"You got to be kidding me." I stared up wide stone steps that stretched up high into the mountains.

"There are two million steps." I visibly winced at the words that came from my companion. Her name was Li Hua Wha.

To recap. After receiving a map to guide me to the people, the King wanted me to kill. I order Jiao and Min back to the Valley with the others. I didn't want them anywhere near the king or his men. I suspected that when I met the people; he wanted me to kill. I'd probably end up joining their side of the conflict.

If that happened, I didn't want my women to be used as hostages. Just before they left, one of Chang'e Wha's servant girls begged me to let her company me. She assured me she could lead the way better than I since she wasn't originally from the Valley and had traveled the province when she was a child.

I asked Jiao and Min what they thought about it.

"You are new to our world. Best to take her with you." Min had said.

Jiao agreed with Min. "She is right, you're a stranger here. I'd definitely feel better knowing someone else is with you."

I shrugged. "Very well."

I turned to see the head warrior of my entourage walking toward me with Lian saddled. "You should take your drake. She'll be more useful to you on your journey than pulling the carriage home."

I was about to protest when He took a knee. "I know you want the drake with us to protect your women. But the road home will be just as safe for the time being, and we can handle any bandits that foolishly attack us. Have faith, master, we won't let anything happen to your Wives."

Well shit. If he felt that strongly about it. If I said no, I might as well be slapping him in the face. The man gave me his word he'd get them home. I sighed. "I'm leaving them in your care. Do not fail me."

He saluted me and joined the others as they escorted my women down the road toward home. I mounted Lian and helped Li Hua up behind me. I turned Lian towards the distant mountains and galloped away.

Now here I was a day later at the foot of the longest set of stairs I'd ever seen. I was going to have to climb them all. Lian bumped me from behind. I turned to look at her. "What?"

She gave a pointed look to her saddle, then looked up the mountain. "Are you trying to tell me you'll carry us to the top?" I asked her. She nodded her head in the affirmative. "You're not tired?" She shook her head.

Lian was a wonder. She traveled a week's worth of distance in 24 hours. It was the oddest sensation, too. While on her back, the surrounding landscape sipped past in a blur, but I barely felt the wind on my face. Li Hua said that drakes were supposed to be magical, but they only used their magic for their masters.

Another wonder about Lian was her intelligence. I was almost positive she was sentient. So I treated her as my equal and our bond was deepening. I like to think so anyway.

I scratched under her jaw at the soft flesh there and she let out a deep pure. White smoke of pleasure puffed from her nostrils. I mounted her again with Li Hua and Jian galloped up the steps like a streak of lightning.

Within minutes, we stood at an ornate gate made of stone with thick oak doors. Above the gate hung a plaque written in a language I couldn't read. Thankfully, Li Hua translated it for me.

"It says Yin Yang Sect."

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. Of course. The king probably demanded they do something for him and they said no. If what I heard was true, then most of the people in there were stronger than the king's strongest soldiers. The question was, why did he think I could defeat them? Or did he send me here to die? It was possible the king thought so little of my inelegance that he assumed I'd do what he asked and get me killed. Or he was so full of himself. The thought never occurred to him I would refuse to do as he ordered. There were too many variables here.

Regardless, I would not kill them. But I wanted to meet them. I wanted answers and hoped they were in a sharing mood. "So do we just go in, or is there a way to call them?" I asked Li Hua.

She giggled and hopped down from Lian's saddle. I watched her run over to the gate and pull on a metal lever. She then walked back over to me. "There. A bell will have rung at the other end and they'll send someone. It might be a while, so we should get comfortable."

I nodded and dismounted Lian. I unsaddled her. She laid herself out in the grass and let me and Li Hua lean against her. Lian laid her head on my lap. I absently stroked the spot between her horns. She particularly loved that spot.

It was a few hours before the door to the gate opened. We stood and approached the gate. A man flanked by two women stood in the open gateway. His hair was white and tied in a long braid down his back. He wore white robes and carried a Jian. Both the girls wore white halter tops embroidered with flower patterns. Their skirts hung low on their hips and were embroidered with the same floral pattern. They too carried Jian's.

I tried a friendly but straightforward approach. "Good day, friends. I'm Alastair Ivory, leader of the Five Mountains alliance." I bowed respectfully to them. "May I know your names?"

The man bowed back. "I am Huan Ping. These are my disciples, Mei Wu and Xiu Li." He said, motioning first to his right, then his left. "I am one of the ten elders in the Ying Yang sect. What brings you to our doorstep?"

"Deming Fai sent me here to kill you," I told them.

The two women placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, but one warning hiss from Lian had them slowly removing their hands.

Huan ping remained motionless. "Why give yourself away? You're not a very smart assassin."

I snorted. "I'm not an assassin. Leandra brought me to this world. The only reason I agreed to his request was so I could meet the people who pissed him off. I'm curious. What did you do to make him want your whole sect dead?"

Huan Ping rubbed his chin, then seemed to decide. "Join me for tea at my home and I'll tell you."

"Sounds lovely," I admitted and followed him and his disciples up the mountain to his home. His home was cheerful. It had an open design that showed off the natural beauty around us. The only closed-off sections of his home were the bedrooms, for obvious reasons.

We enjoyed tea under a blue pavilion surrounded by purple chrysanthemums. The serenity of the place almost made me forget why I was there. "You have a lovely home," I told Huan Ping. "So, please regale me. How did you end up making an enemy of the king?"

Huan Ping smiled as he sipped his tea. "Deming Fai is no king. He may have the title, but he's nothing more than a rat. A vermin with no honor. Last year he came here himself to see our sect leader. He wanted our sect to fight for him. He wants to overthrow the Dragon emperor. The other kings are loyal to the emperor. He'd have to kill the other kings first and to do that, he'd need powerful allies. The Yin Yang sect is one of the most powerful sects on this continent. If we fought with him, we could easily slay the kings and overthrow the emperor."

I'm not from this world. I hold no loyalty to this emperor or anyone other than the five mountains alliance. Don't be offended, but why didn't you fight for him?"

"No offense taken. The answer is simple. The Dragon emperor is a fair ruler and if someone as vile as Deming Fai took power, it would be distress not only for the citizens but for the sects as well. Deming Fai would use our might to take what he wanted, then turn on us and anyone else who might pose a risk to his rule. The Dragon emperor knows our sect and many others pose threats to him, but he has graciously never threatened us as long as our sects obey his laws. To stand against him in the face of his grace and mercy would be a dishonor to our sect and our lives."

I nodded my head. "Just out of curiosity, what did he offer you?"

Huan Fai laughed. "Nothing. He had the gall to act as if serving him would be reward enough, but it wouldn't have mattered. He could have offered a mountain's worth of gold or spirit stones and it wouldn't have made a difference. Did he offer you payment?"

I snorted and shook my head. "Nope. He hinted at a reward but made no formal promise. Like I said. I agreed so I could come and meet the people he wanted me to kill. The question is why he sent me. I'm no match for any of you."

"That's simple enough to work out." Huan Ping said. "Since you're not from our world, I'll explain. The hero of any deity is akin to a king. If you attacked and we killed you, he could march an army up here to slaughter us. Being a hero, you have powers I'm sure you're not fully aware of. You might not kill us all but I'd wager you'd weaken us. We are powerful, but not invincible. If he marched enough troops up here, he could wipe us out."

"And if he sent men here and I'm alive?" I asked Huan Ping.

"If he was an honorable man, he'd recall his troops and leave. But I'm certain he's marching his army towards us as we speak. If you're dead, then you're no longer a threat. If not, then he'll kill you along with us."

I stretched my chin and sipped at my tea. "Then we have a week to prepare for his arrival, maybe two. It would have taken a week to get here if not for my drake Lian. An army will take longer to organize and march out."

"We?" Huan Ping asked.

I winked at him. "As if I'd run. I might not be as strong as you, but I can hold my own."

"Then we should report to the Sect leader. She'll want to meet your herself and hear about the trouble that's coming."

Huan Ping led me further up the mountain to where the rest of the sect lived and trained. Li Hua followed behind, with Lian at her side. She was chatting with Huan Ping's disciples. It was nice to see them getting along.

We passed by estates of other sect elders, some even grander than Huan pings and smaller dwellings for outer disciples. When we, at last, came to the main compound for the sect, I marveled. The entrance to the compound was a high archway with two golden statues on either side. The statues were of two women. One was fair and dainty, with her hair in an elaborate braid above her head. She wore little more than a brazier with jewels hanging from it. Her skirt hung low on her hips and had high slits on either side, exposing slender legs and thighs. She looked like some kind of sex goddess and if the statue was based on a real person, then she must have been a man killer.

The state on the left was of a woman in ornate armor. The armor clung to her curves, accentuating her feminine form. In her hands, she brandished a long, broad-headed spear. The statue on the right was dainty and fairy-like, while the statues on the left were more homely. Her body is not overly muscular but well-defined and toned, like an athlete in the Olympics back home. Huan Ping noticed me staring. "Our founding leaders. On the right is Sunu Mei and on the left is Xiuying Wei." He pointed to a plague that hung from the crest of the archway. "Our code. Love, honor, loyalty. The virtues we live by here."

I nodded my head in approval. "Good code."

Huan Ping led us to a large building with a plaque over the entrance that read Ting Ai Hall. I stopped in my tracks. The symbols on the plaque weren't in English, but I understood them. But I couldn't read the plaque above the archway to the compound or the plaque above the gateway. "Why can I read that plaque but not the one above the gate or the entrance to the compound?"

"The leader might know." He told me.

Inside the hall was a massive open space. Between the ornate pillars were tables holding many treasures. Paintings, vases, ornate weapons, and satin-wrapped scrolls. At the far end was an ornate oak desk where a woman sat. Did I say, woman? I meant goddess. I couldn't tear my eyes away from her face. Her skin was smooth as silk and with a golden hue like the world's most perfect tan. Her movements were graceful, and as I neared, the floral scent that filled my nostrils was an intoxicating drug I wanted to overdose on.

I felt a sharp pinch on my arm, breaking whatever spell I was under. Li Hua stepped in front of me and held out her arms in a protective stance.

"Sect leader or not, you should be ashamed of yourself. Are you a harlot to bewitch strangers?" She said harshly to the sect leader.

The Sect leader stood and bowed low. "I apologize. It was not intentional. My powers do what they will when I'm distracted. I beg your forgiveness stranger I meant no offense."

I bowed respectfully. "No offense taken. My servant is protective of me. She didn't mean any offense as well."

The sect leader nodded her head. "She brings you great honor. Huan Ping, please introduce us." She said as she came around her desk.

Huan Ping bowed respectfully to her. "Sect leader, this is Alastair Ivory Hero of Leandra. Master Ivory, this is Ying Yang sect leader, Jiutian Xuan."

"Leandra's new hero? This is a surprise. What brings you here, honored guest?" She asked me.

"Grim tidings. King Deming Fai ordered me to kill everyone here." I rolled my eyes dramatically. "I'm not a man to be ordered about. But I wanted to meet whoever pissed him off. But it seems he's sending an army to attack you."

She laughed. "The rat-faced coward finally dares to attack us. Let him come. We're more than ready for him."

"That's good. I like your confidence. How can I help?" I asked her.

Did she raise an eyebrow at me? "Can you fight?"

"My master is a Late Body Refining Rank 9. He's more than adequate." Li Hua proclaimed.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was a fangirl. I would not complain. I'd never been in any kind of battle. Fighting the Razorbacks was more a slaughter than anything else. I could use someone like her to pump me up a little. My grandfather was a Worl War 2 vet. He used to tell me that each morning he woke up and hoped his bravery didn't run out. Because eventually, every man broke.

Jiutian smirked as she eyed me up and down. "In that case, you can fight with Huan Ping. I'll assemble a meeting with the other elders and we'll properly evaluate you before the fight. You are dismissed." She said before turning back to her desk.

Huan Ping walked us out and took us back to his home. There we waited to be summoned back up the mountain for the sect's war council.