For once, Lu Na was happy to hear someone screaming for help. Senior Wong deserved everything that came to her, especially for almost killing her brother.

  “Let’s go,” Lu Na followed Sun Ren.

  “Amituofo. We can’t do that,” Hen Li said. “We must help them. They might have done some evil things toward you, but it would be against my very path to not show compassion, hoping others will change for the better.”

  “Then you save them. Lu Na and I will go back to the fork and try to get out of here.” Sun Ren grabbed Lu Na’s arm. “Those people have been nothing but trouble for us and they would be the last people I’d ever help.”

  “Amituofo. Then please, as a favor to me, please help me. You’re not helping them. I can’t do it without you two.”

  Sun Ren ignored Hen Li and tugged, but Lu Na stopped her.

  “No Sun Ren, I have to help Hen Li. It’s the least I could do for everything he’s done for me.”

  “This makes no sense. You’re going to risk your life helping someone who tried to kill you?” Sun Ren scowled.

  Lu Na flinched.

  “No, as Hen Li said, I’m helping him. If that evil woman tries to do anything to me, I’ll make sure she regrets it. But there were many other people with the Wintersweet Sect. They don’t all deserve whatever they got tangled in. And I understand if you don’t want to help. It’ll just be me and the monk. You can wait for us at the fork.”

  Sun Ren made a sound between a grunt and a whine. It almost sounded like when one of Lu Na’s younger brothers was about to throw a tantrum.

  “Fine, let’s get this over with. Without me, you two won’t last long.” Sun Ren turned and followed Hen Li.

  For the first time since entering the labyrinth, Hen Li took the lead. Lu Na hadn’t noticed that he hid behind them. But why? He’s a powerful summoner and from what Lu Na could tell, their powers as a summoner stayed with them despite being separated from their spirits. Otherwise, Lu Na wouldn’t have been able to use her spirit sight or other techniques.

  Something was going on with Hen Li.

  “Okay, Lu Na, how far can you show your light ward from your bracelet?” Hen Li asked.

  “I can focus the beam of light in a line,” Lu Na said.

  “Then would you mind taking the lead? Young Miss Sun and I will cover you.”

  “No, she can hide behind the pillars and only show her hand to whatever’s out there,” Sun Ren said. “If something attacks her, hopefully it will only take a hand. Having Lu Na stand out in the open like that would get her killed.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Hen Li said. “I’ll use my clear eyes to keep a lookout for any dangers.”

  Lu Na didn’t think so, but she couldn’t complain. The thought of losing her left hand was not something she was looking for. Yet Sun Ren was right. Losing a hand instead of being blasted or whatever traps that were around would be better.

  Lu Na clenched her left fist. She made a circle with her fingers and the light ward activated. Her light ward cut through the darkness. She hid behind the first pillar closest to the entrance and showed it into the center of the room.

  There, in the dead center were a group of people dressed in dark blue tunics. They huddled close together with some leaning on each other. Most of them had their eyes closed. Right in the center were two older people, one man and woman, dressed in purple. They sat with their legs crossed and backs straight, almost as if they were meditating.

  But as far as Lu Na could see, there was nothing else. Then where was Senior Wong? Wasn’t she screaming earlier?

  “I’ll kill you!” Senior Wong slammed her staff against the pillar Lu Na stood behind. The sudden shock and dust threw Lu Na back, crashing to the ground.

  Sun Ren was already there with her sword, deflecting the next attack. She had a dagger in her other hand and was about to go for the kill.

  “Stop!” Hen Li yelled. He wrapped his arms around Senior Wong and held her back.

  “No, I have to protect my brothers and sisters. I have to protect the elders. You can’t come in here,” Senior Wong shouted.

  “It’s okay now. We’re here to help,” Hen Li said.

  Sun Ren held her waist sword in hand and a dagger in the other. She looked like she was ready to attack Senior Wong.

  “Some of us are. Just give me a reason you summoner scum and I will make sure you bother no one ever again.”

  The way Sun Ren said that was colder than the ghosts. Lu Na rubbed her arms to get rid of the goosebumps.

  “Could you shine a light over here, Lu Na?” Hen Li asked.

  Lu Na lifted her wrist and shone the light at Hen Li who was still holding onto Senior Wong. His arms strained against the other woman dressed in dark blue. When the light hit Senior Wong’s eyes, she flinched. For a moment, her pupils went from large to small.

  “What’s going on?” Senior Wong asked. She slumped against Hen Li, as if she suddenly lost all her strength. “And why does my head hurt so much?”

  Hen Li laid Senior Wong on the ground so that she was sitting.

  “We don’t know,” Sun Ren said. “We came because the monk asked us to but here all we’re finding is your sect summoners sleeping while their watch is screaming that she needs help.”

  Senior Wong turned to look at the mass of people seemingly asleep. Tears flowed freely from her eyes.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “No, they’re dead. I remember now. We were attacked. When we teleported into the labyrinth, something attacked us. The two Elders held them off, but they were too strong. So we all ran to this room. Whatever attacked us didn’t follow. Then it got cold. We couldn’t find a way out so we huddled together until we could.”

  “It must have been the ghosts,” Lu Na said.

  “Ghosts? Don’t be stupid. Even a na?ve young miss like you should know they’re not real,” Senior Wong said.

  Why did Lu Na risk her life to save them again? Yet Lu Na saw an opportunity here. The Wintersweet Sect were at their mercy and without an understanding of the ghosts, they might die here. Yet they’re super powerful summoners.

  Wait.

  “Senior Wong, where are your spirits?” Lu Na asked.

  “What do you mean? They’re inside our spirit realm. What kind of stupid question is that?” Senior Wong snorted.

  “No, this is not good. Sun Ren, Hen Li, we have to run before—”

  Sun Ren yanked Lu Na away as fast as she could. This was one reason why she loved her. She was a woman of action, less of words.

  Hen Li stood back, though.

  Lu Na turned to yell, “Hen Li, run! Their spirits are about to manifest. They’ll murder you and everyone there.”

  “Amituofo. I must help them.” Hen Li pressed his palms together, probably to recite the heart sutra again.

  Lu Na wanted to turn around and help, but she didn’t have any wards. If the ones on her bracelet burned out, she would be totally defenseless. She could only hope the monk knew what he was doing.

  “Why are we running?” Senior Wong asked.

  Lu Na flinched when she saw the senior disciple.

  “Why are you running with us?”

  “I might not like you, but you’ve been pretty smart about these things. I figured it couldn’t hurt.”

  “But what about your fellow disciples and Elders?”

  Senior Wong laughed, despite running fast.

  “Those guys can be the sacrificial lambs. I don’t care as long as I live. I’ve got a bigger purpose in this life than to die like them.”

  The three women ran back to the room with the fountain. They stopped and were panting.

  That’s when they heard an explosion coming from the tunnel. It sounded like the shrieking of many animal spirits, some angry, some elated, and others sad. The sounds of fighting broke out.

  “Wait, why isn’t Senior Wong affected?” Lu Na asked.

  Sun Ren unsheathed her waist sword and pointed it at the senior disciple’s throat.

  “Tell us, can you hear your spirit inside?”

  Senior Wong smiled and took a step back.

  “I can do one better.” She clenched her left fist and a small metal rooster appeared beside her legs.

  “How is that possible? Our spirits escaped our spirit realms when we entered the labyrinth,” Lu Na said.

  “What are you talking about? That’s not possible. Unless…” Senior Wong laughed. “Now, this is interesting. You two don’t have your spirits anymore. This labyrinth ripped them from your spirit realm.”

  “Yes. How did you save yours?” Lu Na saw it rip the spirit from a powerful summoner like Hen Li. How would someone like Senior Wong resist it?

  “Oh, it’s a family secret. It was a technique my father taught me to prevent anyone from ever affecting or stealing my spirit. But this is a perfect opportunity for me to get even with you.” Senior Wong took a step toward Lu Na.

  Lu Na clenched her left fist, ready to deploy all her wards again. This time, she would not be as nice to her as she was in the restaurant. Thanks to Jie, she had an improved version compared to the last time they had a stalemate.

  Sun Ren stood in front of Lu Na, despite not having her spirit at all anymore. Without Baihu, she was no stronger than a soldier by himself. No, it was probably worse, as she had no spirit to reinforce her at all.

  “No, it’s me she’s after. I’ll deal with her,” Lu Na said. She pulled Sun Ren back behind her.

  “You’re dealing with me?” Senior Wong said.

  “Look, we’re trapped here and it would be in our best interest to work together. I’m sure whatever happened back in that room, those spirits are going to catch us here, eventually. They won’t hesitate to kill us despite being your fellow disciples’ spirits.”

  “Those small fry? I don’t need to worry about any of them. But this opportunity with you might never come again.” Senior Wong took another step toward Lu Na. Her metal rooster spirit clucked as it took a step closer.

  “What about your Elders? Won’t their spirits be a problem?”

  Senior Wong paused for a second, turning her head. Then she glared at Lu Na.

  “No, I’m sure I can get away from them if I have to. You’re not getting off that easy.”

  “What do you want from me, Senior Wong? I have done nothing to you. You’re the one that attacked my home and almost killed my brother. I should be the one settling it with you.”

  “None of that matters here. No one will ever know what happened here. That’s the beauty of coming into this death trap. I can act without regrets.”

  Sun Ren threw her dagger at Senior Wong’s chest and head.

  The metal rooster jumped and deflected the daggers with a wing. With the next jump, it pinned Sun Ren to the floor. It clucked a few times as it walked on Sun Ren’s chest.

  “Your friend needs to relax. I’ll get to her after you.” Senior Wong made a fist with her right hand. Her face looked like it was twisted in pain. Then she brought her right hand and cupped it with her left. She bowed her head. “I just wanted to apologize for everything I’ve done.”

  Lu Na stopped her left hand from releasing the tiger claw she had prepared.

  “That’s it?”

  “Yes, Young Miss Lu. I realized that my desire to succeed no matter what has caused me to forget about karma. That’s why my father died. He acted like he was a god without regard for others and when he needed help the most, his own Elders turned against him. I realized even I need help sometimes and so now I am begging you both, please help me with whatever is going on.”

  Lu Na felt her jaw drop. She never thought that someone like Senior Wong would ever apologize for anything. And yet there she was, apologizing and asking for help instead of bullying her.

  The metal rooster got off Sun Ren and walked back over to Senior Wong.

  “I apologize to Young Miss Sun as well for our misunderstanding. I hope you can forgive me and my spirit.” Senior Wong bowed toward her.

  “I don’t trust this nor do I trust her,” Sun Ren said. “What’s with the sudden change of heart? Weren’t you just trying to kill us?”

  Senior Wong huffed.

  “Look, this is the first time I’m doing this. I don’t apologize to anyone. Even though my father was the sect leader, I still had to train harder than anyone to get to where I am. He taught me apologies were for the weak.”

  “And now we’re supposed to pretend everything is fine and move on? I don’t think so.” Sun Ren turned to leave down the other path.

  “No Sun Ren. We have to go back and help them,” Lu Na said.

  “That’s foolish. Even if I could trust her, all we have are my daggers, your wards, and her rooster spirit. It won’t be enough,” Sun Ren said.

  “Then I’m going back to help them. If we help them, then we might have a better chance of succeeding here. Better the enemy we know than the enemy we don’t. If we save Elder Hen and his disciples, they’ll be more inclined to help us. Isn’t that right Senior Wong?”

  Senior Wong nodded.

  Sun Ren gritted her teeth.

  “Fine, at least we’ll die quicker this way.” Sun Ren walked back toward the other Wintersweet disciples and Elders.

  Senior Wong followed closely with her rooster spirit.

  Lu Na followed behind. She really hoped she was right. They were about to walk into a dangerous situation. But there was a feeling in her gut that she knew she was right. They needed the Wintersweet Sect to survive whatever it is here especially if they met with the rebels again.

  Now she only hoped to survive whatever was coming.