Hao leaped from one tree to the gap in the orange leaves of another, well-rested, well-fed, and feeling welcoming to information on a new treasure. The growing afternoon winds and the harsh patter of the rain on the summer colored forest floor helped hide the creaking of the branches bowing beneath his weight.

  They must have a camp.

  The group of disciples walked in a single direction with a modicum of haste. One was running ahead of the others to avoid the storms. The others just trudged, not bothering to hide the frustration on their faces now that they weren’t in front of outsiders of their group. Even the young lady that reminded him of Brother Yi Shou’s love flickered his hands around in anger.

  He was following behind the group that passed beneath him. The Drifting Stream Disciples. They won’t leap to kill me on sight, Hao thought. Still, he thought it was best to take a few precautions. He started with hiding the White cloak.

  The last thing was his hair; everyone with hair like his, which was just him, wasn’t fully welcome in the Sect at the moment, thanks to the rumors. Hao took a few pebbles and stones from the Spirit-Holding bag, letting the group of the Blue-robed disciples gain some distance before crushing them. With a little moisture from the leaves, he made a paste. His gray hands rubbed through his hair, changing its colors to something duller.

  They might remember him as a beggar. The one that caused the Sect to lose a tiny bit of face outside and nothing more. An insult most of the disciples, even the Elders, didn’t care for. More would probably remember me from falling on the flying boat than during whatever that situation was.

  Most of the disciples, no matter the sect, that watched the strange display of the Elder from Blue Moons Mountain never took their eyes off her. She made a huge flourishing display. She did her best to make everyone her enemy, throwing insults in every direction for dozens of minutes.

  Her crude mouth and robes were as loud as possible, thin but staunch, and covered in glittering pebbles. They were robes for disciples either way. She simply forced herself into them after making them fit her taste. The cloth hardly fit her shape. Her oversized chest and hips stretched the white silks, skin bursting from places only covered by the white cloak. Also, for their disciples.

  All of that only made the comments of the Seven Elders more clever.

  Hao blamed any lecherous thoughts he had on the Yang energy that had already left the sky. What about the other Elder that was there? Her Dao partner? He got a slight taste of jealousy again. But kept his mind’s direction clear, remembering the details of the face, comparing it to the one that he just saw.

  The young man with Sword-like eyebrows was almost indistinguishable from the Elder that helped open the gate to the Secret Realm. I thought that man was an Elder, but how would he get in here? Only outsiders in Reclamation could travel through the gateway. The only difference was ten years of age. Brothers? I didn’t see twins or anyone similar. A chill was rubbing his spine.

  Hao was gaining on the Drifting Stream disciples again, so he paused in the canopy, looking back. The rest of the groups were gone. He took notes of the direction they went. I can check it out when the rains are heavy. The thoughts of the glances the young man made drew out what little fear he had left.

  Hao waited, getting his shakes, shivers, and gulps out of the way. His heavy movements made him easy to spot. The leaves of the tree crossed his legs, rattling. But the stomping of the Drifting Stream disciples going forward without a break saved him the trouble of having to introduce himself. His espionage continued once he regained some stillness.

  The place the Drifting Stream disciples stopped for the night was not far and not advisable. They must have stayed here for a night or two.

  There was already a ‘roof’ built. They reinforced the canopy of two trees. It seemed anything they could get their hands on was used in the construction. Twigs and branches, of course, old battered robes, odd bits of cloth. Did they just clean out their holding bags?

  Underneath, they had a fire, which was a hazard they were risking on their own. They had a stone wind wall around it so it would survive the first few hours of the afternoon. And near the fire, they placed down furs. A dozen or more animal furs, some dry, others wet, piled up in one spot, spreading them as wide as possible. Poor girl…

  They spoke while watching the rain from their shelter. A few drips finding their way through the makeshift thatch, which was collected in a mud-covered bucket.

  Hao spent the earliest parts of the afternoon listening to them from the treetops, hoping it was sturdy and kind enough to block the ice falls when they came.

  *

  “Storms will be here soon. I’ll finish setting the bed up.” One of the men said, standing from the fire.

  He took just one step to the side of the flame, digging up dirt near the wind wall. Another came over to help him, pulling a bag out from the ground. After a quick rummage, they yanked a large fur from the bag. Together, they placed it over the rest of the furs and leaves on the ground.

  “I’m turning in early too.”

  The two of them sat upon the fur together. They share a look and a nod with each other.

  “Wait, before anyone falls asleep, we need to talk about the treasure herb.”

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  Bang! The two sitting stood, jumping. Lightning struck one of the nearby trees.

  The girl and one man still sitting at the fire laughed. “Calm down, it’s just the storm.”

  One of the two that jumped sat back down. “Don’t forget we share this bed.” The other followed down to the first, sitting with his legs crossed, feet upon the furs.

  The leader of the group, when they were talking to the other sect’s groups, clapped his hands. “Stop it. Don’t do this again tonight. This is something important. We need to be on the same page.”

  A back-and-forth started as the girl picked up a stick and started drawing in the dirt. An image of a tree with lightning striking it, coming to life on the wet soil.

  “Do you think we have a chance to take it without them noticing?”

  “How?” A chuckle shook the furs. “Do you think at all? If we get past the other two groups, there are dozens of people waiting around the trail ground and the Amethyst Mountains. They will notice us leaving the forest.”

  Trial? Hao didn’t have any such information. Is this one of the Secrets the Seventh Elder said might not exist…

  “Don’t forget, they are allies.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything in the Secret Realm. I wouldn’t be surprised if Two Rivers attacked Blue Moons tonight.”

  “But that is still a manner of friendship. The only thing they hold for us is contempt, even more now that one of Mo Bangcai’s dogs is howling his name at the edge of the forest like a lost puppy.”

  “We can ignore it. Just go for amethysts; we are one of the stronger groups, and we can take a fair number. From not just the mines, but the people too.”

  “I don’t want to just give up. A single petal is worth more than the entire mountain of amethysts.”

  “Ha? One petal, we should take the whole plant. If they get in our way, just kill’em!”

  “Idiot, is it your ears or head that doesn’t work?”

  The man on the fur stood, his face twisted and teeth grinding. Bang! Another stream of lightning hit the same tree as before. The group was silent for a few seconds before starting again.

  “No, he is right. Just imagine if that plant is as valuable to the Blue Moons Mountain as they say it is. Roots, stem, and flower. We could keep the pollen for ourselves.” A long laugh followed after the words.

  The last bit of light was starting to fade. Hao was struggling to make out all the faces. Just a few that were lit by dull blue light emitting from spirit stones and the fire that was flickering low. But to the words, every face that had facial hair became lecherous, gulps as loud as the thunder rose around the camp.

  In front of the fire. The girl was finishing up her mud drawing of the tree that was being struck by lightning. Hao could see the drawing well; it was repeated in shadow from the flame. He wasn’t sure how the girl did it or if she did, but there was a shadow on top of the tree inside the leaves. A crouching owl as large as a person with giant eyes and claws. If he was looking at the tree from the fire’s perspective, the shadow was where he was sitting.

  Did she see me? Hao stood, covering his head.

  “What will you do with the pollen? No, I can guess based on what the Blue Moon Mountain disciple told us it affects. Just because a woman won’t give you a look, your head goes there?”

  She was not nearly as shy as Junior Sister Dai, who she resembled. A finger was outstretching above the fire. The finger pointed at each person until the shuffle of furs silenced her words.

  “You little bit—”

  “Enough!” The leader of the group entered Hao’s vision, leaning over the small flame and prodding it to revive it. “Both of you…” he whispered. “You are fellow Sect members. Remember, you will need to rely on each other. You already have, and all of us have. Plus, remember, there is no one here that will risk dying to save you.”

  The leader moved away from the fire. The girl came back, plunking down in front of her drawing.

  The leader continued, walking around to the other side of the fire. “Our best chance is to take any of the Polarity Seeking Flower when everyone is regrouping for amethysts. We should join, then back off, fall back early, and take the plant.”

  “Isn’t that just sneaking off, like the first plan?”

  “No, if we go unseen, they will know where we are. If we join the amethyst groups, we are already close to Mother Mountain, where the flower is. We get mixed in, then half of us break away, while the other half stays to mine.”

  “I see. Everyone wants amethysts more than a flower…”

  “Not bad, all things considered. We can keep an eye on them this way; plus, we have back up around the mountain base with other Sect members. No one wants a faction war.”

  The leader spoke up again, feeling good about the praising of his plan. “And this doubles over. If it doesn’t work, we are still in the back while everyone else dwindles in number.”

  Their discussion reached a close, and the shuffling of furs increased as many slipped off to their dreams. Neglect smothered the flames. They took out a few Spirit Stones to replace the lost light.

  Their words and the plant they named surprised Hao. Two plants, really, two flowers that grew in a pair; it seemed this group of disciples was unaware. Only knowing the effect and value that was whispered to them.

  Alone, one of the flowers was as rare as the Yellow-Yellow Grass. But alone, they had little use. They were fragile flowers that were bolstered by their counterparts. Together, they were rarer. Even though fate decided that was the only way they could live.

  Hao thought their idea was decent. There were a few things here and there that were foolish. If three or four people of a group go missing, they will be suspicious. But Hao was alone. No one would notice him slipping away.

  Hao sat and listened for a little longer. The rain was about to turn into ice. The temperature was dropping as a big burst of wind was testing Hao’s stability. He listened for a little longer, for word of the man with Sword-like eyebrows. Or of the group of Two Rivers Fort disciples. But the little insight that they had was exhausted. The only words they had now were mundane: wanting wine, women, and to play with swords and spears.

  The last thing that caught Hao’s attention was a yelp. The girl is shouting and getting a mocking response. “Ah, sorry, my hand slipped.”

  The spirit stone was lighting their faces; all of them huddled for warmth, and all the men laughed. But their eye shone hatred for each person they looked at. And the girl shared the same amount of hatred for them.

  In all that group, the only two they didn’t share disdain while looking at each other were the two men that put the last fur on the bed together. Everyone else tucked their face into the stinking fur to keep their snot and drool from freezing. The two men turned to each other, nodding their heads.

  Oh, something else is going on. Hao watched the final awake moments of the camp, the two men turning their faces down into the furs the same way the others did.

  Bang! Lightning struck Hao’s side, singing a tiny hole into his robe.

  “What is with this storm?! Someone, go check out that tree. There might be arrows or swords stuck in the branches.”

  Hao was gone before anyone stood from the Fur mat. His only shelter from the falling ice was the saber he held above him and the trees he walked under.