"You two sure took your time there, don't you think?"

Zhèngyi came out of the shadows and took off his festive mask. "I was thinking you'd forgotten about me."

"Sorry," Kiyu apologized. "We lost track of time."

"Anyway." he replied, continuing, "I took a whole look at the warehouse."

"It is a warehouse that is guarded both from the outside and the inside," he explained. "There are only two guards on the outside. I think they want to make it seem like it's an ordinary warehouse with nothing too valuable."

"And inside?", Kiyu inquired.

She could already imagine what the whole thing amounted to.

"There are a dozen guards inside. I couldn't look where that stupid ornament is, but based on their positioning, I have a rough idea."

That Zhèngyi couldn't look more closely had to mean that the positioning was well chosen, so that no one would sneak in. And even if one was inside, one wouldn't be able to steal the ornament and disappear without attracting attention.

"And Spiritformer?" inquired Kiyu.

She was hoping not to get into another merciless fight this time. Looking back on her past battles, she'd always come up just short.

But given the value, that was nothing more than a dream.

"Not as far as I could see," he countered, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe Xianzhu's reputation alone is enough to keep anyone from messing with him except idiots."

"Idiots like us," she added in a whisper.

"All the better for us!" exclaimed Laki. "We'll just rough up these few people, grab the thing and run. Right?"

"Yes!" agreed Zhèngyi. "In and out and they don't even know what hit them."

"I don't know," Kiyu demurred.

"What do you mean you don't know? They're the bad guys, so we might as well finish them and steal from them!" retorted Zhèngyi. "They're Xianzhu's men, after all!"

"Yeah..." whispered Kiyu. "But they are not him. They work for money, like many others. They have done nothing to us..."

"Are you going to play the saint now? After all this?" it escaped Zhèngyi. "I don't believe it!"

He slapped the flat of his hand against his forehead while looking up at the sky. It was difficult to argue against this. This might be their only chance to escape from here. If they were too hesitant, they would lose that opportunity forever. And yet.... Kiyu didn't want to hurt innocent people.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know we have no choice but to do something evil. It's just that I'd like to avoid it..."

"You almost sound like we're going to kill them," he hissed.

"Okay," he sighed, taking his hand to his side. "How about this: We distract them, give them a small smack on the lid, and render them unconscious so they don't pose a threat?"

"Sounds good!" exclaimed Laki. "Better than standing around here in the dark forever more."

"Agreed," nodded Kiyu.

It was almost a bit like Jarifa. There, too, she was fighting the guards who had done nothing to her. After all, it was Tānlán's fault they had to resort to such actions.

'I wonder if this will ever end?'

Together they made their way back to the tavern 'lonely night'. During the walk back, Kiyu once went over the scenarios that could occur the next day.

'Fourteen people in all.'

Not an enormous amount of guards, considering what they were guarding there. But they had already learned that the Dragon Falcon ornament was not important because of its material value.

All the more reason for Kiyu to wonder what its true meaning was. And why was Slim's contact in the south of Purista so fond of it?

There was just too much they were in the dark about, and she didn't like it. But as much as it bothered her, it changed nothing to think about it. She had to push the mystery aside, as long as there wasn't enough information.

She would have to be on her guard as best she could while they stole the ornament and also in South Purista.

".... Isn't it, Kiyu? Hey Kiyu?" asked Zhèngyi.

"Huh, oh what? Sorry about that, I was just in thoughts," she replied

"Are you okay?" asked Zhèng. "you've been so absent-minded all the way back."

"Yes, everything is fine," she lied.

Laki and Zhèngyi were, unlike her, just focusing on the here and now, and she didn't want to ruin their moods with her preparation. It was quite good that they were concentrating so much on the now.

Worrying about the future was not a bad thing, but Kiyu had fallen into the trap of worrying too much. When that happened, the usefulness of foresight disappeared and turned into fear instead.

"Our last night here in the north." she smiled. "After this, a new life begins for us. A safe life."

She took Laki and Zhèngyi in her arms, and together they walked back to the lonely night.

It had been a beautiful day. The festival had been a pleasant surprise and her encounter with Horatio had also lifted her spirits.

They arrived at the tavern after a while. Last time, the door was flung open and that muscular innkeeper came out. But this time it was silent.

They had the key, and there was no one else there but them. The entire building was theirs. But the special thing was: there were several rooms to stay in.

For the first time, each of them could have their own room. Each their own bed!

The whole thing was almost too good to be true, but it was. Together they had looked at the rooms and found that all the rooms had the same layout. So there were no special features and no one could get a better one than the others.

"Well then, good night." Zhèngyi said and walked towards his room.

"Yes, good night," Kiyu and Laki replied to him and they too went to their rooms.

Somehow it felt.... unfamiliar. Since she had grown up with Laki's family, she had always slept in the same bed with Laki, or at least been by her side. But now, even though they were a couple, they slept in separate rooms for the first time.

'Wasn't it supposed to be that we were sleeping in one room right now?' wondered Kiyu.

But then again, what was normal about their relationship? It made little sense to worry about that right now.

"Whatever," she whispered to herself.

Cheryu had known what Kiyu wanted to do with the gift of silence.

'Yes', she said in her mind, nodding.

'Under normal circumstances, you just check in with wisdom on the most impossible situations,' she joked. 'But anyway. I'd like to make the most of this time, Che.'

he replied.

'Yes', she replied. 'I know nothing. What are spirits, anyway? Why do they come into our world? How old are you? What is spiritual energy?'

Thousands of questions rushed through her mind, and Kiyu didn't know where to start.

, Cheryu laughed.

'Hundreds of years,' she gasped. 'That someone could live that long... incredible!'

he explained.

'Was?' repeated Kiyu. 'Does this have something to do with Avescar?'

The Great War had changed some things in the human world, so it only stood to reason that the spirit world got affected as well.

, he whispered, and grew quieter.

For the first time since she had known Cheryu, Kiyu had noticed a feeling she had never experienced with him before.... Grief. So Cheryu could feel sadness too?

he continued.

Kiyu did not know how to respond. As a child, she had heard stories about Avescar in her tribe, and that it brought suffering but also happiness into the world. But she had never heard of the spirit world.

Was it even possible for humans to travel to the spirit world? She had received answers from Cheryu, but they only triggered more questions in her.

She was about to ask another question when....

"Kiyu. Are you awake?"

Laki? What was Laki doing outside her door?

'Seems like we'll have to postpone the conversation. But I have many more questions,' she said to Cheryu.

, he replied.

Kiyu stood up and opened the door. When it was just wide open enough for Laki to enter, she jumped towards Kiyu and greeted her with an intense kiss while wrapping her arms around Kiyu's body.

"Laki what," Kiyu asked, but got interrupted by another intense kiss.

"Shh!" Laki hissed and gave her another kiss on the mouth.