Elder Luwei was allowed to leave once he'd confirmed that Huashan would forgo any privileges over the Li siblings unless they wished to return to the fold of their own volition. A verbal agreement was reached, observed by a Secretariat, two Magisters, a Magus, and Professor James Ma: should the Huashan Sect renege on Luwei's contract, the Clan's occupancy in Shanghai would become precarious indeed.

With the matter resolved, Gwen ran to her babulya, embraced her, then reciprocated the affection for her uncle.

"Thanks, Uncle Jun." Her eyes sparkled.

"You take care now." Jun patted her head. "Be more careful next time."

Gwen could see that the Li siblings could scarcely believe an agreement had been reached without further violence. They had anticipated that at the very least, they would lose something precious, like their specialised Magic. Dazed by their circumstances, Kusu mumbled an apology to his grandmother, looking devastated, while Lulan held her brother's hand with moist eyes gleaming with hope. Mayuree and Kitty were still recovering from the escalation of Gwen's precipitous encounter, while Richard had on an expression of barely disguised exaltation.

"It's not over yet." Jun pulled Gwen away from his arm, giving her a rap on the forehead.

As the infamous Ash Bringer turned to Choi, the Secretariat grew rigid like a Wildland buck caught in the path of a Disintegrate.

"Secretariat Choi." Jun inclined his head ever so slightly.

"Captain Song," the Secretariat replied respectfully.

"I wish to know more about your dealings with Nephres Zalaam."

"Am I supposed to know who that is?"

A lingering moment passed between the two as Choi held his face unmoving and intact.

"Shall we speak in private?" Jun offered. "I will only extend this kindness once."

"I—" Choi's eyes darted to the ashen footprints still lingering on the vermillion carpet. "I don't think that would be necessary."

Jun folded his arms and studied the Secretariat, whose face was like a jade sculpture.

"Staff Sergeant Bui!" Jun called out to one of the guards.

"Sir!"

"Tell Secretariat Choi who you work for."

"MSS Grey Ghost, Designation SG442123! Sir!"

Choi's expression remained masterfully unmoving.

"I am relieving you of your post, Bui. Good work, Lieutenant."

"Sir!"

"I am not under the jurisdiction of the MSS or the Internal Security Review Committee," Choi protested. "You think a double-dealing dog can cow me?"

Her uncle cracked his neck.

"Maybe I can. Maybe I can't. Are you a gambling man, Choi?"

Choi's eyes darted behind Jun and the others.

"I'll say this one more time, Choi. Would you like to discuss this privately? Or do you believe the MSS are toothless dogs?" Jun offered nonchalantly, his pupils taking on a hint of dusky ash. "You think I am just here for my niece? Do you think I have my men combing the depth because of a family matter? Remember, when a hound is going for your jugular, it doesn't bark first."

With every word from Jun, Choi looked as though he was perspiring all the liquid in his body.

So this is what Jun is like doing his job, Gwen marvelled. Her uncle was amazing. He was her idol.

"My office, please." Choi pointed to the door. As it turned out, the Secretariat, though a gambling man, wasn't a fool.

"Gladly." Jun turned to the others. "Don't wait. The matter is going to take a while. Mother, it's getting late. Please don't tire yourself out."

"Alright, dear. Don't work too late." Klavdiya chided her son warmly.

"Gwen, I'll speak to you later." Her uncle patted her head.

"Yes, Uncle Jun."

Jun stopped at the door.

"5 CCs per Crawler, and 20 for the Healer, right?"

Gwen's face broke into a wide grin.

"Yessir!"

With Jun gone, the elderly Mages now desired to return to the comfort of their usual abodes. Klavdiya told the students that a car would be waiting for them to take them back to the city. Birch offered to escort Gwen's grandmother, but she sweetly declined and thanked him for the gentlemanly offer.

"Why a car? Couldn't you just teleport the two of us back?" Klavdiya enquired of her old acquaintance.

"I wouldn't want to abuse my privilege," Birch dodged the question expertly. "Please, it's the least I could do."

Gwen watched their interaction with amusement and a little trepidation.

Who would win in a duel between Birch and Guo? She disturbed herself with the hypothetical but knew her grandmother would not allow such a thing to come to pass. Klavdiya had given three children to Guo—a little flattery from Birch wasn't about to test her resolve.

"I'd love to speak to you a little more, Gwen," her babulya said. "Maybe next time, you can show me some more of those dainty little restaurants you have found on University Boulevard."

"Of course, Babulya!" Gwen farewelled her grandmother, squeezing the diminutive woman's hand tightly.

As they parted, Klavdiya touched Gwen's cheeks strangely, her concern lingering on Gwen's face far longer than was necessary, even for a doting old grandmother.

"Is something wrong?" Gwen touched a finger to her cheek. Blood, perhaps, from the slaughter below?

"My dear, if what I think happened did indeed occur, you should contact Magister Wen immediately. We need data, biometrics, and understanding—not doubt, self-loathing and blame. Yours is a difficult milestone on the Path of Conflict, Gwen. One on which you cannot afford to wax sentimental. Many eyes are watching, my sweet child. Stay strong and show no weakness."

"I will, Babulya," Gwen promised, thinking of how Petra and her Master would react. They were probably thrilled to hear her progress.

"Let me hitch a ride!" Professor Ma, not reading the situation, suddenly butted in. "The two of you have a car separate from the kids, right? Let them mingle. I don't want to be an eyesore."

The look from Magister Birch's face said it all.

"I'll Teleport you," Birch offered.

"Wha? No! What a waste of crystals!"

"It's settled. The cost is on me," Birch insisted.

"But you just said..."

Ma's protest was unheeded as the trio left, with Klavdiya waving to Gwen.

The student Mages were finally left alone, awkwardly watched by a dozen guards.

"Do we go now?" Mayuree asked no one in particular.

Gwen looked out the window, then checked her watch, realising that it was now very late. They had arrived in the afternoon after 1400. She estimates that they had entered B-7 around 1600. Now, it was nearing midnight.

Conditioned by reflex and habit, she knew she should be famished by now.

But she felt no hunger, not even a hint.

Gwen swallowed her rising bile.

She shifted her attention to her companions, counting herself; there were six of them: Mayuree, Kitty, Lulan, Richard, Kusu and herself.

"Let's see what car they prepared," Gwen advised the party amusedly. "One of us might have to fit in the boot."

Leaderless and directionless, the guards allowed the student Mages to pass. The levitation platform took the juniors down to the ground floor, where dilapidation and garbage kept company with the darkness. Intermittently, feeble Light spells lit up the corridors, leading outward onto a courtyard murky with mist. The only source of visibility came from a hazy Daylight spell hanging over a PLA-badged people mover.

The driver popped the side cabin as the students appeared from the door.

"I'll take the passenger side," Richard informed them. "You sit with the others."

"I could ride the bike back," Lulan offered, noting the tight squeeze and Kitty's displeasure at squeezing into the cabin cheek-to-cheek. "I got my White Ghost in the Ring."

"Naw." Gwen patted her shoulder. "Hop in. It's nice and cosy, right?"

The group piled in.

"Back to Fudan?" the driver asked.

"Back to Fudan," Richard informed him.

Without incident, the van moved out.

The barrier went up.

The barrier went down.

Their excursion came to an end.

As they pulled away, Gwen couldn't help but be drawn to the dark silhouette of D-109 in the distance, growing more vague and faint with every kilometre.

A dark city and an apt metaphor, Gwen reflected upon the fading vision. The poor sods. I hope Uncle Jun's investigation will make their lives just a little bit better.

Was the trip a success or a failure? She wondered. She had gained something in there, but she'd lost something too.

[https://imgur.com/xJGXTPm.jpg]

The van soon traversed the fourth orbital highway, the dark recess of the world around them blossoming into illumination. Light-posts, sedans and lorries, the light of civilisation and the suburbia and beyond that, appeared one after another, filling the visual field, polluted the misty atmosphere with a dazzling display of vivid colours.

In the uncertain distance, the splendour of Shanghai's megacity glowed like a mirage, setting the heavy vapours of the mid-night fog aflame.

In the cabin, the Li siblings were now discussing their immediate futures.

"We would have to leave the apartment, of course. The Clan owns it." Kusu said.

"It's father's private property, though," Lulan retorted. "Before that, it was mothers."

"Well, it isn't ours. Do you think our father would stand up to the Elder or the Clan Head? He's an accountant," Kusu said with finality, then sighed. "So, you're feeling fine now? No more… mist?"

"Not for now." Lulan stretched out her arms, then immediately grew scarlet when she caught Gwen looking contemplatively toward her.

Kusu watched the girls, aware that their saviour was a beautiful woman but also alarmed by his sister's sudden outburst of femininity.

That Lulu was a girl was a self-evident fact, but one he had given credit. No one saw Lulan as female within the Clan, much less a woman, because she could beat the boys black and blue without batting an eye.

To distract himself, he shifted his attention to the Void Sorceress, whose frenetic energy and glib tongue were why they now had the freedom to live within the crack between a rock and a hard place. Kusu felt happy for the fact, though the exhilaration paralleled the trepidation.

The life of a Sect member was regimented and orderly. Training to learn skills. Training by carrying out missions. Training by sparring and participating in the internal disputes of the Clan. The rest of the time, they ate, slept, and occasionally got a glimpse of the world outside of the Sect's sacred grounds. Select individuals, such as Kusu, Lulan, Pei and others, were sent away to 'mingle' with outsiders to broaden their horizons. Occasionally, these individuals never came back. Primarily, this was because they died, performing some service to benefit or defend the Sect. Once or twice per generation, the colourful world outside proved too much for young Clanners to return to the monotony of monastic training. These rogues who no longer wished to dedicate themselves to the single-minded cause of the Sect were then cleansed.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Their uncle, Luwei, had been thoroughly beaten. What now followed would be at the digression of those involved. If the Magisters kept the encounter to themselves, the Sect would try to put it behind them. If they boasted and mocked Huashan as a result and made them into a public spectacle, then Lulan and Kusu should expect an Iron Blade in the back very soon.

For this reason, Kusu was under no delusion that he and Lulan would have to be very discreet if they wished to make it to graduation. Lulan was already a second-year, while he was still in his first.

Then, what about the Clan's secret techniques? Kusu and Lulan knew nothing about the Heart of Iron other than that they had a catalyst embedded and the incantations necessary to use it. What if someone at Fudan had designs on their talent?

Kusu hoped it wouldn't come to that.

If Huashan still made a move on the siblings, the Magisters would speak out.

If the Magisters spoke out, Huashan would have to silence the siblings.

And the siblings were to perish, then both the Magisters involved and Huashan would lose face, not to mention the Ash Bringer himself would have words for the offenders.

Therefore, the best possible outcome for all parties was to keep quiet and keep walking. As for the siblings, all they could do was walk the tightrope and hope there were no sudden gusts.

"Kusu," Gwen spoked first. "What's your plan from here on out?"

"Get registered at the Fudan Tower, I suppose." Kusu hadn't stopped thinking since they left D-109. "That way, we gain some protection and enough employment to keep us in Fudan."

"I'll be joining the Pudong Tower in the future," Gwen stated purposefully, looking over at Lulan. "For now, I am registered with Fudan's provisional Tower Two."

"We'll be going there first thing in the morning then." Kusu smiled, scarcely believing that Gwen and themselves were at each other's throats days ago. He bowed his head. "Thank you for saving my sister."

"I couldn't have done it alone." Gwen shook her head modestly. "It was Professor Ma and all the others. You're giving me too much credit."

"But they were there for you," Kusu pointed out.

"Hardly." Gwen grinned, forcing Kusu's heart to up its cadence. "Magister Birch is present for reasons. My Uncle was there for Choi. Professor Ma is there because that was his job. I suppose only Babulya was there for me. So, as I said, you're giving me too much credit."

"I owe you my life, twice now," Lulan interjected between Gwen and her brother's mutual contest of humility. "You can't deny that."

"I won't." Gwen beamed at her.

"Whatever you need in the future, just let me know," Lulan stated as a matter of factly. "I'll do whatever is in my capacity to satisfy."

"Good, but take care of yourself first," Gwen advised sagely. "You're not helping me if the both of you end up homeless and drop out. Do you have money?"

"I've got… funds saved up, from my previous Tower missions, the Sect took its share, but I've got enough," Lulan replied. "I can sell my bike as well. Kusu and I can take on some small-scale missions in the Orange Zones."

"Do you have a place to stay?" Gwen asked.

"No, but we'll somehow manage," his sister stated hastily, not wanting to intrude on Gwen's generosity.

"Don't tell me you're going to huddle up in a park," their saviour grimaced. "Have you never rented before? Or visited a real estate agent? Do you have your documents on you? ID Cards? You might need at least 200 points of identification to pass muster. How about a bank card?"

The siblings looked at one another, seeing a side of Gwen they did not expect.

"We'll be fine," Lulan muttered softly, smiling in a manner that made Kusu's heart melt. "I've had some experience dealing with this before. Thanks, Gwen."

"What about tonight?" Gwen stated. "Or tomorrow, or the day after that. It's not cheap finding something around Fudan, you know. You guys should probably not stray too far from campus."

"We can find a hotel or something," Lulan said.

Kusu coughed. In truth, everything they owned was already on their body.

"Look, I can lend you this for a while until you find a place." Gwen produced something that Kusu recognised as a Portable Habitat. "It doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the Melbourne Tower. I was going to return it soon, but there's no rush. It utilises 1 HDM per application, which lasts around 12 hours generally."

Kusu's brows formed the Chinese figure for 'eight'.

"A military Portable Habitat!" his lips parted in surprise. "I've only ever seen our seniors carry such a class of Magical Device, and they had to commandeer it from the requisition Elder."

"Gwen, this is too much." Lulan shifted her petite body uncomfortably, adjusting her weight. "We owe you so much already!"

"As I said, it doesn't belong to me. I am lending it to you until I need it back," Lulan's saviour insisted.

"But..."

"Just take it and set it up under our building for now," Mayuree interjected. "Trust me, Gwen's right. You don't want to be sleeping somewhere random if your Sect's people might come knocking. You'll be perfectly safe if you stay near campus until the whole thing can blow over."

"We'll get it back to you as soon as we can." Kusu prodded his sister, hinting at her to let the matter drop. "Maybe tomorrow, at worst a few days from now. Thank you, and everyone else here as well."

"Sure." Gwen passed it over. "Lulu, is your ring large enough?"

Lulan nodded. Lulu? When had the girls grown close enough to use pet names casually?

"Lulu—" Kusu chuckled. "Uncle San, our Master, used to call her that."

"Sorry," Gwen apologised. "I didn't know."

"No, it's fine." Lulan waved away Gwen's apology. "Lulu is fine."

"Master was trying to find a way to help Lulu," Kusu decided to reveal a spot of their past. "But a year ago, the Sect sent him away to participate in state-sanctioned military service. Every year, the Sects send a few outer circle members led by a senior member of the inner circle up north. Because Master volunteered, we didn't have to go."

"We received news that he died in April," Lulan explained, her eyes soft and misty. "Six months after the fact."

"Sounds like you guys have your circumstances to contend with," their saviour sighed wistfully for the siblings' maltreatment. "It must have been hard."

"Your Clan sounds like a real piece of work..." Richard had been listening in from the front seat. "How many of those they send out come back?"

"About half, maybe less," Kusu confessed dejectedly. Hindsight was Clairvoyance.

"Sounds like a factional rivalry to me," Richard observed. "Back in Prince's, it wasn't strange if people who pissed off the higher-ups got sent on dangerous missions to do some good before they're discarded."

"Uncle San wanted Kusu to participate in the contest for the next Head," Lulan explained. "Of course, I was going to help Kusu."

"Now that I think about it, it probably has something to do with Pei." Kusu raised a finger conspiratorially. "That's the Grandmaster's younger son. He's the closest disciple with the talent to beat Lulu. There's talk that he's being set up for the position of the inheriting disciple. I guess it all makes sense now. Poor Uncle San."

The van grew silent.

"Oh—" Lulan suddenly looked up. "Gwen, do you have a brother called Percy?!"

"I do." Gwen thought of Percy and felt a stab of sadness. "Why?"

"He was the one boasting to Pei about you. I think your brother and Pei are both students at Xiangming Metropolitan Selective High School, right?"

"I think so," Gwen replied.

"Pei told us to challenge you because your brother had told him that you've been excommunicated. He even showed Pei some kind of Amulet?" Lulan recounted. "Pei said that if we defeat you, we can take over all the fame you've been gaining. Pei said that this was an opportunity that appears once in a lifetime—a famous prodigy, ripe for the plucking."

"Really?" Gwen's voice lowered an octave.

"Lulu's just stating what she knows," Kusu quickly came between the girls. "Don't worry about it. I am sure Percy didn't mean it."

The three student Mages exchanged tired looks.

Together, all three sighed.

"I am sorry, Gwen." A voice came from the back. It was Mayuree. "I know how much you love your brother. He's still young, just a child. Maybe it was a careless slip of the tongue?"

"Pretty bloody specific for a casual slip, the little shit. Percy's got a habit of being a bit of a fucker, ain't he?" Richard retorted from the front. "That Amulet would have come in bloody handy about now, eh?"

A moment passed before their saviour could respond.

"It's alright."

Her voice seemed far away and distant.

"He's just a boy."

The atmosphere in the car took on a new weight.

This time, Kusu knew the conversation had indeed died.

[https://imgur.com/xJGXTPm.jpg]

The van pulled up at the Fudan apartments, dropping off the student Mages at the circular parking bay of B1.

Richard yawned and informed them that it was now the witching hour. Looking up, they could see that the Penthouse suite and Gwen's apartment lights were still lit.

"You can set up in the sky garden if you want," Mayuree told the Li siblings. "I'll speak to management and let them know."

"Thank you." Lulan inclined her head while Kusu bowed.

"Let's head up," Gwen informed the party. "Let's have breakfast together. I know a few good places around campus and on the Boulevard."

"How about my place instead?" Mayuree offered. "I'll get Lei to prepare for company."

"No." Kitty sneered.

Mayuree silenced her friend by putting a finger against her lips.

"That would be wonderful," Gwen answered for the rest of them.

The lift ascended.

Gwen waved the siblings goodbye at the mid-section. A sizeable balcony made a sky garden for the public to enjoy the privileged view offered by B1. Since the Portable Habitat could not be set up indoors, the private garden made a perfect temporary location.

"See you tomorrow. Please rest well, Miss Song." Kusu bowed, making his sister bow as well. "Allow me to thank you again for your aid tonight."

The remaining foursome rode the rest of the distance in uncomfortable silence until reaching Gwen's level.

"Thanks for all the help, Mayuree. You were excellent." Gwen reached over and hugged her friend.

"You were the one who was instrumental, Gwen." Mayuree blushed as she returned the affectionate embrace.

"Kitty, thanks for holding out for me. I won't disappoint you next time." Gwen extended a hand.

Kitty rigidly reached out with her dainty white fingers and took Gwen by the palm.

"I hope I don't come to regret tonight," she replied cryptically. "I'll be watching you closely, for Mayuree's sake."

Gwen nodded solemnly.

The lift door opened.

Richard exited, followed by Gwen waving a short goodbye.

"Dick, G'night."

"G'night, Gwen." Richard caught her shoulders before she could leave. "If you want to talk or need anything, I am just next door, alright? Anytime."

"No worries, Dick," Gwen decided to hold on to her cousin for a wee bit longer to fortify her soul.

Click.

The door to Gwen's apartment opened.

"Gwen! Richard! You're back!" Petra was in a loose shirt and shorts. From the looks of it, she'd been waiting for them. "I heard from Magister Wen that you used the Regeneration Cube! Are you alright?! What happened?"

Seeing Petra, Gwen felt the compounded tension within her body like gas from a screech cooker.

"Pats!" Gwen left Richard's arms and raced to her cousin.

"Gwen?" Petra allowed her cousin to squeeze her tight. "Richard? What happened?"

"The inevitable happened," Richard replied cryptically.

"You need to call Magister Wen and inform her right away."

"Yeah," Gwen affirmed for Petra what she was likely imagining. "I need to know if there are aftereffects."

Her cousin's eyes widened for a second, then filled with softness. "Alright. Goodnight, Richard. I'll take care of her."

"See you tomorrow. Breakfast is at Mayurees."

Petra watched Richard go, then brought Gwen into the apartment. She dimmed the lights, then settled her cousin on the couch, looking pensive and withdrawn.

"I am sorry it happened after all," Petra spoke softly. "Can I get you some tea?"

"Yes, please." Gwen laid herself out on the couch, sinking into the softness of the enveloping leather. "No sugar, please. It's late."

"Sure." Her cousin heated the water with a quick cantrip, raising the tea's optimum temperature. "Milk?"

"I'll take it black."

"Alright."

Petra sauntered over and handed over a ceramic mug.

"So, what's it like?" She asked after they sipped the first few mouthfuls. Slowly, the scent of chamomile infused the air.

Gwen took a long deep breath, allowing the air to flow from her lungs languishingly.

"I want to say it was terrible. That I was horrified," Gwen began. "But I would be lying."

"Was it..." Petra did not mince words. "Good for you?"

"Oh, Pats, it was pleasurable like you would not believe," Gwen continued softly. "It felt so intense, I... I couldn't think of anything else—not even remorse. It was like I was filling up with new life. How could anyone get enough of that?"

"I see." Petra cupped her drink. "Addictive?"

"I don't know. I am…" Gwen searched for a word but chose to dispense with the euphemism. "Right now, I am feeling full."

"Who was it that Caliban ate?"

"Nephres Zalaam, a Slaver. Someone connected to my past in Sydney."

"Your old Master? Gunther Shultz? Almudj?"

"All of the above."

Petra made an "o" with her lips.

"I haven't told you the whole story, have I?"

"You don't have to." Petra waved her off. "A girl should have her secrets."

"Pats…"

"I would have to tell Master if you told me," Petra explained. "So I don't mind. Really."

"Another time then."

"Another time."

"Caliban ate her in front of Kitty and Mayuree."

"Christ. Are the pair trustworthy?"

"I think so. Mayuree, at least. We are bonded by fate, her words, not mine. Kitty should be fine until Mayuree fulfils her vision and has no more use for me."

The two girls sipped their drinks.

"Would you do it again?" Petra inquired carefully. "Out of necessity, I mean."

Gwen had to force the words from her lips. "I think I would."

"How're your Sigils? What'd she give you?"

"What I stole from Nephres, you mean?" Gwen groaned bitterly. "She's a tier 6 Healer, so I'd guess Evocation and Transmutation, maybe a little Conjuration. Who knows?"

"Master would probably want a full scan," Petra muttered. "If you wish to rest, I'll talk to her."

"No, no," Gwen stopped her cousin. "It's fine."

"You don't have to."

"But I want to," Gwen interjected distantly. "Babulya is right. I need to know, not run."

Petra placed her mug on the coffee table then arranged herself so that Gwen's head rested across her lap. Below Petra's soft eyes, Gwen inhaled the vaguely sweet scent of shampoo and conditioner. She welcomed the warmth of her cousin's thighs against the nape of her neck, feeling the flow of heat connect them. Very occasionally, there was a slight gurgle from Petra's abdomen that made her want to giggle.

"Gwen?" After they remained in the same position for a quarter of an hour, Petra asked.

"Yeah?" Gwen was in a state of zen.

"I am sorry, Gwen," her cousin was apparently at her limits. "Please take a shower. You stink of gore."