TRIALS OF THE CHIPPED SPIRIT

Marshall plopped down on one of the cushions around a floor table Wyn had brought to his room.

He leaned over the snow deity's shoulder, taking a peek at the paper Wyn was working on while unwrapping the steamed bun.

"Pfft, are you making a drawing to explain the whole thing to me like I'm five?" the disciple joked, momentarily forgetting about the bun.

It was a sketch with a bunch of faceless figures. There was an outline of a man, half-colored and half-blank. Then another man was placed nearby, but he wasn't colored in at all and was surrounded by a few dark figures.

Lastly, there were two more people—one crossed out with an X, and a larger person placed behind it.

Marshall pointed at the half-colored man, "You didn't finish coloring this one."

"That is the point," Wyn replied flatly.

The disciple tilted his head, squinting, "Who is it?"

"You."

"Because my spiritual flow has been cut in half?"

Wyn didn't elaborate, and pointed at the blank man, who was surrounded by the dark ones, "Lord Chioni has been attempting to gain control over demonic energy. He has brought demons into Sky Oriels on multiple occasions."

Marshall's brows furrowed in concentration. "Alright, keep going."

The snow deity pointed at the two remaining figures. One bigger, behind the smaller one, who was crossed out.

"Matriarch Lou and Lou Yumei," he said, drawing a line between the crossed-out figure and Lord Chioni. "Do you know why Lou Yumei placed the Ribbon Orchid seal on the stronghold's gates?"

Marshall shook his head in denial. He was itching to know, but Wyn was speaking too slow.

Wyn tapped the pencil on the large figure behind Lou Yumei, "Matriarch Lou has been in an unfavorable condition for a good while. She is ill and deteriorating..."

"...rumors spread that her daughter, Lou Yumei, was searching for healing crystals. And these rumors," Wyn circled the line he had drawn earlier, "reached Lord Chioni."

"So he offered a healing crystal to make her place the seal?" Marshall interjected. "But what would he gain from it, exactly?"

Wyn sent him an impassive glance. "The war has provided Lord Chioni with an endless supply of demons. He does not need to go through the trouble of bringing them into Sky Oriels."

Marshall made an "ah," sound, nodding. "Alright, I see why wouldn't want us activating the protective barrier."

He pondered for a moment, then turned his head doubtfully. "Wait a moment, there are no healing crystals. If anything, Lou Sect should have them since they're responsible for ancient artifacts."

Wyn gave a half-hearted nod. "Lord Chioni made a false promise. Why do you think he killed her once her mission was over?"

"But that's..." Marshall frowned, searching for the right word "unfair."

The snow deity gave him a minute to digest the information, then continued. "I overheard Lou Yumei and Lord Chioni's deal. However, when I tried to warn her, she dismissed my words."

Marshall leaned his elbow on the table with a sigh, listening to the explanation.

"So I followed her to the Tainia stronghold the day before Calla Akeya's unit departed to activate the defense mechanism..."

"...I saw Lou Yumei place the seal, and I memorized the song she used. The lyrics led me to assume it was Lou Sect's secret song, which later proved to be right."

Wyn exhaled, staring at the sketch with a stiff expression, "To this day, I have no idea if the mechanism was broken on purpose of dismantled due to old age. When Calla Akeya and I checked it, it appeared perfectly intact..."

"...but by the time I realized something was wrong, I barely had any spiritual energy left."

Marshall kept quiet, biting his tongue. He wasn't someone who liked saying 'I told you so,' but he had told them so. He cleared his throat, letting it go, then relaxed his frown and patted Wyn's shoulder.

"It's fine. We all know you did your best."

Wyn let out a soft huff, which Marshall assumed was his way of saying thanks. So he moved on, greedily collecting answers.

"What happened to Lou Yumei in the end? How did she vanish from the storage room, just to wound up dead later?"

Wyn looked at him with a questioning look, "Did you not notice her sneaking out of the chamber? Regardless, Lord Chioni gave her a clear direction to slip away before the explosion, and to return to the Chastity Tower immediately."

"Lord Chioni had planned to kill her from the start, huh?" Marshall murmured.

A knock on the door interrupted them. The disciple lifted his head from the sketch, still chewing on the inside of his cheek as he thought about the revelations.

Mei Lihua entered, carrying a tray with two bowls of rice and two bowls of seaweed soup.

"The food is a bit scarce at the moment," Mei Lihua mentioned as she set the tray on the floor table. "Blame the demons."

Marshall stared at the soup, and suddenly remembered the untouched steamed bun in his hand.

"Thank you, Mei-Mei," he hummed, grinning as he took one of the bowls off the tray.

Mei Lihua rolled her eyes at the nickname, but quickly out a smile on when Wyn thanked her for the meal.

The disciple ignored them, dipping the bun into the broth with a satisfied look.

"I prepared the things you asked for," Mei Lihua told Wyn. "Have your meal, then come down to the basement."

Marshall looked up, his face stuffed with the broth-drenched bun. "Huh? Pwe-pared wha'?"

"Just chew and swallow, you'll see," Mei Lihua patted his back.

Marshall, not deterred, kept munching on the bun. "But wha' abou—"

"Do not talk with your mouth full," Wyn chimed in with a chiding remark.

Marshall reluctantly swallowed, then grinned mischievously. "But really, what did you prepare?"

Mei Lihua clicked her tongue. "Curiosity killed the cat, you know."

"Yeah, but satisfaction brought it back," Marshall quipped, reaching for the bowl of rice. "Come on, what's the harm in telling me?"

Wyn briefly informed him, "We will test your spiritual abilities to determine if you have a chance of recovery."

Marshall's eyes widened in anticipation. "Testing my spiritual abilities? Now, I'm curious. What did you prepare?"

"Patience is a virtue," the snow deity noted.

Marshall mumbled something unintelligible with his mouth full again, earning another pointed look from Wyn.

"Don't choke," Mei Lihua teased the disciple. "We can't have rice taking you out after all the effort we put into keeping you alive."

➳ ➳ ➳

When they reached the basement, Marshall's expectations were met with a surprising lack of grandeur. 

It was chilly and humid, and their steps echoes slightly in the vacant area. There were no mystical arrays or anything of the sort. Only shelves of conserved food and a small table in the middle. 

Wyn gestured to the items laid on the table. "These will be your tools for the exercises."

Marshall raised an eyebrow, failing to hide his disappointment. "A rock, a cup, and a shiny mineral?"

Mei Lihua circled the table, lighting up the candles while grumbling. "You better wipe that frown off your face. That shiny mineral wasn't easy to get. I had to beg a friend to lend it to me."

Wyn gestured towards the crystal. "You should be familiar with these exercises. They are fundamental for any disciple."

Marshall picked up the crystal, feeling its cool surface against his palms. "Yeah, I remember doing these when I was ten," he said with a resigned sigh. "Back to basics, eh?"

"Focus on the crystal," Wyn instructed without any unnecessary comments. "Close your eyes and feel its energy."

Marshall closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He focused on the crystal, trying to sense its vibrations.

Initially, it felt like holding a soulless object, but then he began to sense a faint, rhythmic pulse emanating from it.

"Good," Wyn said softly. "Now, try to align your spiritual flow with the crystal's vibrations. Let your energy flow into it."

Marshall concentrated, imagining his energy merging with the crystal's subtle pulsations. A warm connection began to form, and a satisfied smile crept onto his lips.

But then, the warmth turned into a sudden, searing pain. It was like a fire igniting in his chest. Marshall's eyes snapped open as he gasped, nearly dropping the crystal.

Wyn's brows arched in concern. "Stay calm. Focus on controlling your breathing."

The disciple's breath became ragged, the pain spreading from his chest to his arms. He clenched his teeth, trying to block out the haze of agony. 

But the crystal slipped from his grasp and rolled across the floor.

Mei Lihua rushed over, her eyes wide with alarm. "This isn't right! We need to stop!"

Marshall quickly shook his head no. He had pretended that the possibility of not recovering his spiritual flow didn't bother him, but it was far from the truth. 

If he failed such a simple exercise, the problem would become real. He couldn't allow it.

The disciple forced himself to take deep breaths, then extended his arm. 

"Pass... the crystal..." his own voice sounded distant to his ears. "I'll try again..."