Nimbus Forest

***LEI***

We were woken up at an ungodly hour in the morning the next day. Four o'clock to be exact. Seven dumped water on me so I was wide awake, and maybe shivering a little. I dragged my body off the bed and reluctantly changed my clothes. After eating breakfast, we were lead to the main hall where Shadow Garden's master was waiting for us.

"Good morning grandfather. We are here as you requested." Seven said and bowed politely. We followed his example and bowed as well.

Shadow Garden leader, Master Li (now that I think about it, his name resembled that Mister Li from two years ago), was sitting on a throne-like chair placed atop an elevated platform. The height made him see every corner of the main hall which I guessed was very useful for people like him. His long white hair contrasted with the black traditional Han clothing he was wearing. Anyone who would lay their eyes on him would really think he was an old man especially with his wrinkly face, but despite his appearance, I could feel power in him. And it was strong. And by the looks of it, I wasn't the only one who felt it, but everyone else in the room.

"So these are my grandson's friends. It's nice to finally meet you. I hope he has not been giving you trouble." he said in a teasing manner.

"On the contrary, they're the ones who cause me trouble grandpa." Seven replied with a sheepish smile.

"He's telling the truth Master Li." Leo seconded. "Seven, I mean, Shin Woo is a very reliable leader."

"Is that so?" Master Li laughed loudly that it boomed inside the hall. "That is good to hear then. He really has the qualities of a leader. Just like his mother."

"Master Li-"

"Please, just call me Grandpa Li. Even though you are outsiders, you are my grandson's friends."

"I shall follow. Grandpa Li, why did you want to meet us early in the morning?" I asked.

"Ah, right. Xiao Qi (Seven) told me about your predicament. Unfortunately, even I don't know where to find what you are looking for. I have heard of the Codex of Souls before from the stories of my predecessor, but Lee Hyun has many secrets and some remained unknown even after his death, the codex being one of them."

I almost wanted to cry. I was thinking that we only went there for nothing.

"But," this made my ears perk up. "I know something that does."

Grandpa Li motioned to the man beside him, the first successor disciple, Wang Tian Yu, and gave me a scroll.

"This is a map of Nimbus Forest. At the center of this forest is the tomb of Shadow Garden's second master, Lee Hyun. Inside his tomb stores many records, even those not made public to the rest of our members. In there as well is allegedly a document where the details of the whereabouts of the Codex of Souls are written."

"'Allegedly'? So it's not sure, right?" Chen retorted.

"But it's a start." Seven voiced out. "Thank you grandfather, we will head out immediately."

Even with reluctance, we followed Seven down the mountain and headed all the way to Cloud Mountain. Nimbus Forest was located behind Cloud Mountain so we had to make the trip there. Surprisingly, Wang Lu tagged along with us.

"What are you doing here?" asked Calvin to the sixteen-year-old who was tailing Seven.

"Following you guys, obviously." he answered sarcastically with a lopsided grin on his face. "Seventh uncle, I mean… Agh! Screw that rule! Shin Woo-ge is a water-element manipulator while I'm an ice-element manipulator. I want to learn from him."

"What can you learn from me?" asked Seven in return. "I can't teach you anything, you know."

"Well, water and ice compliments each other you know. I remember seeing this one anime while passing by in the outside world about a water mage that is on love with an ice-mage. The two compliments each other very much!"

"Err... Xiao Lu, you're crossing dangerous waters." warned Coby.

"I… I don't mean it like that!" retorted Xiao Lu with a red face. "I just… I just… Fine. I haven't seen Shin Woo-ge in a long time and I'm pretty sure he's not staying for a long time. So just let me spend some time with the closest uncle, though in this situation, senior disciple, I have."

"Suit yourself."

"And how about you? Why are you tagging along?" I asked Xue-jie who suddenly popped out of nowhere when we were halfway down the mountain.

"It seems interesting." she smiled.

"So, three successor disciples together with a bunch of outsiders. How will the outer disciples react?" Coby asked.

"Just don't mind them. Most of the time we don't." Xue-jie answered nonchalantly.

"Nimbus Forest though is a very dangerous place." Xiao Lu commented.

"We don't have a choice. We just have to be careful." Seven said and led the way.

"By the way Shin Woo-ge." Wang Lu called. "I'm a little baffled on how your power works. It doesn't seem like how martial artists control theirs. We usually have a lot of movements you know? Yours kind of resemble the ones I saw on movies. What was that show called again? It starts with an X… Anyway, it seems more western than eastern!"

All of us looked at the youngest member of our party in with a confused face.

"Let me clear that up." Xue-jie inserted. "What ninth younger brother meant is that whatever element or kind of skill you excel at will depend on what kind of spiritual root one was born with. That's how it usually works with Chinese cultivators anyway. But you guys said you 'acquired' your powers right? Rather than being born with it. That kind of instance is usually common in western beliefs rather than eastern you know? But then again, it is already the 21st century. There have been many changes all this time. Anyway, seventh younger brother is a martial artist. Coupled with that strange ability he 'acquired' he's now a mixture of eastern and western ways. I think."

I looked at my brother and my friends who mostly just shrugged. They probably thought the explanation was very confusing. I mean that was I was thinking on my part and they held the same expressions.

"That explanation is making my head hurt third elder sister." Wang Lu shook his head.

"Well… Something like that is complicated."

"My girlfriend can use both eastern and western magic. At least these days she can. Does that make sense?" I commented. "Speaking of her, I wonder how they're faring with their own mission."

"Yeah…"

"Let us proceed then." Xue-jie said. "The faster we finish, the sooner you can return to your friends."

We passed by the outer disciples' dormitories and to my surprise we were immediately attacked by the incoming crowd. Well, Seven, Xue-jie and Xiao Lu were successor disciples so they were celebrities to normal disciples.

In the end, Wang Lu had to distract them while we ran to the entrance of Nimbus Forest.

"I'll meet you guys there!" he said then led the crowd of outer disciples away from us.

We reached the entrance half an hour later and I immediately felt the power inside the forest. Ever since awakening my powers, I had become more sensitive to auras and energies. It was very useful in many occasions and helpful too. And with that extra sense, I could feel the forest in front me pooling with dense energy. It was a useful thing for those that harness it, but it was also dangerous at the same time.

"Nimbus forest is usually the practice grounds of inner disciples who have reached late-stage of Lianqi Stage[1]." Xue-jie explained. We all turned to Seven for explanation.

"Forging Energy Stage[1]." he said.

"Wow. You guys sound like those in xianxia[2] novels!" exclaimed Leo.

"Look guys, even though disciples of Shadow Garden had become cultivators, in a sense, we still belong to the Mortal Realm. At most, we can reach Ningmai[3] which is Congealing Channels[3], but other than extra strength, energy and skills, we're just normal people. Those you read or see in xianxia novels and dramas are way beyond us." Seven explained.

"But," Xue-jie inserted. "The highest stage a xiuzhe[4] of Shadow Garden had ever reached was Yuanying[5] and he lived for five hundred years."

"Those people actually exist?" Calvin asked, his surprise basically oozing in his tone.

"Of course! There are even immortal sects scattered out there. It's just that, they live in seclusion like us." she explained. "But we do covert operations more often. Sometimes we slay demons especially if it happens nearby but becoming immortals tend to not be in our list of goals."

"You guys sound like the CIA." Leo commented.

"Exactly. We're the CIA of the jianghu[6]!" Xue-jie said proudly.

Moments later, Xiao Lu arrived and we entered the forest.

"We have to be very careful." Seven warned. "Nimbus Forest has an array for a reason."

An array is a formation which stores magic and has specific jobs once activated. What Seven said meant that Nimbus Forest has a barrier to keep people from certain stages and with certain attributes outside, and to keep monsters and demons inside.

With Seven's lead and the map in hand, we travelled the Nimbus Forest quite smoothly. We encountered some malevolent monsters on the way but Seven, Xue-jie and Wang Lu would keep them at bay. We also met a few inner disciples who were training or collecting herbs, but we didn't really stick for long.

Along the way, I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched. I couldn't pinpoint who or where whoever was watching me, but I could feel a gaze watching my every move. And I did not like it one bit. The feeling stayed there until we reached the middle of Nimbus Forest, at the edge of a spring.

"Aren't we supposed to be looking for a tomb?" asked Calvin. "Why is there a spring?"

I saw Wang Lu grin and gave an answer.

"The tomb is below us. This spring is something to confuse whoever seeks it. It's also where the tomb's guardian lives!"

"Does the spring have something to do on how to enter the tomb?"

"Maybe…"

I motioned to Seven and he immediately put his hand in front of him. Since Seven was a water-manipulator, he could investigate the spring. Unfortunately…

"That's strange." he muttered.

"I can't control the water in the spring."

""WHAT?!""

"I can't control it. There's something stopping me from doing so."

"It's as I told you. The tomb's guardian lives in this spring." Wang Lu replied.

I could see Wang Lu grin so we all gave him a suspicious look.

Notes:

[1] Lianqi Stage/Forging Energy Stage – a stage in cultivation. It's usually a beginner's stage but there are many levels in each stage.

[2] xianxia – Xianxia is a genre of Chinese fantasy influenced by Chinese mythology, Taoism, Buddhism, Chinese martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese folk religion and other traditional Chinese elements.

[3] Ningmai/Congealing Channels – the third stage in cultivation and the last stage for the cultivators to be considered mortal. At least from what the author read.

[4] xiuzhe – the name for someone who cultivates.

[5] Yuanying – a stage in cultivation. Also called Nascent Soul. Cultivators in this stage can live up to 500 years.

[6] jianghu – the world of martial artists and cultivators.