I Must Have It!

"Say, how did you know?"

"Hm?"

"That that trip wire was there at the door. How did you notice?"

"I've seen stuff like that before, in the Zhongtian Royal Palace."

"I mean so have I, in Ninghai Palace, but I never really paid attention to it. Even if you were a servant, I'm surprised that you paid that much attention."

"I wasn't a servant."

Su Bai giggled at that.

Sticking her tongue out playfully she said, "What, you were a prince?"

"I was a thief."

"A real thief?"

"Is there another kind?"

Su Bai's eyes gleamed as she leaned forward. "That's… that's so cool!"

Song Yi was taken aback. He found that... he really couldn't understand this girl.

The two had decided to take another break after their brush with death. It was clear from that incident that their path from here on out would not be so easy. They'd been fortunate thus far not to run into any living dangers, but that was no guarantee of safety. Just as Song Yi was about to suggest they continue, Su Bai asked,

"Say, why do you think they put us in pairs?"

He shrugged. "Who knows?"

"They want you to fight each other," Emperor Wang said in Song Yi's head.

Song Yi was taken aback. The Emperor had been quiet for a while. "What? Wouldn't they want us to help each other?"

"Brat you have no idea, do you? If you somehow live as long as I have, which you won't, you'll realize that the path you stand at the foot of is named solitude."

Song Yi ignored the Emperor's histrionics.

"You don't believe me, I can tell. I'm going to enjoy the look on your face when you pass this exam."

Song Yi's brow furrowed, his foot tapping absentmindedly on the ground. "What do you mean? What's going to happen? Besides, how do you know I'm going to pass? I could die at any time."

Song Yi normally didn't speak much, but faced with this irritating enigma he couldn't help himself.

"You ask too many questions. Anyways, if I told you, that would take all the fun out of it. As for how I know you're going to pass, that's easy. If you die, I die. Therefore, you won't die."

"Song Yi, are you okay? You look distracted again," Su Bai asked just as Song Yi was about to explode with frustration. Just as the monarch found him incomparably frustrating, he felt the exact same about the monarch.

"Needless to say, but you can't tell your little girlfriend about me."

Song Yi couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Yeah, I'm just dealing with this damn gee- AAAHHHHH!" Song Yi collapsed to the floor, clutching his forehead in agony. Unbeknownst to him and Su Bai, concealed behind his hands appeared the faint mark of a crown. But just as fast as the mark had appeared, it left, bringing the pain away with it.

Song Yi pushed himself up onto his hands and knees with effort, panting. Sweat dripped down his forehead profusely, dripping onto the ground below.

The monarch sighed again. "Are you deaf? Hell, even if you were deaf you'd still be able to 'hear' what I'm saying. You're just an idiot."

"Bastard!" Song Yi shouted out loud.

"Yep, idiot."

"Song Yi what's wrong?!" Su Bai stared at him in his pathetic state for a moment before looking around, trying to see if someone had attacked him. When she couldn't find anything, she rushed over to help Song Yi sit back against the wall.

He let out a large, shaky sigh. "I'm okay now. I'm sorry to worry you like that."

Despite Su Bai's protesting, Song Yi forced himself to his feet.

"We can't waste any more time," was all he said as he walked out of the small house, Su Bai following closely behind.

Inwardly, Song Yi was furious. For the last few hours he hadn't spoken a word and, from the tenseness in his shoulders, Su Bai decided not to say anything either.

He had already been upset about the monarch's presence, but the fact that he could physically influence him… that was beyond his line. Still, what could he do about it?

"You said that the only way to get rid of you was get stronger, right? What, do I need to be able to lift a boulder or something, like Elder Mo did earlier?"

Emperor Wang offered no response, but Song Yi could feel him howling with laughter.

From behind Song Yi, Su Bai could see his knuckles turn white and the hair on the back of his neck stand straight.

"He seems nice most of the time, but… I really can't understand this guy," she thought.

As they ascended, the cave-residences to their side became more illustrious. In tandem, the frequency rare valuable objects that could be found within increased. Of course, it took only a cursory examination from the duo to tell that, even if they proceeded cautiously, it would be nearly impossible to acquire one of those items without suffering.

At one residence, though, they came to a halt at Su Bai's request. Inside, through a large window four times taller than Song Yi himself, could be seen a myriad of jade pedestals. Upon every pedestal was a different relic, each more splendid than the last.

One held on it a golden-hilted sword that emanated a resplendent, similarly golden light.

Next to that was a spear that, at the tip, was concealed in a swirling mist. The shaft, aside from two hand holds, had a dragon carved out of silver coiling around it.

The sights were astonishing to Song Yi, who hadn't been aware that these kinds of things could exist. However by now he was already becoming accustomed to strange sights. The enigmatic second soul inside him, Elder Mo who could toss around a boulder like it was paper, the strange creatures of the forest earlier, it all led to one conclusion.

There was another world that he never could've imagined, hiding beneath the surface.

To a fifteen year old street rat, the implications of such a realization were not completely lost, but he couldn't fully understand, either.

In fact, by this point, most of the youths in the examination had come to similar conclusions.

Eventually, Song Yi's eyes came to rest on a pedestal that held an obsidian battle axe with a pure white bone handle.

"Red Dragonbone. Not bad for a place like this. Hey brat, get that thing. It'd make a nice toothpick."

"Red Dra- what? What the hell are you on about?"

Before the monarch responded to Song Yi, Su Bai pointed at a different pedestal which held on it a pair of red silk gloves. Embroidered on the gloves were patterns of golden flames.

"Those are calling to me," she said. "I must have them."

Song Yi's face fell. She was going to act like a spoiled brat at a time like this?

"Look at the ground in there!"

"I know," she replied calmly. On the ground inside, at varying distances from the door, dozens of skeletons could be seen.

They had seen more than a few sights like this on their way up, previous examinees who had gotten greedy and could no longer resist the temptation, losing their lives over their ambition.

Until now, however, neither Song Yi or Su Bai had entertained such thoughts.

Especially here, when there were multiple times more skeletons than they'd seen previously, Song Yi found the notion absurd.

"I won't ask you to come in with me," Su Bai said, "But I need those."

"Emperor Wang," Song Yi gritted his teeth. As much as he hated the old geezer in his head, the bastard seemed to know something he didn't. For the sake of Su Bai's life, he was willing to throw away his pride for a moment. "Can you tell me anything about that room?"

"Now that's the right attitude. Very nice, very nice. Maybe a man like you isn't so bad after all."

Song Yi pinched the bridge of his nose, struggling to remain calm.

When the monarch spoke again, his tone finally serious.

"With how strong you are right now, if you two go in there you'll die."

Song Yi's eyes widened and he grabbed Su Bai's arm.

"You can't."

She shrugged him off.

"If I get those then I… I can finally…"

"If you go in there you'll die!"

"How can you know?!" she shouted back at him. Pointing at the skeletons she continued, "I won't be like them!"

There were tears building up in the corners of her eyes. "Don't try to stop me."

The moment she said that, she opened the door and walked in.

"She's an idiot too!" the monarch shouted. "Brat, this is only because I owe you one for bringing me back into this world, even if you fucked it up horribly. After this, we're even." When he spoke now, the transmission was thousands of times faster than it was before. Su Bai's foot had yet to touch the floor inside before, suddenly, Song Yi lost consciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Now!"

Two black-robed figures shot out of the darkness.

Third Prince Zhang Bo immediately turned his head to see two figures dangerously close to him, knives held in their hands.

The pair had waited until there was an obstruction that allowed them to get close to the prince before launching their attack.

Prince Zhang grimaced, raising a small buckler he had found within the caves to block one of the assailant's knives.

To the other enemy, however, his back was exposed. With shining eyes, the young man laughed.

"Did you forget about me, Third Prince?"

It was at that moment a trembling voice spoke, a voice that the attacking pair had discounted from the moment they decided to strike.

"What about me?"

The black-robed youth almost didn't notice the voice, but when he turned to glanced to his side, a thin, bony hand filled his vision.

Unable to dodge, the youth raised his arms to block, but was blown back by the strike.

Crack!

The youth crashed into the wall. Where the palm strike had hit him, the clothes were burnt away completely, and the skin was bright red and blistering.

"AAAAAH!"

The youth's agonized scream filled the cave, drawing the attention of his partner.

You! You!" The youth pointed the finger of his good arm at the weak-looking boy who'd struck him.

"Do you really think you can look away from me?" the Third Prince snickered as he sent his opponent reeling with a brutal shield bash to the face.

"Little Li, why are you holding back?" the Prince snapped at his partner.

"S-sorry Prince Zhang… It's just that they're huma-"

"Who cares if they're human? They attacked us, therefore this will be their resting place. Finish him off."

"Yes, P-Prince…"

Soon, the cave was filled with bone-chilling screams, and the smell of burning flesh.

~~~~~~~~~~

When Song Yi woke up, he was lying on his back. He was outside the artifact-housing residence from before. The first thing he noticed was that his body was incomparably sore. He had never felt so much muscle pain in his life before, even when he had pushed past his limits running away in Zhongtian City.

Putting that aside, though, he remembered what had happened just before he lost consciousness.

"Su Bai!" He shouted, looking through the window. To his relief, her body was nowhere to be seen inside. What he did see, however, were spikes coming out of the floor, arrows strewn everywhere around the room, all tipped with the same substance that had been on the first ones they'd seen.

Some of the previous intact skeletons were now half dissolved, others pulverized. There were two more corpses than had been there previously, as well.

But these corpses weren't human, they were black imps, no taller than Song Yi himself, with terrifying grimaces on their faces that revealed razor sharp teeth. Their bodies were covered in grotesque wounds that leaked dark green blood. One of them even had its chest caved in, clearly from some astonishing brute force.

While the scene before him was riveting, Song Yi forced himself to turn away, searching for Su Bai. Fortunately, it didn't take him long. When he turned around, he saw Su Bai lying on the ground near where he'd been. She was unconscious. On her hands were two silk-red gloves.

"Brat…" a weak voice spoke in his head, lacking any of the ancient luster it had previously held. "I'm not going to be around for a while. If I get back and you're dead… I'll kill you."

After those words, Song Yi found that he could only barely sense the monarch's presence within him. It was there, but it was incredibly faint.

What had happened after he passed out? Song Yi had to sit down for a moment. When he did, however, he felt something hard and uncomfortable beneath him.

Moving out of the way he saw… a bone-handled obsidian axe.

"That old geezer…" Song Yi laughed so hard he started to cough.

"Hey, Bai'er, wake up," he said, shaking Su Bai by the shoulder to rouse her.

"Wha- Song Yi?" she mumbled, cracking her eyes open.

She sat up with a jolt, remembering where she was. "Why did you stop me?"

She raised her hand, about to slap Song Yi across the face. But when her hand was just about to strike him, she saw what was on it.

"Y-you…"

Song Yi wore a shit-eating grin on his face.

"H-h-how?"

"Honestly, I can't really remember," he told the truth.

For a brief moment, he'd considered telling her about Emperor Wang. After all, the monarch was asleep, and likely wasn't able to do what he had before. But… he knew that Emperor Wang didn't care about Su Bai. He'd done what he had for Song Yi's sake, and Song Yi wasn't about to betray that act.

Su Bai's eyes narrowed for a moment, but broke out into a smile anyways as she wrapped her arms around him in a bear hug.

"Thank you."

Song Yi was astonished for a second, but soon hugged her back.

"I guess that's just how she is," he thought.

Soon, they were making their way up the terraced walkways once more. Now, to Song Yi's relief, they made rapid progress, no longer stopping to look at the magical artifacts that were guarded in the residences.

This far up the ravine, they could no longer discern that the rooms were trapped at all. In addition, there were no more skeletons visible on the floors within. Even though they both knew better, Song Yi and Su Bai felt tempted constantly. As such, they did their best to not even look. They couldn't be tempted by what they couldn't see.

To their dismay, however, when they climbed higher they began to hear voices emanating from the doorways.

"Young travelers, you must be weary. In here, in here. I have unparalleled good fortune for you."

"Children, come, I will impart my legacy to you. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

The whispers grew more and more frequent, causing Song Yi to frown.

"Bai'er," he said loudly, trying to drown out the sounds. "Those gloves, do you know how to use them?"

She visibly relaxed when he spoke.

"Yeah, I do. I'm worried about using them on these wooden platforms, though, so I can't show you yet."

"As long as you know," Song Yi smiled at her. His body still ached terribly, but he was happy to see that the frustration she had been feeling before seemed to have disappeared.

"How about you? That axe looks ominous."

Song Yi shot her a confident smile.

"Well, the handle is Red Dragonbone, after all."

"What's Red Dragonbone?"

Song Yi's smile froze on his face. "It's a secret."

Su Bai giggled at that. "You have no idea, do you?"

"Nope, none."

She laughed even harder. "You're a weird guy, you know that?"

Song Yi joined in her laughter. He'd finally figured out what that feeling was from the first examination, and he was happy. It felt good to have a friend.

By now, the pair had all but forgotten the voices that tried to tempt them from the shadows, even though those voices grew in number and intensity.

It wasn't long before they reached the top of the ravine, hundreds of meters above the cave they'd first entered. With cheerful faces, they walked out into a new vast expanse, unable to see walls or a ceiling above them.

Their expressions fell in an instant when, only a few meters ahead of them, they saw a pitch-black, fat, grotesque creature. It had a short spiked tail coming from its behind, stubby horns protruding from its forehead. To finish the image, its snarling expression revealed fangs that dripped with saliva.

It was an imp, just like the two that Song Yi had seen dead in the pedestal residence before.

"Graiiiiiii!" The imp immediately lept towards Su Bai, who jumped out of its way.

Before she could move to counterattack, the imp pivoted with surprising speed and lept once more.

This time, Song Yi was ready.

"Aaaaah!" He let out a battle cry as he swung the heavy obsidian axe at the imp.

With a mischievous gleam in its eyes, the imp turned once more to slap Song Yi's overextended wrist, sending the axe spinning out onto the ground.

"Tch, then how about this? Blazing Desert Kick!" This was the technique from the book Elder Mo had given him!

Song Yi let out a controlled breath as he dropped into a low stance. He spun around once to generate centrifugal force before sending a vicious kick towards the imp who dodged under the kick, biting onto Song Yi's grounded leg.

"GAAAH!" he screamed in pain as he collapsed to the ground, beating at the imp with his fists.

But before he could land even a single blow, the imp jumped away again, heading for Su Bai.

"I thought he was reliable…" Su Bai stared at Song Yi with a concerned, but dumbfounded expression. "Oh well, at least he bought me time."

She raised her hands, forming her thumbs and index fingers into a triangle.

"First form — Salamander's Breath!"

The golden embroidery on her gloves suddenly let out a dim glow before, amazingly, the light formed arcane runes and patterns in a circle before her hands.

"Release!"

The runes exploded, sending forth a ball of flame shooting towards the imp.

The imp hadn't expected the young girl to have such an attack prepared, and was already in mid-air, unable to dodge.

"GRAIIIIIIII!"

With a piercing shriek, the imp was burnt to a crisp, the smoking corpse falling to the ground right in front of Su Bai's feet.

Su Bai felt all of the energy in her body disappear the moment she cast the ability. Unable to hold on, she collapsed for the second time that day.

Song Yi witnessed the entire scene and, despite his bleeding leg, he hobbled over to where she'd fallen.

He immediately put his head to her chest.

"Thump… thump… thump…"

"Thank god…" Song Yi muttered as he wiped away the wetness that had been building in the corners of his eyes. "Thank god."