Tribute

Hong Wu awoke early, as always. Taking in her surroundings she was forced to accept that yesterday's events were no dream.

Scanning the room, she noticed that there was one girl who was awake before her. It was the wild girl whose name Hong Wu did not yet know. The girl was tense like a cornered tiger waiting to attack the first person foolish enough to approach her. Her eyes were hollow, but held a glimmer of fierceness that told others to keep a distance. She seemed more on edge then the others; perhaps she never even went to sleep last night.

Hong Wu wanted to use the time when everyone was still asleep to learn more about this girl. Though she was standoffish, who wouldn't be after being taken to a secret facility owned by the most notorious gang in the city? Just as Hong Wu was wondering how to start the conversation, the girl spoke to Hong Wu without even looking at her, "Is what ya said about us being tribute true?"

Her voice was raspy and hushed; clearly she did not want the other girls to wake yet. Hong Wu paused briefly before answering, "I merely heard the man who brought me here tell the Madam of my house that he was there for tribute. I could not get any more information before coming here. Do you know what he meant by tribute?"

"No clue."

"How did you get here?"

The girl seemed not to hear Hong Wu. Hong Wu waited for a response for about a minute before the girl replied, "I was living on the street before this, was tryin to steal some fat, stupid peddler's purse when one of dem shadow thugs caught me. Turned out the bastard had hired protection while he was in town. The fat fuck wanted to cut off my hand, but the hired muscle handed me off to one of his buddies and said that they would take care of me."

Hong Wu sank into deep thought, 'That doesn't make sense. If we are supposed to be tribute from the people of the city to the Thousand Shadows then why would they also take her? It's not as if she is acting as someone's payment.'

It just didn't make sense to Hong Wu. Why lock away these girls? What were they going to do to them? Fear of the unknown began to creep back into Hong Wu's mind, 'At the very least it seems that this girl is not as abrasive as she appears, the more allies I have the better for me.'

"I'm Hong Wu, what is your name?"

"Yan."

Hong Wu did not know why Yan was willing to open up while everyone else was asleep, but Hong Wu decided that did not matter. Yan seemed determined to survive and having her as an ally was not a bad thing. "This situation is just too odd, I don't know what Thousand Shadows is planning, but it can't be good for us. So long as we are in the same boat we should try to have each others back."

Yan then turned to Hong Wu and gave a slight nod.

A short time later the door burst open jolting the other girls awake. In walked the same four men who brought their dinner last night. "Get up, we're leaving."

Still dazed from sleep Cang Rong's spoiled attitude went unchecked. "Where are you taking us? I demand answers. My father-"

Before she could finish her words one of the men drew a dagger from his robes and started making his way towards Cang Rong. He had a look of aloof indifference, like a butcher about to slaughter a chicken. Before he could make it very far, the man who had spoken stretched out his arm barring the would be killer's path. "They are to be left untouched."

The man put his dagger back into hiding and stepped back into line without so much as a word. This murderous action left all the girls terrified. Cang Rong suddenly became obediently humble.

The girls lined up in groups of four, each led by a man in black. They walked through the passageways making turn after turn. Hong Wu tried to remember the path they were taking in the hope that should she be able to escape she could find her way out, but the layout of the hall was such a maze she had to give up. After walking for two hours they reached a chamber that spaciously opened up housing the entire party comfortably.

At the other end of the room was a man that gave off a air of dominance Hong Wu had never felt before. The man wore pristine white robes that matched his heavenly aura. He stood ramrod straight looking down upon the new arrivals as if judging their worth and finding them to be lacking. As his eyes glossed over the girls Hong Wu felt her chest tighten. Cold sweat started to condense on her back as she struggled to stay standing. Unable to handle the man's gaze, three girls fainted.

The man then removed his gaze from the girls allowing Hong Wu an the others to gasp for air. "Is this all that Heishan City has to offer my Black Mountain Sect as tribute?"

"Apologies lord immortal sir, we found as many maidens as we could with your device, but those with spirit roots are rarer than we expected. Our offering is lacking. Please forgive this one for his incompetence."

Hong Wu was dumbfounded by how this man was behaving towards the man in white. Just moments ago he was acting so domineering, but now he was cowed by a mere question from this man. 'Just who is he? The man in black called him an immortal. I thought that those were a myth. And just what are spirit roots?'

"It is fine, these will do. Tell your master that my sect accepts the tribute. I have no need of those three."

"Yes lord immortal."

The three men behind the man in black who was speaking picked up the three unconscious girls and then retreated back into the passage leaving the thirteen girls alone with the man in white. Hong Wu shuddered to think of what fate waited for the three who were not selected.

The girls stared at their feet, not one of them brave enough to meet this man's gaze. "I am Zhao Xingle, you will refer to me as Elder Zhao. You are all now disciples of the Black Mountain Sect."

The girls were stunned speechless at this. 'The Black Mountain Sect? What is that?'

Lan Cixi was the first one brave enough to speak. "Elder Zhao, what is the Black Mountain Sect? We were all told nothing about why we are here. Please enlighten us great sir."

"The Black Mountain Sect is a cultivation sect located on the slopes of Heishan. You are here to become the Black Mountain Sect's newest generation of disciples. You will serve the junior patriarch, Gu Fei. You will refer to him as Junior Patriarch. That is all you need to know for now."

With that, Elder Zhao tapped a small sack tied to his waist and all of a sudden a paper fan apparated into his hand. Many of the girls had looks of shock when this happened, but this was nothing compared to what happened next. With a flick of his wrist the fan popped open. The fan was painted with a beautiful design of a cherry blossom branch caught in the wind, its petals carried across the canvas.

He tossed the fan out in front of him, and as it was about to fall it suddenly stopped just before hitting the ground. Forming some strange symbols with his hands, he then pointed at the fan which suddenly expanded to become six meters across. No one could contain their gasps at this point, not even the usually calm and aloof Hao Ru.

Hong Wu showed just as much shock as the others. 'Magic! This is real magic! So he really is an immortal. And he said that we are going to be disciples of his sect. Does that mean we are going to become immortals too?'

The trepidation Hong Wu had been filled with for the past day was now replaced with excitement. She was going to be part of a real immortal sect! How many people dreamed of such an opportunity, only to die still believing their aspirations to be a mere fantasy? For the first time in Hong Wu's life an emotion sparked itself awake deep in her heart, ambition.

'I wonder if I will someday be able to do what Elder Zhao is capable of.'

Before the girls could ruminate on their new lives any further, Elder Zhao waved his arm and with a flick of his sleeve all of the girls rose from the ground. A few of the girls screeched terrified of the loss of footing. They all landed gently, seated on top of the fan spread out evenly along its surface. Elder Zhao then hopped upon the handle of the fan, and with another strange hand gesture, the fan began to head in the direction Elder Zhao was facing.

'We are flying, this is amazing we are actually flying!'

The party headed straight towards the wall at the end Elder Zhao had originally stood. Hong Wu felt her heart jump 'We are moving too fast, we are going to crash into the wall. Is he trying to kill us?'

The others' faces betrayed the terror they also held at the rapidly approaching rock wall. Before they had any time to voice their worries a rumbling came from the wall they were heading towards. Suddenly the rock split in two and slid apart, letting the brightness of daylight illuminate the dark cave.

The fan exited from the newly formed crevice and climbed up into the sky. Hong Wu looked back to see the rock formation slowly closing up again. Taking in the rest of the scenery she realized that they were outside of Heishan city. As Hong Wu turned back around she saw their destination in front of her.

Heishan, the Black Mountain. There lied the Black Mountain Sect, Hong Wu's new home, and all the possibilities that it held.