Despite disliking how overbearing Elder Hen was, Lu Na felt relief when he appeared to help her in the trial. Her previous dread returned now that he was unconscious. She wasn’t sure if she could succeed without the old man.

  “Ah, found the question.” The game master floated up onto the platform. He took out a little stone chit before waving it in the air. More Xia writing appeared in the air. He looked down at Elder Hen. “Oh, did he die?”

  “No,” Lu Na said. She held herself back from screaming at the ghost. If he had the question, maybe they could have answered it before forcing Elder Hen to expend his life energy to get them to safety. This whole obstacle was stupid. Why did she have to leave the safety of her home to come to this stupid thing that was going to kill her?

  “That’s a shame. It would have been better that he did. Now he’s going to suffer along with you when you fail this question.” The game master hovered over Elder Hen with mock concern on his face. “Well, since I feel it was partly my fault, I’ll even translate this question for you for free. Not that you’ll be able to answer it, anyway.”

  Lu Na cupped her hands and bowed.

  “I thank you venerable ghost.”

  “Oh, it seems someone learned some manners. Well, the question is simple that any true summoner can answer: What is the true danger of spirits?”

  “True danger?” Lu Na looked at the Xia words as if it would make more sense to her. The ghostly script provided nothing more than a cursory glow, as if existing was enough for them.

  “Yes, true danger. I can’t help you any more than that.” The game master floated back up.

  The platform Lu Na was on tilted backwards as if they were on a sinking boat. She looked down and sure enough, the platform at the bottom was sinking further into the lava. The one she stood on was connected and sank as well.

  “Well, what’s the true danger, girl? You have little time before this platform sinks into the lava as well.”

  Lu Na grabbed Elder Hen and yanked him toward her. But he didn’t move. He was too heavy for her. She clenched her left fist and flicked it left, pulling out the stone from their platform so that they had a shelf to stand on with the new orientation. The last thing she needed was for the Elder to roll down into the lava.

  “Fine, fine. Is it because they’re powerful and dangerous?” Lu Na answered.

  “No.” The game master shook his head.

  The crowd of ghosts booed.

  Lu Na looked up and saw that the ghostly stands were still there, despite the platform physically sinking. How was that possible? Were they even there?

  “Fine, fine, you old monsters,” the game master shouted back. “I’ll give you one more hint because they really want to see you make it to the next platform. I’m sure even in your time, you have developed an understanding of what the spirits truly are. Why are they so dangerous to humans?”

  The question brought an old memory back to Lu Na. One where she talked with her mother about the secret of the spirits.

  “They’re dangerous because they take human life essence for themselves.”

  The game master paused and nodded his head. But when Lu Na said nothing else, he frowned. It was the same disappointment her teachers had when she answered wrong.

  “What else?” the ghost asked.

  “There’s something else? We die. Humans die much earlier from them stealing our life essence. Elder Hen is a perfect example of that.”

  “That is only a part of it. What else? Think bigger, child.”

  Lu Na felt the platform shift again. This time, it was more of a tremble, as if the lava was using the platform like a chopstick to stir itself.

  “Maybe if they take enough spirit energy, they would start murdering us for it. I don’t know.” Lu Na was grasping for anything to get this over with.

  The game master now glared at her.

  “No, that’s not enough. I’m sorry but you have failed.”

  The crowd booed louder. They began pelting the game master with conjured ghostly items. But unlike what happened earlier, these items actually hit the game master. He had to hide and duck behind his own conjured wall.

  “Fine, fine, you bastards. I’ll give her one more chance! I’ll even give her a hint.” The game master floated down beside Lu Na and leaned in toward her. It looked almost like he was trying to use her as a shield. “Look child, you should know about the spirit realm and how the spirits there are coming into the human realm. It’s how we bond with spirits here. Why do you think that’s all they do?”

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  “You mean they haven’t always done that?” Lu Na asked.

  The game master shook his head.

  This was new. Lu Na had always thought that the spirits had been there since the beginning of time. She had as much clue as the smartest scholars in the Imperial city to guess how humans came to be in this world, but for the Xia to know that spirits hadn’t always been with them all those years ago was interesting.

  But how could a young miss like her have any clue?

  “You have no clue, huh?” The game master sighed. “I had high hopes for you, too.”

  Lu Na laughed. It was the first time anyone had high hopes for her, or at least said it aloud. Her father had the least of all.

  Wait, how would her father answer this question?

  “The spirits willingly bond with us because they want our life essence,” Lu Na said. “If my spirit was any indication for the general attitude of spirits, then they do it not out of charity, but because they want more of the resources to become powerful. They want to use us humans like food.”

  “You’re so close. But if that’s all, you’ve failed.” The game master floated back up into the air.

  “No, there’s more. As with all businesses, spirits want to expand. They want more while giving back as little as possible.” Lu Na considered the next part carefully as she thought about why Nugua was so willing to help her. “However, if they didn’t need to give anything back at all, then spirits would take that opportunity. I know my father would if given the chance even if it meant literally killing his competitors.”

  “Go on.” The game master raised his hands to his chest, his long flowing sleeves rising to meet his body.

  “So the true danger of spirits is if they could somehow make it into the human realm without the need for us humans, they would slaughter us all for our life essence. We would be their cattle.”

  The game master clapped his hands.

  “Correct. At least that’s one interpretation of spirits and their actions based on our history with them. And now the final challenge. Are you ready, Young Miss Lu?”

  Lu Na looked as the platform shifted below her. No longer were they sinking into the lava, but rising out of it. A whole new stone platform appeared in front of her, allowing her to cross to the other side that was anchored against the wall. The only problem was: who was going to carry Elder Hen?

  “I can’t go there without him,” Lu Na pointed at the Elder.

  “Well, I can’t promise you that the platform will stay here if you go over there, but I can tell you that if you don’t, you will fall into the lava with him.” The game master floated away toward the last platform. He waved his hand and another short pillar rose from the ground.

  Lu Na put her arms underneath the Elder’s shoulders and lifted with all her might, but she couldn’t do much more than move him a few inches before collapsing. If her brother was here or Hen Li or even Sun Ren, they would have moved him. She was too weak.

  Fine, she’ll solve this and save him afterwards. Or maybe she’ll fail and they will both die in this fiery pit of lava, anyway.

  Lu Na crossed the bridge between the platforms to the final small pillar.

  “No obstacles for me to go over for this final test?”

  “No, those weren’t that challenging anyway,” the game master said.

  “Painful though.”

  “The Xia emperor didn’t want to make it too easy for the challengers. Otherwise, the power they would wield might challenge theirs.”

  “Pointless now that the Xia dynasty has been gone for two thousand years.”

  The game master smirked.

  “That’s not lost on me.”

  “So why do you still guard it so selfishly? Your labyrinth has caused not only many deaths over the years but also those very ghosts being trapped within, never able to leave.”

  The game master shrugged.

  “Do we truly have any choice in anything in this world? Everything is based on your destiny. I want you to remember that when you get out of here.”

  “Are you letting me win?”

  The game master laughed. It was a deep, mirthful laugh, as if Lu Na had told him the funniest joke in the world.

  “Oh no, I can’t do that. I have a good feeling that you will succeed. And if you don’t, you’ll still be a ghost that walks these labyrinth halls, as you were always destined to be.”

  Lu Na gritted her teeth. That was great advice. If she succeeds, it was destiny. If she fails, it was also destiny. She hated those hucksters who told fortunes to people for that same reason. Everything they said was always vague enough that they were right all the time.

  “Let’s get this over with. What’s the last challenge I have to overcome to get out of here and save my friends?”

  “The last challenge is simple. It’s also very personal. It doesn’t require any summoner knowledge at all. One might say—”

  “Stop stalling. Not only is the platform sinking again, I know my friends outside are probably fighting the feral spirits again. Just say it.” Lu Na clenched her left fist to prepare for whatever might come. If it was a trap that sprang out of the little pillar or the entire platform collapsing, she was going to be ready to save herself.

  “As you wish. The question is simple: Sacrifice the thing most dear to you and you will receive a bounty in return.”

  “What do you mean sacrifice the thing most dear to me?” Lu Na asked.

  “I have no idea. I don’t know you. But I will tell you that the phoenix spirit before you failed at this test. She wouldn’t sacrifice her children and now she’s stuck at the nexus facing unending pain. She can’t even die at this point.”

  Lu Na looked above at the volcano’s opening, picturing in her mind the phoenix and her screech. It was her mother crying for help. Was her mother most dear to her? She came all this way hoping to save her.

  The game master waved his hand, and a moving image popped up in the air above Lu Na. It showed Sun Ren fighting against a large cat spirit with her daggers, her tunic ripped across the back, with blood dripping from it. Hen Li was still unconscious on the floor like his father. The rebels of Yang Deli’s army fighting for their lives.

  “Oh my, you were right. I thought you’d have a little more time. Your friends are dying.”

  Lu Na thought maybe it wasn’t her mother but her friends. Would they be the most dear to her?

  That couldn’t be right, though. If she thought for a moment, she barely knew these people. Yes, Sun Ren was her best friend, but she’d known her for less than a year.

  The game master smiled, his crooked teeth showing.

  “I’ll make it easier for you.”

  “Do you know what I hold most dear?”

  The game master shook his head.

  “I don’t know the inner workings of a child, much less a lost girl. But the pillar in front of you knows. All you have to do is put your hand on it and it will reveal what you hold most dear.”

  Lu Na didn’t like the sound of that. She didn’t trust the game master. It felt like he didn’t want her to succeed and release all the ghosts. Yet he has been truthful this whole time. He hadn’t lied to her.

  Maybe that’s what he was waiting for. This moment to lie to her.

  But what did she have to lose at this point?

  Lu Na placed her hand on the short pillar. The volcano vanished, and light filled the sky.