November 2021: Plant you a garden, grow you a future

[marcicatverse]

Title: Plant you a garden, grow you a future
Author: marcicat

Rating: T
Fandom: Douluo Continent

Summary: Post Season 1, the entire Shi Lan Ke family sets out to create a better world through the power of teamwork, kindness, and time travel. Mostly time travel.



Prologue Part 1: Yu Xiao Gang

He didn’t know what to do. Tang San was breathing, barely, but Xiao Wu said he hadn’t fully woken up since they left the arena. The interspace could keep him from dying, but it couldn’t heal him.

Xiao Wu herself was inconsolable, and kept promising she’d leave, which -- he had no idea why she would do that. But since she and Tang San had left with Tang Hao, who had since disappeared, he could at least guess where she’d gotten the idea from. He tucked his anger away -- better to save it for when it would be useful, or at least let it out when it would do the least harm.

Telling her Tang San wouldn’t want her to go had only made her more upset. He worried every time he left that she might be gone when he returned, but he at least managed to get her to promise she wouldn’t leave before the others arrived.

They’d picked the Dream Valley as their fallback point before they’d left Tian Dou. It had almost been a joke -- none of them had been fully willing to acknowledge just how dangerous the “school contest” seemed to be turning.

Obviously they should have. The viciousness of Martial Soul Hall’s battle team seemed hardly worth mentioning compared to the absolute nightmare of watching Bi Bi Dong stop at least ten Grand Soul Land Masters in their tracks. He wanted to hope they were alive. The loss of that many Grand Masters at once could destabilize the entire continent.

There was nothing he could do about it. Even if he’d been able to guess at what to do, he’d still have no idea how. His mind still raced through ideas, picking them up and discarding them so quickly he could barely keep up.

it was hard to gauge time in the interspace. Everything felt like it lasted forever and no time at all. But the news was worse with each new arrival.

Ma Hong Jun was dropped off by Lan De, who looked grim. “Stay here. I’m going back for the others,” he said.

Ma Hong Jun was supposed to be with Ou Si Ke. He looked exhausted, and he barely startled when he was ushered into the interspace. “We’re safe here,” Xiao Gang said. “What’s going on out there?”

Ma Hong Jun shook his head. “It’s bad. No one can find the missing schools. They think the Ghost Master hid them in an interspace that only he could access. Everyone thinks Bi Bi Dong could get in, but she’s disappeared too.”

Dai Mu Bai and Zhu Zhu Qing arrived on their own, not long after the Headmaster left. Dai Mu Bai confirmed what Ma Hong Jun had said, and added, “Xing Luo insists that detaining a member of the royal family and their delegation broke the rules of the contest. They’ve threatened that if Dai Wei Shi isn’t returned to them, they’ll consider it an act of war by Martial Soul Hall.”

“Will they attack?” he asked.

Dai Mu Bai and Zhu Zhu Qing exchanged a look. “It’s possible,” Dai Mu Bai said. “Without my brother, their forces would be weakened, but my family --” He stopped, and looked away. “Martial Soul Hall isn’t popular in Xing Luo.”

When Lan De made it back, he was with everyone else -- Ou Si Ke and Ning Rong Rong leading a small group of Tian Duo citizens that needed safe passage out of Martial Soul City, with Er Long sweeping them past the interspace and through the mountain before returning.

“The Seven Clans are leaving,” Ning Rong Rong reported, once everyone was inside the interspace. “They won’t support Martial Soul Hall, but they won’t stand with Xing Luo or Tian Duo if they declare war.”

Ou Si Ke threw his hands up. “It’s not stopping them, though. We heard — remember when everyone was saying it was strange that the Tian Duo Crown Prince was visiting Martial Soul City? He was found in his residence under the influence of some sort of spirit control!”

He waved his notebook, and then began flipping through the pages. “And he accused Hu Lie Na! Oh! And he said she’s actually --” Ou Si Ke flipped the pages back in the other direction. “Here it is. Qian Ren Xue.”

Xiao Gang choked, and the Headmaster’s eyebrows went up. “Bi Bi Dong’s daughter?”

Er Long looked back and forth between them. “Well, that’s certainly an interesting piece of information,” she said. “Probably not immediately relevant, do you think?” She put her hands on her hips and gazed around the interspace. “What are we going to do next?”


Prologue Part 2: Ah Yin

She needed more time. She wasn’t strong enough to maintain the interspace and also manage a human-form shift. She could communicate with Tang Sang, but the others were unlikely to believe him even if he could stay conscious long enough to explain it to them.

Everyone else she might be able to talk to if they were dreaming. She kept a sliver of attention on them and began making preparations. They had to sleep sometime, right?

Finally -- finally, they decided rest was more important than talking in circles about the chaos that was happening outside. She pulled them into the Soul Realm more or less gracefully. More than she expected, given how long it had been since she’d needed to try it, but less than she would have preferred given that Tang San actually liked them.

“I apologize,” she said with a low bow. “I must speak with you, and this was the only way.”

She almost smiled when it was Ou Si Ke who started talking first. “Who are you? Where is this? Am I dreaming, and imagined everyone else here, or are we all dreaming together?” His eyes went wide. “Oh! Is it a hallucination?” He shook his finger at Ma Hong Jun. “I told you not to touch those flowers!”

She said, “My son is dying,” because that was the reason they were there at all.

The one Tang San had taken as a teacher stepped forward. “Tang Hao said he would be fine when he woke up.”

She gave him credit for knowing who she was, but took it away again for his faith in Tang Hao’s words. Her glare was fierce enough that he stepped back again. “Is Tang Hao a medical expert now?” she asked. “Is he even here?”

Dai Mu Bai cleared his throat and gave a respectful nod when she turned in his direction. “Is there anything we can do?”

“There’s a way.” Theoretically, there was a way. “It’s dangerous.”

Dai Mu Bai scoffed. “What isn’t?”

She did smile at that. “In theory, I can send your souls back into your past. Time travel. You all get a chance to do this again.”

The school Headmaster frowned. “Is that necessary? Tang San is strong. If it’s soul power he needs, I’m sure we have more than enough volunteers here to assist.”

“His physical injuries are not the concern.” Everyone in front of her looked confused, and she sighed. “Your last opponent,” she said. “The one who did this to him; how many soul rings did they have?”

“Nine?” Ou Si Ke said, looking around for confirmation. “It was nine, right?”

Tang San’s teacher shifted uncomfortably. “She has twin martial souls. It’s likely she has nine soul rings associated with each of them. By using martial soul fusion, she could access considerably more power than usual for a Grand Soul Land Master.” He glanced at Tang San worriedly, and then back at her. “What did she do?”

“Time manipulation -- she stole his future.” She took a deep breath and pushed the anger aside. “She’s latched onto his power and is sucking him dry; first the future, then the present, and finally the past, until his soul is gone.”

She heard several startled exclamations, and nodded. “It goes against the most fundamental tenets of soul power. Based on how quickly it’s progressing, this isn’t the first time she’s done it.”

Ou Si Ke raised his hand. “Um, Master?” Ning Rong Rong stepped on his foot, and he hastened to correct himself. “I mean, Grand Master? Honored Grand Master?”

It had been a long time since she cared about titles. “Ask your question,” she said.

“Isn’t time manipulation also what you’re talking about doing?”

He was bold. But not entirely wrong. “Time manipulation on a large scale is complicated enough to be generally frowned upon, but we all do it on a small scale. Time flies, it crawls, it leaps and freezes -- time is far more flexible than you might think.” She waved a hand around the interspace. “What do you think an interspace is? Space and time are partners; anything that impacts one also impacts the other.”

Xiao Wu and Tang San’s teacher were nodding. The rest of them looked confused. She was getting off track. “The difference in what I am suggesting is your soul power will remain your own, and I have your agreement to act. The burden of what is taken and what is given will be borne individually by each of you; the balance is maintained.”

Ma Hong Jun leaned over to Ou Si Ke. “Did you understand that?” It was probably meant to be too quiet for her to hear, so she pretended not to, just as she pretended not to see Ou Si Ke shake his head.

The Headmaster stepped forward. That was good; the others would take their direction from him. “Time travel,” he said.

“Yes.”

He narrowed his eyes. “How far back would we go?”

“I don’t know. The spell will automatically determine how far is far enough to break the pull on his soul.”

“Will we remember everything?”

“I don’t know. Do you remember everything now? Memory isn’t an absolute, even if you only move forward in time.”

“Will we still have our soul rings?”

She hesitated. That was a harder question. “I don’t know.”

He looked at her. She looked back. Finally, he said, “What do you know?”

“Tang San will live.”

He looked at Tang San’s teacher, who shrugged, “It could work. Or we could all die.”

“War is already brewing. What’s been done has destabilized the balance of soul power across the continent. If you refuse to help me, death is far from the worst thing that could happen to you.”

“Is that a threat?”

She laughed. “If I was threatening you, you would know, I guarantee it. No, this is information sharing. I will send Tang San back regardless of whether you decide to go with him. If I had my choice, he would not be alone.”

“What about you?”

It was Xiao Wu who asked, and she smiled. “Hello, little rabbit. It’s good to see you again. I’ll be here, anchoring everything from this end. I can’t go with you, but you can catch me up when we meet next.”

“I want to go with Tang San,” Xiao Wu said. She looked at Ning Rong Rong and Zhu Zhu Qing, who both nodded.

“Shi Lan Ke Seven Devils forever,” Ma Hong Jun murmured, and bumped his forearm against Ou Si Ke’s.

“Shi Lan Ke stays together,” Dai Mu Bai said firmly. “One way or another.”

She looked at the teachers, who seemed to be deeply engaged in a silent argument conducted through eyebrows and hand gestures.

Ning Rong Rong pushed Ou Si Ke at them. “Stop them,” she whispered loudly. “They need to focus.”

Ou Si Ke sputtered out a protest. “Me? Why do I have to stop them?”

“The Headmaster is your dad; tell him he’s embarrassing us!”

Without looking away from the argument, the Headmaster called, “It’s a parent’s responsibility to embarrass their children!” Then he seemed to remember that he had an audience. “Ah. Well, ah, we can discuss this later.” He clapped his hands together. “Time travel! Yes, what can we do to assist?”

It didn’t take much preparation after that. But Tang San needed to agree, and for that he needed to be awake. “I’ll ask him,” Dai Mu Bai offered.

Xiao Wu wiped her tears, and tucked Tang San’s hair behind his ear, not bothering to hide the flow of soul power between them. “He’s awake,” she said softly, and Dai Mu Bai nodded.

“Tang San.” He knelt beside him, and the plants lit up all around them. “We’re going to use time travel to go back. All of us, together. We need your strength.”

Tang San focused on him with what looked like a deliberate and painful effort. “All of us?” he said.

“Together,” Dai Mu Bai repeated. “All of us.” Xiao Wu was already holding one of Tang San’s hands, and Dai Mu Bai gripped the other one.

Tang San nodded. “All right. What do we do?”

She needed more time. But for her son, for his chosen family, she would make it work.


*******


Chapter 1: Tang San

He was running.

He was running, and it was daytime, and he was — in the forest outside Saint of Soul Village? The shock of the change nearly made him stumble, but momentum kept him going. It wasn’t until the sound behind him stopped that he realized he should have been paying attention to more than just staying on his feet.

The Human-Faced Demon Spider hit him from the side, and they both crashed through the trees into a familiar clearing. At least he knew how far they’d gone back. He wondered how long he had before Su Yun Tao showed up. Given his luck so far (showing up back in time only to be immediately attacked by a giant spider), probably not enough.

On the other hand, given his luck so far (miraculously time traveling in order to have a second chance to save everyone and see all of his family again), maybe he had plenty of time after all.

“Hey,” he called. “Why are you chasing me?”

The questions of why and how a dangerous Soul Beast had traveled so far from Star Forest had never been answered in the last timeline. He hadn’t known enough to ask about it in their first meeting, and by the time he started wondering, Su Yun Tao was dead and they had more immediate mysteries to deal with.

The spider pulled back and chittered angrily at him. It sounded angry to him, at least. But it didn’t actually attack again. He wondered if it was as confused as he was. Could it recognize its own energy in him? Did he even still have its energy in him? Checking his soul rings would almost certainly be taken as an act of aggression, so he edged backwards instead and put his hands up. The spider let him.

“I don’t want to fight,” he said carefully. The farmer had been found, he remembered, the one they thought the spider had eaten. He’d been scared half out of his mind, but he’d been whole and entirely not dead. “A Soul Master is following you; you know that, right?”

More angry noises, and he waved his hands frantically. “Shh, shh. I’m not with him. What if we just --” He put up a finger on each hand and put them next to each other, then slowly moved them apart. “You go one way, I go the other?”

The spider didn’t make any noise at all in response to that, but it did turn and run into the forest, which he guessed was as much an answer as he needed.

He headed in the opposite direction, only to run directly into Su Yun Tao. He saw Su Yun Tao reaching for him, knew it was only to keep him from falling, had a flash of memory of Su Yun Tao reading his lack of awakened martial soul just by touching his hand -- he threw himself at the ground without any shame at all, and scrambled backwards.

He waved his hands in front of him. “Sorry, sorry! I didn’t see you there!”

“Are you all right?” Su Yun Tao didn’t even look suspicious. (He looked young, younger than Tan San remembered. How many soul rings did he even have at that point? Three? Four? Wasn’t he supposed to be Bi Bi Dong’s direct disciple? Why was he out on his own?)

“Have you seen anything strange passing through here?” Su Yun Tao coughed awkwardly. “A very large spider? A Soul Beast?”

Tang San made his eyes go wide, and tried to look scared. “A what?” He was a terrible liar. He should have remembered that.

Su Yun Tao narrowed his eyes. “Do you live around here?”

“Yes. And I need to go. Home.” He stepped further back. “Good luck.”

He could only be grateful that Su Yun Tao seemed to have no idea what normal villagers were like, or maybe a lot of people were awkward around Soul Masters. Or he thought the Human Faced Demon Spider was more important than a random person, no matter how strangely they were acting.

There was a distant crash, and Su Yun Tao’s gaze snapped towards it. Tang San slipped away. He’d take the long way home, just in case.


Chapter 2: Xiao Wu

When she realized she was in Star Forest, curled up with Er Ming, she started crying. She should have known it would make Er Ming panic -- he was always worried about her getting hurt, especially when she was in human form. “I’m okay,” she said. “I’m not hurt.” She couldn’t stop the tears, but she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his fur. “I missed you.”

Er Ming patted her head, and rocked back and forth, and she let herself breath. She had definitely gone back in time. If she’d made it, the others must have made it too.

Finally she cried herself out, and she stepped back with a final few pats to Er Ming’s fur. Not too far, but far enough that she could look up at his face and smile. It really had been too long.

“I’m fine,” she said.

Er Ming looked at her. He didn’t need to say anything -- she knew that expression. “All right, yes, maybe there was a small problem, but look!” She spun in a circle. “We fixed it!”

Er Ming made a skeptical noise. “Yes, we used time travel,” she said. “And I know you said it was dangerous, but it was Ah Lin who directed it, and you know if anyone could do it, it would be her.”

Er Ming made another, even more skeptical noise, and started exaggeratedly looking her over for injuries. She laughed. “I’m fine, I’m fine. I’ll tell you everything.” She wondered if Da Ming was around. He needed to hear it too.

She rested (at Er Ming’s insistence) while Da Ming was located, and then began explaining. It was a long story. Da Ming was outraged that Martial Soul Hall was experimenting on Soul Beasts, Er Ming was outraged that she’d been hurt, both of them were outraged that she’d done something as risky as time travel without telling them first.

She wasn’t surprised that Da Ming chose not to answer any of her questions about the Island of the Sea God. Even she had lived long enough to see humans let things fade from common knowledge to myth and back again, and Da Ming was much, much older than her.

She also wasn’t surprised that it was her description of the time travel itself that got the most questions. Even the two Beast Kings had things they didn’t fully understand.

“It was specifically for us, the ones who were in the interspace with Tang San.” Er Ming poked her arm, and she shook her head slowly. “No, our names weren’t part of it.” She tried to remember the exact specifications. A lot of it had been about intent. “Tang San was the focus.”

Er Ming wailed dramatically, and she tugged on his fur. “You worry too much. You said yourself: time travel takes a huge amount of power for even one person.” She held up one finger and pointed at herself, then spread her hands out and held up all ten fingers. “We moved ten people! There’s no way we had enough power for more than that.”

Just when she thought she’d finally convinced them both, Da Ming flicked water at her. “But you were in the interspace. Rules are different there.”

She stared at him. He stared back. Er Ming covered his face with his hands.

He wasn’t -- both those things were true. They had been in the interspace. Rules were different there. But Ah Yin must have known that too, right? Of course she had! She’d been very sure it would work; she must have thought about it a lot. And she was really smart, and she loved Tang San more than anything.

It was the last part that made her wonder. Because wouldn’t she do everything she could to help Tang San? And she had never actually said it was just them. She tilted her head to the side.

“How many people do you think it could be?”


Chapter 3: Dai Mu Bai

He ducked the attack on instinct, and almost rolled his eyes when he realized where he was. The Suo Tuo City Soul Arena. Fantastic. And it had to be this guy. Of all the fights to live through twice. He dodged a few more strikes, trying to remember which skills he’d used the first time he did this. He hadn’t won; he remembered that much.

If he started throwing soul power around, there was a good chance he’d slip and someone would see his fourth soul ring. His brother had people watching the arena, obviously; he’d been naive to ever think he didn’t. And he’d definitely find out eventually, but Dai Mu Bai would rather have the chance to talk it over with the others first.

It was funny, actually. He always said he preferred fighting alone, but now he found himself looking over his shoulder expecting to see the rest of the team. He didn’t need them, but -- he missed them. Fighting was more fun when they were there.

His opponent did a flashy jump and roll and sent a barrage of projectiles in his direction. He blocked them, and ignored the taunts that followed. He couldn’t even remember this guy’s name. Why was he so angry?

At least it looked like he was getting tired, which would be useful. And Dai Mu Bai had the advantage of experience this time around. Memories of the match were coming back to him; it had been an embarrassing loss the first time around. His opponent was only pretending to feel the hits Dai Mu Bai landed -- with his Soul Power activated, he had an invisible armor shield around him. He’d dragged out the fight by acting weakened, and Dai Mu Bai hadn’t been smart enough to pursue a strategy that didn’t involve physically dominating the arena.

Until now, at least.

He allowed his dodges to bring him close to the edge of the arena, and set himself up like he was going to attack -- one hand out in front gathering energy for a Light Wave strike, and the other hand tucked behind him.

He let the sphere of light grow in his palm, then sputter out, like he was out of energy. Once, and then a second time. He didn’t even have to change his expression from an angry glare -- no Xing Luo citizen would ever show fear in the arena.

His opponent laughed. “Oh no, how unfortunate!” he mocked. “Can’t keep it going? Is it past your bedtime?”

“Worry about yourself,” he said, and his opponent charged towards him. Dai Mu Bai waited until he was fully committed -- longer than he probably needed to, really, but a small amount of petty payback had to be one of the benefits of time travel, right? Then he spun to the side and let the Light Wave sphere in his back hand arc out and detonate directly behind his opponent. The force of it knocked him forward -- and out of the arena.

His opponent sputtered, and Dai Mu Bai shrugged. “Looks like you lose this time.”


Chapter 4: Ning Rong Rong

“And then we traveled back in time, and I called this meeting. That’s everything. Can we please work on the next step now?”

There was silence for several long breaths. “Rong Rong,” her father said finally. “Are you feeling all right?”

“I’m not sick,” she said, stomping her foot. “I’m telling the truth!” She’d forgotten how much people only pretended to listen to her before Shi Lan Ke. She wasn’t going to let it stop her, though.

Her father and the Sword Master exchanged a look. She didn’t wait for whatever placating thing he was going to say next. She held out her hand, palm up, and allowed the Jiubao Amber Pagoda to shimmer into view. “See?”

“Is that --?” Her father looked shocked. But in the good way, and she smiled.

“I think you left some things out of your explanation, Rong Rong.”

“There were so many things that happened, Grandpa Sword.” She turned her smile on him, and he scoffed, and pretended he wasn’t affected at all. “It only makes sense that I wouldn’t be able to remember everything, doesn’t it?”

He pointed at her hair. “Who gave you the earrings?”

She tilted her head up proudly. “You met him,” she said. “He impressed you. He’s in the Support Branch, and the first time we fought together we defeated a Soul Master with double Soul Rings.”

He narrowed his eyes. “With what martial soul?”

“Dark Phoenix Mutant Soul.” She put her hands on her hips and looked him in the eye. She wasn’t going to back down about this; and the sooner they realized it, the sooner she could go.

His expression broke into a smile. “Good for you.” He turned to her father. “I’m convinced.”

They exchanged another long look, but finally her father waved his hand. “All right, yes.” She cheered, and then quickly sat down and folded her hands in her lap. She could be polite in her victory. “What is it that you want to do for this ‘next step’?”

Finally, they were getting to the important part. “I’m going to Xing Luo.”

Her father said, “Xing Luo? Alone?” He sounded incredulous, as if he hadn’t sent her halfway across Tian Duo alone to get to Shi Lan Ke. Or as if she actually went anywhere alone, and not with a team of guards watching her from the shadows.

“I have to go get Qing-jie,” she answered. “She thought she might have trouble with her family, if we came back before she’d left the last time.”

“Zhu Zhu Qing? I thought you said she and Dai Mu Bai were -- can’t he help her? Isn’t he the prince?”

“Brother Dai is already at Shi Lan Ke school in Tian Duo.” She had definitely explained that the first time. “I’m going to get Zhu Zhu Qing and we’ll all meet at Shi Lan Ke.” After a small detour, which she wasn’t planning on mentioning. Sometimes it was better to just carry on with what you were going to do, and let everyone else catch up.


Chapter 5: Ma Hong Jun

His dad was alive. He was sitting at a table eating a meal -- their table, in their house -- and his dad was right across from him.

“Dad!” He nearly tripped over his own feet trying to get around the table. He was shorter -- how far back had they gone? It didn’t matter. He pulled his dad into a hug, and held on tight. It was only when his fingers started cramping up, and he realized his dad was hugging him back just as hard, that he thought something about it might be strange. “Dad?”

“Hong Jun,” his dad said. “I’m so proud of you.”

Then he pulled back and shook his finger. “Also, what were you thinking? Did I raise you to run into danger headfirst?”

Without knowing exactly where he was in his own timeline, he had no idea what they were talking about. “No?” he guessed.

His dad sighed. “Hong Jun, I gave you my martial soul. I was always with you. When you traveled back in time, I did too.”

There was a ringing in his ears. His dad had been with him, and had traveled back in time with him, and he hadn’t even known. What if he’d been left behind? What if he was upset that Hong Jun had left the village he’d grown up in and found a new family?

“Always?” He scratched the back of his neck. “You saw everything?” He wasn’t sure what he hoped the answer was going to be. Some of it wasn’t that great.

His dad just laughed. “Not everything. It took me some time to figure out what was happening, and the -- Soul Realm? The place I ended up; it could be -- distracting, sometimes.”

He reached out again, just to make sure his dad was really there, and he wasn’t dreaming again. His dad tugged him close to his side. “You did well. You were strong when I couldn’t be, and you didn’t let yourself be ruled by anger or fear.”

He made a face, thinking of Bu Le. Of the Sand Beast. “I did sometimes,” he admitted.

“Success doesn’t mean never failing,” his dad said. “It means continuing to try. Didn’t your school teach you that? I’m sure I remember something along those lines.” His dad ruffled his hair, and he jumped back.

“Hey!” He couldn’t actually get angry about it, but he made a face anyway. It was the principle of the thing.

His dad laughed again. “Parent’s prerogative,” he said. “Now, let’s see it. Show me your martial soul.”

He hesitated. He didn’t feel any different, but what if his martial soul had changed again? What if his dad was disappointed?

He’d forgotten how easily his dad could read his expressions. “Hong Jun, it’s all right. Whatever your martial soul is, we’ll honor it together.”

He could do this. He took a deep breath, and held out his hands. Immediately, he could feel the heat of the phoenix fire roar into place around him, while his three soul rings circled in a lazy counterpoint.

He wasn’t expecting to turn to his dad and see a shocked expression on his face -- along with the same three soul rings and phoenix fire.


Chapter 6: Zhu Zhu Qing

Her sister definitely thought she was hiding something from her. She was very suspicious that way. But since ‘I’m a time traveler and came from the future’ wasn’t ever going to be a conversation they were going to have, she would have to stay suspicious.

“How do you know someone from the Qibao Amber Clan? They asked for you specifically.”

Zhu Zhu Qing didn’t pause in her packing. “I know people. Aren’t you always telling me how important it is to build connections with the Seven Clans?”

She hadn’t actually been expecting Ning Rong Rong to show up so quickly, but she’d definitely been expecting her to show up. There hadn’t been a lot of time to plan when they were in the interspace, but they were used to thinking quickly. It made sense to team up and get everyone back together, then sort things out from there.

Her sister crossed her arms over her chest. “Yes, conceptually! Not like this!” Not you, she meant. Not the Support Branch. “You’re my little sister; you know I worry about you. Tell me the truth -- are you going to go looking for Dai Mu Bai? I told you already; you don’t need to.”

She did. She knew her sister had protected her as much as she could when they were young. Had shielded her from the harshest parts of Xing Luo, even as she’d pushed her to be stronger, to do better. She wondered, suddenly, if they’d gone back far enough that she was technically the older one between them. Probably not, right? Not if she’d already started talking about tracking down Dai Mu Bai.

“I know,” she said. “Thank you.” She couldn’t say she wasn’t going to look for Dai Mu Bai. (Technically she didn’t need to look for him; she knew where he was. Technically Xing Luo frowned on exploiting technical loopholes.)

“Qing-jie, are you ready now?” Rong Rong strolled into the room like she was daring them to accuse the princess of the Qibao Amber Clan of interrupting. Or eavesdropping, which she had also definitely been doing.

“I’m ready,” she said, swinging her bag over her shoulder. “Where’s your luggage?”

Rong Rong took her arm. “In the carriage, obviously. No one’s here to tell us to walk everywhere, are they?” She nodded to Zhu Zhu Qing’s sister. “Qibao Amber Clan appreciates your participation with this small matter. If you should find yourself in need in the future, call on us.”

The subtle emphasis on ‘you’ wasn’t lost on anyone. The offer was for her sister alone, not Xing Luo. It wasn’t an alliance, it was an exchange of favors between friends. It was meant to make her feel less bad about leaving her sister all alone, and she squeezed Rong Rong’s hand in thanks.

Her sister looked startled. “I will -- keep that in mind.” She took a step back, clearing the path to the door. “May your journey be swift.”


Chapter 7: Ou Si Ke

When he blinked awake, his first thought was that something must be wrong. Brother Dai never let him sleep in! But he didn’t hear any shouting from outside, and he didn’t smell anything burning, and when he managed to focus his eyes on the room around him, everything looked normal.

Mostly normal? It was weird; his dream had felt so real, he almost expected the room to look like four people lived in it instead of just two. But then again, they’d all packed everything up when they left, hadn’t they? He shook his head.

He was still yawning when he stepped outside. “Brother Dai!” Maybe he hadn’t slept as late as he thought. Dai Mu Bai didn’t even look angry.

“Brother Dai, you would not believe the dream I had last night! You were there, and I was there, and the Headmaster was there too, and he had friends! And we had friends! And we won a Soul Master competition!”

Dai Mu Bai opened his eyes -- oh, he’d been meditating; he probably shouldn’t have interrupted him, in that case. But he still didn’t look angry?

He heard a throat clearing behind him, and he spun around. “Headmaster!”

“You think I don’t have friends?”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant!” He waved his hands in front of him. “Of course you have friends! These were -- in my dream, I mean -- you had, ah, they were -- close friends.” He carefully emphasized the last part, which was already more than was probably wise to say.

“Xiao Gang and Er Long and I are old friends, and that’s all I’m going to say about it. If you want to know more, you can ask them yourself.”

He froze. “But that’s -- that was their names. How did you --” Realization hit all of a sudden, and he felt his eyes go wide. “It wasn’t a dream.”

Dai Mu Bai shook his head. “Not a dream.”

“And we really travelled back in time.”

The Headmaster nodded. “We did.”

He had so many questions. They started spilling out even as he was writing them down. “When are we? Where is everyone? Are we going to go find them?” He frowned. “But then what if they came here looking for us? We could leave a note! No, that won’t work. We should have come up with a plan before we left; this is too confusing.”

“Why can’t we leave a note?”

He looked up -- he hadn’t actually expected them to be listening, but Dai Mu Bai was nodding, so he pointed at him. “See? He knows; it wasn’t a secret!”

“Ma Hong Jun can’t read,” Dai Mu Bai explained. “And he’s the one who would be most likely to come here first and be traveling alone.”

“Exactly! And no one knows where Tang San’s village is, and we’re much closer than going all the way to Lanba.” He looked around, like Ma Hong Jun might wander by at just the right moment for a dramatic entrance. It didn’t happen, but he scribbled it down in his notebook as an idea for later.

“Ou Si Ke.” It was the Headmaster’s ‘I’m being entirely serious right now’ voice, so he stopped writing and looked up again.

It took him too long to figure out what was happening, but once he did he couldn’t keep the happiness out of his voice. “Oh! Are we hugging now? Brother Dai, come here, we’re hugging!”


Chapter 8: Yu Xiao Gang

The scene was nearly identical to when he’d first met Tang San, but then again, he’d spent more admission weeks sitting by the entrance than he’d like to admit. It was a good way to get an early read on the class — see who the troublemakers were likely to be, who might benefit from extra encouragement. Who to avoid. When he heard Xiao Chen Yu’s voice, he quickly raised his book so it would cover his expression. Speaking of people to avoid.

Xiao Chen Yu refused to be ignored. He was missing his usual shadow, and as usual was willing to make it everyone else’s problem. “Where is Liu Long?” he said loudly to no one in particular, apparently demanding an answer from the ceiling.

One of the lesser minions approached him nervously. “Master Xiao, we’ve looked everywhere; he doesn’t seem to be here yet.”

It was odd. It was clearly Xiao Chen Yu’s first day, and he thought the two of them had arrived together the last time. He must have misremembered, though. Another teacher had already been drawn over by the shouting, and they waved the crowd away even as they ran their mouth in an effort to soothe Xiao Chen Yu’s ego. Behind his book, he rolled his eyes.

He snuck out the same night, leaving a letter in his office for the Headmaster. They had an understanding; he didn’t worry about leaving an empty role to fill. He did worry about Tang San. And Tang Hao, but that was more of a situational ‘how are we going to explain everything to him without making things worse’ than a standard state of being.

He took the Soul Master Association’s initiation rabbits with him when he left, which was the right choice but led to him having to figure out what to do with them afterwards. “Shouldn’t you run to safety on your own?” he asked them. He’d managed to herd them to a nearby field with Luo San Pao’s help, but they showed no inclination to keep going.

The answer was obviously no, since they were still lazily hopping around his feet. “What did Xiao Wu do with you?”

“I sent them off with a Jade Rabbit back to the forest.” The voice came out of the darkness behind him, and he startled. One of the rabbits gave him a disgruntled look.

“Xiao Wu?”

“You’re here!” she said. “Is Tang San here too?” She looked around like he might be hiding, and he smiled.

“He’s not. I was on my way to Saint of Soul Village, but then --” He waved at the rabbits.

Xiao Wu clapped her hands together. “Oh, me too! I just wanted to check on the Spotted Cat first, that we met last time, since it’s on the way. You can bring the rabbits.”

He shook his head. “We can’t get into the Soul Hunting Forest without a pass.” Luo San Pao, who had perked up at the mention of the Spotted Cat, put his head back down on his paws and sighed.

Xiao Wu looked surprised. “Of course we can. Soul Beasts go in and out of the forests all the time. It’s not hard. I’ll show you.”


Chapter 9: Liu Er Long

She’d been fooling herself, all that time, thinking she was fine living with only her pride and her principles for company. Look at her -- back in the past for less than a day and she was already lonely.

She did wish they’d taken a bit more time to make a plan before rushing into the past. (And she did realize the irony of being the one advocating for advance planning.) Now they were all spread out across the continent again, with no easy way to determine a meeting place. She refused to sit around and wait, so she was going to have to pick a direction.

Nuoding was -- remote. She made a face. But Xiao Gang was there, and he was her favorite. Tang San was also there, and he was definitely the one most likely to attract trouble that would need extra backup to deal with. There was a good chance Xiao Wu was there too, or would be soon, and Xiao Wu was her third favorite. Three votes in favor of Nuoding.

The other option was Suo Tuo, which was -- an acceptable city, she supposed, albeit one that didn’t appreciate that hosting the reclusive Shi Lan Ke school was virtually the only interesting thing about it. Suo Tuo had Lan De, who she would grudgingly admit was her second favorite. And it was closer than Nuoding. So, two votes for Suo Tuo.

“Teacher Liu!”

“Teacher Liu, are you still here?”

She frowned. That sounded like -- she crossed over to the door and flung it open. Sure enough, on the other side was Zhu Zhu Qing and Ning Rong Rong. Zhu Zhu Qing nodded at her, and Ning Rong Rong beamed. “Teacher Liu! Can we come in?”

She stepped aside, and they walked into the room arm in arm. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“We came to see you,” NIng Rong Rong said. “It’s much better to travel together than alone, don’t you think?”

She said it with so much confidence that it was easy to overlook the way Zhu Zhu Qing squeezed her arm in support. They were nervous, then. That she would kick them out? That she wouldn’t go with them?

“I agree,” she said, mostly to see how they would respond. “Are we traveling together, then?”

She wasn’t expecting Ning Rong Rong to sidle up next to her and clasp her hands together. “Of course! And… while we’re traveling, you can tell us all about what’s going on with you and Master Yu and the Headmaster, won’t you?”

“Rong Rong!” Zhu Zhu Qing elbowed her in the side, and Ning Rong Rong pouted.

“What? I want to know! We never got a chance to ask her before!”

It was easy to forget, watching them battle in the arena, but they were still children after all. It was a relief, she thought. Not everything was life and death. There was still laughter and teasing and gossiping with your friends about your teachers.

“Did you talk to the others about it?” she asked, both unable and unwilling to keep the amusement out of her voice. She’d happily answer their questions in exchange for hearing how Lan De and Xiao Gang had reacted. Let the younger generation learn from their mistakes. She wasn’t ashamed of her choices.

“She asked the Headmaster,” Zhu Zhu Qing said. “Teacher Yu said it was personal, but he said some things to Tang San when they were in Sunset Forest.”

“Oh really? Things that he later shared with the rest of you?”

Ning Rong Rong gave her a deliberately innocent look. “Maybe?”

She laughed. “Well, we’ll see if I can help prompt your memory. Let’s rest tonight, and I promise I am more than willing to answer any questions you have. Tomorrow.”


Chapter 10: Tang San

“Tang San!”

He opened his eyes when he heard the shout, and his heart leapt. “Xiao Wu! Master!”

Xiao Wu waved happily. “Hi San-ge!” She had a Spotted Cat with her; he wondered if it was the same one she’d saved before.

Master Yu looked worried. “Tang San, are you all right?”

He glanced behind himself. It might look concerning; that was a possibility. He was sitting on the porch, which was largely intact. The rest of the house was -- not, exactly. The Haunted Vine’s emergence had done less damage this time, but it had been working on dismantling the parts of the house that it didn’t like ever since.

“It’s fine,” he said. “It’s not angry.” Anymore.

“What happened?” A few vines waved in his direction, and Tang San held out a hand to call them back.

“I freed the Haunted Vine,” he said. Wasn’t that obvious? He was trying to stay calm, for the Vine’s sake, but he could feel the outrage and guilt bubbling up again.

“Tang San, your father told me --” The Haunted Vine loomed over him, and Master Yu cut off whatever he’d been about to say.

“It was supposed to grow!” Tang San shouted. “In the garden!” He waved his hand at the barren ground between them. “Not be trapped in a hole underground!” He could feel tears forming in his eyes, and he wiped them away angrily. “There should have been a garden.”

He took a deep breath, and then reached out and tapped the closest vine. “It thinks I’m a weird plant that needs more sunlight. It was always meant to be a guardian, not a prisoner. And it still would have given me my second soul ring freely, even after everything.” Of all his regrets -- he would happily spend a lifetime working to be a better person than the one he’d been when he killed the Haunted Vine.

The Haunted Vine patted his head, very gently, and Xiao Wu giggled. “Can I?” she asked. A sturdy vine looped its way out to her, and she took it as the invitation it was. She vaulted easily through the maze of vines, while the Spotted Cat followed her more sedately from the ground.

When they reached the porch, he stood up just in time for Xiao Wu to throw herself into his arms.

“I missed you,” she said, her voice muffled by his shoulder.

“I’m here now,” he said. “I missed you too.”

He wondered why Master Yu was staying so far back, but his next question made it clear. “Is Tang Hao here?” he asked.

The Haunted Vine rattled angrily. Tang San shook his head. “He’s gone.”

“What?” Master Yu sounded shocked, and he waved his hands to backtrack.

“Oh! No, not like that. I was in the forest when I showed up in this time. The house was empty by the time I got back.” He tried to smile, but he was fairly sure it didn’t convince anyone.“He left a note.” The explanation sounded lacking even to him, and Xiao Wu frowned.

“What does it say?”

He put the paper in her hands. “Just one thing. ‘You know what to do.’”

“‘You know what to do’?” Xiao Wu repeated. She tilted her head to the side, like the words might say something else from a different angle. “What is it? What are you supposed to do?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. This didn’t happen the first time; he should have been here and the Village Head should have come to tell us about the soul awakening ceremony.” He didn’t know what to think.

“Oh!” Xiao Wu held up her finger. “Da Ming thinks more people might have been pulled back in time than just us. Maybe not even on purpose, but he wasn’t sure.” She shrugged. “Time travel is confusing.”

“Very confusing,” he agreed. “I’m glad you’re here with me.” He might not have been fully aware of everything that happened between the soul arena and waking up in the past, but he knew Xiao Wu had been upset. “Xiao Wu, my father was wrong. You don’t need to leave to get stronger, and neither do I. We’re stronger together.”

Xiao Wu bit her lip. “That’s what I thought, but he seemed so sure.”

“He’s always sure.” He tugged Xiao Wu’s braid gently, just enough so that she looked up and met his eyes. “That doesn’t mean he’s always right.” He put his hand over his heart. “What do you think, here, in your heart?”

Xiao Wu closed her eyes, and put her hands on her heart. He didn’t want her to stay or go because she thought she had to. Shi Lan Ke was built on letting students choose their own path, and that meant everyone. “I think we should stay together,” she said finally. “I like being with you; Tang San is the best!”

“Oh? So you’re not replacing me?” he teased, nodding at the cat.

“This is Little Spot!” Xiao Wu said proudly. “I wanted to warn her about the snake, and she decided to travel with us. Watch this!”

The cat gave her a withering look, but obligingly sat down and did -- something. He blinked, and suddenly there was a completely average cat sitting in front of them. The cat glared at him like it could read his thoughts, and he quickly amended them. A very beautiful cat, just as majestic as the Spotted Cat, but significantly less likely to draw attention in a group of humans.

He looked at Master Yu, who shrugged. He looked at Xiao Wu, who beamed at him and didn’t seem to think anything was strange at all. “Very impressive,” he said to the cat. “May I call you Little Spot too?”

The cat tilted her head at him just like Xiao Wu, and then slowly stepped forward and rubbed her head against his knee, just once. He was pretty sure that meant yes. “Thank you,” he said.

“It’s a little funny,” he said to Xiao Wu. “Don’t you think?”

She looked back and forth between him and the cat. “Why?”

“Don’t cats --” He held up his hand and made an eating gesture. “-- nibble on rabbits?”

He saw the instant when she remembered their first conversation, and she laughed, and he thought -- if a day ended with Xiao Wu’s laughter, something must have gone right.


Chapter 11: Fei Lan De

Children were exhausting. You loved them and you did your best for them, and they broke your heart every day, and then they turned around and healed it again. You told yourself it was enough; that you were enough.

And then sometimes you met other parents, and they casually destroyed everything you believed about the nature of the world, and they said they were going to send their son back in time to save his life. And they wanted your help -- not because you were necessary, oh no! Because they thought their son would appreciate it if you went too.

There was something about having your soul slammed back into your past body that made you want to re-evaluate your life. Or take a nap. Preferably both. He supposed it was lucky that Tang San’s mother thought he was important enough to be sent back at all, and that she seemed to have had a gentler touch with the young people.

(It was possible that time travel was just easier at a younger age, but he suspected the rough journey was a deliberate reminder that she had neither forgiven nor forgotten who had been responsible for Tang San’s safety when he’d been hurt. It was a lighter punishment than he would have expected, given everything.)

There was shouting from outside, and it shook him out of his thoughts. He liked to let Ou Si Ke think he was getting away with something, with his lack of rules about shouting and general decorum. The reality was that his tendency towards announcing everything at maximum volume did wonders for keeping Lan De informed of what was going on amongst the students.

He flung the door open and strode out onto the balcony. “Ma Hong Jun!” He released his soul power and let his wings glide him to the ground, studying the person accompanying Ma Hong Jun carefully. He suddenly had the feeling he’d forgotten something important.

He’d been uncertain if they should go to Nightfire Village, whether to help Ma Hong Jun handle the Village Head, or simply accompany him on his way to Shi Lan Ke. He thought the young man he’d been in their future would prefer the independence of deciding on his own. (And he could admit to himself, at least, that he’d been uncertain if Ma Hong Jun would choose Shi Lan Ke at all, given the chance to do everything over again.)

But the Hong Jun in front of him didn’t look uncertain, and he had someone else with him -- someone who was definitely giving him a judging look for thinking a child should travel alone. “And who is this?” he asked.

“Master!” Ma Hong Jun was practically bouncing in place from excitement. “Master, this is my dad -- he remembers the future too!”

He raised his eyebrows, letting his surprise cover his embarrassment. He should have gone to Nightfire Village after all -- how could he have forgotten that Ma Hong Jun would need to explain everything to his father? Even though he apparently hadn’t needed to after all?

“Senior Ma,” he said respectfully. He didn’t tend to meet the parents of any of his students. Even without that, the circumstances were -- unusual.

Ma Hong Jun’s father smiled. “Headmaster. Thank you for taking care of my son. It was a comfort to know he had been allowed to join your school.”

He waved his hand. He hated it when they were grateful, especially when they were grateful for things they should have been able to take for granted. People should take care of each other. If someone was in need, they should be given help.

“Ou Si Ke!” he called. He’d been shouting earlier; he must be close by. Either he was eavesdropping, or he was looking for Dai Mu Bai so they could eavesdrop together.

Sure enough, Ou Si Ke tumbled out of the nearest building with Dai Mu Bai right behind him. “Headmaster, yes, haha, what a coincidence that we happened to be right here! What can we do for you?”

He rolled his eyes. “You can go away. Take Ma Hong Jun with you. Go help the villagers; you know what to do. Senior Ma and I need to talk.”

“Yes, of course; we’ll go right now, definitely!”

Dai Mu Bai nodded, very seriously. It looked like he was trying not to smile. “I’m sure we can find something that’s appropriate for someone of your—“ He waved his hand about shoulder height.

“Hey!” Ma Hong Jun put his hands on his hips, which did nothing to make him look taller. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He means you’re tiny now,” Ou Si Ke said. “We might need you to wear a hat just so we can find you.”

He looked at Dai Mu Bai, and both of them reached out simultaneously to pat Ma Hong Jun’s head. They sprinted away and Ma Hong Jun chased after them, all three of them laughing.

He watched them go (just so he would know where to be on guard from them coming back, of course), and then turned to Ma Hong Jun’s father. “Can I offer you tea?”

There was a long pause, while Senior Ma studied him. Finally, he said, “Yes, thank you. I think we have many things to discuss.”


Chapter 12: Zhu Zhu Qing

She opened her eyes in darkness. Rong Rong was safe, sleeping next to her. Something had woken her, though. She sat up, and realized Teacher Liu was looking back at her.

“Someone just crossed the boundary line,” she said.

The school was commonly thought to be run-down and all but abandoned. The chances that anyone knew they were there were high, but the chances that they would care were low. They hadn’t even done anything yet in this timeline.

That didn’t mean it wasn’t trouble. She shook Rong Rong awake. “We’ll all go.”

Teacher Liu didn’t argue, and they moved outside as a group. It wasn’t hard to find the person who’d snuck in -- she was standing in the middle of the courtyard. On fire.

“Oh, good,” she said, in a way that indicated it was not. “You’re awake. It didn’t seem like a good idea to start knocking on doors.”

“Huo Wu?” Rong Rong asked. Zhu Zhu Qing startled -- she hadn’t recognized her younger, but she should have. At least one of them had a good memory for faces. “What are you doing here?”

“That is exactly what I want to know!” Huo Wu said. The fire dimmed to a glow, and she leaned to the side, like she was trying to see around them. “I’m looking for Tang San; where is he?”

“He’s not here,” Zhu Zhu Qing said. Huo Wu should have been at Chi Huo school, in Xing Luo. (Then again, she was supposed to be in Xing Luo too.) How did she even know Tang San at this point?

“Why are you looking for him?” Teacher Liu asked.

Huo Wu crossed her arms. “Because three days ago I was stuck in a locked interspace with a lot of desperate people, and two days ago I woke up in my bed at school, and everyone thought I was crazy. And I’m short again!”

Oh. None of them said anything -- it didn’t seem like Huo Wu was done talking -- but she must have seen something in their expressions. She pointed at Zhu Zhu Qing. “You do know what I’m talking about! I’m not crazy! I time traveled, or something, and I bet you did too.”

Teacher Liu stepped forward. “Why do you think it had something to do with Tang San?”

It seemed like a fair question, but Huo Wu gave her an incredulous look. “You know him, right? You know the other schools talk with each other. If something weird happens, he was probably involved. The more unbelievable it is, the more likely he was part of it.”

She hadn’t thought of that. Shi Lan Ke was non-traditional in more than one way, and they rarely had contact with other schools. It was too small, and its neutrality had left it isolated from the usual network of teachers and students. She’d always been taught that you had to be strong enough to stand alone, but that wasn’t the only thing that mattered.

“Oh, and also because of this.”

Huo Wu held out her palm, and a tiny flame appeared. “I gave the other half to Tang San before we were captured. When I showed up back home, it was still gone. Which means Tang San from the future must be back here in the past too. And you are too?”

“We are,” Teacher Liu confirmed. “We weren’t aware it would impact anyone outside of Shi Lan Ke.” She hesitated, and then added, “I’m sorry.”

Huo Wu shrugged. “It’s not like you could have told me anyway.” She looked uncertain, all of a sudden. “You’re not planning to send everyone back, right?”

“No.”

“Good.” Some of the tension seemed to disappear from her shoulders, and she sighed. “It’s probably my fault, anyway. Because of the soul flame.” She wiggled her fingers, and it disappeared. “I just thought -- I don’t know.”

“You thought you were in a situation well beyond your ability to escape,” Teacher Liu said firmly. “And you were. We all were, and you saw it earlier than most. You made the choice that ensured someone would know. That your disappearance would be noticed, and questioned. It was a good choice.”

Huo Wu let the light disappear completely, and Zhu Zhu Qing nudged her soul power to adjust her eyes for night vision. With her Ghostly Cat martial soul, it was an easy transition, and she grabbed Rong Rong’s hand so she knew where she was.

“I miss them,” Huo Wu said quietly. “My team. We weren’t like you, or anything, but -- I miss them. Even though they’re still here, and it’s me who’s changed.”

Huo Wu was standing alone, and she was strong, but she also looked lonely. Zhu Zhu Qing tried to imagine being back in the past and having no one else remember who she’d become. She shivered, and Rong Rong squeezed her hand.

“Will you stay?” she asked. “For the night, at least. You should rest. We can talk more in the morning.”

“Thank you,” Huo Wu said. “I would be grateful.”

Now that she was looking for it, she could see the signs of exhaustion. She was fighting it herself, and she at least knew what had been happening. Huo Wu hadn’t even had that.

She’d also been farther away, and Zhu Zhu Qing frowned. “I do have one question. Chi Huo is more than two days of travel from here. How did you get here so fast?”

Huo Wu rallied enough to smirk. “Let us keep some secrets, won’t you?”


Chapter 13: Xiao Wu

“I think we should go to Star Forest first.” Tang San gave her a thumbs up, and she beamed at him. Tang San was the best.

Master Yu looked up from his book. “Why Star Forest?”

She held up three fingers and pointed at them one by one. “Little Spot wants to meet Da Ming, and Da Ming wants to meet you. And it’s on the way!”

Master Yu’s book fell to the ground. “Da Ming? As in, the Azure Bull Python, the Soul Beast King of Star Forest? He wants to meet me? Why?”

She didn’t see what was so surprising about it. Da Ming was very scholarly. “He was impressed by your ten principles of Martial Soul,” she said. “He wants to talk to you about them, and your research about mutant souls.”

“The Soul Beast King — wants to talk to me. About my research,” Master Yu said faintly.

She leaned closer to Tang San. “Is that bad? Why is he saying it like that?” she whispered.

Tang San shrugged. “Maybe he’s just surprised?”

“Sharing knowledge is a good thing,” she said. “Da Ming is a teacher too, just like you! It shouldn’t be surprising.” Obviously Da Ming wanted to understand martial soul mutations. She was pretty sure he was going to try to give Master Yu another soul ring too, but she thought maybe that was supposed to be a secret.

“I’m honored,” Master Yu said. “But Star Forest isn’t on the way. If we take the shortest route to Suo Tuo City and Shi Lan Ke, it would be a detour of several days to go to Star Town.”

“Star Town.” She made a face. She hadn’t particularly liked Star Town. “Why would we go there?”

“You said you wanted to go to Star Forest, though.” She didn’t understand how Master Yu could be so smart about some things and not about others.

“Star Forest,” she repeated. “Not Star Town. It’s a big forest; we don’t need to go all the way to Star Town to get to it. And it will be easier to avoid attracting a lot of attention if there’s not so many Soul Masters around.”

“Titan Great Ape,” Tang San said suddenly, and she nodded. “Everyone was surprised to see him so far from the center of the forest, except for you.”

“Er Ming will find me no matter where we enter the forest,” she said. “He worries about all the Soul Beasts who leave. He doesn’t trust the human world.”

She didn’t think it was a strange thing to say, but everyone was quiet for too long afterwards. She wasn’t sure what Master Yu’s expression meant, but Tang San looked sad. “I’d like to apologize to him,” he said finally.

She couldn’t remember ever hearing about someone apologizing to Er Ming before. Maybe a long time ago. He always said things used to be different. “For attacking him?” she asked. “He knew you wouldn’t be able to hurt him. He doesn’t hold it against you.”

Tang San gave her a look like she was missing the point. “For putting you in danger,” he clarified. “He was right; I hurt you. I apologized to you, but I should apologize to him too. He’s your family; he was just trying to protect you.”

She shook her head. Not that she didn’t want him to apologize to Er Ming, because Er Ming would probably like it. But Tang San was wrong. He hadn’t put her in danger.

“I put myself in danger, and I would do it again. When you know you can help someone, you do, right?” Tang San opened his mouth to answer, and she pointed at him. “Xi Si City,” she reminded him. “The Fiend Battle Team. And the Sand Beast.”

She knew she was right, and Tang San did too. He pointed back at her and shook his finger. “Both of those were very scary, and you came with me both times!”

Yes, exactly. “Exactly!” she said. “And you came after me in Star Forest before I came after you.” She moved closer, so they could be shoulder to shoulder, and she could lean against him. “I was scared too, but it was better because you were there.”

“It’s hard to see the people you care about the most in danger. You could have stayed somewhere safe,” he said quietly.

She squeezed his hand. “Could I? Could you? After you knew about Soul Masters, and Soul Beasts, and all of us, could you really go back to staying away from all of it?”

She didn’t have to look to know he was shaking his head, but it was Master Yu who spoke, and she jumped. She hadn’t forgotten he was there, exactly, but he usually pretended he wasn’t listening to them. “No,” he said, quietly enough that she wasn’t sure he even meant them to hear. “I tried that. It didn’t work.”

She snuck a look at Tang San. That was good, right? “Is that good?” she whispered.

He leaned close and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “It’s good.”


Chapter 14: Ye Zhi Qiu

There were plenty of times in his life when Ye Zhi Qiu had told himself ‘this is the worst day of my life.’ The day his friends were turned into living puppets. The day he killed someone for the first time. The day he realized Shi Nian wasn’t even going to be honest about planning to kill him.

Each time, he would tell himself, ‘This is the worst day of my life. Surely there’s no way it could get any worse than this.’ Unfortunately, life kept proving him wrong.

When he woke up in what he now believed -- hoped, desperately hoped -- was the past, he assumed he must have disappointed Shi Nian somehow, and was being punished. It happened sometimes. Forcing people to relive their errors again and again was what Shi Nian considered a learning experience. He had expected to endure the lesson, be awakened by the usual threats, and carry on.

Except that wasn’t right, because Shi Nian was dead. (He’d been willing to let him live. His fellow students had not, and he’d never claimed to be a good person. A fast death was more than he’d planned to offer any of them, anyway.)

Unless Shi Nian wasn’t dead after all, and everything Ye Zhi Qiu thought he remembered happening was a hallucination. Could Shi Nian maintain such a detailed dream for so long? Would he create a hallucination that included his own defeat? Could he do it from a distance? Ye Zhi Qiu had been in the middle of one of Shi Nian’s scouting runs when he woke up; more than two days travel from Cang Hui.

Unless he wasn’t, and he had actually been at Cang Hui the entire time, trapped in a nightmare. In which case it was definitely, unequivocally, the absolute worst day of his life.

Or it was time travel. Which was impossible. And yet.

He was relatively confident that not everyone had been affected, but since time travel was impossible, that meant it was equally plausible that he had unknowingly been included in a time-traveling group, or had somehow been singled out for the experience. Maybe it had nothing to do with Shi Nian at all. Maybe someone’s martial soul had mutated to allow a time travel soul skill.

There were too many impossible options, and too few good ones. First objective: he needed to find someone that he knew better than Shi Nian would. It wasn’t an infallible way to know if he was experiencing actual reality, or just some twisted version of it, but it was better than nothing. Someone he wouldn’t bring trouble to if it turned out Shi Nian was involved. Or, he supposed, someone he wouldn’t mind bringing trouble to.

He’d been headed back towards Cang Hui anyway, for lack of a better option, and it didn’t take long to adjust his course. He walked into the cave far enough so that he triggered at least the first line of defenses, but hopefully not far enough that he’d already been exposed to something deadly. “Hey!” he yelled, already regretting every life choice that had led him to shouting at a Grand Soul Land Master on his home turf. “Come out!”

The Venom Soul Master appeared on the ledge above him. “What?” he said irritably. “Are you here to challenge me? I’m busy! Go away! You lose!”

He threw a handful of what was obviously just toy firecrackers, and they popped and smoked as they floated down around him. “Hmph,” he said. “That usually works.”

“I’m not here to challenge you,” Ye Zhi Qiu told him.

“I don’t care.” The Venom Soul Master turned around and walked away. He called back over his shoulder, “You might as well come in.”

He found himself back in the room he remembered, full of dangerous-looking vials and a distinct lack of safety equipment. There didn’t seem to be any point in easing into things. “Am I being mind-controlled?” he asked.

The startled expression he got was almost enough to make him smile. “What? How would I know?”

“You could tell before. I met you in the future.”

The Venom Soul Master frowned, and waved a hand in front of his face. “You don’t look like a lunatic. But you’re not powerful enough for time travel. Here, drink this.”

He did. The Venom Soul Master spluttered. “What did you do that for?”

“You told me to.”

“You didn’t even ask what it was!”

“If you wanted to kill me, you wouldn’t need to trick me into it,” he pointed out. ”No one would stop you. No one knows I’m here.”

“Kid, you’re a mess.” The Venom Soul Master shook his head. “Stand still.”

He didn’t think he’d been moving. “What was it?” he asked.

“An antidote to the poison in the fireworks,” the Venom Soul Master said absently. “You shouldn’t let people throw things at you, you know.” He was frowning again, and he circled Ye Zhi Qiu slowly.

“You’re not being mind controlled,” he said finally. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but it’s not that. You’ve never been here, but I’ve definitely interacted with your soul power before.” He poked him in the shoulder. “Not a ghost; that’s something.”

The Venom Soul Master was exactly as he remembered: irritating. But honest -- so, the exact opposite of Shi Nian. And if he wasn’t being mind-controlled... “It was time travel. Not initiated by me.”

“Obviously.” The Venom Soul Master shook out his sleeves and sat down. “Well? You must have come here for a reason. Tell me.”


Chapter 15: Ning Rong Rong

“I don’t see how this is a problem.” Zhu Zhu Qing looked at her, and she shook her head. It wasn’t a problem.

Teacher Liu sighed. “It wouldn’t be a problem if Lanba had other teachers, or more political support. As it is, my presence is the only thing that currently qualifies this place as a school. If I leave, then Lanba has no Headmaster and can no longer be a registered Soul Master school.”

Ning Rong Rong waited, but it seemed like that was the entire explanation. “Yes,” she said. “We know that. Yu Tian Heng explained it before, the first time; it was his idea to come here.”

Teacher Liu looked back and forth between them. “Yes? That registration was useful in the previous timeline. We might still need it.”

Huo Wu was watching them go back and forth with rapt attention. “I cannot believe we all thought that Shi Lan Ke school coming out of nowhere was part of some clever plot,” she said. “We thought the Lanba rumors were a cover, and you’d been training in secret so no one would be able to prepare for your style ahead of time.”

She waved a hand to encompass the empty and run-down buildings surrounding them. “But no, that wasn’t it at all. You were really just — like that.”

“Like what? What’s that supposed to mean?” Zhu Zhu Qing asked.

Huo Wu looked at her, and raised her eyebrows. “You know. The missing prince? The princess with the Jiubao Amber Pagoda? The prodigy using Blue-Silver Plant on a battle team? Martial soul fusion? The Golden Iron Triangle as your teachers? It’s like you took a list of the most unlikely things to co-exist all in one team, and then just -- did them all, and acted like it was normal. And it turns out it wasn’t even on purpose!”

Teacher Liu cleared her throat. “Yes, well. If we could get back on topic?”

Since Huo Wu looked like she was about to start asking why they hadn’t known what was normal for a school team, she nodded. “The school registration,” she said. “And you want to be able to give the school to Teacher Yu and the Headmaster as a gift.”

Teacher Liu glared at her, but she didn’t disagree. “I’m not staying behind.”

“You don’t have to. We just need to have a few teachers and students join the school, and then they can stay while you leave. Right?”

Zhu Zhu Qing nodded. “Right.”

“It’s not that simple,” Teacher Liu said. “Where are we going to find teachers and students so quickly?”

Ning Rong Rong sat up straighter, and let her soul power settle around her like a cloak. “The Clans stand together,” she said, no longer speaking student to teacher, but as one member of the Clans to another.

“I’m the princess of Qibao Amber Clan. You’re currently the highest-ranked member of Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan. As allies, you’re within your rights to call upon us for assistance in matters like this.”

Teacher Liu scoffed. “A clan of two? At most? Everyone knows the Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan is no more.”

She raised her eyebrows. “I don’t see how that’s possible,” she said calmly. “Seeing as how it’s both recognized by, and holds an alliance with one of the three elder clans. I have the authority to speak for Qibao Amber Clan. Can you speak for Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan, or not?”

Teacher Liu stared at her, and she looked back without flinching. “Yes,” she said finally. “I can speak for Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan. I accept your offer. I -- thank you.”

She tipped her chin up. “Alliances are important.” She relaxed, and put her fist out, palm down. “So are friends, Teacher Liu. If we can help, we will.”

Zhu Zhu Qing immediately put her hand out as well, and Teacher Liu only hesitated for an instant before she joined the circle. “I suppose you have people in mind already,” she said.

“As an elder clan, of course Qibao Amber Clan has a permanent presence in Tian Duo City,” Ning Rong Rong answered quickly. She didn’t mention the bodyguards who were probably lurking outside the school walls. They wouldn’t be able to solve the problem anyway, since they would leave with her even if she told them not to. Not that it was a problem. A minor inconvenience. “I’ll contact them now.”


Chapter 16: Yu Xiao Gang

If anyone had told him, years ago, that he would one day find himself conversing about martial soul theory with the reclusive king of the Soul Beasts in what was definitely not the heart of Star Forest, he would have -- well, he wasn’t sure what he would have done. Not believed them, certainly. It wouldn’t even have to have been years ago. At no point in his life would the current situation have seemed possible.

But there he was, sitting on the bank of a river with notes spread out around him, and the Azure Bull Python sunning the top of his head on a nearby rock. “Da Ming,” he said, hesitating over the informal address. (He supposed they all looked like children, to such a venerable Soul Beast, and why insist on titles with children?)

“Mm?” His eyes were closed.

Xiao Gang let his curiosity overtake his common sense. “I have a -- less theoretical question.”

“No knowledge is wasted,” Da Ming rumbled.

“When I saw you before, in the other future, you were -- very imposing. Including -- vocally.” One eye opened and focused on him, and he backtracked. “Which isn’t to say you aren’t very intimidating right now! Because you are, I mean, if that’s what you wanted -- it’s very -- you’re very --” He waved his hands, at a loss. He definitely should have kept his mouth shut, and now he was going to die, and Tang San and Xiao Wu would hopefully tell a better story about his death than the truth.

It took him several terrified moments to realize the sound coming from Da Ming was laughter. “Martial Soul Hall believes me to be a monster; so I present myself as a monster. It serves a purpose.”

“A purpose?”

“It amuses me,” Da Ming said easily. “And their fear of my wrath provides some small protection to the others.” His sigh rattled the leaves on the trees all the way across the clearing. “Although from what you and Xu-er have said, not as much as I hoped.”

“What are you going to do about Martial Soul Hall?”

“Do?” Da Ming repeated. “Nothing.”

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but that wasn’t it. “Nothing?”

Da Ming sighed again. “It will pass, as all things do. I’ve seen Martial Soul Hall and its like come and go more than once. It was created from noble intentions, and became something else. The pursuit of power to help others became pursuit of power for personal gain, and from there it is all too easy to move from holding power to help others into holding power over others.”

That seemed like a surprisingly philosophical stance, particularly since Da Ming had seemingly gone along with the Ghost Master’s plan in the last timeline. “That’s very philosophical of you,” he said.

Da Ming blinked. “I dislike taking human form, and Martial Soul Hall knows better than to enter the ocean these days. So I will do nothing to them. Others may choose to act, and that would be their decision entirely.”

He nodded, slowly. He’d prefer to stay well away from it himself; and Da Ming’s wording all but invited him to change the subject. “The way you describe it; it sounds like you can choose human form and then choose again? You can switch back and forth?” That was — not at all the current understanding.

“I can,” Da Ming said. “Some do. Most have a form they prefer. The younger ones tend to be more flexible.”

He had -- so many questions about that. Too many. He was hesitant to press for secrets; he was well aware that the purpose of his visit was to satisfy Da Ming’s curiosity, and not the other way around. “Are you the oldest, then?”

“The oldest?” Da Ming started laughing again, and Xiao Gang had to pull several books out of the splash zone. “Definitely not. One of the oldest who still visits land, perhaps,” he conceded. “What do you know of the Soul Beasts that live in the deep ocean?”

He tried to remember any mention of deep ocean Soul Beasts in any of his research, but he had to shake his head. “Nothing.”

“Mm. And that is exactly the way they want it,” Da Ming said. “Many land-dwelling Soul Beasts choose to experiment with time in human form. The sea-dwellers tend to find it more challenging, and less rewarding.”

“It’s rare for a Soul Master to have a Martial Soul that’s highly compatible with a sea-dwelling Soul Beast,” Xiao Gang said carefully.

“Do you really think that’s a coincidence?” Da Ming asked. “Where do you think martial souls come from? Wouldn’t it be too strange if Soul Beasts and Soul Masters just happened to have complimentary martial souls?”

Da Ming leaned his head closer, so all he could see was one enormous eye. “Yu Xiao Gang. What do you think happens when a Soul Master reaches ten soul rings?

The correct answer was immortality, but he found himself hesitating. “I don’t know,” he said instead.

“Don’t you?” Da Ming asked. “Your principles of Martial Soul all point to the same conclusion.”

It was true. To reach nine soul rings required a complete understanding of your Martial Soul. To reach ten -- “Are you going to tell me if that conclusion is correct?”

Da Ming looked at him. “Ten soul rings requires an acceptance. A transformation. When a human Soul Master receives a tenth soul ring, they become a Soul Beast. Live long enough as a Soul Beast, and they can transform into a human. As a human, they can choose to become a Soul Master. And so the cycle continues.”

The words rang with truth, even as he wished he could deny them. “But -- if people knew --”

It didn’t take much for Da Ming to loom over him. “You think you’re the first one I’ve told? The first one to figure it out on their own?”

He wanted to protest. But hadn’t he seen Soul Masters attack each other as easily as they did Soul Beasts? In Nuoding, in Nightfire Village, in Xi Si City, hadn’t humans suffered at the will of other humans? Would it really change things that much, if everyone knew?

“Soul Beasts and Soul Masters are more alike than most care to admit, on either side,” Da Ming said, more gently than he thought he probably deserved.

His mind was racing, trying to fit each piece of new information into a framework that felt shakier than ever. Finally, he said, “In the future, the Ghost Master said that the number of Soul Beasts has declined dramatically in the last hundred years.”

Da Ming seemed to understand what he was trying to ask. “Soul Beasts can make more Soul Beasts the same way humans do. Soul Master transformation isn’t the only way our numbers grow. But the health of one population mirrors the other.”

“The number of Soul Masters is declining too?” It would have been easy to miss, hiding away in Nuoding School.

“Soul Master numbers are declining faster,” Da Ming corrected. He sighed. “Yu Xiao Gang. Soul Beast numbers aren’t declining because Martial Soul Hall is hunting us. They’re declining because Martial Soul Hall is hunting you.”


Chapter 17: Dai Mu Bai

“Brother Dai, are you going to spend all day moping?”

“I’m not moping.” He wasn’t. He was bored, that was all. The first time around, he’d been focused on training, and getting stronger, so that he could beat his brother. Now he’d done it, and he was still figuring out what came next.

The bad news was that his brother didn’t remember the defeat, so he would definitely show up and challenge him again at some point. The good news was that no one else remembered it either. If word had gotten out of how soundly Dai Wei Shi had lost in the competition match, there would be no way Dai Mu Bai could have gotten out of taking the throne.

Ou Si Ke nodded. “Yes, of course, Brother Dai; if you say so, it must be true. So you’re not missing a certain someone?”

He made a face. So what if he was; he certainly wasn’t going to talk about it. “Why, are you?”

Ou Si Ke looked away. “What? Me? Why would I be missing Rong Rong? She was planning to leave anyway, wasn’t she?”

Ma Hong Jun popped up behind him. “Brother Dai never said anything about Ning Rong Rong. Why did you think he was talking about her?”

“Who’s talking about her? You mentioned her right now! We’re not talking about me anyway; we’re talking about Brother Dai’s moping!”

Ma Hong Jin’s eyes went wide. “Brother Dai is moping because he misses Ning Rong Rong?”

He’d seen them play this game before. To be fair, it did usually work, and it was a good distraction. “Yes,” he said, and then rolled his eyes at their exaggerated expressions of shock. “I miss all of them. We should have planned where we were going to meet.”

Were they wrong that the others would all head to Shi Lan Ke? How long could it take to travel from Xing Luo?

“I don’t get it. Can’t you just ask Zhu Zhu Qing where she is?” Ma Hong Jun said.

“What.”

“With your --” Ma Hong Jun made an incomprehensible hand gesture. “You know.”

He didn’t. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Ma Hong Jun and Ou Si Ke looked at each other. “Well…” Ou Si Ke said slowly. “You and Zhu Zhu Qing, and the --”

“The martial soul fusion!” Ma Hong Jun interrupted.

“Exactly!” Ou Si Ke pointed at him. “Martial soul fusion is --” He clutched his notebook and looked at the sky. “It’s like poetry. Like a song. Like a beautiful play where two characters overcome terrible hardships in order to come together in the last act to achieve victory against the odds!”

About halfway through Ou Si Ke’s monologue, Ma Hong Jun had switched from nodding to looking confused. “Really?” he asked.

“It’s a metaphor,” Ou Si Ke told him, but Ma Hong Jun just looked more confused.

“But you said a metaphor represents something else. Martial soul fusion represents the fusion of their martial souls. That’s already what it is; what is it a metaphor for?”

Dai Mu Bai interrupted before Ou Si Ke could say anything else. “Martial soul fusion doesn’t mean we can read each other’s minds. Even if it did, we’re not doing it now, are we?”

Ma Hong Jun leaned in closer. “But aren’t you still —you know, connected?”

“No,” he said, even as he wondered. Were they?

He leaned back. That was something to think about later. Much later, when he wasn’t in the middle of everyone. He turned to Ma Hong Jun. “What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were training.”

“The Headmaster wants to see everyone.” Ma Hong Jun shrugged. “He said something about an admission test? We don’t have to take a test, right?”

Ou Si Ke perked up. “Is that when we are? That’s good; that’s when we meet new people!”

Ma Hong Jun looked interested. Dai Mu Bai wondered if the Headmaster would make him take the test -- he might enjoy the challenge, especially if his father was watching. “Is this when Tang San and Xiao Wu joined?” he asked.

Dai Mu Bai shook his head. “No, that wasn’t until the next time. The Headmaster moved up the admissions period after this one because this one went so badly.” It had been embarrassing, really -- half the applicants had run off before the test even started, and the ones who stayed had barely put up a fight. One of them tried to bribe Zhao Wu Ji into taking him as a student, which had been amusing to watch, though ultimately unsuccessful.

“Badly?” Ou Si Ke protested. “It didn’t go badly!”

He rolled his eyes. “Not a single student passed.”

Ou Si Ke waved his hand. “That’s normal. The admission test is mostly just for publicity anyway. You know, to build up the school’s reputation. And to make money. Most students find us some other way, like you. And Ma Hong Jun too!”


Chapter 18: Huo Wu

Traveling with Shi Lan Ke was -- an experience. They laughed, they complained, they broke into song; sometimes they threw things at each other? They seemed to accept her presence without reservation, and she felt it settle something in her that had been out of place ever since she woke up in the past.

“Huo Wu, what about your school? Won’t they wonder where you are?”

She reached out without thinking to steady Ning Rong Rong on the rocks -- it had been raining all day; everything was wet, including them. She shook her head. “I told them I was working on my next soul ring. It’s always done alone, and there’s no time limit.”

Zhu Zhu Qing was waiting just ahead of them. “You already have it?” she guessed.

She nodded, then realized they probably couldn’t see it through the rain. “Yes. I had it in the future -- all my soul rings from then were still around when I showed up back here.”

“Ours too,” Zhu Zhu Qing confirmed.

Something about her tone made Huo Wu pause. “Were you -- not sure what would happen? When you did -- whatever it was that you did?”

They both looked at Teacher Liu, who stopped. “What?” She put her hands on her hips. “You were there the whole time; you know as much as I do. Tell her if you want. If I’d been pulled into a time travel spell with no idea why, I’d want to know.”

“We really don’t know a lot,” Ning Rong Rong told her. “It’s like this.” She frowned. “Well.”

Zhu Zhu Qing stepped in, literally and figuratively. She tugged Ning Rong Rong forward, and reached out to pull Huo Wu with them, in the opposite direction from Teacher Liu.

“Tang San thought his mom was dead, but it turned out she wasn’t, and she’s a Grand Soul Land Master, but she was injured somehow, so she couldn’t leave the interspace she created. Bi Bi Dong tried to kill Tang San after the competition was over, but his dad saved him, and all of us except his dad were hiding in his mom’s interspace after we escaped Martial Soul Hall.”

Zhu Zhu Qing took a breath. Oh good, there was more. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or concerned. “His mom was really upset because Tang San was dying,” Zhu Zhu Qing said. “And she was going to send him back in time to save him, and all the rest of us went with him, because -- well, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

That was -- a lot. For every question the explanation answered, it seemed to generate ten more. “Okay,” she said. “I need to think about that for a while. Can we talk about something else now?”

“Of course,” Ning Rong Rong said. She leaned closer and whispered loudly, “Zhu Zhu Qing wants to know where you got your team uniforms, with the long jackets.”

“Rong Rong!” Zhu Zhu Qing hissed, and Ning Rong Rong laughed.

“They have pockets,” Huo Wu said, because that was what they told everyone who asked. “And they’re fireproof, obviously.”

“I wonder if Tang San could make us jackets,” Ning Rong Rong said. “He made our armor. It’s very practical.”

She didn’t make it sound like ‘practical’ was a compliment. “Maybe you could learn to sew,” Zhu Zhu Qing teased. “And you could make them for all of us. I want extra pockets in mine.”

“I’ll show you extra pockets!” They chased each other around the clearing until Ning Rong Rong skidded to a stop behind her, still laughing. “Huo Wu, protect me!”

She held out her hand and let a flame dance around her palm. “Have you thought about decorating the armor?” The flame shrank to a pinpoint and slid down her finger, and she traced a shape in the air. “Fire could do that for you; I’m just saying.”

Zhu Zhu Qing nodded seriously, then took advantage of Ning Rong Rong’s distraction to reach around and tug her braid. She just laughed again, and tucked her arm through Zhu Zhu Qing’s. She used her other hand to reach out towards Huo Wu’s finger. “May I?”

Huo Wu nodded, and Ning Rong Rong poked at her finger carefully. “That’s incredible,” she said. “Do you think you could teach Ma Hong Jun how to do that? He’s very --”

“He’s very good at big things,” Zhu Zhu Qing said, and Ning Rong Rong nodded.

“I can try,” Huo Wu offered. She looked back and forth between them. “You’re very close,” she said. “As a team, I mean. I’m just curious -- how long have you been fighting together?”

Teacher Liu rejoined them just in time to hear the question. “I wondered the same thing -- I didn’t meet everyone until Tian Duo City. I didn’t see them fight as a team until the competition started.” She turned to the others. “Well?”

Zhu Zhu Qing frowned, and looked at Ning Rong Rong. “All of us? Does training count? The forest?”

Ning Rong Rong shook her head. “That wasn’t fighting, though. That was just rocks. The first time must have been in Suo Tuo City.”

“When Dai Wei Shi challenged us,” Zhu Zhu Qing agreed. “That’s right. But how long ago was that?”

It was Ning Rong Rong’s turn to frown, while Huo Wu tried not to let her utter shock show in her expression. Their first team battle had been against Dai Wei Shi? And they lived through it?

Ning Rong Rong held up both hands, like she was counting backwards on her fingers. “Dai Wei Shi, and then Xi Si City, and then the school competition qualifiers in Tian Dou. So that was -- how are we counting the time travel?” she asked.

“Wait,” Huo Wu said. “Are you telling me that before joining the school competition, you had all only fought together twice?”

Ning Rong Rong looked at Zhu Zhu Qing with a puzzled expression. “Yes? Why?”

Well, for one thing, she wanted to know what their training plan was, since apparently it didn’t include the actual thing they were training for. “No reason,” she said. “It’s impressive, though. I’m impressed.”

Ning Rong Rong took her elbow. “You should stay with us! Like an exchange student -- Chi Huo is part of that program, right?”

“We are,” she said, and tried to look like she was having serious thoughts about educational programs. Ning Rong Rong looked like she was about to ask something she wouldn’t want to answer, so she quickly added, “It’s a good idea. Thank you.”


Chapter 19: Tang San

They hurried through the last part of their journey, for no other reason than wanting to see the others more quickly. It felt like he was as young as he looked again -- hurrying to a destination just because he wanted to, not to meet a deadline or face some new challenge.

“Tang San! Look at this!” They’d reached Suo Tuo City at midday, and immediately diverted to the market for a meal. Little Spot had stayed with Master Yu -- Xiao Wu was her favorite, but Luo San Pao was a close second, and she didn’t like crowds.

It was easy to get pulled into Xiao Wu’s enraptured description of the vendor’s carrot soup, and it took him a moment to realize that the person calling their names definitely wasn’t Master Yu.

“Tang San! Xiao Wu!”

He spun around, and a cloaked figure slipped through the crowd around the vendor. They threw back the hood of their cloak, and his eyes went wide. “Du Gu Yan?”

How did she know who he was? Should he pretend he didn’t know who she was? It was probably too late for that. Xiao Wu braced her soup on his elbow and waved. “Du Gu Yan! Over here!”

“It is you!” Du Gu Yan waved back. “I knew you would know what was going on. You know who I am, right?”

He nodded, and Xiao Wu said, “You’re Du Gu Yan. You were very good in the competition. Can we fight? I want to fight with you. It would be so much fun!”

“Finish your soup first,” he reminded her. If Du Gu Yan had time traveled with them, she must have questions.

Du Gu Yan looked a little surprised. “I -- thank you? I’m not supposed to fight outside the arena.”

Xiao Wu pouted. “But it’s fun.”

“What if it was for training?” he suggested. “That would be okay, right?”

Du Gu Yan hesitated. “Just for training?” Xiao Wu nodded enthusiastically, and she said, “That would be fine, then, I guess.” She looked around. “Not here, though, right?”

“We’re on our way to Shi Lan Ke,” Tang San said. “Will you join us?” They could explain what had happened, as much as they knew.

“Yes, thank you. We would have gotten here sooner, but --” She cut herself off. “Well, it took some time to arrange the trip.”

“We?” He looked back at the crowd, and sure enough, Yu Tian Heng was hurrying over. “Did both of you—?”

Du Gu Yan waved her hand. “No, he doesn’t remember. Our teachers said I couldn’t travel alone, and he volunteered.”

Yu Tian Heng looked like he might disagree with the ‘volunteered’ part of the explanation, but he just said, “Please don’t run off. It’s very hard to find you in a crowd like this.”

Du Gu Yan scowled. “I get taller, you know.”

Tang San coughed. She didn’t get that much taller.

“I’m Xiao Wu,” Xiao Wu announced. “This is Tang San. We knew you in the future!”

Yu Tian Heng glanced at Du Gu Yan. “So I’ve heard,” he said. “Your school is near here? And it’s -- reputable?” He sounded skeptical that such a thing could be true.

“We’ll take you to meet our Headmaster,” Tang San assured him. “Shi Lan Ke School is well known around here.”

“That’s right; I know Shi Lan Ke,” the soup vendor called, and there was a general muttering of agreement from the crowd around them. “You’re not planning on bringing any trouble their way, are you?”

One of the other people who’d been in line with Xiao Wu said, “They helped me after the flood that time.”

Another one nodded. “My niece lives in the village. That Headmaster found her cat after it got stuck in a tree!”

Yu Tian Heng stepped forward and said, “We’re only looking to have a conversation,” with all the calming power of someone who clearly spent a lot of time smoothing over political jabs. “The Headmaster has some information to share with us, and these two have offered to accompany us.”

Tang San heard someone in the crowd mutter, “I bet he’s never rescued a cat from a tree,” but it was the soup vendor who caught his attention with a wave.

“Are you from Shi Lan Ke School, then?”

“Ah --” He wasn’t sure how to answer -- he was, obviously, but he didn’t want to take credit for something he hadn’t done. “Not yet,” he said.

The vendor laughed. “Confident! I like it. You must be here for the admission test, then. They’ll be at the Rose Inn, same as always. You should get going, though; they don’t let in late arrivals.”


Chapter 20: Liu Er Long

Had she said she was lonely? Clearly she’d been wrong. Completely wrong. Being a teacher had been much more fun when she didn’t have to be the responsible one.

When they finally reached Suo Tuo City, she sent the children off towards the Rose Inn with a sense of relief, and planned to have a bit of recovery time before she joined them. Any trouble they got into, they could surely get out of on their own. Lan De was always watching the city anyway.

She remembered finding a quiet spot, and then -- nothing. And then waking up in a very expensive looking room, with an argument happening somewhere nearby. She couldn’t see anyone, but their words were clear enough that they had to be close. It was probably a fancy enough place to have multiple rooms, which was inconvenient. Rich kidnappers were certainly a new and alarming development.

“What did you do?” The first voice sounded upset.

“You said she was one of the teachers, and could answer my questions!” That one didn’t sound upset, she thought. Maybe indignant. It was a vaguely familiar voice, but she couldn’t immediately place it.

There was a long pause, and then a sigh. “Please tell me you walked up to her and asked her politely to accompany you.” The ‘like a normal person’ went unsaid, but was somehow strongly implied nonetheless.

“Why would I do that? What if she said no? I would have had to kidnap her off the street!”

“You did kidnap her off the street!”

She cleared her throat. She should probably consider herself lucky that she hadn’t been tied to a chair, or dumped on the floor. “She’s also awake,” she called. “If you’d like to ask your questions now.”

There was a sudden silence, and then the indignant one said, “You see? She’s fine!”

Two people stepped into the room. One of them she recognized. “Senior Du Gu Bo,” she acknowledged, nodding. She frowned at the person behind him. “And acquaintance. I have no idea who you are.”

“And I have no idea who you are. But this kid is Ye Zhi Qiu.” The Venom Soul Master waved a hand in his direction. “You don’t recognize him?”

“We never met,” Ye Zhi Qiu muttered.

Ye Zhi Qiu. She’d heard of him -- Xiao Gang had filled her in on the backstory, and she’d been aware that he was lurking around during the competition. “Ye Zhi Qiu of Cang Hui School?” she asked.

“She does know you!” Du Gu Bo looked delighted. “He claims he’s traveled back in time, and that you know why.”

“I didn’t say that,” Ye Zhi Qiu told her.

“You -- didn’t travel back in time?” she asked. Du Gu Bo threw his hands up in the air, but he didn’t interrupt.

“No, I did.” Ye Zhi Qiu hesitated, then added, “Probably, unless this is all a very complex hallucination, but that possibility does seem less likely the longer it goes on.”

She looked at Du Gu Bo, who shrugged. “He’s got issues.”

“Don’t we all,” she said, and Du Gu Bo laughed.

“See? She agrees with me.” He poked Ye Zhi Qiu in the shoulder, and it seemed to shake him out of wherever he’d gotten lost in his thoughts.

“Time travel,” Liu Er Long prompted. “So you didn’t say I’d know why it happened?”

Ye Zhi Qiu’s expression was grim, but she was getting the feeling that might just be his usual state of being. “It had to do with Tang San, right?” he asked.

She frowned. Wasn’t Ye Zhi Qiu the one who’d poisoned Xiao Wu? Why did he think she would tell him anything? “You could say that.”

He nodded, like he didn’t mind the non-answer. “He was the most likely catalyst. I assume you know where he is?”

Du Gu Bo looked at her expectantly. She still wasn’t sure why he was even involved, since he didn’t seem to have been impacted by the time travel himself. They certainly hadn’t given her any reason to make things easy for them.

“I might have known, if you hadn’t kidnapped me off the street,” she said. “How would I know where he is now?”

“You’re his teacher,” Ye Zhi Qiu said.

She raised her eyebrows. “Does your teacher know where you are right now?”

“He’s dead,” Du Gu Bo said easily. “So, no.”

“Shi Nian is dead?” Finally, some good news. She looked at Ye Zhi Qiu. “Did you kill him?”

He looked conflicted. “No.”

She turned to Du Go Bo, who flapped his sleeves at her. “What are you looking at me for? I didn’t kill him either. He was dead when we got there.”

She sighed. “I think you’d better start explaining from the beginning.”

Before either of them could say anything -- and from their expressions, probably not anything useful anyway -- there was a bark from the hallway. “Ah,” she said. “Too late. Never mind, then.”

The door slammed open. Xiao Gang, Luo San Pao, and -- inexplicably, a Spotted Cat Soul Beast -- had arrived. “Xiao Gang!” she called. “Excellent timing!”

She didn’t need anyone to rescue her, but still -- it was nice to know that someone would put in the effort, if the situation arose. And Du Gu Bo had already knocked her out once.

She stood up, slowly, as Luo San Pao ran to her side, and she liked to think Xiao Gang looked like he wanted to do the same. The cat, she wasn’t sure about, and it appeared to feel the same.

“Are you all right?” Xiao Gang asked.

“I’m fine. You know Senior Du Go Bo and Ye Zhi Qiu already, I believe?”

Xiao Gang hesitated. “I do.”

“There was a misunderstanding,” she said. “Did you know that the time travel impacted certain people outside of the -- expected group?”

Xiao Gang looked away. It was his most obvious tell -- he did know, then, or had guessed, somehow. She wondered how many more people they should expect to come calling. “I -- we were informed it was a possible outcome, yes. Not until we were already back here.”

She frowned at the wording -- informed by who? -- while Xiao Gang looked at Du Gu Bo and Ye Zhi Qiu. “Both of you?” he asked.

“Hmph.” Du Gu Bo folded his hands across his chest. “Not me.”

“Me,” Ye Zhi Qiu confirmed. “And whoever killed Shi Nian.”


Chapter 21: Zhu Zhu Qing

“Are you here for the admission test?” The Rose Inn was just as she remembered it, although the crowd around the entrance was new. She must have arrived earlier in the registration period this time.

“Mm,” she said. “Are you?”

“We all are,” the student said excitedly. “Shi Lan Ke School only accepts students once a year, you know!”

She let them draw her into their chatter, and took a place in line. It moved quickly, and it was helpful to catch up on the current topics of gossip. They needed to be able to blend in. She wondered if Ou Si Ke had a notebook dedicated to it yet.

When she walked in the front door, the sense of familiarity only increased. Dai Mu Bai was even in the same place he’d been before, loitering around the desk and pretending to read.

Ou Si Ke noticed her immediately, and looked back and forth between them. She raised her eyebrows. She wasn’t going to give the game away if he wasn’t, and he nodded his understanding.

She walked up to the Headmaster and put her hands on the desk.

“Are you here to register for the admission test?” he asked mildly. “Fifty gold Soul Coins.”

“Is Dai Mu Bai here?” she asked.

“Looking for me?” Dai Mu Bai put the book down, and took a step closer.

She could feel a smile creeping up on her. “I want to fight with you.”

He didn’t bother to hide anything, and the smile lit up his expression. “Sure.”

Ou Si Ke jumped between them. “Ah, not here, not here! No fighting inside!”

“Ou Si Ke,” the Headmaster said. “Take them to the courtyard.” He shook his finger at her. “No fighting in the courtyard either.”

She heard the person in line behind her start arguing as Ou Si Ke ushered them through the back entrance. “Are the others here yet?” she asked.

“Ma Hong Jun is with us,” Dai Mu Bai said. “And his father.”

She would definitely be asking for that story later. “Rong Rong and I came with Teacher Liu and Huo Wu. We were planning to go straight to the school, but once we heard it was the admissions test registration period, we came here instead.”

“Rong Rong is here?” Ou Si Ke looked around like Ning Rong Rong might have snuck in without him noticing somehow.

“She’s shopping with Huo Wu,” she explained. “They’ll be here later.”

“Why is Huo Wu with you at all?” Dai Mu Bai asked, which was a much easier question to answer than ‘why didn’t you go with them?’

“She time traveled too. She came to Lanba; she wants to talk to us.”

Ou Si Ke frowned. “But why were you at --”

Dai Mu Bai cut him off. “Don’t you have things to do? Inside?”

“Oh!” Ou Si Ke brightened. “I do, yes, I need to go!” He hurried off, and then rushed back. He pointed back and forth between them. “No fighting! No -- whatever else, either!”

“What does he think we’re going to do?” she asked, staring after him.

“Nothing!” Dai Mu Bai said quickly. “I’m sure it’s nothing.” She looked at him and he looked away. “I’ll -- show you to your room. It’s this way.”

They were gathering an audience, so she followed him without pushing for more information. He led her past the bare rooms where she’d stayed before, deeper into the hotel. “All the students taking the admission test have to be in the rooms around the courtyard,” he explained. “But you can stay anywhere.”

He pushed open the door to a room that was clearly already being occupied. “This is my room,” he said. “Not that -- I mean, obviously you wouldn’t --”

“It’s nice,” she said. And it was. They were bad at talking to each other, but they were good at existing in each others’ space. “Do you need to go back?”

“No. No, they don’t need me. I was just --” He swallowed. “I was waiting for you.”

“Oh.” She snuck a look at him, but he was staring determinedly at the wall. “I could have gone with the others, today. But I wanted to see you sooner.”

“Oh,” Da Mu Bai said. “That’s -- I’m glad. I wanted to see you too.”

“I’m glad,” she echoed.

It was quiet enough so she could hear them both breathing. There was a bird, somewhere. The rustle of leaves. She thought she should say something, but she found herself drifting instead. She’d been on the move in one way or another since they got back; she hadn’t realized how good it would feel to just stop.

“You had a safe journey?” Dai Mu Bai asked suddenly, and she startled. “Sorry,” he said.

She shook her head. “It’s fine. We had Teacher Liu with us, but we didn’t run into any trouble. I’m just tired.”

She blinked, and Dai Mu Bai was suddenly hovering next to her. “You should rest,” he said, and she nodded. It was hitting her all at once.

She decided she would blame the exhaustion for what she said next. “Can I stay here?”

She wondered what he was going to blame for saying, “Of course,” and leading her to a bed that looked far more comfortable than anything they’d managed on the road. “Do you want me to--”

She grabbed his wrist. “Stay.”


Chapter 22: Fei Lan De

He had organized an admission test for Shi Lan Ke countless times. Sometimes it was to attract students. Sometimes it was to raise funds. Sometimes it was because his son said he loved acting more than being a Soul Master, and it was something Lan De could do, to show him that it didn’t have to be one or the other.

And it was fun, of course. That was definitely part of it.

He was sure that in all of those countless times, there had never been an admission test quite like this one. (He hadn’t decided yet if he didn’t want there to ever be one like it again.)

“Headmaster!”

Tang San and Xiao Wu arrived together. Even though he’d been keeping an eye on them when he could, it was still a relief to see Tang San whole and healthy. He tossed any pretense of dignity aside and held out his arms. Xiao Wu threw herself into the hug with the same enthusiasm she seemed to have for everything, and Tang San wasn’t far behind.

“It’s good to see you,” he said. “No trouble getting here?”

He didn’t miss the look they exchanged, or the way they hesitated. “Not exactly,” Tang San said.

“We met friends!” Xiao Wu added, and she didn’t seem to be talking about the two who’d stepped through the door behind them. He made a mental note to talk to them later. He thought he should be keeping a list of all the conversations he was supposed to be having at some point. Whose idea had it been for them all to split up? Very inconvenient.

“Are you the Headmaster?”

He grinned. Yu Tian Heng looked even younger than he remembered -- because he was, of course, but also because his expression at the moment was closer to ‘cranky child’ than ‘battle team captain.’ He stepped forward and waved them in. “I am! Welcome, welcome, come in. You must be tired from your journey.”

He nodded at each of them. “Du Gu Yan. Yu Tian Heng.”

He heard voices echoing from outside. “Did he say Du Gu Yan?”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going inside! It’s an inn, isn’t it? The sign says it’s an inn.”

He was pleased to see Xiao Gang and Liu Er Long step inside. Xiao Gang had gotten a cat; good for him. He was less pleased to see Ye Zhi Qiu and Du Gu Bo with them. The room wasn’t truly designed to hold so many people, and there was some awkward shuffling as everyone tried to find space to look at each other.

Du Gu Bo immediately focused on his granddaughter. “Yan Yan? What are you doing here?”

“Grandfather!” Du Gu Yan looked like she couldn’t decide between being surprised and appalled. “What are you doing here?”

“I asked you first,” Du Gu Bo retorted. “You’re supposed to be in school!”

Du Gu Yan stomped her foot. “Are you following me? You promised you wouldn’t do that anymore!”

He scoffed. “Of course I’m not following you.” He waved a hand at Ye Zhi Qiu. “I’m following him.”

Du Gu Yan stared at Ye Zhi Qiu, like she knew she should recognize him but couldn’t figure it out without the right context. “Who are you?”

He saw the disaster approaching just as Ye Zhi Qiu opened his mouth to speak. Ye Zhi Qiu, who had supplied a deadly poison to Tang San and aimed him at Du Gu Yan. Whether he’d already confessed to Du Gu Bo or not, Lan De would prefer not to find out at the cost of his inn’s structural integrity.

He clapped his hands together loudly enough to make Er Long glare at him. “What a coincidence!” he said. “All of us here together.”

He tried not to let his smile slip when there was yet another commotion at the entrance. It was a small relief that it was Ning Rong Rong, though concerning that her first words were, “Headmaster! We have to rescue -- oh, you’re all here already.”

More alarming was the gasp that came from behind her. “Yan Yan?”

Du Gu Yan blushed, and then went pale. “Huo Wu? How do you — are you —?”

“Next winter,” Huo Wu said hesitantly. “Tian Duo and Chi Huo Schools agree —“

“To a student information exchange,” Du Gu Yan finished.

“You too?” Huo Wu looked delighted.

“Me too,” Du Gu Yan confirmed. They were standing very close together. “This is -- I was so worried we wouldn’t meet this time.”

“We would have found a way,” Huo Wu told her. “Trust us enough for that, at least.”

Du Gu Bo was looking back and forth with enormous suspicion. Yu Tian Heng, who was apparently more familiar with what Du Gu Yan’s flirting looked like, was hiding his head in his hands.

“Ah, young love.” Er Long’s voice came from right behind him, and he jumped. No one should be able to sneak up on him, and yet she consistently did just that. “They’re cute together. I thought there was something Huo Wuo wasn’t telling us.”

“They won’t have an easy time,” he said. The Tian Duo and Xing Luo empires weren’t exactly enemies, but they weren’t exactly allies either.

There was a long silence from Er Long -- he could feel her watching him, and had to resist the urge to pull Xiao Gang between them to distract her. (He considered it, but Xiao Gang was too far away.)

“If ease was the only consideration in determining the people we care most about, the world would be a very different place,” she said finally. “Besides,” she added brightly. “They have us!”


Chapter 23: Ma Hong Jun

“Is this what your test was like?” It didn’t seem like a test at all. They’d built a fire in the center of the courtyard, and it looked more like a party. There was food, and several beverages his dad kept trying to steer him away from. All of the reunited Shi Lan Ke students and teachers were gathered around in a loose circle, along with the various extra people that seemed to keep showing up. .

“Not at all,” Zhu Zhu Qing told him.

“Definitely not,” Tang San agreed. “They didn’t tell you about it already?”

He shook his head. “Everyone said I should wait and see for myself.”

“We’ll have to tell you later -- I think the Headmaster changed the plan because all of us are here.”

The students who’d come for the admission test were slowly trickling out of their rooms, drawn by the noise. They lurked around the edges of the courtyard in nervous clusters. Finally, one of them called out, “Is this the test?”

“Yes!” the Headmaster called back. “It is.”

“What do we have to do?”

“You have to choose.” The Headmaster waved a hand towards Zhao Wu Ji, who stood up and glared indiscriminately at anyone who would meet his eyes. “Zhao Wu Ji,” he said.

“Or Xiao Wu.” Xiao Wu jumped to her feet and clapped.

“To —fight?” one of the students asked, and Zhao Wu Ji bared his teeth.

The Headmaster rolled his eyes. “Yes, to fight; it’s a test, isn’t it? They want to fight; you want to join the school. Everybody wins. Unless you lose, and then just they win.”

A student further in the shadows called out, “Are you going to clear the courtyard?”

“Why? You think life is always going to present your fights within the boundaries of an arena? Zhao Wu Ji, do you need the courtyard cleared?”

Xiao Wu Ji gave a slow head shake that Ma Hong Jun could admit was actually terrifying. “Xiao Wu?” the Headmaster asked.

“I’m good!” She gave a thumbs up, and the Headmaster nodded.

“See? Not a problem.”

Tang San stood up while the applying students were still muttering amongst themselves. “Do you think they’ll pick me?” Xiao Wu asked him.

“Yes.” Tang San tapped her nose. “Have fun,” he said. “Try not to hurt anyone too badly.”

Xiao Wu bounced on her toes. “Got it!”

Dai Mu Bai cleared his throat. “Tang San,” he said.

“Unless they try to hurt you first,” Tang San corrected himself, and Dai Mu Bai nodded.

Ma Hong Jun looked at his dad to check his reaction. He knew his dad had seen a lot of what happened, but he hadn’t seen everything. He hadn’t felt everything. He might not know that there were just some things you could depend on -- the Headmaster never got lost, Brother San carried snacks, and Xiao Wu would win in a fight.

Sure enough, his dad looked concerned. “Is that safe? Is she going to be all right?”

Tang San nodded, of course. “I trust Xiao Wu.”

“I doubt she’s the one you should be worried about,” Ye Zhi Qiu said. Somehow he managed to give the impression of appearing out of nowhere, even though he’d been sitting nearby the entire time.

Tang San tensed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ye Zhi Qiu looked confused. “It means -- I pay attention?” Ma Hong Jun thought that probably meant ‘I have spies who tell me things,’ but maybe Ye Zhi Qiu was turning over a new leaf. Metaphorically. “Xiao Wu is a talented Soul Master. Remember, I saw her fight when you were at Cang Hui.”

Ou Si Ke, who had been writing frantically in his notebook, looked up suddenly. “Wait, why were you at Cang Hui? When were you at Cang Hui?”

“We snuck out to see Ye Zhi Qiu,” Xiao Wu said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “The fighting was just for fun. I didn’t even start it!”

The last part seemed to be directed at Teacher Yu, who was showing his ‘I’m not mad, just disappointed’ expression. “Just for fun?” he asked.

Xiao Wu nodded enthusiastically, and Ye Zhi Qiu shrugged. “Xiao Wu had fun. No one died. It was -- educational.”

Ou Si Ke raised his hand. “Go back to the sneaking out. When was this? Where were all the rest of us?”

Tang San looked guilty, and Ou Si Ke sighed. “Brother San, we’re going to work on that this time around. There is a reasonable number of secrets for one person to have, and once you go over that, you have to share them or give them to someone else.”

“You can give them to me!” Xiao Wu said. Ning Rong Rong coughed, very pointedly. “Not me?” Xiao Wu asked.

“You might be at your quota too,” Ning Rong Rong told her, and Xiao Wu nodded.

“Oh look,” Zhu Zhu Qing said mildly. “They’ve picked you. Let’s talk about secrets later, hm?”


Chapter 24: Ning Rong Rong

“What are we going to do next?”

Ou Si Ke sprawled out on the floor and groaned. “Do we have to start planning already? We just got back!”

“It’s almost nighttime,” she said, nudging Ou Si Ke with her foot. “We got back this morning.”

“And we were given the whole day off! So it’s still resting time, not planning time!”

She leaned to the side so that Ou Si Ke would have a clear view of her rolling her eyes. “That was just so the teachers could have a day to themselves before they had to deal with everything.”

It certainly hadn’t been a restful day for anyone else -- they’d spent the whole time running around preparing rooms for the new guests and fulfilling a seemingly endless number of requests for the Venom Soul Master. Everyone had been quick to disperse when he finally seemed satisfied, like being out of sight might keep people from asking them to do anything else.

Ou Si Ke covered his face with his hands. “Please don’t remind me.”

She frowned. “You don’t approve?”

“Of course I approve!” Ou Si Ke’s didn’t bother taking his hands away; he just increased the volume. “The childhood friendship! The tragic separation! The surprise reunion! It’s the most amazing love story I’ve ever seen, and I can’t think about it at all because one of them is my dad and I don’t want to know.”

That was fair. “Think about time travel instead,” she suggested. “Do you think anyone else came back with us?”

“We already have Senior Ma, Huo Wu, Du Gu Yan, and Ye Zhi Qiu, and maybe Tang San’s dad. That’s five more people than we expected -- how many more could there be? Where would we put them?” He looked up at her. “Why, do you think anyone else came back with us?”

She bit her lip. “I wondered -- what about Hu Lie Na?”

Ou Si Ke hesitated, and then shook his head. “I don’t know.”

She didn’t either. It was too confusing -- what was the connection between the people who’d come back? Was it just a coincidence? Did Tang San’s mom pick and choose? If Hu Lie Na had traveled back in time, was she all right?

“Wait!” Ou Si Ke clutched his notebook to his chest and closed his eyes. He was obviously preparing for a dramatic scene. “I’ve got it! Tang San’s mother knew she couldn’t go with us, but she wanted desperately to protect her only child. So she made sure he wouldn’t be alone, and the people who traveled back with us have all sworn a secret oath of loyalty to Tang San!”

She thought about it. Most of Ou Si Ke’s theories were wild guesses dressed up with enthusiastic flair, but occasionally he figured something out that none of the rest of them had noticed. “No way,” she said finally. “That’s not it.”

Ou Si Ke’s eyes flew open. “Why not? It could be!”

“But it doesn’t make sense! Ma Hong Jun’s father never even met Tang San; how could he have sworn a secret oath of loyalty to him?” Who even swore secret oaths of loyalty any more?

Ou Si Ke waved his notebook. “He’s obviously a special case. He was part of Ma Hong Jun’s martial soul; of course he came back with him.”

“And Huo Wu?”

“Also a special case! Because of the --” He wiggled his fingers. “The soul flame. Do you think she got that back yet? I wonder if she would let me see it. I was thinking there might be a way to imitate it.” He spread his hands wide. “Imagine! A dark stage, the audience silent with anticipation, and then -- woosh!”

She tilted her head to the side and stared. “Woosh?”

“Woosh! A single flame illuminates the scene! Is it mysterious? Is it heart-wrenching? It could go either way!”

“Maybe it’s a comedy,” she said. She nudged him with her foot again, and Ou Si Ke put his hands over his heart.

“Ah! Have some respect for the craft!”

“Have some respect for yourself,” she told him. “Stop lying on the floor. Besides, it will be easier to write if you’re sitting at the table.”

Ou Si Ke didn’t get up, but he did point at her. “Du Gu Yan!” he exclaimed. “Tang San and Xiao Wu saved her life when she was poisoned. That’s a life debt.”

She wasn’t sure that counted, since Tang San had been involved in putting her life at risk in the first place, but life debts could be complicated. She shook her head anyway. “A life debt is not the same as a secret oath of loyalty. Besides, what about Ye Zhi Qiu? Does he really seem like a person who would swear an oath of loyalty to Tang San?” To anyone, really, but Tang San seemed to have forgiven him, so maybe he had hidden depths.

The question seemed to stump Ou Si Ke, or he might have gotten distracted by some new idea that had just popped into his head. Finally he said, “Maybe he has a life debt too?”

“Maybe your theory needs some work.”

“Maybe we could discuss it over dinner?”

She laughed. Ou Si Ke seemed -- not calmer, since the time travel, but more relaxed. More confident, maybe, that the people he’d chosen as family had chosen him in return. “Only if you get up off the floor and come sit with me at the table.”


Chapter 25: Yu Xiao Gang

“I can see why you weren’t intimidated by the repairs at Lanba,” Er Long said. “Did you build this whole village yourself?”

He was reading, he reminded himself. Reading and not being involved in their conversation. Definitely not involved or paying attention to the way Luo San Pao was curled up on the bench next to Er Long with his head in her lap.

Lan De rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, you know how it goes. First it’s one person with a leaking roof, and before you know it --” He waved his hand at the surrounding village.

Er Long looked intrigued. Probably. He wouldn’t know, because he was reading. “I really don’t,” she said.

“Xiao Gang!” Lan De said, taking the book right out of his hand. “I have a much more interesting question. Xiao Gang, where’s your cat?”

He looked up. “My cat?”

“When you were at the Rose Inn, you walked in with a cat. Small, gray? Looked like a good mouser?”

“Ah.” That cat.

He accidentally met Er Long’s gaze, and she raised her eyebrows. “Yes, Xiao Gang, where is your cat?”

He had no idea where the cat was. With Xiao Wu, presumably, or off hunting in the forest for things significantly larger than mice. “Little Spot is not my cat,” he said. Luo San Pao perked up his ears and looked around at the name.

“You named your cat ‘Little Spot’?” Lan De sounded delighted, and possibly like he was going to tease him about the name forever.

“Xiao Wu chose the name,” he said.

“It’s Xiao Wu’s cat?” Lan De asked.

“Not exactly.”

Er Long made a face. “What’s the point of dragging it out? Your ‘Little Spot’ wasn’t very little at all when we met. You’re traveling around with a Soul Beast now?”

Luo San Pao growled, and Er Long looked surprised. He didn’t know why; Luo San Pao was closer to a Soul Beast than a Martial Soul most days. Of course he would take offense. And unless they were all going to pretend they didn’t know about Xiao Wu, the question had hardly been worth asking.

“Several, yes,” he said.

It was his turn to be surprised when Er Long rounded Lan De. “You owe me five gold soul coins!”

“You two had a bet about me?”

Lan De hurried to prevaricate. “What, no, of course not, why would we—“

“It was two bets,” Er Long interrupted gleefully. “Two gold soul coins that you would do something unprecedented on your way here, and two that you would talk around it instead of admitting it.”

“That’s only four. What about the fifth coin?”

Er Long raised her eyebrows again. “That bet wasn’t about you. Are you sure you want to know?”

He sighed, but he also thought about it. “Why did you think I would do something unprecedented?” he asked, stalling for time.

“You spent more than ten years pretending to be invisible in Nuoding. But you were always the least orthodox of all of us; always the one with the most questions. All that energy had to go somewhere, once you took the first step.” Er Long patted Luo San Pao’s head, which was extremely distracting. “I’d bet a lot more than just two gold soul coins on that.”

He looked at Lan De, who shrugged. “She’s right. I just thought you’d take a break after Tang San and Xiao Wu.”

He winced. “About that.”

His expression must have been alarming, because Lan De immediately abandoned the tea set and sat next to him. “Xiao Gang! Did something happen on your way here?”

Er Long quickly slid next to him on the other side. “Is it about Tang San and Xiao Wu? Are you worried about her honor?” She frowned, and then added, “Are you worried about his honor?”

“What?” He shook his head. “No, of course not.” He struggled to find the right words. He thought he had gotten too reliant on not explaining himself, but he couldn’t tell whether it was because he expected them to already know, or because he was scared of what they might say when they found out.

“We went to Star Forest on our way here,” he said finally. “And met Titan Great Ape and Azure Bull Python.” He wasn’t entirely sure what Tang San and Xiao Wu had been up to while he’d been talking with Da Ming, but he had his suspicions. “So they’ve both, ah -- met the parents? So to speak? I don’t think we need to worry about anyone’s honor at this point.”

Lan De sounded even more delighted when he said, “Are they married now? Did they adopt the cat together? I’m not going to be able to keep them out of each others’ rooms at all after this, am I?”

Er Long reached behind him to poke Lan De. “Can we please gossip about the students later, and finish gossiping about Xiao Gang first?” She let her hand drop on his shoulder. “You met the Soul Beast Kings, and we’re only hearing about it now?”

“There’s been a lot going on!” he protested. “We’ve been busy!” He pointed his finger at her. “You got kidnapped by the Venom Soul Master and didn’t tell anyone!”

He felt Lan De jump. “What? When?”

“I was fine,” Er Long said, and then she leaned in and said, “But I appreciate you coming to my rescue anyway. It was very impressive. Tell us more about the Soul Beast Kings.”

He wasn’t sure where to start, so he just said the first things that came to mind. “They’re old,” he said finally. “Much, much older than I thought. Than anyone thought. The Azure Bull Python thinks time travel is funny, and that poetry is only as meaningful as the emotional connection the reader makes to the poem.”

He took a deep breath. “We’re going to need to re-write the entire Soul Master curriculum.”

Lan De frowned. “Haven’t you already done that?”

He had. “We need to do it again.”

“All right.”

The easy agreement startled him out of his thoughts. “What?”

But Lan De and Er Long were both nodding. “Lanba School has more space,” Lan De said.

“But you can’t leave the villagers here without any support,” Er Long countered. “And Lanba is too close to the capitol.”

“Keep them both as branch locations; build somewhere new for the main school?”

“That could work. Not Nuoding, though.”

“Definitely not. Fei Ren? Xi Si City, maybe?”

He held up his hands. He had no idea what was happening. “Slow down. What are you talking about?”

Lan De and Er Long exchanged a look. “Xiao Gang,” Lan De said gently. “A school led by the three of us, not beholden to any political power? One that’s open to any student that wants to learn, that will expand the understanding of Martial Soul in Douluo Continent? What do you think we’ve been trying to do all these years?”

“We were just waiting for you,” Er Long added.


Chapter 26: Tang San

He’d expected the Haunted Vine to stay in Star Forest. (He’d expected Little Spot to stay in Star Forest, and he’d been wrong about that too.) But he had been very thoroughly reminded that he wasn’t in charge of anyone’s decisions except his own, and the Haunted Vine wanted to keep traveling with him, and so it did. Mostly disguised as part of his pack, but it tended to ramble.

“You worry a lot,” Xiao Wu told him. She poked his forehead, and he crossed his eyes to make her giggle. “It makes you thoughtful. But you don’t need to worry about this.”

“I know,” he said, because he did. “But knowing isn’t the same as doing.”

“Or not doing?” Xiao Wu asked, and he nodded.

They made an odd-looking group, tucked away in a clearing not too far from the school. Little Spot and the Haunted Vine were playing some sort of hide-and-seek game, chasing each other in and out of the treeline. He and Xiao Wu were sitting close to the fire -- he was the only one who couldn’t see well in the dark, but the Haunted Vine liked the light, and Little Spot was developing a fondness for cooked food.

“It doesn’t want to stay here either.”

Xiao Wu leaned against his shoulder. “I think it wants to see Lanba. Remember the story about the magical forest? Even though the trees are gone, the land remembers. There might be something to find there.”

“Do you think we should go there next?”

She shrugged. “No rush. We’ll get there eventually.”

He nodded, and they sat in silence for a while, both lost in their thoughts. He forgot, sometimes, that her timescale wasn’t exactly the same as his.

Finally, he leaned forward. “Xiao Wu.”

“Mm?”

He kept his eyes on the fire. “Before -- when we all said what we wanted to do after the competition was over, I said I wanted to find my dad. I’m not sure I want to do that anymore.”

“Okay.” She snuck her hand next to his, and laced their fingers together. “Do you want to talk about it? Qing-jie says talking is important.”

He squeezed her hand. “Qing-jie has good advice. I want to see him, but the things he said before -- that’s not what I want for the future. And I think --” He could have stayed, he thought. They could have talked, they could have been a family again. Except they couldn’t, because his dad thought Xiao Wu should sacrifice her life to make him stronger, and his mom had locked him out of her interspace.

“I think he’s made his own choices,” he said finally. There was no reason to chase after someone who was going to leave again as soon as you caught up, especially if what he was really chasing was the past. “And I should make mine.”

Xiao Wu didn’t act like it was a shocking statement, or like she thought he was making the wrong decision, or being a bad son. She just squeezed his hand back and said, “What do you want to do instead?”

It felt like a weight had been lifted off his heart. “I’d like to get to know my mom, if that’s what she wants too. And I was thinking about what you said — traveling around meeting new people, and learning more about Martial Soul. And I want to know what you want to do now.”

“San-ge!” Xiao Wu threw her arms around him. “I’ll be doing what you’re doing -- I want to stay with you.”

“I want to stay with you too,” he said, because it was true. Xiao Wu had chosen him, and he had chosen Xiao Wu.

“But it’s nice, being with everyone else too,” Xiao Wu said. “Don’t you think?”

He nodded. “It is.” Every time he had thought he needed to act alone, he’d found himself surrounded by friends who asked him to let them help, and every time they’d been right.

“And we’re still the Shi Lan Ke Seven Devils forever, no matter what.”

He nodded again. “We are.”

“And I think, if I want to learn about all different kinds of people, it would make sense to start with the people here, right?”

“That seems very reasonable.”

“Good. That’s settled, then.”

Little Spot raced out of the trees and leapt into Xiao Wu’s lap, immediately closing her eyes and pretending to be asleep. The Haunted Vine dropped onto Tang San’s shoulders right afterwards, coiling around his arm and reaching out a tendril to poke the cat. Little Spot pretended to snore, and the Haunted Vine pulsed with what had to be laughter.

After some consideration, the vine settled for looping around Xiao Wu’s wrist instead, and she patted its leaves gently. “San-ge,” she said. “I have one more question.”

Tang San tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Is it about me braiding your hair tonight?” he teased.

Xiao Wu quickly held up two fingers. “I have two more questions!”

He laughed. “You can have as many questions as you can think of.” He would answer every question in the world, and if he didn’t know the answers, they could look for them together.

“First, do you think they’ll mind if we don’t go back tonight?”

He shook his head. “I think you can do whatever you want after your victories last night. You should get a prize, right?”

“That’s right!” She beamed. “I want my prize to be staying up with you!”

He smiled back. “Me too. Xiao Wu, what’s your second question?” He thought he could guess, but the asking was as much a part of the ritual as the braiding itself.

She turned so that she was at an angle to him, and then looked back over her shoulder to catch his eye. “Will you braid my hair?”


Chapter 27: Dai Mu Bai

“Won’t your roommates notice if you don’t go back tonight?”

There were multiple answers he could offer. The Headmaster had told them they’d graduated, before the time travel, so the student rules didn’t really apply. The ones regarding curfew had always been open to creative interpretation anyway, and ignored entirely after Xiao Wu arrived. Also, he doubted anyone else was in their rooms either, so who would even know?

But Huo Wu was new, and he couldn’t tell if she was asking out of curiosity, or because she was concerned they might get in trouble. He shrugged, and looked at Zhu Zhu Qing. She knew Huo Wu better.

Zhu Zhu Qing waved her hand. “No one else is there either,” she said. “It’s fine.”

Huo Wu’s eyes widened. “Really? No one?”

“Maybe Ou Si Ke,” he offered. “He likes sleeping. Why?”

“I just --” She looked back and forth between them. “You really don’t know how the other schools talked about you, do you? Shi Lan Ke, the school that came out of nowhere? I guess I thought you would be more --”

She trailed off, and Zhu Zhu Qing said, “More rule-abiding?” Like it was the least likely possibility she could imagine, and he tried to hide his smile.

“More dedicated to your training, maybe,” Huo Wu said.

“We had the day off,” Zhu Zhu Qing told her, which was true.

He added, “The last time we dedicated ourselves to our training, we accidentally contributed to destabilizing the balance of power across the entire continent and starting a war,” which was also true.

“That’s — fair,” Huo Wu said.

“You wanted to talk to us?” he prompted.

Her expression turned serious. “Yes. It’s about Xing Luo, and your brother.” She looked at Zhu Zhu Qing. “Is Zhu Zhu Yun your sister?” Zhu Zhu Qing nodded. “And your sister, too, then.”

“And you want to tell just us?”

“I want to tell you first,” Huo Wu corrected. “If you want to tell the others after, or have me tell them, that’s fine.”

“We never mean to tell them,” he said. “Somehow they all just find out.”

“I think it’s because we all argue so loudly,” Zhu Zhu Qing said.

“And Ma Hong Jun talks in his sleep.”

Huo Wu nodded. “So you do sleep sometimes.”

“We could be sleeping now,” he pointed out, and Huo Wu sighed.

“Right. Well, you know that all the teams that lost were captured by the Ghost Master, right? We were trapped in an interspace -- at first it was okay; we were getting food and water at what seemed like regular intervals. Everyone stayed with their schools, mostly.” She wasn’t looking at either of them.

“The first few schools said they had gotten more information. They told everyone we were supposed to be released at the end of the competition, and we believed them. There were a lot of us, though, in a small space. It was tense. And then the food stopped coming.”

Zhu Zhu Qing sucked in a breath. His mind darted between trying to figure out how long they would have been trapped without food, and trying to figure out what Huo Wu was going to say about his brother. Had he died?

“Some people had kept food from before,” Huo Wu said. “There was arguing. None of us knew what to do, or if there was any way we would get out.”

Zhu Zhu Qing moved next to her, and ran a hand up and down her back, like he’d seen her do with Ma Hong Jun in Nightfire Village. “You’re here now,” she murmured. “It’s not going to happen again.”

Huo Wu nodded. “I know. That’s not why I’m telling you.” She took a deep breath. “I’m telling you because it could have gotten worse, and it didn’t. Dai Wei Shi took charge of everyone -- Dai Wei Shi and Zhu Zhu Yun. All the schools; it didn’t matter where they were from. He got everyone to pool their resources, got people working on escape plans.”

He thought he’d been prepared for anything, but he hadn’t been prepared for that. “What?” he said.

“I don’t know that it would have worked; the time travel pulled me out around then. But I know they took a lot of desperate, frightened people and kept them working towards solutions instead of fighting with each other.”

Huo Wu turned and met his eyes for the first time since she’d started talking. “I know he’s been a bad first prince, but when it came down to saving himself, or saving all of us, he picked all of us.” She ducked her head; it wasn’t exactly a bow, but it wasn’t exactly not a bow either. “I wouldn’t presume to know your goals regarding the succession of Xing Luo, but Dai Wei Shi and Zhu Zhu Yun did their best for us, and I wanted you to know.”

“Thank you,” he said automatically, and then her words started to sink in. “Huo Wu,” he said, more seriously. “Thank you, truly.”

He wasn’t sure of his own goals himself, so he couldn’t reassure her one way or another, but the information was more than he could have hoped for. He wanted what was best for Xing Luo, and if he could give them that without taking the throne himself, he would happily leave it to his brother.

Huo Wu hesitated, and then said, “Do you think there’s any chance they time traveled too?”

He looked at Zhu Zhu Qing. “Not my sister,” she said. “I was with her when I arrived back; she wasn’t affected. I didn’t hear anything about Dai Wei Shi before I left, but that’s not unusual.”

They both looked at him. “I’ve been here. We don’t --” He hadn’t spoken to his brother in years at this point in time. He shrugged. “He’ll show up at some point, one way or another.”


Chapter 28: Du Gu Yan

Didn’t anyone ever sleep at this school? At Tian Dou’s Imperial City School, she had only needed to avoid the patrols when she snuck out at night. At Shi Lan Ke it seemed like they didn’t bother with patrols, because everyone was out anyway.

She had already successfully avoided running into Ning Rong Rong and Ou Si Ke (easy; they’d been distracted by each other) and Senior Ma (she thought he’d known she was there, actually, but had been willing to pretend otherwise). But Huo Wu wasn’t in her room, and she wasn’t entirely sure where to look next.

“Where are you going?”

She startled, thinking her luck had finally run out and it was one of the teachers. Or worse, her grandfather. But when she turned around, it was Ye Zhi Qiu, lurking in a shadow.

“Where are you going?” She echoed the question back at him.

“The kitchen,” he said blandly.

“It’s occupied,” she told him, even though he was obviously lying. “Yu Tian Heng has a sweet tooth.”

Ye Zhi Qiu crossed his arms. “It’s not safe to wander around alone at night.”

She raised her eyebrows. “One, I’m not wandering -- I’ve been here before. Two, I’m hardly alone. Half the school is out here, at least. Three, you’re the only one here who’s deliberately acted against Shi Lan Ke in general, and against my family specifically. Are you planning on doing something unsafe?”

Ye Zhi Qiu didn’t move, but he seemed to shrink back, somehow. “No.”

She had kept an image of him in her mind as an imposing character, but the person in front of her certainly didn’t look dangerous. He looked young. Everyone looked young to her, since the time travel. When they stared at each other, it was Ye Zhi Qiu who looked away first. “Are you all right?” she asked finally. He was dressed for travel, she realized. “Are you leaving?”

“Does it matter?” he said. “You said it yourself; I’m the one who brought trouble here last time.”

“That’s not what I said at all.” She wasn’t sure if he was deliberately misinterpreting her words, or if he really thought that was true. “You should stay.”

“They don’t need me.”

“No,” she said. “That’s probably true. Maybe you need them. Besides, we need someone to balance the numbers, and why not you?”

Ye Zhi Qiu frowned. “What numbers?”

She reminded herself that Cang Hui was a small school, and that Ye Zhi Qiu had probably been too busy poisoning people to give any significant attention to the larger political implications of the Shi Lan Ke situation in the past-future. That still wasn’t an excuse for not considering it in the present. He was still a citizen of Tian Dou.

“In theory, Shi Lan Ke is a politically neutral school, not beholden to any of the major political powers,” she said. “In practice, they’re training the princess of Qibao Amber Clan -- one of the three elder clans -- and her martial soul was the first in generations to reach the level of Jiubao Amber Pagoda.”

Ye Zhi Qiu was giving her a blank look, and she sighed. “They also trained the second prince of the Xing Luo Empire in secret for years; a training which culminated in him defeating the first prince in public combat.”

“No one even remembers that!” Ye Zhi Qiu protested.

“We do.” And more importantly: “They do. They’re kingmakers, even if they don’t mean to be, and Tian Dou can’t send anyone from the royal family.”

“And they would send me instead? Don’t be ridiculous.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course not. They would send me. But I’m not enough on my own. So -- numbers. That’s where you come in.”

He looked skeptical, and she interrupted before he could argue. “You’re not no one, you know. You were the Cang Hui battle team captain. You got your team to the finals as the sole fighter. You were the one Shi Lan Ke was most nervous about facing in the qualifying rounds.”

“How do you even know that?”

Spies, mostly. And inter-school gossip, which apparently Cang Hui had remained as oblivious to as Shi Lan Ke. “They took place in Tian Dou Imperial City, didn’t they? All I’m saying is you could have a place here.”

He hesitated, but then shook his head. “Shi Nian is dead, but the other students need help. I can’t abandon them.”

“And you’re planning to provide all of that help on your own?” Ye Zhi Qiu looked away, and she pressed the advantage. “They joined Cang Hui because they wanted to be Soul Masters, right? So you need to find a school that will help them without pressuring them into service; a school you trust.” She waved her hand at their surroundings. “Do you really have a better option in mind?”

He didn’t, and she knew it, and he knew that she knew. But he was stubborn.

“I’m not staying.”

She could acknowledge that stubbornness could be an extremely valuable and admirable quality. It could also be extremely irritating. And he wasn’t the only one who had it. “Aren’t you?”

There was a long pause. And then, “I’ll think about it.”


Chapter 29: Liu Er Long

“I captured him for you. You’re welcome. The security around here is very lax.”

Du Gu Bo stood proudly next to the prone figure of the Titan Soul Master, clearly unconscious on the ground. He’d managed to draw quite a crowd, although the Shi Lan Ke students -- minus Tang San and Ma Hong Jun -- were clustered in a tight group off to the side.

Tang San, of course, was next to the Titan Soul Master. Presumably they’d just found another time traveler (or another time traveler had found them). It was amazing, she thought, how history repeated itself. Xiao Gang even had the same expression -- slightly impressed, slightly horrified.

Lan De cleared his throat. “Ah, yes. Thank you. However, if I might bring something to your consideration? It’s the middle of the day.”

Du Gu Bo frowned at him. “Yes? And?”

“That’s a perfectly reasonable time for someone to come visiting, don’t you think?”

“He was skulking around. Very suspiciously.”

She highly doubted anyone as tall as the Titan Soul Master could skulk at all, let alone in a suspicious way. And while it was interesting that he seemed to be the only one who had known Tang Hao had a child, it was unlikely that he would be willing to share more details in such a large group.

“Senior,” Tang San said. “He doesn’t mean any harm to us. Please wake him up.”

“Are you sure?”

Besides, Xiao Gang and Lan De clearly had the situation handled, and the students were much more interesting to watch anyway. She drifted closer so she could eavesdrop. To her surprise, Xiao Wu made space for her in their circle. No one objected to her presence -- Dai Mu Bai even nodded at her, which was honestly more support than she’d expected.

“Who said we were leaving?” Ning Rong Rong asked. “We just got here!”

Ou Si Ke flipped through his notebook. “I’m just saying, narratively, it makes sense.”

Dai Mu Bai shrugged. “It’s a good solution. We need more space, and we need to go back to Lanba anyway. The Titan Soul Master could bring his people here, which would maintain the support for the village.”

“That would be good; the vine wants to see Lanba,” Xiao Wu said.

“The what?” Zhu Zhu Qing asked.

“I mean, I want to see Lanba?”

Ning Rong Rong tucked her arm through Xiao Wu’s, and Zhu Zhu Qing leaned forward so she could meet her eyes. “Little sister, you know you can tell us anything, right?”

Xiao Wu nodded. Zhu Zhu Qing said, “And you know we support you and Tang San no matter what.” Xiao Wu nodded again. Zhu Zhu Qing looked at her meaningfully. “So?”

Ning Rong Rong bounced in place. “So, a cat and a vine? What kind of vine? Did you and Tang San adopt two children without telling us? Does his mom know? Is that why you want to go to Lanba? Can we have a party for you? Can we meet them?”

Zhu Zhu Qing laughed. “Rong Rong, let her answer something before you ask anything else!”

Xiao Wu’s eyes were wide, but she nodded happily enough. “You can meet them. We didn’t adopt them -- it’s more like they adopted us? Tang San’s mom might know? She probably does. They do a -- dreaming thing, sometimes, when he’s sleeping.”

Er Long tried hard not to react. So the immensely powerful Grand Soul Land Master who had very literally changed the world to save her son was keeping tabs on him through his dreams; that was fine. Smart, even. And Xiao Wu presented it as if that was just -- a thing some people could do, rather than yet another revolution in the understanding of what Soul Masters were capable of.

And maybe it was. Maybe that’s why Grand Soul Land Masters were all so -- eccentric. She made a note to mention it to the others just in case. Knowledge shared was knowledge gained, after all.

Ou Si Ke poked Dai Mu Bai with his notebook. “You seem very calm about this, Brother Dai.”

Dai Mu Bai leaned out of reach and crossed his arms. “Tang San told me already.”

“What?” Ou Si Ke squawked. “Where was I?”

“You were busy.”

They stared at each other in silence until Ning Rong Rong cleared her throat. “So we’re going back to Lanba,” she said. “All of us?”

“Just Shi Lan Ke,” Ou Si Ke answered, even though it looked like he’d already turned most of his attention back to writing more notes. “The Venom Soul Master will go back separately with the others. He’s been gone too long already, but if he goes back with his granddaughter, no one will question it.”

He looked up when no one said anything. When he saw they were all looking at him, he spun around to see if he’d missed something behind him. He really was Lan De’s child, right down to the deflections. “What?” he said. “That’s right, isn’t it?”

Zhu Zhu Qing nodded. “It’s a good idea. It would draw less attention to travel in two smaller groups.”

Ning Rong Rong looked impressed. She leaned over Ou Si Ke’s notebook, trying to read it upside down. “Did you write that down? How do you know all of that?”

He gestured wildly with his free hand and closed the notebook at the same time. “It’s what I just said -- narratively, it makes sense. Every story cycles through closures and new beginnings. Art imitates life; life imitates art.”

Dai Mu Bai scoffed, and Ou Si Ke said, “Brother Dai! I can’t believe you acted so well in my play without a better understanding of dramatic tension!”

“Mm. It’s a mystery.”

“It is a mystery! Do you know, I think I could use that. I’ve been feeling a little creatively blocked lately, but that feels very inspiring.”

Ning Rong Rong’s expression was thoughtful, as she looked back and forth between Ou Si Ke’s face and his notebook. Er Long wondered when she would ask about it, and who.

Ou Si Ke noticed it too, and he waved both hands. “Ma Hong Jun,” he called. “You’re back! Where have you been?”

Ma Hong Jun jogged over to the group. “My dad and I were just making sure everything was settled in Nightfire Village, and packing up the rest of our things. Why are we all standing around? Aren’t we going to Lanba now?”


Chapter 30: Xiao Wu

She loved traveling. She loved the path over the mountains that would take them back to Tian Dou City and Lanba School without needing to cross the desert. She didn’t love the bandits that were also using the path.

“You’re making a mistake,” she said.

The bandit in the front of the group laughed. “Oh, do you all hear that? We’re making a mistake!” They reminded her of the gang they’d seen in Star Town before, and she wondered if it was the same people. “How about this -- why don’t you put your hands on your head and step right over here, and we can have a conversation about who’s mistaken.”

She sighed. Fighting was fun, but sometimes you just wanted to have a quiet trip out to gather berries, and then it was inconvenient.

The others were following behind her, but probably not close enough to intervene immediately. She could teleport away, but there was a chance they would find Little Spot if they couldn’t get her. And no matter what Tang San said, she did actually recognize danger. There was no way the situation would end well for the bandits, but there were several ways it could go badly for her. (Or Little Spot. Or the berries. The berries were definitely in trouble.)

“How about this,” said a new voice. “You leave and I never see you again, and you get to live.”

She looked up, and Dai Wei Shi dropped out of a tree between her and the bandits. The bandits took a step back, but then pushed forward again. “Oh yeah? That’s big talk for just one person.”

Dai Wei Shi held out his hands, and his soul rings shimmered into view. Five soul rings -- one more than he’d had when they traveled into the past, which wasn’t impossible, but none of the ways she could think of it to happen matched very well with what she knew about him. She thought again about teleporting away; thought about telling Dai Mu Bai that she had left his brother alone when he was facing a fight against unknown bandits.

She called her own soul rings into view as well, and set herself up next to Dai Wei Shi. He looked surprised, but not as surprised as she would have expected.

“Two people,” she said. “Are we fighting, or are you leaving?” She was only a tiny bit disappointed that the bandits picked leaving.

Dai Wei Shi turned to her after they were gone. “Do you know who I am?” he asked.

“Ah -- yes?” She wasn’t good at lying, and she wasn’t sure she was supposed to be lying about that anyway.

Dai Wei Shi studied her carefully. “And if I said that I’ve lived this time before, and that I somehow time traveled into the past, would you believe me?” She didn’t have to say anything -- her expression must have been enough, because he said, “You would.”

He turned away, and stared into the trees. “Is my brother here too?”

It was easy enough to guess that he meant ‘here in the past’ rather than ‘right here but invisible.’ She hoped. She didn’t know Dai Wei Shi well enough to read him. “Yes.”

His next questions came quickly. “Did all of you come back? Did you do this?”

“Yes,” she said again. “And -- not exactly.” She doubted he was going to like the answer, but he had asked the question. “We came back on purpose, but it wasn’t our power that made it happen. We didn’t know anyone else would be affected.”

Dai Wei Shi made a noise she couldn’t identify, and she tensed. “Are you saying this happened to me by accident?”

She hesitated, and it lasted long enough that he turned back around to look at her. “Well?” he prompted.

She shook her head. “I don’t know. But if you had enough power to send people back in time -- do you think you would include anyone extra by accident?”

“Of course not!” He scoffed, and changed it to a scowl when he caught her smiling. “What’s so funny?”

“You sounded just like Brother Dai just then,” she said.

He looked around. “Where is he?”

She waved broadly in the opposite direction the bandits had gone. “He’s with the others. Do you want to come see him? You’re not going to fight again, are you?”

“You shouldn’t split up in this part of the mountains. Those weren’t the only bandits -- none of you should be wandering around alone.”

“I wasn’t alone!” The words were out of her mouth before she could think of all the reasons they were a bad idea. “I mean -- I was alone! But I was fine, and then you were here, so I actually wasn’t alone, really. Right?”

Little Spot chose that moment to slowly saunter out of the trees. She sat down and wrapped her tail daintily around her paws, and then stared unblinkingly at Dai Wei Shi.

He looked at the cat. He looked at her.

“Is that a Spotted Cat Soul Beast?”

“...No?”

Dai Wei Shi sighed. “I’ll come with you.”


Chapter 31: Zhu Zhu Qing

“And then he followed us all the way here, but he wouldn’t talk about anything except for things like, ‘what’s for breakfast today,’ and ‘you’d think the illustrious Tian Dou Imperial City would have the resources to deal with their own bandits.’ He wouldn’t even confirm that he’d been affected by the time travel, and he’d already admitted that to Xiao Wu!”

It had been a relief to finally reach Lanba School, and an unexpected bonus to find Huo Wu and Du Gu Yan waiting for them. Several of Ning Rong Rong’s clan members had stayed as well -- in theory they were there to “finish the construction projects,” but in practice they seemed mainly to follow Ning Rong Rong around and try to keep her out of trouble.

Huo Wu looked thoughtful. “And he has five soul rings now?”

She shrugged. “I haven’t seen them, but I trust Xiao Wu. If she says he has five, he does.”

“He must have time traveled too. And he only had four soul rings when we left the future, so at some point between then and now he got another one.” She frowned. “I don’t know whether that makes things easier, or more complicated.”

“He and Dai Mu Bai have been circling around each other ever since we got here. They both say they don’t want to fight, but they haven’t done anything except compete with each other their whole lives.” She was staying out of it unless Dai Mu Bai asked her to get involved. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about Dai Wei Shi coming back in time when her sister hadn’t -- to be fair, Dai Wei Shi didn’t seem to know how he felt about it either, but she was willing to avoid the topic entirely if he was. At least until he’d worked things out with Dai Mu Bai.

Du Gu Yan looked around, like Dai Wei Shi might be lurking around a corner somewhere, about to leap out. She was forced to admit it wasn’t an unreasonable concern. “Where is he now?”

“Not here. The Headmaster got tired of it and had Senior Du Gu Bo escort them both to his caves. He said they were secure enough that Dai Wei Shi couldn’t complain about spies, and that the Venom Soul Master was strong enough to knock them both out if they started fighting instead of talking.”

“But Grandfather doesn’t even know about the time travel,” Du Gu Yan said.

“He must have figured most of it out by now. We weren’t trying to hide it on the way back here.”

Du Gu Yan nodded. “He does act like he doesn’t care what people are talking about, but he has a good memory.” She turned to Zhu Zhu Qing and clapped her hands together. “Enough about them. We have questions.”

“If you don’t mind,” Huo Wu added.

She couldn’t imagine what they hadn’t already asked about. Tang San’s mom, maybe? She wasn’t sure she was supposed to talk about that. “Questions about what?” she asked warily.

They exchanged a glance, and Du Gu Yan said, “Martial soul fusion.”

“You -- want to know what it’s like?” She wasn’t sure she was supposed to talk about that either. Or rather, she wasn’t sure she could find the words to talk about it -- it wasn’t an experience that could be easily explained.

“We want to know how to do it.”

They looked completely serious. “Have you talked to anyone else about this?” she asked.

Huo Wu shook her head. “You’re the only one we know who’s done it, except for Dai Mu Bai.” She made a face, and Zhu Zhu Qing wondered if she should feel offended on Dai Mu Bai’s behalf. “We certainly weren’t going to ask him.”

She wanted to ask if they were sure, but it seemed clear that they were. “My martial soul and Dai Mu Bai’s were already compatible,” she said instead. “I’m not sure how much help I can give you.” The Grand Chrysanthemum Master hadn’t gotten very far in his explanation, and she mostly remembered him saying they had to trust each other, and that it usually took time to make it work.

“Here’s the thing,” Huo Wu said. “We’ve already tried it, and we’re going to keep trying it, whether you help or not. We’ve tested some things during training, and we’re fairly confident that we can do it, and that we won’t end up with a giant snake made of fire that neither of us can control.”

She blinked. That was -- an alarmingly specific example. “What?”

Du Gu Yan looked entirely too innocent. “It’s very unlikely,” she said.

“Very unlikely,” Huo Wu agreed. “But you can see why we might decide to seek out some sort of advice..”

“The advice we got was from the Grand Chrysanthemum Master, but I can tell you what he said. But first I want to find Tang San and Ma Hong Jun.” She held up her hands to forestall the inevitable protests. “You’re part of the team now. And in the ‘very unlikely’ situation of a giant uncontrollable fire snake, they should be there.”

“But Tang San will probably be in the Dream Valley all day again today!”

Du Gu Yan pouted at her, and Zhu Zhu Qing crossed her arms and met her gaze. “Then we’ll wait until tonight. Unless you can tell me that ‘very unlikely’ means ‘has absolutely never happened.’”

Du Gu Yan looked away first. “We can wait.”


Chapter 32: Fei Lan De

He didn’t want them to split up, but the numbers were becoming a challenge. He passed the papers to Xiao Gang and ignored the muttering about his handwriting.

“We’re going to have to split into groups again to travel,” Xiao Gang said. “We must already be drawing attention from Martial Soul Hall.”

It was entirely true, but he couldn’t help poking at it a little. “What’s this ‘we’?” he asked. “Er Long and I both taught for years without Martial Soul Hall interfering.”

“Su Yun Tao delivered Hu Lie Na right to your doorstep,” Xiao Gang said dryly.

“That --” was a fair point, actually. He waved his hands. “-- was completely different! She was there for Dai Mu Bai; she had no idea who I was.”

“She had no idea who I was either.”

There was an odd emphasis on the words when Xiao Gang said them, and it made him pause. He laid his hands flat on the table. “Xiao Gang,” he said quietly. “Are you all right?”

“What?” He seemed startled by the question, and Lan De wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a bad one. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

He had really hoped Xiao Gang would simply intuit the question, like he did so many other things. This was his karmic comeuppance for bringing up the topic at all. “If Hu Lie Na is really Qian Ren Xue, then -- given her age, and the timing of things -- it seemed possible that, well. And things happened so fast back then! If you want to -- I mean, it would be understandable if -- not that it’s any of my business!”

Xiao Gang leaned back and studied him. Oh, he definitely knew what he was trying to ask. “It might be none of your business,” he said mildly. “But you brought it up. If you have a question, you should say it.”

He sighed. And to think, he’d been trying to be supportive! “Fine. Is Qian Ren Xue your daughter?”

“No.”

No hesitation. He must be sure, then. “Are you sure?” he asked anyway. “Her martial soul --”

The door slid open. “It’s me,” Er Long called from outside. “I’m coming in. Based on your son’s expression, you’re either doing or saying something scandalous; consider this your fair warning.”

He banged his hand on the table. “Ou Si Ke! I know where you sleep!” There was a yelp, and then the sound of footsteps hastily retreating. He supposed at least if the kids learned about all of their elders’ mistakes, they would be less likely to make the same ones.

Er Long looked disappointed to see them sitting calmly on opposite sides of the table. “Well, that’s not as scandalous as I’d hoped.” She draped herself over Xiao Gang’s shoulder and squinted at the papers he was still holding. “Did Lan De write these?”

Xiao Gang didn’t bother trying to hand the papers to her, just angled them so she would have a better view. “Oh, are we picking groups?”

“You’re not picking them!” He pointed his finger back and forth between them. “Last time you two went off on your own with just Tang San and Xiao Wu and left me with everyone else!”

“And everything worked out fine!” Er Long said, as if that was the part that mattered. “But this definitely isn’t scandalous enough to be what you were talking about before.” She looked back and forth between them. He quickly held up his hands.

“Qian Ren Xue is not my daughter,” Xiao Gang said. He looked at Er Long, and then moved his gaze to the ceiling and left it there. “Yes, I’m sure. Bi Bi Dong and I never slept together.” His cheeks were gradually turning red. “I -- there were multiple reasons. But she didn’t want to risk having a child with me. She -- had concerns about how a mutant martial soul might be passed down.”

“Concerns?” Er Long bristled; he could see the outline of dragon fire around her shoulders. “She should be so lucky!”

“It’s in the past,” Xiao Gang said. “It wasn’t like that between us. She never --” He stopped. “Er Long.”

Er Long yanked her hand back -- the papers were starting to smolder, and she took several deep breaths before patting Xiao Gang’s shoulder carefully. “Apologies,” she said.

Several things suddenly made more sense, like that one adjustment in a lens that made everything come into focus. “Did she try to recruit you again when we were in Martial Soul City for the competition? She did, didn’t she?” And then turned around and tried to murder two of his students, as if he would ever stand for such a thing!

There was a long silence, but finally Xiao Gang said, “Yes.” He didn’t sound happy about it.

Er Long closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were bright with the banked power of her martial soul. “I didn’t fight for you before, A-Gang, because I thought you’d chosen someone other than us, and that I should respect that. But if you left because you thought we wouldn’t choose you, I’ll fight with everything I have. For you -- for all of us.”

Xiao Gang looked lost. “I thought -- it would be better if I left. I was holding you back. The two of you were so good together.”

He waved his hand between them. “Er Long and I are too similar,” he said. He would have tried, but after all this time, he thought she’d been right -- Xiao Gang leaving didn’t create the problems between them, just made them more visible. They’d all grown into themselves while they were apart. Maybe there was a chance -- they could see how the new shapes of their lives fit together.

“It’s probably why you like us so much,” Er Long added, and Xiao Gang smiled. It was a small smile, but it was there.

Lan De gathered his courage, and reached out for both of their hands. Er Long’s was too hot, and Xiao Gang’s was too cold, and he squeezed them both the same anyway. “The students all got their second chance,” he said. “Why not us too?”


Chapter 33: Ye Zhi Qiu

“Are we really leaving again?”

“I don’t know; that’s what I heard!”

“Where do you think we’re going?”

Ye Zhi Qiu couldn’t remember any of their names. Ning Rong Rong called them all her cousins, and they seemed to know everything that happened at the school, usually long before he heard about it. He had clearly been recruiting the wrong people as spies and informants the last time around.

“Rong Rong said Martial Soul Hall sent Su Yun Tao here again to talk to the Headmaster.”

“Su Yun Tao? Isn’t that the Chief’s direct disciple?”

“I heard Brother San had to hide with the laundry until he was gone!”

“What?”

“They met before, Xiao Wu said!”

They were the ideal dinner neighbors, since they provided all the news he could want and didn’t seem to mind that he didn’t contribute an equal amount to the conversation. The other former Cang Hui students tended to eat in silence, and he tried to keep an eye on all of them without making it obvious that he was keeping an eye on them, with the rest of his attention going to eavesdropping -- or rather, politely listening, to the chatter going on around him.

“Do you know?”

It took him too long to realize the nameless cousin was waiting for him to answer. “What?” He was sure there had been a point when he could exchange information with some attempt at courtesy, and he wasn’t sure when he’d lost the knack. He supposed the time he’d spent lurking in shadows and communicating primarily with threats and murder might have had something to do with it.

“You knew Tang San in the future, right? Has he met Su Yun Tao already?”

He decided it was safe to blame time travel for the level of confusion the conversation was generating. “I knew Tang San in the future, yes. I never met Su Yun Tao; I don’t know if Tang San did or not.”

Su Yun Tao was dead in the future, he didn’t say. And now he’s alive, and he lives in the same building as his murderer, and none of us are doing anything about it. The Venom Soul Master said that the others probably were doing something about it, but didn’t trust Ye Zhi Qiu enough to tell him what it was. It seemed likely. He didn’t think he wanted to know. Shi Nian had trusted him. Shi Nian was dead in the present, and no one was doing anything about that either, and he was angry that he cared about it at all.

“Hey.” The nameless cousin waved a hand in front of his face. “Are you all right?”

“Not really,” he said.

The cousin nodded. “Rong Rong said the time travel messed you up. Sorry.” The cousin next to them elbowed them in the side.

“Rong Rong said not to bother him!” The next-cousin-over gave him an awkward nod. “I apologize.”

“It’s fine,” he said automatically. “That was kind of her to say.” He realized with some surprise that it might be true -- both that it was kind, and that the time travel had caused him more trouble than the others. The Venom Soul Master had said it too, hadn’t he?

“Did you want more food?” The nameless cousin filled his bowl in an obvious additional apology, and he nodded his thanks. In the tone of someone who was offering a confidence, they said, “We’re only here because the Clan Leader wants us to do what Rong Rong did, with the --” They flipped their palm over, like he would know what that meant. Maybe something with their Martial Soul?

“Yeah, normally we would never be allowed to come to a school with so few rules,” the next-cousin-over said. “There’s not even a curfew!” It was half admiring, half scandalized.

Despite the chattering cousins, their table was actually in the quietest corner of the hall. Which meant that when one of his classmates said, “Cang Hui School had a curfew,” at a volume close to a whisper, they could all hear it.

To their credit, the cousins took the statement -- and the fact that they’d spoken at all -- completely in stride. “Right?” the next-cousin-over said. “That’s what I’m saying! Most schools do, but not Shi Lan Ke.”

“Ooh, I heard they were talking about changing the name!” Yet another cousin leaned over and nodded.

“I heard that too; what do you think it could be?”

“No, I heard that’s a ruse so that Martial Soul Hall won’t follow us.”

“You think Martial Soul Hall would be fooled by something so simple?”

“I didn’t say I thought that, just that I’d heard it!”

He let the words wash over him, and looked across the table at his classmates. Lian Xue Feng -- the one who’d spoken -- met his eyes, and he waved. (He would have smiled, but he was out of practice and Tang San told him it made him look intimidating.) Xue Feng was the youngest -- the first time around, they’d been sent home before Shi Nian picked the final students for the battle team. He hoped they’d been sent home. It was one of the things he tried not to think about, because it wasn’t going to happen this time, and Shi Nian was dead.

Xue Feng waved back. It felt like a victory.

The nameless cousin leaned into his space again. “Have you ever been to Xi Si City?”

“I don’t think we’re going there; it’s too dangerous,” the next-cousin-over said.

“I have, yes,” he answered.

“Was it dangerous? I heard it was lawless, and that when Rong Rong was there, someone got murdered.”

He was fairly sure quite a few people had been murdered when Shi Lan Ke had been in Xi Si City. He shrugged. “People can get murdered anywhere.”

The cousin’s eyes went wide, and he realized that might not have been the wisest thing to say. He sighed internally. “Every place has its own dangers,” he amended. “When I was in Xi Si City I thought it was safe enough.”

“Have you ever murdered someone?” The nameless cousin was once again elbowed by their neighbor. “What? I want to know!”

He mentally took back all the praise he’d given them for being good dinner neighbors. But they’d asked, and it was a fair question. It shouldn’t be harder to talk about the action than it had been to take it. “Yes,” he said. “In the future. But I hadn’t yet, at this point in time. So, yes, but now they’re alive again. Or still.”

None of the cousins looked as horrified as he thought they should. The next-cousin-over nodded, and said, “So you would know, then. About Xi Si City.”

It was an interesting conclusion to draw, but he supposed it wasn’t entirely wrong. “Xi Si City is known for not being beholden to anyone -- not Tian Dou or Xing Luo, and not the Seven Clans or Martial Soul Hall. If Shi Lan Ke is going to be a truly unaffiliated school, it should be in a place that’s also unaffiliated.”

“Mm, that’s a good point,” the nameless cousin said.

“I think it makes sense,” the next-cousin-over agreed. “Oh! I heard it was Dai Mu Bai’s brother who was yelling about things not making sense the other morning; did you know?”

“Really? The Headmaster was there too; Hong Jun saw him.”

“It’s Hong Jun now, is it? Something you want to share with us?”

And they were off again; Xi Si City set aside in favor of more interesting gossip. He snuck a look back at Lian Xue Feng. They gave him a silent thumbs up, and he returned it. Progress.


Chapter 34: Ah Yin

She hadn’t been entirely surprised to learn about the time travel she’d apparently both instigated and directed. The interspace was like that, sometimes.

However, she was surprised that no one seemed alarmed by her lack of surprise. “Have Soul Masters gained a greater understanding of how the interspace works?” she asked.

“Hm?” Ou Si Ke looked up from his notebook. He’d been an easy guest, as far as any guest could be considered easy. Tang San and Xiao Wu had been visiting every day, and each day they were accompanied by someone different. To make sure they left again, she thought, only a tiny bit uncharitably.

The reason she’d been given was that it was a learning experience for the students, and a chance for her to ask any questions she might have about them, or the world she’d been apart from for the length of her son’s life so far. Ou Si Ke was the first one who seemed to be treating it as a leisure day -- he’d started out by taking a nap, and then transitioned to writing without a single question asked.

“The interspace?” she prompted. “Are its properties well known now?”

“The interspace? No, definitely not. Soul Masters usually keep it a secret if they have the ability to create one, and it’s not a well-known phenomenon at all. Oh!” He startled, like a new thought had suddenly occurred to him. “Ma Hong Jun’s father made one; he might know more. I can ask him to come tomorrow, if you’d like.” He frowned. “Only -- don’t you already know all about them?”

“I’m quite familiar with this one,” she half-answered. “There are similarities between every interspace, though each person tends to have their own style.”

He wrote that in his notebook, and then carried on writing, seemingly an endless string of ideas. When he switched to sketching the flowers growing around him, she waved them at him to get his attention again. “The others all had questions,” she said. “But not you?”

“Ah.” He carefully tucked the notebook away. He patted the waving flower gently, then snatched his hand back. “Sorry! Very sorry! Anyway, I do. Have questions, I mean. But I’ve been informed that all of my questions are very rude, and that I should reconsider them or be prepared to be kicked out immediately after asking them. And I don’t want Tang San and Xiao Wu to have to leave early, so I thought I’d wait until the end of the day, if that makes sense?”

Well, that was already more interesting than most of the other things she’d been asked. “What if I promise not to kick you out?”

“Really?” He brightened, but then frowned. “Even Teacher Liu thought they were too much, though.”

She should have guessed that the teachers were previewing the questions the students were asking. Not censoring them, apparently, or they wouldn’t have told Ou Si Ke that she’d kick him out. Her curiosity was piqued. “I give you my word,” she said. “For the rest of the day, you have a pass. Ask whatever you like. I won’t promise to answer, but I won’t make you leave, and I’ll take full responsibility.”

Ou Si Ke bowed deeply and said, “You honor me,” as if to prove he knew how to be properly respectful before he asked his dangerous questions. Then he took a deep breath. “Before, in the future, you didn’t talk to us until we were asleep -- why not?”

An easy one to start with; an interesting strategy. “I thought you would be more likely to believe me if I looked human, and I can’t currently take a human form and maintain the interspace to communicate while you’re awake. It’s easier while you’re dreaming.”

His next question wasn’t one she expected. “Are you talking to Tang San at the same time you’re talking to me?”

“Sometimes.”

“Was the person we saw in the dream your actual human form?”

She hesitated. “Yes? And no -- it was my human form as I was when Tang San was born. If I were to leave the interspace in a human form, I would look my current age.” Probably. She didn’t know anyone who’d ever tried it.

Ou Si Ke nodded, but kept his eyes on the page in front of him. “Can you? Leave, I mean?”

“That’s complicated,” she said, and Ou Si Ke seemed unsure if he should leave it at that.

“Your Senior Ma could tell you more, if he was willing, ” she offered. She wasn’t willing, at the moment, but she could offer an alternative.

“Can you turn into a plant?”

The flower closest to his hand waved at him.

“Can Tang San?” he asked.

She considered not answering, but finally she said, “Not yet.”

“If I got ten soul rings, would I turn into food?”

Well, that was unexpected. “What?”

He looked up. “Teacher Yu talked with the Azure Bull Python? He said there was a --” He made a circle gesture. “A cycle, right?” All the plants around him rustled and shook, and he eyed them warily. “Are you laughing at me right now?”

“No, of course not.” She definitely was. “First, there are plenty of things that would consider you to be food right now. Second, of course not. Do your soul rings come from food? Do Ning Rong Rong’s come from structures?” Where did they get these ideas? Where else, she supposed, but that wily old dragon.

“As for the rest, well. Da Ming -- the Azure Bull Python -- ah, how to say it. He’s very old, very wise, very much aware of the dramatic impact of his words. I think you’d like him, actually. He loves stories. Parables, metaphors, hyperbole -- I don’t know what he said, exactly, but I guarantee it had a healthy amount of all of those things.”

Ou Si Ke stopped writing and sighed. “I hope I get to meet him someday. He sounds amazing.”


Chapter 35: Yu Xiao Gang

“Didn’t we have this conversation already?” It was already a well-worn topic -- how long were they staying, where were they going, how would they get there. How many semi-responsible adults could they convince to help keep the students out of trouble along the way.

Lan De waved at their surroundings. “No, this is different; we’re outside, enjoying the sunshine!”

It was a cloudy day. “I see.”

“And all of the students are gone for the day.”

That was true, at least. They’d split into two groups -- one with Du Gu Bo learning about poisons, and the other with Ah Yin learning about medicinal herbs. It was a good way to take advantage of expert resources while they were nearby. It also meant they could talk without anyone listening in, which was a benefit they were all very much aware of.

He leaned back on his hands. “What are the odds that the Venom Soul Master poisons one of them by accident before the end of the day?”

“Here.” Er Long handed him a piece of paper. “You can place your bet. Personally, I doubt it will be by accident.”

That -- was entirely possible. At least he would have the antidote on hand as well. “Has he agreed to lead a group yet?”

“No, but he will,” Lan De said. “Ye Zhi Qiu and the other Cang Hui students have imprinted on him like baby ducklings. They find him refreshingly direct, and he thinks they’re dangerous and adorable and he wants to adopt them all.”

He frowned. “I don’t know whether that’s reassuring or concerning.”

“I want to know how you know that,” Er Long said.

Lan De looked surprised. “Ning Rong Rong’s cousins; who else? They talk with everyone; they listen to everything. They like the Cang Hui students; I think it’s a good sign.”

“Maybe Ning Feng Shi will lend us the Sword Master for the trip to Xi Si City.” Ning Rong Rong’s father hadn’t been subtle in sending more students their way; surely they had built up some sort of goodwill with the Qibao Amber Clan.

Er Long nodded, and he traded the paper back to her in exchange for a cup of tea. “Senior Ma agreed to lead a group as well. He and Ma Hong Jun are willing to split up if they need to.”

“It would probably be for the best,” Lan De said. “If any of us have to fight, rumors of one Dark Phoenix martial soul from two different locations would be more likely to be dismissed. Two Dark Phoenix martial souls fighting together would be much more notable.”

It was a good point. Other than Su Yun Tao’s “unofficial” visits, Martial Soul Hall was at least pretending to ignore them. He didn’t have any illusions that would last if they started looking like something other than a random assortment of low-level students and teachers.

“So that’s five groups; I think we can put that topic to rest and move on, hm?” Er Long moved close enough that their knees touched, and looked at him intently. “Are we rescuing Su Yun Tao, or not?”

It wasn’t the topic shift he’d been expecting. “What? Why would we do that?”

“You like him,” she said simply, like that was the only consideration necessary.

“He’s Bi Bi Dong’s direct disciple,” he countered. “He doesn’t need to be rescued.”

“He doesn’t know he needs to be rescued; that’s really not the same thing.”

It wasn’t like he hadn’t thought about it. But no. He shook his head. “If we take Su Yun Tao, it will be taken as a direct slight against Martial Soul Hall.”

Er Long stared at him. “I have no problem with that.”

“I do!” Lan De protested. “No active feuding with major political powers; it’s in the school charter.”

Xiao Gang sighed. “And he’s protecting Hu Lie Na. Or Qian Ren Xue. At least one of them.”

“And that’s important?” Er Long asked. He looked at her, until she looked away and threw her hands in the air. “Yes, fine, it’s important. Can’t we have them both?”

“She has a point,” Lan De said.

“If we take all the good people out of Martial Soul Hall, there will be no one left to reform it.” It seemed obvious enough to him. Not everyone in Martial Soul Hall was like Bi Bi Dong or the Ghost Master; Su Yun Tao was proof enough of that.

“The concept of a place like Martial Soul Hall is still a good one. A centralized repository of knowledge, so that techniques aren’t lost over time. A place for training, where Soul Masters can go to expand their skills.”

Martial Soul Hall was meant to provide a foundation -- to provide resources for Soul Masters who needed them, and in turn to provide support to villages and clans without Soul Masters in residence.

He waved a finger back and forth between them. “Unless you’re interested in taking over that role? Massive expansion of responsibilities? Minimal free time?”

Lan De held up both hands and shook his head. “No, no, haha, that’s fine! Two students, remember? I was happy with two students!”

Er Long said, “I was happy with no students,” and he made sure she was watching him when he rolled his eyes.

“So happy that you let the Tian Dou Imperial School send people your way without setting up anything at all to keep them out,” he said.

“That must have been an oversight on my part,” Er Long said.

He nodded. “Mm. Must have been.”


Chapter 36: Tang San

He had once been so desperate to feel a connection to his mom that he went against his father’s direct order to find out his Martial Soul, and he had never regretted it. Occasionally he had wondered about what his life would have been like if he’d made a different choice, but there was nothing he could want to change about meeting his mom.

“I want to build a garden,” he said, lying back on the ground and letting his eyes close.

Being in the interspace felt more like coming home than any of his memories of Saint of Soul Village. He could sense it all around him whether his eyes were open or not -- sometimes whether he wasn’t even there, which he definitely needed to ask about.

His mom’s voice sounded softer than usual. “That will make the Haunted Vine very happy.”

The Haunted Vine already seemed perfectly happy to him, but it had been exploring the interspace for days, so he supposed his mom would know. It hadn’t been overly impressed by the forest around Lanba School. He had some concerns about taking it to a desert, but Xiao Wu and his mom both assured him it understood the concept and was curious.

“But I don’t want to leave you.”

The plants around him rustled in surprise. “Why would you be leaving me?”

He frowned. “We told you we’re going to Xi Si City, right? Lanba School is too close to --” He waved his hand. “Everything, Master Yu says.”

“And Xiao Wu misses the Sand Beasts,” his mom added.

“That too.” He missed the Sand Beasts too, but he wasn’t about to admit it. His mom probably knew anyway.

“You won’t be leaving me behind, because I’m coming with you.”

She said it like it was obvious, but how?

“This interspace isn’t actually in the Dream Valley,” his mom explained. “It’s just a convenient entrance point. I thought -- if you ever came looking into your past, you might check here.” She laughed. “And then you found it by coincidence instead!”

He hadn’t known to come looking, because he thought she was dead, and no one in Saint of Soul Village had known anything about his past. Except for one person.

“Do you know where he is?” he asked, after a long silence.

They didn’t often talk about his dad, but sometimes they talked around him, feeling out the ways his presence and his absence had shaped their lives.

“I -- no, but I have a guess.”

He sat up. “Really?”

His mom’s voice was more hesitant than usual. “We met -- not on this continent. There was an island; you said you saw the references to it in the library at Martial Soul Hall.”

“Is that where you’re from?” He didn’t think it was, but if this was another one of those things they needed to talk around, easy questions might be best.

“No, I was just visiting, the same as he was. The island isn’t a place anyone is from, exactly. I think he might have tried to go back there.”

The way she said it made it seem like she wasn’t sure he had succeeded. “Is it dangerous?” he guessed.

“Ocean travel always has risks,” she said. “Just like everything. And the Soul Beasts that live there are older than anything you’ll find on land. But the challenge is more that the island doesn’t have an exact location -- you can’t use a map to find it.”

“How did you get there the first time?”

“I had a guide. I’m not sure how he found it -- everything seemed to happen so quickly, after we met. So I don’t know if he could find it again or not.”

“Is that where you learned about the Xuan Tian Records?”

His mom sighed. It wasn’t a sound, so much as a feeling of exhalation, as if all the plants around him had drooped just a little bit. “Yes,” she said. “They seemed so promising! And I was willing to be blinded by enthusiasm, and the potential for an end to the hunting of Soul Beasts.”

He didn’t know how to reassure her. “Just because they’re not a replacement for Martial Soul, it doesn’t mean they’re not important. Soul Masters and Soul Beasts don’t need to be enemies.”

“I thought that too, but -- what you’re doing with Xiao Wu, it’s not something just anyone can do.”

He shook his head, frustrated. “It is, though. Everyone keeps saying that Soul Masters can’t transfer Soul Power to each other, but they do it all the time!”

At least she didn’t immediately disagree. “What do you mean?”

He ticked things off on his fingers. “What about martial soul fusion? Or the thing Huo Wu did with the soul flame, or what the Venom Soul Master did when we were fighting Yu Tian Heng. Ma Hong Jun and his dad.” He spread both hands out in front of him. “Isn’t that what the entire Support Branch does?”

“That’s different.”

It sounded like a rote answer, and he channeled his best impression of Master Yu’s exasperated instructor expression. He definitely couldn’t have done it if his mom had been physically standing in front of him. “Is it?”

There was another long silence. He added, “Da Ming was able to give Master Yu a third soul ring, and neither of his parents were Soul Beasts. The Golden Iron Triangle can achieve martial soul fusion between three people. I think the rules that people were taught -- I think soul power is bigger than that.”

He wasn’t explaining it well. He gestured at the space around them -- full of soul-power-infused plants that everyone believed were extinct, that had carried their properties out of the interspace and into the world beyond it. “It’s more,” he said finally. “There’s more to it that we don’t understand yet.”

“More,” his mom repeated, but she sounded like she was considering it. “More than we know, or more than we see.”

“We’ll find out together,” he said impulsively. “Right?”

The plants around him all lit up, expanding outwards in a glowing wave. “Together,” his mom agreed.


Chapter 37: Huo Wu

“Tonight, we celebrate!”

It was a good party, she thought, and a fitting way to end their time at Lanba School. A feast for eating, friends for companionship, and a fire large enough that it would have satisfied even the most enthusiastic Chi Huo student.

Ou Si Ke pointed at Tang San. “Brother San, can you turn into a plant yet?”

Tang San seemed unsurprised by the question. Which made sense, since Ou Si Ke asked it at least once a day. “Not yet.”

“But he can make a flower crown!” Xiao Wu announced, and proudly showed off the -- admittedly impressive -- circle of leaves and flowers in her hair.

“It’s self-sustaining,” Tang San said, and then added, “So far, at least.”

“Like the chickens,” Zhu Zhu Qing patted Xiao Wu’s head.

Tang San nodded, so the comparison must have made sense to him. “Or Luo San Pao. Master Yu told us that he can eat and sleep, and that allows him to sustain himself independently without using as much of Master Yu’s soul power.”

He added, “Just the same as a regular dog,” with extra emphasis, and Teacher Yu sighed.

“Are you ever going to let that go?” he asked.

“You made me carry all those radishes! He couldn’t have eaten that many in a whole season!”

She wasn’t quite close enough to the teachers to actually see their expressions, but she thought Teacher Yu looked the tiniest bit embarrassed. “That was to build character. Besides, it worked out all right in the end.”

Tang San’s reply was incredulous. “You got bitten by the Thorn Apple Snake and then kidnapped by Xiao Chen Yu! You didn’t even think we were going to come rescue you!”

Teacher Liu leaned forward intently. “Wait, when was this? You got kidnapped?”

“It was before,” Teacher Yu said hastily. “Or later? It hasn’t happened yet, but it won’t anyway.”

It sounded suspicious to her, and Teacher Liu seemed to agree. She stared at Teacher Yu, and then narrowed her eyes and turned to Xiao Wu. “Xiao Wu,” she said mildly. “Who was Xiao Chen Yu?”

“Xiao Chen Yu? He was a student!” Xiao Wu said. “At Nuoding School.” She looked at Tang San, who shrugged. “And he attacked us in the Soul Hunting Forest, and kidnapped Master Yu and tied him to a chair, just for helping us! And then he trapped us in a cage and threatened Tang San and everyone in his village.”

Tang San gave her a thumbs up, and Xiao Wu beamed.

Teacher Liu made an outraged sound. “He did what? Where is this Xiao Chen Yu now? It sounds like he needs to be given some additional lessons in proper respect and Soul Master behavior.”

“He’s dead,” Xiao Wu said. “Or he was dead? He’s probably not dead now.” She sounded doubtful.

Tang San moved closer to her, which she previously would have said was impossible, and put his arm around her shoulders, like he was comforting her after recounting such a distressing ordeal. Xiao Wu happily snuggled into his side, looking not even the slightest bit distressed. They were really going to get away with that, right in front of everyone! She looked at Yan Yan, who shrugged. “If they can do it, we can do it too, right?” she whispered.

“What are you looking at me for?” Teacher Yu exclaimed. “I didn’t kill him. He was still alive when we left Nuoding. And, if I could just say again, none of this even happened in this timeline, so there’s really no need to keep talking about it.”

“Master Yu just punched him,” Tang San said, while Teacher Yu made shushing gestures at him. “In the face.”

“Twice!” Xiao Wu added. “Once for me.”

“Really?” Teacher Er Long looked delighted. “Why, Xiao Gang, I had no idea!”

Huo Wu put her hand over her eyes. She didn’t need to see that. She reached out her other hand and covered Yan Yan’s eyes too.


Chapter 38: Liu Er Long

They were the last group to leave Lanba. The Sword Master left first, with Ning Rong Rong and all of her cousins, and Ma Hong Jun rounding out the group. Ning Feng Shi seemed sure that the Sword Master would keep a strict watch over them -- she was less convinced the watch would be strict, but it was certain that they would stay safe.

Senior Ma had been next, eager to meet back up with his son once they reached Xi Si City. Dai Mu Bai and Zhu Zhu Qing were with him; they were taking the most dangerous route, so their group was small. Hopefully they would be able to move quickly and stay out of sight. (Unspoken by any of them was that it was likely that Dai Wei Shi and Zhu Zhu Yan were still keeping an eye on their siblings. Not that they were counting on them to provide assistance, but if they were watching, they might make sure assistance wasn’t required.)

Lan De traded the books she was carrying for a cup of tea. “I’ve been meaning to ask,” he said. “Why did you say there are five groups? I thought all of us were staying together?”

She frowned at him over the tea. It was perfect tea, of course. He was doing it on purpose. “Of course we are. You can’t tell me that Tang San and Xiao Wu don’t attract more trouble than all the other students combined.”

“They don’t mean to, I don’t think?” Xiao Gang offered.

They didn’t, which made it all the more interesting when trouble found them anyway.

“But three teachers, for just two students?” Lan De asked. He’d been the one who had to tell Du Gu Bo that he’d be responsible for all of the Cang Hui students, plus Ou Si Ke. She could only imagine how that had gone.

“You were the one who complained about not going with us last time,” she told him. “If you want to change groups now, you’ll have to go with Ah Yin.”

“She’s the fifth group,” Xiao Gang said, like he had just figured it out.

She was surprised it had taken him so long, but she supposed he’d been busy re-writing the Soul Master curriculum from scratch. “Yes, the fifth group is Ah Yin. It’s respectful to recognize that she’s part of our plans, and it keeps us from having an inauspicious number of groups.”

Speaking of trouble -- she looked around. “Where are Tang San and Xiao Wu, by the way?”

“In the forest with Little Spot,” Lan De said. “They’re already packed up.” He shook his finger at her. “That cat is trying to get me to step on her tail, I’m telling you! I sent them out to save my feet.”

Xiao Gang refilled her tea. “Do you need them for something? They should be back soon.”

She sighed. “We’ll need them eventually, but not yet.” She carefully set the cup down and moved it out of the way. “You need to add a section to the curriculum about where babies come from.”

“What?” Xiao Gang looked at Lan De, who nodded.

“She’s right.”

“Aren’t they too young?”

She rolled her eyes. “They are, quite literally, older than they look. By the time we were their age --” She trailed off and let the others fill in the rest for themselves.

Lan De cleared his throat. “Yes, well.”

“Exactly,” she said dryly. “And as much as I would greatly prefer to let them figure things out for themselves, someone is going to need to talk to the students about it, because it turns out Tang San’s mother may have grown him from a sprout.”

Xiao Gang seemed shocked, but Lan De shrugged. She supposed he was the only one of them who’d raised a child; it made sense he’d be the hardest to surprise.

“All the students?” Xiao Gang looked immensely uncomfortable. “Xiao Wu is over ten thousand years old, surely —“

She rescued him before he had to figure out how to finish that thought. “Xiao Wu is very clear on how things work for rabbits, yes. But apparently she got the human version from your Python friend, and it was more metaphorical than literal. Since then she’s been getting all her information from Ning Rong Rong and Zhu Zhu Qing.”

She looked at Lan De. “Zhu Zhu Qing asked Ou Si Ke -- don’t ask me why -- and he asked Ah Yin. That’s where the sprout information came from. Ou Si Ke said she seemed very serious, and he didn't think she was lying.”

Xiao Gang shook his head. “Tang San said his father told him his mother was entirely human after she transformed, and that Tang San was as well.”

Well, that was ridiculous. She considered throwing her tea at him, but it was very good tea. “Let’s keep in mind he said that to Xiao Wu while Tang San was unconscious, directly after he indicated he’d thought about killing her. I’m not sure any of them are the most reliable sources, given the circumstances.”

“It’s also abundantly clear that Ah Yin isn’t bound to a human form,” Lan De pointed out. “At least one part of Tang Hao’s statement can be disproven from our own experience.”

“But Tang San is clearly his child,” Xiao Gang said. “He has the Hao Tian Hammer martial soul.”

She exchanged a look with Lan De, and he said, “Are you trying to find a way around this because you actually think it’s not true, or because you don’t want to be the one to explain it to your students?”

“Or because you don’t want to imagine Tang Hao in a compromising position with a plant,” she said, and Lan De kicked her ankle under the table. “What? You were thinking it too.”

Xiao Gang looked up at the ceiling. “Why is it that they’re always ‘my students’ in situations like this?”


Chapter 39: Ma Hong Jun

“Who are you?”

He stared at the person -- it was a person, he was sure -- who was mostly hidden by a group of Sand Beasts. He thought they might look familiar, but it was hard to tell with all the Sand Beasts between them. “Are you really in a position to be asking questions?” he said.

Ma Hong Jun wasn’t even supposed to be in this group. He was supposed to be with Ning Rong Rong and the Sword Master, but Ou Si Ke had begged him to switch spots at the last second.

He didn’t mind. They’d taken longer than expected to reach the desert, but only because the Venom Soul Master insisted on finding the most expensive inns along the way. He claimed it was for his own comfort, but Ma Hong Jun had seen him checking in with the former Cang Hui students every day. Some of them had never been anywhere except their villages and the school -- if they wanted to make the trip into a vacation and have some fun, it wasn’t like he didn’t benefit from it too.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” the person said. It looked like they tried to take a step forward, but the Sand Beasts nudged them back again. “There’s been a misunderstanding.”

“Sure,” he said. “A misunderstanding.” He glanced behind him; the others were already catching up, so he waited until they were within earshot to add, “You had a misunderstanding with Sand Beasts, in the middle of the desert?”

They’d taken a circuitous route once they reached the desert, because the Venom Soul Master wanted them to look for some rare sand-blooming flowers. Ma Hong Jun was willing to pretend that was the reason, but he doubted it was coincidence that they happened to be on a path towards Xi Si City that would avoid the ruins where the Fiend Battle Team had left their victims.

(He had mixed feelings about Ye Zhi Qiu’s actions in the previous future, and he knew that the Ye Zhi Qiu of the present was still the person who had done all those things. But at the same time, the things themselves now hadn’t happened, which made everything more confusing. He could only look at Ye Zhi Qiu’s actions now.

And he could wonder, sometimes, about what he would have done if Tang San hadn’t fought for him; if he hadn’t been welcomed into Shi Lan Ke. What choices he might have made, or could have justified. In the darkest moment of his life, he’d gained brothers and sisters and parents who had all reached out and pulled him into the light. And Ye Zhi Qiu hadn’t. If he could have that chance now, wasn’t that a good thing?)

The Venom Soul Master strode up beside him. “What idiot argues with Sand Beasts in a desert?” He peered over the Sand Beasts between them. “Su Yun Tao? Is that you? What are you doing here?”

It was a good question. Also, how could he have gotten into trouble with the Sand Beasts? They were so nice! They’d seen plenty of Sand Beasts along the way and had never had any misunderstandings.

“Grand Master!” The person who was probably Sun Yun Tao sounded relieved. “I was looking for you.”

The Venom Soul Master waved his hand. After so much time traveling together, Ma Hong Jun felt confident in categorizing it as an irritable wave, but also curious. “Do I look like a Sand Beast to you? Are you an idiot after all? Why would you pester them for such a small matter?”

“I -- no, of course not!” Sun Yun Tao hurried to explain. “As I said, it was a misunderstanding.”

“You were following us,” the Venom Soul Master said. “And they took exception to it. I don’t see any misunderstanding there.”

“I wasn’t following you. I already said -- I was looking for you.”

The Venom Soul Master raised his eyebrows. They were very impressive eyebrows. Then he turned to the Sand Beasts. “Thank you for your assistance,” he said clearly. “If he has not offended you directly, you are welcome to release him to us. We can monitor him from this point.”

Ma Hong Jun blinked. He’d never heard the Venom Soul Master be so polite. He didn’t even know he could be that polite.

The Sand Beasts parted, and Su Yun Tao hurried towards them. He stepped in front of the other students instinctively, only to find Ye Zhi Qiu doing the same thing, and Su Yun Tao stopped. He looked -- not great.

“How long have you been following -- looking for us?” he asked. “What interest does Martial Soul Hall have in some simple traveling students?”

“You’re hardly just traveling students,” Su Yun Tao said. “But I’m not here on behalf of Martial Soul Hall.”

Ye Zhi Qiu narrowed his eyes. “On whose behalf are you here, then?”

Su Yun Tao hesitated for a long time, and then they finally answered with, “I’d prefer not to say, as would that individual.”

Ye Zhi Qiu frowned. “What were your orders?”

“To find you,” Su Yun Tao said. “To ensure that you didn’t lose your way crossing the desert.” He winced slightly. “To make sure the Sand Beasts weren’t giving you any trouble.”

“Hmph.” The Venom Soul Master crossed his arms. “Seems like you should have been taking your own advice. It’s fine; you can come with us.”

“We’re headed for Xi Si City,” Ye Zhi Qiu said. “But you knew that already.”

One of the Sand Beasts bellowed, and Su Yun Tao flinched. Ye Zhi Qiu smiled, just the tiniest bit, and Ma Hong Jun tried not to laugh.


Chapter 40: Dai Mu Bai

It was strange, to return to a place before you’d ever been there. They walked through the streets of Xi Si City completely unremarked upon. The markets were crowded; the air filled with the sounds and smells of late afternoon.

“It feels different,” Zhu Zhu Qing murmured, and he nodded. The city felt lighter, less dangerous, and he wondered how much of it was simply the lack of the Fiend Battle Team hanging over their heads. Back then, they had been the most challenging opponents Shi Lan Ke had faced. Looking back from everything that came after -- the competition, his brother, the Martial Soul Hall Battle Team, Tang San nearly dying, time travel, his brother again -- facing a few rogue Soul Masters with a grudge hardly seemed to compare.

Then again, maybe it was just the lack of a sandstorm.

“There are good people here,” Senior Ma said, looking around in approval. It was true that everyone they’d seen so far had been polite and cheerful -- almost suspiciously so. He firmly reminded himself that a conspiracy at this point was unlikely. They had probably just been traveling on their own for long enough to make all large groups of people seem unusual in comparison.

Their path had stayed clear, so they’d pushed their pace and made good time. It was likely they were the first to arrive. They had planned to meet everyone at the same inn they’d stayed at in the past/future, but they had plenty of time.

Senior Ma nodded to them both. “I’ll go ahead and make sure everything is settled at the inn. I’m sure the two of you can find something to do.”

They wandered around the city without any destination or plan. It probably should have been relaxing. By the time they reached the empty and undamaged arena where they’d fought the Fiend Battle Team, he could admit he felt anything but relaxed.

He stopped, and Zhu Zhu Qing stopped with him. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. He stared at the sky. Finally, he said, “What are we doing here?”

He knew she would hear all the questions he wasn’t saying out loud. Were they doing the right thing? Could his brother be the leader that Xing Luo needed? Were they laying groundwork for a future that would benefit everyone, or were they irresponsibly shirking their duties?

“We’re supporting our friends,” Zhu Zhu Qing answered.

Could it really be that simple? “Is that all?” he asked.

Zhu Zhu Qing leaned back so she could roll her eyes at him. “Of course not. We’re going to build a school and try to revolutionize the way people think about Soul Beasts and Martial Soul, and support the peace efforts between Xing Luo and Tian Dou Empires. But we’re not doing it for those big reasons, even though we know they’re important. We’re doing it to support our friends.”

“Yes,” he said, because her words resonated in a way that felt right, that felt like partnership. “That makes sense. I’m --” He fumbled the words, but pushed through it anyway. “I’m glad I’m here with you. That we’re here, together.”

“I’m glad too,” she said.

He stepped close enough that their shoulders brushed, and Zhu Zhu Qing tangled their fingers together.

And then a child ran across the sand and skidded to a stop in front of them. “Are you Zhu Zhu Qing? And Dai Mu Bai?”

He raised his eyebrows. Zhu Zhu Qing said, “We are, yes.”

The child shrieked, “I found them!” at the top of their lungs, and then burst into tears. He exchanged a dismayed look with Zhu Zhu Qing. What were they supposed to do with that?

Zhu Zhu Qing knelt down next to the child -- they were clearly too small to be running around without some kind of supervision, so he looked around for anyone who looked like they might be responsible for such a tiny and noisy person.

“Ying-er!” Sure enough, several people were approaching them with speed and enthusiasm. He made a mental note that three people per child might seem like more than enough, but clearly the evidence in front of him showed otherwise. Not that he would need to know that. But -- just in case. Someday.

“Is that you?” Zhu Zhu Qing asked kindly. “Ying-er?” The child nodded. “Do you know those people, Ying-er?” Another nod.

“Ying-er, come back here!” The fastest of the adults got close enough to reach for the child, but Zhu Zhu Qing stepped between them smoothly.

“A child in distress came running to us,” she said. “Surely you can understand our concern.”

She turned her back on them, focusing on Ying-er, and he realized she was trusting him to cover them. He tried not to let his many feelings about that show in his expression.

“Ying-er, can you tell us what’s wrong?” Her voice was quiet. Ying-er’s tears didn’t stop, but they also didn’t get louder. If she answered Zhu Zhu Qing’s question, he couldn’t hear it.

The rest of the adults had reached them by that point, and they were drawing attention from all sides. One of them shook their finger at him. “She’s my niece! She wasn’t crying until she found you! You must have done something!”

“We didn’t! She just asked us our names, and then --” He waved his hand, trying to indicate ‘she just started crying all on her own’ without actually saying it. “It seemed like she was looking for us.”

“I didn’t want to find you!” They all turned to Ying-er, and she stomped her foot. “I wanted to find Xiao Wu instead!”

He looked at Zhu Zhu Qing. Because she hadn’t asked their names, had she? She’d known them already, and only asked them to confirm. And she knew Xiao Wu’s name. And the adults -- all of them, and they’d managed to gather a small crowd -- looked some combination of guilty and embarrassed.

“I think you’d better start explaining,” he said. “From the beginning.”


Chapter 41: Ning Rong Rong

“Something weird is going on.”

Du Gu Yan nodded, and Huo Wu said, “You see it too? I’m not just imagining it.”

They arrived in Xi Si City without trouble, and the trip had gone smoothly enough that even Grandpa Sword couldn’t argue with them spending the afternoon exploring the markets -- as long as Ou Si Ke accompanied him to the inn and stayed within his view at all times. He hadn’t caught on that Ou Si Ke didn’t mind at all, since his latest play featured Grandpa Sword as the main character, and he was counting the whole experience as ‘research.’

She thought they were both being a little silly, but she wasn’t going to turn down the chance to spend time with Huo Wu and Du Gu Yan. And she wasn’t unaware of the symbolism of their group -- well-recognized representatives of the two Empires and the Seven Clans, mingling as friends in an unaffiliated city -- but she hadn’t thought it would draw quite so much attention.

The second time she’d been offered wares for free, it had seemed like a surprising coincidence. The fifth time, it was clear something more was happening.

“Maybe they’re just being friendly?” It was a weak guess, but she had no idea how else to explain it.

“Except they’re only being friendly to you,” Du Gu Yan said. “Us, they barely acknowledge.”

She winced. It was true. “I’m sorry; I don’t understand it. Qibao Amber Clan has no dealings in Xi Si City.” They’d crossed paths with her cousins after the third gift, and they’d confirmed they weren’t getting any unusual treatment at all.

“Believe me, I’m used to going unnoticed next to this one.” Huo Wu pointed her thumb at Du Gu Yan. “But this is different. This is --”

She trailed off, and Du Gu Yan said, “It’s like they’re worried about you, and they don’t want to give us any encouragement to hang around.”

“Yes!” Huo Wu nodded. “That’s it exactly! Like relatives watching out to make sure you don’t fall in with a bad crowd.”

Which didn’t make any sense at all. “But they don’t even know me! I haven’t been here yet.”

Du Gu Yan frowned. “Maybe you remind them of someone?”

Huo Wu held up one finger. “Maybe they have a secret message for you and are trying to get you alone!” Then she laughed. “I must have read too many of Ou Si Ke’s stories.”

“Actually…” Du Gu Yan looked thoughtful. “I mean, I do realize that sounds unlikely, but maybe it’s not. You must have made an impression when you were here before, after all.”

She pulled them both further out of the crowd. “That was in the future!” she said, as quietly as she could. “They don't remember it!”

“You didn’t know we’d come back in time until we came and found you,” Huo Wu pointed out. Which was -- a fair point. “Maybe some of them did too.”

“Or just one, and they talk a lot,” Du Gu Yan said. “Anyway, we should split up.”

“What?” That was the exact opposite of what they were supposed to be doing. She had never thought of herself as a person who followed the rules, but Du Gu Yan seemed to consider breaking them as often as possible to be a point of pride.

“Well, we’re not going to find out what they want to tell you if we all stick together, are we? Aren’t you curious?”

She was. And yet. “We’re still in Xi Si City,” she said. “I’m not curious enough to wander off alone, and you shouldn’t be either.”

“So far all the people who were affected by the time travel have been ones who supported Tang San,” Du Gu Yan said. “Why would his mom have brought someone back who would be dangerous to us?”

Ning Rong Rong looked at Huo Wu. She didn’t want to be the one to say that Tang San’s mom would probably have happily brought back anyone who would protect him, but that she hadn’t necessarily extended that protection to the rest of them. Luckily Huo Wu had another objection.

“The only people we know about are the ones who supported Tang San, because we’re the ones who went looking for him,” she said. “That’s a self-selecting group; it might not mean anything.” When it looked like Du Gu Yan was going to argue, she added, “It might even have happened by accident. She hadn’t ever done it before, right?”

Du Gu Yan nodded reluctantly. Huo Wu said, “I could -- no, you’re right. We should stick together.”

“We’ll go to the inn,” Ning Rong Rong suggested, while she silently breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s where we stayed last time; if anyone really does remember, they would look for us there.”

Huo Wu was giving her an odd look. “They know what inn you stayed at?”

She thought about the crowd that had gathered outside the inn’s gates, cheering and leaving gifts. They’d explained the story in summary, but circumstances were so different this time that it hadn’t seemed necessary to go into all the details. “It was a memorable visit,” she said finally.

Huo Wu said, “It must have been,” and Du Gu Yan looked curious, but they didn’t push for more information.

“Ahem.” They all startled at the interruption.

A woman waved at them from behind one of the nearby market stalls. “I couldn’t help overhearing part of your conversation. About the, ah, the time travel?”

“The what?” she said, without any real hope she’d get away with it. They hadn’t been trying very hard to be quiet.

Sure enough, the woman just repeated, “The time travel. Did you think you were the only ones? We thought it must have had something to do with you, and that team of yours. We’ve been on the lookout for you ever since we got word you were headed this way.”

She wasn’t sure what part of that to ask about first. “What?” she managed finally.

“One of you arrived so much earlier; we were starting to worry!”

“One?” she asked. She exchanged alarmed glances with Du Gu Yan and Huo Wu. None of them had been traveling alone.

“Yes, she’s been here for days, in the same inn you stayed at before, you remember the one, right? Wait, where are you going?”

They were already running, and she waved over her shoulder. “Thank you, auntie! We need to go!”


Chapter 42: Fei Lan De

He tucked his hands into his coat and pretended to look around. “Well, this seems familiar. I think this is the exact same storage area we took shelter in during the sandstorm.”

Xiao Gang sighed. As if he was the one suffering! As if Lan De was the one who had shoved them behind the nearest door when they almost ran into Tang San and Xiao Wu holding hands!

He leaned closer so he could poke Xiao Gang in the chest. “When you said you were re-writing the curriculum, I had no idea this is what you meant. You must be the only teacher in history who runs away from his own students!”

“I’m not running away,” Xiao Gang muttered. “I’m giving them space.”

He heard footsteps as someone approached outside, and then Er Long’s voice was right on the other side of the door. “Ah, Xiao Wu, Tang San! There you are. Have you seen Lan De, or Xiao Gang? It’s getting late.”

The answer was too quiet for him to make out, but he was fairly sure he heard giggling. He put his hand over his eyes. How did Xiao Gang get him into these situations?

He distracted himself by considering ways to subtly (or not) enact his revenge, and only pulled his hand away when the door opened. Er Long was framed in the doorway, with the setting sun behind her. It was, he could admit, a very striking sight. He poked Xiao Gang again, just to make sure he was still breathing.

“Where are Tang San and Xiao Wu?” he asked.

“I sent them ahead to the inn.” Er Long put her hands on her hips and looked back and forth between them. “Well?”

“We were looking for you,” Lan De said, because he was absolutely willing to blame the entire situation on Xiao Gang. “And we came across Tang San and Xiao Wu, and, ah --” He shuffled back just far enough that he could point at Xiao Gang where he couldn’t see it. “We didn’t want to disturb them.”

“You didn’t want to disturb them,” Er Long repeated.

Xiao Gang sighed again. “They’re young, and in love, and soon it will be nearly impossible for them to do anything without inviting judgement from a wide variety of over-interested parties. They deserve an opportunity to enjoy this moment while it lasts.”

Er Long visibly relaxed. “Not everyone hates being in the spotlight as much as you do, A-Gang.”

He saw his chance and he took it, clearing his throat noisily. “Which is ironic, given how often you’ve somehow managed to have your shirt off on this trip. One might wonder if you don’t mind a spotlight from certain --” Xiao Gang threw a book at him.

“You don’t need to finish that thought,” he said.

He peered at the book carefully. “Where did you even find a book in here? Is this your notebook? Does that mean I’m allowed to read it now?”

Xiao Gang frowned at him. “When have you not been allowed to read it?”

Really? He could feel his eyebrows going up without conscious effort. “You sleep with it under your pillow! You almost broke my wrist when I tried to take it last time!”

“I thought you were trying to strangle me in my sleep!”

“Did that seem like a possibility? We were in a tent!” He checked to make sure Er Long was paying attention. Xiao Gang never seemed to yell at her, but it was good for him to yell sometimes. Therapeutic.

“I was asleep! You should have known better!”

He should have. Sometimes he forgot all the years they'd spent apart. “Well, you’ve given it to me now, and I’m not giving it back until I’ve read it!” He knew it was a ridiculous thing to be arguing about. The yelling itself was really the point.

“Fine! Do that!”

“Good!”

They stared at each other, and then Xiao Gang laughed, and shook his head. “Did you really try to take my notebook while I was sleeping?” he asked.

He shrugged. “I was awake. Er Long was patrolling; you were sleeping. I was bored. I can see in the dark; why not use it?”

“Would both of you please come out here,” Er Long said. “Because I’m going to hug at least one of you, and we won’t all fit in there.”

“You make that sound so intimidating,” he said admiringly, even as he shooed Xiao Gang out ahead of him. “It’s very impressive.” He kept nudging until Xiao Gang was wedged between them, and he and Er Long jostled for arm position until all three of them were satisfyingly wrapped up.

Xiao Gang’s voice was muffled, but they could hear him well enough. “Are you going to do this all the time now?”

“Is that an option?” Er Long asked.

“As often as possible,” he said. “I think we should set a positive example for the children, don’t you?” Xiao Gang tensed, and he patted his shoulder. “It’s not wrong to care about other people, or to demonstrate that care. It’s all right to follow your heart, regardless of popular opinion.” One of the benefits of being a parent — he had plenty of practice with emotionally awkward conversations and pretending he knew what he was talking about.

Er Long put her hand on top of his. “A-Gang,” she said. “You’re not the only one who sees ourselves in the students.”

“Isn’t it only natural to want to protect them from the struggles we faced?” Xiao Gang asked.

“It’s good, it’s good,” he answered, exchanging a look with Er Long. She started the hug; any emotional confessions it led to were hers to address. That was the rule.

“Is it really them you’re worried about, or is it us?”

Xiao Gang sighed. “Can’t it be both?”

“It can,” Er Long said. “But their circumstances are not the same as ours were, and our circumstances now are not the same as they were back then.”

“Just think of it this way: if we’re very lucky, your Python friend will show up at some point and distract everyone, and we can all do exactly as we please.”

Xiao Gang and Er Long both looked at him. “What?” he said. “You don’t think so? He sounded like the type when you described him.”

“You and I have very different definitions of luck,” Xiao Gang said finally.


Chapter 43: Xiao Wu

It wasn’t that she didn't like Hu Lie Na. She fought well! It was very impressive. But she was a very confusing person to try to understand. Her emotions were in conflict almost all the time -- she wanted them to like her, but wasn’t sure if she liked them back. She trusted them but didn’t want them to trust her. During the competition, she had wanted to win just as much as she’d wanted to lose.

It was easy for Xiao Wu to tell what she was feeling, but impossible to predict what she would do about it. She definitely hadn’t expected this.

When they’d reached the inn, they’d been informed that someone was waiting for them, which made sense -- they shouldn’t have been the last to arrive, so a lot of people might have been waiting for them. But instead of Rong Rong, or Zhu Zhu Qing, or Ma Hong Jun (or all of them! that would have been nice), they’d stepped into a room with just one person in it.

“Tang San,” Hu Lie Na said carefully. “Xiao Wu. I’ve been waiting for you.”

At least that answered the question of whether she had traveled back in time with them.

“Why?” she asked.

“Why what?” Hu Lie Na frowned.

“Why were you waiting for us?” Tang San clarified. She gave him a thumbs up, and he smiled. She angled herself so she could watch Hu Lie Na and the door at the same time. Just in case.

“I want to talk to you,” Hu Lie Na said. “Nothing more than that.”

“This seems unnecessarily complicated,” Tang San said, and she nodded her agreement. “You knew where we were; you could have just asked. Sent a letter? A visit? Does Su Yun Tao know? He could have carried a message.”

“The Chief of Martial Soul Hall watches everything I do. Everything everyone does.”

“Everything except Xi Si City?” That seemed unlikely. She hadn’t known Tang Hao was in Nuoding, and she hadn’t known Xiao Wu was a Soul Beast until the Chrysanthemum Master’s interspace. She obviously didn’t see everything.

“Including Xi Si City. But she’s busy right now,” Hu Lie Na said, waving her hand. “Maybe.”

Tang San tensed. “She didn’t time travel too, did she?”

Hu Lie Na narrowed her eyes. “Not that I know of, no. You mean you don’t know?”

She didn’t seem to have noticed the vine slowly twining its way around the room.

“Did you bring me back on purpose?”

Xiao Wu shifted closer. Tang San’s eyes flicked to hers and back again, and she grabbed his hand.

“No,” he said, and the world slid sideways.

”Yes,” his mother’s voice answered, and she blinked her eyes open in the Soul Realm.

Hu Lie Na was visibly shocked, but whether it was by the answer or the Soul Realm itself, it was hard to say. Either way, she recovered quickly. “For what purpose?” she asked.

”Is parental love not enough of a purpose on its own?”

Hu Lie Na raised her eyebrows. “Do you really think I’m a person who would be able to answer that question?”

”Did you not wish for a second chance? An opportunity to make different choices? Do you not owe Tang San a life debt twice over?”

“I -- yes,” Hu Lie Na said. “That’s true.”

Tang San shook his head. “No,” he said. “I would have no debts between us. The past is the past. Those things haven’t even happened in this timeline. The slate is clean.”

Hu Lie Na made an incredulous noise. “Is it really so easy for you? We lived it; we remember it. We bear the knowledge that we were capable of the choices we made, even if we no longer bear the consequences. What are we supposed to do with that?”

”We make sure the knowledge isn’t wasted.”

“Have you told anyone?” Tang San asked. “Su Yun Tao, maybe? Is he here with you?”

“Why?”

Hu Lie Na sounded suspicious, and Tang San rolled his eyes. “Because it’s hard to do this all alone. It might help to have someone to talk to.”

“That isn’t why I came here.”

Xiao Wu sighed, just a tiny bit. She hadn’t thought it was, but she’d hoped she might be wrong.

“So there must be some other reason,” Tang San said. “What is it that you want?”

Xiao Wu nodded. “You should just say it plainly, so we can help you.”

“After everything I’ve done, you would still help me?”

What kind of a question was that? She looked at Tang San. “Of course we will,” he said.

Hu Lie Na stared at them both for what felt like a long time. Finally, she said, “I want you to tell me how you dealt with Tang Hao.”

She could feel Tang San’s confusion, and Hu Lie Na’s too. “How we -- what? I didn’t do anything to him!”

Hu Lie Na turned to Xiao Wu. “Then, you --?”

She quickly waved her hands. “No, no, I didn’t do anything either!”

“He left on his own,” Tang San said. “Almost as soon as we arrived back in time.” He frowned. “Why do you want to know?”

“Tang Hao is one of the strongest Soul Masters on the continent. So is Bi Bi Dong. If you found a way to -- occupy him, there’s a chance it might work on her too.”

Xiao Wu wasn’t entirely sure what Hu Lie Na was talking around -- hadn’t she specifically asked her to say it plainly?

”Perhaps you might find a way to encourage an ocean voyage,” Ah Yin said. “Have you considered Sea Beasts?”

“Sea Beasts,” Hu Lie Na repeated.

”Sea Beasts,” Ah Yin agreed firmly. ”From my understanding, spending time with them is -- highly educational.”

“Educational.”

”Oh,” Ah Yin said, and her voice sounded amused. ”Look at that. Your friends are here.”

The Soul Realm dissolved around them, just in time to hear the unmistakable sound of someone kicking the door down.


Chapter 44: Ye Zhi Qiu

“Was destroying the door really necessary?”

Du Gu Bo waved his hand at him. “It’s not like I knew they were fine. If I hadn’t done it, someone else would. The Ghost Cat, maybe, or the baby Phoenix. Besides,” he added. “The inn owner specifically said she didn’t mind.”

That was true, at least. The owner of the inn had welcomed in their odd group with a surprising amount of enthusiasm. They’d arrived just ahead of Dai Mu Bai and Zhu Zhu Qing -- the timing didn’t make any sense, but there hadn’t been any chance to exchange explanations.

Dai Mu Bai had run up and said, “Hu Lie Na is here.” Ma Hong Jun’s expression had turned grim, and he released his Martial Soul in a rush of flame and heat. Ye Zhi Qiu had seen it before, but it was certainly more alarming when it was happening less than an arm’s distance away.

Then there had been the door, and then he’d watched Zhu Zhu Qing step forward and pull Xiao Wu behind her, glaring at Hu Lie Na the whole time. “Qing-jie!” Xiao Wu beamed up at her, and Zhu Zhu Qing’s expression softened.

“Are you all right?” she asked, and Xiao Wu nodded.

“We’re fine,” she said.

Hu Lie Na didn’t look dangerous, but then again, Shi Nian hadn’t looked dangerous at first either. “I’m fine too,” she said.

Zhu Zhu Qing didn’t take her eyes off Xiao Wu. “Are we glad to hear that?”

Xiao Wu nodded again, more enthusiastically. “We’re glad, we’re glad. Everything is good here. Hu Lie Na doesn’t want to hurt anyone.”

Zhu Zhu Qing turned to Tang San and raised her eyebrows. “I trust Xiao Wu,” Tang San said.

Finally, she looked back at Hu Lie Na. “I’m glad to hear that,” she said politely.

There was more noise from the hallway, and Ning Rong Rong burst through the door, with Huo Wu and Du Gu Yan right behind her.

“Did we miss it? What’s happening? Did you know Hu Lie Na is here too?” She scanned the room. “Oh, Hu Lie Na, there you are. Hello.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Ye Zhi Qiu saw Su Yun Tao put his hand over his face.

Tang San looked at the door -- or where the door used to be -- and frowned. “Are you all right? Where’s Ou Si Ke, and the rest of your group?”

“They should have been here already,” Du Gu Yan said, looking around like she might have missed them somehow.

NIng Rong Rong marched back into the hallway. “Ou Si Ke!” she called.

From somewhere deeper in the building, someone yelled, “Rong Rong? Rong Rong! I’m coming!”

Ning Rong Rong stepped back into the room. “He’s coming,” she said calmly.

No one else seemed surprised, so he pretended that he also thought everything that was happening was perfectly normal and expected.

Ma Hong Jun nudged his shoulder. “You have your murder expression on,” he whispered. “It’s making me nervous.”

He tried to relax, and Ma Hong Jun made a face. “Better. Maybe. Are you all right?”

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

They’d missed part of the explanations, and he started paying attention again just in time to hear Tang San say, “And you arranged all of this?”

Hu Lie Na shrugged. “I thought it would be easiest to catch up to you in Xi Si City. I was hoping to avoid unnecessary drama.”

Someone laughed, and tried unsuccessfully to make it sound like a cough. Xiao Wu said, “I’m not sure why. It doesn’t seem to have worked out.”

“No,” Hu Lie Na said. “It often turns out that way, around all of you.”

“Did you get what you needed?” Tang San asked, and Hu Lie Na nodded.

“She’s who? And she did what?” With everything that had happened, he’d forgotten that Du Gu Bo didn’t actually know the events of the future other than what they’d told him, or that he had figured out.

From his outraged tone and Du Gu Yan’s sheepish expression, she’d just filled in a few more of the gaps. “Well, what are we going to do about her?”

For the first time since they’d arrived, Hu Lie Na looked alarmed. The Venom Soul Master tended to have that effect on people.

Tang San waved his hands. “It’s fine, it’s fine, we don’t need to do anything!”

Du Gu Bo stared at him. “Are you sure?”

Su Yun Tao took a step forward, and Du Gu Bo gave him an impressively withering look. “You think you could stop me?”

He kept his eyes on Hu Lie Na; he could see her assessing the room and calculating her odds for the best chance of getting what she wanted. He didn’t know what that was, exactly, but he recognized the look.

The odds weren't in her favor. At least half the room’s occupants appeared willing to hit first and ask questions later. Tang San was apparently committed to being the voice of reason, and Ye Zhi Qiu wondered if Hu Lie Na realized the significance. Tang San was the team’s strategist and field leader — the fact that Dai Mu Bai was deferring to him in this situation meant they were prepared for it to be a fight.

But Tang San spread his hands out to the sides and said, “Nobody needs to do anything. There’s no need for trouble. Hu Lie Na and Su Yun Tao are just passing through. Right?”

Hu Lie Na nodded warily. “That’s right,” she said. Whether it was true, or she just realized it was in her best interest to agree, it didn’t matter to him. Tang San said she was leaving; one way or another, it would definitely happen.


Chapter 45: Liu Long

“Liu Long!”

He froze, and then cursed himself. If he had just kept walking, they might have thought they were mistaken. He must have disrespected his ancestors. Or maybe he’d been born under an unlucky star.

One day he’d been in Xi Si City -- minding his own business, perfectly content to live in obscurity. He had a little room near a little inn, far away from the busy city center. He wrote letters for people, and sometimes a little calligraphy, or whatever other odd jobs people brought him.

He’d kept his head down through the terror the Fiend Battle Team had brought to the city. He had plenty of experience with capricious cruelty, and he prayed Wang Sheng wouldn’t find him. He let the children shortcut through his room when they needed to get off the streets, and he made sure he never knew anyone or anything whenever he was asked.

Liu Long knew he wasn’t a good person. He’d hoped he could claim to be an average person. Even when Tang San and Xiao Wu had showed up in Xi Si City and defeated the Fiend Battle Team and he’d done nothing, he still thought he might be able to claim that he was only a somewhat-below-average person.

And then he’d blinked, and he was back in Nuoding’s Beginner Soul Master School, and Xiao Chen Yu was staring at him. At first he thought he had died, but Xiao Chen Yu had slapped him when he asked, “Am I dead?” and that didn’t seem like something that would happen if he was actually dead. He hoped not. Surely he couldn’t be so much below average as all that?

It wasn’t how he would have liked to have learned that time travel was a thing that could happen, if he had ever thought about learning such a thing. But it seemed that it could, and it had, and he had fled from Nuoding in a panic before it really had a chance to sink in.

“Liu Long! Is that you?”

He really thought his luck might have turned around when he reached Xi Si City again and it turned out he wasn’t the only person who had returned to the past. He wasn’t alone; they met in a little group and had tea and snacks and told stories about things that hadn’t happened yet, and it was -- nice. Safe.

None of them knew why they’d traveled back in time, but he’d been assured that the Sand Beasts weren’t worried about it. (Even as a short-term resident of Xi Si City, he understood that Sand Beasts tended to worry about everything -- if they weren’t worried, there was nothing to worry about.) He had dared to think -- maybe it was a second chance. He would never meet Wang Sheng or Tang San or Xiao Wu, and they’d made some plans to prevent the Fiend Battle Team from ever forming. Maybe he could be somewhat-above-average, the second time around.

And then he’d gone out to the market for more ink, and run straight into Xiao Wu. He couldn’t miss the spark of recognition in her eyes, and he was sure she didn’t miss the panic in his.

“It is you!”

He took a deep breath, and turned around. She wouldn’t kill him in front of all these people, right?

“Liu Long!” Xiao Wu bounced right up to him, twirling her braid. “I’ve been looking for you.”

She was definitely going to kill him in front of all these people. “Really?” he managed to say, after a long and awkward pause.

Xiao Wu nodded enthusiastically. “One of the aunties in the market said you were here. She said your calligraphy is good; do you think you can make us some signs?” She had taken his elbow and was leading him along the street. “Brother Dai’s calligraphy is the prettiest, but he’s busy with the Sand Beasts right now.”

He had no idea what was going on, but he nodded, and Xiao Wu seemed to take that as her cue to continue.

“We need signs for the school, but they’re still deciding what the name should be, so we need to see them all so we’ll know which is the best.”

She led him into a courtyard full of people he didn’t recognize. Except that he did recognize one of them, and he might not know what one of the school employees from Nuoding was doing there, but at least he finally knew what was going on. “You shouldn’t kill people in the courtyard,” he blurted out. “The Sand Beasts think it brings bad luck.”

Xiao Wu frowned at him. “What?”

The Nuoding teacher broke off his conversation and frowned at Xiao Wu, which was worse. “Xiiao Wu, what did you say to him?”

“I said ‘Brother Dai’s calligraphy is the prettiest, but he’s busy with the Sand Beasts right now.’ And then I asked him to paint signs for us; that’s all!”

He heard someone say, “He looks nervous,” and then, “Didn’t they know him before? What do you think happened?”

“Xiao Gang, were you so intimidating as a teacher?”

There was a confusing few moments when everyone seemed to be talking but no one was talking to him, and it gave him enough time to work up his courage to ask, “So you’re not going to kill me?”

A person he had happily never seen before stepped forward and said, “Is anyone here planning on killing Liu Long?”

There was a chorus of “no”s and “of course not”s, and at least one “why would we do that?”

“That would be a terribly inauspicious way to start a school,” one person said, and he frowned. That was the rumor he’d heard, but he hadn’t expected it to be true.

“You’re really going to start a school?”

The person who’d asked about killing him took another step forward and clapped his hands. “Why, do you want to join?”

He shook his head quickly. “No, no, I’m done with all that. I don’t want to be a Soul Master.”

“What, really?” One of the people standing around the courtyard dashed over and draped their arm around his shoulders. “Not a Soul Master, you say. That’s good, that’s good. Brother Liu, tell me, have you given any thought to theater?”


Chapter 46: Du Gu Yan

“Grandfather! You’re going to have to go home eventually, you know.”

He made a face. “I don’t see why. Who’s going to keep an eye on all of you if I leave?”

It would be pointless to remind him that Shi Lan Ke was a school, and therefore there were teachers who would be watching the students. (To be fair, Shi Lan Ke seemed to consider that to be one of the more optional teaching duties.)

“We’ll keep an eye on each other. Didn’t I already promise to write?”

“Hmph.” His expression said he had fully committed to his position, and no amount of cajoling or logic would move him from it.

She moved closer, leaning across the table. “I’ll make sure Ye Zhi Qiu writes too.”

“That brat!” He banged on the table with his fist. “What was he thinking, running off like that?”

She busied herself with the tea so that he wouldn’t be able to see her roll her eyes. “He didn’t run off, Grandfather. One of his classmates has family in Xi Si City; they’re just visiting. He’ll be back soon.”

If anything, that only made him look more irritated. He’d all but adopted the Cang Hui students; she thought he might be offended that he hadn’t been invited along on the trip. “He’d better! I’m not leaving until he gets back.”

“He said it would only be a few days. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

“Of course they’ll be fine!”

“And the school is all set up now,” she added pointedly. “We have all the buildings fixed up -- dorms, and classrooms, and training spaces. Everything we need.”

Her Grandfather looked skeptical. “Are you taking any classes? It can’t be a school if they’re not teaching you anything.”

She crossed her arms. “The Headmaster says all of us are considered graduate teachers, not students. We’ll help out with the younger students, and work towards our own individual training goals separately.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I heard they were going to change the name.”

She’d heard that too. “I don’t think they’ve decided,” she said.

“Well, it’s not a real school until it has a name, so I don’t have to leave yet.”

“Grandfather!” They were going around in circles. She tried to think of any arguments she hadn’t tried already. “You know you don’t like to leave your apothecary for too long.”

It wasn’t that she wanted him to leave. Not exactly, anyway. But politically, his presence was implying a stronger tie with the Tian Dou Empire than actually existed. If the royal family decided to object to it, they could cause trouble that the school wasn’t prepared to handle. (And personally, she wouldn’t mind having a little less supervision in the form of her Grandfather.)

He sighed. “Your teachers at the Imperial School are going to blame me for this, you know. Mark my words. The Serpent’s going to come crying to me, wanting to know why I let her prize pupil join another school.”

She tried not to smile. “Didn’t you tell me you enjoy making her cry?”

“Sometimes! Only sometimes, when it’s a matter of a professional difference of opinion and I’m clearly right!” He waved his hand, as if to indicate that the current situation was something quite different than that. “Hmph -- using my own words against me! Surely your new school has a rule against that.”

In fact, adherence to rules of any kind seemed to be considerably less emphasized at Shi Lan Ke -- or whatever name they eventually settled on -- than it had been at the Tian Dou Imperial School. Huo Wu described their style as ‘make the choice; accept the consequences,’ and she thought that seemed accurate.

“Of course,” she said, and her Grandfather gave her a suspicious look.

“I know you’re humoring me,” he said.

She gave him her most innocent smile. “But you’re allowing it because you know I’m right?”

He shook his finger at her. “I’m allowing it because you’re my only grandchild, and don’t you forget it!”

Well, that was even better. She wouldn’t always be right, but she would always be his only grandchild. Unless he adopted Ye Zhi Qiu for real, she supposed. Which would be fine -- if anyone deserved a grand-parental figure who would yell at people in their defense, surely it was Ye Zhi Qiu. He definitely seemed like he could benefit from having a whole crowd of relatives to take an interest in his life.

“Do you think Ye Zhi Qiu has any interest in courting?” she asked. Her Grandfather’s expression made her immediately clarify, “Not me. Obviously.”

“Good,” he said, decisively enough that she wasn’t sure if she should feel offended on Ye Zhi Qiu’s behalf, or on her own. “Why are you asking, in that case?”

“Oh, just idle curiosity. Yu Tian Heng has a large family, you know. Lots of cousins.” And she happened to know that Yu Tian Heng himself had no interest in any of the people who kept getting presented to him.

“Maybe you could suggest a visit,” she said. “A short-term seminar, for certain Imperial School students. There’s value in being exposed to a variety of techniques, right?”

“Value,” her Grandfather repeated.

She could tell he was considering it, at least, and she pushed forward. She hoped Ye Zhi Qiu appreciated what she was doing for him. “You might even come back,” she suggested. “You’d be an excellent guest teacher, don’t you think?”


Chapter 47: Tang San

”Flowers can bloom even in the desert.”

He could admit (to himself, or possibly to his mom, because she would think it was funny), that he’d thought her words of advice were more metaphorical than literal. But Xiao Wu had taught him what she knew about desert plants, and then helped him learn more from the Sand Beasts, and they all agreed that desert flowers were real.

So he planted, and he tended, and he let the lush growth soothe away some of his regrets.

Blue-silver plant wasn’t naturally occurring in a desert climate, but if he infused it with his soul power, it would grow without much effort. It had quickly expanded outside the small courtyard he’d claimed for the garden, and the Haunted Vine followed after -- first with looping ropy tendrils, then leaves, and finally -- flowers.

It wasn’t uncommon to see the Haunted Vine’s tendrils reaching anywhere in the compound; it seemed particularly curious about the training areas, and he’d already had to explain multiple times that not everyone felt comfortable having a sentient Soul Plant in their bedroom at night. Or during the day, really.

He patted the nearest leaf. “Is this safe for you? To be so big? You have enough to eat?”

The Haunted Vine wrapped around his wrist. He couldn’t communicate with it like Xiao Wu or his mom could, but he could understand a vast expanse of sun and sky and cool underground, and the Vine could tug on his hair in the way that meant it was content.

“Good,” he said, swallowing hard. “That’s good.”

“San-ge!”

He quickly scrubbed his eyes and gave the vine at his wrist one last pat as it unwound. “Xiao Wu! I’m in the back!”

Her enthusiasm was infectious, and he managed a smile by the time she found him, but she saw through it immediately.“Are you all right? Is it the garden?”

He nodded automatically, and then shrugged. “Everything is fine,” he said. “I just --” He waved a hand around. He knew Xiao Wu would give him time to think through what he was trying to say, and he took a deep breath.

“Being here, with you, and everyone, and the garden -- it’s good. It’s so good!” Xiao Wu beamed, and knocked their shoulders together. “There are so many good things, but I still --” He put his hand over his heart. “It still hurts. My dad leaving hurts just as much.”

Xiao Wu covered his hand with her own. “That’s how it works, I think.” She leaned into him. “When bad things happen and our hearts are hurt, having good things happen doesn’t make the hurt go away. It just makes our hearts bigger, so the hurt takes up less of them.”

He would probably need to think about that some more. He was convinced that Xiao Wu knew something about everything, and so far she hadn’t proven him wrong. “That’s very wise,” he said.

“Hug?” she offered, and he wrapped his arms around her.

“I feel much better already. Thank you.” He wondered how long they could get away with standing there, just like that.

And then there was a clattering noise, and another voice at the edge of the courtyard. Not long, then. “Brother San!” Ou Si Ke sounded excited.

“Brother San, where are you? Ouch! Oh, hello. Is this courtyard getting bigger? Do you know where Tang San is?”

They could hear him getting closer, and as he rounded the final curve in the path, he said, “Brother San! The -- sorry, sorry, I didn’t see anything!”

Xiao Wu hooked her chin over his shoulder. “Hi Ou Si Ke.”

“Hello, yes, good, I’m glad you’re here. Not that I knew you were here, or I wouldn’t have interrupted!”

His voice was muffled, and when Tang San shuffled around for a better view, he had both hands over his face. “It’s fine,” Tang San said, laughing. “You were looking for both of us?”

“The Headmaster is looking for both of you,” Ou Si Ke corrected. “He wants to talk about the admission test.”

Xiao Wu cheered. He linked his elbow with hers, and all three of them turned together to leave. Behind them, the Haunted Vine bloomed, and bloomed, and bloomed.


Chapter 48: Xiao Wu

She hoped this admission test was going to be as much fun as the last one.

Everyone agreed that Ou Si Ke was the most impressive orator of the group. Huo Wu and Ma Hong Jun were behind him, creating a variety of impressive shadow pictures with their flames.

“There are,” Ou Si Ke said grandly, “at least five Soul Beasts in this courtyard.” Everyone’s eyes went to the Sand Beasts. “Other than the Sand Beasts,” he added, and there was a wave of uncertain muttering.

“The test is simple. Step one: find one. Step two: introduce yourself.”

The Headmaster stepped up next to him. “The Soul Beasts here have agreed to help with this test, and the Sand Beasts are here as impartial judges. If you hurt a Soul Beast, they’ll hurt you back. If you kill one, they’ll kill you.” He clapped his hands together and smiled with all his teeth showing. “Just as Ou Si Ke said: simple!”

They were accepting all of the youngest children without any testing requirement -- the Headmaster said it made them good neighbors, and Senior Ma said it was a good investment in the future. They were all attending the test anyway, as a learning experience, and there was a small group of older children and young adults who were the official participants.

They clustered together, talking too quietly for her to overhear. “Good teamwork,” Tang San said, close to her ear. “If they’re planning, and not just arguing. Did you get food?”

He offered her a bowl without waiting for an answer, and she smiled. They’d both been busy with the Soul Beasts and Plants that were participating in the test, and she hadn’t even noticed getting hungry.

Ning Rong Rong popped up on her other side with a handful of carrots. “They’re arguing,” she said. “They’re trying to figure out if they’re allowed to just start asking us questions. One of them spotted Luo San Pao and they’re arguing about that too.”

Luo San Pao was happily settled in Teacher Liu’s lap, and she thought the test participants would have to be very brave to disturb them. Which would be impressive! But given how nervous they all looked, it also seemed unlikely. Maybe the Headmaster shouldn’t have been quite so threatening.

All of the teachers were strategically placed throughout the courtyard, with the former students filling up the remainder of the space. Rong Rong’s cousins were everyone’s eyes and ears, circulating with snacks and making sure none of the younger kids were getting too tired.

It wasn’t until she went to take her bowl back to the kitchen that she realized one of the applicants was following her. She looked nervous, so she pretended she couldn’t see her until she felt a tug on her sleeve.

“Hello there!” She couldn’t help bouncing a little -- it was very exciting! Had they recognized her? Were they going to introduce themselves?

“Senior Wu, I don’t think this is a fair test.”

“Really?” she asked. “Why not?” There were many reasons it wasn’t a fair test, of course; that wasn’t really the point.

The girl tilted her head to the side. “Well, it’s not very specific, is it? You didn’t say what was going to happen after the first two steps. You didn’t even say whether doing those steps meant we would pass or fail. And you said what would happen if we hurt or killed a Soul Beast, but not what would happen if you did.”

“We said the Soul Beasts participating in the test were our allies,” she pointed out. “We would have no motivation to hurt or kill them.”

“You implied they were your allies,” the girl said. “That’s not the same thing at all. What if you threatened them with something terrible unless they agreed?”

She hadn’t thought of that. “We wouldn’t do anything like that,” she said. “But I only have one way to prove it to you, and if I do, it will make the test harder for you.”

The girl frowned. “I want you to prove it, then. Why would I want to join a school that’s not truthful? Besides, it doesn’t matter if I pass or not, as long as you’re not going to hurt Soul Beasts.”

“No!” Another girl darted out of the shadows. “You have to pass! You promised we would stay together!”

“Jiejie, it’s more important that you’re safe. Let her prove it.”

She thought she was starting to see the shape of the situation. She held up her hand, and Ah Yin obligingly pulled all three of them into the Soul Realm.

The first girl looked around wildly. “What did you do? Where are we?”

“It’s okay,” said the second girl. “It’s the Soul Realm.” She looked at Xiao Wu. “Are you really --?”

She nodded. “I’m a Soul Beast.”

“Me too!” the second girl exclaimed, and then clapped her hands over her mouth.

“I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to,” Xiao Wu told her.

”I won’t tell anyone either,” Ah Yin said, and both girls’ eyes went wide.

“That’s Ah Yin,” she explained. It wouldn’t hurt to prompt them just a little, right?

“I’m Zhao Yu,” the girl said, nodding respectfully at her, and then again to a seemingly random spot -- close enough, she supposed. “This is my sister.”

She beamed at both of them. “And I’m Xiao Wu! Why don’t you come help me wash the dishes?”

“Why?”

“All the students take turns helping with chores. You can both get an early start.”


Chapter 49: Dai Mu Bai

“This is completely outrageous!”

His brother was yelling at him. His brother was yelling at him, and he was happy about it, because in the previous timeline they rarely talked, and when they did it was always accompanied by fighting.

Dai Wei Shi paced back and forth across the small room. “‘It’s an insignificant city, out of the way of everything,’ you said. ‘It’s an unaffiliated school, nothing political about it at all,’ you said. ‘No one could object to that.’”

His brother looked around and sighed. “I should have known better. I was there the first time; I have no excuse.”

Occasionally, outright denial was effective. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. “I don’t see any problem.”

Next to him, Zhu Zhu Qing nodded, seemingly entirely sincere. “I agree.”

Dai Wei Shi glared at them. At Zhu Zhu Qing in particular, and only her hand on his elbow kept him from shifting to stand in front of her. “I’ll just go see how the new students are settling in,” she said.

“You’re going to have to speak to her eventually,” he said.

Dai Wei Shi turned his glare on him. “She threatened to incite a civil war in Xing Luo, backing you as the rightful ruler.”

“Only in an alternate timeline,” he insisted. “And she only said that to start a fight.” A fight that would have been entirely unnecessary if his brother hadn’t attacked him in the street, but he was willing to avoid mentioning that. “She wasn’t seriously planning to do it.”

“She was seriously willing to do it,” Dai Wei Shi said darkly. “I don’t see why I have to be nice to her.”

“She’s Zhu Zhu Yan’s sister.”

His brother winced. “I’ll work on it.” He pointed at the window again. “You work on explaining all of this.”

That was progress, at least. He nodded, but then shrugged. “Which part?”

“Which part? All the parts! The Tian Dou royal family sent an official representative requesting a meeting! The three Elder Clans just happened to decide to have a conference here! And let’s not forget!” He gestured towards the window.

“The Soul Beast King of Star Forest is flying circles around the city right now. I thought he was supposed to be a Sea Beast -- a python, you said! Why can he fly?”

That was a good question. “He’s a dragon, actually. It turns out. We didn’t know either, until he showed up. I don’t think he’s staying.”

Dai Wei Shi rolled his eyes. “Oh, well in that case -- no, that’s not better! I received three separate messages from Xing Luo spies telling me you were possibly conspiring against me to take the throne, and none of them could agree on who you were conspiring with!”

He took his turn rolling his eyes right back. “If your spies haven’t figured out that I’m not interested in the throne, I have doubts about how well they’re doing their job.”

To his surprise, his brother actually looked like he was thinking about it. “I’ll look into it,” he said. “But you have to admit, it looks suspicious. What other explanation can you offer?”

“Have you tried asking them?” He said it without thinking, and only realized he had gone too far after the words were already out. His brother’s expression was starting to look actively murderous. “If you don’t believe me, you should definitely speak with each of them,” he offered instead. “But none of them are here with any intentions towards Xing Luo.”

He took a deep breath. It was good that his brother kept Xing Luo’s interests at the forefront of his thoughts. And, he reminded himself, they still weren’t fighting. “The Soul Beast King is here because he wants to be; none of us invited him. I haven’t spoken to him directly, but the others have said he simply -- thinks the situation is interesting.”

‘He just likes drama’ was actually what he’d been told, but he was hoping ‘interesting’ would suffice. “The Elder Clans are here because Rong Rong invited them, and her father is showing his support for his heir-presumptive. They’re planning to elevate Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan to an officially recognized clan again, in light of Teacher Liu and Teacher Yu’s contributions to the reappearance of the Jiubao Amber Pagoda.”

He shrugged again. “The representative from Tian Dou isn’t actually part of the royal family; he just attends the Imperial School run by the royal family.”

Dai Wei Shi looked at the ceiling, like he was calling on a higher power for patience. “And why is he here,” he said, not even bothering to make it sound like a question.

“Ah,” he said. Dai Wei Shi swung around. “It’s nothing bad,” he hurried to add. “It’s just embarrassing. Du Gu Yan is trying to matchmake him with Ye Zhi Qiu. Or maybe find out if any of his relatives might be interested?”

He was shocked when his brother started laughing.

“Of course. Of course that’s what it is. I can’t get away from it, can I? Everywhere I go, the matchmakers follow.”

He wasn’t sure what to say to that. “I don’t think they even know you’re here,” he said. “Du Gu Yan wouldn’t --”

His brother waved his hand. “I know, I know. This is my own fault -- a little reminder from fate that I can’t run away from its plans for me.”

Dai Mu Bai frowned. He didn’t want the throne, but he didn’t want his brother to be trapped with it if he didn’t want it either. “Do you want to?” he asked. “Run away?”

Dai Wei Shi was quiet for a long time. Finally he said, “Do you know, I don’t think anyone’s ever asked me that. No, I don’t. I love Xing Luo; I love leading our people. I’ve seen what power left unchecked can lead to; I don’t want it to happen again.”

“Huo Wu believes in you. It’s why she came to find us; to tell us what you did for everyone.”

“And you? What do you think, little brother?”

“I know I’m proud that you’re my big brother. And I’d be proud to follow you as the leader of Xing Luo.”


Chapter 50: Ning Rong Rong

She wasn’t nervous. Well, she wasn’t exactly nervous. Or at least she wasn’t as nervous as she thought she might be. Not nervous enough to call the whole thing off, which was what counted.

“Rong Rong speaks for Qibao Amber Clan.”

Her father’s voice was very calm, but there was a hint of censure in it that had even Teacher Liu hurrying to explain. “Of course; we’re all well aware of that. We respect her word as a valued member and heir presumptive of the Qibao Amber Clan.”

She watched her father raise his eyebrows. “And yet you doubt our commitment to the alliance she offered?”

“It’s not your commitment that I doubt, but our ability to hold a Clan with only two people,” Teacher Liu said. The Headmaster cleared his throat. “Three people,” Teacher Liu corrected.

“It sounds like you’ve already managed to increase your numbers,” her father said easily. “I have no concerns about your ability to continue to do so.” He looked at her. “Do you?”

Ning Rong Rong shook her head. “No concerns at all,” she answered. She turned to the Clan Elder next to her. “Do you?”

The Elder looked amused. They’d planned the seating arrangements extremely carefully, and she knew it. “I have no concerns,” she announced. “The Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan is officially recognized; I see no need for further discussion of the matter. We have more pressing concerns.”

She smiled. “Thank you for your timely reminder.” She turned back to her father. “We can now move on to more pressing concerns.”

She heard Grandpa Sword trying to hide a laugh on the other side of her father. And it had been his suggestion! She was too far away to kick him, but she would keep it in mind for later.

Her father ignored both of them as he resettled his sleeves. “Headmaster. Respected teachers. There was a time when your school benefitted from being affiliated with no one. Obscurity and anonymity allowed you to train some of the best Soul Masters of our time while remaining independent.”

He waved a hand around the room. “Given the circumstances, I think you’ll agree that obscurity is no longer an option.”

Teacher Liu nodded. “You make an excellent point. Please, speak plainly. What is it you’re suggesting?”

“Have you considered being affiliated with everyone?”

There was a long pause, while the teachers looked at each other, and she bit her lip to keep from speaking. Finally, Teacher Liu said, “We already have students from the two empires and the Seven Clans, and beyond. It sounds like you’re proposing a more formal arrangement, however -- we would prefer to avoid political entanglement.”

“Wouldn’t we all,” her father said dryly, even though she knew for a fact that he personally took delight in political entanglements; the more complicated the better. “But that hardly worked out well last time.”

The Headmaster and Teacher Liu kept their neutral expressions in place, but Teacher Yu flinched. Teacher Liu said, “Your words are noted,” even as she was patting Teacher Yu’s hand and glaring at Rong Rong’s father.

(She wondered if her father would be willing to loan them a teacher who could cover diplomacy lessons for the students -- they clearly weren’t going to get them from the current instructors.)

“At present, we would merely like to acknowledge the connection between us. I imagine you’ll soon have similar offers from the Tian Dou and Xing Luo Empires, if you haven’t already. Your school would remain neutral, and students would not be bound to any Clan or other faction upon graduation. We would in turn offer our protection for your students -- all of your students, regardless of origin.”

“At present,” the Headmaster repeated.

Her father spread his hands out to the sides. “None of us can predict what this future may bring. I can only assure you that none of us wish for you to be anything other than a respected center for education.”

Teacher Liu looked at her, and she nodded. She believed it.

Teacher Liu nodded back, and then turned her attention back to her father. “What is it that you get out of this?”

“Broadly speaking, we value what your school can offer, both to our children and to the understanding of Martial Soul.”

Her father sighed, and there was a long pause before he added, “Already, many of the smaller clans have disappeared or died out. We’ve spent the past generations focused on what came before us -- trying to recapture remembered glory, rather than embracing new paths. Your school focuses on recognizing each student as they are in the present, and allows them to choose their own way forward. We need that now, more than ever.”

The Elder next to her leaned forward. “And on a very specific level, we’d like to make our use of Lanba School a more permanent arrangement. It was not historically associated with any of the Clans, so it serves well as a symbol of a new beginning.”

Her father nodded. “All the Clans would benefit from sharing training and skills -- many techniques that have been lost might have been saved if Clans hadn’t held them so closely.”

Teacher Liu raised her eyebrows. “A permanent location for sharing knowledge and offering training -- you’re setting yourself up to be in direct opposition to Martial Soul Hall.”

“Opposition?” He said it as if he had never imagined such a thing was possible, and was in fact slightly shocked that anyone would even consider it. He was very good at that tone; she’d heard it a lot as a child. He shook his head. “No, surely we are merely following their good example!”

Teacher Liu laughed. “Tread carefully,” she advised.

“My daughter has reminded us all that the Support Branch can take action in all arenas. We will tread carefully from the front, this time around, and see where it takes us.”


Chapter 51: Ma Hong Jun

“I have a letter.”

It wasn’t unusual at all for the school to get visitors. It was very unusual for him, specifically, to get visitors. Who would visit him? Everyone he knew was already there.

Ma Hong Jun spread his hands out to the sides -- half shrug, half setting up for a fight, if that’s where things were headed. “I can’t read.”

That seemed to stump the mystery visitor for a short time, and then he said, “I could -- teach you to read?”

Come to think of it, the visitor did look familiar, somehow. Maybe someone he’d met in the old timeline? “Just so I can read your letter?” he asked. Wouldn’t it be easier to just get someone else to read it? He could see Dai Mu Bai already heading their way.

“No, I mean -- later? It could be an exchange. Only if you wanted.” He looked increasingly awkward. “Someone should probably read the letter?”

Dai Mu Bai set himself solidly at his side. “Student Yan?” His tone was the kind of polite surprise that was covering real surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s who you are!” he exclaimed, suddenly realizing the connection. “From the Martial Soul Hall Battle Team!”

The visitor looked confused. “Have we met?”

“Not exactly,” Dai Mu Bai said. “Letter?” He scanned it quickly, and then tucked it away. “Hu Lie Na sent you?”

“She said you would be able to help me with my Martial Soul. It gets --” He made a face, and looked away. “I have trouble controlling it sometimes. She said you had experience with things like that.”

“It’s a Flame Branch soul, right?” He waited for the confirming nod, and then gave one in return. “We can help. But don’t you have teachers in Martial Soul Hall who could do that too? Why would Hu Lie Na send you here? Is she allowed to do that?”

It was an incredibly rude thing to ask -- three incredibly rude things, really. But he still looked like a child, and he could get away with saying things he wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. Especially with Dai Mu Bai looming next to him -- people tended to be distracted by his intimidating stare and forgot to be offended by Ma Hong Jun’s rudeness.

“Martial Soul Hall is -- ah, that is to say, there’s a certain amount of uncertainty right now about who’s allowed to do anything, with the Chief --” He hesitated, and finally settled on “with the Chief away.”

Missing, is what the rumors were saying. ‘Away’ was certainly vague enough to cover almost anything, he supposed. That was probably the point.

Yan looked slightly to the side and said, “Hu Lie Na is the leader of the Martial Soul Hall Battle Team, and in that capacity she has assigned me to additional training at an alternate location.” It sounded like he’d been coached, or maybe he’d just had to repeat it so many times it had become a habit.

“Hu Lie Na is the leader? What about that other guy, with the --” He made a spinning motion with his hand.

“Xie Yue is also away,” Yan said, firmly enough to disinvite any further questions.

“Good for Hu Lie Na,” Dai Mu Bai said. “Ma Hong Jun?”

He startled back to attention. “What?”

“Do you agree to accept Student Yan into the guest learner program? He’ll be your direct responsibility.”

“Ah, yes? Yes, of course. Welcome.” He bowed awkwardly, only to remember that it should have been Yan bowing to him.

Dai Mu Bai sighed, and he elbowed him quickly while Yan was bowing. None of the students had ever been his direct responsibility before; he was bound to make some mistakes along the way! It was best to start out with clear expectations, right?

“I’ll show you where the dorms are,” he said. “Did you leave your things somewhere else?”

Yan looked confused. “What things?”

He thought he probably looked just as confused. “Your things? Personal belongings? Traveling supplies?”

“Martial Soul Hall provided us with everything we needed.”

So he didn’t get to take any of it with him? That seemed wrong. He looked at Dai Mu Bai. “Brother Dai?”

“Weren’t you the same way when you first arrived?” Dai Mu Bai asked. “You know what to do. Go shopping. Make a day of it. Pick some of the other seniors to help and invite the kids too, if you want. Everyone’s been working hard.”

He looked shifty, and Ma Hong Jun narrowed his eyes. “That’s very generous, Brother Dai. Very generous.”

Ou Si Ke would be thrilled -- both by the trip and the gossip. He leaned in closer, trying to make his voice sound like a conspiratorial whisper without making Yan think they were actually conspiring. “Is there any particular reason why you’re encouraging this plan? Maybe looking for some time alone with a certain person?”

“What?” Dai Mu Bai didn’t meet his eyes. “That’s ridiculous.”

“So I can ask Zhu Zhu Qing to come with us?”

“No! I mean --” Dai Mu Bai threw up his hands. “Do what you want.”

Yan was looking back and forth between them like he’d never seen people tease each other before. Martial Soul Hall must be a strange place.

He rocked back on his heels. “Right. Sure. So… should we go this afternoon, or do you need more time for whatever it is you’re definitely not planning?”

Dai Mu Bai sighed. “Tomorrow would be better,” he muttered. “Thank you.”

“Happy to help,” he said brightly, dodging out of range. “Come on Yan, let’s find you a room. And Brother Dai, if you’re cooking for her, remember not to burn the soup this time!”


Chapter 52: Zhu Zhu Qing

She hadn’t bothered to remove the tracking worm, although she had checked to make sure there was still only one. Partly because there was no hiding where she was anyway, and partly because she simply didn’t mind as much.

And partly because she thought it was funny that it stopped working as soon as she crossed into the interspace, or the Soul Realm, and she invariably returned to find someone lurking around the school pretending not to panic. It was an excellent way to identify the Xing Luo spies, if nothing else.

Now that her sister’s visits didn’t come accompanied with death threats against Dai Mu Bai and commands to go back to Xing Luo, they were easier. (They were also longer, even though they’d had to find a whole new set of topics to disagree on, and they intersected oddly with Dai Wei Shi’s trips.)

“If you’re looking for Dai Wei Shi, you just missed him. He left a few days ago.”

She had a sneaking suspicion that her sister and Dai Wei Shi were taking advantage of their paths crossing in the desert to work on their relationship away from the prying eyes of either the court or their siblings. It wasn’t any of her business, which she reminded herself at least a hundred times a day every time her sister visited.

“I’m not. I’m looking for you.”

She watched her sister pace back and forth across the small clearing, exactly the way Dai Wei Shi had done in his room. They were more alike than either of them were willing to admit.

Finally, her sister said, “Were you ever planning on telling me?”

She blinked. “Telling you what?” They’d already talked about the school (currently successful), and whether or not Huo Wu would ever return to Chi Huo School (unlikely), and Martial Soul Fusion techniques (Teacher Yu was writing a book).

“The time travel!” her sister said.

Oh. That. “Oh,” she said. “That. The time travel.”

The obvious answer was no, she hadn’t been planning on telling her, but she wasn’t upset that she knew. “It’s not the easiest thing to bring up in conversation,” she said. “At first I didn’t think you’d believe me, and then we were apart, and --” She waved her hand. “Now you know, anyway.”

“Ning Rong Rong told her family right away -- the first day!” her sister said.

Pointing out that Rong Rong’s relationship with her family was very different than their own still-delicate truce would probably be a mistake. “Huo Wu ran away from school without even telling anyone she was leaving,” she offered instead.

Her sister scowled. “I suppose I should be glad you didn’t do that, at least.”

“Did Dai Wei Shi tell you?” She assumed he had, but she was willing to out him as a fellow time traveler on the off chance it had been someone else.

“Yes. He -- apologized.”

She must have made a face, because her sister said, “I know! It was so awkward!”

“He should apologize,” she said. “I’m glad he did.”

“It’s all so hard to imagine.” Her sister shook her head. “It feels like just yesterday you were a tiny baby. You cried all the time, you know.”

Zhu Zhu Qing rolled her eyes. “I know; you’ve told me. You’re not that much older than me.”

“Less now,” her sister said, and they were both quiet for a while.

Finally, she said, “What did you want me to say?”

Her sister shook her head again. “I don’t know. I only ever wanted you to be safe, and I didn’t even succeed in that.”

She moved closer, so their shoulders were touching. “I wanted you to be safe too. You were always there for me -- are always there for me, even when we fight.”

“Maybe neither of us were ever likely to pick the safe path,” her sister said. “But we can still watch out for each other. If you’d like?”

She nodded, and she knew her smile was reflected on her sister’s face even without looking. “I’d like that.”


Chapter 53: Ou Si Ke

“‘He lived in a small village; so small that no Soul Master had ever visited it, in a house with no garden.’” He tapped the words, and frowned. “Does that sound too unrealistic?”

“Yes,” Ye Zhi Qiu said, and Ou Si Ke jumped.

“Ack! What are you doing here?” He’d thought he was alone -- how long had Ye Zhi Qiu been sitting there? “How do you do that, with the --” he waved his hand. It was a sunny day! There was no way Ye Zhi Qiu should have been able to blend into the shadows that well.

“Doing -- here? In the public courtyard?”

He made it sound so reasonable, like he hadn’t been lurking in dark shadows at all, he just happened to be sitting in exactly the same courtyard Ou Si Ke was writing in, which was obviously -- actually, the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it sounded. “I thought you were training with Ah Yin this morning,” he said finally.

“It’s afternoon,” Ye Zhi Qiu said. “The others were wondering where you were.”

“I’ve been working on my next play!” He waved his notebook in Ye Zhi Qiu’s direction. “I was thinking -- all the things we did in the other timeline, no one remembers them except us!”

Ye Zhi Qiu frowned. “Isn’t that generally the goal of time travel?”

“But it’s such a good story! The hero’s journey! The mystery and intrigue! The come-from-behind victory!”

“The murder?” Ye Zhi Qiu said. “The despair and fear? A hero’s journey requires a villain; I thought we were trying to avoid that this time.”

Plenty of good stories included murder and despair, but he had just enough good sense to avoid prodding Ye Zhi Qiu with that particular reminder. “True, true!” he said instead. “But the only reason we know to want to avoid that is because of what we learned the first time, right?”

If anything, Ye Zhi Qiu looked even more incredulous at that. “You want to write a play that’s a teaching story?”

He really looked like he thought Ou Si Ke wasn’t capable of such a thing. Well, that was just hurtful. And offensive! Had he even read any of Ou Si Ke’s plays?

“All stories teach us something, Brother Ye. The author and the audience don’t always agree on what the lesson is, but there’s always one to be found, if you’re looking.”

He gestured with his notebook again. “Imagine this: a play is written and performed, based on the previous timeline. Maybe some people who see it walk away asking questions. What if I were Xiao Wu; who would I trust with my shocking secret? What if I were trapped in an interspace with no way out; what would I do? What if I were Ou Si Ke, with a Support Branch Martial Soul, longing for a chance to shine on stage?”

Ye Zhi Qiu almost smiled, but he didn’t say anything. That was fine; Ou Si Ke might prefer verbal feedback, but he could keep talking until Ye Zhi Qiu thought of some.

“Brother Ye, we love to see ourselves in stories -- they make us think, and no playwright could be happier than faced with an audience thinking about their work. But!” He dropped the notebook and held up both hands.

“Imagine this, instead. The play is a flop. Sentiment shifts against us, with rumors that we’ve disturbed the natural order of things. And then we can say, ‘Human Soul Beasts? Time travel? Wasn’t there a terrible play like that? Surely you don’t think any of those things were true!’”

Ye Zhi Qiu was studying him carefully. “You’re really much cleverer than you look, aren’t you?”

He stood up and gave an elaborate bow. “I am both flattered and offended, Brother Ye.”

When he sat back down, Ye Zhi Qiu joined him. “You really want to tell the whole thing in one play?” he asked. “Won’t you have to cut a lot out?”

Finally, a good question! He knew Ye Zhi Qiu had a sense for the dramatic arts. “I thought of that!” he said. “It would be so long. Too long! What if it was a series of short plays instead? They could be performed over weeks, or even months, so that people would be able to follow along as the story progressed.”

“What if people forgot what happened in the previous segments?”

“Are you saying the events of our lives aren’t memorable?” He considered it. “No, you’re right -- we’ll think of something else.”

He started nudging his notebook towards Ye Zhi Qiu. There was nothing like a fresh set of eyes to generate new ideas. “Anyway,” he said. “I thought of the name already ‘Revenge of the Blue Silver Plant.’ What do you think?”

“It has a certain ring to it,” he said finally. “But I’m not sure it’s entirely true to the story.”

“Yes!” He shook his finger at Ye Zhi Qiu. “That’s exactly my dilemma! And I keep having to change things, because the truth is just too unbelievable!”

He pulled his notebook back -- Ye Zhi Qiu could read it later; he needed to get his latest thoughts onto the page. “You should stay,” he said, when Ye Zhi Qiu shifted like he was about to get up. “If you want, I mean. Liu Long will be here soon to talk about Nuoding. He always brings the best snacks.”

“You don’t mind?” Ye Zhi Qiu asked.

“Stay, stay!” He waved his free hand. “You need to help me think of a new title; don’t think I’ve forgotten about that!”


*******


Epilogue: Yu Xiao Gang

He yawned his way over to the door to let the cat in. “You couldn’t let us sleep in today?” he asked quietly. The latest round of admission testing had run late into the night. It was a promising group, though. Well worth a sleepless night or two.

Little Spot flicked her tail at him, and looked around the room carefully before settling just inside the doorway. She’d returned from the Sand Beasts as suddenly as she’d left, eating out of their bowls at dinner and overseeing training sessions from a conveniently placed branch of the Haunted Vine. And waking them up in the mornings, if she felt the urge.

He nodded at her. “Thank you.”

There was something about the early morning quiet that was different from the quiet at any other time of day -- even though he could hear the sounds of the school waking up all around them, their room felt awash in peace.

Eventually, though, he and Little Spot got bored of peace, and he started poking Lan De awake.

“Ah, stop that!” Lan De batted his hand away. “That cat is teaching you terrible habits!”

He leaned over to open the windows, and let the morning sun stream inside. “We can’t stay in this room forever.”

Er Long hissed like she was the cat, and curled deeper under the blankets. “We could stay in it longer if you would sleep in for once.”

“I did! But last night you told me not to let you miss breakfast, so this is me, not letting you miss it.”

“Mm,” Lan De muttered. “You did say that.”

“I’m sure that was before we stayed up half the night watching the test,” Er Long said. “Surely one breakfast wouldn’t hurt. And we could tell the senior students to handle classes on their own? Just for today?”

“You made me swear,” he said. “An oath! You were very insistent.” It hadn’t exactly been about breakfast. Close enough.

“I suppose I’ll have to listen to myself, then.” She laughed. “Ah, I don’t remember this being so hard.”

He nodded, even though she couldn’t see it. “We’re not as young as we used to be.”

“And thank goodness for that,” Lan De said easily. “Youth is for the young. Age has its own rewards, wouldn’t you say?”

Er Long stretched, and then tugged a pillow over her face. “Convince me,” she said. “Or else I’m going back to sleep. Xiao Wu will bring me breakfast.”

He said, “Ah Yin is bringing us an update from Da Ming about the Sea Beasts today.”

Er Long considered that, and finally tossed the pillow aside. “All right, I’m curious enough to get up for that.”

They moved around each other with the ease of familiarity, and he let himself get lost in his thoughts. Bi Bi Dong had once -- twice, actually -- offered to make him famous; to ensure he was the most recognized Soul Master instructor on the continent. But what did the recognition of strangers mean, if you couldn’t trust those closest to you?

When Zhao Yu smiled at her sister, when the Sand Beasts brought their newborns to the gates to be cuddled, when Tang San and Xiao Wu held hands in the marketplace -- he could say he was a part of that legacy, and no fame or accolades could compare to that.

And then Er Long was there, tucking her arm into his, and Lan De’s hand was on his shoulder. “Hey,” she said gently. “Are you with us?”

And he could answer without any hesitation. “Always.”