“Oi, Senior Sha, where the hell are they?” Meili shouted and wrangled the breath out of the ugly dwarf. Turning blue, the older boy tore at the hands clenched around his neck. “We got out of the tomb early morning. Now it’s already noon!”

“Meili, you’re going to kill Senior Brother Sha,” Cai scolded and freed Sha from the would-be murderer. “Senior Brother Sha, are you fine?”

He nodded, but coughed. He turned toward Meili, “We still have an incense time left, Junior Sister Meili.”

Meili blinked her eyes slowly. Glared with murderous rage and said coldly, “We only have an incense time left.” Then she broke down into a crouch and began crying with anguish. “Oh, why didn’t I reach her in time. Senior Brother Sha! If something bad happen to my sweet Mei-Mei, I will never forgive you — even when I’m dead, I’ll haunt your descendents’ descendents!”

“What about Jang-Guo?” Cai asked as he conducted inventory of their loot for the fifth time that day. It was the only thing to do.

The trio’s haul was a good one despite being limited by what they could carry as they explored the tomb. Any herbs the trio found, they devoured immediately; the same went for medicinal pills and dan that they ventured upon. Gaudy jewelry hung around their necks and limbs like cocoons, while ornaments were trapped in Meili’s hair as if entangled in a spider’s web. Weapons which they came across, they tied onto their back with strips of cloth ripped from their own clothing. Any coins were safely pocketed by the individual. A pile of martial arts techniques — bound into books, etched into bamboo strips, or inscribed into jade — lied gathered. The orphans found the techniques to either be incompatible with their own ideology/physique, or simply were trash. A mysterious bottle filled with clear liquid sat on the pile of books.

“Ge-ge can take care of himself,” Meili responded without missing a beat. Her eyes surveyed the desolate clearing for any hint of her little blood-sister. “But Mei-Mei is too young, too naive, too innocent — she’s bound for the beasts! At least with ge-ge, he’s an idiot, but he’s strong.”

“Meili, how can you call your brother that! Your actual big brother whose red blood flows the same as yours,” Jang-Guo cried with childish anguish from below the earth.

Senior Sha glanced at Cai in surprise; Cai watched Meili with amusement; Meili stared at the earth and backed up. The entire clearing shook — rumbled as if a sleeping dragon beneath awoke with vengeful pride. A cold wind swept the clearing causing the light layer of snow piled in the children’s absence to swirl up into a graceful dance.

Reaching a climax, the sun and the moon erupted from underground through two transcendent milky-white portals. These two streaks of gold and silver bursted through the stark crest of dull clouds draped across the sky. A rupture in the seams — this great gaping hole — pale light streamed down. Hanging on the apex of their soar for a single breath, the twin stars fell rapid like fire, causing bated breaths. But before that fatal collision, the streaks of light swooped up and drove forth horizontally — slowing, then stopped.

Leaping off Ten Suns, Jang-Guo bolted for a nearby tree. Retching, a storm of bile spewed forth from his mouth. Qiu’yue stepped off Quiet Thoughts and fitted its shrunken form on her hair once more. Both she and Meili went over to comfort the baldy.

“Ge-ge, there, there,” Meili whispered sweetly and patted his back.

“Tang-ge, hang in there,” Qiu’yue consoled the wretched boy.

Meili turned to Qiu’yue with surprise [Calling someone as “Name Big Brother” signal intimacy; usually signal a fated pairing in romance stories]. She raised a finger accusingly and cried, “Mei-

Mei, you’re cheating on me with my own brother? How could you?”

“Big Sister Meili? What does cheating mean?” The innocent Qiu’yue asked. She saw her big sister was agitated so she looped her arms around Meili’s neck.

The older girl blushed and her white hair stood out brilliantly. She pushed Qiu’yue off her with an expression which left Cai in unkept laughter. “B-brat, what are you doing!”

Lost in their banter, the two left their older brother suffering his stomach pains alone.

After he recovered, Jang-guo scolded Meili first, “Meili, how could you abandon your actual real brother? And Qiu-di! You dare make a move on my little Meili while I was gone? Was I wrong in making you my blood brother after all?”

“Wait, Qiu-di? Blood brother?” Meili interrupted with absolute exasperation bleeding through. Placing a palm on her forehead, she closed her eyes.

“Make a move?” Little Qiu’yue placed a finger on her forehead in confusion.

Cai finally walked forward and broke the comedy routine up. Clapping, he said, “Now, now. Let’s save this for another time.” Turning to Jang-Guo, he pointed at Ten Suns and remarked, “It seems you two found some real treasures this time.”

Nodding, Jang-Guo and Qiu’yue gathered everyone in a circle and told their story. The children reacted with awe but also fear and solemnity. Hearing Qiu’yue had to suffer through a process similar to the “death by a thousand cuts” [lingchi] to pass the First Trial, Meili hugged the younger girl’s neck. Qiu’yue giggled.

Running his hand over Ten Suns with a strange look, Cai commented, “This is a fierce saber. Worthy of a hero. Ah, but what of the traitor?”

Jang-Guo took back his sword. He glanced at Qiu’yue; the girl nodded. “We think it may be Yun Leader Meng.”

“No! It can’t be,” Senior Sha exclaimed with fear in his eyes.

“It makes sense,” Meili nodded her head. “There was the lotus flower and she is the leader of the Yun Sect. Internal school practitioners almost always have elegant martial arts.”

“But, but that would mean she’s actually a man!” Senior Sha lamented with real tears flowing from his eyes. Meili looked at him with more unbridled disgust than usual. Cai comforted his senior brother with a pat to the back.

“Senior Brother Sha, there is no conclusive evidence that she is the traitor. Nor do we want to startle the snake by wrongly beating the bush,” Cai said. He looked at each of the children one by one.

“This secret task will not be leaked.”

Everyone nodded. Qiu’yue asked, “Why does Cai think it isn’t Yun Leader Meng?”

Cai held up four fingers. “One, the only lotus we saw was from that ritual. Going by that faulty logic, it can be Da Gui or Gui Fa as well — it can even be Qiu’yue. Two, we don’t know if Yun Leader Mo is also skilled in the external school arts — and elegant arts at that. Three, we need to confirm she uses or at least requests Golden Buddha Relief dan. But if she has a supply, that would be hard. Four, we don’t know if she is scared of spiders; most people are scared of spiders in general!”

Meili played with Qiu’yue’s hair and muttered, “That makes sense. Ah! We’ve been so busy talking about Mei-Mei’s —”

“And ge-ge’s,” Jang-Guo said with a moping tone.

Meili pouted at her brother, “I was going to mention ge-ge anyways! Hmph, let’s just compare our cultivation growth.”

“Big Sister Meili,” Qiu’yue said, “aren’t you going to us your adventures?”

“Brat, we fought some goblins and slimes and —”

“Wrong genre, Meili,” Jang-Guo interrupted, blushing enough to cover Meili’s portion of embarrassment.

“Ge-ge’s an idiot!” She retorted with slight tears in her eyes. Trembling, the girl

continued on. “We fought some monsters. Found some herbs. Ate the herbs. Found some pills. Ate the pills. Got a cultivation boost. Normal tomb robbing stuff, ok?”

Qiu’yue and Jang-Guo comforted the still blushing white-haired girl.

After Meili recovered through a series of brotherly love — coupled with sisterly abuse — and Qiu’yue’s cuteness, the entire group compared their cultivation levels. Meili finally broke through to the ninth stage. Cai remained at the tenth stage of qi condensation, though he told the others he might break into the consolidation stage. And Senior Sha remained at the seventh stage of qi condensation.

“Mei-Mei’s already at the fifth stage,” Meili exclaimed. Then she checked her brother and pouted.

“Ge-ge, why are you still only at the ninth stage? Have you been slacking?”

Cai and Jang-Guo shared a look. Cai followed up on Meili’s small comment and pulled him aside to “educate him on the value of hard work”.

Looking at Jang-Guo, Cai spoke bluntly, “Something else happened that you didn’t tell us. It involved Qiu’yue, right? Jang-Guo, you’re barely at the ninth stage. And it’s simply too strange for her to be at the fifth stage! Fourth, a bit believable. But, fifth — that’s too abnormal!”

“Cai, look, Qiu-di’s progressing quickly. We should be happy,” Jang-Guo answered Cai. But he would not look Cai in the eyes, and his hands were clenched tightly. “It’s fine. We’re being suspicious for no reason.”

Cai sighed. He whipped his queue around his neck and said, “If you say so.”

The two returned to the group. They noticed a strange air hung over Sha. The oldest member of their group was laughing but also crying.

“Isn’t it wonderful? Little Qiu’yue is already at the fifth stage! In 3 months, she’s already at the fifth stage,” Senior Sha laughed painfully. “Seventh...for two years, seventh!”

“Senior Sha,” Meili uttered, chewing her lips.

Just as suddenly as he started, Sha stopped his crying. “It’s fine. It’s fine. Nevermind me. It’s getting late. Junior Brother Jang-Guo is going to start yelling ‘If she catches a fever from tonight’s events, I am going to beat you up’ at this rate.”

Senior Sha went over to the pile of loot gathered and carried some back toward the Tree of Ten-Thousand Fire Blossoms. The others shared a look before also gathering some of the loot and carrying it back home.

Most of the loot, they decided to sell to the merchants early tomorrow in exchange for food and minor luxuries. The mysterious bottle was given to Senior Sha in hopes that it might be a miraculous to him breaking through.

That night, Qiu’yue finally got to sleep inside the flower of the tree. She found the interior to be cozy and sweet-smelling. The insides were lit by the Tree’s own qi and contained a warm feeling because of that. Curling herself like a cat would, the girl fell asleep, partially submerged into the cushy interior of the flower.

“I need more pills,” Sha told himself as he paced around inside his own flower room. His face was melting with sweat. The ten-years old boy clawed at his neck with distress. Rapid breathing and unpredictable stomping of his feet, Sha was at the end of his ropes. “I need herbs! Spirit beasts! Dan! Divine treasures!”

He broke down and collapsed on his butt. Two steady rivers of tears flowed down his disfigured mountain-like face. With unsteady eyes, he pounded his temples.

“Even little Qiu’yue is going to surpass you,” he scolded himself. Weeping and unable to control his breathing, his words came out sporadic and with odd emphasises and pauses. “Senior Brother! Peh! Peh, peh, peh!”

Sha curled himself into a ball and leaned against the wall.

“Two years, and I’m still stuck at the seventh cultivation stage,” he laughed. It was a bitter, choked-up laugh. Sha clutched his temples. “Everything hurts. Why does my head hurt so much! Why? Why!”

Knocking his head against the wall violently, the Tree responded with a thrust of its own in retaliation. Sha continued to laugh and cry. Soon his face became sticky with snot.

“I’m a failure,” he said to himself. “I’m not a hero. I’m not anything but an Ugly Dwarf. No wonder, ma and pa threw me into the mountains.”

Sha leapt to his feet. He paced back and forth with crazed energy. Shaking his head, tears began to flow again.

“I can’t give up! I can’t,” he muttered angrily to himself. “If I give up, I’m going to be alone again. No, no, no!”

The patchy-haired, limped-eye boy began to hyperventilate.

“Why are the walls closing in? No, no!”

“Stop! Stop! Don’t throw me away! Ma! Pa! Please!”

“Hero! I’m a hero, a cultivator!”

“Pills! I need pills! Pills!”

“My heart hurts; it hurts! It hurts so much!”

“Please! Someone, save me; please save me!”

Surrendering himself to the bleakness of the road of cultivation, the young boy, yet old cultivator, collapsed into a tear-drenched slumber.

The next morning, Sha woke up early. He woke up because he dreamt of only nightmares. No energy was left in him to sleep anymore. With trembling hands, he wiped the cold sweat from his face. Yet, as he did so, he began to cry again.

“Wait, the bottle,” he cried to himself. He pulled it out from inside his robes. “What if this is a godly treasure?”

Sha looked at the clear liquid. He smelled it. He felt it with one finger. It seemed like water through and through.

Crestfallen, the boy wondered, “What if this is just water? I wonder it be poison. Maybe if I survive poison at least, I may be able to develop new abilities. But what if this is poison...then I would definitely die if I drink the entire bottle.”

Sha looked at the bottle. He sniffled and wiped the wetness from his eyes. “I’ll drink a little bit. If I do that, I won’t die at least — right?”

Tempering his nerves, the young boy took a tentative sip of the mysterious liquid. It tasted like nothing. With close eyes, he waited for death. Nothing happened. With furrowed brows, the boy entered a cultivation state. When the Tree woke him up to commence the day a little later, the boy checked his cultivation. Nothing.

Frowning, the boy got angry. He was tempted to throw away the bottle but he lacked the energy to do so. Besides, the bottle was garnered from a tomb left by Sun Devouring Moon — there must be some use, some value.

Sighing, the boy decided to pour some of the liquid onto his hands. Partially out of boredom, and partially out of contempt for the mysterious liquid.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened.

Yet, when Sha became filled with contempt and wrath from that nothingness — so much that he wanted fire to burn everything — fire lit up on his hands. Sha’s eyes widened. He felt a slight qi flow from that fire, but no warmth. Nor was there light or shadow. The qi exuded most definitely would not be able to create a fire, or even a spark.

“An illusion?” Sha brought his fiery hands close to his face, and laid them on his cheeks. He was not burnt. He was not warmed. All he felt were his normal hands. Then he stared at the bottle with amazement. “This liquid must allow me to create illusions. How mystical!”

Despite his initial enthusiasm, Sha quickly grew tired of the bottle and stuffed it back inside his robes.

“Illusions aren’t going to cause me to break through,” he said sadly. With a gnawing pain at his heart, Sha left to begin a new day. “It really hurts.”

Author's Note: Well, there's a good reason for me breaking my promise of 2 chapters (never making promises again...cause I suck). I had no internet all of yesterday until this afternoon because my family decided to change internet providers. I keep everything online....Anyhow, the next arc is going to be a deconstruction of pills in Xianxia -- if that wasn't obvious from Sha's angst. I'm gonna have fun writing this arc...mostly because it's gonna make Meng Hao's (and Chu Feng's) ingestion of pills look like gateway casual recreation.

P.S Not being connected to the internet led me to play some Shin Megami Tensei...Mudo and Hama are so annoying -- completely forgot. Ended an hour of progress...save points stupid!