still, he takes several deep breaths before turning towards Ren, "Okay, so," he purses his lips, searching for the right words, "there are a dozen different ways for a talisman to do any given thing, right? But most of the time only one or two of those methods are used to do it."

  "I'm following."

  "Well," Tally swallows his excitement and wiggles a finger at the talisman, "okay, so, the way that qi beacon suppressing talismans work is by concealing the aura, and this talisman is no different. However," he hurriedly continues, not wanting to give the impression that this talisman is anything but genius, "the actual method is what makes it so clever!"

  Ren blinks, long and slow, as several heartbeats pass in silence, "And that method is...?"

  Tally bobs his head, looking much like a heron or some other long-necked bird, "Okay, so, it takes the excess qi and spreads it out over a large area! That means that your typical illusion piercing technique or what have you can't pierce through it, because the actual qi aura is spread thin. The only way you'd be able to sense it is if you were right on top of it!"

  Ren frowns, not quite sure he entirely understands what Tally is saying—Tally doesn't seem to be the best at explaining things, or perhaps Ren just struggles to comprehend talismans?—but he reckons that he has the gist of it.

  "So, essentially," Ren says as he sums it up as best he can, "the talisman spreads the qi out over a large area, which counters illusion breaking techniques because there is no illusion to break?"

  "Exactly!"

  Ren's lips thin, the next question on his tongue the most important, "Can you make a copy?"

  Tally hesitates and Ren's heart sinks, "Well... Okay, so," Ren squints as Tally repeats himself for the umpteenth time, "talismans draw their strength from the precision of the drawing and the quality of the paper it's drawn on, right?" Ren nods and Tally continues, "So, I can copy the brushstrokes perfectly, but I don't have anywhere near the quality of paper to actually copy it beat for beat." He gestures at the talisman, "This was done with, I dunno, Starlight Goldpaper or Starlight Ironpaper or something, definitely Starlight though, you can tell thanks to the twinkle, and I've only got standard."

  "What kind of a difference would that make?"

  Tally clicks his tongue, "Well, the copy wouldn't be able to obfuscate the qi source from qi signature reading techniques, so sufficiently developed qi senses will be able to trace the qi back to the source. So, I guess," Tally twists his fingers together, "it'll stop a Qi Sensing cultivator from tracking you, but not a Core Shaping cultivator."

  "If I fight a Core Shaping monster, then I'm dead anyways so it doesn't matter," Ren's frown deepens as he leans in, brows furrowing in anger, "Can you or can you not make a copy strong enough to stop a Qi Sensing monster from tracking me?"

  Tally cringes, quailing beneath Ren's anger as he frantically nods. "Yes, yes! I can, I-I can!"

  "Then do so," Ren says as he rises to his feet, now conscious of the odd look Yuanding sends his way. An arched brow and tilted head, eyes filled with unreadable emotions.

  Yuanding reaches out, resting a hand on Ren's shoulder, "Come, Shang, and let us leave the talisman expert to his work. Our presence would only distract him further, no?"

  Ren pauses at the use of his family name. The barbarians of the north are said to forgo the hierarchy of formality and respect that underlies the name one uses for someone else. For Yuanding to use his surname specifically, and not his generation or personal name... It would have to be intentional, so what could it mean?

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  "I... I suppose it would, yes," Ren eventually says as Yuanding nods. Tally visibly relaxes as Yaunding guides Ren from the hut.

  The evening air is crisp while wisps of outside mist slip into the grotto. The sun begins approaching the horizon, casting streaks of gold, pink, and red across the sky. Clouds bask in the golden light, their shadows dancing like flames on their underside.

  Yuanding hums, an idle comment on his lips, "It will rain overnight."

  Ren shifts, casting a glance to the skies, "Will it?" An uncertain sense of unease slides into his heart, the feeling almost like being scolded as a child.

  Yuanding clicks his tongue, "It will, yes." He drops his head with a sigh, before lifting it to regard Ren fully, "It is unlike you to be so curt with people. What has you so agitated?"

  "I..." Ren stiffens, caught flat-footed, and irritation takes the opportunity to fill the gap. "You have known me for fewer days than there are fingers on a hand, how could you possibly know me well enough to judge my character?"

  "'Perhaps I should start?'" Ren freezes as Yuanding repeats his own words back to him. "That was what you told me when I asked if you thanked the bees for their honey. Wisdom like that and the anger you now show do not mix, so something is clearly wrong."

  Ren opens his mouth, then closes it. He... Yuanding isn't wrong, not really. He has a point. Still, "Why do you care?"

  "Why do I care?" Yuanding tilts his head as Ren scowls.

  "I was stupid!" Ren nearly shouts as he lifts his arms to the sky, "I roped us into a relationship we had no need of. I forced you to work with bandits, to betray your oath to the Heavenly Star!"

  Yuanding stays silent throughout Ren's tirade, waiting for him to tire himself out. When Ren's arms fall to his side and tears glisten in his eye, Yuanding gently lays a hand on Ren's shoulder, "You are right, you did do those things."

  "I... What?"

  Yuanding shrugs, eyes drifting to the setting sun, "I remember the follies of my youth, the many mistakes I made in search of that which I could never have, and if I were to judge you by the errors of your youth, it would be a much greater betrayal than anything you could ever force me into."

  "I," Ren sniffles, a light shiver unrelated to the chill passing through his shoulders, "I don't understand."

  "Do you remember the Star Shepherd's teachings?" Yuanding asks, the name of one of the Heavenly Star Sect's founders on his lips. Ren's mouth twists, silently following along as Yuanding continues, his voice deepening while reciting lessons of the past, "If each and every step down a path were perfect, there would be no need for a light to guide the way. Yet, life does not work that way. Mistakes will happen, missteps can only be expected. When one strays from the path, the Guide Star will always light the way back."

  Ren swallows the lump in his throat, his heart crying out from a struck chord. Taking a deep breath, Ren lowers his head, teardrops slipping free of his eyes, and begins to speak, "Zhurong... She made me an offer. If I joined her gang, she would take me as her disciple. I..." Ren screws his eyes shut, forcing his words past a tight jaw, "I wanted so badly, so, so badly, to say yes. If I hadn't bit my tongue... I would have joined her, I would have become a bandit."

  The Guiding Light teaches that strength is for protecting and aiding the weak. To become a bandit, one who prey exclusively upon the weak and defenseless, would be the ultimate betrayal of those ideals.

  Ren is all that remains of the Heavenly Star Sect. He cannot allow himself to have such a lacking will.

  Yuanding considers Ren's words, his hand stroking his belt-length beard as the sun brushes against the horizon, "To err is human," he eventually says, "and judgement is found not in the mistake itself, but in the reactions of the mistake-maker."

  Ren is silent as he considers those words of wisdom. Wise they may be, and truth they may hold, but...

  "If you are still beset by troubled thoughts," Yuanding says as he releases Ren's shoulder, "then perhaps it would be wise to consult the Guide Star? I can't imagine you have had much opportunity to pray as of late."

  When was the last time Ren prayed? It had to have been before he broke through, but he can't quite recall if he had prayed that day or not. In his excitement, it is entirely possible that he forgot to pray entirely!

  "In the meantime," Yuanding says as he steps away, "I shall tend to my garden, for I have neglected it horribly."

  Yuanding leaves, giving Ren his needed space.

  Ren waits in silence as the sun dips under the horizon and the tapestry of the night unfurls across the sky. Starry pinpricks pierce through the dark blanket, shining bright amidst an inky abyss.

  Turning his gaze North, Ren settles his sight on the Guide Star, that which shines brightest and most true. From its fixed point in the night sky, the Guide Star watches on. For millennia have explorers, travelers, and all manner of wanderers looked to the Guide Star. For millennia has it lit the way for all who are lost. Even the Heavens themselves look to the Guide Star, for why else would they revolve around it so?

  Setting the pill box down, Ren kneels and presses his brow to the earthen floor before sitting up. Twice more does he repeat this motion as he acknowledges the Guide Star as his master and teacher, as all Disciples of the Heavenly Star have before him. Though he never entered into the Inner Sanctum of the sect, he was still one of the followers of the Way. He knows the prayers well.

  Great Star, light the way,

  for those who wander,

  for those who are lost,

  and for those who know it not

  Great Star, light the way,

  to places of safety,

  to loving hearth and home,

  and, above all else,

  to hope

  A ringing sound leads Ren to open his eyes, which directs him to a beam of light shining from the Heavens. The beam falls on the pill box, its hinges and latch glittering under starlight. A feeling of warmth sweeps through Ren's body, one of comfort and safety. A mother's loving embrace, a father's steady protection. Reaching out, Ren opens the pill box and swallows the pill.

  As the pill's healing power spreads through his body, Ren knows what he must do. He will follow the Way of the Guiding Light. He will give aid to those who seek it and those who do not. He will rebuild the Heavenly Star Sect.

  And if he needs to become a bandit to see it done, then so be it.

  But if banditry is what his future holds, it will be on his terms, by his rules.

  This, Ren swears.