Is He Still Here?

Xu Sheng turned the letter over and looked at it again.

The Clear Sky Hammer.

He wanted to join Spirit Hall.

Taken separately, neither of those things was much. Put them together, though, and no matter how he looked at it, he wanted to laugh.

Mo Yifan leaned over and had only read halfway through before he reached under the letter.

"Where's the rest?"

"That's it."

"He didn't say whether his surname was Tang?"

Xu Sheng looked up. "What if it is? Would we turn him away because of that?"

"That's not what I meant..."

"All right, stop guessing. Pack up. We're going back to Soto."

At that, Lu Song was the first to stand up from the doorway.

He had half unwound his wrist guard, but now he wrapped it back up without even asking.

After being away for so long, he wanted to go back and take a look too.

Xu Sheng wasn't in a hurry to leave, though. He went to find Fang Zhan first and handed him Du Wenhe's letter. When he returned, he had a letter authorizing the trip in his hand, and the smile on his face was brighter than ever.

Fang Zhan had allowed him to take four people back to Soto, while five stayed on duty at the courtyard. If he found any suitable outsiders there, he could first ask the Soto Main Hall to check them out and make contact. He couldn't bring them all into the Red Pine Courtyard on his say-so alone.

Xu Sheng listened particularly closely to that last part.

It wasn't that he couldn't take them.

He just had to get things done first and report up afterward.

What was so hard about that?

"Wen Zhao, the courtyard's in your hands."

Xu Sheng pushed the duty roster over and called Qiao Fu in. A few of them gathered around the table and divided up the recent assignments.

Wen Zhao would stay with Cen Zhao, Ren Yu, Bai Ji, and Jiang Shi. Xu Sheng would take Ji Juechen, Xu Lizhi, Lu Song, and Mo Yifan.

Cen Zhao stared at the roster for a long while.

"I thought you were taking me."

"Is that hand of yours better?"

"It got better ages ago." Cen Zhao held out his palm. "I've been practicing with it for days."

Xu Sheng examined it and nodded, then handed him another thin booklet.

"Perfect, then. Help Wen Zhao meet the people who come looking to team up with us. You two decide together. If you can't make up your minds about someone, leave them until I get back."

Cen Zhao had been about to argue some more, but when he heard the second half, he immediately pulled the booklet closer.

Before this, he had always gone out with other people. This really was his first time sitting down to pick partners himself.

Xu Sheng also reminded Wen Zhao to go to Fang Zhan if anything exceeded the courtyard's capabilities, and not to hesitate to borrow people from Meng Xingzhou when necessary.

Wen Zhao didn't just nod. He picked up a brush, filled in two blanks, and pointed them out to him.

"After you leave, I'll speak to them about rescheduling these two trips, so no one comes and finds us out."

"Fine, you decide."

"And the sword you left on the weapon rack."

"What about it?"

"It's cracked. Don't come back one day and grab it on your way out."

Xu Sheng turned to look at Ji Juechen.

Ji Juechen looked back at him.

A moment later, Xu Sheng looked away.

"Broken, then. We'll keep it for Mo Yifan to chop firewood with."

"I'm still right here!"

Laughter broke out across the courtyard.

Before leaving, Xu Sheng went to sit with Meng Xingzhou for a while. When he learned they had no long assignments coming up, he asked him to stop by the courtyard every few days. Meng Xingzhou readily agreed and handed him a folded piece of paper.

It gave the address of an old acquaintance near Soto named Jin Yuan, who competed at the Soul Fighting Arena and took escort jobs as well.

"If you run into something he can help with, mention my name."

Xu Sheng took it, feeling more reassured.

He had gone out for a while, and now when he looked back, he had people at the courtyard and people outside it too.

It was nothing like when he had first set out clutching a wooden plaque.

After several days on the road, Soto's walls finally came into view again.

Xu Sheng didn't send Mo Yifan ahead to call anyone. The five of them followed the carriage into the city and turned first toward the small courtyard where Uncle Liang lived.

The old man was sorting vegetables at the door. Hearing the wheels, he looked up and forgot to put down the vegetables in his hands.

"Xu Sheng?"

"It's me."

"It hasn't been that long. How come..."

Uncle Liang stood up and felt him from shoulder to arm, making Xu Sheng itch.

"What is it?"

"You've gotten sturdier."

Smiling, Xu Sheng handed over the things he had brought.

They weren't anything expensive: a pair of soft-soled shoes and two packets of tea from Spirit City. Uncle Liang grumbled about him wasting money and held the shoes beside his feet to size them up. Unwilling to put them on the ground, he turned and took them inside first.

Xu Lizhi stood beside the carriage and asked Lu Song quietly, "Who's that?"

"When Xu Sheng first got here, they guarded a medicine cart together. He gave Xu Sheng a short sword and introduced him to Deacon Du."

After listening, the little fatty reached up, picked up the last bundle from the carriage, and followed them inside.

When Uncle Liang saw him, he asked Xu Sheng, "Your little brother?"

Before Xu Sheng could answer, Xu Lizhi had already puffed out his chest.

"My name is Xu Lizhi, a rank twenty-three food-type Soul Grandmaster."

Uncle Liang stared for a moment.

"You're going out on field assignments so young?"

"We really wouldn't dare travel far without him," Xu Sheng put in.

The corners of Xu Lizhi's mouth immediately rose.

By the time Du Wenhe arrived after hearing the news, the courtyard was already full. The old man insisted they stay for a meal, and Xu Sheng agreed before following Du Wenhe out.

As soon as they crossed the threshold, he edged closer to Du Wenhe.

"He's still here, right?"

Du Wenhe was amused by the look on his face.

"Who?"

"The one in your letter."

"I thought you'd ask about my leg first."

Xu Sheng immediately looked down.

Du Wenhe lifted his foot and lightly tapped Xu Sheng's boot.

"It's fine. Let's go!"

The group crossed half a street and turned into the old courtyard in the south of the city. The wall was still the same, but the old wooden plaque on the door had long since been taken down. As soon as Lu Song entered, he spotted the brick he had once used as a shim and couldn't help stepping on it a couple of extra times.

A rhythmic knocking came from the courtyard.

A young man was squatting beside a wooden frame, holding a mallet and hammering in the last nail. A ponytailed young woman stood beside him, holding a crooked post steady.

Du Wenhe cleared his throat.

The young man turned around. When he saw the white faceplate behind Xu Sheng, his eyes lit up.

"White Wings?"

"Xu Sheng."

"He Zheng."

They shook hands.

Xu Sheng glanced at the mallet in his hand and couldn't help laughing. "I hear you're pretty good with a hammer."

He Zheng looked down and hurriedly tossed the mallet back into the basket.

"This isn't it."

"I could tell. If you really used that one, half the courtyard would be gone."

He Zheng laughed too and took two steps back.

Black light gathered in his palm, and a pitch-black hammer slowly took shape. Its head was heavy, with patterns running across its surface. As soon as he had a firm grip on it, his stance sank a little lower.

Two Yellow Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.

Rank twenty-two.

Xu Sheng had already known, but seeing the real thing still set his heart warming.

Good stuff.

As soon as He Zheng put the hammer away, Xu Sheng reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

"Glad you came."

Du Wenhe paused with his tea in hand. "You haven't even asked what he wants to do."

"He's joining Spirit Hall. What harm could he do?"

Xu Sheng answered smoothly and pulled He Zheng down to sit, then moved his chair closer.

"Go on. I'm listening."

He Zheng looked at him, then at the people by the door, and hesitated.

"I want to work with you. But I've got two other people with me."

"That's all?"

Xu Sheng was already smiling.

A Clear Sky Hammer, plus two partners he knew well. If all of them were useful, this trip would have been well worth it!

He Zheng, however, didn't share his delight.

"There are sixteen more, currently with other teams."

Xu Sheng put down his teacup.

He Zheng pressed his lips together. "They won't necessarily come with me. But there's something I promised them I'd do, and I have to finish it first."