Chapter 9: Red Pine

"A carrier," Lian said.

Kong Yuhe looked at her for a moment longer.

"Fine. Keep it," she said. "I'll find out tomorrow on the stage."

She did not find out the way she meant to.

At noon the next day Kong Yuhe stood across the Cloud Stage with her plain sword drawn.

The Red Pine tiers chanted her name.

Before the bell, a maple leaf blew across the stage, and she cut it in half in the air without looking at it.

Lian had no weapon.

She had her hands and the hemp robe and the slab of ash in her belly.

The bell rang, and Kong came at her.

A line of bright qi ran out from her blade a full arm's length past the steel.

Lian took it on her forearm.

It touched the ash and went out.

Kong saw that.

She didn't try it a second time.

She was the best Foundation of her generation, and she was smart.

She let the qi drop from her blade and fought with steel alone, and steel was a different thing.

It cut Lian's left forearm on the next pass.

It cut her right palm when she grabbed for the wrist behind it.

Kong never stopped moving.

Every time Lian pushed a strike at ten paces, Kong was already somewhere else, and the strike cracked empty stone.

Blood ran down Lian's fingers and dripped on the gray stage.

The Red Pine tiers were on their feet.

"Yield," Kong said, circling. "I don't want to cut you to pieces in front of your sister."

Lian looked at her hands.

Every carrier's hands were good at one thing.

They held on.

The next time the sword came for her, she didn't step away from it.

She stepped into it and let it open her shoulder to get close.