It took them a full two hours to climb up from the Bottom of Black Abyss and out of Rift Valley.
By dawn, they had emerged from Rift Valley.
The plains of the Northern Territory lay gray and colorless in the morning light.
The wind had stopped. The air was dry as an oven, yet no one felt hot.
The six of them sat down at the edge of Rift Valley, and no one spoke.
Shi Yong fished out some dried rations from his bundle, broke them into six pieces, and gave one to each person. The food was hard as stone, but no one complained.
Su Ying soaked her portion in her waterskin and waited for it to soften before eating. After two bites, she stopped and stared blankly into the distance.
Shadow leaned against a rock, his short sword laid across his knees as he slowly sharpened it with a whetstone. The scraping was soft, stroke after stroke, like a heartbeat.
Tie Han sat farthest away, his back to the others and his face turned north. His left arm hung at his side, his right hand rested on his knee, and his eyes were closed. Li Xuan could not tell whether he was resting or standing guard. Perhaps both.
Yun Qingxuan walked over and sat beside Li Xuan.
"What do you call that strike of yours?" she asked.
Li Xuan thought for a moment. "It doesn't have a name."
"It should have one," Yun Qingxuan said. "Qin Lie's saber has a name: Army Breaker. He never used it again after losing his arm."
Li Xuan said nothing.
He looked at the Blood Wolf Saber in his hand. There was a tiny nick in its edge, chipped when it struck Gurqin's barrier.
It was not a fine saber, but