Chénli was just pulling her sword out of the back of the last corpse as the young teen Heiress came running up. A slight shift in Chénli's posture gave away her surprise, but she shook her blade once, sending a thin arc of blood flicking across the grass, the droplets pattering softly against leaves, and then drove a sharp kick into the body she had clearly stabbed in the back.
"Fool. You never disengage in the middle of a fight like that." Her voice was sharp as she glared at the corpse as if it's unprofessionalism had personally offended her, the edge of battle not yet gone. She lifted her head, eyes flicking to Dàilán. "Was that racket you?"
"Last guy made a lot of noise since he was not in a position to do anything else," Dàilán replied, frowning faintly as her gaze moved over her friend — the torn cloth, the dark splatters, the shallow cuts already beginning to clot. Even as she spoke, she sent thin threads of Essence sweeping outward through the trees, brushing across bark and leaf like a second sense. "Probably trying to call his friends back. I take it, it helped?"
Chénli grunted. "Nothing serious." She nudged one of the corpses again with her boot, the dull thud of contact carrying in the quiet clearing. "I did not expect three. Thought they would send the bigger group towards the 'threat' and leave the 'silkpants' with just one so I could come get them while they were looking for you."
Dàilán let out a long breath, part irritation, part relief. "Chén'er… I took out five."
Chénli froze, then slowly looked her up and down, her gaze sharp and searching.
"You do not look wounded."
"Your confidence in me is reassuring, jiě." Dàilán stepped up beside her, exhaling. "The first four never knew what killed them. The last guy was paying more attention to you and I got him before he could do anything but make threats. I take it yours were harder?"
Chénli's expression tightened, irritation flashing through even beneath the cloak's distortion. "They were skilled. Too skilled for bandits. The first one went down without a problem — he was expecting a noblewoman and got too close thinking about 'fun'."
She spat at one of the bodies lying slightly apart.
"The other two reacted too quickly to his death for me to take them out cleanly. I was holding them off well enough, but it was a stalemate until they heard that shout." She exhaled through her nose. "They both got distracted. Then I took out the one I was fighting when he was not paying full attention. He told the other guy to go back and see what was going on — cocky bastard. I got him a breath after that. The last one was an easy kill. Turned away to leave."
Another kick.
"Fool."
"They were not bandits," Dàilán said drily, her attention still split between the conversation and the quiet, methodical sweep of her Essence through the surrounding trees, "Mid Earth at least. They all had Essence discharge when I killed them. One even mentioned pretending to be bandits to keep an eye on Knife Sect. Another said it did not matter if the Knife Sect found out about them — something about starting things early."
Chénli jerked upright where she had been crouching.
"You are fu—" she caught herself, glancing at Dàilán. "You are not joking…"
"The last guy was shouting about grass," Dàilán added, ignoring the aborted swear. "For some reason. Does that mean anything to you?"
Chénli cursed viciously, then bent down and cut away the left chest plate of the body at her feet in a single smooth motion, exposing the man's pectoral, the skin still faintly warm beneath the blade.
She cursed again.
Dàilán stepped closer, looking down.
A small tattoo — a tuft of grass, four thin stalks rising from it.
Chénli's voice dropped, grim.
"Grass Cult. We have a blood feud with these…" She kicked the body again, harder this time, then her tone shifted, confusion threading through it. "This must be a kill team we stumbled across. What the hell are they doing so close to the Sect undetected?"
"No," Dàilán said, already shaking her head. "The camp has clearly been there a while. They mentioned monitoring the Sect. Long enough to get complacent — killing travellers for 'benefits'."
Chénli's gaze swept the trees, unease settling into her posture. "I take this route back to the Sect — maybe one in three times. I never saw anything."
"You are dressed as a Sect member when you do," Dàilán pointed out, listing it out step by step as she thought. "I would bet they know which days you usually come through and avoid the area. That way the Sect does not get alerted to their presence. This time they were not expecting you — and we were acting as regular travellers…"
Chénli's face grew steadily grimmer with each point.
"We have to get this information back to the Sect immediately." She turned toward the trail—
—and stopped as Dàilán caught her arm.
"Clean up first," the Heiress said firmly. "And look for proof. Evidence we can take with us. If they are not the only team, they will be missed. A team vanishing is better than bodies proving they have been detected. You taught me that."
She met her eyes.
"I will make it an order if I have to."
Chénli paused, then shook her head with a short breath. "No. Of course not. You are right." She clasped Dàilán's arm briefly. "They had to have been avoiding patrols as well… which is almost impossible without someone in the Sect feeding them information. We need to find anything we can to prove it." A beat. "Thanks for keeping your head… I am a bit…"
"So am I," Dàilán admitted quietly, the metallic scent of blood thick in the back of her throat now that the fighting was done. "But if I am going to have nightmares for the next few weeks, I want some loot to show for it."
Chénli snorted. "Fair. But first—"
She bent down and began cutting the tattooed skin away with her knife, the faint rasp of steel against flesh audible in the stillness. "Collect these. Proof. The Sect has a bounty out on them. One Essence Stone per stalk."
"Per stalk?" Dàilán asked, grimacing faintly as she moved to the furthest body — the one Chénli had said was killed first. She cut away the chest plate and looked down. "Oh. I see. This one only has three."
Chénli cursed again. "I will bet the last has—" another curse. "Yes. Five. No wonder he was keeping up with me. Solid mid Earth."
"The stalks represent levels?" Dàilán asked, even as she searched the body, pulling free a few Essence Stones and a decent amount of civilian coinage alongside the man's weapons.
"Mortals are bare. Earth levels get the tuft — one stalk per rank. Sky get two tufts. Same deal with stalks, but supposedly — and thankfully — you rarely see their captains out," Chénli replied, already moving through her own bodies with practised efficiency.
"What do we do with the skin?" Dàilán asked, looking down at the grisly strip.
"Special Formation plate. Here." Chénli handed her a circular disc. "Place it on and channel Essence."
Dàilán did so.
The tattooed skin vanished in a soft shimmer of Essence.
"The bodies?" she asked, glancing around as the other two were already gone.
"Disposal formations. I have a roll—" Chénli produced a strip of paper, pressed it to the body, and channelled Essence into it.
The paper glowed.
The body — blood, torn cloth, and all — dissolved into nothing in another faint shimmer.
"We best get rid of the two I killed first then," Dàilán said, forcing herself to focus past the faint tremble now creeping into her limbs as the adrenaline began to ebb. "I pulled them behind the bushes, but they are close to the trail. Would not want someone stumbling across them and raising an alarm that might alert the others. The camp is hidden — we can check that last."
"Right."
They moved quickly.
Chénli let out a low whistle as she saw the crumpled bodies, her gaze flicking briefly to the branch above.
"Nice. Single strikes from above. I see what you mean about them not seeing you. That invisibility technique?"
"Yes." Dàilán swallowed faintly, pushing down the sour twist in her stomach. "Mountain Mists, too."
"Speaking of which — you can drop the Mists now. There is no one around. I have been checking."
Dàilán blinked, then flushed faintly. "Oh. Yes."
She released the technique, tension easing slightly as the Essence settled.
Chénli crouched over the bodies. "Damn. A pair of fours. Both with Essence blades. Going up was a good move."
"Yes," Dàilán agreed, remembering the scorched leaves and shredded branches. "They did a number on the bushes. If I had been behind them…"
"Not the first time they have done this," Chénli muttered, tossing her a pair of full pouches as the bodies vanished under the talisman's effect. "They had a fair bit of loot. I kept the swords — the Sect Forging Masters might get something out of them. Their camp?"
"Through the trees. That way."
Dàilán set off quickly, steeling herself.
She led her friend back to the camp quickly and Chénli's muttered curse as the small clearing, still painted with the last fighter's blood, dark and not yet dried, came into view nearly undid her.
"I had no choice," Dàilán said quickly, the words coming out sharper than she intended. "He was strong… if I had not attacked as quickly — as brutally — as I could… even with every advantage, he nearly parried my attack…"
She heard the edge in her own voice and forced it down, swallowing against the sour taste rising in the back of her throat.
Chénli eyed her for a long moment, concern clear now beneath the fading battle tension.
"I will deal with the clean up," she said at last, her tone firm but gentler than before. "Go and check around for anything they might have left — a telltale, a message. Something that might alert any other kill teams."
Dàilán nodded, turning away immediately. The movement was almost too quick — but it gave her something to do.
She made a slow circuit around the clearing, sending careful threads of Essence outward, probing for anything hidden or deliberately concealed. The ground was churned, the air still thick with the metallic scent of blood and the faint heat of expended Essence, but there was nothing beyond that.
No traps.No signals.No hidden constructs waiting to trigger.
It took her a few fēn — slow, deliberate passes through the clearing.
When she returned to where she had started, Chénli was waiting for her — hood thrown back, her face pale, her eyes wide in a way that made Dàilán pause.
Before she could speak, Chénli crossed the distance quickly and pulled her into a hard embrace.
"What?" Dàilán asked, startled, her hands hovering awkwardly for a heartbeat before settling against her friend's shoulders.
"You are certain you are unhurt?" Chénli pulled back just enough to look her over again. "No — actually, take the robe off."
Dàilán coughed, the abruptness cutting through the lingering tension. "You as well, then. You are more likely to be hiding wounds."
Chénli frowned, then tossed her long, dark hair back, the wind catching it so it flared behind her like a banner. The moment was so oddly dramatic that Dàilán snorted despite herself.
"What?" Chénli demanded.
"Your hair… it is a bit…" Dàilán gestured vaguely.
Chénli rolled her eyes. "I had it loose to sell the 'Noble Woman' act. Pity none of those idiots tried to grab it — actually, that should have been a dead give away that they were not bandits…"
"You are wearing the razored silver hairthreads, I take it?", Dàilán asked retorically, distracting herself as she unfastened her robe and let it fall open, turning slightly to show the lack of wounds. The air felt cool against her skin where the fabric shifted, grounding her.
"Now you, Chén'er."
Chénli grimaced but complied, shrugging her own robe aside just enough to reveal a number of light slashes — shallow, already closing under the influence of her cultivation.
"Hm. And you call me careless," Dàilán said dryly, pulling her robe back into place. "Nothing needing treatment, thankfully. Now, what is the problem?"
"Another pair of threes — your first kills," Chénli said, already re-fastening her own clothing. Then she hesitated, something tightening in her expression. "But the last…"
She paused, then looked directly at Dàilán.
"I am taking the body with us. The Sect Healers may be able to get useful information from the corpse."
"We have to carry…?" The words came out before Dàilán could stop them, her stomach twisting.
Chénli shook her head immediately. "No. Another special Formation plate."
She stepped closer, lowering her voice slightly.
"But, xiǎojiě…" Her eyes widened faintly. "He had nine stalks. Peak Earth. One step from Sky."
Dàilán stumbled back half a step, the words hitting harder than any blow.
"Heavens… my first blows took his wrist and hit his dāntián…" she murmured, replaying it in her mind. "I caught him in such an awkward position… if I had not crippled his cultivation right off…"
"You might not be here," Chénli said bluntly. "Your father and grandfather would have murdered me. Heavens - they still might when they hear about this."
She let out a short, shaky breath.
"I failed as your guard. Everything in my power, hah…"
Dàilán shook her head immediately, forcing herself steady.
"Definitely not your fault," she said firmly. "If they get upset, they can point that anger at the Sect for leaving enemies so close to their borders. We cleaned their mess. They do not get to take that out on us."
She turned and started walking back through the trees, needing movement, needing distance from the clearing.
"What kind of name for an unorthodox sect is 'Grass' anyway?"
Chénli laughed — a short, sharp sound — as she pulled her hood back up and followed, then moved ahead of her.
"Death Cult. It is their stupid motto — 'From Death, Grass always grows'. They consider our Sect — Knife Sect — to be subverting the natural order of things. In other words, we stand against the way they profit."
Dàilán pulled her own hood up, matching her friend's pace as Chénli picked it up, the two of them moving faster up the steepening hill, covering li in miǎo.
"I thought killing people is what the Sect did? How can a Death Cult have business anyway?"
"An Enforcer clan carries out lawful assassination of people deemed undesirable — sometimes at our judgement, but usually when we are notified or requested to do so," Chénli replied as they rushed up the trail, her voice steady despite the pace. "It is amazing how many important people are full of really nasty deeds that make them excellent candidates when their rivals ask us to remove them."
She snorted faintly.
"Of course, the real rule is that we investigate both parties, kill everyone deemed unorthodox, and confiscate their assets — not just the one we were pointed at."
"Uhuh," Dàilán replied dryly. "Suddenly I understand why the Sect is having problems. The number of enemies that policy must create…"
"Not so much," said Chénli. "Enemies of the Sect merely become the next to be judged."
"This is different from a Death Cult, how exactly?" Dàilán shot back.
"Because we have magistrates that sign off on execution orders after the investigations are done. We do not kill innocents, and we do not kill without cause." Chénli's voice sharpened slightly. "Grass kills anyone — no questions asked — as long as the price is paid. They have long been used by the really nasty sorts we usually go after to kill innocents and righteous cultivators. We have a standing kill order on them."
"Let me guess — they have one on you," Dàilán said, letting out a breath.
"Yes. They are particularly fond of attacking us while saying that line — like it is a personal affront that we stop them from feeding everyone to their damn grass."
"Want to bet they are behind the mess we are in?" Dàilán asked. "I would not put it past them to try to kill the heir of their blood enemies. They probably already did once. With Mother."
Anger surged, sharp and sudden, and she pushed herself faster.
"More likely to use you as a cultivation cauldron for one of their young geniuses," Chénli warned. "Their techniques are as unorthodox as it gets. Your death would be part of the process."
"Wonderful," Dàilán muttered. Then, after a moment, "So who do we tell once we reach the Sect? If the patrols are compromised, this might involve high-level cultivators. If we tell the wrong person, we expose everything…"
"Why bother with intermediaries?" Chénli said. "You are going to see your Grandfather anyway. Let him decide who can be trusted."
She glanced sideways.
"You will have to insist I come with you. They will not let me in otherwise."
Dàilán let out a short, humourless laugh.
"As if the Sect heir would go anywhere without someone she trusts to guard her back. They will let you in."
Chénli nodded formally. "Understood, xiǎojiě."
She slowed slightly. "We need to walk normally from here. Cultivators rushing toward the Sect's borders will trigger alerts. I also need time to send the recognition patterns to the formations."
The pair slowed to a civilian pace, their footsteps soft against the winding path. For perhaps half a kè, they walked in silence.
Dàilán could feel the faint, irregular prickle of Essence from Chénli as she negotiated their passage through the Sect's outer formations. She did not interrupt, turning her attention instead to the landscape around them.
The forest had thinned into a more ordered terrain — large, stunted trees spaced between boulders and rising stone, the path winding through it like something shaped deliberately, almost like a life-sized penjing, the land shaped with the same deliberate balance of stone and growth. The air felt calmer here, though no less watchful.
"You do not need to look for threats, xiǎojiě," Chénli said after a moment, her voice distracted but certain. "The last fifty li before the Sect are heavily patrolled."
Dàilán snorted softly.
"Given what we just experienced, I will not be taking that for granted. You are always telling me to be security-conscious."
Chénli grunted.
A few breaths later, her tone shifted, focused.
"There. Passage approved."
She took a few more steps, then stopped and turned, bowing slightly.
"You are correct, of course. I have grown too used to thinking of this as a safe area."
Ahead of them, carved into the natural stone and spanning a narrow gap between two low cliffs, stood a small but elaborately decorated stone páifāng arch over the path.
Chénli gestured toward it.
"Channel your Essence through all five Elements as you pass — starting with Wood. Complete the cycle before you exit, or simply continue walking along the path and do not stop."
"Alright," Dàilán said, drawing in a steady breath. "Time to go be a princess."
She dropped her hood and shook her hair free, a river of ink-black spilling down her back, Essence flaring instinctively around her in a show of presence.
Chénli coughed, eyes glinting with suppressed laughter.
"A bit much…"
Dàilán sighed, her shoulders dropping slightly as the flare faded.
"I wanted to look more heir-like…"
Chénli stepped closer, brushing her shoulder lightly as she gathered the hair back up and tucked it neatly beneath the robe's collar, then pulled the hood back into place.
"We are here incognito today, xiǎojiě. Do not draw attention, remember? Just be yourself. You do not need to pretend for that."
She adjusted the hood with a small, satisfied tug, then stepped aside, bowing and gesturing her forward.
Dàilán inclined her head in thanks.
Then she stepped forward and passed beneath the shadow of the páifāng, her figure slipping out of sight as she crossed the threshold.
Chénli followed a breath later.