Yanbo sat down and ate a bland breakfast of a tasteless flour pancake, and as it crumbled in her mouth, she began thinking about what had happened yesterday, the flaming building, and seeing it overlap with another flaming building, and remembering the stifled cries in her chest, the suffocating smoke.

She suddenly began to cough, but quickly swallowed it back down, drinking down water furiously. That tinkling sound she'd heard yesterday... it was unmistakably familiar. Where else had she heard it?

Yanbo wasn't given much time, as everyone was gathered up and set off in the direction of the culprits' lair. The sun having risen, it was a relief to disappear into the forest to shield from the hot rays. They all sped quietly and circled the temporary house, closing in on it, before Jinghe kicked down the door, revealing two startled people.

"Who are you?" One of them asked rather rudely after they recovered from their shock. Jinghe said nothing, only casting two ropes to bind them securely together, and then knelt down.

"You two are highly suspicious and likely to be two highly wanted criminals. We're taking you back to the Desert Sect for..." she smiled unsettlingly, "questioning." She placed a lot of deliberate emphasis on the word, making even those who weren't being subjected to questioning erupt in goosebumps. The same effect seemed to be cast on the two who were bound up, and they looked at their counterparts, their faces pale. They seemed to want to bite something on their teeth, but Jinghe suddenly cast a binding spell and stopped them from moving anymore.

It was quite weak, Yanbo noticed. Why had she cast such a weak spell? After only an hour or so, it would naturally lift. What was she planning?

"Jinghe." Yanbo said softly to her as they started dragging the two prisoners along. "That binding spell is too weak. It'll lift after an hour or so. Why did you...?"

Jinghe let out a snort and tilted up her chin in a show of arrogance. Yanbo was quite startled. That was very out of character of her...

"What do you mean 'it'll lift after an hour or so'? As a member of your Mountain Sect, do you really look down on our Desert Sect so much?" Jinghe looked at Yanbo with an expression full of pride and arrogance, but secretly winked. Yanbo suddenly felt her knees wobble a little and looked away quickly, as if afraid if she looked a moment longer, she would expose a secret.

"Sorry, I've exceeded my bounds. I accept any punishment from Lady Lin." Yanbo decided to act along with whatever play Jinghe was putting on. Jinghe had clearly spoken loud enough for their two prisoners to hear, so it was definitely an act made them.

Jinghe let out a 'humph' and walked away from Yanbo. Yanbo walked by herself to the side, wondering what Jinghe was trying to achieve.

Suddenly, she was shoved from behind. One of the younger disciples of the Du Clan had clearly tried to take advantage of the fact that she appeared to have fallen out of favor with the intimidating Lin Jinghe to take out some of their jealousy. Yanbo stumbled a little and ended up falling behind everyone else, in level with the two younger disciples who had been unfortunately befallen with the task of dragging along the prisoners. Jinghe seemed to notice this, but aside from the squaring of her shoulders and the tightening of her jaw, she did nothing in reaction.

Just as Yanbo had predicted, after an hour, the binding spell lifted. First, they looked at each other secretly, then began using their powers to try and escape. Shortly, they settled at a campsite near the border of the Desert Sect and set up camp, planning to travel the rest of the way to the Desert Sect the next morning. The two prisoners were merely thrown into another tent and had some food and water roughly shoved down their throat before taking that away, leaving them completely alone and isolated in there. They had no way of moving and taking anything sharp from nearby to cut their ropes. The only way they could possibly escape was...

"Fire!" The disciples who were guarding the tent cried in the middle of the night, and Yanbo finally understood Jinghe's plan.

A fire raged in the tent they'd been staying in, and from the inside emerged to sooty figures, and they together tried to escape, only to be encircled and beat back by a flaming flash that they had no idea how to counter and defeat. In response, they tried to cast spiritual fire towards the blinding flames, but the flaming cranes kept their positions, forming a bubble around them.

The two culprits finally realized they'd fallen into a trap.

"It has exactly the same signature as the fire the other day!" Several of the younger disciples from the Desert Sect exclaimed, excited that they'd finally contributed to the mission. Jinghe emerged and squeezed down the bubble until it pressed against their heads and kept them from moving, lest they wanted their flesh to be burned by the foreign fires they didn't know how to counter, and Yanbo cast a spell on them, causing them all to suddenly become confused and meekly submissive. Jinghe retrieved her cranes back and the campsite suddenly fell back into darkness, causing everyone's eyes to squint as they tried to adjust. Yanbo took out the flaming crane from her robe and gave it more spiritual energy, causing it to fly above everyone and light it up slightly. Even so, the crane was small, even smaller than the ones Jinghe made now, and it was only one, so it didn't light up the campsite much, so Jinghe cast out a few more to join the baby crane. They all seemed to form a circle around the baby crane with it at its center, the "adult" cranes on the outside. It lit up the campsite fully, like a floating, flaming chandelier hanging over their heads. Yanbo smiled a little, and Jinghe caught that expression, and she returned it with a delighted, small smile.

A few people were assigned to keep watch of the two, but due to the strange magic Yanbo had cast over them, they didn't struggle at all throughout the night.

"What did you do to them?" Jinghe asked curiously as they all settled down and prepared to return back to their tents. The burnt tent cast an ashy smell over the air, causing everyone to frown and complain, but it gradually grew quiet.

Yanbo shrugged, unwilling to speak. "It controls their fighting instinct, causes them to be confused and suppresses some of their memories."

Jinghe's brows furrowed as she looked at Yanbo. "I've never heard of such a thing. Where did you learn that from?"

Yanbo wanted to stroke the wings of her paper crane, but it was currently hanging in the sky, casting light over the campsite. She settled on playing with her uniform instead, picking at the uneven texture of her Mountain Sect belt.

"A book in the Du Clan's library."

"What book?"

Yanbo shrugged, and answered with a vague, "I don't remember."

Jinghe seemed to be thinking about something, and then didn't say anything more. The next morning, Jinghe supervised them as they traveled the last stretch through the Desert Sect's wards and were received by some disciples, escorting the two culprits all the way to the Desert Sect's prisons. Afterwards, Jinghe personally supervised the interrogation, and in the end, the two culprits only coughed out one name: The League of the Rising Sun.

Qingshan stepped forward, staring them down. The rest of the delegates watched from the corner, feeling rather intimidated, but Yanbo watched with interest.

"Who is your leader? Who are the other members?" Qingshan asked.

"As if we'd tell someone like you." One of them spat, suddenly filled with resentful energy. He bared his teeth. "Bai Qingshan, someone like you isn't even wanted by their father and their mother, your broke and powerless family doesn't want anything to do with you."

Qingshan's face immediately grew red, and she knelt down, grabbing the guy's chin in her hand. "What did you say?" She said, her voice growing deadly. Jinghe and Yanbo watched on with an unreadable expression.

Yanbo didn't know much about Qingshan, about a couple of basic facts, like her clan, her social status on the Sect's hierarchy, and the like. She'd had no idea that her family was poor and had little influence, but judging by Qingshan's reaction, it was probably true. So where had this nobody gotten the information? From the intelligence of the League of the Rising Sun? But why would the League decide to get insider's information about Qingshan, of all people? And how did they know it?

"You do so much, work so hard, flatter so many people, but unfortunately, trash like you and your family will always be trash." The second guy spat, attracting Qingshan. Qingshan's eyes seemed to flash a shade of red, and before anyone could say anything, she cast a ball of white-hot fire towards both of their faces. Even the bystanders could feel a blast of heat so hot that they immediately began to sweat in the cold dungeon, so it was no wonder when the light dimmed, it revealed that their faces had been burnt and melted off, with both of them screaming in agony. Qingshan moved quickly, stabbing them both in the heart with a short dagger, and sheathing it before anyone could move.

The speed with which Qingshan moved unsettled Yanbo, and she once again recalled that tinkling she'd heard in her burning house that day before Jinghe had come to rescue her. She glanced at the golden bracelets on Qingshan's wrist, the only sign of riches that Qingshan wore. The tinkling... Yanbo shuddered and clenched her jaw.

Qingshan seemed to be taking deep, shuddering breaths, and then she turned around to face everyone, her face still a little scary. "I've moved rashly, and I apologize to everyone. I alone will shoulder any punishments for an incomplete interrogation."

Jinghe said some polite words in response, and everyone else emerged from the dungeons, still slightly sweating even though their breaths formed puffs of condensation in the air from the cold. Yanbo trudged along silently, thinking to herself.

As they were about to exit, Yanbo looked at Jinghe. "They died too quickly." She murmured quietly, not allowing any other people to hear. Jinghe nodded, understanding what she was thinking.

"Too early." There wasn't sufficient evidence for any accusations, was what that meant. Yanbo nodded, and they didn't talk anymore.

In front of the Desert Sect leader, everyone seemed nervous, especially the younger disciples of the Desert Sect. After reporting on what had happened, the Desert Sect leader gave Qingshan a couple of angry words, praised the rest of them, and promised to discuss more about this novel assassin's organization that had popped up from the ground another day. Therefore, the case about the mysterious spiritual fires was closed.

***

"Hey, hey!" Someone tugged Yanbo's robes from behind, and Yanbo turned around to see a friendly-looking face, one of the Plains Sect disciples who had come along for the mission. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yes." Yanbo said stiffly, feeling a sliver of impatience.

"How did you make those two bad guys stop fighting?"

"It's a spell." Yanbo answered.

"Yeah, yeah," the disciple said, rolling his eyes. "But what spell? How do you do it? Can you teach me it? It was so cool!"

Yanbo felt rather overwhelmed and uncertain of what to say, but another one of the older disciples cut in, his arms folded, glaring at Yanbo with an unprecedented amount of hostility.

"Cool? A spell? I think it's demonic cultivation." He said with an arrogant tilt of the chin. "You shouldn't learn from that kid. Pursuing the demonic cultivation route is ultimately going to lead to backfire and a painful death at an early age. The more powerful, the earlier. It's all karma for not walking the correct path. You just wait."

The little disciple let go of Yanbo's robes at those words, looking rather frightened, and then scampered away. Yanbo resumed her blank expression and appeared not to pay the older kid's words any mind, but in reality, the words turned over and over in her mind.

***

"Thank you all so much," the head of the village got down on his knees and bowed down to Jinghe, and Yanbo, standing next to her, who'd saved their village from the fires. Jinghe looked rather awkward, unsure of how to accept his praise and gratitude, so she instead helped the middle-aged man back onto his feet.

"There's no need to thank us." Yanbo said, standing next to Jinghe. Given her young age and rather cold and distant appearance, the head of the village had preferred to talk to Jinghe, but when Yanbo addressed him, he had no choice but to acknowledge her.

"Even if it wasn't us, there would've ultimately been payback for how the villains have hurt you." She said. "We only did our duty."

Jinghe seemed to smile slightly. Interesting.

The two had set out early the next day in order to inform the villagers about what had happened, and assure them that the culprit had been caught and there was nothing to be worried about anymore. Some of the villagers began to pile gifts on them, and Yanbo finally showed a trace of panic and looked towards Jinghe uncertainly, only to find that Jinghe mirrored her expression and had no idea what to do either.

"Please, take back your gifts, truly, we have no need for them." Jinghe said as politely as possible. "Please don't make things difficult for us, we truly don't need them."

Only after that did the villagers reluctantly take back their gifts, thanking them over and over again. Yanbo's feet shuffled, and inside of her sleeve, her thumb stroked the wing of the little paper crane. Jinghe noticed, and a smile quirked up the corner of her mouth.

"Then, we'll be going." Jinghe said, excusing both of them.

As neither Jinghe nor Yanbo had their own spiritual sword—Jinghe used her spiritual cranes and a dagger in hand-to-hand combat, and Yanbo was too young for one yet—they could only walk all the way back by foot.

"That case is over now," Yanbo commented, wanting to break the silence but unsure what to fill it with, "but it still feels unfinished. You know?"

"Mn." Jinghe replied. "There are many questions I want to get answers to... Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Qingshan, that boy, the League of the Rising Sun..." Yanbo listed off. "All very suspicious."

"I'll be launching a secret investigation as soon as the Sect leader gives me permission." Jinghe seemed to be a little nervous all of a sudden, her hands smoothing her robes out repeatedly. "You have a good foundation in martial arts, a quick and bright mind, and a lot of potential to become someone great." Jinghe said with a forced smile, but the words were genuine. "As someone I'd consider my friend... would you like to help with the investigation?"

The words Jinghe used to praise Yanbo, despite the claim of friendship, seemed to clearly draw a line between them as a senior and a junior, and caused a slight frown to pull down the corners of Yanbo's mouth.

"You're too polite." Yanbo said, suddenly drawing back and becoming cold and aloof again. Jinghe was rather taken aback, wondering with uncertainty and a sort of helplessness she hadn't felt for a while what it was that she'd done wrong to cause Yanbo to react in such a way.

"As one of the favored ones of the Desert Sect leader, I, as an insignificant disciple in an average clan of the Plains Sect and an even more insignificant member of the Mountain Sect, do not deserve your praise, nor to be placed on the same level as the respected Lady Lin."

Jinghe's expression grew even more bewildered. "Why do you say that?"

"This is simply the way things are."

Yanbo drew ahead, her dark colored uniform trailing behind her, almost like a cape, and her hair fluttering back, and with the outline of the sun in front of her, it seemed almost like she was glowing, and for a moment, Jinghe forgot that Yanbo was only fifteen, five whole years younger than her. Instead, she seemed like a hundreds-of-thousands-years-old, aloof, goddess, gazing down on everyone from her pedestal.

***

The group of delegates who'd set out on the mission made it back in time for the final day of the cultivators' conference, and so, in front of everyone, the Desert Sect and Plains Sect leaders praised their efficiency, especially highlighting Jinghe's contributions.

Only five years since they'd last met, Yanbo mused, and Jinghe had climbed to such a place, going from an insignificant, average cultivator whose only unique point was her flaming paper cranes, to a towering figure in the Desert Sect with the backing of the Sect leader himself. How could she ever hope to catch up to her level?

When everyone broke apart to discuss among themselves, Jinghe wove through the crowds, seeking a certain someone, but she stopped when she heard someone talking about the person she was looking for.

"You don't even know, she single-handedly subdued the two villains from that assassin's organization." Someone said in a gossiping tone to the other people gathered around them. It was one of the disciples from the Plains Sect, Yanbo's clan, who had been with them on that mission. Jinghe smiled to herself, feeling glad that her clan was finally not bullying her anymore and looking at her in a new light

"What?" Someone else exclaimed. "How could she have done that? How old is she? Fifteen? What sort of hidden prodigy is she? How did she do it?"

"Prodigy?" The Du Clan disciple snorted. "I wouldn't call it a prodigy. It looked to me like wicked tricks. She somehow controlled them so they become so meek. I'm pretty sure she messed with their brains somehow."

"What? But... that means she'll ultimately suffer from backfire."

The Du Clan disciple wore a smug expression. "Exactly. So don't think that now, she might get some promotions from her Clan and Sect leaders, in the future, karma will certainly balance out this injustice."

Jinghe stepped forward. "Sure, there is no honor in using wicked tricks, but what honor is there in speaking about a person behind their back? Would you dare say the same thing to her face?" She said in a self-assured voice.

Everyone, remembering the easy way that Yanbo had been able to subdue the two fully grown men, gave an involuntary shudder and clamped their mouths shut.

However, Jinghe was not as confident as she sounded, and she instead pushed her way through the crowd, looking for Yanbo. The crowd was large and filled with chattering people, most who started with angry and annoyed tones about how rude she was being, shoving past them without any rhyme or reason, but when they saw her and recognized her, they were immediately frightened into silence.

"Yanbo!" Jinghe called out. Yanbo heard the voice, and she turned around with a slight smile on her lips, feeling suddenly in a pretty good mood.

When Jinghe approached her, however, she was wearing a worried look, and immediately caught Yanbo's shoulders and held her there tightly, causing slight panic to flare up inside of Yanbo.

"What are you doing?" She asked with a frown, the smile wiped from her face immediately.

"What book did you learn that spell from?"

Yanbo knew which spell Jinghe was referencing immediately, and her frown was wiped away, to be replaced by an aloof expression, icy cold and unfamiliar. "They might not trust me, and that's understandable. You were going all on about friendship yesterday, and now you turn around and... what is this, questioning me?"

Jinghe seemed lost for words. "I... It's just because..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say that would make Yanbo tell her.

Yanbo put on an unsettling, almost mocking smile. "It's fine. I can tell you." She said, turning slightly away from Jinghe and lifting her chin, wrenching her shoulders from Jinghe's grip. "This is demonic cultivation, learned from a forbidden book in my Du Clan's library."

"You said-" Jinghe interjected, but Yanbo spoke over her.

"I said it was a book from my clan's library. It wasn't a lie, wasn't it?"

Jinghe couldn't say anything to that, so Yanbo continued.

"Even if it may be demonic cultivation, it is still my own skills, and it all came from honest work and hard practice." Yanbo said, sounding completely convinced.

"But one day you will have to pay the price! One day you will suffer from backfire, and the more powerful you become, the more likely it will happen, and when it does, the deadlier it will be!" Jinghe protested, trying to make Yanbo see reason, but that chilly smile remained.

"Whether or not I can pay the price, that is something for me to decide." Yanbo said. "It has nothing to do with other people. However... do you know of the five rituals one must partake in at birth in order to build a proper foundation?"

Jinghe seemed to dimly register where Yanbo was heading with it, but she stayed silent, dumbly, knowing inwardly she should resist, that she didn't want to hear this, but she couldn't do anything.

"It's fine. I'll tell you. There are five rituals of cleansing one must partake in at birth. Specifically, it must be at birth; it cannot be any later than that moment. You've partaken in them. Because you were born into the Desert Sect, you would've partaken in them anyways. But I did not partake in all four." Yanbo's smile seemed to waver for a second, and she looked back at Jinghe. "So do you understand why I have to take this route?"

"But..." Jinghe couldn't find words, but there was nothing to say. What could she say? Give up on cultivating and throw away everything you've worked on for the past few years to be an average person?

"There's no 'but'." Yanbo said. She paused, then turned back to Jinghe. "Now you understand, don't pester me about it anymore." With that, she began to walk away. Jinghe was in a state of shock, trying to absorb what Yanbo had just told her, and she suddenly ran after Yanbo.

"Wait!" Jinghe called, sounding slightly out of breath. She skidded to a halt in front of Yanbo, feeling unbelievably clumsy.

Yanbo turned around expectantly.

"We can... this doesn't affect our friendship?"

On Yanbo's icy cold, blank face, there seemed tobe a blooming smile of spring for the slightest second, and then she dipped herhead and left.