Dusk Hunt

The sky burned with auburn and violet as Elara and Lily exited the Azure Plum Blossom Sect. Elara fidgeted with the strap of her satchel for the third time, her thumb brushing over the folded map as if to reassure herself it was still there. This was her first hunting quest; her last assignments had been simple gathering runs. Tonight, however, they pursued a creature of cunning and illusion.

"Are you sure about the path?" she asked, her voice a little too quiet.

Lily, already walking with a steady, confident stride, glanced back with a reassuring smile. "Positive. Just stick with me." She took the lead, her whip coiled at her hip and eyes sharp. "This way," she instructed, pointing east. On the map, the seraphic script labeled Moonbrush Grove, a crescent of mist-laced trees that clung to the edge of Stormgrass Basin. "The Lantern-Furred Nightraffe has been sighted here. Its light-distorting cloak works best under moonlight. Stick close, and watch for unnatural flickers."

Elara nodded, trying to steady her pulse. "I understand." She slipped the map into her sash as they stepped into a narrow forest path. Bamboo stalks and blue ferns brushed their shoulders, and the distant silhouette of the sect's rooftops faded in the amber dusk.

Lily paused beside a gnarled cedar. "Remember: this beast isn't overtly hostile but will defend itself fiercely if cornered. Keep your Qi ready, but don't release it. We don't want it to see us coming. Try to sense Qi fluctuations rather than relying on sight alone."

Elara adjusted her grip on her sword. "Right. Sense over sight." In her mind, she repeated the water-form stance she'd practiced, sensing the water Qi in the air, trying to feel out the Nightraffe's hidden form.

At Moonbrush Grove, twilight settled into a creeping, magical hush. The air grew cool and damp, thick with the scent of night-blooming flowers and wet earth. Phosphorescent spores drifted between trees like lazy embers, and folded petals of nocturnal blossoms unfurled, releasing pale fragrances. Lily held up a hand. "Here. The ground is upturned with hoofprints, barely visible in the twilight." She knelt, tracing the shallow grooves left by a small, deer-like foot. "It's circled this area several times already."

Elara knelt beside her, peering into the dim underbrush. "I see, they're just faint impressions." She felt the echo of water Qi stir in her palms as she crouched. "Should I use it?"

Lily placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Wait. Listen first." She closed her eyes, inhaling the night air. A soft rustle, too quick to be wind, whispered deeper within the grove. "There."

Elara's eyes widened. The grove fell silent except for the distant hum of insects. Then, from the corner of her vision, Elara caught a flicker, like moonlight rippling on water, along a fallen log. She spun her head. Nothing. When she faced forward again, a second flicker pulsed along a mossy stone. "I think I saw it."

Lily nodded, launching forward on wind Qi. Her whip unfurled like a ribbon, slicing a thin arc of wind through the gloom. Illusory lights shimmered into being, half a dozen floating orbs drifting among the trees, each flickering to distract.

"Those are its will-o'-wisp illusions," Lily murmured, keeping her whip low. She exhaled a small gust of wind Qi at the nearest orb. It wavered, then popped with a sound like a soap bubble, releasing a faint whiff of ozone and revealing a glimpse of the real Nightraffe slipping into denser fog.

Elara drew her sword in a single fluid motion and allowed water Qi to coat the blade in a shimmering film. "I've got it there!" She lunged, sweeping her blade through the mist. The water Qi left a glowing trail as moonlight refracted, briefly illuminating the Nightraffe's slender form: ethereal, silver-green fur and antlers that appeared almost crystalline.

The Nightraffe yelped and bounded backward, its cloak fractured by the water's path. More illusions sprang up, bouncing along the treeline, but Lily remained poised. She charged a gust of wind in her fist and sent a torrent of dust and leaves swirling, disrupting the flickering orbs.

One illusory orb dissolved, revealing the Nightraffe's hindquarters. It leapt again, but Elara anticipated its arc this time. She pivoted on her heel, spinning her sword so the water-Qi blade curved overhead in a crescent. The Nightraffe's path clipped the edge of the spray, and its translucent fur shimmered with droplets.

"Got it!" Elara shouted, heart hammering.

Lily, still controlling the wind currents, stepped in beside Elara. "Now finish it. Strike cleanly, but avoid damaging the core. We'll need the antlers intact for the apothecary."

Elara nodded, lowering her stance. She gathered water Qi into her blade until it shimmered with a cold, steely sheen. The Nightraffe, tangled in mist and buffeted by wind, snarled weakly. Its limbs trembled, but it couldn't escape.

"Hold still…" Elara whispered, her brows furrowed.

Then, with a fluid motion, she dashed forward and sliced across the creature's neck. The blade passed cleanly beneath the jawline, precise, controlled, and just shy of the core. The Nightraffe shuddered once and collapsed with a soft exhale. Its glowing eyes dimmed slowly, while its radiant antlers faded from warm light to translucent crystal.

Under the deepening indigo sky, Lily and Elara knelt beside the fallen beast. Elara wiped her blade clean and looked toward her companion.

The beast gave a low, final cry before going still. Elara held her stance a moment longer before releasing a breath and stepping back.

Lily approached and laid a hand on the creature's neck, then nodded. "Good strike. You didn't hesitate. That matters."

Elara sheathed her sword slowly, gazing at the Nightraffe's lifeless form. "It felt... heavier than I thought it would."

Lily glanced at her, more solemn than playful now. "Hunting isn't about pride or victory. You take a life, and in return, your sect gains something to strengthen others. That's what separates a cultivator from a killer, a valued purpose."

Elara nodded slowly. "I understand. I'll carry this with me."

With practiced movements, Lily began the extraction, carefully removing the crystal antlers and storing them beside her. "The heart crystal's still warm," she murmured. "That'll fetch a high price for pill refinement."

Elara assisted in gathering the pelt and other valuable parts, observing the precision of Lily's hands. There was no cruelty in her methods; only her practiced skill, discipline, and respect.

"We'll have to get the antlers and core out cleanly," Lily said, drawing a small, curved blade from her pouch. "I'll handle the extraction, you hold the satchel."

Elara reached for the leather pack slung at Lily's hip. The interior was lined with glowing runes, subtle but unmistakable. "This bag…" she murmured, fingers tracing the inner rim. "It's rune-lined. I thought only high-ranking disciples had these."

Lily, not looking up from her work, replied calmly, "Everything's available with enough contribution points; you just need to put in the work."

Elara blinked, watching her work. "But you didn't put the antlers inside?"

"That bag only has preservation runes, no spatial compression. The antlers are fragile and more valuable whole. Better carried by hand." She nodded toward the satchel. "The bag's better for the core and internals. That lining slows decay and seals in Qi essence; it won't be good if we damage the goods trying to force things in."

Elara nodded slowly, realization settling in. She's done this a lot. No hesitation. No wasted motion. I've only ever seen her teasing or making jokes… but this… this is someone reliable. Someone accomplished.'

She felt a ripple of admiration, followed quickly by a quiet resolve. 'I need to step up. If I want to contribute like she does, I need to earn more contribution points. I need to start checking out the inner disciple section of the sect's shop... and train harder.'

Elara looked at Lily with new eyes, not just as her friend, but as a cultivator she could aspire to stand beside, not just behind.

As Lily tucked the satchel away and stood up, Elara followed, giving the beast's corpse one last respectful glance. The moonlight glow of its coat had fully faded, replaced by crimson colors.

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After walking for a little while, Elara's voice came quietly but thoughtfully. "Lily… how many contribution points did you need for that bag?"

"Fifteen hundred," Lily replied, brushing dirt from her robes. "Took me eight quests and winning one sparring tournament. I was saving for about three years."

Elara blinked. "That much? I thought the most expensive outer disciple gear capped at five hundred."

Lily gave a lopsided smile. "Yeah, that's outer disciple stock. Once you become an inner disciple, the shop opens up a whole new tier of items. Special charms, Qi-refining pills, talismans for field repair, there's even a flying sword or two, though they're all way beyond my range."

"Flying swords?" Elara raised an eyebrow, unimpressed but curious. "I've heard the legends. Thought those were reserved for core disciples and elders."

"They usually are," Lily said, adjusting the strap across her shoulder. "But technically, any disciple can buy them if you can scrape together enough points. The cheapest one starts at eighty thousand."

Elara's jaw slackened. "Eighty? For a sword?"

"It's not just a sword," Lily shrugged. "It's a mobility technique and a status symbol. And the shop won't even show it unless you've cleared a dozen successful quests."

Elara exhaled through her nose. "And here I was just getting used to the idea of affording Qi-sealed pouches. No wonder you always seemed better equipped."

Lily cast a glance over, her tone light but meaningful. "You're catching up fast. I've just had more time. That's all."

Elara nodded slowly, her gaze turning back east toward the dim horizon. "I realize I still have a long way to go, especially if I'm supposed to help guide Alex, but I'm going to give it my all. I'm going to earn more points. Real points. Not from sweeping courtyards or carrying water jars. I want access to everything the sect offers and be strong enough to use it."

Lily spoke up. "We are all there to help each other, there's no need to take on all the responsibilities on your own, it's okay to lean on your friends."

A breeze swept past, rustling the petals around their feet. The two stood quietly, letting the night settle in.

Then Lily grinned and bumped her shoulder against Elara's. "Also, don't let the shop distract you too much. You still trip over your own feet when you're trying to sheath your sword in a hurry."

Elara rolled her eyes. "Says the girl who once threw her whip at a squirrel because she thought it was a fire spirit."

"That squirrel had malicious intent," Lily declared, deadpan.

The two broke into quiet laughter, tension dissolving like morning fog. Their footsteps resumed as they began the hike back to the Azure Plum Blossom Sect, the crystal antlers secured and the satchel heavy with promise.

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As the two entered the sect, Lily informed Elara that she would turn in the completed quest and materials for the reward.

"Sounds good, the library probably kicked people out of the lower section by now, so I'll see if the boys are still training in the courtyard," Elara said, letting Lily know where she could find her.

The moon hung high in the sky at this point, and many of the facilities had begun to close or stop allowing people to enter. She considered checking the library first, but dismissed the thought. The evening gongs, signaling the closure of the lower floors to outer disciples, would have rung hours ago. The training courtyard, however, was always open for all disciples to use whenever they wanted.

As Elara drew closer to the training courtyard, a horrendous stench started to assault her senses. "What in the world is that foul odor?" she said to herself as she covered her face with a handkerchief she kept with her.

Looking around, there was not a single person she could see training, which was weird; usually, there would be at least a handful of disciples training at night. "Did this smell chase everyone away?" she pondered, a sense of unease creeping in. Her mind raced with possibilities: a forbidden technique gone wrong? A demonic beast managing to slip past the sect's barriers? She instinctively placed a hand on the hilt of her sword as she cautiously followed the smell to its source.

The odor led her to the far end of the training grounds, near a solitary tree. There, she saw it: a figure lying face down in a spreading pool of pitch-black, viscous sludge.

It took all of Elara's strength not to vomit. The stench was overwhelming, a putrid mix of rot and burnt Qi. Drawing closer, her cultivator's eyes confirmed her fears. It was a person, and the horrifying sludge seemed to be oozing from the body itself.

"By the heavens... is this a dead body?" Elara whispered, her heart hammering against her ribs. She scanned the area for threats, but there was only silence. Forcing herself to act, she knelt and carefully turned the body over.

The face was completely covered in the black filth, which still dripped from every orifice. As she reeled from the gruesome sight, she noticed the faint, shallow rise and fall of the person's chest. They're alive!

The realization shifted her panic into urgency. Using her handkerchief, she frantically wiped away the sludge from the person's face. As the familiar features were slowly revealed beneath the grime, her blood ran cold.

"ALEX!? What happened here?"