Yu Di forced himself up.

  Vimala came over to help, but he waved her away.

  “I need you to lead the way,” Yu Di said. He took his lightweight trident from his storage ring.

  “Don’t hurt these people,” Vimala said.

  “Hurt them? I can barely walk. I’m using it as a cane. But I will defend myself if it comes to it.”

  Vimala looked unsure but led the way out of the doctor’s cavern. She grabbed a lantern to light to way.

  Yu Di leaned heavily on his trident as he followed.

  A loud ruckus came close behind. The doctor was shouting for Yu Di’s head. He’d rather deal with Reis and his men.

  Vimala took a few turns through the tunnel until she stopped.

  “Why have we stopped?” Yu Di asked. The sound of the mob was getting closer.

  “They blocked this section off.” Vimala reached up and touched the solid wall made of wood. “This should allow us to reach the desert outside.”

  “Is there another way out?” Yu Di turned to face the sounds of the mob. He raised his trident. This time it was a plain trident made of iron as he didn’t have the Qi to wield or use one of his specialized weapons.

  “There is, but we have to go back through the doctor’s cavern,” Vimala said. “Let me try to talk with the crowd. Maybe they will let us leave in peace.”

  “I doubt that doctor will allow that,” Yu Di said. “They might let you go by yourself.”

  Vimala hung the lantern up on the wall. “No, we need to get out of here together. I won’t allow you to die here.”

  The mob came quickly, led by Arzu. She crossed her arms and stopped a short distance away. Tursun stood beside her with his curved sword out.

  “Arzu, we tried to leave as you told us,” Vimala said. “Let us go and we’ll never bother you again.”

  “Goddess, I wish I could,” Arzu said. “But the doctor has rallied all the people against the Menace of Miryana. They want his blood.”

  “Even if I stand in their way?”

  Arzu turned toward the crowd. “My people, the Goddess of Miryana stands before you, not as a deity but as a mortal. Would you allow her to leave here in peace?”

  The doctor stepped forward. “I don’t care about the woman. We want the man. He needs to pay for his crimes.”

  Vimala stepped forward. “This man is under my protection. He has made many mistakes, but my curse is not his fault. Please, as your Goddess, allow us to leave so that we can fix this city.”

  “We don’t care!” the doctor yelled. The mob yelled with him. “He deserves to suffer for what he did to us. He has killed so many of our priestesses. We don’t even care if you are the true Goddess. You abandoned us long before he came to our city. Step aside or die with him.”

  A rock flew at Vimala, missed her, and hit Yu Di in the face. Luckily, it was a glancing blow, but the next one hit his shoulder. A shower of rocks came raining down upon the pair.

  Vimala tried to block the rocks, but Yu Di pulled her behind him.

  “Can you use your metal medallion?” Yu Di asked.

  “Not without the cup,” Vimala said.

  “Take it out. I have a plan, but you’re going to have to trust me.”

  Vimala pulled the medallion out of her robe. She passed it to Yu Di.

  “No, hold it up above your head,” Yu Di said. He placed a hand on Vimala’s shoulder.

  This was going to hurt. Yu Di pulled his Qi protecting his organs and pushed it into Vimala. He guided the Qi through her shoulder and up into the star-shaped medallion.

  Vimala’s eyes popped open. She activated the medallion. A bright white light engulfed the tunnel.

  The rocks stopped coming.

  Yu Di secured his Qi around his organs again. He tried to rub his back as he stood up to face the mob.

  Almost everyone collapsed onto the ground. Only Arzu stayed upright.

  “My Goddess, I didn’t expect you to use your powers against your own people,” Arzu said.

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  “I wouldn’t have to if they listened to reason,” Vimala said.

  “You’ve changed.”

  “Over twenty years of living outside of the Pavilion will change a person. I’m glad you don’t harbor any ill will toward me.”

  Arzu placed her right arm across her chest and bowed low. “I am the Goddess’ servant. I would never betray her or your trust.”

  “It also helps that you have a Goddess artifact to absorb the shock.” Yu Di pointed at a set of glowing keys hanging on Arzu’s hip. “Are you going to attack me now that we’re weak and injured? Because I don’t think we could do that again.”

  Arzu laughed, sounding like a young girl. “You’re so funny. I would have liked to meet you in other circumstances, Menace of Miryana. Come on, I’ll lead you two out of here before they wake up.”

  Vimala followed Arzu with Yu Di in the back. They walked through dark tunnels barely lit with candles. Everywhere they went, they saw small groups of huddled children and sickly-looking adults. They looked out with desperate eyes.

  Wooden walls separated the few sections where old furniture lived. The stuff they kept looked more alive than the people. Some of it cleaner, like one sparkling pot held over a burning fire. The smoke rose up and disappeared through the ceiling.

  “Why are you helping us?” Yu Di asked.

  “Because my Goddess asked,” Arzu said. “If you’re really curious, she saved me from being killed by Abbot Lokenatha after he took control of the city. The bastard has ordered every priestess to be captured and drained of their powers so that he could keep his soldiers powered. That’s how they’ve resisted every foreign invader so far.”

  “Then they blamed me, the Menace of Miryana,” Yu Di said.

  “That’s right. You’re famous.”

  “More like infamous. I’m surprised more people didn’t recognize me in the city.”

  “It’s been over twenty years,” Vimala said. “Many of my close followers wouldn’t recognize me now either. I’ve grown old.”

  “You still look about the same,” Arzu continued. “You have put on a little weight so your face is rounder than usual.”

  “Why do people keep saying that? I’m not fat,” Yu Di said. He placed a hand on his potbelly. Maybe he could lay off the roast pork a little more.

  “Besides, you are the symbol of this city’s destitution. Who would forget the battle between two gods high on the mountains?” Arzu stopped just before the next section of tunnels. Unlike the earlier dark caverns they had entered, light gleamed here. “Here we are. Don’t come back, Goddess. Especially not with him. Otherwise, my people won’t let you go.”

  “Come with us,” Vimala said.

  Arzu reached out and held Vimala’s hand. “You will always be my Goddess, but these people need me more than you. If one day you regain your powers, I will gladly follow you again.”

  Vimala kissed Arzu’s fingers. “May the Goddess watch over you.”

  “You better watch over our Goddess or I will find you,” Arzu told Yu Di. “You two can stay here for as long as you’d like. I’d suggest traveling by night and only moving during the day to avoid the sandworms.”

  “Sandworms?” Yu Di asked. “They weren’t here the last time I was here.”

  “Whoever is invading our city this time has brought their pets with them. Don’t worry, they’re tiny. Like this big.” Arzu showed with her hands about shoulder width apart. “They make good food if you can catch one. They mostly use them to find us before sending in their soldiers.”

  “I thought they couldn’t come in because of the barrier.”

  “Oh, Menace of Miryana, you do not know what you got yourself into. The barrier is to stop us from getting out, not for them to get in. It’s only going to get worse.” Arzu put her right arm across her chest and bowed again. “I hope to see you again, Goddess.”

  Vimala bowed her head.

  As soon as Arzu left, Yu Di lowered himself to the ground. The dry air blew into the tunnel, warming him.

  “Are you okay?” Vimala asked.

  “No.” Yu Di took out a waterskin from their pack and drank a large gulp of water. “I no longer have a fever, but I had to stop the power protecting my organs for that last move. If we don’t find a doctor soon, I will probably die within a week.”

  “Then you’re lucky. If we walk from this tunnel exit, we should get back to the city in a day’s walk. Arzu was very kind to bring us here.”

  “I’m going to need a day before I can walk again.”

  A day passed by without incident. Either Arzu calmed the mob down or their hatred of Yu Di wasn’t as great as he thought. It was most likely the former. That doctor looked like he would go to hell and back to kill him.

  Yu Di spent the day in quiet cultivation. The Qi near the exit was denser. He reminded himself the basic teachings of cultivation: every element either boosted or hindered him. Being so close to the ground, so close to the earth, was good for his natural water Qi.

  However, during his hours-long cultivation, he realized something else. There was another element here that felt different. It felt like Vimala’s Qi, but it coursed throughout the tunnel walls.

  Normally Yu Di wouldn’t poke something like this when injured. However, this Qi was poking at him. It wouldn’t let him rest in peace. It was begging to be explored and exploited. For the greater good or something like that. Maybe it might even help heal his wounds. Or bring him closer to attaining the god realm.

  The only thing he remembered with clarity from the fight over twenty years ago was that the secret was hidden underground. Vimala was very adamant about keeping him away from it.

  Yu Di opened his eyes. The sun rose outside, signaling the start of a new, boiling day.

  Vimala laid down somewhere nearby, using nothing but her hands for a pillow. If she had told Yu Di earlier, he could have given her a bedroll or something. But he didn’t want to disturb her as she slept.

  What better time to explore that intrusive Qi? Vimala can get her sleep and most importantly, she won’t try to stop him.

  Before Yu Di set out back deeper into the tunnel, he needed to do a few things. First, he made a mental check of his health. As far as he could tell, he reinforced every organ of his with a special Qi technique normally reserved for restraining someone. It helped in preventing them from collapsing entirely and continue functioning.

  Second, he took out a long ball of string from his storage ring. While he could faintly see the markers that Vimala pointed out, nothing beat good old string for finding his way back.

  Last, he took out one of his barriers and put it around Vimala. He couldn’t leave her undefended while he went exploring. That would be poor manners.

  Curse unlocked: .1% lifted.

  Protecting someone unlocked the curse. Yu Di kept that in mind. This curse was confusing when it unlocked, but he had a feeling that there had to be some reason for it. His daughter was no longer around to tell him what to do, so it couldn’t be her.

  Yu Di picked up his trident and took his first steps deeper back into the tunnels. This felt just like when he went on explorations to level up his cultivation. Only this time, this could be the final level up. To become a true god and reach that next realm and no longer be subjected to this mortality.

  Yet in the back of his head, he could hear his daughter’s tiny little voice, “Baba, don’t be an idiot.”