Chapter 50: The Warden of Silence

Chapter 50: The Warden of Silence

The morning air was cold. Mo Fei’s breath fogged in front of his face as he stepped into the training yard. Jian Yue stood across from him, blade already drawn. Xin Yi and Hao Yu followed Mo Fei, sitting at the doorway.

Yi Jyuhan and Riyoshi were behind them and entered the yard.

Yi Jyuhan waved his hand, calling out. "Try using a weapon made of wood. Caution is important." He said, while pointing at the inventory.

Mo Fei took a long wooden stick, suitable as Glaive. Jian Yue pulled a wooden sword, putting his bone blade down. "No masks," Jian Yue ordered. "No tricks. Just you and your weapon."

Mo Fei nodded, setting the mask aside without arguing. He gripped the haft with both hands.

Jian Yue moved first. His blade came fast, testing his limits. Mo Fei raised the stick, catching the strike barely. The impact shuddered through his arms. "Your stance is too wide for a Glaive user," Jian Yue said, stepping back. "You are bracing yourself for impact."

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"You’re a corpse if you keep fighting like that."

They exchanged a few more blows. Mo Fei was slower and clumsier. Jian Yue was a storm that knew when to strike its thunder, but Mo Fei learned. Each strike taught him something. Where to put his weight, how to turn a block into an opening.

He was learning Jian Yue’s fighting style faster than he ever could before. It only took ten minutes.

Jian Yue stopped. "You improved, but... You are now fighting like a sword user, not Glaive."

"Let’s continue; at least it’d be enough for me to survive." Mo Fei pulled back.

Jian Yue lunged forward, his blade moving through the wind in silence. No air rippled as if it was passing through the vacuum. Mo Fei moved his stick; the lower half clattered with the blade. Then he heard the voice in his head.

"Great Master, you should copy the movements, not blades."

Jian Yue’s blade rushed through Mo Fei’s guard. Mo Fei stumbled back, falling on the ground. "You are distracting me." The Serpent went silent. The image disappeared in silence. "No, wait, I didn’t mean it in that wa–"

"Did you call me? Great Master."

"Never mind, now I did mean that..."

Jian Yue’s voice broke his thought. "You are distracted; do not let your thoughts catch your actions." Mo Fei stood up, groaning.

Yi Jyuhan whistled in the background, and Riyoshi simply looked at him and said, "This... is that guy?" His voice almost sounded awkward. Yi Jyuhan fanned and cracked a chuckle.

"That’s a little complicated."

The training lasted twenty more minutes before Jian Yue finally stopped. Mo Fei dropped to the ground on his butt, gasping. His face was covered in sweat. He raised his palm, washing his forehead.

"You’ll remember what you need to." Jian Yue walked toward the inventory, setting down the wooden sword, and picked up his own. "The rest will come from instinct."

Mo Fei lowered the stick and heaved a sigh. "That’s not very reassuring."

***

Both of them walked toward Yi Jyuhan and Riyoshi. The brown-haired man bowed slightly to them.

"Riyoshi," he said, introducing himself. "Royal guard of the Lady’s eastern temple."

"Mo Fei. Simple name for a student."

Riyoshi’s lips twitched. "In war apprentices are as worthy as warriors. You need to learn a little more, and you will be."

"You should have said that before."

Yi Jyuhan cleared his throat. "Now that everyone is here, I should explain things." He started walking; others followed him. Xin Yi and Hao Yu held Mo Fei’s hand, walking beside him.

***

Zhuo and Lin were alone in the room. Zhuo glanced around nervously, unsure how to begin. Lin immediately noticed and asked, "Zhuo, what are you doing?"

Zhuo blinked, waited briefly, then finally asked, "What is... Ciradyl?"

Lin halted, her eyes wide in surprise. "How do you know about it?"

"Jang Wu told me."

"Jang Wu? I’ve never heard that name before." Lin paused, wondering whether to tell. "It’s a long story. To make it short, I left Ciradyl after killing an entire cult, which controlled that kingdom. I lost my key there..."

Zhuo nodded in understanding. "Where is this place?"

"In world seven."

The door opened. They returned to the room.

Lin was waiting; Zhuo was leaning against the wall, completely awake. Yi Jyuhan unrolled a parchment on the floor. It was a map, crude and hand-drawn, but detailed.

"The main palace of the Fleshweaver cult is here." He pointed to a cluster of symbols in the western part of the map. "Three days’ march from the city’s edge. But we don’t have three days. We need to go from the depth of the Shifurano mountain."

"The Cursed Womb will be born tomorrow," Jian Yue said.

"Less now. The royal guards transporting it moved faster than we anticipated." Yi Jyuhan traced a line across the map. "We’ll intercept them here–at the Valley of False Footing."

"That valley is cursed," Riyoshi said quietly.

"What is not cursed?" Yi Jyuhan’s fan snapped open. "That place is near the second eclipse countries. It includes five countries. Each one filled with malicious entities. Some can steal fate, and some can take your place and live. There are things far worse."

His expression went serious. "For high-level ascenders like me, it won’t be that much trouble, as we will only pass through the edge. Still keep your eyes open; they are good at hiding."

Zhuo curled his hands on his knees. "What about the palace?" Yi Jyuhan’s fans stopped midway.

"I have never been inside the palace. Though the Cursed Womb couldn’t be inside yet. Even a demigod loves their resting place." Yi Jyuhan scoffed in a reassuring tone.

Xin Yi and Hao Yu didn’t say anything; they just listened. Their hands curled around Mo Fei’s hem tightly.

"If anyone has any questions left, then speak." Yi Jyuhan waited.

Mo Fei shrugged. "Only if I had one, but I’m oblivious enough to know nothing of these worlds."

"Was that a joke?"

"Not really."

"..."

Yi Jyuhan coughed before looking away from him. "So we will leave by evening. I’ll explain this plan to Alisa. Now go take a bath and talk to each other... so you can remember."

They all stood up. Both kids followed. Yi Jyuhan told them the location of baths and moved.

***

Xue Lan was still sleeping under the blanket. Slowly his eyes opened with a stir. The wounds on his back were less than before, almost healed. His hand reached toward his back, eyes twitching from the sting. "A few more hours to fully recover."

He pushed himself, standing up. His hands found a wall, and held his robe. He wore it, covering the cloth binding his wound.

He pulled the door. The light streaked his pale face. Outside, the sun had risen, but not the soft morning light. He reached out for clothes from the wardrobe and walked out. The cultists greeted him, but he didn’t. What to greet when the time had already passed?

He walked through the corridors, then his eyes fell on an emerging figure from an alley. He instantly recognized the man.

Jian Yue.

Xue Lan stopped in his tracks before walking again toward the hot spring. Jian Yue was also there, holding his clothes in both of his hands. As their eyes found each other, neither of them said anything. One didn’t acknowledge it, and another didn’t want to get.

Yet Jian Yue still spoke. "A late bloomer?"

Xue Lan didn’t answer. He walked past him. His mind was thinking about various things he couldn’t secure just from royalty. A hollow gap.

"Why is there a vast tide in your face today?" Xue Lan said in a low tone, but he didn’t wait for an answer.

Jian Yue didn’t follow. He simply stood there, clenching the clothes in his hand. Jian Yue hiccuped; he remembered that feeling. The place between the presence of something older and vast.

The Warden of Silence.

He had served that authority for years now. Ascended through descents, he had never met the true God; he just prayed. Prayed until a comfortable silence occurred. Prayed until he had to stop.

The Warden was not like the other authorities. Other authorities had cults, temples, and royal guards. Warden had an absence.

That was what defined ’Him’.

No prayer had ever been answered, just blessing and cold comfort.

Until last night.

The dream had not been a dream. Jian Yue was standing in a library. Books were put on shelves, a temple of knowledge. But the pages were empty, absurdly empty.

A pure mist was covering the ground. Ahead, a shape wrapped in brown robes. The face: ’He’ had one but was disappointed or slightly saddened. Not hidden by a mask or anything, but by the simple fact that Jian Yue couldn’t remember it.

"My devotee." The figure had said, but when Jian Yue opened his mouth, no voice came.

"You have been a true devotee. You buried hope and called it duty." The Warden reached out ’His’ hand toward him. "But now you’re tired from trying to chase hope."

Jian Yue couldn’t move; he was still silent.

"Do not fight the battle. Your death is inevitable in that. You are my devotee, but there will be another one who will die alongside you. That is not my concern; they are not from my authority."

"You may speak now." As the words left, Jian Yue’s body began to move again. He knelt down in respect.

"I’m honored by your concern, but if I leave, then all the time I have been trying will go in vain. My fear would take over." Jian Yue kept his eyes down. His eyes were closed. "But I want to save the other person."

"You can’t. That death is for a greater future." ’He’ warned, his figure began to disappear. The library itself slowly dissolved. "Call me, my devotee, and I shall help you... One last time."

Jian Yue opened his eyes, remembering last night’s incident. He sighed and walked toward the hot spring for a bath. He’d have to use the prayer wisely.

Meanwhile.

Mo Fei was already in the spring, waiting for Jian Yue. Zhuo was sitting in the water, closing his eyes. Xin Yi and Hao Yu were resting there too. Mo Fei was out when someone opened the door.

Mo Fei’s gaze fell on the doorway; Xue Lan was standing there. His eyes focused on the surroundings, scanning their faces.

His eyes fixated on the kids, his brows furrowed. Then he looked at Zhuo and then finally at Mo Fei, who seemed to be annoyed by seeing him instead of Jian Yue. Xue Lan walked, putting his clothes aside, and entered the spring. Zhuo opened his eyes and flinched from the sight.

Xin Yi and Hao Yu slowly backed away toward the rocky surface near Mo Fei, who was sitting on a stone.

Xue Lan squinted his eyes, letting out a snort.

Elsewhere, Lin was alone in the second spring, sitting inside the pool. Her clothes were put aside. The second spring was the same size as the first, tucked behind a screen of weathered bamboo. Steam curled from the water’s surface, carrying the scent of sulphur and moss. Lin rested her scarred hand at the edge.

She didn’t have the key to her authority, stolen by something she would rather not remember. The scar was old now, yet it ached when the air turned cold.

The steam wrapped around her, and for a moment, she let herself feel the weight of her brother’s absence.