Lu Na took a step forward while Sun Ren and Hen Li took two steps back. She knew she was walking toward a dangerous creature. Lu Na knew that in the depths of her soul.

This spirit was only ever out for herself. Nugua made it very clear from the beginning of this journey to find her mother that she only wanted what she could get from her. It’s their promise, she said. Now that she’s free of Lu Na, there was no guarantee that she would be needed.

Yet, she kept walking forward until she was standing right in front of Nugua. Her snake torso kept slithering back and forth, raking the earth below her. Lu Na reached forward with her arms spread and Nugua did the same, except her claws reached out further.

“Come here child,” Nugua said.

Sun Ren pulled Lu Na back before Nugua wrapped her arms around her. She lifted her sword up against Nugua, pointing right at her chest.

“No, it’s alright Sun Ren,” Lu Na said. “I can’t explain it, but I know Nugua would never hurt me.”

“You told us about how she threatened you when you bonded with her,” Sun Ren said.

“Yes, but I think I understand now.” Lu Na walked up and embraced Nugua. The naga didn’t rip her into shredded meat and devoured her. “You only said what you did because you wanted me to be stronger, right?”

“Child, that was part of it,” Nugua said. “The other part is to help you understand my seriousness in getting what’s mine. If that means protecting your weak body until I do, then that’s what I will do.”

“How is this happening?” Sun Ren asked. “Spirits can’t survive outside of the human body.”

Nugua laughed, her human half shaking with a hiss.

“That’s a lie. Back when the Xia were around, spirits existed outside and we lived side by side with humans. It lasted until some summoner was paranoid and subjugated the spirits within themselves. They feared spirits would betray them. And now you all have doomed yourself.”

“If that were true, then where are our spirits?” Sun Ren asked.

“Your spirits are too young to learn to materialize like me. They’ll learn soon enough. When they come out, let’s hope they’re not angry with you.” Nugua glanced at Hen Li before she slithered toward the buildings. “This place brings back so many memories.”

“Were you here when they built the labyrinth?” Lu Na asked. She had hoped that maybe they’d have a guide.

“I was alive during this time, but I was an inconsequential spirit of the time as I am now. No one cared to include me in anything. These buildings and this place remind me of the village I was born in. Although it wasn’t as big as this city, though.”

The group walked deeper into the city. All the buildings were the same as far as the eye could see. Each one is made of packed earth in the same way. They were all lined as if someone measured everything with a ruler. The streets were wide enough for two oxen carts.

While it was cool outside because of the coming winter, it was much colder inside the labyrinth. Lu Na could see her own breath as she walked the deserted streets.

Lu Na took out the silver phoenix hairpin. It was glowing red, but much fainter than before.

“Your hairpin is about to lose power,” Nugua said. “At most, it has one more activation and then it will die. So copy down the map and whatever details you have.”

Lu Na took out multiple sheets of paper from her chest pocket. She was going to use these sheets to make wards, but this was more important. She passed them out to Sun Ren and Hen Li along with a piece of charcoal.

“Jot down as many details as we can. We have to focus on the most important details that will lead us to the center,” Nugua said.

“No, we need to mark down the locations where everyone else is. That’s the most important thing if we want to avoid them,” Sun Ren said. “Otherwise, we’ll have to fight our way through this labyrinth. I don’t think we can survive that.”

“Fine, then I’ll make a mark of anything significant that we might want to explore. Hen Li, you can draw the general overview of the place. Everyone ready?” Lu Na clutched the hairpin in her hands. This was the last time she could feel her mother’s spirit energy. The next time would be when she freed her from this prison.

Lu Na activated the hairpin. Once again, a map overlay of the entire labyrinth showed up in front of them, hovering just above the hairpin. The red dots were moving on the map, but some sections of the labyrinth were highlighted in blue.

She didn’t waste time thinking about it and noted them down on her paper. The other thing she noted was that green dots showed up on the bottom of the map.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Do you think the green dots are us?” Lu Na asked.

“Maybe. Just make a note of it and keep drawing,” Nugua said. “The hairpin is going to lose power any minute now.”

Lu Na finished drawing the general outline of the labyrinth. Then she marked all the blue spots as quickly as she could. There wasn’t enough time before the map winked out of existence. She held the image in her head for as long as she could and tried to fill in as many of the blue spots as possible.

There was another few minutes of focused drawing before everyone stopped. Lu Na looked over at Hen Li’s map and was impressed by all the details he drew. It looked almost like the map from the hairpin. He was still drawing the different sections from the map that Lu Na couldn’t remember anymore.

Lu Na looked over at Sun Ren’s map and noticed the specific details from all the red dots. She made notes of where the largest groups of red dots were and how to avoid them on the map.

Meanwhile, Lu Na’s map looked like a child’s drawing. She had crude lines and general positions of where all the blue spots were. Charcoal was not her medium. If she had a brush and paint, she might have made it prettier. But as it was, she hoped it was enough to help plot their journey through the labyrinth.

“Oh Na Na, your curiosity is always the best thing about you.” Nugua was looking over her shoulder at her childish drawings. “You made a mark of all the spots where the Xia cities would normally have storage places. I doubt anything will be there after two thousand years.”

“Why would the hairpin show us those areas if there’s nothing there? It showed all the red dots because that’s probably where all the people are.” Lu Na compared her map with Sun Ren’s. “And if we walk the route that Sun Ren is plotting, we’ll walk by at least a few of these places. We could do a little exploring. Maybe we’ll find something.”

Sun Ren compared their maps as well. She then looked at Hen Li’s more detailed map.

“I don’t think we can, Lu Na. If the scale is correct, this labyrinth is too big to be explored fully. I only estimate we have about three days of food and water. So unless we can find food and water here, we’re going to be too weak to do anything but solve the puzzle right at the center.” Sun Ren pointed at the location on the map. The path that Sun Ren drew made large, jagged circles that avoided many of the red dots, but ultimately led to the center.

“Amituofo. There’s also another issue that neither of you might have noticed. Do you feel that dreadful cold?” Hen Li asked.

Lu Na noticed it when they arrived. It had an ethereal feel to it, like she had felt it before. She had only felt it once.

“Don’t tell me there are ghosts here.” Lu Na looked around to see if she could spot any.

Hen Li pressed his hands together and nodded.

“The ghosts here are all very strong. If they’re as strong as the ghost we encountered in Qingxizhen village, then we might have a problem. Sun Ren, do you have anything that can help you ward off powerful ghosts?”

Sun Ren took out a gold necklace from her chest pocket. It was a small golden Guanyin hanging on the chain. She wore it around her neck.

“I never believed that selfish Buddhas would protect others, but I was made Guanyin’s goddaughter. So let’s hope my mother’s foolishness will protect me.”

Lu Na admired the intricate details on the figurine. It was Guanyin, sitting in the lotus position with her hands pushed together.

“That’s beautiful, Sun Ren. Why don’t you wear it more often?”

“I didn’t want thieves and bandits to constantly attack me. It would be too easy for them to distract me and steal it.”

“While this is a lovely conversation, I think it’s time for us to move,” Nugua said. “If it makes you squeamish humans feel any better, the ghosts in this labyrinth are nowhere near the strength of that vengeful ghost you met in the village.”

The group walked forward, following Hen Li’s map. His was the most detailed.

“Hey, do you think we could explore this blue spot on the map?” Lu Na asked.

“If it will convince you that there is nothing there after two thousand years, I would love it,” Nugua said.

“Let’s prepare to defend ourselves just in case.” Sun Ren unsheathed her sword. “If your spirit is right that there’s nothing there, then we’re not visiting any more. We need to hurry to the center and solve this puzzle before we become ghosts here.”

Lu Na nodded. She was happy that at least Sun Ren supported her. She took off her bracelet and wrapped it in a piece of cloth before putting it away. Now all she had to defend herself were her wards, but how useful were they without Nugua directing them?

That was something she would need to rectify the next time they get a break. The only wards she made for herself depended on Nugua’s help. The other ones she gave to Sun Ren or to Uncle Chen to sell. All she had to do now was modify them with her spirit wand and then she would have some more useful ones.

The group walked to the first large blue spot on the map. It was in a far corner of the labyrinth, but it was also a gigantic space. But all they saw there was a wall that reached from one end to the other.

“Something’s not right here,” Sun Ren said. “According to Hen Li’s map, there should be a space past this. Unless Hen Li drew it wrong.”

“Amituofo, I did not. I have a perfect memory. Maybe the map is wrong?” Hen Li said.

Nugua walked up to the wall and pushed against it in several places.

“Nope, there’s nothing here. Let’s move on.”

Lu Na paused for a second, looking at the wall. She focused on it and used her technique. Nothing happened. She tried again, but she couldn’t see any spirit energy.

“Is little Na Na trying to use my technique?” Nugua said.

“Nothing is happening. What’s going on?” Lu Na said.

Nugua slithered over to Lu Na. Her smile full of sharp fangs disturbed Lu Na. It took everything Lu Na had to not cringe and run away.

“Oh little Na Na, your technique comes from me. You can’t use it without permission.”

“I’ve used it all the time before. Why would I need permission now?”

Nugua laughed.

“That is the one conceit your forefathers did when they bound the spirits within themselves. They forced us into involuntary slavery. So when you call, we have to answer. In this labyrinth, we are freed. Watch what you say to me, child, or I will forgo the pact I made with your mother and devour you now.”