Midnight.

Chen Wuya’s eyes opened. He sat up.

Fen Long sprawled in the middle of the room, snoring. He smacked his lips and rolled over, a smile on his face.

Moving quietly, Chen Wuya stepped to the door and slipped out. He headed for the door, then paused and turned back. Standing over the shrine, he stared at the satsuma branch, a twisted expression on his face. He wrinkled his nose, then snatched it up.

“Stealing a relic? Do you want to be cursed by Heaven?”

Fen Long leaned at the opening to the hallway, holding his sheathed sword against his body.

“I’m not afraid of Heaven.” He tucked the branch into his robes. It’s not like I’m going to curse myself.

As for the old fogeys up top, I’d like to see them try! It didn’t work last time, and it won’t work this time, either!

“Bold words for a kid with weak thighs and thin calves,” Fen Long replied.

“Ah? You want to try them?” He kicked at Fen Long, feinting at his delicate parts.

Fen Long didn’t flinch. “Not particularly.”

Chen Wuya lowered his leg and turned away. His hair swept after him, cutting the air like a raven’s wing. “Go back to sleep. This doesn’t concern you.”

“It does concern me. My Junior Brother here is going off to kill himself. Am I wrong?”

“I’m not going to die.”

Fen Long hummed, lips pressed together. His eyes narrowed.

Ignoring him, Chen Wuya stepped out into the night.

The rain had cleared. Not a single cloud lingered in the sky. The stars spread across the heavens, pinpricks of perfect silver. The moon glimmered in the dark, silver face watching over him.

The door clacked behind him. Chen Wuya grimaced. “I told you to go back to sleep.”

“Since when have you commanded me?”

“Do what you like, then. I won’t help you.”

Fen Long scoffed. “Since when have I needed a boy’s help?”

Chen Wuya ground his teeth. His eyes narrowed. This Fen Long… ah, I want to beat him up! I want to beat him up so badly! Can I? Hey, can I? Please?

No, no. Resist. He doesn’t know who you are. Of course he’d be skeptical. He sighed and walked on.

Ahead, the ground darkened. Black crawled over the earth, tainting it. Like all those years ago, it crawled up the buildings as well. Walls flaked. Wood rotted, turning soft. Houses sagged on weak beams. A tile clattered from a sagging roof. Eyes locked ahead, Chen Wuya pressed on.

Footsteps echoing faintly in the silent night, Fen Long followed.

At the edge of town stood the ragged remains of a tree. Never large, its remnants reached about as wide around as Chen Wuya’s arm and about as tall as his waist. Stones marked the perimeter of its roots, warning anyone from drawing too close. Twisted and ancient, only a husk of the tree remained. Its branches were gone, its trunk shattered. Only the crumbled remnants of wood remained.

Chen Wuya brushed a hand over it. The rest of the wood crumbled, soft with rot, eaten by the fresh poison. Two layers appeared as the wood crumbled: the outer poison, black, streaked with purple, then a deep, pitch black inner poison, one that shone a faint blood red in the moonlight.

Fen Long caught his hand. “Hey! That’s the town’s land deity. If you anger it—”

“If I anger it?” Chen Wuya mocked, turning back. What? Nothing can happen. I was that tree, and I could do nothing. It isn’t a deity at all, only a lump of wood some people have grown sentimental over.

Fen Long sighed. “There’s no need to be so disrespectful. You don’t want to draw Heaven’s ire.”

“Who says I don’t?” Chen Wuya bit, laughing dryly. He yanked his hand out of Fen Long’s and turned away.

Fen Long’s brows furrowed. “Don’t joke about that.”

Out beyond the town’s boundary. Like all those years ago, nothing grew. The wasteland stretched on, climbing for the horizon. The soil grew darker with every step. Purple veins snaked through the earth, draining away the nutrients.

A numb sensation bit at his toes and the underside of his feet. Slowly, it intensified to a burn, then a biting, acidic ache. Ignoring it, Chen Wuya marched deeper into the wasteland.

“Wait!”

Chen Wuya paused. He looked over his shoulder.

“The poison transfers by touch. It’s too virulent, we need to turn back!” Fen Long said, backing away.

“Go ahead,” Chen Wuya said evenly.

Fen Long frowned. “You…”

“I told you. I don’t need your help, and I won’t be responsible for you. Turn back, if you like.”

“Don’t be rash. I—I think I know an antidote for this poison. Give me a day, maybe two. I’ll make the antidote, and we can come back—”

“It’ll be too late,” Chen Wuya interrupted. He pointed behind them, at the town. “The poison’s spreading. I know you noticed. One day? Two? Granny’s house will be consumed by then. There’ll be nothing left of the town.”

Fen Long frowned. He bit his lip, then took another step back. “Why do you care?”

“She gave me fresh robes, and shelter from the rain. And…” He sighed. How do I say that I feel responsible for this town? It’s my fault it was poisoned in the first place. I absorbed all the poison as the satsuma tree, and that should have been the end of it, but now that someone else is poisoning it… it’s a thorn in my side.

Someone else dares to poison the town I saved? You’re going to destroy the town I, the great Qiu Xuanwu, didn’t destroy? I won’t stand for that! Hmph, a thousand years too early. This is my town!

“Anyways, I have the relic.” He held up the branch mockingly, then tucked it away and began to walk again.

“Chen Wuya!” Fen Long shouted. He stomped, but stood frozen, unwilling to step deeper into the poison.

Waving without turning back, Chen Wuya continued deeper into the wasteland. “Good luck with your antidote, hero. I’m counting on you.”

“Go—go survey it. Don’t fight it alone! One day. I’ll be done in one day, I promise! We’ll take it on together!”

Chen Wuya waved again, ignoring him.

Under the moonlight, Fen Long bit his lip. He half took a step toward Chen Wuya, then halted, unable to go any further. For a dozen breaths, he stood, watching Chen Wuya’s back. A strange melancholy crept into his eyes, full of regret.

Shaking his head viciously, he tore his eyes away and retreated.

Chen Wuya strode deeper into the poison. Purple veins crept up his ankles, twisting into his calves. The burning ache grew into fierce pain. Agony tore into him with each step.

He bared his teeth in a savage grin. “This isn’t enough to stop me!”

Twisted husks of trees laid on the ground, slowly seeping into the earth. Dried grasses brushed against the bottom of his borrowed robes, staining them black. The blackened parts of the robe grew fragile, then broke off, dissolving to ash. His toe caught a stone, and it bounced off into the darkness. One, two, three bounces. On the third bounce, it struck another rock and dissolved into ash.

A pus-covered rat, clad in only a few strands of black hair, startled out of a rotten deer corpse. Cataract-covered eyes glared at him. It stood on its hind legs and hissed viciously.

Chen Wuya rested a hand on his sword.

The rat dropped to all fours and scurried into the distance.

Ahead, a stark black tree about as thick around as his wrist jutted out of the ground. Black branches climbed bizarrely into the sky, framed by the moonlight. Neither bud nor leaf grew from the branches. Thin, almost hairlike branches waved in the air.

His eyes widened. Not branches, but roots! An inverted tree!

The tree’s roots burst in the air. Its branches curled into the earth, out of sight, thick and purple. The black earth beneath the tree sucked in the light around it. The earthen purple veins clustered around the tree, mixed in with the branches until the two were almost indiscernible.

Chen Wuya snorted coldly. “An inverted poison tree, counterpoint to my own detoxifying satsuma. I’d say it’s clever, but I shouldn’t lie.”

He darted forward. His sword flashed. The tree toppled over, crashing to the ground. Black earth flew, dry as dust.

The second the tree struck down, a pained cry rang out. Purple blood flowed from the severed trunk. The earth shook. Crevasses cut through the ground, shooting between Chen Wuya’s feet.

He threw himself out of the way. Below him, the earth erupted. Lumps of earth blasted toward him. Twisting in midair, he dodged the worst of them, but one caught him off-guard, rushing toward his hips. He swayed out of their way. Halfway through the maneuver, his hips caught. The lump slammed into him.

Dammit, they still aren’t flexible enough?

Chen Wuya tumbled headfirst. The ground rushed up at him. Throwing out his arms, he caught himself with his forearms and rolled, reducing the impact of the strike. Black stained his forearms where they struck the ground, quickly bruising purple as the poison coursed through him. Feeling no pain, he jumped to his feet.

From out of the earth burst a massive, hideous creature. Shapeless and lumpy, it extended branch-like limbs and climbed out of the ground. Its blunt, round head split into a dark maw. Splinter-like teeth jutted from enormous jaws. Purple saliva flew through the air. Another roar shook the air, shuddering through Chen Wuya.

“At last.” His grin widened. He drew his sword.

Four pudgy branch-limbs sprouted from a chubby, almost potato-like body, each ending in three thick toes. The severed stump of the invert tree leaked a torrent of purple blood down its face, the only splotch of color on its earth-stained black flesh. Its mouth gnawed on air, a brutal gash in what could almost be called a face. It sported neither eyes nor nose, but turned to face Chen Wuya as surely as though it could see.

Chen Wuya lowered the tip of his sword. His eyes half-closed, lowered lashes long and graceful, hiding the fierceness in his eyes. He tread lightly over the poisoned ground, tracing the steps of Pass Amidst Leaves.

The inverted poison tree let out a roar and charged at Chen Wuya. Its four stubby limbs churned up the earth, spraying dust behind it. Purple blood streamed from the severed stump, becoming a poisonous mist. Before it, Chen Wuya seemed a mouse, head barely tall enough to brush its underbelly.

“Second Form: Threshing Grains.”

Chen Wuya streaked toward the beast, a blur of white and silver. Purple blood flew. The inverted poison tree let out a pained roar and fell back, staggering to the side. A deep gash opened in its left foreleg, spouting blood.

Chen Wuya’s expression flickered. I meant to sever its leg. I’ve truly become weak.

His lungs burned with poison. A faint purple tinge colored his extremities, darkening to splotches over his body. The poison circulated through him. His heart labored, and his internal organs quivered.

I can’t drag this battle out.

Limping, the inverted poison tree turned to face him again, baring its ragged teeth. It lowered its head and kneaded the earth beneath its stubby toes. Its face distorted with pain and anger.

“Come,” Chen Wuya demanded, tipping his head back arrogantly.

Howling in rage, the inverted poison tree charged once more.

Chen Wuya dashed out, releasing the second form again. As his sword slashed out at the poison tree, it leaped into the air, dodging over his blow. It bared its teeth in a vicious smile, pleased with itself.

“Third Form: Plucking Fruit.”

Long ago, there was a debate about the Seven Forms of Autumn. Some believed it should only have six forms, because the first two strikes, Threshing Grain and Plucking Fruit, were a single attack. One fed into the other. Threshing Grain was not complete without Plucking Fruit, and vice versa.

His sword surged upward, dancing from the low slash to an upward arc. As the beast passed over him, he sliced its stomach open. Purple blood rained down, staining Chen Wuya. It hissed, eating away at his robes and skin.

The inverted poison tree landed, then collapsed. Its limbs shivered, and it screamed in pain. Slowly, it climbed to its feet, only to tumble again, knees giving out.

Chen Wuya wiped his face clean and smirked. “Is that all?”

A howl emanated from the depths of the inverted poison tree. It bared its teeth and forced itself back to its feet. Panting, purple blood spurting over the ground, it lowered its head at Chen Wuya once more, emanating the desire to take him down alongside it!

He raised his sword and snorted derisively. “You can try.”

The inverted poison tree charged, galloping over the ground. The earth shook each time its feet struck, building into an earthquake. Everything trembled. Fallen trees shattered into bark. Rotting bodies collapsed. The dust rose off the ground, swirling around in a mist.

Only Chen Wuya stood firm. He narrowed his eyes and breathed in evenly. Holding the sword before him, he focused on the raging beast. Nothing existed in his world but him and the monster. The drumming of the inverted poison tree’s feet matched the beating of his heart.

He breathed out.

The world stopped. The inverted poison tree froze in midair, feet raised in a gallop. Dust halted, caught mid-spray. The poison mist ceased to coil.

“Demonic Art: Blade Transfixion.”

Chen Wuya stepped forward. Lazily, he raised his sword, extending his arm to its full. A black aura climbed around his arm, drawing out his strength.

“Your mistake was challenging me.”

His sword fell, a guillotine, still a dozen meters ahead of the beast. The world burst back into motion. The inverted poison tree charged headlong at Chen Wuya, howling. Abruptly, it sensed his sword. Its howl stopped. It dug in its toes, digging furrows in the earth in a vain attempt to stop. Its own momentum carried it onward, helplessly.

Chen Wuya’s sword plunged. The beast’s head toppled to the ground, trailing purple blood after it. Spewing pale, rootlike innards soaked in the same purple blood, its body rolled after it. It slid to a halt and laid there, dead.

Turning his head up, Chen Wuya laughed, raising his sword to the Heavens. “I challenge karma. I challenge fate. I challenge the Heavens themselves!”

His vision wobbled. Poison burned through his veins, deeply rooted. Purple climbed over his skin. Weak, his arm swung down, unable to hold the sword aloft any longer. The black aura vanished. Chen Wuya coughed. Blood welled up in his throat. He spat. Black and purple mixed in with the red, disgustingly rotten.

Spitting again to clear his mouth, Chen Wuya sheathed his sword. Feet suddenly heavy, he staggered toward the hole the inverted poison tree had climbed out from. Poison bit at his feet. Numb hands fumbled in his robes. Hurry, hurry.

Hand trembling, he drew the satsuma branch.