Lu Na closed her eyes and raised her arms up. She hit the ropes among the rubble of her earth platform.

  The shock was immediate and painful.

  Wherever her body touched the uncovered rope, it sent painful shocks into her body. It burned all the way to her very core. After what felt like an eternity, the pain stopped.

  When Lu Na opened her eyes, Elder Hen stood over her on solid ground. The ropes were behind them.

  “Now that was an interesting strategy,” the game master said.

  “What happened?” Lu Na asked.

  “Your ally stepped over your body to get to the other side. He must have noticed that someone needed to be shocked to disable it.”

  “What?” Lu Na glared at Elder Hen. She already had to deal with one scheming old ghost. Why did she have to deal with another?

  “Don’t look at me like that. You and I are not friends, child. We’re here to accomplish one goal and to save all the people out there. So let’s get going before the timer runs out.” Elder Hen pushed the button on the raised pillar.

  A part of Lu Na felt something similar toward the old man. If she could use him to get to her goal she would, but she never thought to go that far.

  “Congratulations on making it this far,” the game master said. “The other challengers never made it this far because they didn’t want to share in the prize.”

  “Share?” Lu Na asked.

  “Yes, while you were the one that opened the door, you also had an ally. Even if you succeed here, either of you have the chance to take the prize for yourself.”

  “Don’t look at me like that child,” Elder Hen said. “You’re thinking I will force it from you? I swear on my son, I won’t do that. So focus on the task at hand.”

  “Was that supposed to make me feel better or trust you?” Lu Na recalled how she stopped the Wintersweet Ancestor’s rampage, only to receive a threat from the same old man in return.

  “Child, since you helped save my son, I will forgive this. But also know I haven’t broken my word to you. You did that when you went on this quest without me, as you promised.” Elder Hen’s frown deepened. “You almost killed my son.”

  Lu Na swallowed what she wanted to say. She didn’t have a choice but to trust the old man for now, but if push came to shove, she would use all the power within her null metal bracelet to stop him.

  “Are you two ready for the next question?” the game master asked. He looked like he was holding in a laugh.

  “Yes, tell us,” Elder Hen said.

  “Fine. The next question is: How does one live in harmony with their spirit?”

  “That’s a very vague question,” Lu Na said.

  “Young Miss Lu is right. There could be many answers to that question,” Elder Hen said.

  The game master shrugged.

  “Could the answer be as simple as treating your spirit with respect?” Lu Na asked.

  “Is that your answer?” the game master asked. There was a gleam in his eyes.

  Lu Na didn’t trust that gleam. It felt like she was talking with a conman who was about to sell her some cocktail for immortality.

  “No,” Elder Hen said.

  “Well, too bad. I considered that an answer and it was wrong. You only have two more guesses before you fail the labyrinth’s test.” The game master conjured a cup of tea and drank from it.

  “Don’t answer child. Let me,” Elder Hen said.

  Both of them stood in silence, watching as the game master conjured up an entire meal to eat in front of them. Hadn’t he just eaten before?

  Lu Na shook her head. She had to think. Why would the labyrinth creators make such a vague question? There had to be a reason for all of this, not just to get a prize.

  “I have an answer for you, venerable ghost,” Elder Hen said. He scrunched his face in concentration, deepening his frown lines. “To live in harmony with spirits, one needs to provide it a home so that it may grow to its fullest potential. Humans depend on these spirits as much as the spirits depend on us, forming a yin and a yang. Together, we can create a better future for everyone.”

  The game master put down his food and tea. He clapped. He clapped hard and started laughing.

  “Oh man, I didn’t expect the Xia teachings never made it to the present era. That was the dumbest answer I’ve ever heard in my life. At least the child’s answer was rooted in naive thought.”

  Elder Hen snarled but it disappeared quickly.

  Lu Na thought about what Jie had said and experiences of being inside this labyrinth. If what Elder Hen said was wrong, then there had to be another way of thinking about how the Xia lived in harmony with their spirits.

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  First, the spirits weren’t bound inside humans as they are now. That was a technique created by one of the earlier rulers after the Xia. Next, they allowed the spirits free rein within the labyrinth and used them as protectors of the puzzle. But those spirits weren’t active participants in this.

  The only thing that Lu Na was certain about was that the creators of this labyrinth didn’t wield the natural strength of a summoner to do anything. Instead, they used technology to do everything. That’s how they lasted for so long. It has been their spirit technology that has allowed them to create this place.

  This was not a prison. The labyrinth was supposed to be their utopia.

  “I think I know the answer,” Lu Na said.

  “Are you sure? If you get this wrong, you’ll all die. Well, you’ll die a quicker death than what awaits you down there.” The game master looked at the rising lava. It had risen near the top and already engulfed the previous platform with the colored rings.

  “Elder Hen, can I?” Lu Na asked. It was polite to ask just in case the Elder had a better idea.

  “Go ahead, child.” Elder Hen held his hands behind him.

  “To answer your question game master, to live in harmony with spirits is to develop technology in order to harness their power to make life easier for humans. There is no living with spirits, especially not when they’re here to steal our life essence. They’re nothing but tools for us.”

  Lu Na winced, hoping what she said made sense. It was something that she felt herself, especially after learning about how the spirits took life essence to perform their miraculous techniques. But what if they didn’t? What if anyone could use Lu Na’s devices and wards without paying that price?

  The game master frowned. That was a good sign.

  “You are correct. You know, I thought you would fail as so many before you had.”

  “Did my mother fail here?” Lu Na asked.

  The game master’s smirk came back. How someone so ancient and dead could look so annoying must have been a practiced trait.

  “No, she almost did. But she understood the same thing you had. So let’s move on to the last challenge. The next one is where she failed and it is the most entertaining. Ghosts from all over will come to see this one.”

  A platform rose in front of them. It had a small ramp that led to many other obstacles Lu Na saw earlier. None of them seemed any more challenging than what her brother had on his training grounds. A lot of rocks and different ramps that went higher and then back down.

  “Please, step on and we shall summon the ghosts,” the game master said.

  Lu Na walked into it with Elder Hen.

  “This is the last challenge?” Lu Na asked.

  The game master nodded.

  “If you somehow overcome this, you will have solved the labyrinth’s puzzle. Simple right?”

  They stood on the first ramp leading up to a simple walkway across, but there was an invisible wall stopping them.

  Lu Na’s spirit vision showed her it was something similar to her spirit wall, but for people. She didn’t have time to examine the technique before the entire room erupted into cheers.

  The walls fell away all around them, revealing the outside. Despite being surrounded by labyrinth walls for so long, the outside was frightening. Somehow, they stood on a platform inside of a volcano. Was that how they got the lava?

  “Something’s not right,” Lu Na said.

  Elder Hen frowned and nodded.

  “This feels like something the ghosts are making us see.”

  “Yes, for one it’s not hot despite being surrounded by the lava.” Lu Na walked up to the ledge of the platform and waved her hand over the lava. There was no heat coming from it.

  “Oh Young Miss Lu, that’s really lava. I wouldn’t get too close in case something bubbled up and took your hand off. You’re being protected by the great Xia inventions.” The game master called from the center of the stage.

  “Wait, how did we teleport into a volcano?” Lu Na asked.

  The game master shrugged.

  “If I knew how these devices worked, do you think we’d still be stuck here as ghosts? It doesn’t matter though. Get ready. You’re about to meet your audience.”

  The game master held his hands above him as if reaching for the opening within the volcano. The sky was black and the twinkling stars shone into the volcano. Were they really outside?

  Lu Na took a deep breath.

  No, still stale air.

  This was the most elaborate ghost illusion or the Xia were truly master inventors.

  The game master clasped his hands together and shook it above his head. A loud screech escaped his hand. Seconds later, large ghostly stands appeared along the side of the volcano.

  Ghosts appeared in the seats. Lu Na recognized some of them from earlier, but mostly all the ghosts looked faceless aside from the elaborate clothes they all wore. Glancing toward the front, she saw Jie.

  Jie smiled and waved at her.

  Lu Na smiled back, but felt awkward. Seeing her reminded her that Sun Ren allowed the rebels to kidnap and attack her village again. Hopefully, when she solved this all her people would be saved.

  “There are our people,” Elder Hen said. He pointed at the center of the field where a raised platform sat. The noble ghost Farida laid on a lounge surrounded by all the Wintersweet disciples. She still wore her long white robe.

  Wintersweet disciples fanned her with these large blue feathers.

  Had they taken those from a spirit?

  When Farida caught Lu Na’s eyes, she waved with her fingers.

  “How did she bring them here?” Elder Hen asked.

  “I don’t know,” Lu Na said.

  “I thought you were the inventor. You don’t have any idea how she did that? If there’s a way we can teleport out of here, then maybe that ghost is the key.”

  “Are you going to talk with her during the trial?”

  Elder Hen didn’t respond.

  Lu Na shrugged. If that was one way to get out of here, then maybe it would be worth it if she failed. The only worry she had about that was that the ghost always wanted something in exchange. She wouldn’t help them for free.

  When everything settled down, Lu Na and Elder Hen had an audience of a large village.

  The game master floated to the center of the obstacle course, standing atop of a large round boulder. He crossed his arms across his chest and bowed.

  The entire crowd erupted into a loud cheer.

  Lu Na covered her ears. They were silent a moment ago and now she was deaf.

  The game master waved his hand and the crowd became silent.

  “Ghosts, young and old, today we have a new challenger to this obstacle course. How long has it been? Several hundred years at least since someone passed through the first two qualifiers. But today, we have a very special guest.”

  The game master pointed at Lu Na.

  “Today, we have the daughter of the phoenix. Yes, the same phoenix that screeches throughout the labyrinth and disturbs our rest and relaxation.”

  The audience booed at that. Some of them threw ghostly rotten vegetables and fruit at Lu Na.

  It was an odd thing to experience ghostly items hitting her. At first they looked so real and Lu Na could almost smell them, but the moment they touched her body they went right through her.

  “Well, at least the ghosts can’t stop us from completing the trial,” Lu Na said.

  “Never underestimate what the ghosts can do or can’t do. We’ve experienced that firsthand,” Elder Hen said.

  “Let’s get the games started!” The game master clapped his hands, creating a thundering clap that silenced the crowd.

  The formerly mundane obstacle course lit up like fireworks. Every single object filled with spirit energy, twisting, turning and glowing. If the previous trials were a practice run for this, Lu Na could already feel the shocks coming back, or worse, the ants.

  That’s when the lava began rising again.