Lu Yong stared at the ceiling he had come to loathe and waited patiently for the healer to finish removing the last of the bandages. His chest still itched, and his meridians felt heavy and sluggish. He had not been able to circulate his qi for the last month, and he could feel that it was beginning to affect his cultivation. He had to find a way to remove the shackles, but his guards were very serious about keeping him alive and imprisoned. It took a special kind of fear to inspire that kind of loyalty. Their boss had to be powerful to make them behave so well even when he wasn't around.

The healer set aside the old bandages and took a look at his patient's chest. He couldn't help the smug smile as he examined the cleanly healed wound. Despite the fact that the patient had been unable to use his qi to heal himself, there was only a small scar on the chest and another at the exit wound site. He found their odd shapes interesting. The one on the chest resembled a saber, and the one on his back looked like a small cherry blossom. He chuckled to himself at this fanciful idea and patted the young man's shoulder when his examination was completed.

'You are strong and lucky. There is minimal scarring, and the fang missed your vital areas.' The healer checked the skin of Lu Yong's wrists and ankles and was satisfied that his wraps had prevented any chaffing. Absentmindedly, he rattled on, 'I'm still a bit worried about your qi circulation. Your meridians...'

'That will be enough, healer.' Rui Cho admonished as he stood up from the table, his hand resting lightly on his sword pommel in quiet threat. 'Are you done with the examination?'

The healer sighed and gave a pitying glance to Lu Yong. 'Yes. I'm finished here.' He stood up and joined the guards at their table.

He reached the table, and with his head high he glared at Rui Cho, 'I have done all you have asked of me. Where is my son?'

Rui Cho nodded at one of the other guards and said, 'Rui Jian will take you to him.' Rui Cho made a fist into palm gesture and bowed toward the healer. 'Thank you for your expert service.'

The healer snorted and said, 'It wasn't like I had a choice.' He cast one more long look at Lu Yong and swiftly followed Rui Jian.

'One last thing healer,' Rui Cho smiled in a friendly fashion as he sat down at the table, but his eyes flashed dangerously. 'For the safety of you and your family, I'd like to remind you that this room and everything in it does not exist. We have become close this last month, and I would hate for anything to happen to a man of your talents.'

The healer stiffened, his fists clenched, and then he silently nodded. With an angry flick of his sleeves, he followed Rui Jian out the door.

Lu Yong chuckled.

'What are you laughing at?' growled Rui Liwei.

'You three. I'm openly laughing at you three.' Lu Yong admitted with a grin.

Rui Cho's eyes darkened. 'You're in no position to laugh at anyone.'

'Actually, I'm in the perfect position to laugh at you. You're as much a prisoner as I am.' Lu Yong grinned at him.

'Shut up!' Rui Liwei growled, his face dark with anger.

'How long is your boss going to make you hole up here? Since he wants to keep me alive, and I've already lived over 300 years, I could still live quite a few more centuries. If you're my guards, you may have to conceivably stay in this cell for a very long time. Are you prepared for that?' Lu Yong raised an eyebrow, glad to see the unhappy looks on their faces.

Rui Cho narrowed his eyes and glared at Lu Yong. He patted Rui Liwei's hand lightly, 'Don't let him get to you, Liwei-didi. Why don't you go and get us something to eat, hmm?'

Rui Liwei shot one last glare at Lu Yong, and with a grunt, he left the room to make their lunch. Rui Cho rested his head on his fist and turned to look at Lu Yong with a small smile. He did not appear to be as upset at Lu Yong's words as his brother.

'It won't work, you know.' Rui Cho said quietly, breaking the silence.

Lu Yong simply closed his eyes, the smile still on his face.

'We're on a schedule, and you won't have to be kept alive all that long. After you're gone, we'll be out of this hole and set up for life.' Rui Cho hinted darkly, watching the face of his prisoner.

Lu Yong chuckled, his eyes still closed, and his features relaxed.

Rui Cho shook his head and turned back to the sword manual he was studying.

There was a click of the door opening, and Rui Cho turned to greet his brother. Instead, he was knocked from his chair by a great white wolf! He didn't even have time to unsheathe his sword before the angry beast was tearing at his throat. Blood sprayed over the pristine coat of the creature as he snarled and shook the guard in his massive jaws. Finally, the wolf dropped the man and turned his golden eyes toward the bed where Lu Yong was shackled.

'Yue Guang!' Lu Yong called out in excitement. 'I thought you were dead!'

The Crescent Pack leader shook his body from his head to the tip of his tail. Using a bit of qi, the blood was forced from his coat and onto the floor beneath him where it disappeared. Once again clean, he morphed into his human form and placed his elegant hands on his hips, 'Are you implying that a simple snake could kill me?' Yue Guang arched a brow as he glided toward Lu Yong and began removing the shackles.

Lu Yong sat up, removed the wraps on his wrists and ankles, and began rubbing them as his mind tried to make sense of the pack leader's presence.

Yue Guang threw Lu Yong's black robes, boots, sword, and sword belt at him and chuckled. 'I found your things. You might want to hurry up so we can get out of here.'

Lu Yong began dressing quickly. A thousand questions were flitting through his mind.

'I will explain everything once we're out of here.' Yue Guang assured him. He returned to his wolf form and led him through a maze of dark cavern hallways. Along the way, they were joined by several pack members who appeared from connecting halls. By the time they reached the reinforced wooden door, eight pack members trailed behind them. Most were spattered with fresh blood.

Lu Yong opened the door and was surprised to find himself inside the ruined building with the missing roof that he and Wu Chen had seen in the cavern of the blue robed cultivator. He wasted no time exploring and followed the pack members out of the cavern.

As his eyes slowly adjusted to the brightness of sunlight, he noticed Yue Guang standing before an altar in front of a cairn of stones. Those golden eyes glanced back at him and motioned for him to take a look. His heart was beating wildly in his chest. The healer had assured him that Wu Chen was okay. His throat was dry as he slowly approached the altar. Did the healer lie to him? Was Wu Chen...? He couldn't finish the thought.

As he got closer, his eyes were drawn to the memorial tablet sitting on the altar, and they narrowed with suspicion. What was this? Why was there a memorial tablet with his name carved on it? Lu Yong turned his questioning gaze toward Yue Guang, who finally took pity on him and returned to his human form.

'You have many questions, I'm sure.' The pack leader grinned. 'These treats and liquors are technically yours, and the altar has a preservation array for the food, so why not have a seat and eat something while I explain, hmmm?'

Lu Yong grabbed a jug of wine and a plate of osmanthus cakes and sat down on the mourning cushion to listen attentively to Yue Guang.

The pack leader nodded and began, 'That day, I had been knocked aside by the snake's tail and was returning to the battle when I saw your mate thrown into the mountain side. You fought the snake and were stabbed by the fang, then you fell.' Yue Guang leaned down and winked, 'I thought you were dead, so I focused on Wu Chen. After all, I made a promise you'd both get through this pass alive. If I couldn't save you, I would at least save him.'

Yue Guang rubbed his hand along his chin and continued, 'However, a strange man jumped in front of you and used strong fire to kill the cobra. Then, he had several men grab you and take you into the cave. I thought he was trying to save you, so I focused again on saving Wu Chen. Instead, the strange man got to him first, picked up your mate carefully, and joined one of the Spirit Mountain Sect's disciples on his sword. They flew away together, and I had to ask myself, why would they take you into the cave and then fly away with Wu Chen?'

Lu Yong's face grew darker as Yue Guang continued his story.

'It took a bit of time to gather the information and locate the two of you. Wu Chen had been taken to the Spirit Mountain Sect to recuperate, and you were taken into that cell. Meanwhile, some men came here and created this cairn and altar. There was no scent from a body under the rocks, so it was an empty burial. It was all very strange.

I tracked the healer and learned of the door in the back of the ruined building. My pack captured him on one of his visits, and although he didn't say much, we figured out that he had saved you and that the ones who took you also took his son. He agreed not to tell the guards about the pack, but he wouldn't do anything to endanger his child.' Yue Guang nodded his head. 'I could understand that, so I let him go so he could keep healing you.'

Lu Yong glanced up at the memorial tablet and then raised an eyebrow at the pack leader. 'So that strange man you mentioned saved me but locked me up, took Wu Chen away, and erected this cairn.' Lu Yong took a pull from the wine jar and wiped his mouth. Then he got up and gripped the memorial tablet in his hands. 'It looks like he wants Wu Chen to think I am dead. But who...?'

Suddenly, a dark thought crossed his mind, and he gritted his teeth. 'Yue Guang, what did this strange man look like?'

Yue Guang thought about it and said, 'Well, he wasn't bad looking for a human. He had black clothes and was about your height.' The leader perked up, 'He had a red ribbon in his hair. Very striking!'

Lu Yong's grip cracked the tablet in his hands, and he growled, 'Chu Haoyu...you bastard son of a donkey!'