Chapter 17 – Five Houses

Lin Yue squared her shoulders against the glaive’s ethereal glow. “My name is Lin Yue, and—” The words Master Ruixian froze on her tongue.

Shadow spiraled through the air, cackling. “Were you about to off yourself right there? Did you forget?” He twisted into a mockery of Ruixian’s face. “‘Tell no one about our arrangement!’”

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Lin Yue’s teeth clenched. One sentence in and she’d nearly gotten herself killed. Her cultivation manual pressed against her ribs beneath the silk robes, a reminder of her precarious position.

The guard’s armored fingers tightened around the glaive’s shaft. “Well?”

“I was sent here to join.” Lin Yue kept her voice steady.

“This isn’t how you join.” The guard’s lip curled. “Stop wasting my time and leave before I remove you myself.”

“Show her the manual!” Shadow swooped down, passing through the guard’s head. “Quick, before she skewers you!”

Lin Yue pulled the manual from her robes carefully, the leather binding cool against her fingers. The guard’s eyes narrowed at the sight of the Sable Script’s distinct markings on the outside.

“You already joined...” The guard paused. “Who is your—no, never mind.”

The guard produced a slip of paper, folding it with practiced precision. The paper twisted into an avian shape, sprouting wings that caught the twilight air. It soared over the compound walls with a smooth, living movement.

“Someone from Ink House will collect you.” The guard’s gaze shifted to Xue. “Who’s the brat? You know mortals aren’t permitted...” She leaned forward, scrutinizing Xue’s face. “A corpse?”

Xue pressed against Lin Yue’s leg, fingers digging into black silk.

“She’s bound to me.” Lin Yue lifted her chin.

The guard snorted. “That’s Corpse House business, not something I’d expect from an Ink House girl.”

Ink House? Corpse House? Lin Yue’s mind raced. The divisions within Blackspire Pavilion presented another layer to stumble into.

“I’d love to know more.” Lin Yue kept her tone light.

The guard straightened. “Not my job to enlighten new outer disciples who aren’t even part of my house.”

“Well, what are the houses, then?”

“You don’t even know that much?” The guard’s eyes widened.

“I was just told to come here after—” Lin Yue bit her tongue. Shit. Almost admitted to being a fresh mortal. Might as well paint a target on my back.

“Five houses total.” The guard cut through Lin Yue’s hesitation. “Ink House, Herb House, Iron House, Corpse House, and Shadow House. Each maintains their own manual of study, elders. Each created by one of the five Blackspire sages under the teachings of the Grandmaster.”

The glaive twisted. “Name’s Xiang Luhua, Iron House.” A hint of pride crept into her tone. “Iron House and Ink House get along well enough. Lucky you ran into me instead of those Shadow or Corpse pricks.”

Perfect. More politics. Because this clusterfuck needed another layer of complexity. Lin Yue forced a smile. “Well, Sister Luhua, you seem nice enough. Glad we’re on the same side.”

Shadow drifted past, rolling his eyes. “Brilliant strategy.”

Luhua scoffed. “Don’t mistake basic courtesy for friendship. That’s not how things work here.”

“Well, I don’t know how things will work out.” Lin Yue shrugged. “But thanks for the courtesy, anyway.”

Luhua grunted and looked slightly taken aback, like she didn’t expect any thanks. Maybe everyone in Blackspire was bluntly hostile and had never heard of guile? No, that didn’t sound right.

Line Yue suppressed a sigh and rubbed Xue’s hair. Making enemies seemed pointless when potential allies stood right in front of her. Even if they currently had a weapon with a menacing glow in their path, still.

“Are you going to chop us?” Xue’s small voice pierced the awkward silence.

“What?” Luhua stared down at Xue like she’d sprouted a second head.

“Your spear keeps glowing all scary.” Lin Yue pointed at the ethereal light still dancing along the weapon’s edge.

“It’s a glaive, not a spear.” Luhua shifted her stance. The weapon’s glow faded to nothing. She kept glancing at Xue while they all waited.

Shadow swooped down between them. “Smell that? Ink’s coming.” He circled Lin Yue and Xue in lazy loops.

Lin Yue peered past the archway entrance. An orange lantern bobbed through the twilight darkness, its bearer’s footsteps drawing closer.

The orange lantern cast dancing shadows across a tall man’s angular features. A pair of glasses sat on his nose and he wore a black robe with dozens of intricate silver embellishments across the fabric. Scripts?

“What’s so urgent, Sister Luhua?” He adjusted his spectacles. “I’m in the middle of a breakthrough.”

“Brother Hong Wei.” Luhua introduced before looking at him. “Any progress with that combat enhancement sigil you mentioned?” Luhua tapped her glaive against the ground.

A predatory grin spread across Hong Wei’s face. “Perhaps. Got some spirit stones to pay for a test?”

“Trade pointers instead? I could show you how to actually use a weapon.” Luhua snorted. “Your form is terrible.”

Hong Wei ignored the jab, his attention shifting to Lin Yue and Xue. “What do we have here?”

“Your new junior disciple.” Luhua gestured with her glaive. “Take her off my hands. I have guard duty.”

Hong Wei’s eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “Never seen her before.”

Lin Yue pulled the manual back out from her robes, holding it up like a shield.

“Let me see that.” Hong Wei extended his ink-stained hand.

She offered the tome, watching his every movement. The lantern’s glow caught the Sable Script’s markings, making them seem alive against the dark leather.

Hong Wei’s fingers brushed the manual, and red sparks crackled across his ink-stained fingers. He yanked his hand back with a curse, shaking out his fingers.

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“Legitimate Sable Script manual alright.” He adjusted his spectacles with his unshocked hand. “Only responds to its intended disciple.”

The lantern light cast strange shadows across his face as he studied her. “Who’s your master?”

“Uh...” Lin Yue’s mind raced. Can’t say his name, can’t lie about having one, can’t...

Hong Wei waved off her hesitation. “Never mind.”

Xue pressed against Lin Yue’s back, trying to hide from Hong Wei’s scrutiny. The orange light caught her wide eyes as she peeked around Lin Yue’s robes.

“What’s that?” Hong Wei pointed at Xue.

“She’s mine.” Lin Yue shifted to slip a hand behind Xue’s back.

“Well, an extra servant won’t hurt.” Hong Wei turned to Luhua. “We’ll discuss that enhancement sigil later.”

He gestured for Lin Yue to follow. “Come.”

Shadow swooped in lazy circles around them as they followed Hong Wei. “Finally made it inside! Now you’re less likely to get eaten by random demons.” He twisted through the air with a spectral flip. “More likely to get into real trouble, though!”

Lin Yue gritted her teeth. The urge to tell Shadow to shut his incorporeal mouth burned in her throat. Unless he planned to offer actual help, his commentary just added to her growing headache.

Xue’s small fingers squeezed tight. The girl’s palm felt clammy against her skin.

Black gardens stretched into the twilight on either side of the winding stone paths. Orange lanterns cast dancing shadows across thorny vines and dark flowers that seemed to pulse with unnatural life. The petals looked wet, like fresh blood in the flickering light.

Cultivators drifted through the compound like wraiths. Some wore elaborate robes covered in silver script like Hong Wei’s, while others donned simple black cloth adorned with red talismans. A group in deep green passed by, the scent of chemicals trailing in their wake. Near a side building, cultivators in iron-grey practiced with weapons that sang through the air.

“Where exactly are we going?” Lin Yue watched a woman in shadow-black robes seem to melt into darkness between two lanterns.

“We’re heading to the Ink House compound.” Hong Wei’s lantern cast wavering shadows across the path. “You’ll spend most of your time there as an outer disciple.”

The orange light flickered across his glasses as he glanced back. “I don’t know your circumstances, but there’s one rule you need to understand above all others.”

“What’s that?” Lin Yue squeezed Xue’s hand as they walked.

“Don’t cause chaos where you sleep.” Hong Wei adjusted his spectacles. “No backstabbing or harming other Ink House members. Actually, do nothing to anyone until you know better.”

Lin Yue snorted. “Well, I doubt this is some happy place where everyone’s friends.”

“You’re right.” Hong Wei stepped around a patch of writhing shadows. “But someone like you isn’t in a position to know who you can risk being enemies with.”

“Planned to keep my head down, anyway.” Lin Yue pulled Xue closer as they passed a group of cultivators with blood-red talismans. “This isn’t any different from the slums or Tiger Gang, really. Just cloaked in fancy silks instead of sitting on dirty streets.”

Hong Wei grunted without commenting.

Shadow drifted past, twisting through the air. “Oh, it’s much worse than that. At least gangsters can’t set you on fire with a curse!”

The Ink House pagoda stretched skyward, its dark walls covered in an ethereal script that pulsed with barely contained power. The building sat like a miniature fortress within Blackspire’s larger walls, complete with its own protective barrier of glowing talismans.

Those talismans look fresh compared to the others. Lin Yue studied the shimmering characters. Did Ink House create all the defensive scripts around Blackspire too?

Hong Wei veered away from the pagoda’s entrance toward a stone garden where five cultivators sat drinking tea around a low table. Three women and two men knelt on cushions, their black robes adorned with varying amounts of silver script.

“Who did you find wandering around?” The tallest woman lowered her teacup, her movements seeming to absorb the sound around her.

“A new junior disciple. Lin Yue will be learning the Sable Script.” Hong Wei gestured toward her.

“Yes!” The youngest disciple bounced in her seat, her simple robes showing basic silver scripts. “I’m not the newest anymore!”

Lin Yue’s eye twitched. Great. What kind of hazing bullshit am I in for?

“Who’s the brat?” One of the men pointed at Xue with his teacup, flame-based scripts sparking along his sleeve.

“A corpse.” Hong Wei adjusted his glasses.

“Are you sure she’s in the right house?” The other man frowned, defensive sigils pulsing across his conservative robes.

“It was the only way we could stay together.” Lin Yue pulled Xue closer.

“Oh, she’s the sentimental type.” The older woman smirked, her form seeming to blur at the edges. “Couldn’t leave your sister behind, so you took her soul instead?”

Hong Wei cleared his throat. “Let me introduce everyone. Senior Sister He Jing.” He pointed to the tall woman. “Junior Sister Xia Rou.” The bouncy one. “Brother Zhou Yan and Brother Meng Hao.” The two men. “And Elder Sister Wu Lan.” The older woman who’d called her sentimental.

Hong Wei gestured toward Xia Rou. “Show our new junior sister where everything is and get her assigned a room in the script hall.”

“Yes!” Xia Rou bounced up from her cushion, radiating enthusiasm that seemed almost toxic in its intensity. “Come on, I’ll give you the tour!”

Lin Yue studied Xia Rou’s bright smile. Nobody’s that happy. What’s your angle? The enthusiasm had to be fake—probably sizing her up for weaknesses or trying to get her guard down.

They walked toward the towering pagoda. Each step made the hair on Lin Yue’s neck prickle from the weight of the other disciples’ stares boring into her back. Her peers weren’t the bloodthirsty demons she’d half-expected, but their calculated observations felt just as dangerous.

What did I expect, anyway? Fangs? Horns? Dramatic evil laughter while sacrificing small animals?

At least they looked human. Normal faces, normal limbs, normal everything really—just dressed better than street thugs.

Lin Yue almost snorted. Oh great, now I’m being racist. Or would that be speciesist? She fought back an eye roll at her own thoughts. Bad Yue. Very politically incorrect of you.

Shadow drifted past her ear. “Thinking about demon rights? How progressive!”

Shut up. Stop reading me. They already had enough problems. Better to focus on not getting killed by her new human—probably human?—sect mates first. She could worry about offending any actual demons later, assuming she survived long enough for it to matter.

The interior was a wash of polished dark hardwood floors as they entered the building. Spirit lanterns cast dancing shadows across ancient beams overhead, their pale light reflecting off ornate wall panels that probably cost more than everything she’d ever stolen combined.

“Breakfast starts at dawn!” Xia Rou bounced ahead, gesturing wildly. “Tea time’s at mid-morning, lunch follows cultivation practice, and—oh! The pavilion market has everything you’ll need. Well, except spirit stones.” She spun around, walking backward. “You’ll need a job in the sect until you’re cleared for missions alone. But don’t worry! First six months of room rent are free!”

Shadow swooped through a spirit lantern, sending its light flickering. “She talks more than you steal! Impressive.”

Xue’s small fingers tightened around Lin Yue’s hand as they navigated the winding corridors. The girl watched their guide’s enthusiastic gestures warily.

“I’m so excited to have a junior sister!” Xia Rou clapped her hands together before zeroing in on Xue. She crouched down, poking at Xue’s cheek. “And what’s this? A little girl? Does that make you my littlest sister?” Her head tilted. “Or are you just a very convincing doll?”

“I’m not a doll!” Xue stamped her foot. “I’m myself!”

“How unique!” Xia Rou straightened, beaming at Lin Yue. “Can we play with her sometimes?”

Lin Yue shifted between them. “If Xue wants, and it’s safe.”

“Perfect!” Xia Rou clapped again. “I specialize in decorative scripts—I’d love to offer pointers! And don’t let those moody seniors get you down. Ink House is the best.” She leaned forward conspiratorially. “We only have one murder per year, unlike those Corpse House savages. They slay each other monthly!”