Fenghuang Yu got home to find it empty of the twins but Gui Ai was there reading with Bai in her lap. She was clearly surprised to see Yu.

Yu stiffly joined her on the couch and Bai crawled into her lap. Yu only said, “I don’t really want to talk about it beyond saying that I made the Bao clan hate me even more, if that was possible.” Ai leaned over and laid her head on Yu’s shoulder. Yu put her arm around Ai’s and they just sat there quietly for a few minutes.

Yu said, “Hey Ai?”

Yu heard a muffled, “Hmm?”

“Thanks for being a friend.”

The girl just snuggled closer. Yu said softly, “If you ever need anyone to talk to about. . . anything. Well, I’d like to think I can be a good friend too, even if I don’t have a lot of practice at it.”

The girl stiffened and Yu said, “I’m not asking. I’m just offering. If you ever want to talk. I’m here. That’s all. I just wanted you to know you’re not alone.”

A few breaths later she relaxed against Yu again and they just sat there petting Bai until he was done with them and wandered off to Yu’s room.

While watching him walk away Yu said, “You know. I think Li could actually win my brother over.” She giggled slightly. “I don’t think he has ever been around someone with so much energy and she might be good for him. He needs to be kept on his toes.”

Yu heard a quiet, “He seems nice.”

“He was the only family I knew loved me for a fact. I thought my parents did, but I didn’t know it the way I did with him.”

Ai wrapped her arm around Yu’s middle and sighed. “I wish I had a brother like that.” Yu and Gai basically had no alone time together so this was really their first conversation since their first meeting before their testing.

“Being royal heirs must put a lot of pressure on you all. I can’t even imagine it. Personally, I would reject it so fast nobody could even connect me to the idea.” Yu shuddered slightly thinking about it. “All that expectation. So many lives in my hands. No thank you. I’ll stick with my friends and family.”

Ai didn’t respond for a while and she said softly, “I thought I wanted it once.” Then she squeezed Yu, got up, and went into her room.

Yu stared after her for a bit and then also went into her room, snuggled up to Bai in bed, and took a nap until the twins got them both for dinner.

***

Her suitemates were surprised when Yu was eating normal fare and she explained what happened, at least to the best of her knowledge. They were indignant and cursed Bao Qing and his family even more than when he was their suitemate. Yu appreciated it. It helped knowing she wasn’t the only one.

Yu also mentioned the healer and the questions on alchemy.

Lu said, “Yu, you’re a big girl and can make big girl decisions. But just. . . don’t hurt yourself. Ok?”

Yu nodded and said, “Honestly, I doubt my master will permit it. He built my schedule the way he did for a reason.”

Li said, “That’s a good point. Now, what else has been bothering you? And don’t say nothing, we’re not stupid.”

Yu sighed, looked around to verify nobody was close, and quietly talked about how her body would be changing and all that came with it, although she didn’t get into the heart of the reason why. Lu looked shocked and said, “Are you sure that won’t hurt you?”

“I have no idea, but I am going to be checked by a healer regularly to make sure. Hopefully, the meditations will help. I can only trust what I was told by a core-level healer. I’m not excited about it honestly. I was hoping to avoid being distracted by-”

Yu suddenly saw the badges of Li and Lu turn red. Then she looked around and saw every badge in the building had the same glow, including her own.

“What the. . .” Yu tapped her badge and a message came up.

***SECT-WIDE ANNOUNCEMENT***

Sect laws have been updated. New rule books will be provided. Please read for details.

Summary:

Rule 44.3.1 removed in its entirety New ruleset implemented to limit negative interactions between sect levels Law enforcement appeal process implemented (section 33.7 added)

Yu blinked at that and nodded with a small smile. Looks like they came up with something after all. Yu would read it later, but at least they were trying. Rule 44.3.1 was the one where lower-level disciples would be punished for instigating fights with higher-level ones.

Lu said, “Looks like your master got upset about what happened.”

Yu said, “He intervened because the rules were stupid, not because I asked him to. All I did was point out the hypocrisy.”

Li laughed. “Right. And he would have changed them without you getting involved.”

Yu just shrugged. If her friends thought that, everyone would. In the end, it was the right choice, it proved they were at least putting in the effort to make things better, and that was what mattered to her.

Trying to change the subject, Yu said, “So, I have the morning off but then healing, martial training, and darkness tomorrow. Who wants to spend most of the evening with Bai?” They practically fought each other over it. Yep, her cub was going to be spoiled rotten.

***

Yu had a serious problem.

She received the go-ahead from the healer in the morning so she was heading to her new class for the first time. Unfortunately, Yu’s schedule did not tell her where to go for her initiate level healing class; all it said was, “Varied.” Thinking, she went to the Wood Mountain and then to the main healing center. Not seeing her class, she approached an outer sect elder healer and asked, “Excuse me, elder. I am a student in the initiate healing class, but my schedule does not give a location. Can you tell me where to go?”

The woman, a lady appearing in her older years but not stooped or frail-looking in the least, raised an eyebrow and said, “You? An Initiate?”

Yu sighed and nodded. “Yes, elder. My name is Fenghuang Yu and I was added last week.”

That statement resulted in both of the elder woman’s gray eyebrows rising into her hairline. She still seemed skeptical as she said, “I see. Well, I am about to go on roving patrol and you can spend the class with me, helping your fellow disciples.” Then she turned and started assembling a few herbs, wrappings, and concoction-makers like a mortar and pestle and different applicators.

That statement was such a shock it took Yu a moment to process it. Then her eyes widened and she asked, “Umm. Elder, is that ok? This is my first day in class.”

“Of course it is!” The woman huffed and spun around causing her long gray braid to whip around behind her, nearly smacking Yu with it. “What do you think we do in the initiate class? It’s hands-on instruction.”

All Yu could think to say was, “Oh.” Then it occurred to her to ask, “Umm. I’m sorry elder, I don’t know your name.”

The woman froze for a moment and then resumed what she was doing. Yu thought she wouldn’t answer after even more time passed when she said, “You may call me Elder Mi.”

Yu bowed and said, “Thank you for allowing me to learn from you, Elder Mi.”

The old woman just huffed, put the bag in her ring, and stomped off in long strides, Yu jogging after.

***

After ten minutes and a brisk walk through unfamiliar areas of the Wood Mountain, Elder Mi stopped, turned around to face Yu, and finally spoke again. They had ended up in a small dark room with a formation on the ground. “You are to do what I say, when I say, and nothing else. Is that clear? We are here to help disciples. That is all. You must swear to keep the details of what you witness and do a secret unless asked for by a senior elder healer or a law enforcement elder. Do you agree?”

Yu nodded and agreed.

The old woman pointed at the formation and said, “Step inside.”

Thinking she knew what was coming, Yu stepped inside and the formation flashed. Then she felt a familiar weight on her and an equally familiar Sign showed.

Chain of Silence being applied. Agree?

Yu had wondered how they enforced the silence of healers she had been lectured about; the formation explained it. Did her healer uncle, Gen, have a chain of silence? Why had he allowed her to heal without one? Why hadn’t he mentioned it.

Mentally agreeing, the weight lifted and she asked, “Does the chain know when I am authorized to speak?”

“Of course. This is a very specific formation.” Yu nodded and looked down at the formation again. Upon closer inspection, she could see it had a lot of runes and some unusually complex designs in it. Yu really needed to get into reading those enchanting books.

Elder Mi broke into her musings and said, “Let’s go then.” Then she tapped Yu’s badge, turned around, and marched out.

Yu followed and the woman spoke without looking back. “Roving healers are alerted by their badges when a call for an emergency healing occurs. Yours will not tell you where yet, but it will notify you when a request comes in. I will guide you to the location and you will follow my instructions exactly.”

Yu nodded and asked, “How often do you get an emergency request?”

“It varies.”

That was helpful.

Yu opened her mouth to ask another question when both of their badges flashed white. Then the elder tapped it and so did Yu. The light dimmed but nothing happened that Yu could tell. The elder however seemed to see something because she grumped and ran off, Yu on her heels.

They left the Wood Mountain and ran across another bridge to the Metal Mountain. The elder tapped her badge and the steel door slid apart allowing them entry and clanging closed behind them. This was Yu’s first time on the Metal Mountain and she, unsurprisingly, saw the glistening of steel and other metals everywhere. She also saw flowing lava streams that seemed to separate the various streets or buildings. As the pair ran closer to the various buildings which included going over steel bridges spanning larger and larger lava channels, Yu had to suppress a wince as the clanging of metal on metal became so loud it started to hurt.

Her head aching from the constant clanging, Yu was forced to raise the focus she placed on the mantra she used to control her abnormally heightened senses so she didn’t suffer from the constant and increasing pain. That helped and she was able to focus by the time they arrived at a building. The downside was that all her senses would be dulled, which she hated because it made her feel less alert to threats and thus more vulnerable. And, of course, it was distracting.

Elder Mi stormed through the entrance, throwing the steel door aside and Yu followed closely. A boy in a leather apron was on the ground screaming in pain and gripping his hand. Two fellows were watching from the side, looking shocked and unsure what to do.

Yu stood behind the elder as she glowed blue and pressed her hand onto the boy. His screams slowed and reduced to sobs when Yu finally looked at his injury. It was bad. The skin on the boy’s hand appeared to have partially melted off, pus-filled blisters were growing everywhere on his palms and fingers, and some of the skin had started to blacken. Yu shuddered slightly at the sight but watched the healer work.

She asked, “You know Soothing Flow, yes?” Yu nodded. “Do it while I prepare some things. I will need two hands.” That explained why roving healer patrols were always in pairs.

Yu knelt by the poor apprentice blacksmith and pressed her glowing hand against his forearm. She sent her energy into his hand and calmed the nerves there while Elder Mi put some herbs and some yellow liquid into the mortar and quickly made a foul-smelling thick mixture.

Yu patted his head and told him he’d be ok while at the same time sent in her Qi using the Follow the Water skill to see what she could learn of the injury. It turned out he had seriously damaged himself. The injuries went much deeper than just his skin. Some of the nerves in his hand would need to be rebuilt along with a number of the tendons. She certainly did not have anything close to the skill to heal the poor young man.

Elder Mi placed a folded white strip of cloth into her mortar and slathered it with the mixture inside, then started wrapping the boy’s hand with it, starting at his wrist. Yu paid close attention to how the experienced healer wrapped the wounded appendage. After that was done and she lightly tied it, the boy was calm and she told Yu she could release the skill. She did and the boy started wincing but it was nowhere near as bad. Then Elder Mi glowed blue again and pressed her hand against the wrapped wrist and his wincing faded.

All three men and Yu flinched when the healer snapped, “You are forbidden from combat or smithing for at least two weeks. You are to visit a healer every morning and evening to have this wrapping replaced.” The boy’s eyes were widening and he shook his head in denial when the elder tapped his badge and said, “Foolishness has its price. I have sent the notice to any teachers on your schedule and your elders. If any witness you working with this hand you will be expelled. Mistakes happen but we do not waste our limited resources on the foolish.”

Yu was impressed with the old healer’s decisive actions. The young man probably picked up a hot piece of metal without realizing it was hot. Just because something wasn’t glowing didn’t mean it was cold after all. Not that Yu knew anything at all about forging, but that was just common sense.

Anyway, Elder Mi stood, wiped off her robes and pants, turned to the uninjured boys, and ordered, “You two. Bring him to his room.” Then she turned around and left. Yu bowed to the three apprentice blacksmiths and ran after her teacher.

When she caught up the woman snapped a question, “Why did I reduce his pain first?”

Yu was caught off guard by the quick question and fumbled for an answer. “To help him?”

She snapped again, clearly displeased with the answer. “Be more specific!”

“I don’t know, elder. So he wouldn’t be hurting so much?”

“No! Don’t be obtuse. Pain by itself is not something we can heal. It is a symptom of something. Pain is how the body speaks to us when something is not right. So tell me, why did I stop his pain and then ask you to do so?”

Yu stopped herself from saying she didn’t know, which was her instinctive answer. She thought about the woman’s description of pain and took a few breaths before speaking. Finally, she came up with, “So you could put the wrap on him without him jerking around and making it harder?”

“Yes! Finally, someone with a brain in their skull!” Yu blinked at her, saying nothing. What was there to say to a statement like that?

“Real healers heal in whatever way necessary to remove the injury and return the injured to their original state. We are not there to pat them on the head and comfort hurt feelings, or kiss an injury and make it go away.” Yu blushed, thinking that she had in fact been patting his head to comfort him.

Elder Mi snorted and continued her tirade. “We are certainly not there to heal in the fastest manner possible so the injured can return to their foolishness without having actually returned them to health.”

Then she turned around quickly, her braid flying in a circle around her and landing on her shoulder. She jabbed her finger at Yu and said with force, “If I ever catch you healing someone without actually healing them all the way you will never heal in this sect again. Am I clear?”

Yu nodded quickly and said, “Yes, elder. I understand.”

Apparently satisfied, the old woman turned around, started walking away and demanded, “Diagnose that last foolish apprentice’s injury. I know you used Follow the Water. Tell me what you found.” Yu did and the woman nodded. “Decent. What you missed was that the bones also received injuries. They were subtle but the heat caused some very minor distortions in the fiber structure which would have made them more feeble and harmed his finger agility. It is not your fault for missing them as Follow the Water could not catch something that subtle. That skill only finds obvious changes in the body, not smaller imperfections. For now, that is acceptable. You are to go to the healer library in the Wood Mountain and pick up a book I have there waiting for you. You are to read it completely before our next session.”

Almost immediately after providing that instruction, their badges flashed white again. The woman swore and off they went.