The village was in upheaval at the news of the Shadow Tiger Sect’s arrival. Shang made his way between the stalls of dried meats and vegetables. This late in the year, only cabbage and winter melon were in season. He did not hurry to gather ingredients. He looked carefully at each melon, trying to blend into the background.

“Did you hear? The Sect Leader will be coming.”

“No chance, he has better things to do than visit the likes of us.”

“I swear on my ancestors it’s true. I heard it from the headmaster’s son. Tora Aran Kei is on his way back from the Sapphire plains. His whole coterie is with him.”

“The Sapphire plains, why was he there?” The discussion continued, but Shang was too shocked to pay attention. FuJia was nestled in between the spines of two large mountain ranges, the Kushu and AnSan, at the very edge of FuLong province and the Shadow Tiger Territory. Despite the village’s isolation, the legend of Tora Aran Kei had infected the imagination of every cultivator in the village.

Even Shang was not immune. Shang often only pretended to listen when Xin and YiHua got into detailed discussions of cultivation. Frankly, he had lost much of his interest years ago. Stories of legendary cultivators that resembled gods more than men were a different story. He could not help feeling giddy at the thought of meeting a blessed son of heaven, a true hero of the ages.

Shang made his way home, taking his time to stop and listen to the surrounding conversation. The villagers mostly ignored him, refusing to even acknowledge his existence for fear of catching his bad luck. That was fine by him. It made it so much easier to listen in on their conversations.

His meanderings brought him near the entrance of JaLong temple school. Even from this distance, he could hear the sound of grunting and the thuds and smacks of weapons on skin. Shang winced inwardly at the sounds. It was hard to believe that he was so eager to face such abject torture at one point in his life.

He made his way past the entrance to the temple, hands laden with supplies. The winter melon was perched precariously on top of a bag of rice, slowing him down considerably. A movement in the corner of his eye drew his attention to the top of the temple walls.

“Care to help, little guy?” Shang asked his little companion. The sable stared unblinkingly at him, licking his lips. Shang had taken a liking to the little creature, enough to give it a name, though he would never admit it to anyone. Its distinctive markings differentiated it from its peers.

Shang thought back to when he first saw the creature almost eight summers ago. It had been such a constant in his childhood that he almost forgot his life without it. How long do these little guys live anyways? The thought brought a sinking sadness to his stomach. He groaned internally. He was becoming like his mother.

“You hungry?” Shang set down his bundle and fished out a piece of dried duck. The sable scurried over and climbed up Shang’s body to perch on his shoulder and enjoy his snack. As he munched on, holding the duck between two paws, Shang noticed the faint glint of metal near its dew claw. He nudged his finger in between its paws and tugged. The object was snagged on the sable’s fur, but it released with some effort.

Shang rolled the object between his fingers. He had never seen anything like it before. It was roughly the size of an acorn and made of intertwining loops of metal. The loops were so dense that they resembled a perfect metal sphere. He brought the object closer to his eyes, lifting it to catch the rays of the midmorning sun. He could make out faint etchings on the side of the rings.

Shang jumped at the sudden sound of doors slamming open, fumbling the sphere into the dirt. A group of Final-Year students rushed from the temple, looking around frantically. XiaoXi was among them. At eighteen, he was in his last year of training. According to village gossip, he was a gifted cultivator. He had opened his ninth meridian and had an inherent talent for qi control.

If not for Xin, his talent would have been enough to stand out, but Xiao was nothing in the light of Xin’s brilliance. The teachers and students were enamored with Xin. He was the youngest in many generations to open his eleventh meridian before graduation from JaLong. Shang often heard villagers and students alike whispering or giggling about him behind his back. The thought brought a smile to his face. Little XinXin, finally growing up.

Xiao’s face was scrunched in anger as he approached Shang. Shang took an involuntary step back at his expression. He raised his hands placatingly before dipping into a low bow. The sable jumped nimbly off Shang’s shoulder at Xiao’s approach. Shang felt a pang of betrayal at the creature’s abandonment. So much for loyalty.

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“Uh… XiaoXiao, it’s nice to see you. I hope—” The world tilted on its side. Shang was on the ground. His cheek was on fire and his vision dimmed.

“I told you not to call me that. We are children no longer. You should know your place,” Xiao spat. Shang could barely register the words. His ears rang and he could only make out the blurry outline of shuffling feet from the ground.

“Xiao, how hard did you hit him?”

Shang could register some worry in the other disciple’s voice, though probably more in self-preservation rather than genuine worry for his well being.

“I didn’t hit him that hard…I think. His body is just so weak.”

Shang’s view of the world disappeared as the darkness overtook the light. The sounds of conversation gradually grew dimmer, and he felt himself drifting calmly in the darkness. The sensation felt familiar somehow in a faint and untenable way.

He imagined this was the feeling of dying. The thought comforted him. If dying was so painless, there was nothing to be afraid of. Shang let his body wander in that sea of black, so devoid of light but full of something he couldn’t identify.

As Shang let his body fully succumb to the dark, a blue streak of lightning lanced through the world, outlining dark shapes in the gloom, shocking Shang from his complacency. The world of black retreated under the lances of blue light. Shang closed his eyes, trying to block out the blinding brightness, but to no effect. The rays of bright blue pierced his eyelids, bringing a rush of pain and nausea along with it.

He was hacking on the ground, his face throbbing with heat and pain. Each breath caused him to inhale bits of dirt making him cough harder. Gradually, his breathing eased, and his senses returned. He could feel the faint pressure of the sable sitting on his stomach.

“See, he’s alive,” Xiao’s said with obvious relief in his voice. “And we found the little weasel. Lucky, it still has it on him.”

Gingerly, Shang pushed himself off the ground. The sable on his stomach turned to meet his gaze. Its eyes were the same blinding shade of blue. The orb was peeking out from between its paws. It must have picked it off the ground while Shang was unconscious. It was nice to know its priorities.

The disciples advanced on the creature. With almost deliberate slowness, its eyes still focused on Shang, the sable closed its mouth around the sphere and swallowed. Shang could see the bulge of the sphere under its skin as it traveled further into its body.

Everyone stood transfixed, shocked into inaction. Shang’s sore jaw hung open involuntarily. The sable licked its paws in self-satisfaction, grooming the fur on its face with its paw.

XiaoXi let out a shaky breath before pulling out a curved knife from his inner robes. Shang’s eyes were drawn to the glint of its sharp edge. Shang had never seen Xiao so angry. His face was an almost inhuman shade of red and the veins in his forehead bulged. He was steps away from the sable and Shang. His left hand was outstretched ready to grab and skin the creature alive.

“Woah, wait a moment,” Shang pleaded. His head was clearing, and his body was hot and light with alarm. He scooted up from his seated position, the sable clasped tightly in his hands. “Honorable Elder Brother, please allow this Little Brother to take care of this for you. I promise to get you the orb that this creature...uh…consumed. The creature is dirty and impure and unworthy of being touched by honorable Elder Brother.” Shang prostrated himself before the disciples, waist bent forward and parallel to the ground. The sable hung limply in his grasp, not at all alarmed by its precarious situation.

“Give it over Shang. This is none of your business,” Xiao spat, still seething with anger. Shang looked down at the sable. Its head was tilted up, looking into Shang’s face with large dewy eyes. Shang gazed back into its round innocent gaze and groaned. His face was ablaze from the strike, and he was regretting stepping in to save this ungrateful creature.

Though it was prohibited to kill those of lower cultivation, Xiao was clearly beyond caring. It was pure luck that his initial strike did not cause any serious damage to Shang. As Shang gazed into the sable’s crystalline eyes, memories from the past years flashed before him unbidden.

The sable tilting its head sweetly from the cherry blossom tree in Shang's garden. The sable running around in circles chasing its bushy tail. The sable stretched out flat on the ground, basking in the sunshine.

“Oh, come on, that’s just not fair,” Shang groaned. With a feigned yelp, he loosened his grasp on the sable and flung his hands out. It flew from his grasp and landed in a neighboring pine tree. The sable quickly scurried up the bark and disappeared into the dense nettles.

“What are you idiots waiting for? Go after it!” Xiao growled at the other disciples. They quickly dispersed, hopping up the branches of the black pine tree with surprising nimbleness. Shang sent a quick prayer for the sable. Its survival was out of his hands now. Shang waited awkwardly in front of Xiao, waiting for him to leave with his friends.

Xiao's expression was unreadable as he stood with a frightening stillness, like a snake waiting to pounce.