Sun Ren watched as her only friend fell asleep, peacefully, without a care in the world. Oh, how she would love to do the same. But she can’t, can she? Baihu was right to ask before.

  Why is she doing so much for this Young Miss Lu?

  “I’m going out to check the perimeter too,” Sun Ren told the monk. “Can you watch over everyone while I go out?”

  Hen Li nodded.

  At least the monk was dependable. Sun Ren could tell right away that he’s had training in operations when he was a part of his summoner sect.

  Sun Ren took a deep breath, unsheathing her two daggers, and walked out into the streets. The labyrinth was a mystery to her. She never thought to go inside as it would have meant certain death thanks to all her father’s intel. Yet, this time she had no choice.

  She chuckled to herself. If Sun Ren hadn’t been following Lu Na, then she wouldn’t have been put into this impossible situation. Lu Na was their best chance to get out of here and solve the puzzle.

  Sun Ren will give Lu Na this: she has made her boring life a lot more interesting.

  Sun Ren climbed to the roof of one of the short buildings. She had to be extra careful, as the buildings looked like they were about to collapse. They’ve stood for thousands of years.

  If she were to die here, at least it was beautiful in its own way. Sure, all the color had been washed clean by time, but one look and she could see the majesty of the Xia dynasty. They built this massive labyrinth to protect something.

  Whatever it was, it better still be there when they came for it. More importantly, it better be something useful to her or her Sun family. The world outside of these walls was about to collapse into chaos. She needed something to prove to her father that her time wasn’t wasted.

  Sun Ren sat down and closed her eyes.

  “Baihu, can you hear me?”

  “Of course.”

  Hearing her voice within her own head again gave Sun Ren a measure of comfort. She heard it before, but it was disorienting to hear her outside.

  “How does it look?”

  “Not good. There are patrols everywhere. Whoever these people are, they’re much more skilled than we thought.”

  “I doubt that. I almost took out over twenty of them myself the other night. Their skill is at most the level of an amateur.”

  “Don’t get arrogant now, Sun Ren. You remember what your father said about that?”

  “Yes, spirit. I remember.” Sun Ren agreed, but for whatever reason she didn’t feel like agreeing. Her spirit had always been there, reminding her over and over of her father’s or brother’s words. Or worse, lecturing her on her sifu’s words.

  She got it. She’s not as smart as they are and that she should listen to them, despite knowing that she could do so much more. They all think she’s incapable because she’s a woman.

  It was so frustrating.

  Sun Ren cut off the connection with her spirit and opened her eyes. That was the one thing she didn’t miss. Her spirit was always tamping down on her emotions. These spirits always think they know better.

  It felt good to finally be free, to breathe a deep breath without having something in her head molding her. Still, she was grateful for Baihu. Her spirit gave her the abilities to do things that she normally couldn’t, not as a woman or as a daughter.

  Sun Ren closed her eyes and resumed her connection with Baihu.

  “I was worried. I thought you might have been attacked,” Baihu said.

  “No, I just needed a second to focus. Sorry. You were saying?”

  “Despite all the patrols, they can’t cover the entire section of the labyrinth. Not only that, we found a settlement near the gate to the next section of the labyrinth.”

  Sun Ren took out the map and looked at her drawings. It wasn’t as good as the hairpin, but she got the important parts. The section they were in right now was the largest, but it was also closed off from the other parts. She was sure that this section was meant for the common populace to live, but something must have happened and the devices that kept them alive stopped working.

  Only that small patch of land where Jie’s village allowed anyone to survive. That must have been thousands of people who died here, trapped and starving, with no way out. What a cruel way to treat their own people. If she were emperor, she would never play with people’s lives like that.

  “I’m assuming they don’t have the key to get into the next section of the labyrinth. That’s why they’re still here. But when you say settlement, what do you mean?”

  “Look.”

  Sun Ren closed her eyes and shared her vision with Baihu. The settlement was larger than a village, but smaller than a city. It looked like an army encampment with wooden walls put up and soldiers patrolling the area. Yet, they also had women and children walking among the tents.

  The craziest thing was that they also had a farming area with rows upon rows of budding vegetables. Somehow, the light above them was generating the sunlight the plants needed to grow.

  How long have they been here? And more importantly, how are they getting the water and other resources they need?

  That’s when Baihu switched the vision to another of her copies.

  Further north of the settlement, there was a running river. It looked like it flowed into the labyrinth and then back out of it. But how could that be?

  Wait, they were probably getting the water from Chao lake. For the Xia people to have somehow created a channel from the Chao Lake into this labyrinth, they must have had brilliant engineers.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Or better summoners.

  If there was one thing Sun Ren has noticed about the Xia people was that they had a better bond with their spirits. If Sun Ren could have bonded with Baihu in the same way, then she might have more peace and quiet in her own head. Would she have been different?

  “Baihu, how close can you get to their general’s tent?” Sun Ren asked.

  “I can’t. They have many high stage summoners there. One of them is close to level 3.”

  “How did they get such a powerful summoner? But that shouldn’t matter. If he’s that close, he must be nearing sixty and near the end of his life. I doubt he could stop me.”

  “You shouldn’t—”

  “No, I’m going. If I can kill their general, then we can throw the rest of them into disarray. All we need is a large enough distraction.”

  “But—”

  “No Baihu, we’re doing this. The faster we do this, the safer we’ll be when we pass through those gates. We don’t need them chasing us as the Wintersweet Sect has done. We’ve done this so many times.”

  “Fine, but be safe.”

  Sun Ren severed the connection between them. She was tired of constantly listening to her spirit. Baihu always wanted to play it safe, but that always took too long. So many times her father sent her on missions and if it weren’t for having to listen to Baihu and her threats of telling her sifu, Sun Ren could have finished every mission so much faster!

  “Monk, I’m going to kill their general,” Sun Ren said after explaining the situation to the monk. “I should be back in a few hours. When I do, be sure to wake Lu Na so we can go.”

  “Amituofo. Must we kill more people?” Hen Li asked. The monk had been reciting that sutra over and over. At first, she thought it was calming. Now it was irritating because it could alert people to them at any time. The labyrinth was big, but not that big.

  “Do you have another solution? From what I saw of the map, we need to make it past that settlement to get to the gate. Once we get there, we can use Lu Na’s key to continue our journey. The fastest way to do that is to kill their general and then, in their confusion, we run past. No one else needs to die.”

  “Why not just make a distraction?”

  “You didn’t see the settlement, monk. They’re actively guarding the gate. They won’t let us through. And when they see us, they will capture us for Lu Na’s key.”

  The monk took out his prayer beads and began cycling through them, lost in thought.

  Sun Ren didn’t wait for a response as she prepared the rest of her daggers. This time, she was going to use a few of Lu Na’s wards to cause a big distraction. The only challenge she had was her black Sun family tunic stood out too much.

  Unlike the outside of the labyrinth, there didn’t seem to be much of a night inside. That light at the center of the labyrinth stayed lit throughout the night. It’s not as strong as the actual sun, but it made sneaking around a lot harder.

  More than likely, she’d have to wear those hemp tunics again. All she would need to do is sneak around the area, get in close to the general when a sudden boulder of earth rushes right at their settlement, and then assassinate him while they try to see who’s attacking them. Something she’s done many times before.

  “I’ll speak with their leader,” Hen Li said.

  “You’ll what?” Sun Ren hadn’t expected that. The monk wasn’t as strong as he was outside of the labyrinth and even if he was, there was no way he could compare to what they have inside the settlement.

  “I’ll simply ask for passage through their settlement to reach the other side. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if we can help each other. We’ll get Lu Na to open the gate and then everything will be fine.” The monk got up and packed what few things he had with him.

  “But they will kill us or keep us prisoners.”

  “Or maybe they will be kind and benevolent, like Buddha, welcoming us. And together, we could solve the puzzle and release all these poor souls trapped within the labyrinth.”

  Sun Ren scoffed at that notion. She glanced at the sleeping Lu Na.

  “Only na?ve young misses will believe in those kinds of fairytales. They’re strong here. They command an army. And like all rules in the world, the strong can do whatever they want. More than likely, they’ll kill us and keep Lu Na so she can solve the puzzle.”

  “Amituofo. If I don’t descend to the underworld, then who would? Let me talk with them and see if I can’t convince them. It would be a shame if whatever you’re planning destroys that settlement. They look like they can sustain themselves without the need to leave and maybe they can also help Jie’s village.”

  That’s when everything came together for Sun Ren.

  “No, those women and children down there are from Jie’s village. It’s why it was empty. Now it makes more sense.”

  “Amituofo. Then it makes more sense to talk with them. We can’t hurt the villagers.”

  “Why not? They’re not my people and the mission comes first.”

  The monk sighed.

  “Look, I don’t care what you think of me, but the last thing I want to do is die inside this labyrinth,” Sun Ren said. “I came hoping Lu Na’s mother asked to save her.”

  “Not for the secret of the labyrinth so that you can use it to help your father?”

  “That too. I have never hid that truth from anyone.”

  “But you never told Young Miss Lu, have you?”

  Sun Ren shrugged.

  “She never asked. Besides, if we save her mother and we get something that can help my father pacify this nation, then where’s the harm in that?”

  “Amituofo. You remind me so much of my father and his excuses for using me to murder those villages in the name of our sect. You two are the same.”

  “Was that supposed to make me feel bad?” Sun Ren scoffed. “Unlike your sect, we are not seeking glory and power. We’re trying to save the very people who suffer because those in power seek to enrich themselves.”

  “Amituofo. Then please let me try to talk with them at least. If I fail, then you have nothing to lose.”

  “Fine. I’ll give you the time of one incense stick. If you are captured, then I’m going to murder that general. Just so you know, I’ll burn down the settlement if I have to in order to get what we need. Na Na and I are not dying here nor are we going to be captives of that rebel.”

  “Amituofo. Thank you for seeing reason.” The monk pushed his hands together and bowed.

  Of course, the monk gets caught, tied up, and brought before their general and summoner. The worst part was, he told them what Sun Ren was planning, as if that was a bargaining chip. Who does that? Who tells the enemy all their plans, hoping they will surrender?

  Sun Ren had turned herself into one of Baihu’s white fox pups and infiltrated the settlement with ease. She stood close by as the monk explained the entire plan to Yang Deli. She had hoped that the monk would have been a bigger distraction so that she could assassinate the general simultaneously.

  What she didn’t expect was that the powerful summoner sensed her presence and sent his powerful dog spirit after her.

  Sun Ren fled as fast as she could. Normally, if killing the general was the mission she would have thrown herself at him in one last attempt even if it meant dying, but she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t leave Lu Na alone in here.

  All Sun Ren had to do was escape the settlement. She was a small fox pup and there were plenty of little holes and such to get to. But before she could escape through one of the wooden gates, the summoner’s dog spirit pounced on her.

  In moments, she turned back into her human form, still wearing her black tunic.

  Baihu’s other white fox pups jumped into the fray. The large dog took them down with fierce bites and swipes of his paws.

  Sun Ren crawled away, only to see the feet of the general and his sword pointed at her head.

  “Yield,” Yang Deli said. His eyes looked down at her through his iron helmet.

  “Stupid monk. Couldn’t have just done it my way,” Sun Ren said.

  “What? If you don’t yield, I will disembowel you here on the streets.”

  Sun Ren raised her hands above her head.

  “Fine, I yield,” Sun Ren said. Then in a whisper, “Baihu, find Lu Na. Get her to safety.”

  “As you wish.”

  Sun Ren was bound and carried back to the general’s tent. The only worry she had was Lu Na, alone and unprotected. Wait, she had her spirit. Despite how Nugua treats Lu Na, she would protect her no matter what. But would that be enough to keep her precious friend safe?