Phoenix Rising

046

Beside her mother, Meiyan kept her head bowed, struggling to keep the smile off her face.

Out of everyone present, only Lady Min and Meiyan knew the truth about what happened on the journey home—because they engineered it. Unfortunately things hadn't gone to plan at the temple, with Meisi replacing Zi-ning as the subject of Consort Song's ploy. However, they had always had a back-up. Lady Min had made arrangements through her older brother, who worked in the Ministry of Defence, to hire a group of professional assassins to go attack Zi-ning's carriage along the route from Ryoko Temple back to the capital. Even if by some miracle, Zi-ning survived to return home, her reputation would be sullied beyond repair. No young lady could possibly be untainted after being attacked by a group of mountain bandits. She would be completely and utterly ruined.

Finally, they would be rid of Han Zi-ning—this thorn in their sides.

A knock came at the door, and one of the Minister's guards marched in, bowing respectfully to the minister and the old matriarch.

"What is it? Have you found Zi-ning?" Minister Han asked irritably.

"My Lord, we only found the young mistress's carriage along the Ryonan mountain path. The carriage was badly damaged and the horses had been cut loose. There were also several dead mountain bandits at the scene, but we did not find any signs of the young miss or her servants. It's possible that they..." The guard's voice trailed off, as he looked hesitantly towards the minister.

"They fell off the cliff?" Concubine Wan exclaimed, finishing the man's sentence on his behalf.

"We can't be sure. Our men are still combing the area," the guard replied, although the look on his face confirmed what Concubine Wan had said. If they could not find Zi-ning anywhere in the vicinity, that could only mean that she had either fallen to her death, or she had been captured by the bandits. Neither outcome was a favourable one.

Minister Han closed his eyes, releasing a loud sigh. "What have I done to deserve this... Why have the gods done this to me?" he muttered.

Just when Zi-ning's stars had started to look up, such a misfortune had befallen, rendering her useless to his political goals.

"Ah, my darling grandchild," the old madam cried. In a fit of agitation, she collapsed against the back of her chair, passing out entirely.

"Mother!"

Chaos ensued as the minister and the attendants rushed to usher the old lady back to her sleeping quarters. The physician was summoned, and following a flurry of activity, the sitting hall emptied itself of most of its occupants. With both their mothers having gone to wait on the elderly matriarch, only Meiyan and Meisi remained behind.

"You know something, don't you?" Meisi said, eyeing Meiyan suspiciously.

"Excuse me?"

"The bandit attack. When it happened, you didn't look the least bit fearful. Why's that? Was it because you knew it was going to happen?"

Meiyan pursed her lips together, annoyed that Meisi was being unusually astute for once. "I don't know what you're talking about. If I were you, I'd spend less time on baseless speculations and worry about my own future—or lack thereof," she said with a sneer. Swinging her sleeves, she sashayed out of the room and back towards her own quarters.

The trip to Ryoko had been exceptionally fruitful after all. From today onwards, she would be the only young lady in the household worthy of notice, and she would finally get everything she rightfully deserved.

#

Zi-ning awoke to the fragrance of tea eggs. She sat up groggily, reaching up to rub her sore temples, only to find her forehead wrapped in bandage. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, then took a look at her surroundings.

Where am I?

The room she was in was small but tastefully decorated, furnished mostly with bamboo furniture. Watercolour paintings hung from the walls, and a dainty bonsai sat on a small table by the circular window. A cheery humming was drifting in from outside.

She took some time to gather her senses, piecing together the messy fragments of her memory.

She vividly remembered their harrowing escape from the bandit attack, and how she could have lost Ahri—and possibly her own life—had the Shadow Lord not showed up in the nick of time. She had tried to salvage the situation by initiating a rockslide, but had also come close to being struck by a falling boulder. Du Zhenghuan had pushed her out of the way, and then they had fallen over the edge of the cliff...

The frightening sensation of drowning in a relentless rush of water returned to her.

Thankfully, there had been a river in the valley, and that was where they had fallen. Otherwise, they would have likely have died from the impact.

But that was where her memories ended. The next thing she knew, she was waking up here.

"Du Zhenghuan..." Where was he? Had he been rescued too?

Zi-ning slowly picked herself off the bed. She had bandages around her head and her left ankle, but other than that, she seemed relatively unscathed. She inched her way towards the door, warily stepping across the threshold.

She gasped. In front of her, the glistening river shimmered, and upon the opposite bank lay a forest of cherry blossoms so beautiful that it made her wonder if she had died and gone to heaven after all.

"Ah, you're awake!"

The remark came from an elderly man with a full head of snowy white hair, and a wispy beard to match. He was out in the front yard, drying herbs on rattan sieves.

Zi-ning nodded. "Where is this place? Were you the one who rescued me, Elder?" she asked.

"You're lucky that I found you. If you had stewed in the river any longer, you would have died from the cold!" he replied with a wiry chuckle. "The waters of Longjiang may seem inviting, but it's a trap, I'm telling you!"

"Thank you for saving my life," Zi-ning said, bowing deeply to convey her gratitude. "What of my companion? Did he..." She lifted her head, noting that the valley they were in seemed to be covered by a thick fog. Beyond that, she could not make out the edge of the cliff from which they had fallen from.

"Ah? That brat?" The old man clucked his tongue, scowling in displeasure.

"A brat would not be gathering firewood for you."

Zi-ning spun to the left, her eyes lighting up when she saw who it was.

Zhenghuan was walking towards them, carrying a bundle of wood in his arms. He was still wearing his mask, but had traded in his usual clothes for a plain set of grey robes, presumably belonging to the old man. It made him look strangely comical, and entirely unlike the fearsome general that he was.

"Gathering firewood is a paltry price to pay for the debt you owe me!" the old man barked. "If I hadn't given you my huanhun dan, you would be collecting firewood for the God of Hell instead!"

Zi-ning startled.

Huanhun dan? The pill that can return a soul?