The walk back was a blur to Jie. She carried Pan Tian while Elder Shi walked beside her and Headmaster Siluvius led the way. She wasn't even sure where in the valley they were when she sensed four auras heading their way.

  One of which made it hard to breathe as guilt, shame, and sadness coiled around her chest and throat until it felt like she was being strangled.

  "Hide her from them. We can't allow this to disrupt their chance at the valley and the benefits it will bring to their cultivation. And, if he's distracted... he could die," Headmaster Siluvius said.

  Elder Shi placed her hand on Jie's shoulder and dark purple qi poured over her until it enveloped her. The same dark purple qi enveloped Xue who padded along beside Jie.

  The long shadows of moonlit trees seemed to dance as the world warped and bent around Jie, giving everything a dreamlike quality.

  Jie found herself wishing she could wake up.

  "Don't say anything or it'll make it harder to hide you... he'll know at the right time," Elder Shi said.

  Jie felt guilty about it, but she nodded. She doubted she could speak to him with the sadness and guilt choking her anyway. And she didn't want to lose another friend because he was distracted going into that damned, stupid dungeon.

  Pan Zhanshi approached them, with the young master he'd been tasked with befriending leading their little group.

  "Headmaster," said the young master with a bow that the others duplicated.

  "Ah, done with your trials already? Not bad," said Headmaster Siluvius.

  "Thank you, Headmaster. Forgiveness, but is there something we should be aware of?" asked the young master.

  "Not at all," said Headmaster Siluvius, "we did say that elders were around, after all. We got bored of hiding. So, go on then. Or did you want everyone else to get the treasures first?"

  "Of course not! Excuse us, Headmaster," said the young master. He bowed and raced off with the others.

  Pan Zhanshi ran after him but his pace slowed and he turned back. His dark purple eyes and spirit sense swept the area. He frowned as though he knew something was off but couldn't quite tell what.

  "Hey, Zhanshi! Don't fall behind! Did you want your sister to beat us there?" asked the young master.

  Pan Zhanshi turned his gaze back to the group and raced to catch up.

  "Don't worry," Elder Shi said, "he'll know soon enough. Then, he'll have time to grieve where it's safer to do so."

  Jie nodded again, unable to speak around the lump in her throat, and walked onward, trying to ignore the guilt and shame she felt.

  She picked up her pace. Suddenly, every second she was in the valley made her feel like she was going to be sick.

  They entered a wooded area that Jie hadn't been to before, with Headmaster Siluvius leading the way through a winding path to a small clearing where a large crimson portal waited for them. They stepped through it.

  They emerged where Jie had first entered with her friends. Elders held back a crowd that craned their necks, all trying to see what was going on as though Pan Tian's lifeless body were some curiosity they wanted to get a look at. Anger flared inside Jie and dragon lightning qi crackled over her, though the world still seemed twisted and warped.

  "Relax," Elder Shi whispered, "they see nothing."

  The headmaster led them through the crowd, the students rapidly clearing a path for him after one look at his face.

  Only one person didn't step aside.

  Ithilix looked at Elder Shi and the headmaster with a growing look of desperation and horror on her face. Her wounds had been healed but her robes were still riddled with holes and liberally painted with green blood.

  "Come with us," Headmaster Siluvius said.

  Ithilix looked at the portal as though she might run for it.

  "It's alright," Headmaster Siluvius said, "we have your friends. Just... come with us. All will be explained."

  That seemed to appease Ithilix somewhat and she followed along, although she looked confused and kept looking at the portal as she fidgeted nervously with her hands.

  Jie wanted to reach out for her, but she didn't want to break Elder Shi's concealment. Not here... with so many curious eyes.

  Headmaster Siluvius led them to the Shrine of Healing and Jie felt a flicker of hope. That perhaps Pan Tian wasn't truly dead or that they had some way to bring the dead back to life... only for him to lead them past all the cots and straight to a frigidly cold room with rows of white stone slabs.

  "Set her down here," Headmaster Siluvius said.

  "This one doesn't understand. Set who down?" Ithilix asked, "Where are this one's friends? They need help!"

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  Jie set Pan Tian down on the slab and as she turned to face the others, Elder Shi gestured and the dark purple qi dissipated.

  Ithilix's amber eyes widened. "Xue! Princess!" she cried. She ran forward and tackled Jie in a huge hug, squeezing her tight.

  "This one was so worried! This one is so glad you're... no..." Ithilix said as her body slackened, and Jie suddenly found herself supporting the girl's weight.

  Jie hugged Ithilix back fiercely. She wanted to say something comforting. Something to make it easier, but no words came, and she only held Ithilix who trembled in her arms.

  "No... no... no... this one was too slow... this one... this one..." Ithilix cried.

  "It... wasn't your fault..." Jie said. Each word was hard to force out through the emotion choking her. But she desperately didn't want Ithilix to blame herself... there was nothing more she could've done...

  "I'll let you handle this from here," Headmaster Siluvius said with a look at Elder Shi, "I need to make sure nothing else goes wrong and oversee the investigation. Find me when you're done. I'll need your help."

  Then, he vanished in a gust of wind qi.

  Jie held Ithilix tightly as she sobbed in her arms and Elder Shi watched over them.

  ***

  The days passed in a haze after that.

  Jie and Ithilix were both questioned thoroughly about what happened while their stories were compared to what water affinity experts learned with their skills.

  They also told the elders about the dead students they'd encountered in the desert ruins of the Crimson Valley and gave the elders their corpses so they could be sent to their families.

  Jie handed over the Chen children's rings and Kanev's ring to the headmaster and Elder Shi so the elders could comb over everything for even the smallest shred of evidence tying Chen Liang to what had happened.

  They found nothing and soon returned the rings to Jie together with all their contents. They'd given her a list of all the items inside when she'd handed over the rings and they checked off each item one at a time as they returned it all.

  But Jie found it difficult to care or pay much attention as an elder droned on, going through one item after another. Then, she was told that her team was more than welcome to resume the valley competition for the remaining time.

  She had no desire whatsoever to do so and Ithilix was equally lacking in enthusiasm, so they decided against it.

  Jie thought she and Ithilix ought to get together to divide up everything they'd gained... but she didn't feel up to doing so. Neither of them touched Pan Tian's ring and agreed with the briefest of discussions that it and all the loot Pan Tian had gained in the valley would go to the Pan family.

  Headmaster Siluvius assured them both that the ring would go to the Pan family when they came to collect her body.

  Jie felt guilty that she'd kept and made no mention of the lanterns Pan Tian had given them... but for some reason, she had no wish to give them up. It seemed a small thing in any case.

  Other than that, Jie mostly returned to her normal routine. Though she did so mechanically, and it often felt as though the world were rushing around her.

  She cultivated and trained with Elder Shi like she always did. Though Jie felt distracted and Elder Shi seemed unwilling to teach her about elemental affinities.

  Jie didn't even know which ones she had yet...

  Jie had asked of course, but the older woman just shook her head and told her to take a break. That she could learn about her affinities after she'd had a chance to grieve. It was hard enough just getting Elder Shi to keep up their prior training routine...

  It infuriated Jie. How was she meant to take time off from training when any time she stopped doing anything for even a second... emotions ambushed her? So strongly that her brain and bones ached.

  Besides, she needed to be stronger... she couldn't allow herself to be too weak ever again. And, she still had a promise to fulfill.

  Each day when she returned to her residence and saw Ming trying to recover with no sign of getting better... she felt as though she were about to lose him too. As though she were destined to lose everyone she cared about.

  She hadn't heard from Pan Zhanshi. Elder Shi assured her that he'd returned from the Crimson Valley safely, but Jie didn't know where he was. She didn't know where any of her friend's residences were... not even Pan Tian's... that thought made her bury her face in her hands.

  How could I be such a useless friend? She asked herself.

  After a few more days, Jie received a white envelope with only her name on it. Written in beautiful calligraphy. She opened it and found a white letter with flowery language inviting her to Pan Tian's funeral. She read it over twice. As for some reason her eyes had moved over the words without actually reading them the first time.

  She'd never been to a funeral before. Not even for her parents. She simply hadn't been able to go. If there'd even been one.

  She didn't know what to wear or how to act or what would happen or anything and the one person she most wanted to ask was the reason she was going.

  She fought down tears. She hated how much she'd been crying lately. How weak it made her feel.

  She forced herself to think clearly and push it aside. Elder Shi would know the customs here.

  Jie prepared for the funeral with Elder Shi's help. She wore simple white robes on the day carriages arrived to pick her up.

  The Crimson Academy had a handful of tailors on the grounds that made clothes for the students, so it hadn't been hard to get new ones. She'd had to replace all her old ones after breaking through into the Elementalist rank and the sudden growth she'd experienced as a result.

  Elder Shi said that black, silver, and gray were closely associated with metal affinity. The best affinity for necromancy. And, that other more vibrant colors would be seen as disrespectful... white seemed the safest bet, so that's what she'd chosen.

  She thought that she'd see Pan Zhanshi then, but the carriage the Pan family guards ushered her into was empty. She wondered if he was in another of the carriages... but if he was, she couldn't sense him.

  Maybe he's not coming? Jie wondered.

  Though that was insane... the carriages had something to block spirit sense... he wouldn't miss his own sister's funeral, would he?

  The carriage took her through the countryside to a sprawling compound with high walls and countless patrols of guards. With entire mountains inside the borders and complicated auras and protections filling the air.

  There were many other carriages and experts arriving, but everyone was directed where to go, and Jie fell easily into a flowing crowd that wound its way up a mountain with Xue at her side.

  Along the way, she deposited a white storage ring with money inside it into a runed container, just as every other group of visitors did. Elder Shi said it was customary and Jie didn't want to upset the family of the friend she'd failed to protect.

  Jie hadn't been sure about the amount to give... it apparently depended on a great many factors and tied into more rules, etiquette, and ideas of status and face than she wanted to think about.

  She'd settled on two spirit coins. According to Elder Shi, that was a princely sum, and the number two lacked the more insulting connotations that a different number might've had.

  Thinking about what little she remembered of what Elder Shi had said gave her a headache. She hoped it would be taken well. Elder Shi had assured her that it was incredibly generous and would almost certainly be well received. That seemed good enough.

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