Lu Na took care of Sun Ren as best as she could. First she wiped off as much of the blood from Sun Ren as possible from her face. She made sure she was comfortable and allowed her to sleep.
When Sun Ren woke later, she shouted, “My daggers! You have to get my daggers back. The bandits can’t have them.”
“But some of them are still stuck inside the bodies.” Lu Na said.
“No, they’re very important to us. I had them made specifically for our trip. They’re worth a lot of money too. Those bandits don’t deserve to have anything. And if you won’t get them, I will.”
Lu Na held Sun Ren down with just one hand. She was too weak to fight her.
“Amituofo, I will get them. I have to recite the heart sutra over each body anyway,” Hen Li said.
“Thank you. I tossed at least twenty daggers,” Sun Ren said before she relaxed back onto the grass. At least it was a good sign that she could move again. After yesterday’s fight, Sun Ren looked like a broken toy.
Hen Li spent most of the day going around to each body and reciting the heart sutra over them. He said he was hoping they would reincarnate and become better people. By the end, he had a large bag of daggers, much of it with some blood on them.
Lu Na had the morbid task of cleaning them, while Hen Li looked after Sun Ren. She was careful to wipe off the edges as these were sharp, unlike the dagger Sun Ren gave her. They all flexed easily, but stayed true when left alone. What material did Sun Ren’s smiths use to make these daggers? If she could get her hands on them, Lu Na might make better inventions. Maybe she could improve on the slingshot and make it more like a dagger.
Lu Na shook her head. She wasn’t being honest with herself. The first thing she was picturing in her mind wasn’t a new invention, but the dead bodies. They looked like they were sleeping on the grass. A life snuffed out just like that. It was such a tragedy and one that made her think about her own life.
Was this trip to the labyrinth really worth it? Lu Na had already come very close to dying yesterday when one bandit attacked her. She told Sun Ren she was helping, but honestly she couldn’t do much other than distract them and let Hen Li take care of them. She still hadn’t repaired her slingshot yet so she couldn’t do much more than push them away. The last thing she wanted was to use her null metal bracelet.
After a little more tinkering, Lu Na was finally ready to test it. Except, maybe she shouldn’t test it on bandits in the middle of the night. She’d have to find time later.
Yet she was happy to have come back to help Sun Ren.
“You’re not thinking about hurting yourself are you, Na Na?” Nugua asked. “You’ve been staring at that dagger for a long time.”
Lu Na shook her head and dropped the dagger into the pile of other daggers.
“No, I was thinking of whether this trip was worth it. We almost died last night and if I’m being honest, I think we should just head back to Jianye. The Wintersweet Sect found out that we tried to cut them out of the secret and the world outside of the city is a mess. There are bandits and a scary monkey spirit. Back home, I still have my brother and my bed.”
“But not your mother. You saw how injured she looked. If you don’t help her, she will die. Are you willing to allow that to happen?”
“What can I do? I’m just some weak Young Miss from Jianye!” Lu Na turned over the daggers, clattering them against each other.
“Are you alright?” Hen Li asked.
“Yes, sorry,” Lu Na said. “I’m going to take the daggers to the nearby stream to wash them off before drying them. I shouldn’t be too far. I’ll scream if I need your help.”
“Amituofo, I can send Panhu with you.”
“No, it’s fine.” Lu Na picked up the daggers in a new bag and brought them over to the stream.
“Have you forgotten that Sun Ren is also a Young Miss? She could have spent her whole life enjoying life without ever worrying about anything, either. Yet she went out and made something of her life.”
Lu Na chuckled bitterly. She unburdened the daggers into the shallow part of the stream. It was a slow-moving stream so she didn’t have to worry about them floating away.
“You forget that she also has years of training from masters. I can’t do any of that.”
“Yet. You can’t do any of that yet. You want strength and power to do what Hen Li and Sun Ren can do? Train.”
“I can’t do it. I’ve tried training with Hen Li and I got nowhere. I can’t even manifest you and trust me, I’ve been trying all the time since the fishing village. There were times yesterday that I tried when I almost died and nothing. You won’t even come out then.”
“Then it’s time to cheat. You remember the scroll the monkey king gave you? He wasn’t lying when he said that it could teach you in ways that Hen Li can’t. Even I’ve heard of the Scroll of Immortality. And if it’s real, then maybe you can train to be a summoner faster than traditional training.”
“How do you know this?” Lu Na picked up one dagger and wiped it on a clean rag.
Nugua was quiet. Through their connection, Lu Na could feel apprehension in her spirit. It was a weird feeling, as she never thought Nugua would be apprehensive about anything. Sometimes she couldn’t get her to be quiet even when she needed her to be.
“Fine, I’ll tell you one of my secrets. You can’t tell anyone,” Nugua said.
“I won’t. I promise,” Lu Na said.
“I learned from the Scroll of Immortality from Sun Wukong’s sifu.”
“Is that how you’ve lived for so long?”
Nugua laughed.
“Little Na Na, spirits can live forever if they want to. But they have to live within the Spirit Realm. The Scroll of Immortality has allowed me to live in the human realm, but it has its costs.”
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“Then should I practice it?” Lu Na lined up the daggers on the ground to let them dry.
“Definitely. The costs aren’t as steep for humans. You only live for about fifty years.”
“What is the cost?”
“The immortality part goes against nature. After your natural lifespan is spent, you would face a tribulation from the heavens. Think of it like one of your wards that you put too much energy into.”
“It explodes. But wouldn’t I be immortal too if I practiced the scroll?”
Nugua laughed harder this time.
“I’ve been alive for many thousands of years. Despite humans finding the scroll and an entire sect of summoners studying it, no one has ever mastered the scroll before their natural lifespans. Only spirits with unnaturally longer life spans can study it long enough to master the secrets.”
“Maybe I can be one of them. I’m smart enough.”
“Child, you are one of the smartest I’ve ever known, but your intelligence lies in making little trinkets that do wonderful things. You wouldn’t be able to pierce through the hidden meanings of the Scroll of Immortality within your lifetime. And besides, would you really want to live forever?”
Lu Na packed up the daggers in a wrap. That was a question she had never thought of before. To live forever, or at least a lengthy time, what would that be like? Until now, she had never even thought about dying, let alone living forever. That’s when the daggers reminded her of the fleeting nature of life and the bodies that now littered the grass all around her.
She could die tomorrow.
“I guess I’m more worried about finishing this task before I think about living forever,” Lu Na said. “Besides, I would be interested in what inventions I could make if I had unlimited time.”
“I won’t try to dissuade you from learning all the secrets of the scroll if the scroll is genuine. However, my only word of warning is to think about the one who gave it to you. The monkey king himself, as powerful as he is in the myths, is trapped underneath a mountain in his quest for immortality.”
“Wait, what do you mean, if it’s genuine?” Lu Na walked back to the earth dome that housed Sun Ren.
“The monkey king wasn’t only known by that name. He was also known as the Trickster God.”
“Then how would I know if it’s real or not?”
“You can ask Hen Li. But if he doesn’t know, then the only thing you can do is practice it. If it’s genuine, then you will rapidly gain levels and stages as a summoner. If it’s not, then you will die a horrible death.”
Lu Na wasn’t sure if the risk was worth it. But she felt that Sun Wukong wouldn’t have lied to her. He had to know that she was one of the few people who could undo the techniques of the mountain to free him. And she would gladly do it if the scroll was real. So should she risk it?
Hen Li sat in the shade and was still reciting the heart sutra. He had his palms pressed together and he wore his prayer beads on his neck. He didn’t acknowledge Lu Na when she approached. Lu Na would ask him to look over the scroll after she checked on Sun Ren first.
Lu Na crawled into the dome with Sun Ren and checked on her forehead. She had a fever earlier but it was gone now. Whatever her spirit was doing was a miracle. Had Nugua done that for her?
“Sun Ren, how are you feeling?”
Sun Ren didn’t move. Her breathing was even. She looked like she was sleeping. So Lu Na didn’t bother her and left the bag of daggers outside of the dome.
“Hen Li, do you have a minute? I want to ask you something about the summoner arts.” Lu Na got out of the dome.
“Of course. I’m almost done reciting the heart sutra for the deceased,” Hen Li said.
“Nugua tells me she’s not sure if the Scroll of Immortality is real. Could you have a look at it for me? She told me that if it was a fake, it might hurt me instead.” Lu Na took out the scroll from within her chest pocket.
“Amituofo. I still caution against learning from that monkey spirit. Making pacts with feral spirits like him is dangerous.” Hen Li opened the scroll. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you if this is real or not. All I can see is a golden surface with the monkey spirit’s butt facing me and his tail wagging. The only words I can read is, ‘Not for you.’”
Lu Na took the scroll. It had the picture Hen Li described, but it disappeared in seconds. Instead, words appeared in a long flowing script going from top to bottom. The words described a breathing technique.
“What’s the omni-breathing technique?” Lu Na asked.
“Hmmm, that’s a summoner art that is supposed to be used to help boost your focus,” Hen Li said. “I’ve never learned it, as it’s an inferior breathing technique.”
“Why didn’t you teach me that? Wouldn’t that have helped me manifest Nugua?”
“Breathing techniques are only useful for stage two summoners after they’ve started their journey as summoners. Before stage two, it would only be like any other breathing exercise for you. It’s why most summoner sects won’t accept disciples if they can’t manifest their spirits.”
“So, based on what you and Nugua said, I wouldn’t have the qualifications to be a summoner? Is that why you wouldn’t accept me as your disciple?”
“Amituofo. That was not the case at all. I’ve told you before, I am unqualified to be a teacher. I only know of what I was taught, but that wouldn’t work for everyone as the Wintersweet Sect forced a more advanced summoner art on me. It’s why I can’t control my first spirit so well. And that’s the last thing I would want for you.”
Lu Na couldn’t fault Hen Li. His former sect was a little crazy and willing to do anything for its goals, especially where their ancestor was involved. She could only imagine what hellish training he went through.
“I guess I’ll have to figure this out myself. But do me a favor. If I have problems with my training, could you stop me from dying?”
“Amituofo. That is the least I can do if you’re willing to take the risk.”
Lu Na bowed to Hen Li.
“You might not be my sifu, but I still respect you greatly for helping me.”
“It might be fate that we met. I’m willing to see this to the end if it stops the Wintersweet Sect from doing evil.”
Lu Na climbed inside the earth dome. She sat cross-legged and focused on the words of the scroll. She read it over and over, but she couldn’t understand one part.
“Hey Nugua, have you studied this scroll before? Can you tell me what ‘pushing your breath into your spirit realm’ means?”
Before Nugua could answer, the words disappeared. A picture of the monkey king appeared. Beside him were clouds that were pushing air into his nose. The air traveled down into his chest and he held his breath. After a few seconds, the wisps of air from his lungs started pushing into a shining core within his chest near his heart.
“Lu Na, did you hear my explanation?” Nugua asked.
“Oh, sorry. The scroll just showed me a moving picture explaining what it meant. It looked like he was pushing the air he breathed into the spirit realm near his chest. Is that it?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I said. This scroll is more amazing than I thought.”
“It is. Can you see it too?”
“No, all I see is a golden reflection with nothing on it. You must be seeing what he wants you to see. So be careful and don’t believe everything in the scroll. Ask Hen Li or me if you feel anything is wrong.”
Lu Na lifted the scroll and looked at it all around. The moment she used her spirit vision technique to look at the scroll’s spirit essence, it blinded her. She turned it down as much as she could after Nugua showed her how.
The scroll held a near infinite amount of different techniques within it. It was almost like looking into the cookbook for spirit techniques. The only problem was that it was so complicated and intertwined. It made the technique on the monkey king’s mountain seem simple.
If Lu Na could understand even ten percent of the scroll, she knew she would be a master of inventions. She could make almost anything her mind could think of.
“Are you okay Na Na?” Nugua asked.
“Oh Nugua, I think I found something more powerful to study than I could have ever imagined.”
“Hopefully, if it’s genuine, you will grow as a summoner despite not having as much spirit energy. Put in the work.”
Lu Na only nodded, but summoner arts weren’t what she was interested in now. This scroll was a living technique that she could study with no need for anyone else. This was the best find ever.