Phoenix Rising

048

Even with the shortcut that Zhenghuan knew, it was still an arduous climb up the mountainside. They had already been walking for over half a day. Still, Zi-ning gritted her teeth and plodded on, even when the injury to her forehead began to hurt once again. Thanks to Old Hu's medicines, she was almost fully recovered, but there was still a lingering ache near her left temple from time to time.

Her foot slipped on an icy patch, threatening to send her sliding backwards. Strong fingers gripped onto her upper arm.

"Be careful," Zhenghuan said. His stern tone made her feel like an incompetent child, which was absurd, considering she had already lived this life twice. She shrugged his hand away and continued the climb.

The higher they went, the colder it became, and now she could see her own frosty breath leaving her lips. It was a good thing the exertion was helping her body to generate heat, else she reckoned she could die from hypothermia before finding the vines.

"Are we almost there?" she asked.

"Just up ahead." Zhenghuan walked up towards a steep cliff face that sat at an almost vertical incline from them, towering at approximately the height of three men. He pointed upwards. "Once we get up there, we should see the entrance to a small cave. There should be devil's vines growing in there."

Zi-ning stared in dismay. The climb up here had already drained a great deal of energy out of her, and it did not look like there was an easy way to scale the rockface, even though it wasn't very high.

As if sensing her distress, Zhenghuan added, "You can wait down here. I'll climb up and gather the vines, then I'll come back down. It shouldn't take longer than half a stick of incense."

"No, you've already done me a great favour by bringing me up here. I shouldn't impose any further," she replied firmly.

It was going to be a strenuous climb to get up to the cave, but she could do it. She had to. There was no way she was leaving this place without getting a huanhun dan from the River Immortal.

Sucking in a breath, she searched for suitable crevices and protruding sections of the rock, then braced herself as she began her ascent. Several times she almost slipped and fell, but her own determination helped her to pull through. Relief washed over her when her fingers finally found themselves clutching onto the edge of the cliff. Zhenghuan, who had easily overtaken her, reached out a hand from above and helped to pull her up.

He studied her briefly, lips set in a hard line, as if disapproving of her insistence to come up here. Then he simply shook his head and continued moving ahead.

Zhenghuan was right about the cave. Its entrance was hidden behind a mass of shrubbery and cascading vines, and could have easily been missed by anyone who didn't already know it was there.

"How did you find out about this cave?" Zi-ning asked as they made their way towards it.

"I... Studying the topography surrounding the capital is part of my responsibilities," he replied.

There was something about the way he said it that made Zi-ning feel like he was lying, but it wasn't her place to probe. If Zhenghuan was willing to let her keep her secrets, then the least she could do was to accord him that same prerogative.

She pushed aside the hanging vines and stepped inside the cave. A chill immediately went down her spine from the sudden drop in temperature. There was also a damp, musty odour coming from the walls that made her nose tickle.

Zhenghuan had gone in front, and she could see his silhouette crouched a short distance ahead.

"Did you find it?" she asked, and her question echoed back. She followed along, peering curiously through the darkness into a diamond-shaped crack in the wall that Zhenghuan was looking at.