Chapter 24 - Secret of the Spirits
Sun Ren pulled Lu Na over by the bushes, out of sight from the guards, and away from most of the other women. Most of the other women seemed relaxed. Many of them had some drink in their hand and a variety of foods. They picked them up from a spread on a stone table placed right at the center of the courtyard.
“I can only assume you didn’t meet my brother if you’re here.”
“Oh no, I saw him. I met him and his strategist Zhou Gongjin. They were the ones that gave me this new dress.”
“Oh?”
“And a little bit of silver. The sect leader picked me up in the marketplace where I was enjoying the food and the activities.”
Sun Ren’s brow furrowed.
“Why didn’t you stay with my brother?”
“Because he said that he couldn’t afford to offend the Wintersweet Sect without the backing of your father’s army. He also said that he would not come and rescue you either as that would take all the men he had at his command, putting them all at risk. Apparently, you’re expendable.”
Sun Ren paused for a moment, staring up at the full moon.
“He’s right. It was foolish of me to think that he would protect you and rescue me against the Wintersweet Sect. My father only left the weakened men and my brother’s personal guard here. We have enemies within this city who would like nothing more than to crush us while my father is away.”
“But he’s your brother!”
Sun Ren smiled weakly.
“Family ties mean nothing when the legacy of our family is on the line.”
“My brother would never allow that to happen. He would fight to the death to save me. Which is what I bet he’s doing right now.”
Sun Ren looked away.
“What?”
Sun Ren took Lu Na’s hand into hers.
“It hasn’t been confirmed, but your brother was severely injured from fighting the Wintersweet Sect. The disciples say that he might not last the night.”
Lu Na froze. That wasn’t possible. Her brother was the strongest fighter in Jianye. He was the strongest summoner in the entire magistrate’s yamen. There’s no way he would be defeated.
“I’m sorry, Na Na,” Sun Ren said. “But I don’t think we can depend on your brother, either.”
Lu Na looked up at the full moon, now high in the night sky.
“No, I don’t believe that he’s dead. Lu Fengxian is stronger than that. He might be defeated, but he’s only going to become stronger.”
“I hope that’s the case. But we have to make a plan for ourselves. I’m not sure how much you know about what they plan to do with all these women.”
“Nothing good.” Lu Na looked around at the other women. “The only hint they gave me was that we might not live past tonight. That Ancestor’s Alcove or whatever is telling them to do this.”
“That makes more sense. No sect would dare break the agreement between the Imperial Government and the summoner sects. It would open them up to not only government sanctions, but expose them to other sects.”
“So, do you know what their goal is?”
“I think the more important question is, how can we escape from this? They took away my sword and daggers, but they haven’t taken away my hairpin. I can use that as a weapon until I find another. What do you have?”
Lu Na looked around.
“You know, this is the first time I’ve ever seen any of these Lu maidens. They all share my family name, but I don’t recognize any of them. What do we all have in common that would cause the Wintersweet Sect to keep us here? And also, would this summoner sect really go about killing innocent women?”
Lu Na pointed at someone at the central table.
“Look, that’s just a little girl. What kind of danger could she pose to this powerful sect?”
“I don’t know, but we must get out of here before they do whatever they’re going to do to us.”
“Is it even possible?” Lu Na asked. “We’re surrounded by guards. We have no one to help us. And as far as I can tell, they’d rather kill us than let us go now. They’ve won.”
Sun Ren let Lu Na’s hand go.
“That might be true, but until our final breath, we should keep fighting. I don’t believe that there is nothing we can do. If not for us, then for all these innocent girls. Many of them really believe that they’re only here for the Mid-Autumn Festival. They think they’re going to be reunited with their family after this. And then there are the families that came with the young girls. Do you think the Sect will let them go if they slaughter their children?”
Lu Na knew the correct answer to that. She knew that any normal person would agree with Sun Ren. But she was so tired. She has been so tired from running a few days ago, and for what? She was captured anyway.
“Na Na, I think now is the perfect time to tell you about your mother. But before I do, I want you to tell Sun Ren to protect your body while I do.”
Lu Na turned to Sun Ren.
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“My spirit told me she’s going to tell me about my mother. She asked if you could protect me. I’m not sure what that means, but would you do that for me?”
Sun Ren had a flash of annoyance on her face, but it disappeared quickly.
“Your spirit picked a really bad time to bring you into the spirit realm, but I guess there is no helping it if we might not make it to tomorrow. I’ll think of a plan while I’m guarding you.”
“Bring me into the spirit realm?”
“Your father really didn’t give you any training at all with your spirit. Yes, when you’ve practiced enough with your spirit, they can bring you into your spirit realm and provide in-depth guidance to their abilities and such. But in this case, it’s probably something your mother left for you.”
“Like a message?”
Sun Ren nodded.
“I didn’t know that your mother was that powerful. Only high leveled stage three summoners can do that. No one in my father’s retinue can. So maybe we might be saved after all. Your mother wouldn’t have left you a message without some sort of inheritance. Go, see what your spirit and mother want, and then maybe we can get out of here.”
Lu Na nodded before she closed her eyes.
“I’m ready.”
Lu Na felt her body become heavy like right before sleeping. But only for a moment before that went away. When she opened her eyes, she was no longer in the Wintersweet compound. All the sounds of the celebrations and the people disappeared.
Lu Na saw a running stream. When she approached it, she realized it was the same stream that her brother practiced near. She focused on the waterfall and hoped that everything was just a dream. In a minute or two, her brother would burst out of the stream and she’ll head home with him. There would be no Wintersweet Sect. There would be no summoners chasing her all over the city. She was still wearing the same clothes she had on that day.
Except the only being that walked through the waterfall was this half woman, half snake that slithered across the water. She wore a long robe made of jade beads and very fine silk. Her hair was also braided through with jade beads that reached past her shoulder behind her. She had curved three inch claws where each was sharpened like small daggers. Her lower half was that of an enormous snake with black scales that made her look like the color of ink.
However, it was until she focused on her face that made Lu Na freeze. It was her mother’s face. She hadn’t seen her in years, but what daughter doesn’t recognize their mother?
“This can’t be.”
“Oh Na Na, I’m sorry, but I’m not your mother,” the woman said. And just like that, Lu Na recognized that voice.
“Spirit?” It was the voice she’s heard for so long and so clear in her head. It was jarring to not hear it in her head.
The woman smiled, revealing sharp, pointed teeth.
“How do I look? I’ve been preparing for this day for years.”
“Good? But I don’t understand what is going on.”
“Let’s have a seat and I will explain everything. But first, you should know my name instead of calling me ‘spirit’ all the time. It can get grating. My name is…”
Lu Na saw her mouth move, but no sound came out.
“I heard nothing.”
Her spirit frowned.
“Well, that’s unfortunate. Despite all the experience of the last few days, it wouldn’t have forced you to jump to the second stage as a summoner. I guess if we get out of this, you’ll have to find a proper teacher to develop that until you can hear my name. Ugh, this is annoying. Whatever, I can live with it for a while longer.”
Her spirit slithered over to Lu Na. It took everything Lu Na had to not run away. But honestly, it was also her mother’s face that made her stay. Even if it was a monster that was about to eat her, seeing her mother’s face one last time would be worth it. She hadn’t realized how much she missed her mother until now. So instead, she sat down on the comfortable grass. It was so real, she could even smell it.
“So anyway, the reason I pulled you in now is that of the situation you have out in the human realm,” her spirit said. “Seeing as how you might die tonight, I thought I’d pass on the message your mother left for you and maybe with a little help, it might help you escape the Wintersweet Sect.”
“Will it also help the other girls and women?”
“That would be entirely up to you to decide. I’m only the messenger. What you do with it is up to you.”
Lu Na nodded. Whatever it was, she was going to help as many people as she could. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she just left everyone behind while she survived.
“First, I want you to know that your mother is still alive. When she left, she was at the height of her power. Outside of a few legendary spirits living in the human realm and the rare summoners like that beggar, Hung Rong, no one could hurt her. But I can’t tell you where she went.
“Next, the legacy she left you was something dangerous. I had hoped that I would have never needed to reveal to you what it was and that you would have lived a peaceful life. This was one of the few concessions I could get from your mother when I agreed to bond with you. But of course the Wintersweet Sect had to ruin that.”
“You’re scaring me spirit,” Lu Na said.
“Oh child, you will be frightened by the end of this.” Her spirit patted her on the head with her clawed hand. Lu Na tried very hard not to move as she saw the sharp daggers hang in front of her face. “First, the power I lend you to see spirit energy is the only one you learned on your own. But the second is the ability to construct and copy other people’s techniques completely is not an ability that anyone should have. Your mother stole that and incorporated it into me before she bound me to you. While there are people who can create inventions like yours, they require an immense amount of effort and spirit energy that it would be futile to do so. She did this so that you can transcend humanity.”
“What? Transcend humanity? What does that even mean?”
Her spirit stretched her arms into the sky and started bending around. She rolled her shoulders a few times.
“You know, it’s been a long while since I’ve had this space to stretch a little. It’s kind of cramped inside your spirit realm.”
“Stop stalling spirit. They might just kill me at any moment out there.”
Her spirit smirked.
“Time doesn’t work the same here as it does out there. But fine. I just wanted to stretch a little to show you something.”
Her spirit opened her hands, stretching her claws, and in an instant, appeared in front of Lu Na with her claws pointed at her neck.
Lu Na froze, her breathing coming out in ragged gasps. She felt the tips of those claws on her neck and a little wetness. Her waist was squeezed tight and she didn’t dare look down because of the claws, but she had a feeling it was her spirit’s tail that was holding her. The horror came not from the physical pain, but how her own mother’s face was the one glaring at her.
“Your mother is a menace to spirits. She is the most dangerous person who every spirit would love to kill, destroy, and devour her body. If I had her here, I wouldn’t hesitate to do so even if it meant killing myself. And what she left for you is equally dangerous.”
Her spirit let her go and Lu Na collapsed backwards.
“And yet, I can’t bring myself to kill you. I like you and I made a promise to your mother. As long as she keeps her promise to me, I’ll make sure you stay alive.”
Lu Na coughed into her arm. She touched her neck and felt the warm blood there, but it was nothing more than a small nick.
“So what is it already spirit? You’re acting like some crazy person. Just spit it out already or let me go. I don’t need this.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do, child. I just wanted you to understand how serious this is. This secret I’m about to tell you will blow your mind and what you do with your mother’s legacy will either break you or allow you to save the world. Well, the humans anyway.”
Her spirit leaned in, but did nothing else to Lu Na.
“Your mother gave you the power to make inventions that could rival the strongest spirits in the world. If you work at it hard enough, you will make inventions to rival legendary mythological monsters. And the best part is, it would cost you nothing. This is all for the sake of destroying the spirits.”
“Why?”
“Because we spirits are devouring your life force.”