The mysterious man's laughter faded into the night.
The black arrow was still buried deep in Ha Van Son's right hand.
Black blood dripped steadily onto the stone ground.
Luc Minh reached out to pull the arrow free.
Ha Van Son immediately stopped him.
"Don't touch it."
"This arrow..."
"...was forged with resentful energy."
"If you pull it out the wrong way, the malignant energy will spread to someone else."
Luc Minh stared at his blackened hand.
For the first time, he realized that the hand was more than just a curse.
It was also a **living seal**.
## Following the River
The next morning.
The three of them left the temple.
Before they departed, the mysterious old Taoist priest left them with only one sentence:
> "If you want to find the person holding the other half of the map..."
> "...follow the river where all spirits come to a stop."
They followed the Thanh Ha River as it wound around the foot of Mount Mao Shan.
The river water was crystal clear.
But the farther upstream they went,
the colder the air became.
There wasn't a single fish.
Not one bird called out.
There was only the steady sound of flowing water.
## The Little Girl Beneath the Willow
By midday.
Luc Minh saw a girl of about ten sitting beneath a willow tree by the riverbank.
She wore a faded blue dress.
Her feet were bare.
Her clear eyes gazed at the flowing water.
In her hands, she held an extinguished floating lantern.
It was...
**Moc Thanh.**
When she saw Luc Minh, the girl smiled.
"You're here."
As if she had known he was coming all along.
## The One Who Had Waited Eighteen Years
Luc Minh stepped closer.
"Who are you?"
"How do you know my name?"
Moc Thanh lowered her head and gently turned the floating lantern in her hands.
"I've been waiting for you..."
"...for eighteen years."
"Since the day the temple burned down."
To Nhuoc frowned.
"Do you live here all by yourself?"
Moc Thanh slowly shook her head.
"I don't live."
"But I'm not dead, either."
"I'm just..."
"...waiting."
No one said a word.
The girl's calm voice was strange to the point of being unsettling.
## The Floating Lantern on the Water
Moc Thanh set the lantern on the river.
There was no wind.
Yet the lantern began drifting upstream on its own.
Luc Minh was stunned.
"What is this..."
Moc Thanh pointed at the water.
"Look."
Luc Minh leaned down.
The water had been reflecting his face.
But just a few seconds later...
The image changed.
An ancient temple appeared beneath the surface of the river.
Dozens of Taoist priests were forming a ritual array.
At the center of the array
was a little girl in a blue dress.
It was Moc Thanh.
Seven bronze chains bound her body.
She was covered in blood.
## The Truth
To Nhuoc covered her mouth.
"That's..."
Moc Thanh answered calmly.
"That's me."
"Eighteen years ago."
"Luc Thien Ha took me as his disciple."
"I was his first disciple."
Luc Minh stood there in shock.
"Then..."
"You're older than me?"
Moc Thanh smiled.
"If I were still alive..."
"...I'd be thirty this year."
"But I died..."
"...when I was only twelve."
## The Fire That Year
Ripples continued spreading across the water.
The scene changed.
Flames engulfed the temple.
Moc Thanh carried a child out of the sea of fire.
That child...
was Luc Minh.
Behind her,
a black-clad figure wielding a sword chased after them.
Just as the sword was about to strike,
Moc Thanh turned and wrapped herself around Luc Minh.
The blade pierced her chest.
Blood stained the entire stone stairway red.
The image froze.
The river became calm again.
Luc Minh stood motionless.
"You..."
"...saved me?"
Moc Thanh gave a small nod.
"It was a promise."
"I made a promise to Master."
## He Wasn't Allowed to Remember
Suddenly.
Moc Thanh walked up to Luc Minh.
She raised a hand and lightly touched his forehead.
In an instant,
countless memories surged back.
A little girl carrying him on her back.
Teaching him to draw talismans.
Feeding him mouthful by mouthful.
Taking him to release floating lanterns every Ghost Festival.
Luc Minh's head throbbed violently.
"No..."
"Why don't I..."
"...remember any of this?"
Moc Thanh gave him a sad smile.
"Because..."
"...Master was the one who erased those memories."
"If you remembered too soon..."
"...you would die."
## The Message from the Dead
Moc Thanh took a small scrap of paper from inside the floating lantern.
It was the second half of a purple talisman.
She handed it to Luc Minh.
"The other half of the map..."
"...isn't with the Huyen Ling Society."
"It's beneath the temple."
Ha Van Son's expression changed.
"Impossible!"
"I've searched for ten years."
Moc Thanh looked at him.
"Because you've been searching in the wrong place."
"The forbidden ground isn't beneath the mountain."
"It's..."
She hadn't finished speaking
when a black arrow shot over from the opposite bank.
**Whoosh!**
Luc Minh immediately pulled Moc Thanh behind him.
His peachwood sword came down.
**Clang!**
The arrow snapped in two.
But on the opposite bank,
more than ten people in black cloaks had appeared.
A **red-eye emblem** was embroidered on every one of their chests.
The leader spoke in a cold voice.
"Hand Moc Thanh over."
"Otherwise..."
"...every one of you will die."
Ha Van Son drew the bronze sword from his back.
For the first time since meeting Luc Minh,
he revealed a murderous aura of terrifying intensity.
"At last..."
"...the Huyen Ling Society couldn't hold back any longer."
Luc Minh stood in front of Moc Thanh.
His peachwood sword shone with dazzling golden light.
The first major battle against the Huyen Ling Society...
had finally begun.
**End of Chapter 14.**