The Guardian of Memory

"I didn't think you would cave so easily back there." Ren Cai whispered as they left Lang Xinyue's home. It was true, she had seen the disagreement in his eye as clear as day when the pendant was placed on the table. His hesitation had shown the moment that the old man had said he might be able to be a blacksmith.

"I didn't cave so much as I bargained." Hong Zhao said simply. "What they offer us outweighs the urgency to get to Yuan City. Even if other cultivators get to the shadow sect, they have both Huang Ji and Li Wen to defend the border, not to mention Li Wei." His mind wandered to his friend that he had left behind. Odds were she was doing everything she could to get stronger, that way she could bring the assault to the men who drove them from their village in the first place. A chill went down his spine when he thought of her potential, all he had to do was shape her the right way.

"Earth to Hong Zhao, or wherever this is." Ren Cai waved a hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Even when we were in our previous lives, it still freaked me out when you had that look on your face."

"What look?"

"The look you give when you plan twenty steps ahead of the game. Honestly, slow down and focus on your next two steps ahead of you."

Hong Zhao's face gained a little color. "Since when do you pay so close attention to how I look?"

"Who knows?" She said as she folded her hands behind her back and began skipping ahead looking all the ten year old she was meant to be. Hong Zhao scowled after her, but maintained his pace. He focused on the ground where the sun glinted off the sapphire, sending shades of blue ahead of him.

Lang Xinyue had laid a leather thong through the end of the handle to the hammer and handed it to Hong Zhao. "What stops me from leaving with this as soon as I shut the door?" His hand hesitated right in front of the offered necklace.

"You look to be the sort of boy who would appreciate payment for services rendered." Lang Xinyue said straightforwardly. "Besides, you have no way of knowing how to use it without my help." He bridged the gap between them and placed the pendant in Hong Zhao's hand, then patted him on the back before disappearing into another room with Lang Yi.

When he thought about how odd that encounter was, his hand reached for the sapphire at his neck. Lang Xinyue hadn't told him why he needed him to stay within the village for the month, only that he would be needed. The only thing Hong Zhao saw that might have any value within Naje was the pendant, which was just placed around his neck. "They're using me as a guard for this thing." As he said the words, they seemed to fit. Why else would the old man offer it to him before the month was done? Why would he even give such a priceless heirloom to him, unless he thought that he might be able to get it back after the month was done. He sighed. "It's the knowledge I care about, not the pendant. If he can truly teach me how to spirit smith, I'll give the pendant back." He released the pendant and let it drop to his chest.

He would be the pendant's guardian for as long as they needed him to be. As long as he had it, he could also ask Lan how to use it.

"Let me see that thing." As if summoned out of his thoughts, his master matched his pace and reached a hand towards the pendant.

Hong Zhao didn't take it off of his neck, but the leather thong was long enough for him to hand the pendant to Lan anyway. "This is quite the treasure." She smiled as she examined it. "As you said, it was masterfully crafted."

"And you keep creeping me out with all that you know." Hong Zhao rolled his eyes. "How does it work, and do I really have the fire elemental qi within me? How do I locate the elemental gate?" The questions poured out of him like water from a pitcher.

"First off, get used to it. I'm sure I'll be around much more often thanks to your little mistake with Li Wuhan." She glared at Hong Zhao, obviously still upset with his frivolous use of his late alchemist in training. "Second, you hold it to your forehead and send a wisp of your qi into it. Don't do it now!" She held the pendant away from his reaching hand. "Do it when you are with Ren Cai. She will need to watch over you while you sift through the memories." She looked at him with hesitation for a moment. "I'm not sure what element your qi has. It is as Lang Xinyue said, it takes a fire elemental qi user to find another, so it must be so. And lastly, just look inside yourself and find out your own damn self!" With that, she let the pendant drop back to his chest. When he looked up from the pendant, she was already gone.

He would never speak the words aloud around her, but one day he would have to figure out a way to block Lan's vision. At least, if he ever wanted a moment of privacy away from her watching eye. He grimaced at the thought of maybe one day settling down with a woman of this world. Would he really do so if he knew that Lan would be watching? This thought, among others played out in his head as he finished the walk to the inn. It was clear that he had become the pendant's guardian, not it's owner. And the currency offered to him was training, not gold. Though that wasn't quite correct. He could take one lump sum of gold and add it to his already literal mountain of gold, or he could gain an ability that would allow him to make the gold himself. Even though he had as much gold as he did, the cultivator's life was one full of expenses and he knew his wealth wouldn't last long, not unless he had a way to make more.