Zhi Cheng sat on one of the rocky outcrops, one hand resting on his thigh, the other playing with the fan dangling from his hip. The huge cave system with its ramified corridors and countless dead ends was perfect for keeping uninvited visitors out of the blood bazaar. They had already found several skeletons and mummified corpses.
The way back was proving more difficult than expected. He sighed heavily. If only he could use the full potential of his power, they would be back in no time. But he still had to be wary of the astute Qing Lai. The latter had also sat down on a rocky outcrop and was exploring the caves ahead of them in lotus position in his mind.
Sweat stood on his forehead as he followed passage after passage, marking each one that led to nowhere. Once they were close enough to the Blood Bazaar, he could find the shortest path, but who knows how far away they were teleported.
"Brother Zhi can you stop feeling sorry for yourselves? Be helpful," Qing Lai reprimanded. Zhi Cheng's evil gaze bore into Qing Lai's white back.
"How can I help you, Brother Qing?" he asked mockingly.
"You could provide me with spiritual energy, then I can explore a larger area and expand my spirit for longer," he suggested.
Zhi Cheng narrowed his eyes. His spiritual energy consisted of black magic and he was still not one hundred percent sure if the Night Weed had completely left his circulation. So merging their energy was out of the question.
"I'm afraid I'm not as well versed in this as you are. I can't help you," he replied.
Qing Lai didn't say anything back, he remained seated and breathed in and out intently. After a while, he opened his eyes.
"We can go on!" he said wearily. Zhi Cheng nodded. He noticed that Qing Lai hadn't slept through the night since they had entered Chaisang.
They had been traveling the whole time. But rest was out of the question now. Who knows how long it would take them to get back to the bazaar, and it was only open tonight and tomorrow night. Together, they walked through the dark, damp corridors and peered over chasms.
Zhi Cheng was kicking the remains of a pathetic idiot over a cliff when Qing Lai stepped up beside him and pointed to the other side of the cave. Below them was a steep drop and the tops of the stalagmites stretched upwards. Above them, the ceiling was barely visible in the darkness, and on the other side, barely twenty meters away, another cave opened up like the large mouth of a hungry monster.
"I sense magic on the other side. I think that's where the Blood Bazaar is," Qing Lai said. Zhi Cheng looked over the abyss. That would explain why hardly anyone had made it back. One had to have mastered a certain level of cultivation and flying steps to cover that distance.
"But there might be another trap lurking for us," Qing Lai remarked wearily. Time to be a little helpful, thought Zhi Cheng.
"You should get some rest first, Brother Qing. After that, we can check whether a magic trap has been set across the ravine," he suggested.
Qing Lai wanted to protest, but he was indeed very tired and had been swaying more in the last half hour. Even before the encounter with the marauders, he had had little sleep. He was fine with little sleep, but not with none at all. Finally, he nodded and let Zhi Cheng sit him down on one of the countless rocks. He leaned against the cold cave wall and breathed in and out evenly. Zhi Cheng watched him for a while until he was sure that he had really fallen asleep.
Then he covered Qing Lai with his outer robe so he wouldn't freeze and walked back to the cliff. With a simple mudra, he scanned the surroundings and indeed found some traps. Halfway down, the spiritual energy was canceled and one would free-fall down with the flying steps.
If you made it any further, thousands of arrows would come out of the cave wall and shoot down anything approaching the entrance. In front of the entrance itself, wafer-thin steel threads were stretched, which would only allow any intruder to enter in slivers. He frowned; the organizers really didn't want any uninvited guests here.
With a series of finger signs, he first deactivated the magical trap that suppressed the spiritual energy and then sealed the arrows with a magical attack of his own. He loosened his fan from his belt and gently stroked the metal fittings and the almost lifelike image before sending it out and cutting the strings.
An uncomfortable, heavy, silence settled over the abyss. Zhi Cheng felt as if his senses were being pressed to the ground, then it was all over. He glanced back, but Qing Lai was still asleep and not moving, so the Ghost King wanted to play it safe.
He closed his eyes and concentrated. The centuries of selfishness without any restraint was now taking its revenge. It was incredibly difficult for him to maintain a certain precision and pump his black magic exclusively into the floor and walls in front of him without it greedily reaching out its hands to the white pacifist.
His surroundings plunged into darkness, it was as if all light that fell into the cave was extinguished, and with a buzzing, piercing sound, his formless yet sharp ghostly threads stretched across the ravine. Even dust motes were dispersed in the air, and every talisman and recorded trap and weapon was destroyed. He exhaled slowly as he gathered the magic back into himself and the threads returned to their master. As he waited for Qing Lai to awaken, his mind wandered back to the parchment and the protective circle drawn on it. He had never thought that a relic from his lifetime would last so long, and then of all things, it was his family's spell. He closed his eyes as he was drawn back into the maelstrom of memories. The chaos that was due to his maltreated body. Even though he felt better and was slowly regaining his strength, the past was pulling harder on him today. He let go, once again taking himself back to a comforting, warm time. A time when war, hatred and death were still far away.
The kingdom of Xuyu was a flourishing land. Lush vegetation, wide rivers and a bright blue sky greeted the inhabitants every day.
Qiao Guan was a young, unreasonable prince of sixteen. He loved to run through the wide open corridors with flowing clothes and expensive jewelry, driving his bodyguards crazy.
He ran along the white marble corridor, streaked with veins of gold, over velvety carpets, past the silk curtains that blew gently in the wind.
When he heard the bugle announcing the arrival of a member of the royal family, he leaned so far over the parapet that Jiahu, one of his personal bodyguards, cried out in shock.
Above the enormous royal palace made of white stone and colorful silk stretched a huge banishing monument. It consisted of several layers, symbols and circles and rotated incessantly, sparkling under the sun. Under this protective circle, the hallmark of the House of Zhao, no harm could come.
"Your Highness!" screeched Jiahu, pulling him away from the parapet. Qiao Guan pouted. Jiahu was seventeen and therefore a year older than him; under the watchful eyes of Qiao's parents, he had solemnly sworn to protect the seventh prince's life with his own.
He showed more openly than anyone else just how attached he was to this and how much he detested Qiao Guan's recklessness.
"Would you think about your safety once in a while, Your Highness?" Jiahu scolded, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
"My brother is back from Quancheng!" Qiao Guan cheered and broke away again. Jiahu had barely blinked once before the seventh prince was on his way again.
Gritting his teeth, he ran after him. The guards made way and gave each other amused looks when Qiao Guan ran past them. He was only stopped when he almost ran into his second personal bodyguard. Pei Shan, Jiahu's twin sister.
As always, she stood in the courtyard with her shoulders straight, her back arched and a stern look on her face, keeping a close eye on everything.
Despite her young age, Pei Shan was one of the best fighters in the royal court. Her gaze slid downwards and, with a raised eyebrow, she gave Qiao Guan a punishing look.
"At some point, little highness, you should start behaving according to your station. Otherwise you won't be taken seriously," she reprimanded.
She had tied her dark hair up in a tight braid, her dark eyes were cool and her full lips were slightly parted. Qiao Guan grumbled something incomprehensible. She was only a year older, but she treated him like a small child.
Jiahu came running around the corner, panting, and when he saw Qiao Guan standing next to his sister, he put his hands on his knees and took a deep breath.
"You're impossible, Your Highness!" he gasped, fanning himself with the flat of his hand.
The summer in Xuyu was hot and dry. Qiao Guan wore nothing more than a light robe made of light white fabric and a lot of jewelry. His hair was loose and the tiny bells woven into it tinkled with every movement.
"Xiongzhan!" he called out, greeting his eldest brother. He bowed before his brother stroked his hair and laughed.
"Are you just messing around again, Xiao di?" he asked, handing over his white, magnificent horse to one of the guards.
Pei Shan and Jiahu exchanged a glance. Their little highness was the youngest of seven princes of the royal house, Zhao, ruler of the land of Xuyu and a spoiled child.
He regularly missed his lessons in battle and history, did what he liked and did nothing but run around all day, eating sweets and getting on the nerves of those around him.
He was bright as a button, but he didn't bother to study for his future. Three of his seven brothers were already married, his rule and peace were established. There was no responsibility on his shoulders. He was free and unconstrained.
"How did the talks with Quancheng go?" he asked excitedly. A shadow briefly flitted across Zhao Yun zhe's face. But then he smiled.
"These are matters I only discuss with father, you curious little fox," he said with a laugh.
Pei Shan had not missed the shadow. Even though there was peace at the moment and the days were gliding along happily, there were tensions.
Quancheng had always been after Xuyu's lush land and so far they had vehemently refused to marry in order to reconcile the two houses. Yun zhe did not look like he had succeeded.
Pei Shan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Even if someone like her had no chance with the eldest son of the royal family. She didn't like the idea of a forced marriage at all. Zhao Yun zhe was far too gentle, he deserved a woman who loved him and a marriage for love.
She quickly regained her composure as he walked past her and nodded. She nodded back in silent agreement to let Qiao Guan stay in his bright, friendly world. Without the web of political power, intrigue and simmering conflict.
"Damn it, where has he gone now?" Jiahu cursed and spun around a few times. He had only just bowed to his eldest son when Qiao Guan had already disappeared again. Pei Shan rolled his eyes.
"He won't have gone far," she called out with a laugh.
Growling, Jiahu followed the sound of tinkling bells. Free as a bird and carefree, Qiao Guan ran across the sun-warmed white stone and jumped over the low roofs of the pavilions. For him, resentment, hatred and wars were far away.
When Qing Lai regained consciousness, he looked much more refreshed and focused. He gratefully returned his robe to Zhi Cheng.
"I'll see if the gorge is safe," he suggested. Zhi Cheng threw on his robe with a flourish and just nodded.
"Sure, Brother Qing, I trust you completely there," he said, giving him a winning smile.
Qing Lai led the way. As he recited a mantra and formed a mudra with his hands, silvery magic interspersed with gold sparks flowed through his fingertips, spreading a luminous glow throughout the cave.
The atmosphere became warmer, Zhi Cheng felt lighter, no comparison at all to his magic that sucked all life and warmth from his surroundings. Qing Lai frowned as the magic returned to his body.
"Seems like there are no traps here, and if there are, they've already been destroyed. Perhaps someone did manage to cross the gorge before us," he mused aloud.
"That's a fortunate coincidence, Brother Qing. I'm extremely sorry that my skills are so inadequate and that I'm not much help to you. I guess my strength lies more in hand-to-hand combat," Zhi Cheng said in a saddened voice, giving Qing Lai a sad look.
Qing Lai took a moment before he turned to Zhi Cheng. It was as if he was pulling himself back from deep thought.
"Ah, yes, that's a pity," he murmured absently. Then he looked at him more clearly again and grinned.
"We should get going, we're running out of time, we've certainly wasted a whole day already, if my sense of time doesn't deceive me. That means tonight is our last chance to get rid of the night weed before it goes into circulation!" he said firmly.
Zhi Cheng agreed with him and together they flew to the other side. With a quick movement of his hand, the Ghost King made the remnants of the steel threads disappear before Qing Lai set foot on the ground.
Just as she touched the stone, a tremor shook the earth and the two clung to each other. A huge rumble followed by a squeaking and crunching sounded. Then the cave entrance was darkened. Seconds later, it was lit up again. Zhi Cheng and Qing Lai exchanged a puzzled glance, then it went dark again.
Light ... dark ... light ..., dark. The two crept forward and caught sight of a huge rusted axe blade swinging back and forth above the ravine.
"I didn't see that coming," Zhi Cheng whispered softly. Qing Lai, who was still holding on to him, shook his head.
"I apologize, Brother Zhi, I completely missed that!" he said in horror.
"That must have been a mechanism that is activated from this side when you try to escape from the market," Zhi Cheng pondered aloud. They had probably triggered it when they had touched the ground on this side.
"Well, I'm not complaining about a bit of luck, haha," Qing Lai laughed in relief.
"But now this section is out of the question as a way back," Zhi Cheng interjected.
"We'll find another way, Brother Zhi, let's keep going for now," Qing Lai suggested.
After the two of them had followed the path for a while, Qing Lai sat down on the ground again. Zhi Cheng rested his hands on his thighs and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
As expected, there were still after-effects. Even though they were much later and lighter, he still felt a sluggishness in his veins and exhaustion in his limbs. However, this was easy to shake off. Qing Lai opened his eyes.
"We're close, but he's under heavy surveillance. Brother Zhi do you still have the jade amulet?" He asked. Zhi Cheng pulled the finely crafted amulet out of his sleeve and showed it to him. Qing Lai nodded.
"Bo Chao will still be unconscious. To be honest, I'm afraid he'll die if I don't release the acupuncture points again." He sighed. "But he won't have told anyone that we are in possession of one of his seals."
"So we approach the market as naturally as if we were part of it?" asked Zhi Cheng. Qing Lai nodded.
"There's a wide path not far from it where there are a lot of spiritual residues. This must be the entrance. As soon as night falls and the Blood Bazaar fills up, we'll mingle with the visitors," he explained.