Secret Tunnel

After almost three hours of trekking down the winding stairs, Mingfeng finally led Anji off the main staircase to a path that seemed to lead to nowhere. According to the sect leader, this was a shortcut that was only used for emergencies. The shortcut was something Mingfeng discovered, and Anji should keep it a secret from everyone else.

"This secret tunnel was created by me and can be used to escape or hide if the Celestial Dragon Sect is ever under attack by enemies," he declared. "The only people who know about this are your mother and your older sister. I have not told your brothers about this secret tunnel yet because they have not come of age."

Blinking, Anji wondered why her father was telling her the secret. Like her brothers, she was not yet fifteen.