This place was strange.

Wu Jian and the others had spent a lot of time trying to find a way out of here, but they had yet to succeed.

The first thing they had done was try walking out. That had ended in failure. They walked for what had felt like several days, only to wind up returning back where they had started.

Yin Wuhan believed there was some kind of space-time sealing array that kept them from leaving this area. When they reached the end of this space, they were transported back to the middle. He called it a space-time sealing formation. Wu Jian knew nothing of seals or formations, but he could sense the distortions in space when they were teleported.

After realizing they couldn’t simply walk to the end of this area and escape, they had begun searching for anything that seemed out of place. There should have been something here that served as a key to unlock this sealed space. Yet no matter how many times they combed the area, nothing turned up.

Several days had passed since they were first trapped here. They were currently gathered in their makeshift camp to assess the situation.

“Have you found anything?” Hou Jingshu asked Yin Wuhan.

The large man shook his head. “Whoever created the formation that trapped us here was an expert far beyond my ability. The only thing I’m certain of is the formation has something to do with the placement of all the objects here. I suspect it uses Feng Shui to create this sealed space.”

Feng Shui was often used to create zen gardens. Feng meant wind and shui meant water. Wind and water were associated with good health. Thus, feng shui came to mean good fortune.

There were five elements of feng shui—earth, metal, water, wood, and fire. Each element were interrelated phases in life that worked together to create a complete system. Zen gardens balanced these five elements to create spaces filled with chi. That was what made zen gardens excellent places to cultivate.

“We’re going to eventually run out of food if we can’t escape,” Hou Jingshu said.

“Fortunately, we won’t run out of provisions for at least another week,” Zheng Yawen told her. “However…”

“However?” asked Hou Jingshu.

“I’m worried about what will happen to us if the formation around the White Tiger Sect Ruins closes while we’re still trapped in here. We may end up stuck inside for centuries if not longer.”

Hou Jingshu shivered at the idea. Wu Jian wasn’t too keen on staying trapped here either.

“I’ll keep searching for a way out,” Yin Wuhan assured them as he walked off.

“I’ll help him,” Wu Yong added and followed after the man.

“I’d help too, but I don’t know jack about feng shui,” Huǒ Shuchang scratched the back of his head, appearing at a loss.

“That’s okay. None of us expect much from you,” Wu Jian sniped.

“Why you gotta be hating?!”

“I’m kidding. I don’t know much about feng shui either.” Wu Jian sighed. “That said, I think we should still look around. Maybe we’ll find something the others miss.”

“It’s better than doing nothing,” Huǒ Shuchang shrugged.

Wu Jian turned to the two ladies. “What are you going to do?”

“We’re going to take stock of our supplies,” Hou Jingshu said.

Wu Jian nodded and bid the two good luck before walking around the area. This sealed space was roughly one lî across and one wide. A combination of sandy patches and green grass covered much of the ground. There were also two small ponds. Large rocks were strewn across the sandy sections, while trees and shrubs were located in the grassy areas.

“I really can’t see anything,” Huǒ Shuchang muttered.

“I can’t either,” Wu Jian admitted.

“You don’t suppose we’re going to be stuck here for all eternity, do you?”

“I certainly hope not. There are too many things I need to accomplish outside. I can’t afford to remain here.”

“Me too. I can’t stay here. I have things I need to do.”

“Your sister?”

“Yeah. She needs me. She might be stronger than me, but strength has its own limitations. There is a lot she can’t do, so I need to be there for her.”

Wu Jian didn’t quite understand the logic. Those who had strength could do what they wanted. That was what he had always been taught. Perhaps it was because Huǒ Shuchang’s sister had enough strength to be strong, but not enough to lord over others, that she needed someone else.

Or maybe it’s because she’s a woman?

Some nations were patriarchal. The Shang Kingdom had a strong patriarchy. Hou Jingshu was unlikely to become empress simply because a woman ruling the nation was practically unheard of. There was only one case of a woman ascending the throne, and a massive war that resulted in their nation suffering great losses had ensued while she was ruler. Men had sat upon the throne ever since then.

However, there were plenty of nations that were based on a meritocratic system. Whether you were a man or woman, so long as you had the strength and talent needed, you could rule over anyone. The Qing Province was like that.

“I’m gonna find somewhere to get some peace and quiet,” Wu Jian said suddenly.

“Huh? Really? Well, all right. I guess I’ll just look around by myself then.” Huǒ Shuchang shrugged. “Not like it’s gonna change anything.”

Wu Jian glanced around as Huǒ Shuchang walked off. They were in a sandy area with large boulder formations. He stood next to one particularly large boulder that looked like it would give him a great view of the area, so he leapt onto it and sat down with his legs crossed.

With a full 360 degree view of the entire area, he was now able to see the locations of the entire sealed space. There were two areas lined with sand and boulders. The one he was in looked bigger than the other one, which was some distance away and surrounded by grass and forest. He also noticed a small forested area within this sandy field. There was a tiny pond, though it was barely visible.

Something tickled at his consciousness as he looked at the sealed space from a higher view. He couldn’t figure out what he was seeing, but he felt like it was important.

Maybe if I meditate on it…

Wu Jian closed his eyes and began to meditate. He first removed all extraneous thoughts from his mind. Then he slowly let his chi trickly into the atmosphere. Spaced warped around him, though he could only create tiny distortions that barely lasted a second. That was not the purpose of this exercise anyway. He was expanding his awareness to contemplate the formation keeping them trapped inside this sealed space.

It has something to do with space and time…

Wu Jian’s understanding of space was still very basic, but he at least understood that space in relation to distance was set on three perpendicular directions that everyone can move in. This sealed world suggested there was more to space than just distance. They hadn’t been teleported to a place within their world but an entirely different space that had been sealed off. It suggested a sort of multi-dimensionality beyond the simple three-dimensional theory he understood.

As he continued thinking on the concept of multiple dimensions, Wu Jian felt like his awareness of this space was expanding. He could not see the space with his eyes. However, through his senses, he could picture the area they were in from what seemed like a bird’s eye view.

Hmm… doesn’t this look like… a yin-yang symbol?

The image he was conjuring as he spread out his senses to encompass the sealed space was that of a yin-yang symbol. The sandy areas represented yin. The forested areas were yang. If he further studied the image, he could now see that all of the objects—boulders, trees, plants, etc.— were set up in such a way that they seemed to form letters.

“Hmm?!”

Wu Jian’s eyes opened wide as the chi inside of his body suddenly expanded. He stood up and stared at his hands as he realized what had happened. He had just taken half a step into the Asura Realm. It felt like there was a fence, and he had suddenly taken one step to the other side, yet now he was stuck. He could not finish taking that last step.

Even so, the power he felt coursing through his body was real. He felt much stronger now than he had before.

Leaping down from the boulder, Wu Jian made his way back to camp. Hou Jingshu and Zheng Yawen were there, as was Huǒ Shuchang. The man was unsuccessfully trying to flirt with the young bodyguard.

“Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are like gemstones glistening in the night sky?”

“No, but if someone did tell me that, I’d assume they were up to no good. I’d probably cut their balls off.”

“… Would you really?”

“Care to find out?”

“Naw. I’m good.”

“Jian Wu,” Hou Jingshu greeted him with a smile. She froze for a moment as he came over, eyes wide in shock. She shook her head once, then smiled again. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Wu Jian said.

“Holy shit! Are you really half a step into the Asura Realm?! How did that happen?!” Huǒ Shuchang demanded to know.

Zheng Yawen did not speak, but her eyes were also wide like she had seen a ghost.

“I couldn’t tell you. It just happened,” Wu Jian shrugged.

“Things like that don’t ‘just happen,’ man. But what the heck. Let’s just go with that. It’ll save me a headache,” Huǒ Shuchang rubbed his forehead as if to emphasize his point.

“Anyway, I think I might have discovered something about this place,” Wu Jian said to Hou Jingshu.

“Really?”

“Yeah. But let’s wait until Yin Wuhan and Wu Yong return. Yin Wuhan will need to hear this anyway.”

“Okay.”

It took some time for the pair to return. Wu Jian spent most of it talking with Hou Jingshu, though he and Huǒ Shuchang occasionally sniped at each other as they were wont to do. When Yin Wuhan and Wu Yong came back, Hou Jingshu gestured toward him.

“Jian Wu has discovered something about this sealed space.”

“It was something I noticed while meditating,” Wu Jian added as he summoned a scroll and some ink. He was glad he had decided to stock up on this when he and Huǒ Shuchang went shopping before their journey to the Wing Province. “This entire sealed space is shaped like a massive yin-yang symbol. Every object within this symbol also forms a series of characters. I have no idea what they mean though.”

Wu Jian quickly drew a rough sketch of the yin-yang symbol, then added the ponds, trees, and rocks. He dipped his quill back into the ink and drew precise lines that connected the objects to each other. From these connections, characters formed. These characters were from an ancient language that had fallen out of favor centuries ago, but they were still used to create sealing formations and arrays. Once done, he added the characters to the bottom as well, just so they could see them more clearly.

“I see. This is the sealing formation that’s keeping us here.” Yin Wuhan didn’t even bother to demean Wu Jian as he stared at the drawing whilst rubbing his jaw. “I am still just a novice at formations and arrays, but I am at least versed in the characters used to create them. The characters within the yin areas is kōngjiān. It means space. The yang area uses the character for time—shíjiān. I could be mistaken, but I believe the character for space is what keeps us here, and the character for time has frozen us here. We’re essentially in a sealed space that’s frozen in time.”

“Does that mean time on the outside isn’t moving at all while we are in here?” asked Hou Jingshu.

“I think so,” Yin Wuhan shrugged. “I could be wrong though, so don’t quote me on this.”

“Then how do we get out of here?” asked Wu Yong.

“I’ll need some time to figure that out. Give me a few days to check these characters over,” said Yin Wuhan.

“All right. If time is really frozen outside, then we should be fine if you take a few days to find out how we can get out of here,” said Hou Jingshu.

“In the meantime, I think we have something mportant to discuss before we get out,” said Wu Jian.

Hou Jingshu and the others looked curiously at him.

“What is that?” asked Huǒ Shuchang.

“How to deal with Sǐwáng Hou if we run into him again,” Wu Jian told them with a dark look in his eyes.