Within the jade-roofed sanctum of the Thousand Lotus Sect, Sect Master Yu sat across from Han Li. The air was thick with incense, but Han Li paid no mind to the golden swirls rising around them. He held his broom like a staff, leaned slightly forward, eyes calm.
"You've stirred the heavens," the Sect Master said at last. "The Eye of Judgment blinked, and our protective wards burned like paper. Tell me, who are you really?"
Han Li smiled, faintly. "Just a janitor."
Yu leaned forward, fingers tense. "No janitor casually erases a soul-devouring curse or grows Heaven-grade herbs in his backyard. Do you think Heaven is blind?"
"It blinked," Han Li replied dryly.
Yu was silent.
"They will come," the Sect Master whispered, not to Han Li but to the walls, as if afraid they might be listening. "From the Celestial Bureau, from the Forgotten Hells, maybe even from the Asura Vaults."
Han Li rose, stretching. "Let them. I'll keep sweeping."
"You can't fight the heavens with a broom," Yu muttered.
Han Li paused at the door. "That's what they thought last time."
Outside, a wind rose.