by Tao Wong
When she shot him a look, he lowered his voice. “You are too pretty to be alone at night. If they think we are together, you’re more invisible.”
Li Yao raised an eyebrow, then glanced at the hand Wu Ying held and flushed red. Public displays of affection like hand-holding were generally frowned upon. She released his fingers, making Wu Ying sad, but she didn’t stray away from him.
“Don’t you have to lead?” Li Yao said softly.
“Yin Xue knows the way,” Wu Yang said. “I prefer to be with you anyway.”
Li Yao blushed again and stared resolutely ahead. After some time, while the pair continued to watch the city, she spoke. “Thank you. But we should talk about this later. We should have our swords ready for now.”
Wu Ying sighed. Li Yao was right. It was not as though they weren’t in enemy territory. Not that the commoners around them looked any different from any other city he had visited. Same clothing, same style of hair. Maybe a bit of difference in the coloration of their clothing choices, in the accessories they chose. But even that was so slight it could be a matter of regional variation. If not for the slightly haunted looks on the occasional faces—the woman who stood in the corner weeping, comforted by her children who looked helplessly alongside her—he would have never known that the city had been under siege. At least this close to the docks, few signs of the battle that had taken place showed. Even food was relatively plentiful, though only the streetside hawkers were present, farmers and fishermen having finished for the day.
The paved road they traveled was wide and straight, an offshoot from the main road that ran toward the center of the city and the magistrate’s house. Once, it had been the Wen family residence, but that had been relinquished to the local magistrate. In turn, the family now owned a larger courtyard building next to their former domicile, one staffed and filled with branch member families and those in disgrace from the main family. Thankfully, the cultivators were headed farther north, toward the family tomb and the old city graveyard.
As Wu Ying looked around, he kept an eye out for soldiers and cultivators. But as expected, many of them had left with the army. It meant the city itself was understaffed, especially as some of the soldiers were helping with the reconstruction and clearance of burned buildings. Add to that the need to keep a higher number of soldiers on watch on the walls and those sweeping the countryside, and the city itself was sparse of soldiers on guard duties. The only real concern were the sub-prefectures[68] who would be on the lookout for civil disobedience, but they too would be hard-pressed by the fires.
Too bad the army had no intentions to loop around and attack the city when it was empty. Even if the soldiers were reduced in number, it was unlikely that any significant force could have sneaked by the patrols and done any additional damage anyway. And any sufficiently large force would still have to contend with the city wall and the city formations. If not for the relaxation of the formations to allow ships in, they would never have made their way in either.
Wu Ying spotted a young child playing with a small paper fan, the rotors on the fan catching the wind and spinning as she ran back and forth. Having turned to watch the girl, he kept on turning, using the child as an excuse to check on his friends. It was then he realized they were missing one of their members. He stopped, forcing Li Yao to halt as well.
“What’s wrong?” she said.
“Tou He.” Spinning around on the balls of his feet, knowing that he was making a little bit of a commotion, Wu Ying went on his tiptoes in search of his friend. How hard was it to miss a man in orange robes? Buddhist monks weren’t that common.
“There!” Li Yao pointed at a cluster of individuals surrounding Tou He.
The ex-monk had stopped, head bent as he spoke to the group of women and children who had accosted him. Wu Ying stepped toward his friend, but as if he sensed their regard, the monk shook his head slightly while meeting Wu Ying’s eyes. Wu Ying hesitated, only to feel an arm land on his own.
“Don’t. Dragging him away will cause even more of a commotion,” Li Yao said, leaning in to whisper to Wu Ying.
As he watched Tou He lay a hand on a bowed head, a hand held up to his chest in praying position, Wu Ying realized the crowd was asking for comfort. For prayers for lost ones. For… relief. And suddenly, he found himself reluctant to step forward. Even if he could drag his friend away, what right did he have to take away their comfort? It was not as if Tou He’s blessings, his regard, was any less effective because he had left the monastery.
Wu Ying offered his friend a nod and turned aside. Tou He knew where they were going. Wu Ying could only hope that Tou He would be able to extract himself and join them in time. Spinning on his heels, Wu Ying hurried after the pair of nobles who had continued down the street, having ignored the commotion. Wu Ying cursed himself, remembering that he’d forgotten to alert them.
At least nothing bad had happened. This time.
***
The remaining members of the party reached the graveyard without further incident. To Wu Ying’s surprise, he noticed that guards were patrolling the grounds, even in this time of chaos. As he considered why, Li Yao gestured at them.
“Peach wood,” Li Yao pointed out.
Wu Ying’s eyes widened in understanding. He had used those weapons before. In fact, he still had a peach wood jian in his inventory. He had purchased the weapon on the off chance he would have to deal with yin-infested monsters.
“Now what?” Bao Cong asked as the group loitered in front of the grass that marked the start of the graveyard proper.
Dotted throughout the graveyard, graves sprouted from the ground, many on the slight rise of the hill that had likely marked this location for burial. The graveyard itself had originally been located a distance away from the city, and even now it was at the edges of the city walls. Only a single neighborhood stood between it and the walls, offering a green—and morbid—oasis in the city. The constantly expanding city had driven the construction of the graveyard’s enclosure within the walls of the city, offering protection to the living and dead in equal measure. As for the expanse of greenery, none would gainsay the Wen family their uninterrupted, picturesque views.
It was a pretty sight, and facing the water, Wu Ying could see how the slope of the hill gave the dead a view over the river and the city. At least for those main branch members and the few tertiary branch members who had been in favor before their demise. Those who hadn’t been were placed on the opposite side or in dips in the ground where smaller, meaner stones marked their resting places. Still, large and expansive or small and humble, the graves were carefully tended. The tombstones at the top of the hill that they could spot from here were the larger, more ornate, semicircular stone edifices or monuments with large, single-story buildings. He even saw the occasional gilded mausoleum.
“Let me guess, it’s the big one,” Wu Ying said to Yin Xue. He didn’t even wait for the noble to reply, before he frowned at the graveyard guards, thinking.
Before Wu Ying could say anything, Yin Xue walked up the hill, stepping foot onto the graveyard grounds. To Wu Ying’s surprise, the moment Yin Xue did so, purple light formed around the perimeter of the grounds, alerting the groundspeople. It was only then, as he felt the shift in chi flows, that Wu Ying realized that there was a formation.
Of course there was a formation.
Yin Xue turned around, looking at the group, and gestured for them to catch up. Not having a better option, the three cultivators fell in step behind Yin Xue.
Wu Ying took two steps, making sure he was just behind Yin Xue before speaking softly. “What are you doing?”
“Getting us in. We don’t have time for your hesitation,” Yin Xue said. He continued to stroll toward the mausoleum at the top of the hill, ignoring the incoming groundskeepers. He walked with a hand behind his back, acting as if he owned the place.
Wu Ying, on the other hand, looked more nervous, casting glances between the approaching guards. He extended h
is senses, judging their cultivation levels, and was relieved to note that they were mostly in the mid-stages of Body Cultivation. On further thought, that made sense. Anyone with any skill would not be relegated to such a task. And the newly risen ghosts or hopping-vampires would be a low enough threat that properly armed groundskeepers could deal with them.
“Honored sir, what brings you to the grounds?” the first groundskeeper to make it to them asked Yin Xue respectfully. He kept shooting glances at the fast fading color of the formation perimeter barrier.
“Why else would I be here?” Yin Xue glared at the groundskeeper, never stopping in his journey up the hill. He occasionally glanced at the tombstones, reading the names of ancestors, but he never broke stride.
“I’m sorry, honored sir. I’ve just never seen you before at the ceremonies.” Again the groundskeeper tried to slow Yin Xue down with conversation. But again, Yin Xue barely shot him a glance as he continued his walk. “And these others are…?”
“My third wife,” the Yin Xue said, turning his head and offering his hand to Li Yao. “Who I just took. I want to introduce her to my ancestors. The others are unimportant—a friend and my servant.”
The groundskeeper paused, raking his eyes over Li Yao’s form. She, in turn, tried to look as demure as possible. She must have succeeded, for the groundskeeper ducked his head and raised his hand to wave off the other approaching guards. Wu Ying let out a small breath of relief, grateful that they would not have to fight these men. They were, after all, doing their job. Not even a morally questionable one. Taking care of the graves, ensuring that no corpses bothered the living, providing food and tending to the ancestors was an honorable job.
“I shall escort you then, honored sir,” the groundskeeper said. “I am groundskeeper Han.”
“Good.” Yin Xue nodded, letting his eyes roam over the graveyard. After a moment, he raised his voice again. “Your men and you have done a good job.”
“Oh, not my men. I am only the third groundskeeper. The first died recently. The second is on break, taking the more dangerous shift at night.” Still, groundskeeper Han preened at Yin Xue’s praise. “It has been difficult, with the war. All that death, all that release of yin chi. It has made the ghosts more restless.”
“I can see that.” Yin Xue look pointedly at the churned earth around a broken tomb which had been only partly rebuilt.
The pair continued to talk. Forced by social custom to stay back, Wu Ying could only catch brief snatches of the conversation, but it seemed it had turned toward Yin Xue’s latest conquest—the beautiful, petite, and demure bride. Li Yao was forced to walk alongside them, a step behind, her head bent as she played her part. Wu Ying could see how she disliked the pretense as her clenched fist grew whiter and tighter.
He only hoped that she could hold her temper until they got what they needed.
“Stop snarling,” Bao Cong softly growled the words at Wu Ying.
Wu Ying blanked his face on command, scared that he would give away the game.
Luckily, the walk up the hill was not far, allowing them to arrive at the impressively large mausoleum in short order. The building was nearly the size of Wu Ying’s old home in the village, the single-story structure having three wings to it. The double doors sat closed, the gold filigree on the doors failing to hide the glowing enchantments they contained.
Yin Xue turned his head to groundskeeper Han. “My father did not relate much about the opening procedures. He said it was obvious. But now that you are here, perhaps…”
Catching Yin Xue’s hint, the groundskeeper smiled. He pointed at a small circular location in the door, stained a light muddy-brown, a marked difference compared to the ornate white marble of the surrounding stone. “You only need to place your hand there to activate the formation. A drop of blood on your hand will be sufficient.”
Wu Ying winced, grateful that Yin Xue was with them then. They could probably brute force their way through the formation and the stone doors. Neither looked to be anything more than normal stone and a mortal-tier formation. But that would alert the guards and the groundskeepers.
Complying with the groundskeeper’s suggestion, Yin Xue pricked his finger and laid his palm on the circular depression. To his surprise, the stone bubbled and swallowed his hand, leaving him trapped.
Without hesitating, Wu Ying drew his sword and placed it against the groundskeeper’s neck. “What is this?”
“Nothing. Nothing! It is normal. If he was not of the blood, if you tried to trick the formation, he would lose his hand.” The groundskeeper swallowed, once and then again as Wu Ying’s jian pricked his neck, drawing a bead of blood. His eyes flicked sideways to Yin Xue, whose hand continued to be stuck, then to Bao Cong.
“His friends are here,” Bao Cong said as he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Stop it. Stand down, boy. I will be fine,” Yin Xue said. He glared at Wu Ying even as the formation that had once been hidden around the mausoleum sparked in a series of colors.
Realizing that he might have given away their disguise, Wu Ying carefully resheathed his sword. Bao Cong continued to leave his hand on his own weapon, while Li Yao, having stepped into the shade of the mausoleum and readied herself to attack, relaxed and stepped out. Luckily, the groundskeeper could not catch sight of the female cultivator as she put away her spear.
“No offense is taken, my lord,” the groundskeeper replied, wiping surreptitiously at his neck. “It is good that your servant is so loyal.”
Wu Ying hid the snarl that now threatened to erupt from his lips, doing as best as he could to project his role of selfless bodyguard rather than enemy cultivator. As abruptly as the light show had begun, the formation surrounding the mausoleum died, leaving the group to watch as Yin Xue extracted his whole hand.
“See? No problem,” Yin Xue said.
Even as he finished speaking, the doors ground open, allowing them entry.
Without a word, the group trooped into the ornate interior. Around the marble flooring and stone columns of the mausoleum, two doors led away on either side. A single offering table dominated the main entrance. Directly in front of them and behind the table was the family tablet that detailed the names of the original founder of the family and his immediate family. After that, arrayed behind the main family tablet were smaller stone pieces detailing other ancestors. Most were drawn or carved on stone, detailed, curved ornamentation edging their sides.
“Very nice,” Li Yao complimented, which made Yin Xue nod proudly.
Not that Yin Xue had had anything to do with it, Wu Ying thought, but he knew better than to say that.
“Which way?” Wu Ying asked, eyeing both doors even as the front doors ground closed behind them.
Once he was sure the doors were closed, Yin Xue said, “Neither.”
Groundskeeper Han on the other side was not important enough to go in, leaving the group alone for the first time since they’d entered the graveyard.
“The entrance is right here.” Yin Xue walked around the table and pressed his hand against the small ledge right beneath the second tablet on the right. Again, the light changed, shifting through the colors of the rainbow before the table and the floor it was on rolled aside, revealing a staircase down. “My father told me of this before we left.”
Wu Ying’s eyes narrowed. “And how was I meant to find the cultivation method if you hadn’t come along? Or were injured somewhere along the way? Was I supposed to attack the main family house?”
Yin Xue gave Wu Ying a beatific smile, as if the entire problem was not his. Wu Ying let out a low growl.
“Focus. You can complain after we’re out of the city,” Bao Cong snapped.
“This isn’t over,” Wu Ying muttered, but he followed Yin Xue and Bao Cong, who had already ducked down the staircase.
“Later. We have to be alive to have a worry like that. Later,” Li Yao consoled him.
Wu Ying grunted in agreement, following the group down the narrow
staircase to a room that had lit itself with low-grade demon stones upon their entry. The room was very much smaller, and less ornate, than the one above. However, as Yin Xue walked forward, he had to stop as a shimmering wall appeared before him. Words appeared before their eyes, and Yin Xue read them out loud, since his body blocked some of the calligraphy from those behind.
Only those who are worthy may learn my true cultivation method.
Those who fail shall suffer for their arrogance.
Choose wisely.
Yin Xue’s lip curled up when he read the line. He turned sideways, already anticipating Wu Ying’s objection. “The test may only be taken by those of the blood.”
“And how long is this test going to take?”
“As long as it takes.”
Having said his piece, Yin Xue strode forward into the shimmering wall of light and froze in it. Wu Ying gritted his teeth at Yin Xue’s arrogance and eyed the formation flags. Perhaps he could break through them?
“Don’t bother. You won’t be able to do it,” Bao Cong told Wu Ying.
“I didn’t know you were a formation master,” Wu Ying sniped at the blacksmith.
“I’m not. But I can recognize the materials used to make the formation,” Bao Cong said as he pointed out the materials to Wu Ying.
White and green jade, peerless levels of quality. Spirit stones from high-tier beasts powered the entire thing, set behind the curtain of power. Other, rarer materials Wu Ying could not recognize at a glance but could feel the chi they emanated. Even if his training was in living things, he could at least recognize the quality.
“So we just wait for him?” Wu Ying said.
“It seems so.” Li Yao looked around the small room, eyeing the other tablets arrayed at the other cardinal points. However, they were all protected by formations. Rather than risk being caught, she turned and headed up the stairs.
“Where you going?” Wu Ying asked.
“To see what else we missed.”
Bao Cong gave Wu Ying a shrug, shooting a glance at the frozen form of Yin Xue before he trooped off after Li Yao. Given no choice by the bare and protected room, Wu Ying also followed. Who knew? Maybe there was something to be had from the other chambers.