Earth Master

Chapter 5 - Peony

Chapter 5 – Peony

"Well?" asked Moonshade after he had explained what really happened, "Whaddya think?"

"You always manage to impress me with your idiocity." said Aurora, being sarcastic. "This whole thing never would have happened if you just held your tongue."

"I can’t change what’s done, can I?" said Moonshade, "It’s alright now."

"Oh no it’s not." she disagreed. "You think Kumo’s over there inspecting the corpses, because he likes to play detective?"

"The guy I talked to seemed to believe it." he argued.

"Well, Kumo didn’t believe a word of it."

"Why isn’t he doing something about it then?" he asked.

"Probably because he’s not completely sure yet." she answered. "But he is not gonna just let it go. It’s a murder by a demon." Then she started thinking as she watched Kumo and the others, walking around the corpses and talking.

"How are we gonna deal with this?" Moonshade questioned.

Aurora did not answer but she looked very depressed. She gave a warning look to Moonshade, when she saw Kumo coming their way.

"Since Liu’s horse did not return, " said Kumo as he approached thetwo young friends "we are short on horses. Also we cannot leave Liu’s corpse here, so we will put him in the carriage. I hope you don’t mind walking to the nearest town, where we can buy new animals."

"What do you mean?" asked Moonshade, "Can't you just bury him somewhere around here? We’re in the middle of the woods." This comment made him receive two glares from both Kumo and Aurora.

"That’s not possible, I’m afraid. I cannot simply leave a dead men behind. Liu’s family would want to make the burial themselves, I’m sure." Kumo explained.

"What about the demon’s corpse then?" asked Moonshade.

"We are leaving it behind, of course." answered Kumo as if he was stating the obvious. "There is no point in taking it with us. Animals will take care of it."

Aurora was annoyed by the fact that he referred the demon as ‘it’. It was the first time Kumo has spoken in such a manner. She wondered if he was testing Moonshade and she was afraid for a moment. However Moonshade seemed to have learned his lesson about running his mouth because he did not react to what Kumo said.

"Naturally." said Aurora, forcing a smile. "We certainly don’t mind walking."

"Very well then. We’ll continue with our journey shortly." Kumo walked away after smiling both of them.

Once he was out of their earshot, Moonshade spoke."He didn’t seem to suspect anything."

"Only you can be that clueless." responded Aurora and added anxiously "He definitely knows."

"Well then, we gotta do somethin about it."

Aurora thought about their town, where they would spend their days playing with the little kids, training and dreaming. She remembered how she used to dream about going to the Head city and facing off the men from eight years ago. Avenging her parents was all she lived and trained for. She was burning with the desire of killing the men who took her life away from her, only because she was born to a demon family. However she had no proof that Kumo was one of those men, for all she knew he was an old master who followed the orders.

"If we kill him, and I’m not sure if we can," said Aurora, "it would be an unjust kill. I don’t want that."

"What about your plans for the Head city then?" he asked "Cos if he really knows like you say he does, we’d be dead meat as soon as we step into that city."

"I realize the situation but not much can be done,right?" she asked, "You never wanted to go to the Head city anyway and we can always find another way to--"

"No we can't." Moonshade interrupted her. "And I do wanna go to the Head city. I'm here on my own will, you're not the boss of me."

"It's cute how you still think that."

While they were talking, the men finished their preparations for the road and they told Aurora and Moonshade that they were leaving.

"Alright." called back Aurora, and then she whispered to Moonshade "Be prepared for anything, in the next town, we're gonna make a run for it." Moonshade nodded to agree and went to take their horse, which looked like she could die any moment.

"This time you're dragging it along." he said and handed the rope of the briddle to Aurora.

"She has a name you know." said Aurora.

"Does she?!" asked puzzled Moonshade, "What is it?"

"Peony." answered Aurora as she petted her on the nose.

"Peony, as in the flower?"

"Yep. I like it 'cause it sounds like pony."

"..."

This time the whole group was traveling close together, they were all going in the walking speed. Two men were riding the horses at the front as usual, and the other one was driving the carriage. Kumo was walking side by side with Aurora and Moonshade. Both Aurora and Moonshade were on the alert against the slight possibility that Kumo might decide to take action.

Throughout their journey, Kumo was silent for most of the part. Whenever he spoke, he spoke of trivial things as if the two men did not die just a while ago. This situation made Aurora only more sure about her presumption.

Kumo did know something.

Right before sunset they arrived in a town, and during the whole journey Aurora could not get a chance to speak with Moonshade privately. The town had a big town center that had many shops, inns and diners. Aurora was glad that they came to a big town, because it would make it easier for Kumo to lose their track if they escaped. When they arrived, Kumo wanted to go to a mortician to buy a coffin for Liu. Aurora suggested meeting later at the diner but Kumo refused her offer, saying that they needed to go horse shopping together right after he bought the coffin.

When they were seeing the mortician,Aurora realized that two of the men were missing. She asked where the others were to Kumo, who was paying the mortician.

"They went to find us a place to spend the night." he answered.

Once they were done, they all went outside and met the other two men, one of which made a gesture with his head to Kumo that caught Aurora's attention. Then the men carried Liu inside and brought him outside in a coffin and put him once again into the carriage. After Liu’s body was safely placed in the carriage, Kumo suggested going for a bite first.

"I thought we were going to go and buy horses?" asked Aurora.

"It's almost dark outside, so maybe it's best if we settle in now and buy horses in the morning." replied Kumo, smiling. "Is that alright?"

"Yes." she replied, unwillingly. "It's fine."

As they walked to the diner which was a small one located in the town center, Aurora wanted to speak with Moonshade. However Kumo would not leave their side, not giving her the opportunity she needed to warn Moonshade. Aurora could feel the danger drawing near.

They tied their horses to the front of the diner and left the carriage close to the entrance. They sat at a table and when the owner came,Kumo ordered noodle soup with chicken skin for everyone. Then he asked if it was okay, looking at Moonshade and Aurora.

"Chicken skins are my favourite." Moonshade answered and Aurora only nodded.

Soon the owner brought the hot soups and they began eating after saying prayers. The men talked about a saloon they spotted in the town center as they ate. Aurora suddenly felt dizzy and looked at Moonshade who was also having a hard time keeping his eyes open. That was the last thing she remembered when she woke up alone in an unfamiliar room...

*End of Chapter 5