Then Wu Dong carried his sword over to the saber stand, gripped the hilt, and pulled. This time, however, the long saber seemed cast fast inside it. He could not draw it out.
Startled, Wu Dong lowered his head. Array Patterns clustered around a line of small characters-"Two bodies free of weapons; True Qi enters the blades."
Wu Dong stood still for a moment, then suddenly laughed hoarsely. "So that's how it is."
"How?"
"This is an 'open formation.'" Wu Dong sheathed his sword, drew the saber before him, and slowly laid his palm against it again, stroking the entire blade.
"Open formations" and "hidden formations" meant precisely what their names suggested. An open formation did not conceal its function from those entering it; it even deliberately offered reminders. When designing such formations, words or prophetic verses were often refined into commands, around which the Array Patterns were traced. Their functions likewise accorded with those commands.
Wu Dong continued, "Once I discard [Jade Tiger], draw this saber."
"..."
"This is a place for inviting someone into the urn." Wu Dong sheathed the saber and spoke softly, turning toward the curtain of water hanging across the entrance.
Meng Li said nothing more. He too pressed his lips tight, and the silence in the sealed chamber seemed to bore into their ears.
A distinct footstep sounded outside.
Steady and unhurried, the steps approached this final stone chamber, each seeming to fall precisely upon a heartbeat.
The newcomer lifted the water curtain.
A black robe, a longsword hanging at his waist, an elaborate dark-purple Play Mask trimmed with gold covering his face, and pale hair falling down his back. He stopped and stood still, looking at the two men gazing back at him.
"Lord Wu, you actually dared come alone?" The cool, faint