Chapter 27 - The Unwell Sect Leader

Lu Na couldn’t get up. Sect Leader Wong’s overwhelming spirit energy coming off his body was too suffocating. She could feel her chest struggle to breathe, as if an enormous weight was crushing her. Her throat burned when she breathed.

“Run to the other Lu maidens. I’ll deal with this.” Elder Hen clenched his left hand and summoned his brown horse. The purple on its mane shined against the dark night.

Lu Na crawled away until the pressure lessened. One of the braver Lu maidens picked her up and dragged her the rest of the way across the courtyard. When Lu Na looked up to thank her, she realized it was actually Sun Ren.

“We have to get out of here,” Sun Ren said. “The sect leader has gone crazy. He’s going to kill us all.”

Lu Na sat up and hugged Sun Ren.

“I’m so glad you came back. I thought you would have gotten out after using those flares.”

“I can’t do that. I had to come back to save these women. Get up. We have work to do. Do what you can to hold that mad man off. I’m going to convince those summoners.”

Sun Ren dashed off among the Lu maidens.

Lu Na stood up and dusted herself off.

“You can’t do that,” Elder Hen said from a distance.

“The ancestor demands that we kill them all now,” Sect Leader Wong yelled loud enough for everyone to hear. “We have no choice. We must do it for the good of the sect. No, the ancestor told me it was for the good of the world. One of these Lu maidens is going to one day bring about the end of spirits. She’s going to kill them all. She’s going to destroy everything our revered ancestor has built and we can’t allow her to do that. So all of them must die.”

Sect Leader’s spirit tiger grew to the size of an elephant. Its sharp claws and fangs gleamed with a light red glow against the dark night. With every step it took toward the Lu maidens, the surrounding lanterns blew out, bringing darkness closer to them.

The Lu maidens were in a frenzy. Every woman was pushing against the summoners guarding the arch. They brought more disciples and summoned their spirits to stop them.

Lu Na watched as the tiger spirit crouched low, prepared to pounce. She was the one closest to it so she knew that when it did, she would die instantly. Those claws would go through her like paper. She grabbed her spirit wall ward and took out the burning hot, practically molten piece of null metal. The pain didn’t bother her as much as the thought of those claws going through her.

“Run right after you set up that ward. It doesn’t matter if every other person dies here as long as you live. You got it?” her spirit said.

“Should I use my mother’s hairpin now?”

“No! You can’t. Not when we’re so close. I hate to be selfish, but your mother has said that if you use it before the Mid-Autumn Festival in your 18th year, it will break like any of your other failed inventions. Your mother’s secret dies with it.”

“But will it protect me? Will it protect all the women and children here?”

“Yes.”

Lu Na combined her spirit wall and the null metal, activating it. A large shimmering wall of spirit energy sprang up in front of Lu Na. She dropped the ward and the piece of null metal to reach up to her hairpin. But before she could reach it, the tiger pounced.

Lu Na clenched her jaws and forced her eyes open, despite every fiber of her being telling her to close her eyes. She needed to focus on the spirit wall so that it didn’t deactivate.

The spirit tiger bounced off the spirit wall, turning a bright green. The spirit tiger’s fur sizzled all over as it got up.

Sect Leader Wong screamed in agony.

“You see? There are those among them that will destroy our spirits. We have to kill them all, Elder Hen. For the good of all summoners and spirits everywhere.”

Lu Na’s spirit wall worked. It stood against such a powerful spirit. Maybe she didn’t need to use her mother’s phoenix hairpin just yet. She looked up into the sky. The moon was almost there, but moving ever so slowly. Lu Na laughed at how ridiculous that was. It wasn’t as if the moon was moving for her.

The spirit tiger padded its way to the spirit wall and nudged it with a claw. It didn’t bounce off it but wherever it touched, a bright green line formed. It moved its claw off to the side and the bright green line stopped.

Lu Na’s heart sank. She realized one of the major flaws in her inventions just then. The spirit wall created a gigantic wall in front of her, but it didn’t go on forever. All the tiger spirit had to do was get up and walk around it. The tiger spirit realized that, too.

“Spirit, can you expand the wall?”

“Child, I’m already using everything I have to hold it up against that monster. You’re asking for a miracle,” her spirit said.

Lu Na reached down to her spirit ward and null metal. All she needed to do was change it a little and expand it herself.

The tiger spirit swiped its claw around the wall, missing Lu Na by inches. But that swipe wasn’t only physical. The spirit energy within that attack was strong enough to cut Lu Na’s left arm, forcing her to back away from the spirit wall.

Lu Na grabbed her other spirit walls and activated them, trying to fill in the gap. However, it was like trying to hold back a river with her hands. She was standing in the middle of a courtyard in open space. Maybe if she was in a room or hallway, this would be more effective. If she lived through this, that was something she’d have to think of in her next invention.

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The tiger spirit clawed against the other spirit walls and they collapsed. It padded over to the other side as it faced Lu Na. She faced it alone with nothing else she could use. The null metal was too far away and her other wards would be as strong as the paper they were drawn on compared to this spirit. This was the end.

Three spirits rose and attacked the tiger spirit. It was a turtle, a dog, and a deer. It forced the tiger back a step.

“You disciples dare go against the sect’s commands?” Sect Leader Wong yelled. He was closer now and his voice was hoarse.

“I didn’t join this sect to die,” one disciple yelled. She raised her hand in the air and the dog pounced onto the tiger’s eyes. She was wearing a brown tunic just like the rest of the Lu maidens. “Elder Hen, you said you enjoyed my moon cake! Are you going to allow this mad man to kill us all?”

Elder Hen silently stared at the ground.

The other two disciples threw their spirits at the tiger, too. This was Lu Na’s chance. She grabbed the ward and the null metal.

“Spirit, can we connect this ward with the others so that the metal can power them, too?”

“You’re always giving me impossible tasks. I can do it, but after that I’m going to go away for a while.” Lu Na’s spirit sounded tired.

“Thank you spirit.”

“Just remember, don’t use your mother’s hairpin until the moon reaches its zenith. Otherwise, I’m going to be furious with you. I waited so long to see your mother again. We’re so close now.”

“Got it.” That wasn’t something Lu Na was expecting. Her spirit never said that she’d see her mother again if she activated her hairpin. What else was she hiding from her? She didn’t have time to ask, as all the wards linked up in one enormous dome around Lu Na and the other disciples.

It was just in time as the disciples collapsed. Their spirits were dispersed by one strong swipe from the tiger spirit. The next strike came so fast, Lu Na felt the force of the air push against her.

But the strike never came. Instead, it was stuck against her spirit wall. It held the tiger’s claw in place and no matter how hard it pulled, it couldn’t get it out.

“We can’t do this. We’re a righteous sect.” Elder Hen’s voice rang out. His brown horse bowed its head down before it rammed into the tiger, causing it to stumble.

“The ancestor has demanded they all die. They all have to die,” Sect Leader Wong said. He reached out toward his tiger spirit and grasped it with his right hand. It glowed a deep dark purple that matched the tiger’s fur. He raised it to the sky.

“Disciples of Wintersweet Sect.” Sect Leader’s Wong voice reached out to everyone in the vicinity. It was the same technique they used to make the proclamation over the city. “I, Wong Kuang, your sect leader, order you to kill every Lu maiden within our sect compound. You must do it before the full moon reaches its zenith!”

The clamor behind Lu Na rose to a fevered pitch. All the Lu maidens that were pushing before were now shouting too.

Lu Na wasn’t sure what to do. Elder Hen was having a loud argument with Sect Leader Wong while their spirits were entangled in a fight. Elder Hen’s spirit was losing badly.

If she had a few more hours, then she might find another solution. But the only one that was available was to use her phoenix hairpin before the tiger came back and ended her before she had a chance.

“When I said make a commotion, I didn’t expect you to cause a riot,” Sun Ren said.

“You came back? I thought you would have found a way out of this place,” Lu Na said.

“Senior Wong caught me,” Sun Ren grimaced. “I’m still recovering so I couldn’t fight her and she brought me back. Right now, she’s standing right outside.”

Lu Na peeked over and saw the woman in the dark blue tunic. Now that she saw Sect Leader Wong, there was no doubt Senior Wong was his daughter. She had that same crazy look.

“What do we do now?” Lu Na asked.

“We did as much as we could. If they decide to kill us, there’s nothing much we can do.”

“I have one last trick, but I’m not sure if I should use it.”

“Oh?”

Lu Na took off her silver phoenix hairpin. She touched the different ridges of its wings.

“My mother left this for me. It’s a powerful ward. If I activate it, it would save us all. But then I would never find out why she left me all those years ago.”

Sun Ren held Lu Na’s hand. She looked her in the eyes.

“I know your mother is significant to you, but there is no finding out what happened if we all die here.”

“But—”

Sun Ren grabbed the silver phoenix hairpin out of Lu Na’s hand. She tried to twist it and turn it this way and that, but it wouldn’t budge. Nothing happened.

“How do you activate it? I don’t want to die here, Na Na. Please.”

For the first time, Lu Na saw how scared Sun Ren was. Despite all the troubles they’ve faced together, Sun Ren always had a brave face. But now, in this moment where certain death is almost guaranteed, her friend was human and not an invincible hero.

“Please Lu Na. I want to see my mother again. I want to see my father and brothers. Please,” Sun Ren said. She gave the hairpin back to Lu Na.

“I’m sorry for getting you into this Sun Ren.” Lu Na tapped the head of the phoenix and it glowed red.

“No!” Sect Leader Wong yelled.

Before Lu Na could activate the ward, the tiger crashed into the spirit wall, collapsing it. It was right on top of Lu Na and Sun Ren. Lu Na gripped the hairpin, yet felt another presence within her, stopping her from breaking off the head to activate it.

Before the tiger’s claws shredded their bodies, the brown horse created an earth wall that pushed the two ladies away. Elder Hen rode on the horse toward the two ladies and reached out with his right hand.

“Get on!” Elder Hen shouted.

Elder Hen’s horse came so fast that Lu Na didn’t have time to reach for his hand. She couldn’t. She knew that if she did, she would have dropped her hairpin. Instead, Elder Hen grabbed Sun Ren’s hand and pulled her up onto the horse before galloping away.

Lu Na took a few steps back, away from Sect Leader Wong. She knew it would not do much, as the tiger was slowly prowling toward her. Its eyes locked onto hers. Sect Leader Wong followed behind.

Lu Na swallowed. She tapped the silver phoenix hairpin, hoping to turn it off, but the red glow stayed on. So instead, she hid it as well as she could in her hands. Afterwards, she curtsied, one of her most perfect curtsies she had ever done in her life.

“Sect… Sect Leader Wong. Could we talk about this? Have I offended you or your prestigious sect?” Lu Na didn’t dare look up at the man. She kept her eyes down and only stared at the pieces of food that were tossed in the chaos.

“Move, you fools. We need to save these people,” Elder Hen said. “Someone get me the other elders. The sect leader is unwell.”

“Elder Hen is right. I have been unwell. All of those Lu maidens can leave as long as this one stays.” Sect Leader Wong placed a hand on Lu Na’s shoulder.

Lu Na shut her eyes and held her breath. She had to calm herself. Maybe Sect Leader Wong might listen to reason.

“Of course, Sect Leader Wong,” Lu Na said. “As long as you allow the rest of them to go, I am happy to enjoy the hospitality of your Wintersweet Sect.”

“No,” Sun Ren shouted. “You can’t take her.”

Lu Na took a quick peek behind her. Elder Hen was ushering everyone away through the south arch. Despite resisting, Sun Ren was also among the ones that were pushed out the south exit.

Good. At least her friend would be safe. Sun Ren will see her mother again.

After everyone cleared out, Sect Leader Wong sat on his tiger spirit. It had shrank back to the size of a dog.

“Now, since you want to talk, let’s talk.”