The Chens rode hard. They were near the southeast part of the Empire when they saw… when they saw whatever it was in the sky. That blackness hung over the sky on the exact opposite side of the southern part of the Empire. The pair didn’t even stop long enough to cook and make some money. Jin felt weird about it, but he knew something must have been wrong when Mei was the one urging them to not take breaks.

  They stopped to eat, and it was always something quick during the day and a little heartier at night. Besides that, they just slept and then went back on the road. By the third day, the hard driving had worn down oxen Ping and Bo.

  On the second day, they were just as they were packing up their camp and getting their oxen ready, a little red glowing ladybug. Jin watched it fly past him and land on Mei’s outstretched finger.

  “A message?” He asked his wife.

  Mei nodded her head and watched the ladybug land on her fingertip. Once it did, there was an exchange of aura as the bug read her and she allowed it. It was sensing to make sure it had found the right recipient. Once it was satisfied, it exploded in a small red fiery blast that formed words in the air.

  ‘We’re sorry if you’re on your way here. Did you see the thing in the sky? We’re going to the Southwestern part of the Empire. Meet us there and you can dine us.’

  Taimei

  Mei looked at her husband after she wiped away the fiery words in the air. Jin looked at her with his brows raised in surprise.

  “I’ve never seen a ladybug as a message before?” Jin said, questioning the bug.

  Mei shrugged. “Who knows with those guys? Though they may have someone powerful themselves if they’re able to make a messaging crystal.”

  Jin nodded his head. “You’re out of messages, aren’t you?”

  Mei sighed and nodded as she continued to clean up. They had gotten drunk one night and Jin was goofing off with the crystal, sending her flirty messages from across the room. She looked up to give him a glare, and he just smiled sheepishly. Mei grunted and shook her head.

  “Sorry, we’ll find another,” Jin said and clasped the oxen into the yoke.

  Mei didn’t talk to him for a while after that except to say that they’d see the Moon Lotus Pavilion in a few days, anyway. Eventually she warmed back up to her husband, and Jin knew enough to push it and force her out of her quiet. It’d just make things worse. They made small talk and griped about how long it was taking and how thankful they were that the weather was finally cooling off.

  “Seems like summer has lasted forever,” Mei complained.

  Jin nodded his head, and they continued on.

  “Wait, I know where we’re going,” Mei said in the middle of the fourth day.

  Jin cocked his brow and looked over at his wife. She put a hand on his forearm.

  “I wonder if it’s something they did,” she said it out loud.

  Jin knew she wasn’t really speaking to him, though. It was an introspective thought that she said out loud. He smiled and cleared his throat. “Dear?”

  “Hm?” She stared at him blankly.

  “What?”

  She snapped out of it. “The Sect of the Jade Mountains. That’s where we’re going,” she told him with a confident nod.

  Now it was Jin’s turn to look at his wife blankly.

  Mei rolled her eyes. “I forget how new you are to all of this. The Sect of the Jade Mountains is one of the pillars of cultivation. They have members that have gone further in their path than anyone.”

  Jin looked at the mountains they were riding towards with raised brows. “I see.”

  Indeed, the mountains that were growing in the distance were very representative of their name. They were in a flatter part of the stretch and Jin could see fields and a small village far off in the distance. There were three or four mountain peaks that were high in the air and stuck out in the otherwise flat landscape.. It seemed like they were almost at the edge of the continent, further than either of them had ever been before.

  “Oooo…”

  Jin raised a brow and looked over at his wife.

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  “You know who lives here?” Mei asked her husband.

  “In the Sect?”

  Mei shook her head. “No, I guess he left the sect. Silas Zhao.”

  Jin knew the name, and knew it was an important name, but beyond that, he was at a loss.

  “He’s the arcanist,” she told him, filling in the missing information for him.

  Jin raised both of his eyebrows now in surprise. Arcanists were what created the artifacts that Mei tried to sell and acquire. They were both blacksmiths and rune makers. In Silas’s case, he was known to be a pinnacle in the trade and crafted some of the most powerful runes. If the man wasn’t a cultivator, he’d also probably be one of the best blacksmiths on the continent.

  She looked up at him with a mischievous glow in her eyes.

  “Meeeeiiiii….. What are you thinking?”

  “He could have treasures. Things I could get to sell,” she said as she looked back forward towards the village.

  “Mei, please don’t steal anything. Our oxen aren’t fast enough to get away. Apparently, the Pavilion will be here, and this Silas Zhao guy. I’m sure none of them would look kindly upon you stealing their wares,” Jin said and sighed.

  Mei frowned and kept her eyes trained on the village. With her stronger eyesight, she could see it before Jin. Thanks to the flat land and part of the village being nestled into the mountains. She gasped loudly and put a hand over her mouth when her eyes went wide.

  “What? What is it?” Jin asked and squinted.

  “The village there, it’s…” she trailed off and turned to climb on top of the wagon.

  “It’s what?” Jin asked and watched his wife. He gave a small grin, watching her thick backside try to climb her way up to the top. “Please don’t fall.”

  She grunted and told him she’d be fine. She wasn’t going to lose her balance. Jin’s question went unanswered until she was standing on top and looking out. “Something devastated the village.”

  “What?” Jin cocked a brow and squinted while he drove forward. The man even leaned forward a little. Eventually, he could make it out. His eyes went wide, and he looked back in his seat.

  The village, for all tense and purposes, seemed mostly fine. There were a few of the smaller buildings knocked down. The one interesting thing Mei saw Jin couldn’t make out yet were the black splotches everywhere. There was one big one in what appeared to be a main building. It was hard to make out even for her, but she thought it looked like the night sky. Dark with little sparkles of stars.

  “Do you see that little hill next to the water with the tree on it?” Mei asked and pointed to the right towards the ocean.

  Jin looked and indeed saw a small hill with a single cherry blossom tree on it. It seemed to overlook the village and would be a pleasant spot to cultivate. “I do.”

  “Go there, there're wagons setup,” she directed her husband.

  He nodded his head and called out his oxes names and directed them with the reins. It took about another hour for them to reach the group of people. As they rode closer, Jin eventually could see the spots in the buildings. The night sky was pressed upon various buildings, some spots smaller and some larger. The one on the main building Jin probably could have launched himself in.

  They rode through extensive fields of hay and other fields of various crops. These fields must have been where the village grew their food and whatever else they needed to get by. There were a few empty dorm type buildings and barns. There was one concerning thing that Jin noticed.

  “Even the animals are gone?” he asked his wife.

  Mei was still standing on the top of the wagon, and she put her hands to her hips. “They are. What the hell happened here?”

  Jin couldn’t do anything but shake his head. The chef couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched. He looked up towards the sky and peered into the clouds.

  “Do you feel that?” He finally asked Mei.

  She looked up at him and nodded her head. “I do. The Heavens are watching this place.”

  She climbed down from the top of the wagon and sat back on the bench next to Jin. She sat close and wrapped herself as close as she could to him while still allowing him to control the oxen. The pair rode in silence and couldn’t help but feel something press into their spirit.

  “Ah! Mei! Jin! Good to see you again,” Taimei greeted them as they approached. The wagon rolled up and stopped about an hour later.

  The pair climbed down and walked to Taimei. They both bowed with their hands clasped together and the man returned it. Once they looked Taimei in the eyes, Mei couldn’t help it.

  “What happened here?” She motioned towards the village with her arm. They were close to the outer part of the village now. Just a few small houses sat close.

  Taimei’s once smiling face disappeared, and he frowned. “We aren’t sure. Even the Sect up there is staying silent. Though they have someone down here.”

  “There’s a feeling here that I…” Mei said and trailed off.

  Taimei couldn’t help but nod his head. “Something different is here, something none of us have felt before. This place was attacked.”

  “Yeah but, by what?” Jin asked as he joined the conversation. He was looking out towards the village at the spots of night sky that were in the building.

  Taimei gave a hopeful smile. “That’s why we are here. Someone from the Cove Garden Retreat is on their way as well. Some young elder they have that’s supposed to be a prodigy.”

  Jin looked over at Taimei with a curious glance, but Mei was the one to speak.

  “Those people?”

  Taimei gave a loud laugh. “Ha! Yeah. They deal with the more..” he searched for the word. “Esoteric, so they may have more of an idea of what happened.”

  Mei nodded her head in understanding. She knew of the sect to live in the northwest part of the Empire. They had strange thoughts about the universe and mana and cultivation. Something about how the body helped the spirit? She wasn’t sure of their ideas. Always seemed weird to her.

  “Well, anyway. I’m glad you guys came. I was looking forward to more of Jin’s wonderful cooking and some of our members can’t wait to see what the man does with his aura and his dishes,” Taimei said.

  “And that wonderful soy sauce,” he added with a wink.

  Jin walked over and stood next to his wife and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, grinning.

  “We were already on the way. The thing in the sky was hard to miss,” Mei said and looked at the cultivator.

  “Indeed. Well, welcome to Toya Village,” Taimei said.

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