As his mouth dried, Chang-li was ushered into the reception room by one of Moon Whispers’s functionaries. He was wearing his best set of robes, though that wasn't saying much. The robes were badly in need of replacement. The black had faded to gray in places, and there were a couple of rips he'd had to sew up himself. Considering he had destroyed one set of robes on his last venture into the tower and had been forced to turn over all of his wages to Scribe Jun lately, it would have to do.

The woman seated at the table in the reception room looked up and beckoned to him. The room had been set up as a sort of office. She had piles of documents and open ledger books beside her, with a shelf full of cultivator journals. Off to her right, there was a low bench under a window, and a tea tray standing on a pedestal beside her. Chang-li pressed his hands together and bowed very low.

"Lady Moon Whisper.” He greeted the woman by her title as the cultivator spouse of the highest-ranking sect member here at this tower. She was a middle-aged woman with a silver streak in her close-cropped dark hair. She wore opulent cultivator robes and a pair of blue teardrop earrings in her ears as a reminder of her own rank and status.

She looked him over as though trying to make a decision, and her nose seemed to wrinkle for an instant before her face smoothed.

"Scribe Wu, please enter."

Chang-li stepped inside. The functionary slid shut the paper door behind him.

"My husband's grandchildren have spoken well of you," Lady Moon Whisper said as Chang-li advanced three paces into the room and then halted at the edge of the rug on which her table sat. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance at last. You have achieved the Peak of Bodily Refinement on your own?"

"I have, Lady Moon Whisper."

"That is commendable in a sect-less, though I am curious as to why a scribe would be pursuing cultivation to such an extent. Surely your own duties put enough demand on your time."

"It is my hope to perhaps someday become an inquisitor like Master Zhan Sho,” Chang-li said, the lie coming smoothly to his lips after all of the practice he'd had. "To that end, I must achieve at least the Peak of Mental Refinement, if not the Peak of Spiritual Refinement, as well as show my mastery of scribing tasks."

"Indeed," Lady Moon Whisper said. "Many inquisitors come from the ranks of those who serve a few years as a sect scribe, do they not?"

Chang-li fought to still his racing heart. Was this it? Was she about to offer him a place in their sect?

"That is correct," he said. "I myself see the benefit of that path. One cannot truly understand what one has not experienced, and I believe my future as an inquisitor would be well served by earning my way to the Peak of Mental Refinement as a sect scribe."

Despite Scribe Wulan’s inglorious history, it was not at all uncommon for a sect scribe to cultivate several ranks while serving his masters. It all depended on the sect and how generous they were with their resources. After all, a scribe had access to their most deep secrets. The fact that Wulan had never bothered to cultivate was likely more a reflection on the man himself than on the position of sect scribe, or so Chang-li hoped.

"As it happens, Moon Whispers is currently without a scribe," Lady Moon Whisper said. She tapped on a square wooden chest in front of her on the desk. It was about two hands wide, the same long, and half as deep. There was a heavy lock on one side, and on the top, the signet of Moon Whispers cut in with a lacquered wooden design. "Our last scribe succumbed to bone break plague a year and a half ago, along with several other members of our sect. It was unfortunate."

Chang-li shifted his weight, remembering Min's warning that Moon Whispers was not all that it seemed. Was Lady Moon Whisper trying to paint a rosy picture? Had they perhaps lost more strength than she was admitting?

"I wonder if you might care to give me an opinion on this," Lady Moon Whisper said. She reached inside a pocket of her robes and removed a heavy iron key, which she used to unlock the box and swing it open. At her beckoning, Chang-li stepped forward. He inhaled in surprise as he saw what lay there.

It was a book, sheets of parchment bound together with thread and pressed between two wooden covers. He had seen such books before. They were easier to transport than scrolls. It contained about the same amount of parchment as twenty of his cultivator journals, all bound together for safekeeping. The book again bore the Moon Whispers signet.

"You may take it out," Lady Moon Whisper invited.

Chang-li lifted it from its box and opened it. It fell open in the middle, and he found himself looking at incomprehensible script. His hopes of unlocking all of Moon Whispers’s secrets in one fell swoop disappeared. Of course, their techniques and trainings were ciphered. All sects did that. Even the Morning Mist journal had been incomprehensible to him until Scribe Wulan revealed the key.

"This is in your sect's script, Lady?"

"Of course it is. Look at the first section."

Obediently, Chang-li turned back to the front. His breath caught. The first four pages were a cipher key. Not a straight-up one-to-one substitution of characters, no, but this would guide him in how to decipher Moon Whisper's script. His eyes ran down the columns.

"Well?" Lady Moon Whisper asked. "Can you read this?"

"With practice, Lady," he said.

She took the book from him. To his surprise, he almost clung to it before realizing what he was doing and relinquishing the book to its possessor. She placed it back in the box and locked it. "You are certain?"

"Any Empire-trained scribe could," Chang-li said. "If he's from a first-rank school as I was. We had instructions in such ciphers as a matter of course." Pride made him add, "A common city-school-educated scribe would likely fail." He had worked hard to be admitted to the only Empire-endorsed scribing school back in his hometown, earning scholarships and a place there, as well as the support from his uncle and his uncle's friend. Very few boys of his station had managed a similar feat.

"But you can do it," Lady Moon Whisper sank back in her chair. A brief smile crossed her face. "Li Jen speaks well of you, and so does Li Jiya. Li Jen will be our sect leader one day, no doubt, if he makes a good marriage. I have hopes he will. He has many of his grandfather's best traits about him, and of course, his grandfather made one of the best matches in sect history." She allowed herself a small smile. "Li Jiya's good opinion does matter, but as she is intent on claiming a spot as one of the Emperor's brides, it weighs less. However, it is ultimately up to me to decide who we do and do not invite to join our sect."

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"Yes, Lady," Chang-li said.

"Are you much aware of how sects are organized?” Lady Moon Whisper asked. "My husband is busy working on his own progression and educating the young disciples. I, as his spouse, handle sect business, such as the hiring of scribes or the admittance of outer disciples. Winning a spot as an inner disciple is, of course, up to my husband. He chooses from among the more promising outer disciples, but he chooses fairly. I assure you, should you be admitted as an outer disciple, you will have an equal chance at rising."

Chang-li couldn't help but notice that she spoke of herself and her husband as though they were the only elders Moon Whispers had, and of Li Jen and Li Jiya as their sole hopes for the future. His impression of the sect was starting to match Min's, but on the other hand, any sect would be able to help him learn the secrets of reaching Mental Refinement. He did not want to halt his progression here, and none of the other sects at this tower cull seemed likely to offer him a place.

He bowed low. "Lady Moon Whisper, I would be honored to be offered such a chance."

"Then I shall extend the offer," Lady Moon Whisper said. Chang-li's heart leapt. “You would be our scribe and probationary outer disciple. You would be entitled to claim our colors and draw your living from our sect's treasuries. Your performance as a scribe will determine any other offers of advancement we make. Are you free of indentures and debts, Scribe Wu?”

Chang-li's heart fell. He cleared his throat, no longer able to meet her gaze.

"Lady, I would dearly love to join your sect. However, as part of my apprenticeship, I am sworn to a five-year term of service with the Imperial Order of Scribes. I am well over one year into that term. I would be required to pay a fee to break that indenture, as well as the fee for transfer into your sect."

Her face had gone impassive. "How great a fee?" she asked quietly.

Chang-li swallowed. "Ah, I would have to consult my indenture papers for the exact date, but something like 12,000 kwam." It was an amount approximately equal to five years’ of a laborer's wages. Ten months, perhaps, of a fully certified scribe, but as an apprentice it would take him years to earn that much.

To a sect, it should be almost nothing. He had heard of elixirs and technique books that cost ten times as much that sects would purchase for their ambitious cultivators.

"That is a heavy investment for a probationary outer disciple," Lady Moon Whisper said, as though she had not been the one offering Chang-li the position.

Chang-li took a deep breath. "It is my knowledge and training that interests you. The fact that I had to be taught and therefore must still repay some debts goes hand in hand with my skills.”

"Yes," Lady Moon Whisper said, "but you have said that any empire-trained scribe could do as well. Perhaps some of your fellows are free to join a sect now without driving us into debt."

"None of them are cultivators," Chang-li stated, as the image of Scribe Jun’s face rose in front of him. Jun had been an apprentice for nearly the full five years. He’d been speaking of his attempts to find a post in the nearby provincial capital, but with his recent interest in cultivation, he’d snap this chance up in a second. It wasn’t fair. Chang-li had fought, suffered, lied and forged for this chance. "None of them have reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement or stood up against a tower champion."

"Thank you for your time, Scribe Wu," Lady Moon Whisper said. She reached for a small bell on the desk beside her and rang it. The door behind Chang-li slid open. He felt desperate as his chance seemed to be slipping from him.

"Lady Moon Whisper, I misspoke. I assure you I am thoroughly worth the investment."

"Perhaps we shall speak again. I shall discuss the matter with my husband," Lady Moon Whisper said. "This audience is concluded." She turned her face away, and Chang-li, holding to the shreds of his dignity, forced himself to bow before backing from the room.

As the door slid shut, he turned to thank the functionary who was accompanying him out, only to see Li Jiya there. She held a finger to her lip and beckoned him. He followed her across the hall to another smaller audience chamber. She ushered him in and closed the door.

"I'm sorry about that," she said. "I heard the whole thing." She went to a teapot, sat on a low table, and poured a pair of cups. Carrying them both over, she offered one to Chang-li, who accepted it and sipped. The tea was harsh and astringent. It had been left in the pot too long, but Chang-li choked it down.

"Your grandmother is a very hard woman," he said, then hoped he hadn't said too much.

"She's not my grandmother.” Li Jiya shrugged. "She's my grandfather's wife. My grandmother was a woman he met when they were both hopeful young cultivators. They wed and had my father and his sisters before my grandfather achieved a high enough rank to be granted a spouse by the emperor." Her eyes flashed. Chang-li decided she didn't think much of Lady Moon Whisper.

"I have heard of such arrangements.” There had been a few novels passed around between trainee scribes featuring a pair of star-crossed cultivators faced with an imperial spouse coming between them. Generally, one of the pair would die in a tower eruption while the other, saddened but seeing the wisdom of the Emperor’s laws, embraced the assigned spouse and continued the Heavenly Climb.

"It's one of the reasons I do not allow myself to think of romance when planning my future," Li Jiya said. "Also, it's why I'm eligible to be in the competition for the emperor's brides, since I am not, in fact, one of his seven generations of descendants. But never mind. My step-grandmother does have the ability to choose who we offer sect membership to, and she's right. We can't afford your apprenticeship fee."

"I thought sects had resources."

"Other sects do," Li Jiya said grimly. "Other sects didn't lose three-quarters of their members to bone-break plague, and then had most of the remaining disciples flee because they decided we had lost the emperor's favor. Our sect consists of my grandfather, my brother and me, and eight disciples who don't think they could get a better berth elsewhere, although I've seen Wuo Ling talking to Soaring Heavens behind my back, or so he thinks."

"I'm sorry," Chang-li said.

Li Jiya sighed. "Me, too. I'm just glad she didn't try to make some bargain with you to have you translate her paperwork with promises she'd offer you a place when we can't fulfill it. We need those papers, though.” She looked gloomy. "Those are our sect techniques. My grandfather has taught me the ones he uses, but in order to do well at the competition next summer, I need access to the remaining techniques and manuals. Well, if we do well enough at this tower call, we should make enough money to hire a scribe afterwards, and it's none of your concern anyway. I just wanted to apologize for Lady Moon Whisper's brusqueness. You deserve more than that. I wish we could offer you a place, Chang-li."

He dared to ask, inspired by her seeming pity. "Cultivator Li, I have reached the Peak of Bodily Refinement, but without a sect to teach me techniques, I don't know what my next step is. Could you perhaps help me?"

But she was shaking her head. "Those techniques don't belong to me. They are secrets of my sect. I cannot share them without my grandfather's blessing, and he will never allow anyone who is not part of our sect to learn our secrets. I can tell you though, you're right. You do need something more than the techniques you already have. Going from Bodily Refinement to Mental Refinement isn't just a matter of walking further down the same path." She made a gesture interlocking her fingers. "There are many paths to Bodily Refinement, and many paths from there to Mental Refinement. You've come to a crossroads, and now you must choose the path to get you to the next step. But you can't just wander off into the wilderness alone with no guide. You'll be destroyed by the dangers that lurk there. You need a sect, Scribe Wu. I suggest finishing your indenture and seeking out a spot in an impoverished sect like ours where you can trade your knowledge for theirs."

He bowed his head in thanks, and after swallowing one more sip of his nearly undrinkable tea, allowed himself to be ushered out of the house. But he was still caught up in his own worries. Wait four years as a scribe before he could continue to cultivate? Never.

Even waiting a week or two until he could be allowed back into the tower was too much. He needed to keep progressing. He ached and hungered for it. The steps he had taken left him craving more. He would need to find a way. Either convince a sect to teach him the basics or come up with enough money to break his indenture now.

If he could return, telling Lady Moon Whisper he was free to take up her offer, then he could continue even now. All he needed was to somehow come up with more money than he would earn in the next two years, all at once.

Then, suddenly, he had an idea.