“Don’t fall behind,” commands Bae. She descends the winding path with a spring in her step.

  I follow her, huffing and panting, toward the black lacquered carriage approaching in the distance. It rattles closer, leaving a trail of dust in its wake. A solitary rider escorts it, clad in polished steel that reflects the sunlight like a mirror. I exhale through my nose in irritation, trying to catch up. Why the hurry? And who the hell may that be? I thought the tunnel was closed.

  The carriage comes to a halt at the foot of the hill, unable to continue because the path up to Master Wen’s home is too narrow. The door swings open just as we arrive. I try to tame my unruly hair to look presentable, feeling winded from our crazy run. I glare at Bae, who stands at my side, grinning, looking as fresh as ever.

  The door swings open, and a boy steps down with a scowl. He is young, perhaps thirteen, but the sneer on his face is that of someone convinced of his superiority. His gaze sweeps over me as if I don’t exist and then fixes on Bae’s bushy tail. His lips curl.

  “So, this is what they send? A mutt playing gatekeeper?” His voice drips with disdain. The guard on horseback looks at me, seeming uneasy, but says nothing.

  Bae’s tail flicks behind her, but she doesn’t seem offended. If something, her eyes twinkle in amusement. She bows deep and greets the newcomers in a silky voice. “Welcome to Cherry Blossom Valley! Who do I have the pleasure to address?”

  The boy sneers and spits to the ground as if he had eaten something foul. “Sir Yan, teach the beast to address me properly.”

  The steel-clad rider flinches but then squares himself. “Peasant, you have the honor to be in the presence of Lord Turstan, Marquess de Veranea, peerless in his generation.”

  Veranea? Isn’t that Yuileen’s family? Could it be her brother or cousin?

  “What an honor!” declares Bae with an exaggerated fawn, hiding her snicker behind her clasped hand and winking covertly at me. “May I inquire what brings such distinguished selves to our humble valley and how we may help them?” She sounds almost like a purring cat.

  The boy huffs as if answering is beneath him. The knight dismounts from his horse. He looks around, searching for someone to take the reigns off of him, then decides to tie the magnificent stallion to the carriage and clears his throat. “Emm. His lordship has won the honor to become the next apprentice of the Mountain Sage.” He comes over, leaving his helmet behind, and shakes his sweat-covered curls. “Could you please announce his arrival and show us to our lodgings?”

  “How delightful!” exclaims Bae. “I wasn’t aware that Master Wen took another apprentice.”

  “That’s right, vixen,” sneers the boy. “I’m destined to become the empire’s next immortal.”

  “Incredible! The young master must be truly without peer.” Bae is mocking them, even if they are too dumb to realize it. What is she playing at? I feel a bit uneasy. Treating nobles like this seems unwise. “Minae, please carry their luggage up to the guest house. It will be good for your strength and endurance. I need to go to prepare the house to receive their lordships.”

  I groan, taking in the mountain of crate after crate while Bae disappears in a blur. The boy starts walking beside me without even offering to help.

  “You shouldn’t let a filthy beastkin treat you like that,” he declares in a condescending tone while his guard walks behind us, making me feel boxed in.

  “Yes, my lord,” I whisper, inclining my head towards him, trying to look as small and unremarkable as possible. If he is related to Yuileen, did she tell him about me? He won’t be able to recognize me just from a vague description. The dye still covers my hair, even if the roots start to poke through in their auburn color. There are a lot of people who look like me.

  His gaze seems to wander over me, making me even more uncomfortable. “Don’t worry, young miss. Once I speak with the Sage, he will surely realize that it is shameful to hire a beastkin and throw her into the streets where she belongs.” He swallows and spits to the ground again.

  I suppress the urge to roll my eyes. Yeah. Surely he will do that. I continue, carrying the first crate uphill in silence. It doesn’t seem heavy after all my training with Bae, only unwieldy. Some villagers around us pause to look up at us from their rice fields, smiling at me. Are all of them in on Bae’s antics?

  We arrive in the courtyard, and I set the crate down. Bae sits in a chair behind a desk she brought from somewhere, dressed in a fine silken robe and sipping a cup of steaming tea.

  She looks up at us. “Visitors? And who might you be?” she asks in a stern voice.

  Lord Turstan stops, rooted to the spot, seeming surprised at the dismissing tone. “Another beastkin?” He mumbles. “As I told the other servant, I’m the latest apprentice to the Mountain Sage. You may announce my arrival to your master and show me to my lodgings.”

  Wait? Doesn’t he realize that he is talking to the same person?

  Bae looks up, her sharp amber eyes sharp fixed on the boy. The tension seems to thicken in the air, making the bodyguard grip the pommel of his sword. I shift, uneasy, feeling out of place.

  Bae lets the silence linger, taking another sip of her tea before smirking. “No, you are not!” she declares.

  Turstan blinks and looks at his guard, who shrugs at him. The boy looks back at Bae. “Excuse me? And who do you think you are? I demand to speak with your master immediately!”

  Bae smiles at him, showing her pointy teeth like a predator. “And why, tell me, should I bother him? He has more important things to do than entertain some random noble who thinks too much of himself and even forgets to ask for permission before entering this valley. Hmm?”

  The boy turns pink, then red. “You dare?” His hands start twitching. “Sir Yan, remove that filthy beast which dares to insult me! Surely the Sage won’t mind.”

  The steel-clad guard flinches and shifts, seeming at unease. Then he swallows and looks up at Bae, searching for courage. “Yes, my lord!” he declares, unsheathing his sword and lunging forward.

  Bae smiles from ear to ear without moving from her place. For some reason, instead of sprinting towards her, the guard jumps into one of the fish ponds, flailing around with his sword and darting behind something small and red that always seems to stay out of his grasp. Is that a plush fox? Bae snickers in amusement.

  The boy blinks. “How?” His eyes seem to dart out of his face, following the huffs and puffs of his guardian, still stomping and spilling water all around himself. “He is a knight at the nascent soul stage. How are you doing that?”

  “What? Really?” Bae bends over, laughing wildly, holding her belly in her arms. “Oh, my! To think there would exist a nascent soul out there unable to use his soul-sense to realize he is following an illusion.” She straightens her back, still grinning. “How far the standards have fallen.”

  The boy glares at her. “But he is a great fencer!” He snarls. Then he lowers his voice, seemingly realizing the balance of power isn’t in his favor. “Could you please release him, great lady?” He swallows hard and looks at Bae. “Emm, I may have overreacted. I didn’t know your ladyship was such a great mage. Could you please release my servant?”

  “But sure, boy,” purrs Bae. “How could I not if you ask that nicely.”

  The Guard darts over, stumbles, and falls over himself in a heap of limps and clinging metal. He looks up, seeming disoriented. Then he flinches when he realizes that Bae is still sitting in the same place, sipping tea without a hurry.

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  “Stand down, sir Yan,” commands the boy, before addressing Bae again. “I must ask that you please announce to the Mountain Sage that his new apprentice has arrived.”

  “Sure, she has,” snickers Bae. “She got here nearly a month ago.”

  “What?” asks the boy, looking at his guard, who shrugs his shoulders. “Who is the imposter?” he snarls. “That can’t be right. I have the beacon to prove that I’m the rightful one!”

  “Really?” asks Bae. “Well, what are you waiting for? Bring it over?”

  A compass similar to my own appears in the boy’s hands. “See?”

  “Sure, I do,” says Bae. “As you can see, it is not active. The needle is missing.”

  The boy grasps it back to stare at it. “What? No! What needle? It has always been like that!”

  “And how long ago did you get it? asks Bae, in a tone you would use to speak with a little kid.

  “What? Three weeks.”

  “Well, then it was already deactivated when you got it. I told you that the Mountain Sage’s next apprentice arrived here nearly a month ago. All the beacons are linked. When the first one arrives, the competition ends, and the rest of them are deactivated. You lost the race.”

  “What? But how? I won the tournament! Yan can testify that I did, right?”

  “Yes, my lord,” mumbles the steel-clad knight, dripping water all over the courtyard.

  “My uncle, the Emperor, promised me! Who would dare to defy him? I demand to see the Mountain Sage!” He points at Bae with a finger, flailing wildly with his other arm. “You can’t deny me my right!”

  The mountain grins. Snow-covered peaks melt and bleed into crimson rivers. They flow toward us, surrounding the courtyard with bubbling lava. Squirming tentacles reach out, smacking the ground beside us with a thunderous roar. The sun is a gigantic eye that watches us, peeking at our secrets. Bae’s figure shifts into a nine-tailed fox that winks at me. Gravity goes haywire, pressing us down. Then everything disappears, and we are back in the valley. Birds chirp and flutter around us. Bae is still sitting in her chair, sipping her tea.

  “The scarlet deceiver,” whispers the knight. He steps between his Lord and Bae, one hand clenched over the pommel of his sword.

  “Oh? Someone has heard about me,” snickers the fox-kin.

  “A Kitsune?” Mutters the boy. “Whatever.”

  What is wrong with him? How sheltered must his life have been not to be able to recognize the threat and danger? Maybe he never had to face the consequences of his words or actions.

  “What tournament and other nonsense are you even talking about?” asks Bae. “It is supposed to be a race through civilization and wilderness, a competition between all the promising members of the younger generation to determine the worthiest candidate.”

  Lord Turstan looks at her, mouth wide open. There is no trace left of his disdain. “What? Are you saying there could be someone worthier than me?” He puffs his chest out like a peacock. “Who could be a worthier candidate than me? I am barely fourteen and only days away from advancing to gold rank. Everybody recognizes my genius.”

  Bae rolls her eyes and sighs. “She is standing right beside you.”

  The boy and his guard whirl around to look at me. “Who?” asks Lord Turstan. “You surely can’t mean the servant girl?”

  Bae starts laughing again. “Sure, the servant girl beat you to it.”

  Why did she have to put me on the spot? I felt fine being unnoticed. I already have enough problems.

  “Who is the traitor who let you past the checkpoint?” asks Turstan, projecting droplets of spit in my direction. He isn’t even that wrong in his suspicion. I know that at least one of the tunnel guards is a traitor. Kevin, the Crow’s nephew, said something about bribing the guards. “Nevermind. You must renounce your claim, girl. It is the will of the Emperor that I become the next Immortal.”

  “It doesn’t work like that,” interjects Bae. “Even if she were to renounce, you wouldn’t become the next apprentice. You lost. Shu!” She waves at him as if scaring a pesky fly away and leans back, balancing her chair on one of its legs. “And anyway, I don’t think you have what it takes to become an immortal. Her foundation is way better than yours.”

  “What? No! You are wrong! Everybody knows that I am the best. I’ll show you.” He looks at me again. “Girl, what is your cultivation rank?”

  “Peak Copper,” I answer with a shrug.

  “What? Not even Silver?” He turns towards Bae again. “You see, she is older than me, and her cultivation rank is way lower than mine.”

  “And?”

  “Well, you must recognize that I am a better candidate.”

  “Nah, she is still better than you.”

  “What?” His eyes dart toward Bae’s flicking tail. “Is it because of what I called you before? I’m sorry, but you can’t turn me away because you feel some misguided offense or nonsense.” What is he talking about? Does he hear himself? Again, what is wrong with him? “Your master surely won’t like it if you turn a more promising candidate away because of personal grievances.”

  Bae bursts out laughing again, falling backward until she clatters against the ground. “Oh my.” She wipes her tears away with the back of one hand. “Who do you think I am, silly boy, some lowly servant whose opinion doesn’t matter?” I can see the beaten knight wincing. “I know your foundation is way worse than hers, and you lack the attitude needed to achieve greatness. Even if Master Wen had to choose, he would choose her.”

  “That can’t be right!” snarls the lord. I demand a duel to show that I’m superior!”

  Bae looks at me, her eyes glimmering. “Sure, why not?” Now it’s me that winces. “Don’t make that face, silly,” she snickers. “It will let you consolidate what you have learned this past month. Take a sword from the rack.”

  I stand across from the young lord, sweat dripping down my neck. When did I sign up for this? Bae is crazy.

  “You will fight until submission or incapacitation.” Bae’s voice seems to come from very far away, from everywhere, like the memory of the crimson sky and the falling mountains.

  Turstan unsheathes a richly decorated, slightly curved sword that seems to shimmer under the sunlight. My basic steel training sword seems lackluster in comparison.

  “You should give up, girl. I need this apprenticeship. I will tell my uncle to reward you,” he promises, sounding condescending.

  What is he even talking about? Is he deaf or something? Bae told him that the result didn’t matter. Is he in denial? Not that I want to let him beat me.

  “I didn’t ask for a duel,” I answer.

  “Well, as you wish, you should know that I follow the path of the spellblade. There is no way you can beat me with a sword,” he blusters.

  “Stop blabbering and start already!” yells Bae, sitting next to the knight at the courtyard's edge. “I’m bored.”

  Turstan lunges forward with a probing strike, trying to take my measure. I deflect a bit clumsily, caught by surprise. He sneers at me. “Pathetic.” He comes at me with a similar combination to one Bae used on me, a flurry of strikes followed by a lunge that I all deflect or evade stepping back. His technique is way more polished than mine, although he is slower than Bae. He is even slower than me, even though it seems strange knowing his cultivation rank is superior. I have the advantage in reach, too. Being slightly taller.

  That doesn’t mean that I can break through his defense, though. He seems to anticipate every one of my movements, even feeling comfortable enough to get cocky and add unnecessary flourishes to his strikes. Like the parading peacock that he is. I try to keep it simple, like Bae taught me. Strike to create an opening and lunge, he parries and counterattacks, forcing me to step back and block, not to get impaled. Again, maybe I can tire him out. I don’t know what else to do.

  My next lunge goes a bit wide. He guides my blade past his body, throwing me off balance before sidestepping with ease. Suddenly, he darts towards me way faster than before. His sword flicks out. I barely manage to adjust my stance and block, but the flat of his blade rasps against my knuckles, making them bleed. I gasp, nearly dropping my sword, but cling to it as if my life depended on it. Maybe it does. Who knows what this blustering peacock has in mind?

  “You are faster than I expected,” he acknowledges. His calm voice almost sounds bored. “But you should know when someone outclasses you. Once I start using techniques, you won’t be able to hold me back any longer. It’s nothing personal, but I need that apprenticeship.”

  He is still delusional, I see. But that makes him more dangerous. I grit my teeth and swing again in an overhead strike. His sword glows brightly. He blocks. My sword gets sheared in half as if made of butter. Half of the blade flies off into the distance. I look at the hilt and the foot-long stump of the blade that is left, dumbfounded. Something flies toward me, and I dodge out of reflex before stepping back. His blade seems to have grown. It is projecting a flickering image around. Shit! With that, his reach is enormous. He doesn’t even need to step close any longer. I don’t want to know what will happen if I touch that. He flicks his wrists and hurls a shimmering energy disc in my direction, seeming content with making me run around. I evade again, feeling hot air rushing past me. How is this fair?

  “Can you see now that I outmatch you?”

  Is he playing with me? Why? And why isn’t Bae calling it off? I thought this was a swordfight. I don’t have any of those techniques. How does she expect me to beat him? More and more energy discs fly in my direction, barely leaving me space to evade. I do have runes, though. If I time it right, I may have a chance. But I need to make it count, or I’ll lose. I greet my teeth again, searching for an opening.

  “You should give up already. I have enough mana to continue for ages,” yells the boy, throwing a fit like a toddler. He finally stops for a moment. I start running towards him. He hurls another energy disc toward my shins. I jump up and towards him. “Fool!” he sneers.

  His blade comes at me in a horizontal strike, extended further than it should. I have nothing to block it with, seemingly no way to evade. I blind him for a moment with a light beam. My first air step takes me over his strike. My second air step bleeds my momentum when I’m right above him. His head whirls around. He seems to have lost track of me in his moment of blindness. Then gravity takes hold of me, and I crash the pommel of my sword into his temple with all my weight. He sags to the ground like a puppet without its strings.

  “Lord Turstan!” yells the knight. He blurs towards me, sword in hand, until Bae appears between us and slaps him away.

  “You will behave.”