The stars were not as visible tonight.
The lanterns made up for them, though, in their own peculiar way.
Hundreds of little lights hung above the fair, suspended from poles, stalls, and crooked wooden frames. Their glow spilled over the merchants and their wares, catching on metal, glass, porcelain, and polished wood. It made everything look warmer than it really was.
The forest itself remained dark beyond the lanterns.
Strangely dark.
I took another sip of water as I watched the crowd.
Then I saw him.
Xiaoyou.
He was walking through the fair with a young boy beside him.
What is he doing here?
I slowed down without stopping, watching them from the corner of my eye. The boy looked young enough to be his son. They walked together without any obvious urgency, passing from one stall to another like an ordinary father and child enjoying an evening at the fair.
I separated myself from the others.
There was no reason to approach him yet.
"Good evening, sir. A cup of water."
I stopped at a drink stall.
"Coming right up," the merchant said.
She filled a small cup and handed it to me.
"Is this your first visit, miss?"
I looked at her.
"Thank you for the drink."
I placed the money in the tray and walked away before she could continue.
Is he alone?
The question remained in my mind as I moved between the stalls.
I kept Xiaoyou within sight whenever I could.
I wonder what the Concord are planning, tagging along.
They had said they were here for something else. I had no reason to believe otherwise, but I had learned enough about Concord personnel to know that coincidence was not something I should rely upon.
Xiaoyou eventually stopped beside another stall.
He was speaking to someone I did not recognize.
A man?
I studied the stranger from a distance.
Is he the Yasui?
I wasn't certain.
Rather than stare, I approached a nearby merchant and pointed toward a particularly beautiful vase.
"How much is that?"
The merchant began explaining its price and origin.
I listened just long enough to appear interested.
All the while, I watched Xiaoyou through the gaps between the stalls.
So this is how cultists and the unaware interact.
There was no visible distinction between them.
No robes.
No strange rituals.
No obvious warning that one person was buying an ordinary drink while another was carrying something that could probably kill a village.
The fair simply swallowed everyone together.
I moved to another stall, one that seemed to have considerably fewer customers.
"Excuse me. What is that item?"
The woman behind the stall followed my gaze.
"This?"
She picked up the silver pendant I had pointed toward.
"Oh, it's a hair ornament."
She lifted it toward one of the lanterns.
The light passed through the delicate ornament, revealing an elaborate arrangement of white flowers. They were almost unnervingly realistic, each petal shaped with enough detail to resemble something that had been preserved rather than crafted.
"I see."
I looked at it for another moment.
"I'll be back."
I turned away.
"Alright, then. I'll be here until eleven p.m.," the woman called after me.
I was already walking.
It seems not everyone stays until morning.
I made my way toward the edge of the fair.
Xiaoyou had finished speaking with the stranger.
I checked the reflection of a mirror hanging at one of the stalls.
There.
He was still there.
And now he was alone.
There might be no better time.
I left the fair.
Instead of taking the main path, I took another route through the trees, keeping enough distance between us that I wouldn't be noticed.
The lanterns gradually disappeared behind me.
The sounds of the fair faded.
Soon there was only the forest.
Xiaoyou continued walking.
I followed.
Just after he exited the forest, I raised my blowpipe.
I breathed out.
Pfft.
The needle disappeared into the darkness.
"Who's there?"
Xiaoyou jumped backward.
I stepped out from between the trees.
"Good evening, Xiaoyou."
His eyes narrowed.
"It's Logan now."
He reached toward his arm and pulled the needle free.
Then he looked at me properly.
"And what does a bunny want with me?"
He paused.
His expression changed.
"Wait."
His stance shifted.
"Are you from the Water Sect?"
"So those bastards have—"
He stopped himself.
His eyes traveled over me.
"What lineage was sent to do their dirty work?"
I exhaled.
Then I drew my knife.
"You talk too much for a dead man."
I charged.
My first step carried me inside his reach.
I slashed toward his right arm.
He brought his sword up.
Clang.
Steel caught steel.
I immediately stepped back as his blade swept toward me.
I avoided the edge by inches.
Then something cold touched my sleeve.
I glanced down.
The ground beside my foot had frozen.
A thin sheet of ice spread outward from where his sword had passed.
What the—
I looked at his sword.
This might be a little more difficult.
More importantly, the poison wasn't taking effect.
Not quickly enough.
I had expected him to slow down by now.
Instead, he looked perfectly capable of fighting.
"What lineage are you?"
Xiaoyou flexed the arm where the needle had struck.
The muscles tightened beneath his sleeve.
He's resisting it.
I adjusted my grip on the knife.
More might be better in this case.
I rushed him again.
This time, he was ready.
His sword swung toward me.
I ducked beneath the blade and turned my knife sideways, catching the flat of his sword and knocking it away from my body.
As I passed him, I saw the skin around the point of impact.
Discoloration.
Ice crawled over it.
He froze it.
He wasn't merely using the sword to defend himself.
He was manipulating the contact point.
Needle Point.
I circulated Qi toward my fingers.
His eyes flicked toward my hand.
"Metal?"
He raised his sword.
"A Metal-Water lineage."
He was correct.
I said nothing.
I was a Metal cultivator of the Water Sect.
I charged again.
Xiaoyou raised his blade.
I slashed.
He blocked.
The moment our weapons locked, I shifted my weight.
My left hand shot forward.
Two fingers struck into his back.
"Ah!"
His body jerked.
His left arm wrapped around my waist.
Before I could break free, his left leg drove into my shoulder with sickening force.
Pain exploded through the joint as he pulled at my arm at the same time.
"A sharp gasp escaped before I could bite it down. I bit my lip until I tasted copper, forcing myself away to stumble back onto uneven ground. My left arm hung completely useless at my side.
Damn it.
I grabbed my shoulder with my right hand.
He's not been using any of his techniques.
I watched him carefully.
Then I understood.
No.
He is.
His technique wasn't being used offensively.
He was using it to slow the poison.
He can't afford to use it for anything else.
That explained the ice.
That explained why he had been fighting so carefully.
"Serpent's Lash."
I extended two fingers.
My wrist flicked.
A thin strip of metal Qi shot toward him.
Xiaoyou twisted aside.
The metal passed where his chest had been and struck the ground.
He landed in a crouch.
I raised my hand again.
Then I wrapped the metal strip around my injured shoulder.
It tightened against the joint, giving me just enough support to move.
I picked up my knife.
Stressful.
I closed the distance.
"All you had to do was get home,"
A woman's voice cut through the trees. Before I could locate the source, a searing sphere of fire tore through the brush, striking the earth between Xiaoyou and me in a shower of white-hot embers.
"She's Cike," Xiaoyou said.
I looked toward him.
He was still crouched on the ground.
Then I looked at the woman standing beside him.
I should have used a different one.
I calculated the distance.
My shoulder.
My leg.
The poison.
Xiaoyou.
And now her.
I could fight.
But could I afford to?
"Assassin, huh?"
The woman looked me over.
Her eyes stopped on the metal strip wrapped around my injured shoulder.
She adjusted her stance.
There was no visible weapon in her hands.
That was worse.
I took one step backward.
She did not pursue.
Instead, she raised one hand.
Her finger traced a circle through the air.
The mark remained.
It materialized into something resembling a small sun.
Heat rolled across my face.
I glanced toward Xiaoyou.
He had shifted backward and was now resting against a tree.
"I am going to request your full attention."
A ball of flame shot toward me.
I dodged to the side.
It passed close enough that the heat burned my cheek.
Hollow Palm.
I brought my palms together.
My knife, which had fallen during the exchange, trembled on the ground.
So did Xiaoyou's sword.
Both weapons jerked toward me.
I caught my knife first.
Then the sword.
I threw Xiaoyou's weapon aside.
The woman watched me for a moment.
The circle of fire around her feet grew brighter.
I tightened my grip.
"He'll die if you don't tend to him—"
Her fist struck my face.
I didn't see her move.
My head snapped sideways.
"What—"
Another punch struck my mouth.
Blood filled my mouth.
I staggered.
When—
Another blow came.
I raised my hands.
"Hollow Shell."
My palms moved toward Xiaoyou's partner—
No.
Toward the space between us.
A sheet of metal formed over my face.
Her fist struck it.
Bang.
For one second, I had cover.
I heard her mutter something.
I couldn't make out the words.
Then heat spread across the metal.
Fire crawled over my body.
I tried to push her away.
My hand touched her.
Pain erupted through my fingers.
I was burning.
"Serpent's Lash!"
I thrust both hands forward.
Metal Qi surged outward.
It wrapped around her body and forced her backward.
I pushed with everything I had.
She was thrown away.
I rolled across the ground.
My body hit the earth hard.
I stopped.
For several seconds, I could do nothing but breathe.
My clothes were burning in places.
My skin hurt.
Every breath seemed to find another injury.
I looked toward where Xiaoyou had been.
Nothing.
He was gone.
I turned toward the woman.
She was gone too.
Only a trail of embers remained among the trees.
"Ouch."
I tried moving my hand.
That was a mistake.
Pain shot through my arm.
I froze.
Then I noticed my leg.
Blood had run down it and dried beneath the burns.
How did he survive that?
I pushed myself upright.
My legs trembled.
I forced them to move anyway.
The fair was behind me.
Home was farther.
Water wouldn't be enough.
I need more than just water.
I started back through the forest.
One step.
Then another.
I dragged my injured leg behind me when it refused to cooperate.
The pain followed me all the way through the trees.
I ignored it.
Or tried to.
For now, getting back was enough.