25 Chapter 25: Separated

The doors opened and on the other side is a garden.

Or, what looks like it should be a garden. Zhang Binghua suddenly looks more excited than ever, Leiji suddenly realizes that this seems to be something that she is especially interested in regards to...uh, history? Something like 'ancient culture', but in this world's terms.

"It's rather well-maintained for an abandoned place..." Zhang Xuanhe chimes in, cisibly hesitating to take a step out of the room and into the garden. Leiji looks at the plants that look—quite frankly—way too overgrown and remembers that Zhang Xuanhe isn't that insane, so they ask, "Is it that era's style to have an overgrown weed garden?"

"It is not an overgrown weed garden!" Zhang Binghua snaps, offended by the statement. "This garden is a relic from ancient times that was properly..."

Leiji tunes her out, realizing that siblings really are siblings.

Jiao Zihua clears his throat awkwardly and Zhang Binghua realizes that they are currently still in a rather odd predicament. She winces and says, "Why don't we go through it and see if there's anything?"

The garden is rather big and in a square shape and in the middle of it is a single tree eith vines hanging down from the branches. There are two entrances to it, the one they just entered with open doors and the other shut. On the sides without the doors, there are rectangular manmade ponds—that still, curiously, have several fish and turtles in them—with moss, lily pads and lotuses in it and overgrown ferns, flower or berry bushes, but never another tree surrounding it. Creeper plants litter the paved walkway, small bushes of grass and weeds growing in the cracks.

"Xuanhe," Binghua calls, "Can you fly on your sword and see where we are in the temple? I have a bad feeling."

Jiao Zihua winces. "It feels a little too cold for this time of day."

Zhang Xuanhe doesn't complain, simply unsheathing his sword and making it float before jumping on it and, well, flying up. Leiji knew that theoretically, this was something that many cultivators did on a daily basis and that they theoretically could do the same, but it was just something that they've never actually seen.

Leiji starts poking at the turtles that are currently basking, at the moss covering their shells and wonders what Zhang Xuanhe will do with that little bit. If the garden is this well-maintained...no, someone taking care of the temple is impossible.

The entrance room and hallway, as well as the room with a statue were all full of dust and cobwebs. No moss yet though, those places were probably too dry.

A relatively big turtle snaps at their fingers and tries to bite it, but Leiji simply takes their finger away. Zhang Binghua squats down beside them and watches them play with the turtle for a few more moments before taking their wrist and gently chiding, "Don't agitate them too much."

"It's bad," Zhang Xuanhe says immediately after he is back in hearing range and about to land. "We're smack dab in the muddle of the temple, out best bet is to just fly out but..."

As if on cue, the other set of doors swing open with a long creak.

"That is a rather...um, big problem." Leiji says slowly, understating it. They poke around the back of their mind, frowning when no one responds. They've been rather quiet the whole time Leiji had been in this temple.

"I think we should go with it," Jiao Zihua comments, throwing glances behind himself. Leiji looks—really looks—and sees another blue human sillhoutte. Except this time, it looks like it has characteristics other than a single expression. A woman, with all her hair tied in small braids and the clothes look to be made from a single big piece of cloth—

"C'mon Leiji, don't dawdle around." Zhang Binghua huffs and pulls them along.

They blink and the woman vanishes. Again, and the woman is suddenly far too close, expression rather...amused, if anything.

The moment all of them step foot inside the—once again, square—room they were directed to, the ground starts shaking again and Leiji is stuck with Zhang Binghua. She sighs and mutters lowly, "You're way too small, eat more."

"It's more a genetic thing." They huff. Leiji lowers their voice and asks, "Training for something like this...is it not exclusively to protect your fellow sect members?"

"You could say that." Zhang Binghua replies, blank-toned. "I just..."

Leiji raises a brow at the hesitance. That isn't something that either of the Zhang ever showed to anyone, as far as Leiji knows. She huffs too, not letting go even when the ground stops shaking, meaning that Leiji is now dangling from her arm across their waist. Is she...treating them like a doll of some sort? "You realize you're the youngest here right?"

Now that Zhang Binghua says that, Leiji realizes that what she said is true. Zhang Binghua herself is the eldest, then Jiao Zihua and Zhang Xuanhe. But that has nothing to do with anything right?

"Even though I know you're likely stronger than those two," Zhang Binghau eventually says, seeming to have finished parsing her words together, "strength...really doesn't mean you have to take care of yourself. In any case, you're really too young to be worrying about things like this instead of your first crush."

Leiji carefully doesn't react, because they don't know how to. On one hand, they disagree with not having to take care of themselves and on the other...

...they want, sometimes, not to worry.

It really is a horribke thing. Leiji should worry about things, about what to do about Ling Hongyun's situation, about how to make the current situation in this sect work, about the ghost possessing Tian Li's body and so many thing. They have to make sure everything goes smoothly because it is within thier ability to do so. Leiji can take care of things so they should.

Dust settles and doors swing open and the thoughts are thrown out of their head.

The four of them step into a three-way turn, the room behind them shutting its doors. Jiao Zihua frowns. "I...don't know which way is the best."

"Do you think it's telling us to split up?" Zhang Xuanhe asks, squinting to see if he can see anything other than the distant inky darkness from the dimly lit spot the four were in. He then looks up and at the cracks where sunlight shone through. "Big sister, we really should have left in that garden."

Slowly, she turns to him with an incredulous expression. "You don't feel it?"

He opens his mouth to say something, but then shuts it. Again, and then he finally says, "Understandable. Good day to you too."

Jiao Zihua snorts, muffling his laughter in his sleeve. The two boys share a look and both burst out laughing. Zhang Binghua huffs and shakes her head with a small, fond smile and Leiji can't help themselves from smiling too. They don't understand the joke, but that's fine.

Eventually though, "I don't think we should just do whatever the thing doing this wants," Leiji says, "If it really wants us separated then it would have put walls between us or something."

"That's probably impossibke for it to do without making the entire temple collapse." Zhang Xuanhe reasons back.

"In any case," Jiao Zihua starts, breaking out of whatever train of thought he had, "we should just check out wherever the paths bring us. I don't feel anything particularly dangerous and I think Fourth Martial Brother will find something he needs..."

"...meaning the moss with weird restrictions on energy and stuff?" Leiji asks.

Jiao Zihua tilts his head, smiling brightly, "I didn't know, but I guess I do now."

Zhang Xuanhe sighs, palm meeting his face. Leiji shrugs at him, not seeing any need to hide what he wanted at all. It isn't like it was a confidential secret that would destroy the world. He says, after that, "How about someone close their eyes and we spin them, then they can choose the direction?"

Jiao Zihua perks up, "Like the game? Can I vote Leiji?"

It takes them a while to react, not having expected to be called out like that. "What? Why me? Can't anyone else do it?"

And for a split-second, Leiji could swear that he had a calculating expression on. The bright smile came back immediately after though and he continues, "Well~...I just feel like you'll be best for it!"

"Alright then," Zhang Xuanhe easily agrees. "I'll agree with Third Martial Brother. Big sister?"

Zhang Binghua's face is stoic. Leiji doesn't know her well enough to read her tells, unfortunately, but she turns to Leiji and asks, "Are you fine with it?"

Leiji...doesn't know how to answer.

They would be completely fine even if they were spun around; there isn't anything dangerous that anyone could sense other than the general presence that permeates the ruins. Even if it were dangerous then Lightning could help.

"I can hear you thinking too hard on it from here," Zhang Binghua comments drily, looking exasperated, "you just need to tell me if you're fine with it or not?"

"I am," Leiji says after a beat.

There's a small murmur of 'thanks' in the back of their head and Leiji can barely contain their grin. Lu Leiji must really like these people.

Leiji ends up pointing to the right of themselves, which just so happens to be the left of where they all had stepped out into. Zhang Xuanhe does something and out of his hand suddenly comes a bunch of Light elements, shining down the hall. Zhang Binghua had grabbed their hand for some reason, while Zhang Xuanhe had Jiao Zihua's in his.

Of course, no one wants anything particularly troublesome to happen, so something happened. The ground started shaking and Zhang Binghua had yanked the both of them from under a piece of the ceiling that had fallen, promptly picking up Leiji like a doll and jumping backwards again to avoid the floor that had fallen into some kind of hole. She peers into the dark underground while cursing.

They realize a little belatedly that the two of them had been separated from Zhang Xuanhe and Jiao Zihua.

"...is that a pool down there?" Leiji asks instead. Zhang Binghua loosens the grio she has on them and sighs. "Yeah, I think so too. Let's hope the idiots don't die before we can find them again."

For a while, there is silence, then Zhang Binghua asks, "You wouldn't happen to know the hand seals for 'Illuminate' would you?"

"No," Leiji holds up a hand, summoning Lightning elements, "but I can do this."

Zhang Binghua quietly stares at the ball of electricity gathered before looking away; the light from it is dimmer, but still usable. It is a viable weapon if anything happens and Leiji doesn't want to make themselves look suspicious by using Light elements without the—what did she call it? Seals?

The two of them walk back to where they had chosen one of three directions. One of them was blocked off now and they very well couldn't go back.

There was only one way to go.

("-because elements are like that and I can't—not that I want to—change it! Fire! You better have listened to all that and understood!" Knowledge's intense stare is turned to him and Fire hims agreeably. The stare turns less intense and a less nervous newly-appointed-Moon smiles at him gratefully.

Knowledge turns back to the many, many screens she had turned on—seriously, does she need that many screens? It looks like something out of a spy movie of sorts—and just, watched as letters and the occasional number flashed by.

Fire knew that it was how she read, it's just...rather unorthodox, is an adequate way of putting it. Moon quickly scurried out of the archives now that Knowledge isn't paying any more attention to him and Fire looks at the preserved physical book again.

The language is a long dead one, not adapting to newer eras and with the back-then younger generations having no interest in it. Now, the true question is, how excited will Knowledge be if he proposes to try and decipher the language together? He looks at her, data still flashing by and any normal person would consider her insane for being able to read like that.

Only one way to find out.)