Voidlight Rising (A Xianxia Cultivation Adventure)

Don't bother trying to keep the masters in bed. You might be able to bully an injured disciple into resting and recovering, but I have yet to meet a master in our sect who listens when told to remain still. They just can't seem to comprehend the idea of rest. Better just to give them a small task and fool them into thinking they're being helpful. -Healer Li Tianmei of the Mist Cat Mountain Sect

Unfamiliar wooden rafters greeted me when I opened my eyes next. My neck ached with the stiffness of having been awkwardly bent for several hours. Groaning, I sat up and ran a hand through my hair. Chiho immediately rose from a nearby table to pick and preen through my hair, as it always did when I woke. This time, though, the jade hairpin found no messy tangles in my long hair, which reminded me that I had not arrived to this location of my own power.

Casting a glance around the room, I was pleased to find that it was a standard layout: one bed, a mat for additional sleepers, a desk, and a divider that likely obscured a bath. Somehow, Lin had gotten me to an inn since my core had been drained by that strange voidlight eclipse that had appeared in the sky.

I swung my feet to the floor. Sore muscles and empty meridians protested against the movement, but I ignored it. Lin and Xinya were not here, and I would feel much more at ease once I knew for sure that they had arrived safely to…wherever we were.

Chiho guided me to the pile of dark robes that had been set out for me, and I went about dressing myself. My chains shimmered with moon qi as the clothes passed through them, and soon, I was fully dressed and presentable once more. Chiho pulled my hair back from my face, wrapping my blue and silver ribbon round and round until it was satisfied with the knot. Only then, did it slip itself between the folds and vibrate peacefully.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a purring cat, not a fussy crane," I teased the hairpin. It trilled a shrill response but then nestled itself down and went back to its happy vibrations.

I gingerly slung my bow over my shoulder, casting a sad glance at Eclipse. The sword didn't react, remaining stoic as it always was. As much as I wanted to carry it with me, the odds of it being recognized in this city were too great. Without knowing where we were and how much the people here would know about the Darkened Moon, I couldn't risk it.

"Sorry, my friend," I whispered before turning and slowly leaving the room.

The inn was fairly well-kept, at least on the upper floors. The room was free of dust, and the halls were decorated with tasteful silks to give a warm and welcoming atmosphere. That image ended as soon as I descended the stairs.

A bloodstain marred the floorboards at the bottom landing, and broken glass and splintered wood lay strewn across the floor. Nearby, Xinya was sweeping bits of it to the sides so that the room could be safely navigated.

"What happened here?" I asked the little girl.

Immediately, a smile sprang to her face. She abandoned her broom and threw herself into my arms. The force of it was strong, and I staggered just a bit thanks to the recovering state of my core and body.

"Uncle Yoru! You're awake!" Her voice was strong but slightly muffled with some kind of cold. "When you passed out, we were so worried! You started phasing out, like when you use Flash Back too much. Lin didn't know if you'd make it, but he carried you on his back all the way through the city until we found this place."

"And, where is here? What happened?" I repeated, gesturing at the bloodstain.

"I'm not really sure, actually," she admitted. "The innkeeper was dead when we got here. Her shade attacked us as soon as she saw us, so Uncle Lin had to disperse her. He's in the back, taking care of the body."

I frowned. "If the innkeeper is dead, then why are we cleaning the place up?"

"Because Lin said to?" answered Xinya. I hummed softly. It was a simple argument, and one that didn't really allow any objection. Instead, I pushed myself to my feet and began searching for a pan to help remove the glass. Together, Xinya and I began to systematically clean up the room.

The glass seemed to be from various knickknacks, while the splinters were from several places where the wooden slats of the windows had been forced inward. The floor was riddled with sections where the lacquered polish had been eaten away. Those places still seeped with void qi, and I began to put a picture together.

Whatever had been out in the darkness had burst through the windows. The innkeeper had put up a fight, throwing whatever she could at her assailant, but in the end, it wasn't enough. The blood pool was wide. She'd bled out slowly.

"Oh, you're awake," Lin greeted as he entered the main room from a side door.

"Drained and aching, but alive," I answered.

The wood artist examined me, biting down on a lip before tapping the back of my shoulder blades. I winced as pain shot through my body. It was a painful reminder of my fight with Shen Tori, where he'd sliced me clean. A cultivator's body was strong and recovered quickly, but being drained hadn't helped things.

At least I haven't been out too long, I noted.

"You should be resting," he said simply. "It's only been a day since we arrived. You're not invincible, you know."

I nodded. "I know that, but it's just a bit of cleaning. Xinya said you wanted the place tidied up."

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"I just," he paused, looking to the side with a melancholy look, "didn't know what else to do while we waited. The innkeeper is dead. Someone will no doubt come to look for her soon. I didn't want to be accused of foul play."

A deep sorrow hung in his words, the kind that penetrated to his bones and persisted for days, weeks, or months, regardless of the conversation. I bet I knew what it was.

Hanako's death was still fresh in his mind. Though it had been nearly two months, he hadn't the chance to stop and grieve in that time. As soon as the funerary vigils were complete, we'd been forced to prepare for the Moonfall Festival. Then, Shen Tori had summoned the Tide Serpent and kidnapped Xinya, leaving us sprinting from battle to battle for weeks. Here, in this place, we finally had a moment of quiet, and his sorrows were creeping back to the front of his mind.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Shall I get a bucket for the blood?"

He scowled. "No, you won't. You're going straight back to bed so you can recover from your injuries."

"But I want to help!" I pouted. Lin chewed on his lip as I stared into his jade eyes.

Eventually, he sighed. "You can sit at a table. I'll bring you some cups that look like they could use a wipe down."

I smiled and found a seat at one of the tables. Lin disappeared into the side room before returning with a stack of cups and a cloth. They…didn't look dirty, but I dutifully cleaned them all the same while Lin disappeared into the back once more to search for a bucket.

Xinya continued her task of sweeping the floor around the bloodstain. I watched her with careful eyes. She looked tired, and her breathing was slightly labored. Every so often, she coughed into a sleeve before returning to her work. On a hunch, I looked deeper inside, casting my gaze to the qi within her body. Brilliant violet and silver mingled inside, but a thread of black had wormed its way in between the colors like a parasite.

I sighed. It wasn't unheard of. In fact, I wasn't even that surprised. Exposure to a highly potent Void atmosphere had taken its toll. She was coming down with Void Fever, I'd bet my last gold on it.

"Now, how did you get Lin to let you out of bed?" I asked soft enough that the wood artist wouldn't hear in the next room. Xinya stiffened.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Her lie might have been more convincing if not for the cough that wracked her tiny shoulders almost as soon as the words left her mouth.

"Xinya," I said, beckoning her over. She dutifully approached, kneeling beside me. I put a hand on her forehead. It wasn't as hot as it could have been, and she was certainly better equipped to handle it now than she would have been a few months ago. As a Leaf-ranked cultivator, she had her own qi to fight off the void's corruption.

She looked away. "I'm fine. I won't be any trouble anymore. I promise."

"Xinya, when have you ever been trouble to us?" I asked. An incredibly sharp glare was my only reward. I sighed and pulled her into a hug. "You are not a burden to us, Meimei."

"I…I'm just," she struggled with the words in her heart. I patiently let her speak to them. "I just…want…I'm tired of being helpless! I don't want you to have to rescue me anymore! I want to be able to do it myself."

I rubbed my hands over her shoulder. "I became a cultivator so I could protect the people I care about. I do not consider it a burden to protect you. In fact, it is my honor and privilege to do so." She began to tremble in my arms. "But, if you want to be stronger, then we can work on that, too. I can't let you advance beyond me for safety reasons, but Bronze should be manageable. Why don't we look into that once you're feeling better?"

She sniffled, but that sniffle turned into a rough cough that shook her whole body. I made a note to get her some medicines once we had a firmer grasp on our situation. Until then, she would have to fight the battle on her own.

The front door slid open, and a man dressed in simple but sturdy green robes appeared. He glanced around before laying eyes on me, surprise flashing through his eyes.

For my part, I was shocked to see a very handsome oni with blue-tinted skin and red eyes. His black hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, and he looked as if he'd been recently punched, with a bruise forming on his cheek. However, that bruise only added to the fire that burned in his expression.

"You're at my table," he growled.

"Apologies," I said. "Are you a usual patron here?"

Another look of surprise passed over his features before he finally settled on a thoughtful look. "I am. What's it to you?"

"I'm sorry to say that the innkeeper is dead," I explained. "The void spirits must have gotten her."

He scratched his face with long black nails. With a sigh, he sat down across from me.

"Blackout got her? That's a shame," he smirked. "But, you'll forgive me if I don't tell you how much of a tab I had running before her death."

"Why should I care?"

"You're living here, ain'tcha?" The oni grabbed a cup from my pile and set it before him. "Are you going to take up the place or not?"

I stared at him. Did I look like an innkeeper? How on earth had he come to the conclusion that we might be considered to inherit the place?

"You must be from out of town," he said. With a huff, he stood, crossed behind the counter, and grabbed a jug of wine before returning to sit across from me. "Word of friendly advice from your elder, go back where you came from."

I tensed and narrowed my eyes. "What makes you think you're my elder?"

"Are you saying I'm not?" His eyes met mine as he poured his wine. Confidence exuded from his posture as he raised a knee and rested his arm on it, drinking with the utmost comfort, and very little decorum.

He was powerful, of that I had no doubt. Oni were a special race of giant yokai who came in as many variants as there were stars in the sky, but a few truths connected them. The first was that most oni were born as hideous trolls, and only through cultivation could they achieve the look of a beautiful human. The second was that most oni got smaller the stronger they were. This man only stood a few inches taller than myself, where most oni would dwarf me in size.

Yet, it didn't matter how strong he was, I could count on one hand the number of people who even came close to my age. Only long-dead shades were my equal, and this man was no shade.

Not that I could tell him that. I smiled and conceded.

"Smart lad," he said, and I resisted the urge to punch him in the jaw. "Now, as I was saying, a word of the wise would be to leave. The Black City isn't the yokai paradise it once was. Maybe a Void spirit like you'll be just fine during a blackout, but a knife to the back would kill you just as surely."

"And if we have nowhere else to go?" I wondered. The oni gulped his wine down in a swift motion before filling the cup again.

"Then I'd find a nice, abandoned inn and take possession. Then, at least, you'd have housing, which is more than some have."

I frowned. "And what of the old innkeeper's family? Surely, they'll want her possessions back?"

He snorted. "If they've got the guts to come to a backwater corner of a washed-up hellhole. More likely, they'll just cut their losses and do the smart thing: leave. Property means nothing if the Shadows rip the meat from your bones. Rich and poor get gutted all the same."

Well, isn't he just a basket of sunshine, I thought.

"Say, what's your name?" I asked. If we really could just take up the business, it might be nice to know one of the regulars first.

"Me? Call me Satoro. Clan's too old for anyone to remember, so just Satoro will do."