"So I wanted to open it and see." Yang Yan grabbed a handful of his hair, picking up where he had left off. He drew a deep breath. "Anyway, this Jade Pendant really is important. I knew about it before everything happened."
"What is it?"
"I don't know either. It's something very precious, passed down through generations of our sect," Yang Yan said quietly. "I know how to open it."
Pei Ye nodded and asked no further questions, intending to change the subject. In fact, by the previous part of his account, what Yang Yan was telling him had already gone beyond a "secret" like the Heart-Slaying Glaze. It had begun to involve vulnerabilities on which the boy's very survival depended.
And now they had reached his sect's hidden treasures. Pei Ye felt it would be inappropriate to listen any further.
But before he could speak, Yang Yan continued, "Do you want to know how to open it?"
Pei Ye paused. The boy before him watched him with his lips pressed together, as though he had made a momentous decision.
"Are you asking for my help?"
"Yes." Yang Yan nodded and continued watching him in silence.
"Tell me. I'll think about it," Pei Ye said, his expression turning serious.
"This Jade Pendant takes two of our sect's martial arts to unlock," Yang Yan said slowly. "One is called Sea-Swallowing, the saber art I learned. The other is called Snow-Collapsing."
Pei Ye's head snapped up.
"What?"
"Snow-Collapsing. The very same Snow-Collapsing offered as the Chief Champion's prize," Yang Yan said. "That sword art came from my sect. You've already seen a little of what it looks like."
Pei Ye suddenly remembered the explosive sword strike in the boy's hands, passing from utter stillness to utmost motion.
"...What do you mean?" For