Lan Qiren rushes from the infirmary with Healer Fei back to the Mingshi, his mind in turmoil. How had he overlooked such obvious signs? After explaining the symptoms of their prisoner to both of his friends and then, Healer Fei, he feels like an idiot.

"Qiren, don't beat yourself up. Even if you excelled in medicine, which we both know is an aspiration for the next life, you've had too much to deal with. Not just today, but I have a feeling, ever since your return from Nightless City. That conference was a debacle that people are still talking about, and yet you've still gone night hunting, hosted the Lan conference and made significant changes in the Cultivation world." Healer Fei puts a frail hand on his arm, stopping him from opening the door to the Mingshi. "Your thoughts are too loud, my friend. Let it go," he smiles gently.

Lan Qiren takes a deep breath and nods. Perhaps Healer Fei is right; he's being too hard on himself.

"We are only human, after all. Mistakes pave the way for clarity," Healer Fei tells him firmly, before pushing open the door and holding it open for Lan Qiren to follow him inside.

But the prisoner is looking far worse than before. Thankfully, whoever was under orders to watch him, leant towards kindness and kept the bed for the young man, even though he's very much ill from the side effects of whatever was given to him. He's very pale against the white sheets, and sweat beads along his forehead, as his body is racked with shivers. He's still delirious, muttering incoherent words and clutching his pillow as if it could save him. His eyes are shut tightly, but it's as if he still can't get away from whatever is terrorising him in his mind.

If anything, his condition is worsening.

Healer Fei grabs his wrist and performs the initial examination, closing his eyes. His tension is palpable, reaching out towards Lan Qiren and the guards as they watch him anxiously. No one breathes a word.

Moments pass by like shards of fragile glass waiting to shatter.

Finally, Healer Fei opens his eyes.

"I would ask if the patient can be moved to the infirmary where the necessary ingredients are readily available to treat him. I cannot stress the urgency of his condition more. You can tie him to the bed if you like, but even you can see Qiren, he's in no condition to go running for the hills." Healer Fei is in no mood to be argued with, were Lan Qiren so inclined, and he nods, issuing orders to the guards to bring a stretcher to transport him.

"What do you think he's been given?" Lan Qiren can't wait for the privacy of the infirmary to ask Healer Fei for his diagnosis.

"A powerful hallucinogen, that's all I can tell for now. I must test the patient to know what he's been given, and then find the cure." Healer Fei is being curt for good reason, and Lan Qiren knows this.

But time is more precious as the hours bleed away, and he can't spare much kindness in lieu of his duty. "How long is it going to take?"

"Why? If he's your culprit-"

"He can't be, not if someone gave him something to act like the traitor, to throw us off the chase," Lan Qiren interrupts him, hating himself for the rudeness towards his elder, but unable to stop himself.

They follow behind the guards transporting the feverish young man, keeping their voices low.

"What were you going to do to him?" Healer Fei asks him suspiciously.

"Truth serum. I know we don't resort to that unless absolutely necessary, and I thought I had time. But we need to know what he knows as soon as possible, otherwise it could jeopardise tomorrow's mission." His brow furrows as he comes to terms with the implications of failure at this crucial time.

Healer Fei sighs heavily as if he's arguing with himself inside.

"Qiren, normally, I would disagree with your opinion. But I know you...I've known you ever since you were this high," he motions with his hand, lowering it to his knees. "And I know you wouldn't suggest such a thing unless it was of paramount importance. Time is not on your side, my friend. Leave it with me."

"What are you going to do?" Lan Qiren asks him, feeling the edges of hysteria.

"First, identify the drug, next, flush it out. That might take the longest. His cognitive faculties will improve by then, and hopefully, he may be able to answer your questions. If he resists, and only if he resists, then I will make him drink the truth serum. But understand this: only as a last resort. Now, go and eat something, and then I'm ordering you to go and rest. As soon as I know anything, I'll send word."

Properly chastised, Lan Qiren bows his gratefulness and watches as Healer Fei follows the patient and the guards inside the infirmary. He only leaves when the doors close behind them.

He turns then and walks back slowly, lost in thought.

When the path forks in front of him, Lan Qiren chooses the one leading towards the silent dining hall. He meets Wei Changze there, and they greet each other.

"Joining us for dinner, Qiren?" Wei Changze asks him, smiling.

"I think tonight, I should be here." Lan Qiren looks around from the doorway, into the hall where hundreds of disciples are eating in silence.

"Good job, old friend, good job," Wei Changze tells him.

They part ways, one to resume his seat at the head table as the Leader of the Lan Sect, and the other to go and eat together with his family.

As Lan Qiren looks out across the faces of young disciples, some of them newly joining the Lan Clan, their bright eyes eager to learn, he sees the older members too, some of them still studying, others turning to teach the newer generations, each person here brought together with the ideals of Lan An, his ancestor.

To provide a sanctuary from the world, a base from which they can dip into whatever they left behind and offer a helping hand. To learn how to become good people, to learn how to help others while furthering their own knowledge. Cloud Recesses has become a haven for those who wish to learn, and Lan Qiren is proud of his home and his heritage.

This may be the last time he gets this chance to be here, to see these people and know they are the cogs and wheels of the future, and that he has helped to shape their direction.

If he survives tomorrow, then he will think about bringing a radical change to the way Cloud Recesses hangs onto the old traditions and values rules over this feeling of being among family. But, he thinks as he finishes his rice, that is a problem for another day.

**************

After dinner, Lan Qiren takes a long walk around Cloud Recesses.

It is a much larger place now than when Lan An first decided to make a home on top of a mountain. That singular building is now the Ancestral hall, commemorating his values and his life, not just as the founder and Patriarch of the Lan Clan, but what he believed in.

Where did they go wrong?

He walks up to the strong wooden pillars, each one a single tree trunk hauled onto this spot from the forest below, to serve as the core structure of the rolling roof. Pine and cypress, symbolising longevity and many descendants, the strength of these tall, formidable trees can still be felt as he puts his hands on what was once a great tree.

When Lan An laid these foundations, digging into stone, did he ever imagine that the people who came after him would make one rule after another, creating a cesspit of quicksand just to get sucked into it themselves?

He takes his boots off and enters, letting the peaceful atmosphere brought on by the decades of burning incense soothe him as he lights his own. He walks and bows to each of the tablets, laid around the walls, paying his respects to all of the ancestors. He only stops when he reaches his parents.

Next to them is the new tablet, a fresh one with his brother's name on it.

Lan Qiren bows to all three, wondering what his parents would say if they were alive now. Would they understand his point of view and agree with him about his older brother? Or would they blame him for being too different?

It's hard to say.

Lan Qiren continues around the room, holding his incense sticks vigilantly until he has completed a tour of the whole room. Right by the double doors, two great urns are filled with incense ashes and he carefully adds his three sticks which have nearly burned down to the stubs. He bows once and turns to leave.

Some questions have no answers.

Lan Qiren puts his boots on and makes his way to the Cold Pond. It is the heart of Cloud Recesses in more ways than one; there's a hidden cave nearby and only privy to the reigning Sect Leaders through the ages. He locates the glamour hiding the entrance immediately and goes inside. In times of war, and civil unrest, when trouble brewed between the GusuLan Clan and others, whoever happened to be Sect Leader would visit this secret room.

This cave holds the key to putting the whole of Cloud Recesses under lock down. No one comes in, and no one can get out. There will be an information blackout, because no messages can leave or be permitted to enter either, but this is preferable to having someone sabotage tomorrow's secret mission.

Lan Qiren walks forward into the shadows, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. He's looking for a blue glow, the sword glare of Lan An's Spiritual Weapon, that rests in a shallow pool further in. As he turns the corner, the sword lights up, illuminating the ceiling of this cave. There's a natural skylight, an opening that shows off all the stars in the sky, and sometimes if the viewer is lucky, that round circle in the roof is exactly the right size and shape of the moon.

Lan Qiren used to come here in the early days of his brother's retreat into solitude, just for some peace and quiet. The tranquillity helped him find a balance between what he wanted to do, how he wanted to live his life and his unfortunate reality that was dragging him away from his private wishes. In those days, whenever he looked up and saw the stars winking back at him, his loneliness retreated, just for a little while. They became his companions on his solitary journey.

But tonight, he doesn't have time to reminisce.

He strides towards the sword floating just above the water and bows towards it. His finger grazes its still sharp blade and a drop of his blood falls into the shimmering silver-black waters. He is recognised, and so is his need.

Blue pulsating power rises out of the water, twisting around the upright sword to shoot up like an arrow, straight through the opening above them. Like opening an umbrella in the height of the monsoon, the shimmering blue waves slide down like a dome over the whole of Cloud Recesses, a protective hat over their mountain.

The shield is up and Cloud Recesses is under lock down. This is the last protection they can fulfil, the last precaution to make sure all of their preparations regarding the destruction of the Yin Iron goes ahead like they've planned, unhindered.

Lan Qiren bows towards the sword one more time and sends up one last prayer to whichever God is listening.

Please help us to destroy a great evil, and please make sure we all survive. That's all he can hope for.