Weeks passed without any interruption to the relative monotony of the day-to-day schedule, but one day during the allotted time for quiet reading after lunch, Gyuvin was seated in a corner of the study hall next to a window, reading a book on how best to set bait to catch enchanted carp, when a senior from Seven Star Manor Gyuvin vaguely remembered was called Han Seungho entered from the back of the study hall, a communication scroll in his hand, stopping in front of him. Gyuvin got up automatically, bowing politely, closing the book.
“I apologize for interrupting your study hour,” he started. “The Peak has received a communication scroll for a help request from Raintree Town. Since the sect in charge of Raintree Town is located quite a distance away, I’ve requested for them to let us handle this request. It’s a good way for you to demonstrate the skills you’ve been picking up during the past few months of this training camp.”
Muted chatter immediately picked up from the disciples in the hall. Han Seungho had been speaking to Gyuvin in particular, but the study hall was quiet enough everyone in the nearby vicinity, who had all forgotten about the content of the books they were reading for the moment in favor of eavesdropping, was listening.
“You’ve been selected by the seniors,” Han Seungho continued, handing him the scroll. “Go down the Peak and solve the issue. The details are in the scroll. Leave immediately.”
“Oh. Am I going alone?” Though stronger cultivators usually handled tasks like these by themselves, even his own sect hadn’t considered him old enough to do things on his own.
“Yes. It’s a simple task, similar to the ones you deal with at Meteor Court,” Han Seungho answered. “Unless, of course, you don’t think you can do it?”
Gyuvin wondered if he was imagining the condescension in his tone. “Of course I can,” he said immediately. “Thank you for the opportunity.”
The senior said nothing else to him, turning and leaving the study hall immediately after, robes of dark red and crimson fluttering in the mid-afternoon wind. Ricky caught up to him easily in the corridor, greeting him politely before speaking.
“May I join Kim Gyuvin on his assigned task?”
Han Seungho gave him a questioning look. “What, you don’t think he can handle it on his own? He was given the task because that’s what his sect is trained for.”
“I understand that,” Ricky immediately answered. “But this is unfamiliar territory. As his partner, I’d like to go with him.”
“Fine. Go, then.”
Gyuvin had set off for the front gates immediately, only stopping by his living quarters to take some silver pieces in case he had to spend the night in the town, but by the time he reached the enchanted elevator, Ricky had caught up to him.
“What are you doing here?” Gyuvin asked. “You’re not allowed to leave the Peak on training days.”
“I know,” Ricky answered, falling into step beside him. “I’m coming with you. The seniors told me to.”
Gyuvin brightened up a little at the changed prospect of having Ricky with him. “Here’s the scroll,” he said, handing it over to Ricky. “I’ve already read it. From what I can tell, it seems like a regular occurrence of a recently-buried corpse in unrest. It shouldn’t be a big problem.”
Ricky took the scroll from him, reading it quickly. Meteor Sect dealt with corpses and minor demonic entities often because of the nature of its surroundings, but Moonrise Palace didn’t often receive requests of this nature, purely because it was located so far away from most populated areas. Something that seemed to be commonplace to Gyuvin was in fact something Ricky had only encountered once or twice in his life.
They made the walk through the forested area and reached Raintree Town not long after. The location stated on the help request scroll read “House of Wisteria”. Gyuvin had some recollection of it being a large store near the town center selling a variety of collector’s treasures and valuable goods like porcelain vases, teasets and expensive reams of silk.
“A corpse coming back to visit a treasure house,” Ricky mused. “Interesting.”
“It’s likely to be a combination of factors,” Gyuvin said. “Ghosts come back to the living if there’s something in the human realm they’re still unsatisfied with, corpses rise from the grave if the burial process is done improperly. It can be either reason, or some combination of both.”
Ricky nodded. The streets of the town were empty; there were usually merchants with their pushcarts to be seen along the streets, people milling around in their fields out at work, but today there wasn’t a single soul to be seen. Gyuvin caught a glimpse of a little girl’s face at a window, before it disappeared again.
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