ANOTHER OUTLAW

Upon entering the castle, Wyn found Sun Hayden and Gi Elysia fiercely discussing the order of cleaning the rooms. However, the two quickly split apart when they saw Marshall return.

Wyn had not expected to see a new team member, but the fact that it was another person chased by the Chastity Tower almost made him want to call Tainia stronghold a gathering place for outlaws.

To the snow deity's surprise, Gi Elysia and Sun Hayden had cleaned out four bedrooms in the two week time while Marshall was out training. So, the disciple was now lying in bed in his room, bandaged and tucked under a thick duvet.

The furnace in in the corner crackled loudly, mingling with Marshall's incoherent sleep talking. His brows knitted together as he mumbled something.

"Didn't you say it was on my right..."

As if thrown off a cliff, the disciple abruptly jolted up, reaching out to steady himself like a drowning man. Before Wyn could ask what happened, he blurted out, "The pond!"

"...The healing emerald pond," Marshall clarified, lowering his voice. His eyes shone with a knowing glint as he turned to the snow deity. "I know who has the Smaragdine Lily!"

Wyn arched a brow at the vaguely familiar name. It appeared Marshall knew more of it than he did. The door creaked, revealing Gi Elysia, who was entering the room with freshly brewed tea. "You do?"

"It's Gi Gaia," Marshall revealed without a shred of hesitation. "You must know her. She's General Gi's cousin."

"Why do you think Gaia has it?" Gi Elysia probed, setting the tea tray on the walnut bedside table.

The disciple shifted, sitting straight as he explained. "Gi Gaia said she was a hundred years older than me, yet it didn't look like she was a day over her mid-twenties. She must have used Smaragdine Lily to grant her immortality. I think she hid the crystal in the pond."

"In the pond? Why would she do that?" Gi Elysia asked in a passive tone, her gaze distant.

Wyn decided to only listen and observe for now, silently grasping details of Smaragdine Lily as they talked.

"Perhaps it was easier to channel the power of the crystal that way," Marshall guessed. "We should go there to check."

The snow deity was baffled. With his fear of caves, could he step into the same cavern he was kept in for over two months? Reckless. 

"Let's gather more information first," Gi Elysia poured the tea, her movements cautious as she felt Wyn watching her. "We shouldn't barge into anyone's territory without thinking."

Marshall was about to say something, but a sudden slam distracted him.

"Who wants a snack?" Sun Hayden exclaimed, the door hitting the wall as he came in, carrying a platter. A decent variety of cut up carrots, nuts, dried berries and even some cheese was spread on it.

Noticing Wyn staring at the platter of food in mild puzzlement, the blond disciple mentioned, "Elysia and I have been visiting nearby towns to buy food with the money Calla Akeya leaves us. You could say we're in charge of meals and the castle's upkeeping."

After taking a piece of carrot from the platter and murmuring a "Thanks," Marshall recalled something, turning to Wyn.

"Oh, right—I forgot to ask whether you know anything about the Smaragdine Lily," he let out an awkward chuckle. "I got carried away for a moment there."

"I have heard of it," the snow deity responded in an even tone, not letting on how much he knew.

Marshall crossed his legs, scooping up some dried cranberries as he inquired, "Then what do you think about it?"

"I think we should check out the healing pond as you suggested," Wyn stated, accepting a tea cup from Gi Elysia. "Even if Gi Gaia does not have the Smaragdine Lily, she must know something about it."

Marshall's eyes lit up at Wyn's response. "You're right! With her obsession with stones, I'm sure she knows more than any of us do."

He clasped his hands, determination written on his face. "Then it's decided. We'll go to the Eastern Mountains first thing tomorrow morning," Marshall announced.

Gi Elysia seemed to be unsure of the plan, a sense of discomfort taking over her posture. Wyn noticed a dubious flicker in her eyes. It was fleeting, but it was there.

Sun Hayden, munching on a piece of cheese, chimed in. "Marsh, by 'we', you mean all of us, right? I want to see the pond too! Are there any fish?"

Marshall, too caught up in planning to notice the tension, nodded at the first question, then absentmindedly murmured a reply the second one, "Fish...? No, I don't think I saw any."

Meanwhile, Gi Elysia chewed on dried berries, her fingers drumming lightly on the tea tray as she listened to Sun Hayden's next questions. Something about the look on her face did not sit right with Wyn.

❄ ❄ ❄

After the plan for the next day was set, the three of them headed down to the main hall, leaving Marshall to rest. Gi Elysia seemed to have calmed, no longer showing suspicious signs, but Wyn did not let his guard down.

The snow deity took a seat by the desk, skimming through the disciple's chaotic side of the desk. The neat pile he had left there had fallen over, all papers mixed up.

After some organizing and separating, Wyn read Marshall's notes about Smaragdine Lily, filling the gap of information between himself and the others.

As he skimmed through the rest of the information, he stumbled across mentions of 'burning' that occurred whenever he channeled spiritual energy. If Marshall experienced pain whenever he used it... Wyn could not exactly say that he should stop.

Given the circumstances, between dying and risking damaging his spiritual flow further, Wyn would have chosen the latter as well. It was a tricky situation.

A subtle rustling came from across the hall and Wyn lifted his head from the desk to see Gi Elysia heading upstairs.

As soon as she was gone from sight, Sun Hayden sprang up, trailing over to Wyn's side with the intention to chat.

"You know, I really didn't like Elysia at first, but she's actually a nice person," the blond disciple commented.

Wyn put the notes down, turning his attention to Sun Hayden. Liangdu Sect put emphasis on intuition, which meant his first impression was worth considering.

"What made you dislike her?" the snow deity inquired.

"I'm not fully sure... You see, I was unconscious as we got back to the castle after the whole Rime Herald thing. But when I finally woke up, Marsh was outside and I was alone with Elysia. She transferred some spiritual energy to me, but for some reason it alarmed me," Sun Hayden went into a rant, resting his elbow on the desk as he propped his chin up. 

Wyn listened intently, processing the blond disciple's account. It was unusual for a transfer of spiritual energy to provoke a negative reaction. "Was there something wrong with the spiritual energy she transferred?"

Sun Hayden furrowed his brow, trying to recall the exact sensation. "There wasn't anything wrong with the energy itself, but it felt a bit invasive, like it was probing into my own energy, disrupting the balance. Then again, Elysia uses spiritual gale, so it could have been because of that."

Wyn leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing. He hated to admit it, but he was not familiar with spiritual gale. Although no books mentioned complications with energy transfers between different flow types, perhaps it felt different with spiritual gale.

However, just because nothing bad had happened until then, did not mean everything was fine. It was better to keep an eye on someone they shared a roof with, especially a newcomer.

"Did Gi Elysia return to her room for the night?" Wyn questioned.

"No, she said she was going to check on Marsh."

Wyn nodded, pondering for a while longer, then he remarked, "Let me know if you notice anything odd."

"You don't trust Elysia?" Sun Hayden wondered.

"I do not trust anyone I do not know personally."

Sun Hayden dragged, "Maybe you should give people the benefit of the doubt a bit more."

Upon seeing Wyn's unimpressed expression the blond disciple waved his hand with a light laugh, "Relax, I'm almost always with her anyway! The only time Elysia's alone is when she goes out to purchase herbs early in the morning. But nothing suspicious has happened!"

"Yet," Wyn said dryly.

Sun Hayden rolled his eyes. "Ugh, you really should let your guard down from time to time. No wonder you're already white-haired at nineteen."

"The color of my hair has nothing to do with my—"

"I know! It's a joke," Sun Hayden grumbled, getting up to leave the main hall first. "You're too serious, I can't do it. I'm going to bed. Goodnight!"

"Good night," the snow deity flatly responded, already used to Sun Hayden's flippant nature.