Lu Na had to re-evaluate her earlier assumption. This was not doable. They were about to be eaten by naga spirits. This was not what Sun Ren meant by providing food and water.

  “Zi Xu, do something,” Lu Na hissed.

  “I didn’t expect that,” Zi Xu said. “I hoped that the temple brother would give us something if I broke something. Who knew he’d be hiding something so dangerous in that statue.”

  Sun Ren pulled Lu Na back out of the temple before she could respond. She threw her dagger at the naga that chased after. The dagger sank into the naga’s chest, slowing him down.

  “No, we left Nugua and Hen Li in there,” Lu Na said.

  “They’re not important. Set up your walls or we’ll die here,” Sun Ren said.

  Lu Na clenched her left fist and pushed her palm open at the doorway. A spirit wall appeared just in time as another naga jumped at them. Then an earth wall rose from the ground, sealing the spirits inside.

  Zi Xu walked through both walls at that same infuriating slow pace as if nothing in the world mattered to him. He had his hands behind him and his chin held high.

  “Well, it looks like there’s nothing I can do here. If you survive, find me at the market square. I’ll get you your food and water.”

  “What do you mean?” Lu Na asked the air. Zi Xu had already disappeared. “Curse that ghost.”

  “We don’t have time for that. We have to run now.” Sun Ren turned to go, but Lu Na grabbed her arm.

  “No, we can’t leave Hen Li and Nugua inside like that,” Lu Na said.

  “We can’t fight all those spirits. I don’t have my Baihu and Hen Li has become useless ever since he’s arrived in the labyrinth. We can still make it with just the two of us. So let’s go, Na Na.”

  Lu Na released Sun Ren’s arm. She took out a light ward and set it to the max. It would shine so bright and blind anyone, but it would only last a few moments.

  “You can go. But I’m going to save my spirit and that monk.” Lu Na formed a spirit skin on herself.

  Sun Ren grunted in frustration.

  “Fine, we’ll do it your way. Can you make me a spirit skin like that too?”

  Lu Na touched Sun Ren and willed her spirit skin to surround Sun Ren. Now they both had a faint rainbow glow over them.

  “Do it,” Sun Ren said. She had two daggers ready to throw.

  Lu Na touched the earth wall and it collapsed into a pile of dirt. Next she absorbed the spirit energy from the spirit wall to turn it off. Finally, she threw her light ward inside while closing her eyes.

  A bright flash that lasted moments appeared as orange light behind Lu Na’s closed eyes. She raised her clenched left fist and charged into the room.

  “Ouch, child. You didn’t need to blind us like that,” Nugua said.

  When Lu Na adjusted to the dim candlelight within the temple, she couldn’t believe her eyes. All the nagas bowed to Nugua from the waist, while holding their arms like they were hugging themselves.

  Hen Li sat in the corner with his eyes closed, palms together, praying quietly with his heart sutra. It was as if he had never moved.

  “Nugua, what’s going on?” Lu Na asked.

  Nugua’s face softened as she stared at the nagas. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “These are my children. These are my people.”

  “So they won’t eat us?” Sun Ren asked.

  “No, not unless I tell them to,” Nugua said.

  “Not even the monk, mother?” a naga woman asked with her head raised.

  “No, that one is too cute to eat. You see the muscles on him?” Nugua said. She licked her lips. “Besides, I just remembered a bunch of people that I had dined on earlier. They’re still coming for us. My children, you will break your millennium fast with a feast. As long as you are all ruthless enough for it.”

  “The soldiers,” Lu Na said.

  Nugua nodded.

  “But they’re people. You can’t eat them.”

  “Oh child, it’s cute you think you have a say in this.” Nugua stretched. Her spear wounds had faded to almost nothing. “They dared to cut me, spear me, and fight me. I’m going to make sure none of them ever returns outside. Besides, you need food don’t you? I’m sure my children could scavenge food for you.”

  “Amituofo. We can’t eat the soldiers,” Hen Li said.

  “See, you would have been a perfect naga. No foolish monk, we’re going to take the supplies the soldiers have on them. They won’t have a need for it anymore.”

  “Amituofo. Please let the sins pass.” Hen Li went back to reciting the heart sutra. He looked pale, but he didn’t stop.

  “Mother, we are starving. When do we go?” the lead female naga asked.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Soon child. I just need to confer with my summoner for a moment and then we will be off.”

  The naga gasped.

  “Mother, you bonded with a summoner?” the lead naga asked.

  “Yes. I know that I’ve never done it before, but this one is special. Her mother has given me the resources to create my kingdom inside the spirit realm,” Nugua said.

  “And promised to not kill you if you protected me,” Lu Na said. She didn’t want the spirit to forget, lest she become her children’s next meal.

  Nugua rolled her eyes. She slithered up to Lu Na and kissed her on the forehead.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll eat the monk and your skinny friend first, before I even think about eating you. I’m going to be gone for a while as we hunt and slaughter the soldiers. Do try to be safe or else your mother will kill me.”

  Lu Na wanted to hug Nugua. Despite all her chiding and weird idle thoughts, she was the closest thing she had to a mother that always cheered her on. Yet, the spirit wasn’t her mother.

  “Good bye Na Na. I hope to see you soon.” Nugua slithered out the door.

  “Wait, how will I be able to contact you?” Lu Na asked.

  “Don’t worry. When you are near the center of the labyrinth, I’ll know. But if you don’t make it because you’re too weak, I’ll know then too. Either way, we’ll see each other before the end.”

  Lu Na nodded.

  Nugua waved and then slithered on. The rest of her naga spirits followed, all with their claws out, looking like they were going to war.

  Sun Ren practically collapsed onto the floor again.

  “That was close. I don’t think I can stand any more surprises like that.” Sun Ren was clutching her chest, taking in large breaths.

  “Are you okay Sun Ren? Do you need anything?” Lu Na asked.

  “No, Lu Na. I need nothing. At least not from you. You can’t give me my Baihu back, can you? I could really do with some spirit body-strengthening from her right about now. You didn’t carry any food with you either. So right now, all you can do is wait for me to calm down because I’m about to lose it.”

  Lu Na didn’t know how to feel about that. She hadn’t seen Sun Ren like this before. Not even when they were about to die at the Wintersweet Sect had Sun Ren ever lashed out at her.

  Lu Na sat down next to Sun Ren and reached out for her hand.

  Sun Ren saw it, closed her eyes, and placed her hand on Lu Na’s.

  “I’m sorry for getting you into this,” Lu Na said. “If I wasn’t so selfish in trying to find and save my mother, you wouldn’t be here. Neither would Hen Li. The both of you look like you’re suffering a lot inside here.”

  Sun Ren squeezed Lu Na’s hand.

  “No, you’re my best friend. In fact, you’re probably my only friend.”

  “What about all your martial sisters?” Lu Na asked.

  “They’re loyal servants and bodyguards. Not my friends. But you, you are fantastic. This is not your fault. I chose to be here because I thought I could use whatever it was we found in the labyrinth. So there’s a bit of my greed there that has nothing to do with you.”

  Lu Na squeezed Sun Ren’s hand.

  “That’s not greed. You only wanted to gain an advantage for your father so he can help fix the country. You’re the most selfless person I know.”

  Hen Li coughed.

  “Okay, one of the most selfless people I know,” Lu Na corrected.

  “Amituofo, sorry that wasn’t to call attention to me. I’m just really thirsty and I have had no food in a while.” Hen Li finally put down his hands and laid down.

  “I’m sorry monk. I forgot that you also didn’t have the support of your spirit anymore.” Sun Ren got up and passed her waterskin to Hen Li who took large gulps. “The only food I have is the dried jerky from the packs. I’m not sure if you’d want to eat that.”

  Hen Li passed the waterskin back.

  “Amituofo. I shouldn’t. My vegetarian diet stems not only from my Buddhist beliefs, but it’s also my penance for all the innocent people I have slaughtered over the years.”

  “Then what should we do? Should we trust that ghost?” Lu Na asked.

  Sun Ren peeked outside.

  “I don’t think we should. He doesn’t seem to care about our lives. The next thing he does might kill us instead of helping.”

  “But it wouldn’t hurt to check, would it? Maybe he’s being truthful and he will have actual food and water for us in the market square. That would be worth the risk, right?” Lu Na was actually starving at this point. She didn’t dare ask Sun Ren for any more food, as she knew her friend had little left.

  “Amituofo. I’m with Young Miss Lu. It wouldn’t hurt to see what the ghost offered. With my clear eyes, I can see whether it is a trap.”

  “Fine. I’m starving myself. But I swear, if that ghost is lying to us or is trying to deceive us, I’m going to make sure that it doesn’t go into the afterlife even if we solve the labyrinth.”

  The trio walked back out toward the market square. They kept looking around, fearing that Yang Deli’s soldiers would have caught up by now. Yet they only saw the other ghosts.

  Lu Na felt a little homesick. Despite not leaving her home much, she missed the sounds of the city. In her travels to get to the labyrinth, most of it had been quiet.

  Here, there was so much activity that it boggled Lu Na’s mind that everyone here was a ghost. None of them were alive anymore and most likely died over a thousand years ago. The worst part was the smells. There were many, many food stalls that promised tasty food.

  There were a few things that caught Lu Na’s attention. Some toys the ghosts were selling were actually Xia devices. She recognized some of them from the manual. She couldn’t help herself when she stopped at one stall to look at this device that used spirit energy to spin a fan.

  Lu Na picked up the device and felt the small breeze that came from the fan. She used her spirit sight to see the technique that was etched as a pattern on the handle. It was simpler than the one in the manual, but it absorbed the ambient spirit energy to power a small motor inside.

  It was so fascinating how it could do that. She’d seen nothing like it before.

  “Young Miss, are you interested in that little device?” the stall owner asked. “If you’d like, you can stay for a little while and I can teach you how to make more of these devices. In fact, all of us can teach you something you couldn’t imagine. You can live here forever.”

  Someone yanked Lu Na away from the stall, causing her to drop the fan. When she looked up, she saw Sun Ren yelling at the stall owner.

  “Amituofo, you were caught in the ghost’s charm.” Hen Li was still holding her arm.

  The stall owner bowed his head in apology.

  “Are you okay?” Sun Ren asked.

  Lu Na nodded. That must have been what Sun Ren and Hen Li felt when they were pulled under by that ghost back in the village. But this one didn’t feel malevolent. It felt like the ghost was genuinely trying to invite Lu Na to her death.

  “Let’s keep moving,” Hen Li said. “They’re all staring at us.”

  Everyone seemed to have stopped to stare at the trio. Even the children that were playing earlier had stopped mid game of tag to look at them.

  The trio didn’t have to walk too far to reach the center of the market square. Right in the middle, there was a large banquet table filled with all kinds of food and drinks. There were other materials too, ranging from rope to small charms.

  “Welcome! You made it out alive as I knew you would,” Zi Xu said. “And as promised, I’ve brought you all a magnificent feast.”

  Lu Na felt herself drool from the smell. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

  “No, most of that is fake,” Hen Li said.