The small group moved as fast as they could under the light of the full moon, jumping from the tops of trees as they carried a mostly limp form between them that they occasionally consulted for direction.

  They had been travelling for several weeks straight, barely stopping for rest, and avoiding main thoroughfares so as to not attract attention.

  They had set out a bit sooner than the prisoner hanging between them had hoped. There was no delay or communication with the Hao clan about this operation which he had been counting on for extra time, but he had done all he could.

  Eventually they arrived at a small clearing amidst the ocean of trees in the Vale of the Emerald Bloom. The group surveyed the empty and overgrown homes, the dense wood qi of the area already hard at work reclaiming the scant buildings.

  Li Wanyu was tossed to the ground in the middle of the clearing none too gently.

  “You’re sure this is the place?” A harsh feminine voice demands of him.

  The young man takes in the abandoned clearing with deadened eyes. “Yes, cousin.”

  The terse woman, Li Jingya, grunted and began looking around while her sister kept watch on their prisoner.

  His treatment so far had simultaneously been better and worse than he’d expected. The torture much lighter than he feared from Grandmother’s anger.

  And yet still they’d broken him, he was ashamed to admit. Not through sharp implements or painful toxins, but instead through the simple act of taking away his longtime companion. He still wondered what was done to the moon spirit, having been given no answers the few times he’d asked.

  The severing of his bond with Man Yue had taken a heavy toll on him. He still felt an ache in his core despite weeks already passing since it was done. He had to wonder if the technique his family used to break his binding was specifically designed to cause as much suffering as possible on those who experienced it.

  It wouldn’t surprise him.

  After many moments of silent searching Li Jingya returned to her prisoner, her already terse demeanor showing cracks of anger.

  “There’s no one here, and any sign of where they could’ve gone has long since been covered up by the passage of time.” She informed her sister, Li Hui.

  She sighed. “I told mother this would be a waste of our time, but the Matriarch was quite insistent.”

  Li Wanyu had not had a good year, and the absence of the prize his family sought meant he was likely to have an even worse one in the year to come.

  If he was even allowed to live.

  So he had to try to be as useful as he could, much as it shamed him.

  “What of the beast king that lived nearby? Could it be the cause of their disappearance?”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Both him and Hao Wen had taken note of the powerful beast and had taken steps to stay as far away as they comfortably could from it while pursuing their quarry. If Senior Rowan hadn’t moved his family solely as a precaution against Li Wanyu’s own then the powerful beast might hold a clue of some sort.

  “Quiet, failure.” Li Jingya snapped, and struck him across the face. “If it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t be out here wasting our time.”

  “He might be right, sister.” Li Hui said as she tapped her lower lip in thought. “There could be some sort of clue nearby.”

  And if there wasn’t then it might give him an opportunity to break free from his jailors. He was weaker without his friend, but he still had his core and he knew how to use his qi. He could break free from his untempered cousins if fate gave him the right chance.

  Li Wanyu was honestly sad that things had come to this point, and he’d miss his sister dearly, but he’d heard enough idle threats that he was going to lose his life if things continued on this path that he no longer doubted their conviction to take it.

  The three of them made their way over to where the demesne of the beast king resided in Li Wanyu’s memories, their way lit by orbs of moonlight.

  Yet when they arrived all that remained was a field of rotting flowers. Some showed signs of gaining enough spirituality to become a beast in their own right. However their progenitor was nowhere to be found, and the forest was already encroaching on the small field.

  Meaning the beast king was either dead or fled the valley.

  Did Senior Rowan and his group take the beast king with them? That seemed far fetched even with the strength he had sensed in the older man.

  Li Wanyu’s legs were swept out from under him, interrupting his thoughts.

  Li Jingya pressed her boot into his face. “There’s no beast king here. Was this whole thing a lie you concocted?”

  Li Hui placed a placating hand on her sibling’s shoulder. “Sister, hold your anger. There are trace signs of a powerful spirit or beast throughout the field. There could have been one when our cousin was last here.”

  The calmer of the sisters continued to look around with growing concern. “Its current absence might be a sign of even more for us to be concerned about.”

  She nodded to herself, reaching a conclusion. “We should head to Darabaille, see if there has been any news of a beast king being slain or bound in the past couple years.”

  Li Jingya growled at the idea of being out in the sticks for even longer. “The Matriarch was quite insistent on us keeping a low profile. Asking around about beast king sightings isn’t particularly low-key.”

  “Yet it’s the only lead we have, sister. Would you rather we came back empty handed? We have an active example of what failing our task results in.”

  The hot-tempered sister kicked their prisoner to vent some of her frustrations at the situation she found herself in.

  Or perhaps to distance herself from the fate he represented.

  Li Wanyu didn’t let out a sound, but did wince at the impact. Frankly his qi reinforced body barely felt it, but it was better to give his captors the satisfaction of hurting him or they’d simply increase the hurt they inflicted to a point that it would actually be a problem for him.

  “What should we do with him? Dragging around a prisoner is more likely to draw unwanted attention.”

  Li Hui considered her cousin for several moments. “He still has his uses, and he’s the only one who’s laid eyes on the thieves. He shall continue to travel with us. We just need to be a touch gentler in his treatment while around company.”

  Li Jingya lifted up her cousin’s head so she could stare into his eyes. “Hear that, failure? My kindhearted sister is cutting you some slack. You best not take advantage of her gentle nature and cause any more trouble for us.”

  “Of course, cousin.” He lied.

  He stared at the full moon partially visible between the branches.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.”