Wen Ning felt a presence.

A prickling on the back of his neck, but when he turned around, there was nothing.

Nothing obvious.

Only a huge gaping black hole, the mouth of a cave. It looked dark and deep and dangerous.

But that didn't mean it was empty.

His instincts were on high alert, making him hyper aware.

Whatever was watching him, was in there.

Wen Ning stepped forward confidently.

Ever since his return as the Ghost General, a title he did not mind so much, but inspired so much fear and irrational hatred that Wei Ying had told him not to use it willy-nilly, he had more confidence in doing things that he would have otherwise stepped back from in his first life.

He was still a teenager then, just starting to find his feet in a rapidly changing world which escalated into full-blown war. Personal growth was pushed to the side in favour of survival which came to the forefront of everyone's lives.

He and Wen Qing had strove for neutrality, curing and helping people regardless of whose side they were on. Their surname invoked respect not earned through the better qualities of mankind, but induced from fear for a long time, even though they had not killed anyone.

But the tables had turned.

In the blink of an eye, suddenly the Wen name was taboo.

Open hatred began allowing for open cruelty and no one stopped it.

Then, barely nineteen, captured with his sister and made to work in a camp, taken on night hunts against his will, and then stabbed with a spirit-trapping flag...that kind of madness would have been unbelievable had he not lived through it himself.

Only one man had bravely stood in the way of injustice and supported the Dafan Wens. Young Master Wei had saved their lives, given them a good few years of happiness before it all came crashing down around them.

In spite of the poverty, the grim days of living out their lives in the Burial Mounds with such hardship, there had been happy times too. Moments when they felt secure enough to drink and pass the time in the evenings telling stories and laughing.

That time had gone, those people were dead, long passed away.

But the memories? They would last forever, as long as he lived.

And the knowledge that he couldn’t actually die, it made him feel so much surer of himself, and his size helped a great deal.

That was why he never hesitated to walk forward now.

If this path was going to take him towards his friend, his Soul-Brother, then Wen Ning knew he would do anything, whatever it took to reach him. He knew that somehow their connection was something dependent on Young Master Wei being alive, though its exact mechanism wasn't understood by him.

He paused at the mouth of the cave, weighing the situation. Once he stepped inside, he had a feeling that he wouldn't be coming out...not from this side at least.

But there was comfort to be had that this body did not need to breathe. It did not suffer the limitations of ordinary human bodies, no need to eat, drink, sleep...nothing.

Wen Ning was powerful without those weaknesses.

The deep blackness enveloped him like a thick blanket, muffling his steps as he entered that dark place.

Wen Ning did not mind the dark. Part of him was made with the dark whispers of resentment energy and he was comfortable in a place that reminded him of his second life, the emerging from the darkness. Wei Ying had extended a hand in that darkness, and pulled him out from its amnesia, reminding him he had a sister who loved him. He had a family, and his best friend...Wei Ying himself.

Right now, his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, and he could make out a shape. It looked like a person, so he went closer.

"Greetings." He said with a half bow.

The shape said nothing, but continued to watch him.

So Wen Ning called upon Suibian.

The sword, his master's beloved weapon, appeared in his hands immediately. Many people did not understand that Wei Ying had given him the sword to look after, especially when Wei Ying had no golden core. Now his core was white, a bright ball of energy far more powerful than his previous core.

And a result, Wei Ying’s own abilities had become equally powerful, to the point that he did not need to carry Suibian or use it. He had told Wen Ning to look after it for him, and that it would probably see more action in his capable hands than if it remained in Wei Ying's control.

His mastery of swordsmanship was perhaps not as great as Wei Ying’s or Hanguang-Jun's...but there was a lot to be said for sheer brute strength.

Suibian remained sheathed, but Wen Ning made a jabbing motion with point.

Somehow he triggered something by doing that.

The shape became clearer. It was a hologram of a person, someone who was older. He reminded Wen Ning of an aged Sect Leader.

"Turn back now. The way forward is shut to you." The shape said with determination.

It sounded...not quite real.

A recording.

In which case, maybe he would be able to ignore it.

"I need to pass." Wen Ning told it.

"Passage may only be found by providing a key." The shape flickered in and out of focus.

"Where's the key?" Wen Ning asked, baffled because he was in the middle of this utterly dark cave...and even if he found a key, where was the door it was going to unlock?

The hologram did not appear to know the answer. He flickered and appeared to be pointing further inside the cave.

Wen Ning thought to himself, he had nothing to lose.

Outside the cave, there was no path so to speak, and if it emerged higher up the mountain, that was not his business. So he had a choice; either turn back and give up, or trust in the Universe and follow the signs it provided.

The little light which the hologram had showed up with suddenly disappeared, and Wen Ning was plunged into complete darkness once more.

He remembered seeing loose leaves and branches outside but without a flint to cause a spark, there would be no torch for him. He was just going to have to wing it.

He raised a hand to feel along the length of the cold wall right next to him.

It came away wet...which meant the water was coming from somewhere...otherwise this cave would be dry.

Wen Ning remembered when he was a child in the hills surrounding Dafan Mountain, he had once gotten lost. Wen Qing had found him, and on the way back to their family, told him stories about a magical cave that had a rainbow inside it.

He had been too young to argue against that, and his innocent heart had wholly believed in her words. Wen Qing had spoken in such detail that Wen Ning had not doubted for a second that it actually existed somewhere.

As Wen Ning concentrated, his sharp ears caught the sound of running water. Now he had to be careful, because in this darkness, falling into water could delay his mission indefinitely. He had no way of knowing how deep the water was, or even if it was clean. The only comfort to be had was in the knowledge that he could not drown.

He knew that if Wei Ying had been next to him, he would have made a few  inappropriate jokes about how he couldn’t die any more than he already was, and why was he so afraid?

But the thought made him smile anyway.

Maybe there was an underwater river running through this mountain? It was the only explanation that made the most sense. And there was his greatest fear: what if in this darkness, he simply walked past the key because it was too dark? What if he accidentally kicked it through a misstep? It was making him even more anxious.

He heard distinct splashing.

So there was something in the water...

More splashing...and Wen Ning was wondering if there was something more in the water...maybe it was a frog or a fish. Entirely good assumption, he thought. And, what if there were more than one? Entire shoals of fish?

That's when he noticed an eerie glow, moving side to side beside him.

Whatever they were, they were drawn to his presence because they gathered closer. Wen Ning felt their beady little eyes watching him carefully. He crouched down so he was closer and had a better look.

They were fish...

But not ordinary fish.

These were round balls of teeth.

Uneven spiked pointy teeth in jaws that were forever open, little blue white eyes that shone, illuminated by a taller spike in the centre of their little foreheads with a tiny light on top. These were like anglerfish...Wen Ning had heard of these.

They usually lived in the deepest parts of the sea where survival depended on killing for food. These little guys were sharp predators.

Perhaps they were slightly different, but Wen Ning didn't want to find out.

He stood up intending to follow the path of this underground river, slightly unnerved because those fish moved in the waters with him. He walked forward and they swam alongside, keeping up with his long gait.

Maybe that was all they were going to do...

But then, Wen Ning noticed one particular fish glowing more than the others. He was brighter...maybe because of extra  bioluminescence?

It had caught his eye, so Wen Ning leaned forward to take a closer look.

This fish was surrounded by hundreds like it, with one remarkable difference that set it apart from its friends.

And then he saw it.

There was something in its body.

Past the fang-like gaping mouth full of jagged teeth, into its clear body was the unmistakable shape of a key.

*********

A/N

Dear Beautiful Readers,

Good morning/evening/night to you all.

This chapter is especially for IvoryReaper92 who said yesterday's chapter was too short.

I totally understand but there are creative reasons why, and I would like to share them with you guys.

In this past year, I've learned much about writing in general. I still do not plan too much in advance because the characters themselves make choices that I cannot predict, taking the story into the wide unknown (I believe authors following this method are called Pansters but I could be wrong!).

Action packed stories have to have shorter chapters because they run on the juices of "What's going to happen next?" type of thrills which create page-turners. Cliffhangers is another name for them, and if you've been with me all this time, then you know that I am unreasonably fond of them.

These oh-my-god endings are needed and loved because they make the next chapter so much easier to write. And I believe, it is the sole reason for (touch wood) me not suffering from the dreaded writer's block. Chocolate really does help too, hehe.

The oneshots book and I say that laughing, because hardly any of them are single chapter stories. I discovered I love writing lengthier chapters. There's a certain harmonious flow to the words which is simultaneously calming and fluid, while ideas are created organically.

All of that probably means nothing to you guys, but since I've noticed it, I thought you might like to know.

There's a lot of creative freedom in Wattpad: No limits on word count, no criteria on subject matter and no restrictions on topics. Just (mostly) happy authors needing a creative outlet.

I try to update twice daily and writing does take up a lot of time. My average speed is 1000 words per hour though that has been known to change, depending on how tired I am or how inspired, but I do try my best. Since I started writing (28th February 2021) there has hardly been a day where I have not published at least one chapter a day.

Bizarrely, I'm in the middle of writing three current books, four if you can count the oneshots one. In addition to this, I have a full time job, seven days a week so the only times I get to write are in the morning before I go to work and when I return home after work.

(I'm not complaining, because I really do enjoy my life.)

So this is just a little bit about my life in case you're interested.

Have a wonderful day folks, and don't forget the chocolate, trust me it helps.

Charlie.