They moved in a companionable silence, and though Yu Chen’s mind was awhirl with thoughts, Xue Lan was at ease, as though the brief conversation had lifted some of the weight off her shoulders.

  The sky never changed as they journeyed through the ruined city, occasionally exploring a house or wandering into some of the other buildings. It wasn’t long before they saw the first sign of violence. An entire street full of shops had been broken open and robbed, making it clear that they weren’t the first explorers the city had seen.

  Whether it was the city's original inhabitants or those who’d come after, both had long since vanished. Now, only their footsteps disturbed the hushed emptiness, echoing through the stillness around them.

  “I was surprised to see you there, at the Auction Ship.” Xue Lan said, breaking the silence as they left another building, turning around to head back towards the tall spire they’d agreed to meet the others at before. “How’d you end up on the river anyways?”

  Yu Chen didn’t reply right away, clasping his hands together behind his head as he walked. He wasn’t sure where to begin. Thinking about it, he realized he didn’t quite know for himself how he’d managed to end up here.

  Well, he knew how it began.

  His thoughts turned towards the tiny dragon he knew lurked somewhere inside him, wondering how he was doing. But how could he explain it without mentioning the little fellow? Xiao Huang was his deepest secret, and one he wasn’t prepared to share. He thought it over. There was one thing the dragon had done for him.

  Xiao Huang had opened his eyes.

  “I realized I’d been living like a frog in a well, that the world was so much larger and grander than I could have ever imagined.” He said, staring into the sky. Above them, the world faded into an inky blackness, giving no hint of what lay beyond. “Just like this,” he said, pointing upwards. She followed his finger, remaining silent. “I’d started to sense it even before entering the Secret Realm, but some of the cultivators within…” He shook his head in self-depreciation. “They showed me how little I truly knew.”

  She fell silent, processing his words as they walked up and down a series of rolling hills across which the buildings rose and fell like waves. The fact that they still stood after all this time was a testament to their construction, or perhaps to the strange, greyish-blue stone from which they’d been built.

  Everything around them had been made of that stone, from the wide boulevards that ran between the buildings, paved with row after row of flagstones half a foot thick, to the deep stone grooves that lay between those same streets and the houses. Perhaps water had run through them at one point, or perhaps something stranger still. There was simply no telling.

  They trudged along in silence for some time before he spoke again.

  “When I left the realm, I saw the corpses. Ji Rong. Even the sect leader…” Yu Chen trailed off, staring into the distance. Staring into the past. “He was the most powerful cultivator I’d ever seen, and he was cut down like so much chaff. If the reavers could do that to him, what could they do to me?”

  Yu Chen shook his head, and for a moment the young boy shone through.

  “I had to become stronger, far stronger than him. So, I came to the river, because the river is where the strong converge.”

  She hummed at his words, a nondescript sound that was neither support nor condemnation.

  “Is that all that matters to you? Strength?” she asked, shooting him a glance, and he knew his answer would change things between them.

  “No,” he replied honestly, shaking his head. “But this is the world we live in. If I’m not strong enough to protect myself and the ones I care about, what right do I have to talk about my dreams?” He gave her half a smile. “I really want to travel the world, seeing all of its wonders. If I’m strong enough then perhaps… Perhaps one day I’ll even be able to lay eyes on the source of the yellow river itself.”

  “What about the sect?” she asked, but she already knew the answer. “Do you think you will ever return?”

  He shook his head. “No, not like you mean. But maybe I’ll pay it a visit, after I’ve grown strong enough to wipe the river clean of all the reavers plaguing it.”

  She gave a small laugh; lighter and less bitter than the ones she’d made before. His words were silly to her ears. He was even weaker than she was and hadn’t even stepped into Foundation Establishment, but for some reason she believed him.

  “Some frog you are,” she said in amusement. “But I’ll hold you to it.”

  The air between them warmed considerably as they continued moving forward through the strange and varied city. There was no particular order to anything; what appeared to be shops were squished next door to a home, every one of which were raised up on stone stilts that lifted them from the ground.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  They spent the rest of the walk in light conversation, discussing the past as they reminisced about their time together in the sect. He was happy to learn that his old friends had all survived, and were doing well, the last she’d seen. Although it was a bit awkward to find out they all thought he was dead.

  He scratched his head, feeling slightly guilty.

  “Jin Hua was beside himself when you didn’t return. He swore to avenge you and has been relentless in his training. You ought to see him now.” She said before rolling her eyes and exclaiming, “Oh, and how could I forget about your admirer?” The last word practically dripped with sarcasm.

  “Ling Xia told everyone who would listen about how you’d saved her life. More than once. To hear her tell it, you two were practically engaged.”

  Yu Chen let out a light cough, looking embarrassed. “What do you mean?” He asked cautiously.

  “Oh, I thought it was over for me when Yu Chen appeared, his broad form standing between me and certain death,” She mocked, her voice light and airy. “They stabbed him, but he continued to fight, blood dripping from black as he protected me!”

  Yu Chen shook his head. She couldn’t be talking about Ling Xia. The other girl didn’t even sound like that! Besides, she was quiet and kept to herself.

  “It’s probably best if you don’t go back.” Xue Lan said sagely, “You might find yourself betrothed. Although I’ve heard dual cultivation isn’t so bad….

  He moved a little faster, and Xue Lan sped up with a laugh, keeping pace beside him.

  Serbo au Serbo was the first one they spotted. The tall barbarian stood on the roof of a building near the spire, keeping watch around him. He nodded as he spotted them, Yu Chen lifting a hand to wave back.

  They rounded the corner next to the building the barbarian stood upon, the street opening up into a wide plaza surrounding the gigantic stone spire piercing out of the ground. Yan Ziqi and the swordsman were within, as well as Sun Yuan, who stood in a corner, off by himself.

  Yu Chen gathered them all around with a wave of his hand.

  “Did you find anything?” He asked, looking towards Yan Ziqi first.

  “Nothing.” Yan Ziqi replied, shaking his head. “What’ll we do?”

  Yu Chen looked around. “Keep looking, I guess. We still haven’t covered most of the city.”

  Serbo au Serbo jumped down, landing with a thud nearby.

  “Something moved.” He said, pointing up at the large spire they stood beneath.

  Yu Chen frowned staring up. So far there’d been no sign of life anywhere. The others stepped closer together at his words, unconsciously herding together.

  “What was it?” Yu Chen asked, looking up as well.

  “Don’t know.” The barbarian frowned, and with a twist of his hand his hornbow appeared.

  “Let’s check it out.” Yu Chen said.

  They began to approach the large doors at the front of the building, made of some strange metal that hadn’t disintegrated despite the passage of time. Yu Chen stepped forward, going to grab the handle, but a hazy shield formed around the building, blocking his passage.

  “What’s that about?” Sun Yuan asked in a curious tone as he walked up to stand beside him.

  “Another formation of course.” Xue Lan said, stepping up herself.

  “Do you think you can break it?” Yu Chen asked hopefully.

  “I doubt it.” She said, frowning as she stared at the area the shield had appeared. “Anything that’s lasted this long isn’t likely to fall apart now. At least not through any methods I’m capable of.”

  “So, there’s no way for us to enter?” He asked.

  “I didn’t say that.” She replied, stepping forward to examine the shield. “Every formation has a back door; it’s just knowing the trick to activate it.” She put a hand out, trailing her fingers against the shield as she walked the perimeter of the building.

  A few moments passed before she reappeared once more.

  “Perhaps the secret lies somewhere else in the city,” she frowned. “The building is covered in strange runes I saw elsewhere. Maybe we can find a way in if we can figure out what they mean.”

  Yu Chen nodded. It was the best idea they’d had so far.

  “Why bother?” Xiao Jian asked, shaking his head. “It’s not like we’re trapped here, are we?”

  An uncomfortable silence rose up, the group exchanging glances with each other before looking around as Sun Yuan let out a groan.

  “What are you an idiot? Are you trying to tempt fate?” He said, shooting a disparaging look towards the other boy.

  “What did you call me?” The swordsman said, flushing red. His hand fell to his belt, grasping one of his swords in a firm grip.

  “Stop it.” Yu Chen said with a sigh. “We don’t know if we are trapped or not, but if we are it won’t be because of something he said.”

  Sun Yuan snorted, but he left it alone.

  “Still, I suppose we should figure that out, now that you’ve mentioned it.” Yu Chen continued, looking into the distance.

  “There could be some treasure inside.” This came from Yan Ziqi, who was still gazing at the spire in interest. “A lot of the buildings we explored were ransacked. Its obvious others have been through this city before, but the formations on this building are still active. I bet whatever’s inside hasn’t been touched.”

  Yu Chen looked down, pausing in thought as he considered what to do.

  “Our first priority should be figuring out where we are. We’ll take a look at these runes Xue Lan spotted, and if we have time, we can explore the city and see if there are any clues. For now, we should see what lies outside of this place.”

  Sun Yuan shrugged, still frowning at the swordsman who, along with Xue Lan, agreed to the plan. Serbo au Serbo was as ambivalent as ever, leaving Yan Ziqi as the odd man out.

  The other man was logical however and saw the sense in Yu Chen’s words.

  “Fine.” He said with a sigh. “Let’s figure out where we are first. Regardless of what we find out, I still think we should try to get to the bottom of this mystery.”

  “Sure.” Yu Chen said with a shrug. "It's not like we are in a hurry. After all, the tournament doesn’t start for a few more months, right?"

  “That’s true, but we don’t know where we are either.” Sun Yuan interjected, “We aren’t exactly pressed for time, but if we’ve been teleported somewhere far away that could be troublesome.”

  Yu Chen nodded. “Alright, let’s figure out where we are for now, and if we have the time, we’ll spend a couple days exploring the city.”

  The others nodded in agreement, but Xue Lan and the swordsman gave him a strange look.

  “What tournament?” Xue Lan asked with a frown.