The bridge they stood on shook without the gate holding it up.

  Lu Na took out another earth wall ward and focused on what she wanted. She activated it and the earth rose to meet them.

  “What do we do?” Lu Na asked.

  “Can you make any more bridges?” Sun Ren asked.

  “I can’t make the bridge like Nugua.”

  Nugua laid down near Hen Li, with the two spears still stuck inside her.

  Lu Na walked over and pulled out the sealing ward she made for Baihu.

  “Nugua, I can seal your wounds, but we have to pull those out. Hen Li, can you do it?”

  “Amituofo.” Hen Li nodded.

  “We better hurry. The spirits are climbing up the wall.” Sun Ren unsheathed her daggers.

  Hen Li grabbed the spears and pulled them out in one swift motion.

  Nugua hissed, but kept her eyes closed.

  Lu Na quickly sealed her wounds with the healing ward. This time, Lu Na combined multiple healing wards in hopes it would be more effective.

  A feral spirit screeched before crashing down.

  “I could use help here,” Sun Ren said.

  “Go, I’ll watch over your spirit,” Hen Li said.

  Lu Na rubbed her null metal bracelet. It was warm, but no longer burning. It was time to try something that she didn’t get to before in Jie’s village.

  “Can you hold them off for a little while?”

  Sun Ren grunted as she stabbed another spirit.

  Lu Na closed her eyes and focused on what she wanted to do. She imagined the ground below them sinking away, doing the complete opposite of what the earth wall wards would normally do. The only thing she needed to keep up was the earth wall that was holding them up.

  Lu Na clenched her left fist and flicked it left. She held the image in her mind as she focused on the ground below them.

  The earth shifted below the spirit animals and sank deeper. It was slow at first, but in moments it sank really fast, creating a deep sinkhole.

  Lu Na had to release her fist. The bracelet burned her wrist. She took it off and held it aloft in her hand.

  Sun Ren pushed the last few feral spirits off the wall before collapsing onto the ground, breathing hard.

  “Good… job.”

  Lu Na wanted to say something in response, but her vision swam and she collapsed onto the ground.

  “Lu Na!” Sun Ren crawled over to Lu Na.

  “No, I’m okay, I think,” Lu Na said. “I think focusing so hard hurts my head.”

  Nugua laughed.

  “Now you know how it feels whenever I mold those wards for you.”

  Sun Ren passed Lu Na a water skin to drink. She drank from another. Despite everything, Sun Ren still had her pack. Somehow, she didn’t get it taken from her when she was captured.

  Lu Na had lost her pack a while ago. All she had was a small stash of food she put inside her chest pocket before all the madness. The rest, she left with Baihu.

  “Wait, Baihu. Did she make it here?”

  Sun Ren looked up. She closed her eyes to focus.

  “No, I’m not sure where she is. She’s not close by.”

  “Finally. I think I’m better. Let’s look over what we have and consider our next moves,” Sun Ren said. She took out a piece of dried meat and passed it to Lu Na. “I’m sorry I don’t have any vegetables for you monk.”

  Hen Li closed his eyes and nodded. He began chanting the heart sutra again.

  “Other than Nugua’s injuries, is anyone else badly injured?” Sun Ren checked her own body.

  Lu Na felt a small burning in her left leg. There was a cut that ran up her dress. She lifted it and saw a shallow, blood red line going up her leg. It had clotted over, but it still burned.

  Lu Na took out a handkerchief from her chest pocket. She poured a little water and dabbed at her cut.

  “Nugua, how are you doing?”

  Nugua coiled her tail around herself and had her eyes closed.

  “I’ll be fine child, now that you have sealed up my major wounds. However, I won’t be able to heal your wounds. But I can move if that’s what we need.”

  “That’s good,” Sun Ren said. “What about you monk? Can you move?”

  Hen Li stopped his chanting to nod.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Lu Na knew the monk was affected by his Bifang Niao trying to come out, but that was a while ago. Gone was his self assured manner.

  “Hen Li, are you sick?”

  “Amituofo. I’m not. I’m contemplating my purpose in life.” Hen Li leaned back into his arms and spread his legs out. “I’m not sure what I’m doing anymore. I thought it was to prevent my former sect from doing evil, but there is so much evil in the world. And Buddhism doesn’t help. On the one hand, they seek personal enlightenment and to break free from the world’s troubles. Yet on the other hand, they want us to practice loving kindness for everyone, especially those lost on the path. But ever since I came here and lost my power, I keep thinking about how that is possible. How do I do anything while I’m so weak?”

  Lu Na didn’t know what was going through the monk’s head. She’d never thought much beyond how to solve the next problem she’s presented on her journey to save her mother. She’d never had much to think of at all.

  Sun Ren threw a water skin at Hen Li.

  “Quit your whining monk. I might not be a Buddhist, but if you want to see an answer to that, look at Lu Na. She didn’t start life with limitless talent like you and her mother abandoned her before she taught her how to use anything she left her. Yet she is the kindest person I know that is always trying to make the world a better place. If your religion can’t do that without power, then maybe it’s time for a new religion.”

  Lu Na opened her mouth to refute that, but she didn’t. She never understood Buddhism or the wider reach of religion. She only believed in what she could see.

  “And if we’re done feeling sorry for ourselves, it’s time to look at the facts,” Sun Ren said. “Yang Deli will not deal with you in any peaceful way. He’s got an army and if he survived the feral spirit stampede, he’s coming for us. So, monk, let us know now if you’re still with us. Because if you’re not, you’re free to join Jie’s ghost village. We’ll come back for you.”

  Hen Li took a deep breath and stood.

  “I’m with you until the end of this adventure, wherever it leads us.”

  Lu Na got up and smiled.

  “Thank you Hen Li for helping me, despite all the danger.”

  “Maybe after this, I’ll finally find the answer I’ve been looking for all this time.” Hen Li reached into his chest pocket and pulled out his puppy spirit, Panhu. He put him down on the floor so that it would follow them.

  “And of course, thank you Sun Ren for doing this. I wouldn’t be able to do it without you.”

  “Hmph, of course. You’re too weak, Lu Na.” Sun Ren got up, dusted herself off, and took out her map.

  Lu Na noticed that Sun Ren had changed as well as the monk. Unlike Hen Li, she didn’t depend as much on her spirit. However, the way Sun Ren acted reminded Lu Na of Young Misses from rich families. Gone was the reserved attitude she had. Was this the real Sun Ren?

  Beyond that, if these two changed so much since entering the labyrinth, had Lu Na changed? She wouldn’t really know unless one of her companions said something. That was something she’d have to keep track of.

  A horn sounded off in the distance. The feral spirits retreated from the bridge.

  “What now?” Sun Ren said.

  Lu Na wrapped her null metal bracelet back on her left wrist. It was only warm now. The next chance she got, she was going to modify the bracelet to prevent the burning. For now, she had to be prepared for anything.

  “Hello up there,” a man called out.

  Everyone turned to look down at a man dressed in a long, dark orange tunic that reached down to his knees. His hair was tied up in a bun with a jade hairpin through it. He had a large blue sash across his waist.

  “Who are you?” Sun Ren asked.

  The man had a wide smile. It reminded Lu Na of some merchants that met with her father. A smile so wide, so fake, that promised something as long as you had the money.

  “I’m Zi Xu, a resident of the labyrinth. And yes, I am a ghost, but I mean you no harm. In fact, I’m here to welcome you to the outer sanctum of the labyrinth.”

  “Were you the one who called off the feral spirits?” Lu Na asked. “I would love to know the technique you used to do so.”

  “Ah, that wasn’t me,” Zi Xu said. “If you all would come down here, I would gladly show you around. I assure you it’s safe now.”

  “What do you think?” Lu Na asked.

  Sun Ren peered down at the lonely figure below.

  “How do we know you’re alone? We’ve seen ghosts appear and disappear like mist.”

  “Ah, so you have met other ghosts. Good. Well, I can’t guarantee that there are no other ghosts around here, but I can tell you that the army you were running from is about to finish the last of the feral spirits.”

  Lu Na turned to see that the ghost was right. The fighting behind them had calmed down. It was only a matter of time before they came after them again.

  “Lu Na, get us down.” Sun Ren unsheathed her daggers.

  Lu Na nodded. She reached into her chest pocket and pulled out an earth wall ward. This was one of the last ones she had left.

  “Nugua, do you think you can help me shape this one? I don’t want to create another wall again.”

  Nugua sprang up and slithered over to Lu Na.

  “Of course, child." Nugua placed a hand on Lu Na. “You’ve learned a lot since we’ve started this journey. With a little practice, I’m sure you won’t need me anymore.”

  Lu Na beamed from the praise.

  “Thank you for helping me learn. But I have bigger plans for the future and you’re a part of it. I couldn’t dream of a future without you.”

  “You might have to.” Nugua closed her eyes.

  Lu Na wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but it was not the time to consider it. She also closed her eyes to focus on the earth wall ward. When she did, it felt like there was another presence there that she hadn’t felt before.

  The other presence was gentle and guided Lu Na to rethink how to shape her wards. With a little push, she realized that she’s been too rigid in thinking this whole time. Spirit energy was a very fluid type of energy that is imbued within everything. With a nudge this way or that, one could shape it into anything. Beyond that, it could also be transformed into anything as long as it was related.

  For the first time, Lu Na saw how to turn her earth walls into stone walls by hardening and growing the rocks like crystals. It wasn’t simply packing the earth tighter together, but changing the composition entirely.

  When Lu Na opened her eyes, there was a stone walkway that led down to where Zi Xu was standing. It was a perfectly formed staircase going down. That must have been Nugua. Turning it into stone was probably Lu Na.

  This new way of thinking had a lot of applications. Lu Na wondered if she could do something similar with the tiger claw technique. If she could turn that into something else or concentrate the spirit energy in the attack, wouldn’t she be able to use as much power as Sect Leader Wong?

  “You’re thinking so loud that I can hear you,” Nugua said. “Don’t worry so much about this for now. You’ll have plenty of time to experiment later. Focus on what’s in front of you.”

  Sun Ren had already gone down to greet the ghost, daggers in hand. Hen Li followed behind with his palms pressed together.

  Lu Na had to catch up in more ways than one if she wanted to become stronger. It was time to meet a ghost and continue the journey.

  “Lu Na, can you destroy the bridge?” Sun Ren asked. She had sheathed her daggers.

  “Hmm?”

  Sun Ren pointed at the bridge. Yang Deli’s soldiers were crossing it in single file, running as fast as they could, carrying spears.

  Lu Na focused on the bridge, searching for the earth wall wards she activated. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t sense them.

  “Nugua, help me.”

  Nugua had collapsed onto the ground. The strain from the focus and the injuries must have exhausted her.

  “I guess there’s no helping it.” Sun Ren unsheathed her waist sword and held a dagger in the other hand.

  Lu Na knew that there was no way Sun Ren could fight against spears with her sword. She had to find those wards to deactivate them before they came. The last thing she wanted to see was a spear going through Sun Ren, as it had Nugua.