“They are a liability,” Bai Ling said. “The result of a necessary action, but one that will likely seek revenge if given freedom.”
“And that Oath Stone is a liability,” Ling Fei shot back. “We are a business, yes, but we look out for our members. Here, women get to determine their own destiny. We are not like the old Red Dust Pavilion. We are legitimate, and we are free.”
“If we release them,” Hong Xin said. “Who is to say they won’t return to their old ways?”
“Who’s to say anyone won’t?” Headmistress Lan said. “Is that a reason to keep them under oath? Many of us have dark pasts, but we’ve turned over a new leaf. We are legitimate businesswomen: advisors, entertainers, and diplomats for hire. Even warriors and bodyguards. We give women futures. Will you take that away?”
Hong Xin pursed her lips. She waited a while before speaking again. “We’ll think on what you said. Perhaps we are being unreasonable with those members. We’ll have to look into it on a case-by-case basis.”
“And if you’re willing to do that, we’re willing to continue these talks,” Headmistress Lan said. “But know this: as long as the Oath Stone is still in play, cooperation simply isn’t possible.”
“Noted,” Hong Xin said. They finished their tea in silence.
The shadow frowned when it saw Hong Xin’s disappointed expression. It had heard their conversation, and it wasn’t happy about it. While it knew there were valid points on both sides, it couldn’t help but be biased in the red lady’s favor. She was so passionate, so caring. She just wanted what was best for everyone, while also keeping innocent people out of trouble. Was there anything wrong with that?
The lady in blue, on the other hand, was cold and calculating. Not unlike someone else he knew, who’d sided with much darker powers. Like him, the lady wouldn’t see good sense if it stared her in the eye. She would always put herself before the greater good.
The question is, the shadow asked itself, will the lady in red know what to do? Will she do what needs to be done? The more it observed her, the more it thought otherwise. She was softening to blue lady’s arguments with each conversation. It was only a matter of time before she was eaten up by them.
Should I do something? it wondered. It hesitated. Shadows didn’t do anything. They just watched and existed. Or did they? The thought intrigued it. It considered a while longer, then moved. The night was young, and much work needed doing.
Chapter 21: Land of Shadows Remembered
Huxian panted as he looked westward, trying his best to expel excess heat from his body. The sun still shone brightly—at least the half that still peeked up over the horizon. It wasn’t very strong, but it was relentless. And no matter where he hid, no matter what he tried, he couldn’t avoid it. The light was living. The light was ever present. And the heat that built up inside his body seemed to want to stay there. A constant experience without relief, like the ghosts in that wretched city.
His shadow, much taller than he remembered it being, shifted impatiently, as if to urge him to hurry. He gazed at the now rocky ground. It wasn’t cracked like the abandoned plains from before, the lands that would have been lush with daily rains. No, this was true rock, not fragile clay. It led to a tiny mountain he’d spotted days ago. Or was it hours? Weeks? He couldn’t remember. Time here was an endless blur.
Sighing, Huxian continued toward the mountain, stepping with one paw after another, forcing himself forward with everything he had. It was the longest, most arduous journey he’d ever been on. But what choice did he have? He didn’t know the way out. He only had a single hint in the form of an eternal curse on a ghostly city. He’d obtained a piece of a jade tablet and directions to go westward. He’d been journeying ever since.
This leg of the journey was different than the last. To Huxian’s surprise, as he neared the mountain, which was growing ever larger in the distance, his shadow grew. And as it did, he picked up speed. There were no foothills like was used to seeing, nor were there any stray rocks that often accompanied mountains. Only flatness. It led to a plateau, which surprisingly cast a shadow toward him. The wrong way.
Huxian stopped just outside that shadow, his own barely brushing against it. It felt wrong, unholy even. Two shadows should not face opposite directions; at least, not without demonic or other intervention. Something was here, tampering with the laws of light.
Maybe that’s what I’m looking for, Huxian thought. Maybe the answer is to cover the sun. If the sun is obscured, wouldn’t the sun set? Wouldn’t those spirits be freed? He decided to proceed inside the shadows toward the plateau. As he crossed that invisible threshold, his own shadow inverted and merged with the plateau’s. And the moment it did, an amazing sight appeared before his eyes.
The plateau wasn’t empty like he’d initially imagined. Instead, it was hidden. Within these shadows, there was light. Monks meditated everywhere he looked. Some performed mundane tasks like laundry, cooking, or sweeping. Some even taught children. Moreover, they weren’t ghostly figures like the city before, but real individuals made of flesh and blood.
A man in orange robes with a bald head greeted him at the entrance. The man reminded Huxian of Gong Lan, except he was male.
“How can this one help you, benefactor?” he said with a gentle smile, a bow, and a strange hand gesture Huxian figured was part of his religion.
I’m here to find a monk, Huxian said. He looked around uncertainly. There were monks everywhere, but which one was
