Jianyu led his companion to get a meal after leaving Serenity Hall. Their breakfast had been hijacked by Liu Yuxuan so he was determined Jinhai would get something to eat before they went in search of Li Xiao-Yu. While they didn’t need to eat as regularly as the mortals, food was still a necessity for them and especially for Jinhai while he was still recovering. 

Once they had arrived and each man collected a tray laden with small bowls, Jianyu led them to an out of the way table and settled down. He waited while Jinhai carefully started to eat, fingers tracing each bowl as he set them out and tasting a small bite before committing to his meal. Jianyu wondered what it was like trying to do something as mundane as eating without sight but quickly turned it from his mind. He knew the other man would hate to be pitied, or singled out in any fashion. Instead he poured them both a cup of the plumb blossom wine provided to each table before attending to his own food in silence. 

Eventually, Zhou Jinhai set down his chopsticks and frowned, head lifting to catch Jianyu’s attention. “Something has been bothering me… “ He stated quietly, pausing as if considering his words though Jianyu couldn’t tell if he was simply lost in thought instead. But finally he continued. 

“How did the assassin know we would be there? I would have noticed someone following us. But if he was laying in wait, it could have been any inner sect member sent on that mission. But Liu-zongzhu said he thought it was an attempt on me specifically.”

Jianyu frowned, setting down his cup. “You think we have a spy?” He kept his voice low, but the tone was hard with a not so subtle threat. If there was a spy in the Liu, he’d expose them and make them suffer as painful a death as he could manage. 

Jinhai sighed, reaching up to press fingertips against his forehead. Making Jianyu wonder if his headache was already bad so early in the day or if it was just worry over the recent troubles. 

“I can’t think of how else the assassin knew it was us. But…. “ Jinhai dropped his hand and let out a slow breath. “.. it’s hard to think anyone here would betray the sect.” Even though the sect and the Liu clan were distinct entities, with the sect leadership inherited through blood and thus outside the grasp of any member not of the Liu family, the sect and the clan that ran it were some of the most honourable in the entire Jianghu. From the Founder Liu Lijun to their current leader Liu Huizhong, they had been respected men without the corruption so common in traditional cultivation clans. The sects that didn’t have an inherited leadership system in place but instead relied on individual power to choose each generation of leader, were just as susceptible to corruption and misuse as the traditional clan system. 

Jianyu huffed softly, well aware that while his friend was a sword prodigy, he was also a bit too naive and soft hearted for their cultivation level. But then, Jianyu sometimes envied Jinhai’s singular and undistracted focus on his own cultivation to the exclusion of all else. Even so, he shook his head. “There are plenty who covet what they haven’t earned for themselves. Why would the Liu Clan or our fellows in the sect be exempt from such vice?” He replied as he made a mental note to being the possibility up with the Council. If there was a spy from the Sui or any other clan, then they would need to be exposed and caught before they did any more damage. But his job was to protect their sect from outside threats, not internal conflict, so it was unlikely that he would get personally involved.  

He watched Jinhai pick at his food for a while before setting his own empty bowl back on the table. Reaching down he touched the sect seal at his waist, injecting his spiritual energy into the jade. A moment later it flashed in response. “Li Xiao-Yu is coming.” Jinhai nodded, but then lifted his head, clearly pulling his mind back to the present and their current task. “He’s back? I see..” Finally finishing his rice he set his utensils down and stood, leaving the other dishes mostly untouched. Ignoring Jianyu’s pointed lack of movement, the slender swordsman started to weave his way through the tables and other cultivators bustling about, forcing Jianyu to hurry to catch up. Once back at his companion’s side, Jianyu matched Jinhai’s careful pace as they made their way out of the hall and back outside where a tall, broad shouldered man waited. At first glance the newcomer and Jianyu seemed to be brothers. Both with the same muscular build, with same hard features and hawk-like eyes. But whereas Jianyu’s robes were neat and almost severe in how he wore them, the other man wore his as if he cared not at all how he was perceived. His loose-sleeved robe was barely held together by his belt at his waist, and gaped wide over his broad chest. His inner robe was similarly disheveled, though at least provided a slight bit more modesty, being held closed by the proceeding fabric. His hair was roughly pulled back into a half-up style which, while common, was usually a far more neat affair. As it appeared more the result of him rolling about in a hedge for a day. Long curls fell about his shoulders in a thick mane of dark brown, the green ribbon fighting to secure the wild mass catching the breeze. 

Grinning, he stood up from his slouch against the wall as the pair reached him. “Laohu, Xiulan.” He greeted first Jianyu then Jinhai, addressing both by their more intimate family names. Jinhai smiled at the voice and turned slightly, clasping his hands in a martial bow as he greeted their old friend. “Xiao-Yu, it’s been a while.” Jianyu just huffed at the other man prompting Li Xiao-Yu to grin wider even as he pulled Jinhai back up. Ever the polite one, even now after nearly 40 years together in the sect. 

“Got back yesterday. The Little Heir did well on his first proper outing. It was boring enough that I’m glad to be back.” Li Xiao-Yu answered the silent question as he moved to join the two men as they walked, leaving the interior of the inner sect and making their way towards the outer perimeter where flight wasn’t restricted. “So what’s this mission I got dropped into?” He asked, settling on Jinhai's free side, Jianyu having claimed the other as he guided the blindfolded man along. Li Xiao-Yu had been told of the assassination of Liu Li-Tai and Zhou Jinhai’s subsequent injuries. So he had been prepared for the sight of his old friend. But even so, he met Jianyu’s gaze from over the top of Jinhai’s bowed head, as the other man shook his own slightly. He’d get the run down of all that had happened from Jianyu later, but for now he was content to ignore it, which seemed to be Jinhai’s wish. 

As they walked, Jinhai filled him in on the mysterious mounds of rubble he had found in the forest above Huanghua village, and his suspicions that it was not as old as it seemed. They discussed possible causes, but had too little information to really narrow anything down. Soon enough they had passed from the Inner sect to the Outer sect grounds, and reached the barrier that protected the sect itself, and demarcated the no-fly zone. They passed under the tall wooden gateway, sect seals flashing as they left the Liu sect’s protections. Feng Jianyu signaled and his sword, a wickedly curved saber style blade, slid from it’s scabbard and dropped down before himself and Jinhai. Stepping up onto the blade he reached down and pulled Zhou Jinhai up behind himself. Clearly they had done this before, as the blind cultivator only reached out and set a hand on Jianyu’s shoulder. 

Following suit, Li Xiao-Yu called forth his own blade, a simple straight jian, and hopped up onto the dull metal. Unlike his two companions, Li Xiao-Yu was no sword prodigy or blade master. His interest in his sword was limited to it’s utilitarian use, and as such, it was hard to distinguish the spiritual weapon from any simple mortal blade of the same style. Unlike Jinhai’s Qiuyue or Jianyu’s Baihu, both of which were filled with their owner’s spiritual power as well as their own unique spiritual signature, each bursting with energy to anyone’s spiritual senses. But his sword was still a cultivator’s blade and thus, as Jianyu and Jinhai took to the skies, he followed suit. Speeding up to settle alongside the pair as both swords turned in the direction of the distant mountain range and the speck of civilization that was Huanghua village. 

The flight was fast, but it still took the rest of the morning before they landed in a wide clearing on the mountain’s flank. The forest surrounded them, thick and green. At first glance it seemed healthy, but as the trio set off along a well worn path, the lack of animal life was obvious. A few birds sang high up in the branches, but all ground life was absent, no boar rooted through the undergrowth, no deer dashed past. The resulting silence was eerie, and only broken when one of the three made a comment or pointed out a mark or strange sign. Jinhai, who was walking beside Jianyu, paused and turned to a thin trail that branched off from the main path. “It wasn’t this empty last time… “ His brows drew together above his blindfold as he stood, head tilted slightly as if trying to listen to something just out of range. “Does it feel…. Lifeless?” He asked the other two, prompting Jianyu to spread out his spiritual sense, trying to feel whatever Jinhai had noticed. Soon he too was frowning, but for a different reason. He couldn’t feel whatever was missing. It just felt like a slightly empty forest to him. He looked at Xiao-Yu who shook his head. 

“What is it?” He finally asked, turning back to Jinhai as the man started to step off the path, following the fading animal trail deeper into the forest. The path led them up a steep incline, then wound seemingly randomly through the densely packed trees before following a river for a short way. Suddenly. Jianyu reached out and caught Jinhai’s shoulder, halting the man in his tracks. “Something is wrong.” He stated, hand dropping to his jian’s grip. Jinhai just nodded. “It’s stronger now, but this is what I’ve been sensing. This area feels… almost dead. As if the spirit has been drawn from the land itself…” He motioned off across the river bank where several trees had started to turn brown. Ignoring Jianyu’s attempt to keep himself in front of Jinhai, the blind cultivator stepped around his friend and moved back into the forest, no longer following a trail but weaving through the brush and undergrowth, ducking low branches and shouldering past thicker obstructions. Suddenly he stepped to one side, revealing a wide open area to the two behind him. But it was not empty, large mounds of green growth filled the space where trees had clearly once grown tall. Jinhai crouched and pulled away the creeping vines to lift a section of a wall. The wood beam was untouched by time, the splintered ends sharp and fresh. But the thick layer of growth over the mounds would suggest they had been there for years at the least. 

“Ok… this is not right.” Li Xiao-Yu stated flatly, as he moved further into the clearing and started poking at the vegetation. “Is this like the other one you found?” 

Jinhai nodded, expression serious. “It was less obvious, as there was at least some weathering there, and the energy drain of the surrounding land wasn’t as bad. But yes….this feels exactly like what had happened there, just more recent.” Jianyu frowned as he too bent down, examining the thick growth of foliage and vines, then pushed it aside to study the small section of wall that had been left standing. As Jinhai had said, the wall was almost brand new. As if it had been built only a season ago, and yet the foliage that covered it was years worth of growth. Standing he paced the perimeter, unconsciously echoing Jinhai’s actions of some months ago at the first such site. Returning to Jinhai’s side, the self-assigned bodyguard frowned, a hand resting uneasily on his sword’s hilt. The entire area felt eerie, cold. Lifeless as if the spirit of the very land had been sucked away. Jinhai was still sifting slowly through the debris, but it was Li Xiao-Yu who suddenly made a startled noise. Standing he stepped quickly back. “There is a body here.” Both cultivators turned and walked over to where he stood. Jinhai started to move forwards but Jianyu stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “Let me.” He said firmly, not giving Jinhai room to argue and instead, moved forwards himself, using the tip of his scabbard to push away the fallen ruins of the wall that had concealed the dead man.