“You… killed them?” Arhat Disciple Xue Bing Lie frowned. But it was understandable. Although their temple’s principle was to be righteous in wrath, killing wasn’t something so easily dismissed.

Dejiu shifted uncomfortably under Arhat Disciple Xue Bing Lie’s gaze. “I did. I think they descended to kill the guardian, but they didn’t think I’d succeed. They were going to kill me, the nine of them.”

Arhat Disciple Xue Bing Lie’s chin rested in his fingers as he mulled over Dejiu’s ordeal. “A difficult choice, but the right one. I cannot find fault with that. But nine? I thought you said there were ten cultivators.”

“I don’t know about that last one. I counted ten the first I saw them. But nine descended.”

“So there could be someone out there that could know of this?”

“Maybe.”

“Did they tell you who they were?

“Um. The one I buried called himself a young master of the Feng Clan.”

Arhat Disciple Xue Bing Lie's expression hardened at the mention of the Feng Clan. “The Feng Clan? You’re certain?”

Oh fuck. Are they really a big deal in the capital Lingzhou? Dejiu noticed the change in expression of both Teacher Jiansu and Arhat Disciple Xue Bing Lie. But he couldn’t lie about the corpse’s origins. They all wore similar robes and probably possessed something that identified them.

“Yes. The one I buried was called Feng Mu. He called himself a young master.”

“You blood thirsty fool!”

Dejiu tilted his head. Arhat Disciple Xue Bing Lie’s tone was sharp and low. Suddenly the surroundings grew cold and Dejiu widened his eyes. “Teacher? H-honored disciple? Wha–”

He looked down. An unfathomable cold spread from his toes. It was ice. He’s being encased in a thin layer of ice starting with his feet.

It quickly rose, covering his waist. From behind, Dejiu heard some muffled yells from Teacher Jiansu. Dammit! What is this! Fuck, am I dying? Bing Xin! Bing Xin, who cares about being revealed — come out! Help! Dejiu kicked and struggled. Nothing worked. The strength between him and someone of Arhat Disciple Xue Bing Lie’s standing was like heaven and earth.

In a blink, his entire body was covered in ice. The last thing he could make out before his eyes closed was Teacher Jiansu yelling his name.

—

Dejiu woke up shivering in the same clothes. He didn’t find the Arhat Disciple or Teacher Jiansu, but he did find technically find another teacher.

“Thaw well, little monk?” Bing Xin said, her shadowy manifestation sitting across from him. “It’s been three days since that Arhat disciple froze you.”

“Three!?” He blinked a few times before he sat up. But he tried to post himself on his right arm and forgot he was missing a hand. “Ouch.”

His eyelids were half-frozen along with his entire body it seemed. He felt slow and weak. “W-where is this?” He asked through clattering teeth.

“Hm… That Arhat Disciple muttered something about the Hundred Penance Gaol.”

“The what? I don’t even know that name!?” He cried. “Damn! Just when I thought things were going well. I slew a guardian myself and survived an attack of cultivators! This fucking temple!”

His voice cracked, frustration spilled out. He felt betrayed despite knowing what the older monks thought of him. But an Arhat Disciple too!?

He looked around and all he could see was… frost-coated stone. Shoot, it may even just be ice. Oh, better yet, he was behind bars. Cold-iron he presumed. Maybe even hundred year cold-iron if the gaol’s name wasn’t for show.

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“…Am I going to be executed? For defending myself? Gah! This damn temple!” His anger reignited.

“Enough rambling. You aren’t a child, a tantrum doesn’t fit you. Besides, I heard that you’ll be heard out from the Arhats soon. That leaves us in here alone for a while.”

He sighed. Icy breath left his mouth. Well, if they had time as she said, then he did have a lot he wanted to ask that he couldn’t get to earlier.

“Is it safe to talk in here?” He asked.

“Indeed. They didn’t leave anyone to oversee your stay.”

“Of course they didn’t.” He muttered a curse as he looked at the thick rolled iron bars. “Hey, can you tell me about the Pillarshard? About that thing at the end?”

Bing Xin’s silhouette turned at him before laughing. “That thing? Ah, to call that old bird a thing!”

Dejiu watched her bring a finger beneath the veil covering her face, presumably to wipe a tear.

“That old bird, I cannot speak of his true name. It’s almost the same vile protection that the old bird’s spawn, that guardian, possessed. Weaker, but similar.”

“I would be blinded?” He recalled something she once said.

“Worse. Prematurely learning the guardian’s name would blind you while learning the true name of the old bird would kill you at best.”

“...Thank you for not telling me.” Dejiu shivered. Although she likely didn’t think of it, that was another way of her being able to kill him without a thought. Just speaking a name would damn him to a fate worse than death if she's being honest. And Dejiu was no fool to test that after what she’d already done. Or should he? I mean, if the Arhats wanted to execute or oust him, what’s the worst that could happen?

“Little monk, look at me.”

Dejiu opened his eyes wider, a little confused. “Why?”

He noticed the shadows seemingly grow darker around her. His anxiety rose. In his peripheral, he noticed that even the shadows of his holding cell grew darker.

“Hey, um. Miss Bing Xin?” He asked nervously.

But she ignored him. She stared at him, her shadowy veil seemed to writhe and squirm. It made her even more difficult to look at.

“The Wings That Shelter Time.”

Dejiu clutched his head. It wasn’t a sharp or fleeting sensation. It was a deep, grinding, and crippling ache that felt as if Bing Xin began viciously cutting away inside his head. His knees buckled, and he hit the cold floor hard, convulsing as his body betrayed him, kicking and twisting like a fish pulled from the water.

Through the pangs, he glared at Bing Xin, still perched on the window sill. He couldn’t see her expression, but if her phantasmal form had one, it was likely indifference. She gazed down at him with the detachment of a spider observing a caught fly.

Dejiu sucked in a breath. He coughed violently, the raspy sound pulling him back into the agonizing present. His chest heaved, each inhale a knife against his lungs.

"What in the Seven Hells did you do?!" He spat.

“Answered your question. I couldn’t say the old bird’s true name, but that’s the old bird’s title.” Bing Xin tilted her head like nothing was wrong.

Dejiu paused and reluctantly thought back to her words. But just as he repeated the being’s title, pain filled his head again. Damn it! Forget, Dejiu! Forget this wench’s words!

“The old bird’s title alone is enough to make you crumple. Now imagine I told you his true name.” Bing Xin laughed.

Dejiu wanted to hurl, but slowly he acclimated. “Well, thank you for your consideration! It wasn’t like I was already waiting for a hearing that would decide my fate!”

He shook his head a little. “Enough about that. How about this core mantle the Seekers Accord talked about.”

Characters spawned in front of him.

[Pillarshard Core Mantle[s] of Seeker Xue Dejiu]

[Slot 1: Unnamed]

[Unnamed Pillarshard Grade: Impure]

[Descension Status: 67%]

[Would you like to name this Pillarshard?]

“Name it, if you will. More options will open.” Bing Xin said.

Dejiu complied. He rubbed his bald head in thought. Name… a name. What do I name it? Like a person’s name? No, or a title? Oooh how about something cool? Like Hellbridge? Temple’s Gate? Or something about the guardian and daimons? Hollow Burrow? Talonfall? Damn, that sounds kind of nice. Maybe the Arhats might spare him if he not only conquered a Pillarshard for the temple but also named it cool.

“Hurry up.” Bing Xin hissed.

“Yes, Miss!” Dejiu frowned. He quickly willed the slot to be named Talonfall. Hey, it sounded good in his head. It made sense too — Hollowtalons and the like.

[You have selected the name, Talonfall]

[Do you confirm your selection?]

“Yes!”