Gray Smoke
Shen Mo arrived sooner than Long Tian had expected.
During the midday break the next day, Long Tian found a small coarse-cloth bag on his dormitory windowsill. Its opening was tied with hemp cord, and inside was a gray stone pendant the size of a fingernail, strung on a thin leather cord. The pendant had been polished smooth and felt cool to the touch. A ring of exceedingly fine runes was carved around its edge, like some kind of old-fashioned shielding array. A note was tucked beneath the bag, bearing only four Chinese characters: "Leave tonight."
Long Tian hung the pendant around his neck and tucked it against his chest, alongside his token and jade pendant. The gray stone felt cool against his skin. When the Origin Return Pearl in his dantian sensed its presence, it turned slightly, as though shifting aside to avoid something. Long Tian now knew where he stood-the pendant really could interfere with Soul Power tracking.
That evening, he told Teacher Bai in advance that he had a private matter to attend to that night. He left the academy before it was fully dark and first detoured to Old Chen's Blacksmith Shop. Old Chen was out, and the shop door was locked, but a corner of paper had been tucked into the crack. Long Tian pulled it out and unfolded it. On it was Old Chen's hurried handwriting: "The well opening at the market was pried open. They went down the well. They took samples of the chaos traces on the inside of the iron gate."
Long Tian crumpled the scrap of paper, stuffed it into his sleeve, and hurried west through the city. The sky darkened quickly, and streetlights came on one after another, casting rings of dim yellow light over the snow. He took a roundabout route through the back streets, and only after making sure no one was following did he turn into the abandoned earth god temple.
The oil lamp in the side room was still burning. Yu Jin was sitting beneath it, holding a bowl of hot water. When he saw Long Tian push the door open and enter, he stood up. His complexion was a little better than it had been yesterday, and the embers in his eyes shone much brighter. Though he was still thin, he no longer hunched in on himself; his back was a little straighter.
"Let's go." Long Tian took the gray stone pendant from around his neck and handed it to Yu Jin. "Put this on. It can block tracking."
Yu Jin took the pendant and hung it around his neck. When the stone touched his chest, his whole body trembled slightly, as though he had sensed something. He lowered his head to look at the ring of fine runes on its surface, then looked up at Long Tian. "The Iron Guard came?"
"They went down the well and took samples of the chaos traces. By tomorrow morning at the latest, they'll be able to pinpoint the location of your Soul Power signature." Long Tian blew out the oil lamp on the table, plunging the room into darkness. Only moonlight filtered through the broken window, painting a frost-white patch on the floor. "We're leaving the city. We'll go to the Heavenly Wolf Mountain Range. Once we reach the Soul Hunting area, we'll be safe. The terrain there is complicated; pursuers can't search the mountains on a large scale."
Yu Jin put down the bowl and slung the old cloth bundle over his back. The two left through the back door of the earth god temple and made their way toward the western city wall through an old residential district that had been half demolished. There was no main gate along this stretch of wall, but Shen Mo had included a route map in the pendant's bag-a side door had been left behind during repairs to the third section of the western wall. Its lock had fallen into disrepair over the years and could be pushed open from the inside with subtle force.
The snow was difficult to walk through, and their footsteps left two trails in the thin layer. Long Tian led the way, scouting ahead. Shadow Vision spread several zhang into the night, bringing the broken walls and piles of rubble on either side into clear view. Yu Jin followed behind, his steps lighter than Long Tian's. His breathing was shallow but steady; his recovery over the past half month and more had not been in vain.
As they approached the third section of the western wall, Long Tian suddenly stopped.
There was a light ahead, at the foot of the wall. A lantern stood in the snow, its flame burning silently inside its glass shade. Its glow illuminated the sheet-iron-clad side door by the wall. A stocky man stood beside the door, wearing the Iron Guard's standard gray padded jacket, his hands tucked into his sleeves. Beside him stood a taller figure in a dark gray cloak. The hood was pulled low, revealing only a stretch of jaw.
Long Tian took half a step back, shielding Yu Jin behind him. Four Soul Rings revolved at once in his dantian, and the Origin Return Pearl spun faster. A grayish-white halo enveloped his body like a quiet, thin shell. He stared at the two figures by the door, rapidly calculating routes of retreat and possible directions for a breakthrough.
The taller figure suddenly moved. He raised a hand and pushed back his hood, revealing a face Long Tian had seen before-the gray-clothed man, Shen Mo. The stocky figure beside Shen Mo also raised his head. He was a middle-aged man in an Iron Guard uniform, with rugged features, but he held no weapon and had made no move to attack.
Shen Mo spoke. "Don't panic. This is my deputy, Cheng Yuan. The Iron Guard traced the trail to Official Well Lane tonight, but I sent them in the wrong direction with another false lead. They're heading east through the city now. You have a window of about half a shichen."
Long Tian did not let down his guard completely, but his stance relaxed a fraction. He looked at Shen Mo and the man beside him. Shen Mo pointed to the side door behind him. "The door is open. Go west for three li after you get out, and you'll reach the main road. Follow it northwest for three days, and you'll reach the outskirts of the Heavenly Wolf Mountain Range. That pendant can shield Yu Jin's Soul Power signature. As long as you keep moving, tracking techniques won't be able to lock onto a fixed position."
Yu Jin stepped halfway out from behind Long Tian, his gaze resting on Shen Mo's face for a moment. The gold-and-black embers in his eyes brightened slightly, as though he had recognized something. He said quietly, "It was you. The one who passed me water through the cage in the dark room."
Shen Mo neither confirmed nor denied it. He merely looked away from Yu Jin's face and stepped aside, clearing the doorway. "Go," he said. "We can catch up another time, if we get the chance."
Long Tian looked at Shen Mo, his gaze lingering on his face for two breaths. Then he pulled Yu Jin by the arm and squeezed through the sheet-iron side door. Beyond it lay the wilds outside the city. Snow covered the dead grass and earthen ridges, and moonlight shone on an expanse of white stretching to the dark tree line in the distance. The night wind swept across the open country, carrying the dry, cold scent of vegetation.
The side door closed silently behind them after they passed through, and the lock spring clicked back into place. Long Tian glanced back. The sheet-iron door gleamed dully in the moonlight; no lamplight showed through the crack, and no footsteps came in pursuit.
The two walked west through the snow for more than half a shichen, crossing several stretches of wasteland and a small river coated with thin ice. At last, before dawn, they reached a grove of low trees by the main road. Long Tian found a pile of dry grass beneath a thick elm and let Yu Jin sit down to rest. He leaned against the trunk and watched the way they had come, sweeping his gaze through the darkness again and again.
Yu Jin huddled in the grass pile, holding the old bundle in his arms. The gray stone pendant around his neck gleamed a murky dark color in the faint light of dawn. He looked at Long Tian's profile, his lips moving. "We really got out."
"Mm." Long Tian looked away from the road and sat down beside him. He pulled a piece of dry flatbread from the bundle, broke it in two, and handed one half to Yu Jin. "Eat and rest for a while. We'll keep moving after daybreak. Once we reach the Heavenly Wolf Mountain Range, we can stop and cultivate in peace."
Yu Jin took the half piece of bread and bit into it, chewing slowly. Behind him, the morning light gradually brightened from grayish white to pale gold, peeling the trunks and branches of the grove one by one from the night. In the distance, the main road wound west through the morning mist, its surface covered with a thin layer of frost.
Long Tian leaned against the trunk and finished gnawing on his dry bread, then closed his eyes and regulated his breathing for a while. Four Soul Rings revolved quietly in his dantian, while the Origin Return Pearl hovered in the center, glowing faintly. A grayish-white halo flowed slowly through his meridians. When he ended his practice and opened his eyes, it was already full daylight. The distant road was empty, with no one in sight and no sound of hooves.
He stood, brushed the bits of grass from his trouser legs, and held out a hand to Yu Jin. "Let's go. We still have three days on the road."
Yu Jin took his hand and stood. One behind the other, they walked out of the grove and onto the main road. The morning light shone from behind them, casting their shadows long across the frost-covered road. One tall and one short, one ahead and one behind, they walked step by step toward the outline of the mountains to the northwest.
At the far end of the road, the distant silhouette of the Heavenly Wolf Mountain Range appeared and vanished in the morning mist. Patches of unmelted snow covered the mountains' backs, gleaming pale gold beneath the newly risen winter sun. The wind blew from the mountains, dry, cold, and clear, carrying the scent of pine and frozen earth.