Yan Qiu spent the rest of the morning near the training grounds.

  He did not go inside. The courtyard was filling up with disciples running through their morning routines, and he did not feel like being around that many people, he was still feeling heavy in his chest. So, he found a stretch of open ground behind the pavilion where the grass was worn flat from footwork drills and started running laps.

  The air was cool and the sky was clear. He ran until his muscles warmed and then kept going, letting the rhythm of it settle his mind.

  After a while he stopped and drew his practice sword.

  The Broken Jade Sword Art came smoother now. He moved through the first form with the blade held low, stepping and turning and cutting in the sequence he had drilled during seclusion. His qi pushed through his arm and into the steel at the transitions, and the form felt less like practice and more like something his body understood on its own.

  He was halfway through the second repetition when he heard footsteps behind him.

  “You have been out here since breakfast,” Sun Hao said. He was standing at the edge of the clearing with his arms crossed, watching. “I looked for you in the hall and Peng Hu said you went toward the training grounds.”

  Yan Qiu lowered the sword. “I could not sit still.”

  Sun Hao’s eyes went from Yan Qiu to the sword in his hand. “Spar with me.”

  Yan Qiu raised an eyebrow. “Now?”

  “It has been over a month,” Sun Hao said. He rolled his shoulders and stepped onto the flat ground. “Last time we fought was the trials. I want to see where I stand.”

  Yan Qiu set the practice sword down on the grass and faced him. Sun Hao settled into his stance, weight low, fists up, the same solid posture he had used during the combat trial. His frame had filled out since they arrived at the sect, broader across the chest and thicker through the arms.

  They moved at the same time.

  Sun Hao came in with a straight punch aimed at Yan Qiu’s chest, fast and committed. Yan Qiu stepped to the side and let it pass, feeling the wind of it brush his ribs. Sun Hao was stronger than before. The punch carried real force behind it, the kind that would have hurt if it landed.

  But he was slow.

  Not slow in the way most people were slow. Sun Hao was quick for his stage and his build, and his technique was clean. He was slow compared to what Yan Qiu had become during seclusion, and the difference was obvious the moment they started moving. Yan Qiu could see the punch coming before Sun Hao’s shoulder finished turning.

  He gathered qi in his palm and released a short burst of the Gale Palm, not at full force, just enough to push Sun Hao back a step and break his rhythm. Before Sun Hao could reset, Yan Qiu closed the distance and struck the outside of his left elbow with an open hand, a sharp tap that forced his guard wide and put him on his back foot.

  Sun Hao tried to recover. He shifted his weight and threw a counter with his right fist, but Yan Qiu was already inside his reach. He drove a punch toward Sun Hao’s chest and Sun Hao moved to block it, committing both hands to the defense, and Yan Qiu kicked his lead leg out from under him instead.

  Sun Hao stumbled. He caught himself and pivoted, trying to create distance and reset, but Yan Qiu used the Dust Treading Step to slide behind him in one smooth motion and hit him with another Gale Palm between the shoulder blades. The burst was controlled, just enough to send Sun Hao forward two steps and off balance.

  Sun Hao caught himself with one hand on the ground and turned around. He stayed there for a moment, crouched, breathing hard, and then he straightened up and stared at Yan Qiu.

  “What happened to you in that room?” he said.

  Yan Qiu lowered his hands. The whole thing had taken less than a dozen moves.

  “I trained,” he said.

  Sun Hao shook his head slowly. “That was not training. You were reading me before I even moved.” He dusted off his knees and stood up fully. “During the trials I could at least keep up with you. Just now I felt like I was fighting someone two stages above me.”

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  “You are stronger than before,” Yan Qiu said. Sun Hao’s punches carried more weight and his footwork was tighter than during the trials.

  “Stronger does not matter if I cannot touch you,” Sun Hao said, but there was no bitterness in his voice. He was grinning. “I need to work on my speed. My feet are too heavy.”

  “Then work on your feet.”

  “Easy for you to say.” Sun Hao stretched his arms above his head and winced. “That Gale Palm to the back was not gentle, by the way.”

  “You would have dodged if you were faster.”

  Sun Hao laughed and shoved his shoulder.

  They went back to Stone Sparrow Hall to wash up. On the way, Yan Qiu told him about the mission.

  “Elder Han asked me to join a team,” he said. “Beasts attacking a village up north. B-rank. We leave before sunrise tomorrow.”

  Sun Hao was quiet for a few steps. “North. Like the letter.”

  Yan Qiu nodded. He had not told Sun Hao what was in the letter, but Sun Hao had seen his face that morning and he was not stupid.

  “Be careful,” Sun Hao said. “B-rank is no joke.”

  “I know.”

  “I mean it, Qiu. You just got out of seclusion. Do not do anything reckless.”

  “When have I ever been reckless?”

  Sun Hao gave him a look that said he could name at least three occasions, and Yan Qiu almost smiled.

  He was at the training grounds before the sky had started to lighten.

  The air was cold and the stone courtyard was empty. The practice dummies along the far wall were dark shapes in the pre-dawn grey, and the weapon racks near the entrance gleamed faintly where the metal caught the last of the moonlight. Yan Qiu stood near the center of the courtyard with his pack on his back and waited.

  Elder Han arrived first. He walked out of the shadows between the buildings with his hands behind his back and nodded once when he saw Yan Qiu already there.

  “Good,” he said. “The others will be here shortly.”

  They came in ones and twos over the next few minutes. The first was a senior outer disciple named Zhou Tai, a broad man in his late teens with a square jaw and a calm, unhurried way of moving. He carried a short spear across his back and nodded to Yan Qiu without saying anything. The second was Chen Bao, thinner and quicker-looking, with a long knife at his hip and restless eyes that moved over the courtyard like he was cataloguing everything in it.

  Then the inner disciples arrived.

  The first was a young man around nineteen, tall and lean with sharp features and dark robes that were cut differently from the outer disciples’ grey. He walked with confidence. Elder Han introduced him as the mission leader: Liang Feng. He bowed to the elder and turned to the rest of the group with a measured look that took in each of them without lingering.

  The second inner disciple was a girl of about eighteen, compact and sharp-boned, with narrow eyes and a jaw that looked like it had never unclenched. Her hair was pulled back tight into a single tail and a pair of thin swords sat crossed at her lower back. Shu Yingyue. She stood slightly behind Liang Feng with her arms folded and her eyes on Yan Qiu. She did not look pleased.

  “Him?” she said, glancing at Liang Feng. “He is from the newest batch.”

  “Elder Han recommended him,” Liang Feng said without turning around.

  “He has been here for a few months.”

  “And he is third stage Breath Weaving and took down four disciples including a senior in a fight,” Liang Feng said. His voice was even and carried no particular emphasis, like he was reading from a report. “Elder Han does not recommend people without reason.”

  Shu Yingyue looked at Yan Qiu again. Her expression did not change, but she did not say anything more.

  Elder Han stepped forward and the group fell quiet.

  “Listen carefully,” he said. “The original mission was to deal with the beast attacks on a village in the north. However, I received word yesterday that a second village nearby, Stonehollow, has also been raided. The attacks there are more recent but following the same pattern.” He looked at each of them in turn. “Your mission is to investigate both villages, determine the source of the beast activity, and eliminate it if possible. If the threat exceeds what you can handle, do not engage.”

  He held up a small jade talisman, pale green and no larger than a thumb.

  “Each of you will carry one of these. If you encounter a situation beyond your ability, break it. The talisman will transmit your location and a distress signal to the sect. We will send reinforcements.” He paused. “The mission is B-rank. That means the expected threat level is within your combined capability, but it also means there is room for the unexpected. Do not try to be brave. Handle it according to the situation, and if the situation tells you to retreat, you retreat.”

  He looked at Liang Feng. “You are the mission leader. The team composition was chosen for balance. Zhou Tai and Chen Bao have experience with beast subjugation missions. Shu Yingyue’s speed and blade work complement their frontline capability. Yan Qiu’s combat instincts and adaptability round out the group.” His eyes moved to Yan Qiu. “Follow Liang Feng’s orders. This is not a solo task.”

  Yan Qiu nodded.

  “As for the approach,” Elder Han continued, “that is for the mission leader to decide once you assess the terrain. I have provided maps of both villages and the surrounding area.” He gestured to a cloth bundle on the ground near the weapon rack. “There are supplies inside. Maps, rations, basic healing pills, and the talismans. Distribute them among yourselves.”

  Liang Feng picked up the bundle and opened it. He handed out the maps first, one to each member, then divided the pills and rations evenly. The jade talismans went last, one per person, small and cool in Yan Qiu’s palm when he received his.

  “Any questions?” Elder Han said.

  Nobody spoke.

  “Then go. Report back when the mission is complete.”

  They bowed to the elder and left the training grounds as the first pale line of light appeared along the eastern ridge.