You wouldn’t believe how many times the Elders have thrown me from the inner sect for saying it, but I just want to help people. Cultivators should be heroes, you know? – Cultivator Xin She of the Teeming Waters Sect

* * *

Cheers awaited Tenri and the rest of the rescue team when they finally pulled into the crowded harbor. Every member of the fisher’s guild and every merchant they did business with had turned out to await the return of the rescue team. It had been nearly twelve hours since they’d left, and each of the three men looked more like a ragged corpse than a person. Their skin was wrinkled from the water, salt had crystallized in their wind-tangled hair, and their eyes were sunken with exhaustion. Tenri even had the additional feature of having several strips of seaweed hanging from around his neck and arms.

It had been a harrowing adventure. After the light pointed their way home, Lang Tailyn had directed the boat to a small rocky cove near the rocks. It wasn’t home, but it was out of the rain. There, Tenri had done his best to keep off a swarm of flesh-eating fish for the next several hours while the storm dissipated. Their focus was strained, their bodies were sore and hungry, but they’d made it.

“Daddy!” Xinya cried as Lang Tailyn stumbled ashore. He practically fell on his daughter as he knelt to wrap her in his embrace.

“I told you I’d make it back, Xinhua,” he murmured, burying his head in her shoulder and holding her tight.

The little girl was followed quickly by Hanako and Xi Qian’s mother. Tenri pulled his wife close, kissing her fondly before squeezing her just tight enough to make her squeak and letting her go. Then she pulled off her sandal and smacked him with it.

“What were you thinking?!” she scolded through a smile and tears of relief. “I was worried sick! The fortunes today said someone would pass into the spirit realm today, and I was terrified it would be you!”

“I’m fine, Hanako! I promise!” He laughed as she smacked him with her sandal a second time. Several people in the crowd laughed at the display, but most of them had at least heard of the antics of the couple before. Hanako had been his friend since they were children, and, though she was a kind and dutiful wife most of the time, Tenri was well used to her mischief.

“Aren’t you the one constantly lecturing Master Tsuyuki about being aware of his limits? Then you go and face an entire storm alone!” Down came the sandal again, which only made Tenri laugh harder.

“That’s different! I did have help! I had the best sailor in Saikan keeping us from capsizing.” He flashed an approving nod at Lang Tailyn, but the fisherman didn’t notice. He was too focused on his daughter to listen. “Besides, Tsuyuki genuinely doesn’t know his limits. He thinks he’s…”

Tenri trailed off as he caught sight of something green in Lang Xinya’s hair. Chiho was nestled calmly in the girl’s tangled bun. Why was the pin here? Tsuyuki was never without it. Hell, he’d practically offered himself up to one of the Four Spirits of the Shore just to get the damned thing back.

“Little Xinya,” Tenri began, his voice trembling. “Where’s Tsuyuki?”

The little girl pointed to the north. The lighthouse still shone brightly in the distance. Like a star in the night, it lit the night sky even brighter than the moon itself, which was only the tiniest sliver overhead. As Tenri watched, the light began to flicker like a flame in the wind.

Tsuyuki had lit the lighthouse, but how had he done it? Tenri was sure he’d used his lunar light, but the light had burned for nearly ten hours, now. How much qi was he burning to keep it lit?

“Hanako, I’ll be back soon,” he promised as he began pushing through the crowd.

“He might be hurt, I’ll come, too,” she countered, following close behind.

As soon as they reached the edge of the crowd, Tenri took off. However, his exhaustion was great, and he was forced to slow back to a walk a moment later. As soon as Hanako caught back up, she pulled off her sandal, hopped a few times to keep pace, and smacked him with it before slipping it back on.

“Settle down, Mister ‘I know my limits,’” she scolded. “If you collapse before you ever get there, then who will drag Tsuyuki from the top of the lighthouse?”

Tenri grumbled but kept his pace to a brisk walk. To his surprise, Lang Tailyn was following, too, supported by his daughter. How he managed to keep going after the day they’d had, Tenri wasn’t sure, but he did know that his respect for the fisherman was growing by the hour.

The walk was long and muddy, but the small group managed to make a reasonable pace. All the while, Tenri kept his eye on the brilliant star that shone from the top. It had flickered and dimmed since they left, but it still shone.

When they were within sight of the door, the light finally went out, and a cold dread settled into Tenri’s heart. Tsuyuki had kept that light going for so long. Why hadn’t he stopped when the storm had abated? Why was it out now?

Adrenaline fueled his muscles as he took off, sprinting the last few yards towards the door. The talismans he’d placed on the door were still intact, and he practically threw the door straight off its hinges in his panic.

Decay and death lingered everywhere within, rotting the furniture and floorboards. Tenri steeled his heart and pulled at one of the strips of seaweed that was hanging from his arms still, brandishing it as a weapon.

“Stay here, everyone,” he ordered. “The shade may still be a threat.”

He dashed in, taking the stairs three at a time. He cast only a brief glance at each floor to make sure he didn’t pass the wayward moon artist on his way up. Confirming that there were no white-clad bundles on each floor, he continued up. Finally, he pushed open the trap door to the light room itself.

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Anger filled his heart when he spotted the spectral form of a waterlogged corpse surrounded by ghost wisps. It knelt next to the lantern, and in the lantern basin…

Tsuyuki lay slumped to the side, clearly unconscious. His clothes clung to him, and his hair was matted with water. Had he been out here all this time?

* * *

The first shouts reached my ears as vague suggestions of sound. They were muffled and unintelligible. I wanted to ignore them. Sleep beckoned, and I wanted nothing more than to answer…but then the shouts didn’t stop. In fact, they grew louder.

“What did you do to him?!”

“Nothing. He’s simply exhausted his spiritual energy.”

“I don’t believe you! Tsuyuki!”

I was being dragged back. I didn’t want to come…but slowly, I lost the fight and felt my awareness creep back.

“Tsuyuki! Wake up!”

Who was even so insistent that I wake? Didn’t they know that qi required time to replenish itself? I was a near limitless font, yes, but the key word was “near” limitless.

“Tsuyuki! Come on, please! Wake up! Yoru!”

That voice…calling me by my given name…I snapped awake, sitting up suddenly.

“Jinshi?” I asked, frantically searching left and right for the owner of the name. Only…he wasn’t there. I was in Tenri’s arms, and he had been the one to speak.

“You’re awake!” he exclaimed.

I felt a little crestfallen. His voice sounded nothing like my old friend’s. I’d imagined it after all. That actually made a lot more sense than if he had actually appeared here. He was probably dead, after all, and even if he were still alive, he wouldn’t come for me with any other intent than to lock me back into the labyrinth.

“Something wrong?” Tenri asked, seeing my expression. Immediately, I purged the thoughts from my mind and smiled.

“Fine, just tired,” I answered. “I’m glad you made it through the storm.”

“Only thanks to you. Your light saved us.”

“Oh, that old thing? It was nothing.” It was a lie. In the depths of the storm, I didn’t really know how bright it needed to be for them to see it, so I poured as much as I could into that light. It would have been a pitiful display in my old life, but now, I’d had to push my bronze core well beyond what most could manage at our level.

“Which is why I found you passed out at the top of the tower?”

“Passed out? Nah,” I protested. “I was just taking a nap.

Tenri rolled his eyes. “Next time, don’t. You scared me half to death when I got up here. The shade was standing over you very ominously.”

Right! Sai Lyn was still here. He’d retreated to the lower floors to avoid the blistering light I created but must have returned when it had faded. I pushed myself to my feet, fighting off a wave of dizziness from draining my internal qi so much.

Sai Lyn waited patiently nearby. He was the picture of a calm, appeased spirit. He even looked a bit more translucent than before.

“You did what I could not, young man,” he began. “Though the lighthouse is not fully repaired, you have shown me that it’s in good hands.”

“I did promise to get a new keeper as soon as I can,” I reminded him. “I stand by that.”

He clasped his hands and bowed deeply. “I have faith. But, you relit the light and guided lost souls home. Even if it is only for a short time, you are a Keeper of this lighthouse.”

Sai Lyn was fading fast, but he stepped closer to the lantern. Reaching down, he grasped one of the moon tear shards and studied it carefully.

“What are these stones called these days?” he asked. His voice was getting distant.

“Moon Tears, I believe,” I answered. Tenri nodded in agreement.

However, Sai Lyn chuckled to himself, showing joy for the first time since I’d met the surly ghost. “I see. In my day, they were called Yoru’s Tears, and they were said to have been carved from the moon to shower the Shore like rain.” I blushed and looked away.

“Funny that.”

“They are true treasures. Be sure not to waste the light they bring.”

The stone fell from his hand into the basin. There wasn’t enough qi left to keep him together. The wisps began to blink out one by one until we were left alone in the dark night.

“What a funny guy,” I mused after he was fully gone. “Not a great conversation partner, but not so bad in the end.”

“He killed people, Tsuyuki,” Tenri reminded me. I waved a dismissive hand.

“Eh, who hasn’t killed a few innocents in a fit of rage and grief?” I said. “I’m just glad it all worked out and no more angry spirits remain.” A wave of dizziness passed over me, and I nearly toppled straight over. Tenri pulled my arm over his shoulder, and we began to descend the tower much more slowly than either of us climbed it.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked when we were halfway down the tower.

“Oh, yeah. I’ll be fine. Just a bit drained is all. I don’t think I’ve bottomed out on qi in…” I paused. I couldn’t actually remember the last time I was so low. “ever, actually.”

He laughed. “You and me, both. But, more importantly, how are we going to explain what you did up here without using lunar techniques?”

I winced. I knew that was coming, but I’d been too focused on keeping my light active that I hadn’t been able to spare the mental energy for coming up with a convenient explanation. I hadn’t even noticed that the storm had passed…

“Uh…I managed to find enough stones to light the tower, and then hit my head on the way down?”

“That’s the best you can come up with? The light was way too bright for that to be believable.” His words were critical, but he was barely holding back laughter. I couldn’t help but grin back.

“What about this: I am just so awesome that I used the qi of the shade, and my body as a conduit in order to infuse the Moon Tears with extra qi that made them shine brighter?”

“Isn’t that just a fancy way of saying you were possessed?” he asked. I shrugged as best I could.

“It’s a lie either way, so what does it matter? It just needs to be believable.”

“You’re the ancient expert, I suppose,” he finally relented. I snorted. I was pretty sure my old masters were rolling over in their graves at the very notion that I was an expert in this place. I’d never been a very good student.

“You don’t ascend without knowing a thing or two about bullshitting,” I explained very seriously. “It is a refined art that requires much knowledge and practice. Hone it with as much effort as you do cultivation, and you will be wiser than all your peers.”

Tenri burst out laughing so badly that he almost dropped me. We stumbled across the bottom floor of the spire.

“Man, you must be really tired if I can make you laugh,” I said.

“Friend, you have no idea.”

I didn’t answer. Despite being the king of all-nighters in a kingdom where the sun never rose, it wasn’t worth the argument. Instead, I just listened to his laughter. It was a very wholesome laugh that left me feeling warm inside.

As the night continued and we all returned to town, and promptly all went straight to bed, I couldn’t help but lay in bed thinking. I liked Tenri’s laughter. It suited him far more than his usual contemplative frown. It was too bad he was so mired in responsibility all the time.