Phoenix Rising

048

He reached an arm into the void and yanked hard. "Bring the baskets here," he said.

Zi-ning thought she heard a slight wince from him as he pulled out the vines, but she didn't think much of it. Obeying his instruction, she quickly retrieved the rattan baskets from the cave entrance and brought them over.

"I can help," she said, thinking to stick her hand in and pluck the vines together. After all, the hole looked almost large enough for a child to squeeze through.

To her surprise, Zhenghuan grabbed hold of her wrist and stopped her from doing so. "It's okay, I'll do it. It requires quite some strength to pull the vines out, so it'll be faster if I did it alone."

"But I'm the one who's supposed to collect the vines. You don't have to do this for me."

"Who says I'm doing it for you? I just want to finish this more quickly so that we can make it back down the mountain by nightfall. I don't fancy catching hypothermia out here, so do me a favour and don't get in the way. You can wait outside."

In the way? Zi-ning scowled, retracting her hand. Fine, if he thought she would be a nuisance then she would make herself scarce. Spinning on her heels, she headed back out, squatting by the cave entrance and plucking blades of grass from the ground.

It wasn't long before Zhenghuan emerged out into the open, hauling one rattan basket in each hand. Both baskets were now filled, and in the light, Zi-ning could see that the devil's vines had winding purplish stems and mottled leaves with a similar shade of purple venation running across their heart-shaped surfaces.

But as Zhenghuan came closer, she noticed something else.

The hands that were holding on to the basket handles were stained red. With blood.

"What happened to your hands?" she gasped, rushing over. She snatched one basket from him and chucked it on the ground, taking hold of his hand and flipping it over. Then, she checked the other.

Zhenghuan's palms had been shredded, his skin a mess of bloodied ribbons. He pulled his hands away and closed his fingers around the carnage. "I'm fine," he said. "I've had far worse before."

Zi-ning stared down in horror at the basket of purple vines sitting by her feet. It was then that she saw the tiny, teeth-like thorns that lined the winding stems. Those must have been the culprits that had ruined Zhenghuan's hands.

"Why didn't you protect your hands before you touched those? Wrap them up with cloth?" she asked.

"Devil's vines are called devil's vines because they require an offering of blood in order to pluck them out. Without enough blood, their stems are incredibly stiff and their roots are almost impossible to detach from the rock. That's why you don't see it in regular medical halls, even in the capital city, and they cost an exorbitant amount to buy."

"You should have told me..."

So that was why he refused to let her help and insisted on doing it on his own. She silently scolded herself for being so petty earlier. She had become accustomed to thinking the worst of people, and this time Zhenghuan had proven her wrong.

He shrugged. "Your hands are worth more than mine," he said. "Like I said. I've had worse. These are only a couple of scratches."

Zi-ning looked around, then ran a short distance away to scoop up some clean snow that had gathered upon some rocks. "Give me your hands," she said. When Zhenghuan did as told, she gently used the water from the melted snow to wash the wounds that littered his palms. There were several long gashes, but it looked less gory after most of the blood and dirt had been cleaned away. Zi-ning ripped off two strips of cloth from the hem of her robes, using them to carefully bandage both of Zhenghuan's injured hands.