“Oh no! Forgive me for always demanding so much of you, Lady Keigetsu! But I truly am grateful.” When Keigetsu attempted to shut the door on the conversation, Reirin scrambled to wedge her figurative foot in the way and say her thanks. “To my credit, I did attempt to lighten your burden by enlisting the help of the other Maidens. Ah, but the key to the plan still lies with you, our magic-wielding symbol of hope.”
“Uh-huh…”
“And my very best friend in the whole world.”
“Mm…”
“Who will always be special to me.”
“…”
Reirin took every chance she saw to emphasize their newly affirmed friendship, but whether inadvertently or by choice, Keigetsu fell back asleep without responding. The Kou Maiden waited to see if her friend’s light snoring might give way to a reply, and upon realizing it wasn’t going to happen, she broke into a tiny smile.
Not a sardonic smile. A real, bashful one.
She didn’t need to hear Keigetsu agree. She already knew they were bound by the strongest friendship imaginable.
“I’ll be counting on you tomorrow.”
Reirin draped an extra mat over her snoozing friend’s huddled form. She made the other Maidens more comfortable as well, slipping pillows under their heads or adding robes to their piles. Seeing as their own clans didn’t stand to benefit from this operation, she couldn’t thank them enough for accompanying her all the way to Treacherous Tan Peak.
When she rose to her feet and glanced around the shed, she was treated to the sight of her four friends lost in peaceful slumber. A short while ago, Reirin never could have imagined having so many precious things to protect.
“Sleep well, ladies.”
After whispering a wish for them to get a good night’s rest, she tiptoed out of the shed. Her anticipation of the next day’s final showdown was running high, and she hoped the frigid air might calm her nerves.
As she gazed up at the moon, she searched for signs of a bird. Brother Senior’s dove has yet to arrive, I see.
To guarantee their capture of the magic-wielding Tou, Reirin’s team had chosen to carry out their plan on the Day of Ultimate Yin. Several traps had already been set, but to lure Tou into them, they first needed to track down his whereabouts. The plan was for Keikou, Shin-u, and Akim’s secret service to split up across the mountain, locate Tou by the end of the day, and get back in touch.
If they still have yet to find him, either he’s done a very good job hiding himself or he’s left the mountain altogether.
Pessimistic thoughts seeped into Reirin’s mind, but she dismissed them with a furious shake of her head. The secret service had the foot of the mountain surrounded, and they had another measure in place to ensure that the sorcerer didn’t come down from the mountain. Tou had to be somewhere on Treacherous Tan Peak.
It will be all right. We’re bound to catch him. We shall show His Majesty what Lady Keigetsu can do and pave the way for him to authorize magic.
Reirin blew on her frozen hands for warmth. Watching the white clouds dissipate reminded her of the shattered ice on the river, and she thought, I swear to make a difference.
She was going to change it all: Genyou’s deadlock, the unjust persecution of cultivators, and the mind of a girl who blustered about miracles never happening.
Leanne has had quite a change in attitude.
As she reminisced about the girl who had been hanging around her not long ago, she stroked the red braid on her wrist. After a day apart, Leanne had met Reirin with friendly candor, a complete departure from her previous contempt. Not only had she welcomed the Maidens’ visit, she had even been a big help with Reirin’s plans, scolding the boys over their hesitance to sing and teaching Reirin how to braid a bracelet of her own.
“Thank you so much, Leanne!” Reirin would often say, eyes sparkling with joy.
Each time, the girl would look off to the side. “It’s no big deal. I owe you for losing our bet.”
Upon catching the way the tips of Leanne’s ears had turned red, Reirin would break into a smile.
Thanks to Leanne and the other Maidens, we’ve managed to get our part of the preparations done in time. All that’s left is—
When Reirin turned her eyes back to the road, still stroking her bracelet, she noticed someone standing just past the dark spot where the row of huts ended, bathed in moonlight.
“Ah,” she let slip. It sounded like a soft exhale, but translated into Keigetsu speech, it would probably be something close to Yuck.
The subject of her gaze was a man holding a flute and gazing up at the moon: Emperor Genyou.
Given his intense water qi, it would have been ideal for him to stay at Cloud Ladder Gardens and evade the sorcerer’s notice, but he had been staunchly unwilling to leave a revenge twenty-five years in the making in someone else’s hands. Reirin’s team had thus opted to disguise the source of the water qi by bringing along the five Maidens—particularly the Gen-hailing Kasui—and taken Genyou with them to Treacherous Tan Peak. As a trade-off, they had stationed Gyoumei and his strong dragon’s qi at the foot of the mountain to discourage the sorcerer from heading to lower ground.
In summary, the five Maidens, Genyou, and Keishou were positioned near the settlement on Treacherous Tan Peak; Keikou, Shin-u, and Akim’s secret service were searching the mountain; and Gyoumei was staking out the foot. Bit by bit, they were boxing the sorcerer in and driving him into a corner.
Genyou had insisted that he would remain anonymous and seek no special treatment throughout his stay on Treacherous Tan Peak. True to his word, he’d stayed cooped up in his palanquin the entire time. Normally, when the emperor made an official visit, he would demonstrate his majesty by flying a huge flag bearing the five-clawed dragon, a symbol of the imperial family. The monarch was supposed to be so tightly guarded that even touching said flag was punishable by death, but the man himself had refused the security and done everything in his power to avoid standing out.
With the still of the night now upon them, he had finally stepped out into the open. He must have wanted the chance to stretch his legs or else been beckoned by the moonlight.
Alerted to the sound of Reirin’s voice, Genyou turned his chilly gaze in her direction. Reirin greeted him with a swift bow and gracefully strode over to his side. It would cause problems if she addressed him by his title loudly enough to be overheard.
“How fares Your Majesty?”
“Fine.”
“We feel simply terrible that we’ve been forced to confine you to such a cramped palanquin.”
Genyou summarily dismissed her token attempt at consideration. “Spare me. I would rather you focus on our plans for tomorrow than worry about etiquette.” Tightening his grip around his flute and refusing to make eye contact, he added, “Our strategy hinges on the abilities of a girl infamously likened to a rat. We cannot be too careful.”