On the fourth day, the two followed the creek upstream.
The current grew swifter upstream, and the rocks along both banks rose higher. There were still plenty of herbs, but fewer and fewer good ones. Chen Chong knew what that meant: someone had already passed through.
"Move aside."
The voice came from above.
Chen Chong looked up.
Three people stood on a pile of rocks upstream.
The tall man stood in front. A spear lay slanted across his back, and his eyes were still half-lidded, as though he had yet to wake up.
Two female cultivators stood behind him, wearing identical robes and carrying identical cloth bags. One stood on either side, neither too close nor too far away.
He had seen them in the square on the day they gathered.
"Chen Chong," the tall man said.
"You know me?"
"Who doesn't know the champion of the Cloud Que Platform?"
He jumped down from the rocks, landing almost soundlessly.
"My surname is He. He Chuan."
"Senior Brother He."
"I wouldn't presume," He Chuan said. "Leave your bags, and you can go."
Yu Che's hand settled on his sword hilt.
Chen Chong did not move.
"On what grounds?"
"On the grounds that I'm blocking your way," He Chuan said. "There are no rules in the secret realm. You know that better than I do."
Chen Chong smiled.
"Then give it a try."
The two female cultivators moved first.
Both reached toward their waists at the same time, each drawing out a palm-sized paper packet and flinging it over with a flick of the wrist.
The packets burst open in midair. Two clouds of yellow smoke exploded out, pressing toward them on the wind.
It was not poisonous smoke.
It had a smell both sweet and bitter. Breathing it in would make