Yu Tong continued down the dark narrow cave, Jinghua and Bingwen following behind her. Her illuminated glow lit the whole cave. "My story is a long one. That is if you're willing to hear it?" Yu Tong said. She turned around and looked at them, her blank white eyes staring at them both. Bingwen nodded his head. Jinghua could care less. Yu Tong smiled. "You probably already read the markings on the walls of the trench but long ago there were miners down here. That text was wrong. This wasn't a safe place for disciples, this was a death hole. We all died down here. We were prisoners, sacrificed to serve and satisfy the beast. Her." Yu Tong pointed to carvings on the walls around them of the beast. "What is she?" Bingwen asked, mesmerized by the accurate drawings. "No one knows or knew." Said Yu Tong. "People said she appeared from the sky, sent down by gods or deities. She doesn't have a name either. Just Beast or Creature. But she killed us, ate us for food and her baby. But now her baby is dead under the rocks. All we know is that she's trapped here."
Yu Tong kept referring to herself as 'We'. But how come? "I wasn't killed by the beast though. I died due to falling rocks, Crushed my legs straight off. Everyone else died so I was left to bleed out." She continued. "Most of us were tortured before. Some of us had our tongues cut off. Others had their hands cut off. We were just prisoners, objects. Even the elderly, women, children, were sent here. Like me. This was the only way out. But it was hard to escape. So we built a shrine." Light up ahead of the tunnel began to show. She was right. There was a shrine. The shrine was sitting on the stop of a small grassy spot, floating on water. There were blossoms falling from above. The cave had a small hole at the top with a blossom tree flowering petals into the clear glass water. Jin Si and Baiyu began to move. Somehow, their swords were able to work here. Maybe because they were closer to the upper ground.
"Well, here's your way out." Yu Tong told them. She turned to leave back down the tunnel. Bingwen tried to run after her. "Wait, Yu Tong!" He said. Jinghua grabbed his wrist, holding him back. "That's enough! Just leave her!" Jinghua yelled. Yu Tong came back, her expression changed quickly. "Do you have something against me? Is that why you're in a hurry to leave? You two do remember you were to give me something in return for helping you, right?" Jinghua drew his sword. Bingwen pulled away from Jinghua's grasp. "Ning Cheng! Stop this now!"
"Of course you must be tricking us! Making us believe this is really the way out. How do we know you're not trying to kill us with some illusion just to feed that beast?" Jinghua said, pointing Jin Si towards Yu Tong. "You're accusing me of tricking you? You seriously think that I would kill you?" She said angrily. "Maybe you're forgetting that you're not the one who's dead! You're not the one who has to spend eternity down in the rocky dungeon! You selfish bastard-"
"I said stop it!" Bingwen said, knocking Jin Si out of Jinghua's hands. The sword clinked against the rocky ground. Jinghua was surprised. He had never seen Bingwen like this even when he had his memory still. A growl came from the end of the tunnel that they walked away from. The beast was awake. "It's fine." Yu Tong said, calming her temper. "She can't get us in here. Now enough arguing. I want my reward." Bingwen stepped towards her. "Well, what are you requesting we give you?"
"Anything!" Yu Tong said cheerfully. Bingwen gathered some of his Chi from his hand. "What if we set your spirit free from the mortal world?" He asked. Yu Tong's face lit up, her figure appearing less and less transparent. She fiddled with her sleeves. "I would love to see my mother and my little brother again. It has been almost a hundred years now so they must also be dead." Bingwen tried to collect his spiritual energy but because of how weak he was, he was unable to get enough. He turned to Jinghua. "Ning Cheng, can you lend me some Chi?" It had been a while since Bingwen had asked him that since humans tend to have less Chi anyway. Bingwen held out his hand. Jinghua hesitantly touches his palm to Bingwen's, their fingertips joining. Aura surrounded their hands as Chi filled Bingwen's veins. He turned back to Yu Tong. She smiled at him. Bingwen's hand faced Yu Tong's soul. As he slowly but surely was letting her spirit go, she became fully visible. She was actually really pretty. "Thank you, young master." She said, fading away. Bingwen smiled. Bingwen turned back to Jinghua. "You know, Yusheng Jin," Jinghua said. "You've changed. A lot."
"How would I know? I don't remember much. Tell me then, how have I 'changed' to you?" Bingwen said, making his way past Jinghua and to the shrine. Jinghua turned to follow him, stunned from the question that was asked. "Well you…You've matured." He finally answered. "Are you saying I wasn't mature before?"
"No, of course not," He replied. He then chuckled a little. "You used to be so worried about everything. I mean you're still afraid of a lot, and don't take that in the wrong way but you're much more serious and focused. You never got in between people's fights." The two stood in front of the shrine. A statue of a goddess stood outside of the shrine . It was obvious this shrine was worshiping a made-up god. The statue was labeled with the words of 'Our Yi Nuo, Lady of life'. Bingwen paid his respects even though it wasn't a real goddess. He bowed to the statue and then entered the shrine, Jinghua following behind him. Inside the shrine were empty offering baskets and broken candles, dust in almost every corner. Bingwen covered his nose with his sleeve to avoid all of the dust. A ripped up painting lay face down on the floor. Bingwen picked it up and hung it back on the wall where it looked like it used to go. "There's nothing here so what's the point?" Jinghua said, covering his nose too. "It's respectful. Even if these people believed in something that wasn't real, it's still appropriate to show respect so we can satisfy their souls. And this could be a place to stay if we are stuck down here." Bingwen walked outside and took a fallen branch from the ground, tore a handful of weeds near the water, and tied it together with a broken rope he found from inside the shrine. "So what? Your going to clean it?" Jinghua asked. Bingwen passed him and went back inside. "I am. It will be something to pass the time."
Jinghua stayed outside and watched as piles upon piles of dust were swept out of the shrine one by one. He smiled though. Bingwen hadn't actually changed at all. He cared about everything and was respectful and kind. He wanted the best for everyone and wouldn't be satisfied until others were. Jinghua took a seat under a small blossom tree at the edge of the water around the shrine. He closed his eyes for a while before he nodded off under the shade of the cave.