Hao was lying in the pond, looking at the only thing that had remained predictable in recent days. But even the predictable had a twinge of unfamiliarity.

The Third Moon had passed beyond the reach of the sky, hidden by something few in the world understood. Summer had come, and at night, an empty, lightless sky swallowed the world.

He was resting, something he needed less for his body in recent days and more for his mind.

The pond was quickly becoming a place he wanted to keep as a secret for himself.

It was a thing he started to enjoy; keeping things to himself was paramount to his survival. And was another way to remember who he was.

Every step forward, there is someone else with his face standing behind him when he looked back.

Will joining the Outer Sect change me even more?

It haunted him a little. He already knew he would no longer be content with skinning fish on the Island again.

The most recent change was gradually getting worse. Every time he passed a woman, he could not help but stare.

Expelling toxins as impurities that he had from birth on the island.

He did not mind the feeling, but it was bothersome, and massively distracting.

Finally, the constant pain in his stomach was going away, but he was still hungry. And now he had more than one type of egg poking at his mind—not all of them he wanted to cook.

Hao shook himself in the cold water, beginning to practice Water Breaking Fist.

It was the best thing he had to clear his mind, but something that had become harder to do with the Trial coming; how could one relax if their head was constantly jogging?

He performed the technique the best he could, only his memory of it to go by. Not that he could read the stained book during the lightless night of summer.

His only light source would be the Source Stone, which he had at the pond’s side.

He left the treasure he found in the cave. Carrying it around would only result in him being killed.

The day he found it, clear thoughts came to him before he lifted it, flushing away his desire.

Instead, he moved all his non-essential belongings down there and resealed it.

It was easy for him to remove the obstacles and get in and out, but sealed well enough to keep a secret.

“You practice well, even better, considering it’s a summer night. But aren’t you cold; your body is still largely mortal.” A voice spoke from the shadows surrounding the pond.

Hao heard no one approach, unable to tell where the voice came from.

The summer night painted the world around him with ink. Even the trees that surrounded him in the forest were gone, swallowed by the night. Even his ‘better’ eyes did not help him any.

The only way he would see is if he shined the Source Stone in the direction he was looking.

“Who’s there?” Hao said, his head spinning as his practice was interrupted. His inability to think, perhaps that was what the person wanted.

Hao knew the voice. He had heard it before, but he could not place a face to it.

He moved quickly, reaching the edge of the pond, preparing to jump out when a leg stepped into the radius of the light.

The rest of the person followed, a sweet smell carried alongside.

A face Hao did not know, one he would remember if he had seen it before. More beautiful than any face he had ever seen.

In clothing Hao was not familiar with, a dress or a robe? It didn’t matter, a cloudy white with blue patterns, silky but leather-like, the skin of a great beast crafted to near perfection. A parting at the chest and leg. Hao’s eyes traced unconsciously where they shouldn’t.

“What are you looking at, child?” The voice said again. Looking down at him from above.

Yes, a face he did not know, hair that made the wind seem rigid, and silk rough. Long, constrained with ornaments, but loose and flowing, framing her soft face without a single obstruction.

Like a fairy, a beauty from old stories that mom used to tell…

Eyes a clear blue, ripping his soul apart, looking through him like he was glass.

There was something detached from them, something cold over the ocean-like eyes.

The feeling of being nothing in front of the person reminded him of the Elders and the word “child” made it click.

“Second Elder,” Hao said in a hurry, finding it hard to believe this Young Lady in front of him was that person.

He did not hesitate. Dying was not on his list of things to do.

His hands were on the grass around the pond, so he pulled them back. Still standing in the water, his back straightened, his elbows dripping as he cupped his hands.

How much is a bow going to help me? How much respect did a half-bow represent if the one giving it is naked and staring at you?

“You know, without knowing my face. You’re smart, it seems, but a fool all the same. Enough with formalities. Your youth betrays your thoughts.” She said.

Her barefoot and leg broke free from the slit in her robe, climbing onto the source stone which lay in front of her. And Between the two of them.

Will she take it, kill me while she’s at it? Hao thought, his eyes glancing at her leg.

Fate would have been kind to him if he were still lacking the lust of youth.

“Since you wish to look at me. Shall I take a better look at you?” The Second Elder said. Kicking the Source Stone into the small pond.

With a plunk, Hao lost sight of the Second Elder. Still able to feel her stare.

The light now lit up the water where he stood. Hao began to turn red, not knowing the Second Elder was turning red as well.

Hao, feeling panicked, leapt from the water, already standing at the edge.

The icy air of the summer night threatened to freeze him still.

A greater coldness landed on him, coming from right at his side. The Second Elder could already see Hao without the light in the water.

The water was the obstruction. Now standing in the open, she could see him more clearly. As for Hao, he could no longer see anything, only the pond with a slight glow, which he took a few steps away from.

“How dare you show me that!” She said. Hao could almost feel her breath.

Smack! A warmth grew on Hao’s face, his feet lifting from the ground.

His feet wet slipped and staggered, unable to grip the ground, his hands reached out for something to hold.

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Grabbing onto something thin and warm, but as sturdy as a tree, his momentary relief was instantly turned to fear.

He held onto it in the dark for but half a second, then he was hit by a palm in the chest flying back.

His feet could not find the ground to stop himself once again, this time moving far faster, in far more pain.

He stopped when he hit an actual tree, and bark found the soft spots in his flesh. Not sliding down, his feet trying to find a place to rest.

“If you wish, kill me, don’t torture me beforehand,” Hao said. Squeezing out words as pressure locked him up in the air.

Something familiar wrapped around his waist. It was his robes wrapping around him as if the air had decided to do so itself.

In the dark, a small hand pushed his chest harder into the tree.

“Fool, if I wanted your life, you wouldn’t even know you died. If anything, I’m here to save you. That old Ya fellow has taken a liking to you; his favor is not cheap. It’s just a bonus that it is not the only use I may have for you.”

Hao relaxed at her words. It seems I won’t die today, but what use could I be to an Elder?

Hao thought of the rope that ripped the words from him, a feeling worse than death, having no control over his own body.

He began to shiver, brought by more than the night’s cold.

A sweet smell assaulted his nose, making him think of the ageless face of the woman in front of him.

Don’t be fooled, she could be just like the First Elder.

The smell got stronger, so he pulled his head back, unable to move his body, another hand grabbing his wrist.

“Each elder did a little looking into you. It was foolish to put your name on the disciple trial. You’re lucky I was the first to see it. A few of the others would have made sure you disappeared tonight.”

Hao lifted his head further, his neck reached its limit. The smell. His mind was feeling intoxicated and fearful. He swallowed salvia and air.

The pressure on his neck made his throat give a croaking sound.

Hao grew more red. It was embarrassing enough that she saw his little cultivator while he was swimming in cold water. Now he was making sounds like a frog.

The hand on his wrist shook for a good few seconds.

Then the slender fingers poked into his arm, flowing into him from his wrist.

The sensation was spanning his whole body, relieving the cold of the night, but it was uncomfortable in its own way.

He was being searched inside and out.

“Your aptitude is poor, blockages everywhere. But you still managed to reach reclamation. Your bone age is strange too, it will change soon. Fifteen? I thought Islanders didn’t have children when summer was close.” The second elder said.

She could see Hao’s face in the dark, his embarrassment gone. All that remained was the obvious discomfort of her words.

Hao could not see her intrigued face. He could only listen to her conclusions and findings.

It was easy for her to notice the hair that held two tones as well.

“Which is it? Which of your parents is not from the island?” She asked, this time being the one to pull her head back.

Surprised by what she saw in the boy in front of her. Death spread in his eyes, becoming hollow to everything but the world and nature.

There was no fire, as they were not the eyes he looked at the First Elder with. But she was walking in a forest where the leaves were dry enough to crack underfoot.

Hao did not respond.

“I erased your name from the trial list. You could still attend that trial, but I can tell you now that you will fail the second test.”

“Not only that, but attending it will cause your death. The Elders spectate, they will make a note of you and we all want the Source Stone you have. Along with any secrets.” She said.

The Second Elder’s honest words and change of subject pulled Hao back.

“But there is still a chance, you will have to take the bone-shaking trial. That will buy you some status and give you a fair reward. It will give me a good excuse to protect you within the Sect. But I will need some loyalty in return. A sort of deal.” She said.

Hao listened silently, surprised by her words. His mood cooled, but emotions jumped all over the place. Her final words made him nervous.

He was expecting what would happen next. The Source Stone floated over on her command.

She waited to say any more till the stone was in her hand. Slowly being lit up by the stone.

“First, is what you said about this stone true?” She asked.

Hao waited for the dreaded sensation, his words being ripped out of him, his insides in ropes.

But it never came, only silence as the two people looked at each other.

Hao floating a foot off the ground, slightly higher than her eye level.

“Yes,” he said, as honest as when he answered the first time, but this time, his words were his.

“No other Source Stone has been found, even others from stories told by other miners. I am more patient than the others sitting in the Elders’ Hall.”

“They want the stone. They will take it eventually, I’m sure you understand. The First Elder will have you dead unless you become his dog and are willing to hand over the stone.” She said her final words with disgust.

Seeing someone else’s distaste for the First Elder brought a little joy to Hao.

He glanced down at her lips, then back at her eyes, which were giving him a knowing glare.

“What’s the deal then? How do I not die? Joining the outer sect is the only option I have unless I wish to mine forever, even then…” Hao said, moving along the conversation.

The Second Elder laughed at Hao turning red, this time he was the only one to do so.

“If you pass the bone-shaking trial, the Elders have to gather to give you your reward. Hand me this stone in front of all of them. Most of them will forget you exist.”

Her words were confident, with a hint of guile.

“So you just want the stone?” Hao felt a little relieved and disappointed. “What is it anyway?” Hao asked.

Trying hard to control his eyes. His body’s warmth during the night was coming from the person in front of him who held his life.

“I want it, probably more than the others. How about this as an additional benefit? If you can equal my cultivation in five years, I will give you something back of equal value.” The Second Elder said.

Letting out an innocent giggle, Hao felt mocked, looking down at the closed-eyed laughing beauty.

“But this is as much about me keeping it from others, like the First Elder.” Her laughter turned cold as she opened one eye to look at Hao.

“Alright, fine.” Hao agreed, much to her surprise.

He had many reasons to comply, a few of them petty. This way he was helping himself and hindering the First Elder.

It was Senior Ya that mentioned Hao should get one of the Elder’s backing for the stone, and this was a chance.

Even more, he had nothing to lose, only things to gain if everything the Second Elder said was true.

If I can get rid of the target on me by giving up a stone, why not?

“Oh, just like that… you are right to dislike him, but it’s worse than you think. He wants the take the Sect Master position while the Sect Master is gone. If he were to succeed, he would have control over the region, the Islands included.” She said, stepping closer to Hao.

The smell of her was stronger, but he ignored it as he listened to her words, manipulation. Hao could see it.

In truth, he knew nothing of the man, except he was going to kill Hao like a bug in the road. He would likely do the same to others, leaving no reason to doubt more of her words.

Hao played into her manipulations. His eyes opened wide. He would play along if he got what he wanted, and it seemed a lot more than he originally thought.

Take the ‘source stone’, and have a civil war if you want. Just leave my home out of it, or I will gain the strength to… Hao was surprised by the thought. Conflicted, he pushed the idea away. Leaving his eyes to wander.

Her robes were different from the ones she wore to the mining site. It was clear from this angle, more skin was exposed. His eyes stopped on her chest.

“Hmph!”

Hao felt the pressure on him push hard, his back pushing into the tree.

His eyes lifted back to hers.

“You mentioned food pills before he attacked you. Tell me what you know.”

Her face getting even closer than before.

“They still sell them in the Mining Hall,” Hao said. Groaning as the pressure continues increasing.

The sweet smell of fruit and flowers overwhelmed his head.

“Don’t play dumb and tell me something obvious. What of the ones being sold before they ‘ran out’ after you mention them?”

The pressure once again increased.

Hao was starting to regret his actions in haste, but not really; the view was inviting, the valley plentiful.

He spoke of what he knew, most of it he did not understand himself.

His arrival, what he was given, and the people on his mining team.

The smell of food pills and the insatiable hunger that they never fed.

“Enough, that is enough. Do you have any?” She asked.

“I can find some,” Hao said, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Hmph. Just bring them if you manage to hand over the Source Stone.”

She backed away from Hao, the pressure disappearing, dropping him.

No longer getting warmth injected into him, the cold air snipped at him.

Falling to the ground, his footing not right, he stumbled, landing with his hands on the ground, the source stone next to him.

“I’ll give you one tip; I can take advantage of you because you are weak. Next time you wish to take advantage of someone, make sure you’re stronger than them.”

She was lit from the bottom, almost scary if not for the blush on her face.

Hao got up to his knees, swiping bits of bark off his skin, relieved none got deep enough to draw blood.

He watched as the woman disappeared into the dark, only a spot of imagined light where she flew off.

He hurried to put on his clothing, the short summer night air freezing him.

What just happened? I spent ten minutes pinned naked to a tree by a woman.

The thought of who it was made him feel weirder.

How old is the Second Elder anyway…