Rui Yifu had never actually crossed past the Silent Mountains, he had a general idea of what to expect as they walked between the titanic mountains. The sky was swallowed up by growing grey and blue craggy stone until it was a thin blue ribbon high above, and deep shadows had come to wall them in on both sides. Zhu'er's legs had grown weary and they had started taking turns carrying her, Rui Yifu glanced over at Ji Ying who carried the weary child on her back. His eyes narrowed, despite everything she had revealed he still did not quite trust her.

The dusty ground had discarded wheels, staffs, large animal bones like those of oxen or sheep, small boxes, cracked plates sitting against tiny stone shrines. Sometimes the shadows were chased away with dim amber flame lanterns made of rusting metal that were set into small alcoves in the canyon walls, illuminating small statues of various gods that had stood for long enough many had collected thick enough layers of dirt and cobwebs to be anonymous shapes. Others were missing heads, or arms, or were just piles of smashed rubble.

Occasionally one lantern would not be illuminating a statue, but a cavern mouth.

It was hard to talk between the heavy presences of the mountains, but somehow Bo found a way, "where do they go?"

"It's just another entry way," Liu Xie explained, some small bones cracking beneath his step. Rui Yifu nodded although he always thought their creation was a waste. "There's only a few canyons like this in each kingdom so some people built tunnels to connect to them."

"The first Wei King wanted to spend time beyond the mountains in a show of piety," Rui Yifu recounted, "but his advisors would not have him go through the canyon paths. Instead six thousand bodies of corvee labor were summoned and for five years labored to create a tunnel directly to the end of the canyon path. By the time they completed it, the king was dead and two thousand of their number had died. The king's son charged a toll to use the mountain." As he finished talking, he felt the silence rush after his voice, devouring any sound.

"Wait, you said that people can't die here," Bo asked, walking faster to be beside Rui Yifu.

"I did," Rui Yifu agreed. "After a point, midway through the mountains, there is no death. Maybe some of those workers are still around." Rui Yifu scratched his chin thoughtfully before giving Bo a cruel toothy grin, "if they are though, they most certainly would not be in any state to talk."

Bo started turning pale, but before Rui Yifu could enjoy his fear a shadow enveloped the small path of light they walked upon. Rui Yifu looked up in alarm, wide eyed at the massive shape far above.

The ground shuddered, stones tumbling downwards from above. Ji Ying and Idony both shouted as Liu Xie grabbed them both and practically threw them out of the path of a ox sized boulder. Somehow in doing this he had also managed to extract Zhu'er from Ji Ying and held the little girl tightly while Ji Ying was left to scramble away from a few larger stones hurtling towards her head. Bo had thrown himself to the ground right in the center, and Rui Yifu stepped back rapidly from the smattering of rocks coming towards him with a heart that felt more panicked than he would admit. He turned his gaze upwards.

A great creature was bracing itself between what he felt had to be the uppermost peaks of the canyon they were in. Man-crushing claws gripped stone like a hand might grasp cloth.

The form was so great and monstrous that it could not possibly push its body further into the canyon, so instead its long neck swung down at them, its massive horned head stopping only an arm's span from Liu Xie. Its head was reptilian, covered in battle-scarred scales the color of dried blood. It did not appear to have any eyes, Rui Yifu realized. Instead there were two deep pits that he could not see the back of. Its teeth came in two sets, the gums pulled further down to expose their true length. It had wings as well, but they were difficult to see, he could tell they were leathery scarred things and that was about all he could see from below. "Ah, a dragon-kin," Rui Yifu muttered to himself as though it woud soothe the fear he was trying to stuff into the back of his mind.

"Hello cousin," Liu Xie greeted calmly while the little girl in his arms clutched him in a white knuckle grip. "Can we pass through?"

"YOU CARRY THE SCENT OF MAN WITH YOU, FOR WHAT PURPOSE DO YOU COME?" Its voice bellowed and yet its maw did not move.

"I'm going to the First Palace," Liu Xie replied with the same level of calmness. "May I ask your name?"

"I AM ANITHERIN THE WAYFARER, I HAVE TRAVELED THE BREADTH OF THE GREAT WHEEL A THOUSAND TIMES. I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT YOUR JOURNEY IS ONE BEST MADE WITHOUT MORTALS. THE LAND BEYOND HAS BEEN CURSED SINCE BEFORE MY TIME, AND WILL SURELY REMAIN SO AFTERWARDS."

"Why are you here, Anitherin? When your kind come it is typically to rest in the higher peaks. Have you been eating travelers?"

"NO! NO I WOULD NEVER DISOBEY THE ACCORD."

Liu Xie tipped his head to the side, "why come down to speak with me then?"

Rui Yifu crossed his own arms and stepped beside the wooden god. "You must have been in the lands beyond since we saw no trace of you before entering. Did something... scare you?"

The dragon's massive head turned towards Rui Yifu, snorting. A plume of smoke rolled from its nostrils. "WHAT NONSENSE. I FEAR NOTHING. I AM A CHILD OF STONE BONES AND IRON SCALES."

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"So why were you there?"

The dragon's head swayed, and above its massive form shifted slightly, its claws digging deeper into stone. "BEYOND THESE MOUNTAINS LIES A GREAT BLACK RIVER, AND IN THAT GREAT RIVER IS A PRINCE I HAVE LONG BEEN ACQUAINTED WITH. BUT HE REFUSES TO SEE ME. HE HAS SET UP A BARRIER I CANNOT PASS. I SPEAK TO HIM AND HE DOES NOT ANSWER."

"If we speak to your friend, will you let us through?" Bo asked, somehow finding his tongue. He was covered in dust and his knees visibly shook beneath him.

The dragon's head drew upwards for a moment, raised to look over the entire group at once. Without any expression, Rui Yifu could not tell what the dragon was thinking but he thought he could see its tense legs relax a little. "IF YOU COULD, SOMEHOW, SPEAK TO HIM... YES."

"Alright, let's go then!" Bo said, starting to quickly march forward. Rui Yifu grabbed him by his collar as he went past and dragged him to his side. "Rui-!"

"May I ask you a question?" Rui Yifu raised his voice slightly for the dragon to hear.

"YES BUT I FEEL NO NEED TO ANSWER IT."

"Have you seen anything unusual pass by?"

The dragon's gaze was not seen but Rui Yifu could certainly feel its focus upon him. "UNUSUAL... NO. I DID NOT SEE IT, BUT I SMELLED A MASS OF MORTAL FLESH MOVE THROUGH. IT CARRIED THE SCENT OF FLOWERS WITH IT. I WAS RESTING ON ONE OF THE PEAKS AND FELT NO NEED TO MOVE CLOSER." The dragon was silent for a moment before it added, "I HAVE ALSO WITNESSED THOSE YOU LABEL FOREIGNERS COMING IN AT UNUSUAL RATE BUT THEN THEY ABRUPTLY STOPPED. THEY ALSO CARRIED THE SCENT OF FLOWERS."

Foreigners coming in at an usual rate, Rui Yifu mentally identified the foreigners as having been those from the ill-fated groups after the Three Tombs. He thought back to the seed filled bodies the Grave Clan recovered, those had also clearly been foreigners far away from the Southern Kingdom. Something had been driving them towards the mountains. It had something to do the flowers. "Liu Xie,' he said as a thought struck him about the dragon's words. "The tombs in the South, those were around the Black River right?"

"Yes," Liu Xie nodded. His eyes widened and he looked back to the dragon, "you said your friend was the prince of a great black river, yes?"

"YES."

"That's why the Black River flooded," Liu Xie muttered. "It's sourced from the river beyond the Silent Mountains. If it's ruling prince is not able to control it, it can flood uncontrollably."

"Such as if the prince has been heavily wounded..." Rui Yifu nodded. "Or corrupted."

A ground shaking roar rattled through his bones as Anitherin's head reared back. "WHO WOULD DARE CORRUPT US?! WE WHO HAVE KNOWN THE WORLD BEFORE EVEN YOUR KIND SWAM IN ITS DEPTHS!"

"It's just a possibility," Rui Yifu voice was soothing towards the enraged dragon. "Your friend may simply have been harmed. The flood did end, so it is reasonable to assume that he had recovered."

"THEN WHY DOES HE NOT SPEAK TO ME?" There was a wounded tone now, all the rage gone. "WE HAVE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR SO LONG."

"Dragons of all kinds are proud," Liu Xie said, "he may just not want you to see him in such a state. We will not know until we're allowed to go however."

"GO THEN."

"Thank you cousin," Liu Xie said politely, before Bo immediately speed walked past him at such a pace that Rui Yifu saw Liu Xie's eyebrows raise in surprise. "Bo! Don't go too far ahead!"

The dragon's massive body moved slowly, more rocks tumbling down as it slunk its massive body away from the canyon, its long tail whipping away as it left.

Rui Yifu felt a slight pressure leave his chest and took a deep breath, following Liu Xie. Ji Ying, a bit dingy from dust, jogged past. "HEY STUPID!" She shouted as she chased after Bo, "DON'T GO SO FAST!"

In truth, they did not have much ground to cover in order to find Bo, who had stopped suddenly. He was staring at a slender shape in the darkness.

Thumk.

The faded scent of jasmine drifted to Rui Yifu from the shape. Bo was wavering in place as he watched the slender shape.

Thumk.

Bo moved closer, and Rui Yifu followed him. He suddenly knew what was there.

Thumk.

"Bo, don't... don't get close," Liu Xie warned, reaching for the young man.

"Hey, do you need help?" Bo asked, reaching towards the shape.

Suddenly it turned and stumbled into the light and Bo took a step back with a sharp gasp, revealing a skinny body with flesh caked with dirt. Its bones pushed through its thin flesh, and the clothes it wore were scraps. They had clearly been of fine material at some point, long ago. A sword hung at its wasted waist, the sheathe a similar color and scent as the one at Rui Yifu's hip now. But its head was what horrified them. It was a reddish mass of broken bones, twitching muscle, and a half-vanished jaw. Rui Yifu could see the exposed sinuses, blood oozing over them. It had been pounding its head against the wall for so long that it had destroyed half of its own face. With how skinny its body was and how scant its clothes were, Rui Yifu could not tell if it had been a man or woman while alive. It did not matter anymore. Whatever, or whomever, the person had been once was gone.

Its head twisted from side to side blindly, then it turned back towards the wall it had been facing.

Thumk.

Thumk.

Thumk.

"What's... what's wrong... with them?" Bo asked in a tiny voice, as though afraid it might turn their way again.

"...We've crossed the barrier," Ji Ying replied softly. She was staring at the figure with... Rui Yifu thought it might have been pity?

Thumk.

"This... that's what it looks like?" Bo took a deep breath, which shuddered as he exhaled.

Liu Xie nodded, "we're lucky really. It didn't attack us. Some lost people don't focus on self-destruction..." he then began walking forward again, holding Zhu'er. "We need to keep walking."

Thumk.

Nobody disagreed, and so the group walked away from the lost soul. The silence of the mountain erased the sound of its skull beating against the rock. Yet Rui Yifu could not help but think of how long they had likely stood there. Bashing their head into the mountain again, and again, and again, and again. At what point would they stop. Would they completely obliterate their own skull, fall to the ground, and would the skull regrow just to continue the process again? Or had they reached their limit already, and were doomed to the repetitive simple movement they had seen?

It was a fate even worse than the ones the eldest of the Fish People had of endless conscious rebirth, no wonder so few came to the Ancient Dynasty's lands for answers to finding death. There was none here. Not even the somnolence of the pearls.

The canyon suddenly stopped, opening into a wide lush field with a poorly maintained road that cut beside an abandoned village that somehow still stood in somewhat reasonable repair. A white horse was calmly grazing beside it, and sitting beside the horse on a wooden log was Li Chunning.