The trek was easy for two cultivators, and soon enough they were stood in a wide clearing. Old trees ringed the open area, their flanks bearing the marks of a fight. Claws had scoured the bark off the trunks. Entire chunks missing from some. The smaller trees had been flattened entirely, as if a huge foot had come down and crushed them under it’s weight. Frowning Zhou Jinhai walked the perimeter while Liu Li-Tai crouched near the center, examining the strange scorch marks on the ground. “Supposedly, this is where the brother was killed…” Liu Li-Tai looked about, seeking any trace of the man. But there was nothing, no old blood, no torn bits of cloth or even a shoe print. Frowning he stood and walked over to where Zhou Jinhai was prying at a piece of loose bark. “What have you found?” He asked, leaning over his companion’s shoulder to peer at the slither of metal the other was prising from the hard wood. “Hmm..” Zhou Jinhai answered distractedly, carefully easing the tip of his knife under the fragment and levering it free to drop onto his cupped palm. Sheathing his knife and tucking it back into his belt he turned over the splinter of metal. And froze. Beside him, Liu Li-Tai did the same, both of them having sensed the same little spark of fading energy from the fragment.

“Think another cultivator has been through?” He asked, frowning as Zhou Jinhai held up the splinter of metal so it caught the light. A fragment of script barely visible, etched onto one surface. “Who else uses formations?” The other man asked in return, rolling the shard between his fingers as Liu Li-Tai nodded in agreement. “Then the question is… who and why.” The taller man stated, folding his arms across his chest as they both kept staring at the splinter. “No.. The question right now is.. What.” Zhou Jinhai corrected, letting the fragment drop into his palm and closing his fingers over it. “If we can figure out that, we can work out the why…  The who will make itself known eventually.” Turning so he was facing Liu Li-Tai, he reached for his companion’s hand and dropped the splinter within. Then he stepped around the other cultivator and walked to the center of the space, where the bare patch of scorched ground lay.

Liu Li-Tai turned, watching his partner as Zhou Jinhai knelt, palm pressed to the earth as he sent his spiritual sense down into the land. Of the two, he was the stronger at controlling his energy in such a way, and so Liu Li-Tai stayed where he was, letting his partner seek out the truth of the past. Eventually, Zhou Jinhai stood, shaking the dirt and dead grass from his hand as he turned a slow circle, gaze moving from tree to branch to exposed root. “The natural qi is disrupted here, but I can’t figure out the source.” He sounded frustrated, so Liu Li-Tai walked over, settling a hand on the cultivator’s shoulder. “Then let us keep searching. We already have several clues, there has to be more.” With a nod, Zhou Jinhai took a deep breath, letting the tension release from his muscles. With a half smile, he covered Liu Li-Tai’s hand with his own for a brief moment, before moving away, heading upwards, following the trail as it left the clearing and continued into the forest, Liu Li-Tai at his side.

They walked slowly, looking for any hint that would help them solve the mystery. But the forest was peaceful. Warm golden light filtered down from the canopy above, sparking off the new clip Zhou Jinhai wore. The warmly scented breeze, holding just the smallest hint of the colder wind above, tossed their long hair back and teased at their robes. Walking side by side, the pair could have been out for a stroll on the flank of their own mountain. Except for the swords at their waists and the hands that rested in readiness atop their pommels. Neither cultivator relaxed their guard, ready for a sneak attack at any moment. Yet as the hours passed and they continued their search up the mountain’s flank, it appeared they were well and truly alone. Finally, Liu Li-Tai paused as they searched yet another battle site. This one less mysterious. There had been a sword fight, but there was no sign of qi in the marks left behind, so it had clearly been mortal humans. The only strange thing was how far they were from Hanghua village. Why would two local men come all the way up here to fight? Yet try as they might, the pair of Liu sect members couldn’t find any evidence that pointed at a reason.

Turning to his companion, Liu Li-Tai gestured at the trees all around, and their long, darkening shadows. “Are we going back for the night? Or staying up here to see if anything nasty crawls out after dark.” Making a soft sound of consideration, Zhou Jinhai thought for a long moment, then shrugged. “May as well. We have few other leads right now. But not here..” He added quickly as Liu Li-Tai started to head over to a tree with the obvious intention of settling down. With a half shrug Liu Li-Tai changed direction and returned to his companion’s side. “Lead on then.” He grinned cheekily, causing Zhou Jinhai to eye him in exasperation. Which Liu Li-Tai simply ignored, holding out a hand to indicate for the other man to go first.

Shaking his head, long silken hair catching the cooling breeze to fall over one shoulder, Zhou Jinhai set off, leading his companion through the forest once more. It didn’t take long to find a small clearing pressed up against a sheer cliff-face. Probably created from a long ago rock-slide. Here the two men settled down, backs supported by one of the giant trees, the trunk so wide it would have taken a half dozen men to encircle it with their arms.

As darkness fell and the warmth seeped away, leaving a sharpness in the air even a cultivator’s improved physique couldn’t ignore, Liu Li-Tai pulled his cloak from his shoulders and settled it over them both, shifting over so they were pressed against each other, thigh, hip and arm. Sharing the warmth of their bodies under the covering. Within minutes a light weight landed on his shoulder and he looked over, smiling at the sight of the top of Zhou Jinhai’s head, the hair clasp he had brought earlier glinting in the fading light, the jade beads faintly luminous. Expression one of contentment, he let his eyes drift closed, falling into a light doze, the slow and even breathing of the man beside him familiar and comforting.

The moon was high over head when Zhou Jinhai woke, eyes flicking open but otherwise not moving a muscle. Something had teased at the very edge of his senses, something dark and creeping in the night. The texture of it oily on the cold breeze that plucked with icy fingers at the cloak covering them. At his side, Liu Li-Tai also came fully aware. Neither man having truly slept, only dozed. A state in which their spiritual senses would alert them to even the smallest change in the area around them. Now, Zhou Jinhai flicked his gaze around the clearing, content with the rock at their back which would force any attacker to approach from limited directions. Liu Li-Tai’s fingers tightened where they rested on Zhou Jinhai’s arm, a subtle motion of his eyes drawing attention towards a deep shadow across from them. Following his indication, Zhou Jinhai stretched his senses, feeling the unnatural darkness of the shadows in that one spot.

With a sudden burst of motion both cultivators exploded from their positions, flying apart to land at opposite ends of the small clearing. Where they had just been sitting, a long black pole jutted from the tree trunk, buried deep into the wood and causing the bark to steam slightly from the corruption in the weapon. Swords were drawn in twin flashes of silver as the moonlight sparked off the naked metal blades. The shadows moved, coalescing into the shape of a man, but it was not right, the figure bent over and twisted. A parody of a human. An animalistic roar exploded from the open mouth, skin ragged and torn as it stretched over sinew and muscle with every movement the creature made. As one, both cultivators kicked off, flying across the distance with swords extended. Only to plunge the blades deep into the rotting body. The monster froze, then crumbled to dust, leaving the blades untouched. Heads turning to look at each other, the pair shared a concerned look. That creature had been the lowest level of fierce corpse. There was little chance that it had been the cause of all the rumors. So what else was on this mountain?

Yet as no further threat showed itself, both men slowly lowered their swords from their guard positions. Liu Li-Tai sheathed his to crouch beside the already dispersing pile of oily ash. Zhou Jinhai kept his out, turning to eye the forest, acting as look-out while his partner prodded the ash pile with a stick. “No coin or talisman.” He reported a moment later, tossing the stick away and standing, brushing off his robes as he turned back to the other cultivator. “Might have just been a lost monster on his own.” Zhou JInhai looked dubious, but had no better explanation and so he shrugged, finally sheathing his sword and folding one arm behind his back, expression thoughtful. “If he was a wandering fierce corpse…. Why? They usually stick to their own territory…” Liu Li-Tai nodded, frowning as he spoke his musings aloud. “Unless something lured him here?” He suggested with puzzlement, looking about once more. “But what? What could be powerful enough to do so?” He turned once more towards Zhou Jinhai, who pressed a curled finger to his lips in thought, his reply coming slow. “Was it deliberate, or was he called by accident?” Looking annoyed at yet another puzzle he sighed and dropped his hand, turning to walk back to the tree, the black rod still stuck fast, and picked up Liu Li-Tai’s cloak. “Here…” He shook it out before offering it to his companion, who took the unharmed garment and swung it about his shoulders, fastening it at his throat.

Once Liu Li-Tai was again fully garbed, the pair looked over the black rod. Which, Zhou Jinhai pointed out, was actually a spear. The metal head stuck fast in the ancient wood. Neither of them touched the object however, the evil qi seeping from it obvious enough that both cultivators stayed several steps back. However, it quickly became clear that they would learn nothing from such a distance, so Zhou Jinhai withdrew a talisman from his pouch and, after activating it with a quick hand signal, tossed the slip of yellow paper onto the black shaft. Instantly there was a silent wave of pressure that blew back their hair and robes, tossing both about as if the pair were caught in a sudden storm. The shockwave swiftly passed, the surrounding trees left smoking slightly from the effect of the evil qi being suppressed so violently. But the black spear no longer leaked the foul smoke.

Stepping forwards, Liu Li-Tai grasped the dark shaft and yanked it from the old trunk, holding it up to examine the metal head. After a moment he tossed it underarm to his companion, who caught it easily and weighed it. Liu Li-Tai watched his friend’s considering gaze as Zhou Jinhai studied the thing. “Aside from the demonic energy within it, it’s not that special.” He grumbled, rapidly getting frustrated that all their leads were turning out to be less than useful. But just as he began to turn away again, Zhou Jinhai reached up and ripped the head of the spear free, turning it so the part of the metal previously hidden within the shaft gleamed darkly in the faded moonlight. Instantly visible was the symbol etched onto the fine grade metal.

Troubled eyes met the shocked gaze of Liu Li-Tai as he gaped at the discovery. “The Sui.” Both cultivators said in unison. Zhou Jinhai grimaced even as Liu Li-Tai frowned. “But.. That doesn’t mean they are actually here, or active in this area… lots of their artifacts have been abandoned in the recent troubles.. “ He tried to find an explanation for the presence of the hated symbol, but even to himself, the words sounded hollow, foolish. He watched his companion worriedly, knowing the bad blood between his partner and the dark sect.

Taking a slow breath, Zhou Jinhai only shook his head slowly. “I’d prefer if that was the case, but I don’t trust them. They have been getting more and more bold in their movements, stirring up trouble all over the countryside.” Liu Li-Tai could only agree with that assessment, a frown drawing his dark brows downward and marring his perfectly smooth skin. “But why here? There is nothing of value near by, and we have only come due to a few rumors.” Liu Li-Tai queried, looking again at the spear head his companion still held. “Usually they pick rich villages or high ranking mortal leaders as their targets. They have been building their wealth and the size of their territory for a while now. Though they have been careful to avoid us and the other Righteous Sects.” He continued, watching the dark expression clouding his friend’s normally calm face.

Tossing the black shaft so it stuck fast in the earth at the edge of the clearing, Zhou Jinhai kept the spear head, wrapping it in a scrap of cloth before dropping it into his spiritual pouch. The storage device briefly expanding to accommodate the long chunk of metal before shrinking back to it’s original palm-sized state. After tucking it back into his belt, Zhou Jinhai folded his hands behind his back and made a slow, careful circuit of the clearing. But there was no other trace of evil qi or the spear’s owner. However, as he pushed aside a low hanging branch with the tip of his scabbard, he stopped moving, causing Liu Li-Tai to join him quickly. Both cultivators looked down at the footprints pressed into the soft leafy dirt of the forest floor.

“Think it leads anywhere useful?” Liu Li-Tai asked quietly, though he already knew what their next action had to be. Without a word, he fell into step beside Zhou Jinhai as the other man set off, both following the faint trail while keeping their senses expanded for an ambush.