52 Setting Ou

A shade of red appeared on the skyline as the first light of the sun descended on the tranquil landscape near Fairweather. It was a beautiful scene, like a fresh panting that would only last a few moments. Many of the artisans in Fairweather City had risen with the sun, hoping to find inspiration in the dawn's natural beauty.

Lin Fan was one such person, a painter. He was seated in front of a large canvas, with a brush in one hand and a paint palette in the other. Off to the side, a rag and an assortment of brushes laid in wait for their turn to shine. They were separated by color, as the oily medium he used could only be wiped off but not rinsed.

After firmly visualizing the scenery within his mind, he started his painting with the sky. It was a peculiar shade of blue, one that only lasted a quarter hour each morning. He didn't stop there—after finishing the initial shade, a light red flame appeared before the painting to accelerate the drying process. Next, he painted the red sun. It was currently one-fifth exposed on the horizon.

Before long the canvas was filled with red-tinted clouds, hills, and conifers. Next came a deer, which just happened to cross his line of sight. The painting was like a half-hour recording, all captured as a single moment. Lin Fan wasn't satisfied with his latest work. He wiped sweat from his brow. This work had required much more effort than usual. It wasn't easy attempting to paint a masterpiece when three hundred rowdy mercenaries were assembled just a hundred paces away.

Unfortunately, there was little he could do. He recognized many of the people assembled. Some were even his neighbors. More importantly, he recognized Han Jinlong and Zhang Yifeng. It wasn't worth offending them over such a trifling matter. After all, the perfect sunset he had waited twelve years for could come by once again in his lifetime.

***

"You would think that a group of mercenaries would be much more energetic, even if it is early in the morning," Cha Ming said between mouthfuls of his breakfast. He had managed, with great difficulty, to locate a bakery that made steamed red-bean buns. It was one of his favorite breakfasts, though he still preferred rice porridge and pickles. Alas, such a meal could not be eaten while walking.

Gong Lan, on the other hand, was snacking on a strip of beef jerky. "Only half of these people are actual mercenaries. The rest are local recruits from Fairweather. Many of them are only coming along because they have family in the surrounding villages that were attacked. These people know nothing of living out in the wilderness or getting by without sleep."

Huxian was having the time of his life. While contract beasts were rare, there were seven of them in this small group of mercenaries. Whenever he encountered one, he made sure to thoroughly oppress it and gloat to Cha Ming about his superiority over his lesser brethren. One of the contract beasts was a rarely seen bobcat. In its pride, it refused to yield to the younger fox—for about fifteen seconds. Huxian forced it to kowtow for its defiance. The large feline's master could only suffer in silence, as she herself was no stronger than her companion beast.

Their small group wandered toward the front, where many of the stronger individuals were located. This included Master Han and Master Zhang. The mercenaries had been instructed to gather one hour before dawn, and only a quarter hour remained. At the front, they met Sima Qian and Wu Jin, whom they had met at the auction house a week ago. They spoke for a short while before a booming voice resounded across the large crowd of cultivators.

"On behalf of everyone with relatives near Fairweather, I thank you all for accepting this mission," said Han Jinlong. "I won't lie to you, the information we've received indicates that this will be a dangerous outing. But I'm sure most of you have guessed this, given the ample rewards for successfully completing the mission. Rest assured—if you fall in battle, we are contractually obligated to pay the full amount for the mission to your designated beneficiary. However, I would like each one of you to know that we want you to return home safely.

"Master Zhang has prepared a welcome gift for everyone." Several green specks flew out toward the various cultivators. Each of them caught a clear crystal bottle containing three green pills. "These green pills are emerald healing pills concocted by Master Zhang and his apprentices. These pills will heal many grievous injuries within minutes. This way, you can all rest assured as we venture forward to rescue our relatives and friends.

"Now, I will split everyone into three groups. I will lead the first group, Master Zhang will lead the second group, and the Ling brothers—three experts at the peak of qi condensation—will lead the third group.

"First group, Jin Lihai.

"Second group, Bai Liangtao.

"Third…"

Han Jinlong continued to list off names one by one until everyone was sorted. Cha Ming and Huxian were in Group Two, while Gong Lan was in Group One. Wu Jin and Sima Qian were both in Group Three.

"Each of the three groups will head out in separate directions toward the three nearest villages, where we will begin our investigation. We will then proceed through several checkpoints before finally meeting at a town called Jade Spring, where we suspect that rebels are keeping nearby residents as prisoners.

"Everyone… stay strong."

With that, Han Jinlong set out toward the northwest. He ran at a moderate pace easily achievable by the various cultivators. Zhang Yifeng ran toward the south, while the Ling brothers led their group toward the southwest. Cha Ming gave Gong Lan, Wu Jin, and Sima Qian a wave before following along.

Everyone… stay strong.

***

Crackle. Crackle.

The sounds of breaking ice could barely be heard amongst the dull footsteps of the hundred cultivators in Zhang Yifeng's group. They were walking along a clay road just outside Crystal Meadows, their first stop on this journey.

Cha Ming was fiddling with a pine cone he had picked from a nearby tree. There weren't many trees in this barren land, which was barely suitable for pasture. Though, judging by the length of the grass, the land had not been used for this purpose recently. Cha Ming didn't think too much on this point and tossed the pine cone to Huxian, who quickly bounced it off his nose back to Cha Ming in an improvised game of catch.

Before long, the group arrived at the entrance to Crystal Meadows. The first sight that greeted them was a broken-down pen. It didn't contain any livestock, however, as they had all been removed in a very violent manner. Here and there, they saw clumps of wool coated in blood. The ground was covered in small pools of putrid, rotting blood, a sign of a rough and hurried slaughter.

They didn't dwell too long on this sight but turned their attention toward the village itself. Cha Ming and Huxian were near the front of the group, along with some stronger mercenaries. Together with Zhang Yifeng, they were the vanguard of this expeditionary force.

Under Master Zhang's guidance, they first headed toward the inn, which according to Feng Ming had doubled up as a mayoral office for Li Piao. They found nothing but a smoldering wreck. The building had clearly been burned down to destroy all evidence of the scuffle with the royal army. This result was disappointing, but not unexpected.

Not wanting to waste any time, Zhang Yifeng had the group of one hundred people split up into pairs. The weaker ones were paired with the stronger ones. Of course, Cha Ming and Huxian counted as one person. They were accompanied by a lucky female cultivator at the third level of qi condensation. Unlike most cultivators, her looks were only average. She kept short hair, and her left shoulder bore the insignia of the Black Eagle Mercenary Company.

On a whim, Cha Ming led his group to a nearby workshop. The outside of the large building was in good repair. He opened the door slowly, and Huxian and the female mercenary stood ready in case of an attack. Only a light creak sounded out, indicating that the door had been oiled on a regular basis.

The inside of the building was dark, as few windows had been built into the building in the first place. Perhaps this had something to do with the crystal glass artisans' preferences. Cha Ming knew that if he tried working with glass, he would want as little external light as possible. Glass was prone to refracting and reflecting light, potentially leading to errors in the crafting process.

"Huxian, light, please," Cha Ming said softly to his companion. At Cha Ming's instruction, Huxian's fur started to shimmer. The shimmering grew brighter and brighter, until finally all the specks of light that had accumulated on his fur gathered up into a small globe, which floated in front of them. It cast light in all directions in a thirty-foot radius. Yet the light did not seem to follow the normal rules. Within those thirty feet, everything was bright as day. Outside of that distance, everything abruptly reverted to the original darkness in the room.

"Good Huxian," Cha Ming said while petting his ears. Their third wheel didn't say much, though her gaze softened whenever she looked at the playful little fox. "Stay within ten feet of the light, Xiaobei. Huxian and I will stay on the periphery in case anything unexpected comes out from the darkness. Keep your eyes peeled for anything unusual, especially any writing or runes."

The girl was used to taking instruction from superior cultivators and did as she was told. They slowly but surely observed every nook and cranny. Unfortunately, the building was unusually barren. It seemed like all the crafting equipment except for the large furnaces had been removed from the building.

Maybe they also took the craftsmen away? After all, this equipment is useless without craftsmen.

Soon their group stumbled upon a desk in the workshop. The desk seemed to have been carved out of a single piece of stone and was covered in exquisite designs. Cha Ming let his hand wander along the cool surface of the desk, looking for any clues or hidden compartments. It was then that he noticed a rune cleverly disguised as another decoration. Upon further observation, he noticed that it was paired with another rune. These were characters for "open" and "conceal."

He activated the "open" rune by pouring in some of his qi. A drawer opened on a previously flush surface, revealing a notebook, a pen, a picture, some jewelry, and some spirit stones. He quickly scooped up the contents into his bag of holding. Surely Master Zhang would want to see these items. After carefully inspecting the rest of the desk, he found nothing else of importance and proceeded to inspect the chair.

"Cha Ming, come see this," Xiaobei said. She was crouched down on the floor looking at a strange symbol. Cha Ming walked over and saw a rune painted on the floor with black and green ink. He frowned when he saw this character, however. "Tinder" wasn't a character that could be utilized on its own. However, it was surrounded by geometric shapes, as well as slightly curved and straight lines that headed outward from the symbol. One such line headed toward the center of town.

I should go there as soon as possible. It looks like a talisman, but it's not painted on paper. Perhaps it's part of a formation?

Just as he was about to pull their trio out of the building, Huxian started whining softly. Big Brother, I hear someone crying and whimpering. And I smell fear. Quick, follow me! The little fox darted off to a far corner of the workshop. The floor there was covered in stone slates. Cha Ming instantly recognized the same pattern he had just seen on the desk. He quickly poured qi into the "open" character, which opened a three-foot-by-three-foot entrance.

Huxian, being the most durable member of their group, darted in first. Come in, brother. You need to see this.

As Cha Ming climbed down, the light source followed him at Huxian's command. The small room appeared to be a cellar, and it reeked of alcohol. In a corner of the room, a little girl was trembling, trying to remain as quiet as possible.

"You need to be quiet, Mimi, you need to be quiet. If you're not quiet, those monsters will take you and eat you. You need to be quiet, Mimi…" she mumbled repeatedly.

Cha Ming approached her quietly and crouched down in front of her. "Hello, little one. It's going to be okay."

Her eyes quickly shot upward toward his voice, and she immediately started backing away on her hands and feet. "Monster, you're a monster! Get away from me!" she yelled.

Her voice was hoarse, as though she hadn't had any water in days. This caused Cha Ming to look toward the opened barrels and bottles of alcohol. Clearly she had been drinking it to stay hydrated, which may or may not have been a wise decision, depending on the contents of the barrels.

"It's going to be okay, little one," Cha Ming said, crouching down in front of her once more. "Do you know Master Zhang Yifeng or Han Jinlong?" At the mention of these two names, her eyes became a little more focused.

"You know Uncle Zhang?" she said nervously.

Cha Ming nodded. "Yes, your Uncle Zhang has come here to save you. He is outside looking for others right now. Do you want to come with me to come see him?"

She nodded slowly and tried to get up, only to stumble. Her frame was extremely skinny, and he suspected that she was starved, dehydrated, and drunk from living down here.

"Can you take little brothers Tao and Yong too?" she mumbled.

Cha Ming looked toward Huxian, who had been exploring another corner. The little fox shook his head. The two little boys who were down here with her had died a few days ago.

"They are sleeping, little one. We'll come get them when they wake up, okay?" he said reassuringly. He then put away his staff and picked her up in his arms, then carried her up the stairs.

Xiaobei was very surprised to see a living girl come out from the cellar but took it in stride. They soon exited the workshop and headed toward the center of the town.

There were only a dozen or so people out on the streets, as the mercenaries were busy searching for clues. They shot Cha Ming a surprised look as they saw the little girl in his arms.

Soon enough, Cha Ming arrived at the center of the town, where a statue had been erected. He was mesmerized by its beauty and soon realized that it was a decorative spirit treasure. Here and there, he could see some lightly engraved runes, some for strengthening, and some for beauty and charm. He continued observing these runes, starting from the face of the statue and working his way downward. He frowned once he got to the base of the twenty-foot statue.

There he saw some dark runes engraved on a plaque. There was one large rune surrounded by twenty smaller ones. Twelve of these runes were lit with a dull red light. Unfortunately, Cha Ming had never studied formations. He did, however, know that the smaller runic characters meant "trigger." These twenty runes were surrounded by an outer circle and an inner circle. Twenty lines came out from the outer circle and left the statue, while thirteen lines led toward the inner rune.

Twelve of them are lit, he thought, frowning. Does this mean thirteen runes must be lit to trigger the central rune?

His face turned pale when he saw the central rune, "Inferno."

"Master Zhang!" he yelled out with all his might. "We need to get out now!"

Suddenly a hole blew out from a nearby building, and Master Zhang ran out toward him at a speed not possible for qi condensation cultivators.

"What's the matter, Cha Ming?" Master Zhang asked.

"It's a trap, Master Zhang. If one more trigger is activated—" Cha Ming's explanation was interrupted as a light hum sounded out. Thirteen lines were now lit, and the central rune was glowing bright red. "No time now. We triggered a trap, and this whole town is going to burn. Get everyone out of here immediately."

With that, he held the little girl tightly with his right arm and, using a movement technique and his high physical strength, he grabbed Xiaobei with his left. She tried to free herself from his grip, only to realize that her struggles meant nothing to Cha Ming. As soon as he grabbed the two, seventy-two pearls burst out from his wrist, and he was surrounded with a blue snowflake. Mere moments after he reacted, the entire town burst into flames.

It wasn't just the buildings that caught fire; even the air began burning violently. Fortunately, Cha Ming was able to shield the ones near him. Zhang Yifeng wasted no time and darted out toward other nearby mercenaries. He used his precise control over flames to disperse the inferno near them, and these adventurers gathered around him to save others.

Cha Ming immediately followed his example and began gathering nearby mercenaries. Fortunately, some of them cultivated water and earth arts and were able to protect themselves independently. Cha Ming ignored these people and let them flee alone.

After running for a dozen breaths, he found three cultivators who were huddled together around a single water element cultivator, who was using her qi to protect them. Her qi was wavering, and it was clear that she wouldn't be able to hold out for long. Cha Ming quickly expanded the scope of his frozen domain and signaled for them to follow him. They all looked at him gratefully and accompanied him to collect other such groups.

Unfortunately, he couldn't save everyone. Several times, he saw screaming cultivators that had been lit up like torches. They ran for a few brief moments before collapsing to the ground. He didn't have time to save these people. Other times they encountered badly burned individuals that couldn't walk anymore. These cultivators were carried off by those in the group that still had a bit of strength remaining.

Finally, they managed to escape the formation, which was a large circle that completely encapsulated the town. Their group was soon joined by Zhang Yifeng, who had rescued thirty-five cultivators. With Cha Ming's twenty-four cultivators and the few odd people who had managed to escape on their own, a total of seventy-three cultivators had survived the trap.

The survivors looked at the burning town in silence while nursing their wounds, hoping that even one more of their companions would escape. No one did.