Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)

Ban Changnu found herself contemplating the dichotomies of her life. Like how she was surrounded by nobles but found them more petty and childlike than anyone she had known back in Xiangmen. Or how she and her brother seemed to be growing closer together even though they spent so much time apart now, and they were close even before coming to the Sect. Then there was the situation she currently found herself in. Ban Changnu felt relaxed yet frustrated, embarrassed but serene.

When Zheng Ying, her second closest friend (she could count Ban Zhangzi as a friend right?), had asked her if she wanted to accompany her on a 'mission of reconnaissance and relaxation' she had expected something akin to a stroll across the mountain (as close as one can get when half the things on the mountain seemed to want to kill you and the other half just not caring) to find some trial sites or cultivation locations. What she did not expect was to be led up far enough that snow began to touch the ground and into an alcove where a large hot spring sat. Which hosted about a dozen spirit beasts in various realms of red and one or two even breaching into yellow.

These were Crystal Spring Macaques. With red faces and white looking fur these monkey's would probably only stand up to about Ban Changnu's thigh, perhaps the largest just pass her navel. While Ban Zhangzi had made sure she knew which spirits and beasts were more friendly or docile, the Crystal Spring Macaques being one of them, from Ban Zhangzi's description the Crystal Spring Macaques could be very territorial and would hold a grudge and pass it on to all in it's troop. Even though their crystal hide of refined mountain and earth qi was sought after, it was highly discouraged to hunt or hurt the surprisingly intelligent beasts as they would retaliate as a pack and warn any other Crystal Spring Macaques of what happened.

While Ban Changnu knew they could be reasoned with, she was still nervous as Zheng Ying confidently strolled forward and said to Ban Changnu, "Go ahead and start relaxing, I've gotta talk shop with the matron." Ban Changnu had looked over at her friend and after a beat looked away as Zheng Ying had already stripped down to enter the hot springs. Ban Changnu quickly turned around and followed suit, getting into the hot springs as quickly as possible to help keep her modesty.

That's how Ban Changnu came to ponder the opposing feelings going through her head and the ideas of dichotomies in general.

She heard a small splash and looked over to see Zheng Rou, the bound spirit beast of Zheng Ying, happily floating on his back in the hot spring, his body greedily soaking up the fire qi found here. Ban Changnu could still hear Zheng Ying talking with the matron of this troop, most of the intent of the conversation being carried on qi between the two, and decided to glance up at them. Zheng Ying seemed to be grooming the old macaque pulling out small spirits of disease clinging onto the spirit beast while another of the Crystal Spring Macaques was on the Zheng girl's back doing the same for her.
Ban Changnu told herself that the heat on her cheeks was merely from the temperature of the water and suddenly found her hair to be much more interesting than the physique of her free spirited friend. Her hair had grown a few shades darker after she reached Silver Physique, becoming a true black now. The twin decided that doing some cultivation while she waited for Zheng Ying to stop gossiping like a neighborhood mother would be for the best.

It wasn't long before she heard Zheng Ying slide into the pool across from her with a sigh. "Sorry that took so long, granny over there can be a real chatterbox but the info she gives is good. I might also be angling to get one of these guys as another spirit companion." Daring a look up at her friend, Ban Changnu found that she was both relieved, and some other feeling that was the opposite of relieved she didn't want to name, when she saw the steam and water of the hot spring obscured enough of her friend that nothing inappropriate was showing.

"It's no problem. This is relaxing and makes for a good cultivation site. Why do I feel traces of earth and mountain qi in the water though?" Ban Changnu asked, running her hand across the surface of the water.

"Oh, that's cause of the cousins over there." With a thumb Zheng Ying gestured over the Crystal Spring Macaques. "See, they travel all over the mountain, gather qi from it and the earth and then they come to hot springs like this and release it to mingle with the water and fire qi. The qi's mix and it becomes a more refined… 'crystal' qi is what you might call it. That or pre metal? Either way you could consider it a more pure earth qi that they then take back into themselves but some of it gets left over. It's why these guys are valued for their skin and fur and why I help them groom whenever I meet up with them."

Ban Changnu raised an eyebrow in confusion at the auburn haired girl. "What do you mean?"

With a flip of her hand Ban Changnu could see a small clump of almost white looking fur between Zheng Ying's fingers. "Bits and pieces of their fur get either broken or old and fall out but can get tangled up with the good stuff. Ta help keep things clean and bad spirits away they groom each other and get rid of the old and broken stuff. You can crush the fur into powder and use it as a crafting material or it makes for a pretty good seasoning!" Zheng Ying's easy and bright smile came to her face as she talked with Ban Changnu. After that little discussion they slipped into a companionable silence for a few moments until Ban Changnu broke it.

"Zheng Ying, is it alright if I ask you a question?" Usually Ban Changnu wasn't so hesitant to ask her friend questions but she thought this one might be a sore subject to bring up.

"Is it alright if I don't answer?" Zheng Ying shot back with a smirk.

"Of course!" The twin replied quickly, taking the playful jibe seriously. "I just don't want to be rude or upset you."

With a soft chuckle Zheng Ying splashed a little water at the darker haired girl. "Go ahead, ask your question."

Taking a moment to think about the best way to ask this, she hadn't even thought about it until Ban Zhangzi had mentioned it a few days ago, she asked with a small voice. "Why did you decide to come to the Blue Mountain Sect?"

Zheng Ying hummed in thought then fell silent for a moment. Then another moment passed but before Ban Changnu could apologize for asking a question her friend wouldn't answer Zheng Ying spoke.

"Let me ask you this. Have you ever heard of Zheng Lu, King of Explorers?"

With a shake of her head the dark haired twin replied, "No, can't say that I have."

Zheng Ying snapped her fingers and pointed at Ban Changnu. "And that is why I'm here."

A look of confusion scrunched up Ban Changnu's face. "I'm not sure I follow."

With a huff Zheng Ying continued her explanation. "So, the Zheng, pretty great clan if you ask me. Got the best brewers around, plenty of heroes to look up to, take care of the people around them and actually live their lives instead of that 'leaving behind mortal concerns' crap. But do you know what we don't have?"

Seeing an opportunity she couldn't pass up, "Laws?" is what Ban Changnu replied with a playful smirk.

"Psh, we've got plenty of sensible laws! Just not a bunch of stupid ones like how many cabagges you can give to your number before having to report them for being poor or something like that. No, what we don't have is books and records!"

"Books and records?" An eyebrow went up on Ban Changnu's face to go along with her earlier smirk as she held in her laughter.

"No, no, I'm explaining this wrong! We have books and records!" Rubbing her face in both hands the energetic girl plunged her head beneath the water, Ban Changnu could sense her friend cycling her qi to try and calm down. Zheng Ying pulled her head back up out of the water, her red locks usually spiked up now laying flat against her head, and took a breath. "Okay, let me try it this way. Back ta King of Explorers Zheng Lu. Take a guess as ta how much we have written down about him."

Ban Changnu imagined that if someone was called King of Explorers he would probably have a few volumes to his name but if this was going where she thought it was now, "A few books?"

Zheng Ying shook her head. "A few scraps of letters and some documentation on when and where he was born and raised. From those few scraps and some records from other provinces we know he travelled over the entire Empire, went west out past tha Bloody Jungles and visited lands across the sea that not even the Xuan have seen or know about. That's it. Enough ta speculate but that's it." The usually boisterous girl was much more solemn now as she shook her head again and sighed.

"So, I found the best place to learn about writing an' protectin' books. Best ways to preserve an' distribute. How ta record somethin' so it stays safe even if ya on the open seas. And the least likely place to drive me crazy ta learn how ta!" Zheng Ying laughed a little before sinking deeper into the relaxing waters. "Then, I'm gonna travel all over like Zheng Lu did and not only write my own stories down but the stories of all the important an' interesting people I meet too! And! Makin' sure that it gets published and sent all over for people ta read!"

"Wow…" Ban Changnu couldn't help but stare in awe at her friend. "That's amazing… makes me realize how little I've thought about what I'm going to do in the future."

Ban Changnu nearly jumped when she heard/received Zheng Rou speak, still floating on his back and being quiet enough that she nearly forgot he was there. "Is okay. Still learning. Ying just too eager to grow up."

"Whatever," Zheng Ying splashed some water onto Rou who squawked an objection. "Just make sure ta tell me when ya do. Like I said, gonna write about important and interesting people."

As she sank into the water up to her nose Ban Changnu could almost convince herself the flush on her cheeks was due to the heat and fire qi present. Almost.

—

After her talk with Zheng Ying at the hot springs Ban Changnu found herself… thinking a lot more. Thinking about the future specifically. What did she want? It was a question that was itching and burning inside her mind. And she realized something.

All of this self reflection would probably be better if she could focus it through an art. She was a doer not a sit around and thinker! She would still be sitting around and thinking but she would be doing something too!

So, after getting help from Zheng Ying and Ban Zhangzi to catch a Stonehide Boar for one of the elders, she found herself with enough favor to get limited access to the next level of the library. Using her precious time there she grabbed a few new potential arts and found one that was exactly what she was looking for.

Still Moon Reflection was what it was called. It was described as 'Looking into the still waters at night let's one learn of the moon without looking upon it. So too can one look upon themselves and learn. In this understanding of the self only time will change you as time changes the moon.'

With her new art in hand Ban Changnu began cultivating it whenever she could. It began to make her ask questions about herself she hadn't thought to ask before. Her first question of 'What did she want to do in the future?' was the wrong question to ask. The first question she should ask is 'Where did she come from?' followed by 'Did she want to go back there.'

Ban Changnu thought upon that. She had come from a simple but good home. Her mother, a smith, and her father, a woodgatherer of Xiangmen, one of the people that went out and harvested the dead branches that broke off the great tree. A good life. But Ban Changnu was already catching up to them in cultivation, and could potentially exceed them within a few years. After hearing about Zheng Ying's grand plans she couldn't be satisfied with that simple life.

The next question, 'Where was she going?' and 'Did she want that?' Wasn't that what she was trying to decide? No, she was thinking about it wrong again. If she continued on this aimless path and continued what she was doing where would she end up? She was good at fighting, it was the thing she had learned quickest here and what she seemed to be best at. If she continued doing only what she was the best at, what she learned the easiest, she would probably end up in the army or joining the Maidenguards at the Sect. Again, Ban Changnu thought, not a bad thing and perhaps something she would do for a time but not the thing she truly wanted that didn't feel like the end goal she wanted.

'Who did she have with her?' and 'Did she want those people with her?' Her immediate answer, Ban Zhangzi. She could hardly imagine a future without him. They were twins and knew each other so well! Whenever she imagined a future he was there with her or at least not too far away.

Okay, she was getting somewhere with this, at least she knew her plans had to be talked with her brother before deciding anything. Alright, what was the next question?

'What paths lay before you?' That was what she was trying to find out! There were so many. The Sect had paths to become workers in the Diviner's Library, or become part of the Maidenguard or Hero's Regiment, or to become a Temple Monk but there were more opportunities than that too! She and Ban Zhangzi could potentially form their own clan if their cultivation continued to grow as it did. Or go off on adventures with Zheng Ying maybe!

Ban Changnu felt like a tree seed that had just been planted. Who knows how deep it's roots would go or how high and far it's branches would spread. And what kind of tree was she even in this metaphor? There were too many choices and she was just starting!

That's when it hit her. She was just starting. She had completely dismissed what Zheng Rou had said back at the hot springs. Why? Just so she could have an answer for Zheng Ying? Because hearing her friend's goal made her want to have her own? Her form wasn't set yet, she could still grow and try anything she wanted really.

With that a sense of peace fell over her and Ban Changnu opened her eyes. She had been cultivating next to a lake, no ripples disturbed it's surface that night. Looking over herself she realized how young she truly was. As she looked at her reflection she suddenly felt a voice next to her ear, and not from her Flushed Lover's Wind art. A hand on her shoulder stopped her from jumping up and she suddenly felt paralyzed, unable to move. The thing that scared her most was she did not see anything besides her reflection.

"You have done well." The voice said, soft and feminine. "To become still and to see yourself are the first steps but they are not the hardest."

Another voice, deeper and fuller but still that of a woman whispered in her other ear and another hand was placed on her shoulder. "As you see yourself will you be able to see others? One may survive…"

"But two can thrive. Take our gift…"

"Learn and seek us out."

With that she felt a jade slip in her hand and suddenly she could move again as the hands and voices left.

Licking her lips Ban Changnu hesitantly pushed a bit of qi into the jade slip. What came back was a cultivation art. Eight Phase Ceremony.


A.N.
Pfft, who needs to work when you can write Omakes for the Omake throne @yrsillar
I may have a problem.

Future Days: Crimson Dance

It is said that anything can be bought in the city of Lingbaoshen. Gleaming jewel of the south, filled with eager merchants seeking to transmute what they have into what others want. Wood, iron, spice, jewels, and more are all brought to fill the city's grand bazaars. Greedy eyes eternally watch the city, but those that have tempered their greed with wisdom abide by the laws of the Ling. Not everyone is wise though, and men are always willing to convince themselves that they will be the ones to evade justice.

The Plum Tree's Shade was a reputable tea house near the outer ring of the city. Filled with merchants less skilled, or less connected, than their peers it was always crowded. A mortal could walk in, drink his tea, have a conversation, then leave and no one would be the wiser.

Inside in a semi private booth Ling Feng sat enjoying his tea. It was chilled to just the right temperature and each sip brought a faint floral smell with it. A wonderful tea for something crafted by a mortal. It was something he enjoyed and let him practice his veils. Fear always tainted the tea.

"I don't know why you insist on meeting here. The palace is so much more comfortable."

Before, Ling Feng had been alone. Now there was a man sitting across from him, dressed in muted colors of blue and white. Ten iron rings adorned the other man's fingers and they clicked as he drummed against the table.

"It cuts down on frivolous requests. You know that Ling Yuhan." Ling Feng said, putting his tea down silently. The smell of wet iron and the sound of dancing feet filled the space around them, muting the other guests of the establishment.

"If you learned to just say no to some of them that would be sufficient." Ling Yuhan said a slight frown, the only mar to his perfectly placid features.

"Saying no makes me feel bad." Ling Feng said, taking another sip of his tea. A shame that the faint floral smell was being masked by iron, it made the tea so much less enjoyable.

"You are ridiculous."

Ling Feng shrugged.

"Still as much as I want you to be reasonable there is a mission we have for you, so here I am."

"We?" Ling Feng asked.

"The elder's council."

"Oh? You've gone up in the world. That must have been quite a bit of work to get such a high gopher position. Are you still able to enjoy the flower gardens?" Ling Feng said.

Ling Yuhan sighed. "Crude as ever I see. But I don't have time to argue with you today." A small white scroll appeared on the table, the only decoration a red wax seal pressed with the symbol of the waxing crescent.

With a flick of his qi Ling Feng split the seal open and let the scroll unfurl. There was a picture along with basic information: suspected age, cultivation, and rough location.

"Wan Da was a guardsman of a minor barony. By all accounts he was charismatic and skilled. He rose rapidly, eventually becoming the head guard." Ling Yuhan said. "Things changed when he broke through into the green realm before the baron's heir. Reports are hazy, but from what investigators have been able to piece together Wan Da seemed to have convinced the baron's heir that the baron was stifling the heir's advancement. We suspect poison was involved, but after the dust settled the entire family was killed by Wan Da who then took the spirit stones of the barony and fled into the wilderness with a group of previous guardsmen."

"I see," Ling Feng said as he peered at the picture of the man, "and the clan wants this handled in house before the ministries get involved."

"If it was just such banditry then the clan would be content to work with the ministries." Ling Yuhan refuted.

"So what are the complications?" Ling Feng asked.

"Her." Ling Yuhan said as another picture appeared. The girl within had unkempt hair and pale near lifeless eyes. Hunger oozed out of the picture. "Gulina is the daughter of an emissary serving on the Great Althing. She was heading north towards the Argent Sect for tea with the Li clan."

Ling Feng nodded at the euphemism. Imperial thought that everyone beyond the borders were barbarians was frustrating at times, but other times provided a very convenient legal smoke screen.

"Diviners at the scene have confirmed that Wan Da was behind the attack. We need to move fast, and scrambling our more visible forces will alert the ministries that something has happened. Having them sniff around this case could be problematic."

"So you turn to me." Ling Feng said.

"As much as I might dislike you," Ling Yuhan said, "I do believe you are the best suited to handling such a task. How soon can you move out?"

"How soon?" Ling Feng said, his body beginning to twist and shatter. "As soon as you pulled out the scroll I was moving." Ling Feng was gone, replaced by breaking prismatic shards and a crooked too wide blood stained smile of a spirit, before even that vanished.

"I hate that man." Ling Yuhan said. Just before he stepped through the shadows of the city back to the much more comfortable palace a server walked to the table.

"Your bill, honored customer."

I truly hate that man." Ling Yuhan repeated.

***
On a craggy cliff leagues away from Lingbaoshen the world fractured. A dozen dancers swept each other through the barrier of the liminal realm and began to party on the cliff face. Ling Feng bowed to his partner and as the other spirits laughed he strode into the trees, leaving the party behind.

"Picking up anything yet?" Ling Feng asked. Above him in the trees a wide crooked smile stained with blood appeared followed shortly by the rest of his spirit's body.

"Not yet." Guiying, his spirit, purred. "I only sense the fear of the woodland creatures, and there is no cold from the deep south here."

Ling Feng frowned. Guiying was an expert tracker, able to pick up fear from leagues away. They were close to where the Ling diviners said the bandits were, close enough that they should be able to sense any human fears. Either the bandits somehow did not fear anything, unlikely from what he knew of bandits, or the bandits were nowhere near this location, unlikely given what he knew of Ling diviners, or somehow the bandits were blocking Guiying's ability.

"Guiying." He said. "What did the mission scroll say about the barony Wan Da came from?"

"The Peng clan was recognized three generations ago. Focus was on art, specifical pottery."

"Hmm…" Ling Feng hummed as he jumped up into the trees. A couple more jumps brought him into the canopy. Nothing stood out to him. There were no roads, no smoke, no glint of metal. Nothing to show that this face of the mountain was any different from any other face. He groaned. It was going to take so much time if he had to take Guiying through a grid search pattern looking for a zone empty of fear. Then he saw it.

A glint of metal.

Only for the briefest of moments, but there was a glint of metal. He now had a direction.

The trees whipped by him, branches causing his form to blur as they passed through him, and soon he reached the spot where he saw the glint of metal. There on the ground was a band of iron, about the correct size for a child. Polar work.

"Found a lead." Ling Feng muttered to himself. His eyes swept through the surrounding forest and above him he could feel Guiying conducting his own search in the liminal realm. There was no sign of passage. No broken twigs, no scuffed bark. A bandit group moving through here would certainly have left a mark, but there was nothing. Only this band of iron.

Ling Feng held it up to his face and spun it around his fingers. It was heavy and sturdy, but even this band had several dents and marks on it. But that shouldn't be the case. A daughter of an emissary would have the best jewelry, the strongest iron. Falling to the ground shouldn't cause it to dent like this. Unless it had fallen several times.

With a single leap Ling Feng jumped up to an outcropping of rocks higher on the mountain. There. A scuff. This band of iron hadn't been dropped here. It had rolled from further up the mountain.

Up and up Ling Feng ran, following the faint trail that a rolling bracelet caused. It paid off. There was a path that people took. Unhurried confident people. Following that trail allowed Ling Feng to find a crack in the mountain big enough for a burly man to fit through, if only just.

"Anything inside?" Ling Feng asked.

"It is a void." His spirit whispered into his mind. "There is no fear from anything inside the crack. Either nothing lives in it, or something is blocking me."

"Do we need to change our plan?"

"I don't think so. I feel no danger, no instinct screaming out. Even if there are more active defenses against me I don't think they would be enough."

"Very well. Let's start then, just be careful." In his mind's eye Ling Feng felt the widening smile of an already too wide smile. He shook his head. What a thirst for fear.

The crack did not stay small for long. It quickly widened into an entire cavern. Crystals grew from the ceiling and illuminated the room with a soft blue glow. Enormous ledges filled the room above his head and the hard stone floor ended abruptly turning into soft sand. As Ling Feng crossed from the hard stone of the crevice and stepped onto the sand he felt a tingle run down his spine and a pleased flick of the tail from Guiying. It seemed as if whatever masked the cavern only worked when one was outside of it. Still this was something he would likely need to tell Ling Yuhan about. This cavern was old and it wouldn't do to let another group of bandits hide in it.

In the center of the sandy cavern were the bandits. A group of about thirty laughed and ate around a large campfire. Off in the corner he could see the complication gnawing away at some iron bars. Ling Feng could feel her hunger even from here. Were the bandits even feeding her?

"Hey!"

Finally one of the bandits had noticed him. Now they could start.

"What are you doing here?"

"I am Ling Feng and you have something that doesn't belong to you." Ling Feng said. "I'm here to take it back."

"I don't think so." A large man stood up from the fire. Instead of a shirt the man wore belts. Different trinkets hung from the belts and glinted in the fire and crystal light. He nocked an arrow in his bow but instead of pointing the arrow at Ling Feng he pointed it at the captive. "Not one step closer or she gets it."

"Wan Da, I presume?" Ling Feng said as he stopped and looked the other man over. "What exactly is your plan? Few bandits have the guts to attack a trade convoy carrying the Ling symbol, and your profile suggests intelligence."

"My plan is to get what I deserve." Wan Da said.

"What you deserve?"

"Yes. Saving the daughter of an Emissary, especially an Emissary of the Great Althing, will be quite the feather in our cap. A big enough feather to get a place of my own to rule."

Ling Feng fought back a grimace. Both at the stupidity of the plan and the fact that Wan Da knew that Gulina was the daughter of an Emissary. A lot of people were going to have to answer a lot of awkward questions in the coming days. He couldn't even just kill the idiots. Gulina's delicate nature blocked a great deal of his options. He needed to buy a little bit more time.

"Why do you deserve to rule?" He asked. There, that should start a long enough monolog.

"Why? Why?" Wan Da growled. "I deserve to rule because I am strong, and others are weak."

"Oh?"

"We've gone weak. The Cloud Barbarians are beaten curs, too afraid to act as our whetstone, and your Ling Clan is too concerned with trade, wealth, and decadence. There is no war, no blood spilled, no threshing floor to separate out the chaff."

"Is that why you killed the Peng Clan?"

"Exactly!" Wan Da said. "They were weak, unfit to rule. I should have led that land. It was my bow that kept the beasts away. My tears shed when a guard died in the line of duty. It was my strength, my people. It should have been my land too."

"What about the mortals of the land?" Ling Feng said.

"The mortals? What about them?" Wan Da said, confused.

"I see. How enlightening." Ling Feng said as he stepped forward one pace.

"Not another step!" Wan Da said, bow pulling back even further.

"Or what? You'll kill the whole purpose of your plan if you release your bow."

"Then we'll just have to bring the head of her killer with us."

"It is best," Ling Feng said, voice echoing in just the right way to draw everyone's attention to him, "to reach heaven with a tower of marble and gold. Things do not have to be difficult, and I believe the ease with which your descendents build is proof of how well you lived your life. Yet it is true that a dog who lives in comfort too long forgets how to bare their fangs. And sometimes fangs need to be bared so towers don't collapse and blood doesn't turn rubble slick. It's why I've built my tower from blood and bones."

Wan Da paled and released his arrow. It punched through Gulina, sending cracks spreading across her body. Her smile widened, too wide for any human, before she fractured into dozens of prismatic pieces. Then Ling Feng dropped his veil and the power of a cyan washed over the room. It was over.

Blood squelched under foot as Ling Feng flipped over bodies and patted them down, searching for anything that could be of help identifying co-conspirators. The diviners were going to have a field day with this mess.

"How's Gulina doing?" He asked.

"She's doing well." Guiying said from their lounge atop one of the shelves above. Their tail flicked side to side showcasing happiness. When one was always smiling different methods of body language were needed. "Gave her some minor fears to gnaw on, sent her straight to sleep."

"You gave her some of your catch?" Ling Feng asked. There, a love letter on one of the bandits, addressed to a home in Lingbaoshen. Something for the clan to work with.

"She's cute." Guiying said. "Made me think about having kids of my own one day."

"I'm not going to babysit for you." Ling Feng said.

Guiying arched their back. "I wouldn't want you too even if you would."

"What does that mean?"

They continued to bicker even as Ling Feng walked outside the cavern, pulled Gulina over his shoulder, and began the long run home.

A.N
Feel pretty meh about this one, I finished it though so I posted it. @yrsillar Omake.

Fortuitous Encounter with a Xuanwu

Roots, trunks, and branches surrounded Ye Qiu as he kept his head down to peer at the map depicting the trail to a Yellow-Bellied Loquat tree. Supposedly. He should already have been heading back to his little home if the map had been accurate, but it should at least get him to the general area. Hopefully. Another wild goose chase was not a good idea right now. Running his hands through the black mop that was his hair, Ye Qiu took a moment to gather his bearings. A light breeze ruffled the green-leafed canopy above him, causing the dappled pattern of sunlight on the ground to shift. Then the smell of loam and… smoke drifted closer and made him pause for a bit with a smile. Maybe a fellow brother or sister was out here cooking something? Or a senior brother? Perhaps they could direct him to the Yellow-Bellied Loquat.

Making his way deeper into the forest, following the scent of smoke, Ye Qiu worked on avoiding protruding roots and branches. It took more than a bit of caution to avoid stumbling or getting smacked in the face, but he didn't want to appear before a senior looking less than his best. Then, just as he ducked out of a thicket, his heart violently stopped in his chest. A Xuanwu stood munching on some bushes with its snake half curled around the shell looking like it was taking a nap. Surrounding them was scorched land filled with a variety of statutes that appeared to be tortoises. With breath frozen in his lungs, Ye Qiu reached out towards the beast with his qi sense. A third-grade beast.

At least it hadn't appeared to have noticed him yet, seemingly content to munch on foliage. Stepping back behind the trunk of a tree, Ye Qiu let out a ragged breath. This was fine. He was safe. The spirit beast who could crunch him for breakfast was more interested in the shrubbery than in a red soul like himself. As he looked out into the forest though, a bolt of adrenaline shot through him. He didn't know how to get back. Focused so much on tracing the smell with his nose, he forgot where he had started, or how to get back. He could choose to wander the forest and hope to find something which would put him on the right track… or try to deal with the Xuanwu. It was clearly practicing its sculpting ability which spoke to an intelligence. An intelligence meant that appeasement was likely to work. Better than wandering though. Hopefully.

Stepping out into the clearing holding the Xuanwu, Ye Qiu took a breath, bowed his head, and dredged up everything he had heard about appeasing spirits. "Oh great and mighty spirit, this one begs your pardon for intruding upon your domain, however, I could not help but seek out the one who has crafted such wonderful territory!"

Shuffles and some whispers from the Xuanwu followed his proclamation, but he kept his head down deferentially with his breathing at a nice and steady rhythm. Despite the pounding of his heart. Then the spirit beast spoke, in an oddly harmonized voice of rumbling earth and hissing steam.

"We accept your words, little cultivator, and are pleased by them! We are Zhengui. What is your name?"
Precious? Real Turtle? Was that a pun? Zhengui probably wasn't a name that a spirit beast from the wild would assume, only if it was given. Was Zhengui a cultivator's companion? Maybe one of the inner sect disciples viewing the Outer Sect Tournament? "My name is Ye Qiu, oh great one. It is an honor to meet a spirit beast as powerful and beautiful as yourself. If it is not too presumptuous of this one, I would beg a favor from you."

"A favor?"

"Yes, oh mighty spirit of the land. This one is tasked by the Sect with finding Yellow-Bellied Loquat. If in your great knowledge and wisdom you know where such a tree is, this one would be eternally in your debt."

"What's it taste like?" rumbled the spirit beast guilelessly.

There was a weight in the air now, tinged with disbelief. Risking a glance up, Ye Qiu saw the tortoise part of the Xuanwu looking straight at him with a questioning tilt to their head. The snake half, however, was raised up as if aggrieved and glaring at the tortoise head.

"I… I don't know," Ye Qiu began, "But here is a picture?"

Rummaging around in his pocket, he pulled out a neatly folded square of paper. Unfolding it to its full size, he held it out in front of himself and towards the two pairs of eyes that had now focused on the picture painted on the sheet.

"Ahh!" Zhengui rumbled, "I know where to get that fruit. It is nice and sweet! Come, I'll lead you there."

And with that they began to trundle away, each step shaking loose leaves from the canopy above. The snake half seemed to preen a bit at Ye Qiu's gaze, but before Zhengui had left the clearing it had already coiled around the tortoiseshell and appeared to be… sulking? Ye Qiu hastened to follow, staying a respectful distance behind Zhengui. Their destination was thankfully not far, just a few minutes of walking. A large shrub, or small tree, decorated a neat plot of ground that other larger trees had ignored, getting sunlight from a break in the canopy. Hanging from the branches were bright orange fruits with a strip of acidic yellow running from the center to the bottom. Yellow-Bellied Loquat.

At their arrival, however, shrill screeches echoed from the throats of a flock of birds that had taken up residence in the tree. Hopping from branch to branch, the birds spread their wings menacingly. A grunt from Zhengui and vines speared upwards from the ground, impaling some of them. Others became trapped in small orbs of roots that had sprouted from the tips of the vines. The rest fled in a whirlwind of wings.

"Here we go!" Rumbled Zhengui as they took a solid bite out of four of the fruits. "Some fruits for you and fruits for me."

Indeed, there was plenty here to meet the sect's mission. Grabbing his bag, Ye Qiu started plopping the fruit inside one at a time. As he did, his eyes caught Zhengui's snake half swallowing the dead birds, one at a time. After it was done, it began grabbing the vines that had birds trapped on their ends, it dragged and wrapped them around the tortoiseshell. It was crude, and some of the vines might slip off at a moment's notice, but clearly Zhengui was saving some food.

"Honored one," Ye Qiu began hesitantly, "do you normally save food for later?"

"No. But Hanyi has been practicing for some time, we thought she might enjoy our company and a snack!"

"Ahh."

Shuffling quietly to the side, Ye Qiu began filling his bag again. It wasn't his concern, and he couldn't stop Zhengui even if he tried. No matter how queasy it made him feel that someone, or something, would like live birds as a snack. He had enough troubles of his own. Like finding his way back to his outer sect home.

A/N: @yrsillar another omake for the omake throne! When I saw the characters we could interact with this upcoming turn, I saw one which didn't have any options! Zhengui! So, here is something I thought that Zhengui might be doing during the final days of the tournament. I hope you enjoy the read!

It had been several months since Ban Changnu had received the Eight Phase Ceremony and shared it with her brother. Ban Zhangzi had to admit, it had greatly helped with their cultivation, spurring it on to greater heights. But, while it did help, Ban Zhangzi found it to be a bit… antithetical? Or perhaps contrasting would be better? Either way, he had started to use more Solar based arts and while the Celestial qi gathered by the Eight Phase Ceremony helped there was also a push back. It was as if instead of having to simply swim across a river he was having to swim against the current as well. Possible but there was a loss as well.

That was neither here nor there however. Right now Ban Zhangzi was on a quest. His second quest to increase his understanding of the Eight Phase Ceremony actually. The first had been fairly simple, Ban Zhangzi and Ban Changnu had chosen the Reflective Moons at the same time and received the same quest, to gather the major powers in the Outer Sect and have a summit of sorts. Gathering people like Lan Caihe, Zheng Ying, and a few others hadn't been too hard. Getting them to talk openly and come to a concessis was anything but easy.

There had been a few shouting matches and more than one honor duel challenge given but they had finally come together on a few points. The major one being that, in the spirit of what the Blue Mountain Sect was about, they would add a new portion to the message board that requests were put on. This would let anyone put up any additional knowledge about posted requests that could be useful or any sort of warning about certain areas or list points of interest people might be wanting to investigate. It wasn't much but the Elders did allow it once they brought the idea to them.

Ban Zhangzi shook his head, his thoughts had been wandering again. His second quest was for the Hidden Moon. He was to find a stone staircase hidden by a berry bush filled with juicy red berries that stood on top of an unnaturally round cliff. That was much easier said than done and Ban Zhangzi had spent the better part of two days now searching for that round cliff but he had finally found it.

Cutting back the berry bush so he could access the stone stairs Ban Zhangzi noted the extremely faded formations around the entrance along with two discolored parts of the stone where something metal may have been. A guarded trap doorway then, though what the wards may have done at one point Ban Zhangzi couldn't tell, as worn down as the formations were.

The stairs led down into a simple, straight corridor and Ban Zhangzi made sure that his art of Perfected Sight of Geomancy, which allowed him to see even minute changes in qi or energy flow, was fully active. Studying the walls as he walked down the corridor Ban Zhangzi couldn't help but be a little impressed at the craftsmanship that must have gone into this place. What must have been perfectly smooth stone was now chipped and carved by wind. Small piles of dust and pebbles littered the floor and Ban Zhangzi could see a light at the end of the…

…now stood at the end of the tunnel, overlooking the ravine the cliff sat above. Whatever this tunnel used to be a part of had collapsed and filled the ravine so long ago that nothing could be discovered about it, just a pile of rocks amongst all the others. The tunnel was empty and led to nothing it seemed.

But that wasn't right. In his vision Ban Zhangzi remembered seeing a stone door in the wall. It was fuzzy and that's where the vision had ended but there should have been something else in the corridor. Taking a steading breath and cycling his qi Ban Zhangzi turned around and began walking the path back to the stairs. He kept a careful eye on the floor and walls looking for any sort of indication that there was…

…coming to the stairs again Ban Zhangzi stopped. Carefully reviewing his memories and the flow of energy in the hallway he realized he had missed something. There was a jump, the flows of energy didn't match up right, as if they had travelled further than he had seen. Something was causing him to forget a section of the hallway without him realizing it. Was it some sort of creature or spirit? A still active formation even after all this time? He had to figure out what was going on.

Picking up a handful of pebbles and counting twelve total he came up with an idea. Throwing the first pebble about twenty paces in front of him he then quickly recounted the pebbles he still had in his hand. Eleven. Repeating that number to himself he then walked forward to where the pebble he had thrown landed. Ban Zhangzi continued to repeat this as he walked down the corridor.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Four.

Ban Zhangzi stopped. He remembered throwing the six stone and walking up to it but not the seventh stone when he had five left in his hand. So, he was still acting and doing things he just couldn't remember doing it and something was hiding the door from his perception as well.

Walking ten steps backwards and then stopping, Ban Zhangzi waited a moment on the highest alert. Waiting for anything to shift. …Nothing. He stepped back another five paces and waited again. There. He could feel some presence whispering into his mind. Forget. Forget. Forget.

Using his Dawn Forge art he summoned a dagger made out of Solar qi into his hand. From the corner of his eye he saw the briefest flicker of nothing, just the shortest disturbance in the flows of energy. He turned and stabbed towards it and heard…

…on his hands and knees panting. FORGET FORGET FORGET pounding at his head and Ban Zhangzi felt the sting of claws digging into his right shoulder. Throwing himself upwards and back into a wall he heard a scream of pain in his mind. Summoning another dagger of light into his left hand he stabbed behind himself before turning to…

…a last feeble pull of for…get… Ban Zhangzi could already feel the wounds he had received from the… creature?... beginning close and staunch the flow of blood as he continued to cycle his qi throughout his body. Even now with it gone Ban Zhangzi could only describe the creature as an absence, as a thing that was more defined but what was around it than anything else.

With a shudder Ban Zhangzi wondered what would happen to someone if a thing like that grabbed a hold of them and stayed attached.

On a less terrifying note I can see the door at least now. Was Ban Zhangzi's thought. And what a door it was! Intricately carved formations of binding, protection, and preservation still mostly intact. All of the formations came together into a depiction of a tree's branches reaching up and surrounding a sun where there was a spot for a spirit stone to sit, a spirit stone that was currently gray and turning to dust. Another thought entered the twins mind, how powerful of a stone was that to have lasted this long?

Taking out some paper and charcoal from a storage ring, Ban Zhangzi took some quick rubbings of the formation work to study later. Then, pushing on the door with all his strength he was able to get it to move. It took several pushes, the sound of stone grinding against stone and dust falling all over him, but Ban Zhangzi was able to get it open and into the small room that lay beyond.

Looking inside there wasn't much to note. There were two piles of what may have once been furniture, perhaps a desk and a bookshelf, but were more accurately described as piles of dirt and splinters now. What was of interest though was what appeared to be a stone chest still intact.

Quickly moving over to the chest, Ban Zhangzi saw more beautiful formation work. There were five points for spirit stones to power the formations, one in each corner and then in the center, all empty safe for a bit of gray dust. Some of the formations were easy enough to discern, locking and protecting ones obviously, but a few were harder to decipher. If Ban Zhangzi was reading them correctly it seemed to do with preservation and… the flow of time? Perhaps better preserving what was inside by slowing down the flow of time? That would help explain the need for five spirit stones to power it.

Not seeing any traps and after taking a few more rubbing copies with charcoal, Ban Zhangzi carefully opened the stone chest. Inside he found a shield of white jade and a sword of black jade, some impressive if outdated looking formation tools of green jade and an unlabeled book looking as if it was about to fall apart.

Gingerly picking up the simple book the male twin opened it and carefully turned the pages with the utmost care just as he had been taught by the elders of the Sect.

Much of it was too faded to read but Ban Zhangzi did find three interesting passages. The first two were on the sword and shield stored with the book. From what he could glean it seemed the sword was supposed to be able to cut across any distance as if the target of your strike was right in front of you and the shield was supposed to expand space in such a way that the enemy would never strike it. Unfinished work but it seemed promising.

The third passage seemed very odd and he could only make out parts of it still but it read along the lines of "Grander whole… like a hand with the fingers working against… all comes from the Father and Mother including… return… barriers between… see with the nomads that two can… erase them and bring all people… liminal also supports… greater oneness."

It didn't make much sense to Ban Zhangzi but he was definitely going to copy what he could from this before submitting it to the Sect to try to restore and store. With a careful thought and wave of his hand Ban Zhangzi stored the journal and the jade items he found in his storage ring.

Walking back to the stairs Ban Zhangzi thought, all in all this was a good quest.

—

With a sigh, Ban Changnu sent another look at her brother's back. It was still weird to see him with that gray hair color he had taken on ever since breaking into Silver Physique. After he had cut it short Ban Changnu had teased him about being too young to look like a grandpa.

But their now differing hair color was not why she was sighing right now. She was sighing because she had accompanied her brother on an expedition to the fourth floor of the Revealing Moon Library. The potentially most dangerous floor as unlike the previous three floors the oldest and most used books were found here. Being the oldest and most used, this meant many of them had started to develop item spirits in truth and not just nascent ones like on the third floor.

"You know you didn't have to come if you didn't want to." Ban Zhangzi said, not turning to his sister but keeping a lookout for anything that might be dangerous along with what they were looking for. What they were currently looking for was a book that had seemingly clawed its way out of the bookshelf it should have been on and off somewhere deeper into the library.

"It's not that I didn't want to but more that I needed to." She returned, looking down at the censer of burning incense she held in her hand. It was an impressive little piece that Ban Zhangzi had made that kept most spirits and beasts of the lower realms either away or calm. It certainly helped when you were wanting to go into the more dangerous parts of the Sect.

Even though she couldn't see it, Ban Changnu knew her brother was rolling his eyes. "And why did you NEED to join me?"

"Because someone NEEDS to watch your back down here." A beat. "And I have something I've been meaning to talk about."

"So you thought it was best to talk about it while we hunted for a book?"

Ban Changnu couldn't help the snort of laughter at that. "Our hunt for the book has turned into a HUNT for the book." The joke caused both twins to stop and try to stifle the bout of giggles it brought on. "But seriously, this seemed like as good a time as any and we should be away from any prying ears."

Holding up his hand, Ban Zhangzi stopped Ban Changnu as he stooped down to examine the floor before saying, "This way," and turning left down an intersection of bookshelves. "What is it you wanted to talk about then?"

Biting her lip and trying to fight the blush she could feel rising on her cheeks Ban Changnu asked, "What… do you think about Zheng Ying?"

A cough and a stutter step from her brother. "Sorry? Um, that she's a kind and good friend?"

"That's not what I meant." Ban Changnu sighed.

"Then what did you mean?"

"I meant…" Hesitating, she bit her lip again before continuing, "I meant romantically."

Coming to a stop and spinning around, Ban Zhangzi looked directly into Ban Changnu's eyes. His eyes narrowed and Ban Changnu could faintly see the glow they seemed to take on when using his perception arts.

"You're serious, aren't you?"

A small nod from herself and then Ban Zhangzi spun back around and seemed to go back to his tracking. A few moments passed and he gestured for Ban Changnu to continue following him. After another few moments spent in silence his twin sister spoke up again. "So?"

"So what?"
Ban Changnu released a huff. "What do you think about Zheng Ying?!" She shouted as quietly as she could in a whisper. They were still in the library and being loud could bring unwanted attention. Dangerous attention.

Waiting for her brother to answer, Ban Changnu continued to follow him past several bookshelves before he spoke again.

"I don't think it would work out."

"How come?"

With a sigh Ban Zhangzi came to a stop and turned to his sister. "Two reasons really. First, we're commoners. Not only are we commoners, we're commoners from the Emerald Seas."

This time it was Ban Changnu that rolled her eyes. "Do you really think she would care about that?"

"That brings me to the second reason. The Zheng don't really think about love and marriage in the same way that we do."

The female twin raised an eyebrow in a 'go on' expression.

"Zheng don't really… do marriage. They might stick around for a few decades with a lover and have a few kids before handing the kids over to a Master to finish raising them but then they move onto a new lover. I've even read a few things that indicate they may have multiple lovers at a time!" Again, whisper shouting to not draw the attention of creatures in the library.

"Would that be so bad?"

Ban Zhangzi gave his twin an incredulous look. "What?"

"The whole multiple lovers thing."

Ban Zhangzi continued to look at his twin as if she was growing a second head.

With a huff Ban Changnu continued, "Look, the reason I bring it up is because I… I may have romantic feelings for her and I plan on telling her. And I wanted to know what you thought because I was pretty sure you did too and didn't want any bad feelings or anything but…"

"But if she was interested in both of us you just thought it might be better for everyone involved…"

A nod of the dark haired twin's head and then silence. Silence that was soon broken by the growl of a large cat.
Both looking up, the twins saw what appeared to be a stylized tiger made out of folded paper atop the bookshelf they were currently standing next to.

"I think we found your book." Changnu said before the beast lept at them with a roar.

Ban Changnu jumped back, pulling her staff out and beginning to cycle her qi to activate her arts while Ban Zhangzi's skin turned a gray color and he took the attack head on.

With the Paper Tiger's attention on her brother Ban Changnu was able to spend a moment to activate Xiangmen's Might, an art that imbued her next attack with all the power the topmost branches of Xiangmen held. With a leap carried by the wind Ban Changnu struck at the beast and dealt it a mighty blow, it's side crumpling from the impact as it was knocked away with a yowl.

The tiger quickly recovered, it's side popping back out before roaring at Ban Changnu and jumping at her again. This time she did not evade the attack by moving away but by simply leaning to the side and giving the smallest of knocks to redirect the big cat away from her. She was but a leaf on the wind with her Billowing Willow Stance.

Angered that this girl had hurt it and then had the audacity to not let the Paper Tiger maul her had the tiger leaping, clawing and biting at her. But whatever it tried it could not seem to land a hit.

With the tiger's attention all on her, Ban Changnu knew that Ban Zhangzi was setting up to do some damage himself. She saw the glow of his Dawn Forge as a saber of light appeared in his hands, smelt the faint ozone as he imbued it with the energy he had gotten from his Cache of Heaven's Might and then felt the odd sensation of him giving her qi and then that qi flowing back to him through her meridians using his Joyful Merchant's Road art. That last one was perhaps his oddest. It allowed him to pass his qi to another willing cultivator, have it change it into an attack art, and then let him use that attack as if it was his own while giving the other cultivator a bit of his qi in payment.

All of this happened while Ban Changnu continued to dance with the Paper Tiger, hitting it every now and then to keep it's attention on her. Then in a flash of light Ban Zhangzi was at the Tiger's side and cut it in half with his blade of light.

The creature burst into a whirlwind of paper with a terrible yowl of pain, opening tiny paper cuts on the twins that were quickly closed by qi, before reforming into a book and dropping to the ground.

"Henbang Jiqi's On the Formations of Space and Distance, yep, that's the book I was looking for." Ban Zhangzi said as he picked up and inspected the book.

"Good, we better start heading back as fast as we can. That fight probably alerted every spirit on this floor."

Ban Zhangzi nodded, "Good idea let's go."

Starting to jog away from the scene of their fight, Ban Zhangzi turned to his sister. "You can go ahead and tell Zheng Ying how you feel and…" With a blush he paused for a moment. "Feel free to mention me if you want…"

With a blush of her own, Ban Changnu nodded. "Right."

"What brought this idea of confessing to her anyways?"

As her blush deepened Ban Changnu cleared her throat and said, "I may have chosen Mother Moon as my second patron in the Eight Phase Ceremony and that's the quest she gave me."

Slowing down and then stopping Ban Changnu's brother gave her a disbelieving look. "So, I choose the Hidden Moon and spend almost half a week combing the mountain and then fighting a creature of pure forgetfulness but you get a quest to talk about your feelings?" A beat. "Yeah, your's is probably worse."

With a snort, Ban Changnu rolled her eyes. "You would say that. I swear pulling teeth is easier than getting you to talk about your feelings sometimes." She said with a fond shake of her head.

Something caught her eye though. It looked like a white jade slip was being used as a bookmark in the book they had just recovered. "What's that?" Ban Changnu asked, pointing at the odd bookmark.

"Hmm, let me see." Ban Zhangzi pulled it out and got that distant look one got when examining a jade slip. "Five Facet Rite? Looks like a Solar oriented version of the Eight Phase Ceremony."

"Huh, that's a lucky find."

A.N.
@yrsillar Omake for the Omake throne. I believe the next one of these will be the last in this little series I've got going on. Next time look forward to ascension to the third realm, what I think a Solar version of EPC might look like, and... love confessions?!