The Dungeon of Silence

The battle lasted ten minutes. Xiulan fought twelve Elites and the Sect Leader to a standstill. But she was distracted. She kept shielding Jing from the shockwaves.

The Sect Leader saw the weakness. He launched a mental attack, not at her, but at Jing.

Jing fainted.

Xiulan screamed, her focus shattering. The Elites capitalized, binding her in chains of light. They dragged her away, thrashing and howling like a wild beast.

Jing woke up in the dark.

The Dungeon of Silence. It dampened all Qi. It was cold, damp, and smelled of despair.

"You're awake," a voice echoed.

The Sect Leader stood outside the bars. He looked old and tired.

"Where is she?" Jing asked, scrambling to the bars. "Where is Xiulan?"

"She is in the deep containment," the Leader said. "She is mad, boy. She has been practicing the Blood-Lotus Sutra. It feeds on obsession. We thought she was emotionless, but it turns out she was just saving it all for... you."

"She was protecting me," Jing said.

"She nearly destroyed the sect," the Leader countered. "She mutilated a guest disciple. She is a weapon that has turned on its masters. We have no choice. We must excise the obsession. We must execute the source."

Jing froze. "The source?"

"You," the Leader said. "As long as you live, she is uncontrollable. If you die, she might break, but she will be usable again."

Jing stared at the old man. The cruelty of it took his breath away. They blamed Xiulan for being a monster, but they were the ones who made her.

"She isn't a weapon," Jing said, standing up. "She's a girl who likes sweet fruit and braiding hair."

The Leader turned to leave. "Execution is at dawn."

Jing sat in the dark. He looked at his hands. He was weak. He was a gardener.

But he was a gardener who knew roots. And this dungeon... it was built into the mountain.

He closed his eyes. He reached out with his senses. Not for Qi, but for life.

Deep in the stone, ancient roots of the mountain pines slumbered. They were small, dormant.

"Wake up," Jing whispered. He poured his own life force into the cracks in the floor. "Please. I need to reach her."

The ground trembled.