Wind and Star, easy. Some will say it’s worse to go against a good moon artist, but, at the end of the day, you can still punch most illusions away. A wind artist? Can’t land the punch. Star? I was never fated to land a hit. It’s bullshit. -Sect Disciple Pan Lu of the Thundering Earth Sect

* * *

Wind blasted outwards, slamming into both me and the Flower Maiden. I stumbled back a step, but Chouko didn’t seem phased. She only turned and glared at the wind artist.

“Don’t look at them directly!” Tenri shouted. “They’ll curse you!” Kansi immediately closed her eyes.

“How am I supposed to fight them if I can’t see them?” she shouted back. “And where is Tsuyuki? Wasn’t it his watch?”

My eyes met Tenri’s. His eyes asked the obvious question: “Why are you in that form right now?” I just shrugged. It would take too long to explain that I’d fallen for Lian’s trap, and I didn’t understand the techniques behind it anyway. I had no good excuse, and neither did he.

“I saw Tsuyuki get knocked out in the woods!” Lian lied. “I was just checking on him when I came back to the attack!”

Why did you cover for me?

“We’ll go back for him later,” Kansi said. “For now, Tenri! What curses do they use?”

“The…uh…the Chain-bound Fury can curse you with never ending misfortune, and the Flower Maiden can bewitch you,” he explained, drawing his sword.

“How lucky for us.”

Chouko stepped forward, her passage barely rustling the grass beneath her, yet it was still enough for Kansi to sense. Her sword flashed, and I found myself running to my sister’s aid before I even realized it.

Lunar blades sprang from the ground before Chouko, slowing the blade enough for my sister to dodge easily out of the way. As she dodged, she drew a line of stars behind her, forming into an intricate constellation that I recognized as the savage tiger. Immediately, Chouko’s hands turned to claws, not unlike my own, and she lunged at Kansi.

The two women quickly became embroiled in a vicious battle. Claws cut through cloth, and Kansi’s blade cut through the shade’s qi. I was nowhere near Kansi’s equal in advancement and fighting her only increased the odds that she’d figure out that I wasn’t actually a shade.

But…I couldn’t leave Chouko to fight the battle alone.

I flung my bow and hat to the side. Those were the tools of the cultivator who just got “knocked out in the woods,” not one of the Shades of the Shore. Instead, I pooled my lunar power into my hands, molding it into a weapon of pure qi. A sword of brilliant Voidlight, tinted with its bluish color, sprang into being just in time for me to swipe downward at Kansi.

The Sword Saint’s disciple raised her sword to parry. With her strength, she shoved me back, giving herself enough room to lunge at me. Chouko leapt at her from behind, slicing her claws at Kansi’s legs. Kansi pulled back her attack, spinning to the side to avoid the second strike. She was incredibly fast.

“You use the Sword Saint’s footwork,” Chouko said, her voice as soft as if she were speaking about the beauty of a cool summer’s day. “Would that make you his disciple?”

“What is it to you?” Kansi growled.

“The General was my martial cousin. We shared pointers many times, and he was a dear friend,” Chouko answered. “Your techniques are stunted and without flow. You are not truly one with the wind you wield.”

“You were his martial cousin?” the disciple breathed.

“Why so surprised? He had to learn from somewhere.”

Kansi lowered her head and bit her lip, but never opened her eyes. “I never even knew his real name, let alone anything about his past beyond the legends I learned from others.”

“You shouldn’t believe anything you hear in legends,” Chouko said with an amused huff. “The legends don’t even mention me, yet I assure you that I was a critical character in the Legend of the Darkened Moon.”

I winced, but Chouko gave me a warm smile. It banished all the dark thoughts in my mind, replacing them with wholesome memories of our childhood. It had been thousands of years since I’d seen that smile.

“Then, this disciple would welcome your wisdom at another time,” Kansi asked. “I’m on a mission for my master with no guidance and no leads. As one who knew him, maybe you can point me true.”

Chouko shook her head. “I have only one goal here, today. Feng Laoxi will die by my hands.”

“Then it seems I shall have to seek aid from another. Perhaps the Fury is willing to share. He is the Darkened Moon’s right hand, is he not?” Kansi asked, turning towards the sound of my clinking chains.

“False,” I growled.

“A pity. It seems I must carry out my duty to my employer. Tenri, Lian, would you care to join me?”

“As the local yokai expert, I think I’ll take the kitsune,” Lian said.

Tenri came up to Kansi’s side, his sword raised to both Chouko and myself. However, his eyes were open and fixed on me. He shrugged, unsure of what action to take. I smiled back before leaning over to Chouko to whisper in the language of the yokai.

“The wood artist is friendly. Please don’t hurt him too much,” I told her.

“That one is known to me. The children who have died under his tenure as administrator are also known to me,” she growled back. “Why do you think I attacked you both when I saw you in the woods months ago.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“He regrets it, I promise. He didn’t have a choice,” I argued. “As soon as he stood any chance against the Lunar Hunt, he took action. Xinya is safe because of him.”

Chouko seemed to mull this over for several long moments, biting her lip in frustration. Eventually, she settled her expression and returned to the same determined serenity that I was used to.

“Fine.” She continued speaking in the common tongue of the Shore. “You, Administrator.” His eyes flicked to her for the briefest moment, but it was enough. Qi flashed in an explosion of ghostly starlight, and ten of the ghostly wisps settled onto Tenri’s shoulders. His eyes glazed over, and his posture shifted. “There, brother, does this please you?”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing but nodded all the same. In the blink of an eye, she’d bewitched Tenri.

“Tenri?” Kansi asked, sensing the new hostility from her ally.

“I…must…protect my…friend,” Tenri muttered, as if talking in his sleep.

Then he lunged at her with his sword. Kansi parried the blow, only for Chouko to force her to dodge back or be sliced by wicked claws. I followed up behind, flinging the trailing ends of my chains at the cultivator. None of us wanted to cause lasting damage to her. After all, she was mine and Chouko’s martial niece. We’d be dishonoring Jinshi’s legacy by causing her serious harm.

“Master Feng!” Kansi called as she ducked under my chain attack. “We should really consider retreating!”

“As if I would let the murderer retreat!” Chouko hissed. Another trail of stars formed behind her, and she disappeared. Her wisps darted around Kansi like a swarm of mosquitoes, stinging and whipping around her.

Chouko reappeared at the head of the caravan, just where Master Feng and some mercenaries were fending off five of the spirit rabbit guardians. They had blood in their eyes and were gnashing their teeth in a very un-rabbit-like way. The mercenaries did their best to keep them off, but, at the end of the day, they were mere mortals.

“Get away, you wretched witch!” Feng shouted. “Quickly, get those wagons moving!”

But one of the wagons in question had burst into fox fire. Apprentices screamed as the illusory heat consumed the goods and spooked the horses. Master Feng’s face contorted into a frustrated grimace as he lunged at the wagon, abandoning his guards all together. As soon as he reached it, he threw the young apprentice off the wagon and seized the reigns.

“Worthless urchin,” he growled. “Hya!” The reigns snapped against the horse’s back and the creature lunged forward. “Move out! Everyone, move!”

“But what about Meng Yi?” called Zhao Pu shouted, gesturing to the boy that was tossed aside.

“Forget about him! The goods are more important! Leave him for the shades!”

I was shocked. I knew Master Feng was cruel, but to leave a child behind to be ripped apart by two powerful shades and their yokai companions? That was a new low even for him. Chouko seethed.

“You see what you protect, disciple of the Sword Saint?” she shouted. “You protect a monster! A child murderer!”

Rather than respond, Kansi ran towards the child in question. With the lightness of the wind itself, she sprinted across the clearing, scooped the child into her arms and tossed him gently onto the driver’s seat of another wagon before turning to stand her ground against her enemies.

“He may be awful, but those children are in harm’s way from your attack!” Kansi shouted back. “Free Administrator Tenri, present him the proof, and let the laws sort it out!” Chouko trembled in rage as her quarry was getting away, but Kansi was not deterred. “You have my word. On my Master’s name, I will detain him in Saikan to wait for Administrator Tenri’s judgement.”

Chouko stepped forward, seemingly unconvinced, but I reached out, grabbing her hand in mine. Though she was a shade, and her body ghostly and transparent, I could still touch her with my qi. Given the form I was in, my body was so replete with void qi that she was completely solid to me.

“She is Jinshi’s disciple,” I reminded her. My sister’s ghostly eyes met mine, and I held her gaze for a long time. Eventually, she sighed and relaxed.

“On your Master’s name then,” Chouko agreed. “I shall release the Administrator. Proceed to Saikan. He will be a few days behind you.”

“And what of Tsuyuki Yoru? He was attacked in the woods,” Kansi asked. Chouko glanced at me and raised an eyebrow.

I took the liberty of answering for her. “I shall return the void artist once the Administrator sees the evidence,” I promised.

Kansi nodded. “Then I shall trust you and the bond you shared with my Master.” Then she turned and raced after the caravan.

We watched as the last of the wagons disappeared into the trees, and soon, even the sound of them faded. Once they were fully gone, Chouko darted towards me, and I suddenly found myself with her arms wrapped around my waist.

“I missed you, Yoru,” she said sweetly, as if she hadn’t just fought a vicious battle.

“You say that like we haven’t met at all since I got out of the Labyrinth.” I placed a hand on her head, holding her close. She was cold to the touch, her qi frozen in death, but I didn’t care. The last time I’d held her at all, had been when she died in my arms.

Chouko pulled back and scowled at me. “Yes, the one time where you squeezed your eyes shut and refused to see me, and the other where you called out for Aya instead of me!”

I winced. “Sorry, sorry! I didn’t know it was you! How are you even here, anyway? It’s been so long.”

“We’ve been waiting for you,” she answered simply. “The real you.”

“Who’s ‘we?’”

Chouko ticked off on her fingers, “There’s me, the Flower Maiden. Aya’s the Blood-Soaked Bride, and Reili is the Two-faced Serpent. Our spirits latched onto the abundance of your qi bleeding onto the Shore and used it to sustain ourselves while we wait.”

Learning that my sisters both were unable to rest in peace was troubling, but what was more so was that they’d chosen to keep the company of the third person Chouko had mentioned. I flinched at the name: “Reili.”

Whispers surged in the back of my thoughts, the temptation of the blackness of the void. Chief among them was the Hated One’s wicked words. She cooed and whispered.

I heard my name, Yoru. Did you miss me?

Shi Reili…the Void-touched Ascendent, Herald of the World Beyond our Star. If Jinshi had been my right hand, then Reili had been my left. I might have been the face that people looked up to, but she was the manager behind the scenes, my highest minister and most trusted advisor…until she lied to me and betrayed me. It was her fault I was turned into a monster, her fault I was driven to madness and genocide.

“Please, don’t speak that name.” My voice trembled as I bitterly fought back against the voices.

“Yoru,” Chouko murmured. The cold touch of her hand rested upon my cheek, brushing away tears I hadn’t noticed were there. “She said you might be experiencing some unforeseen hallucinations. Voices, and such. Just, focus on me. I’m right here.”

She pulled my head to her chest and began stroking the top of my head, just like she would do when she was alive. Then, I would have listened to her heartbeat whenever I was upset or overwhelmed with the demands of being a ruler. Though her heart didn’t beat, I still found comfort in the memories it brought back to the surface. Slowly, the voices retreated back to manageable white noise.

Verdant wood qi flashed nearby, and Tenri gasped in shock.

“What happened?” he said, looking around. “Where did everybody go?”

“The battle is over,” Chouko explained. “I thank you for your cooperation.”

“Cooperation? You charmed me!” he fumed. Though I couldn’t see her reaction, I was certain she rolled her eyes and continued comforting me.

Chouko apprised Tenri of the deal struck between her and Kansi regarding Master Feng. “If you’re willing to assist me in this and one other matter, then I will consider your crimes forgiven, since my brother vouches for you so strongly.”

“Another matter? What other matter?” Tenri asked.

She sighed. “It’s the Chain-Bound Fury. The real one has been spotted near here. Only you and my brother can defeat it.”