Dance of the blades

Chapter 1 Blood stained snow

  The loud clack of the axe could be heard behind the old shabby shack of a house that stood out amongst the dense forest. Snow flakes danced around Lan Sizhui as the wood he was chopping split into smaller pieces, seemingly spreading above an old tree stump.

"A-yuan!" a loud voice called out to the young boy.

"Baba?" the said boy turned to see why his dad had called him.

A man in raven black robes made his way towards Lan Sizhui, the red ribbon around his hair blowing to the side from the gentle breeze. His grey eyes soften when it landed on Lan Sizhui's hand holding the axe.

" A-yuan, I told you already we don't need the extra fire wood!" he exclaimed and crossed his arms. " Me and your father can collect the wood ourselves." he added.

The young boy looked down at his hands with the axe and blush slowly rose across his face. Lan Sizhui had thought he could collect extra firewood for his parents before his departure to the village, he wanted to be reassured that they would still be warm in case of a snow storm. He then pondered on how he should respond to his dad.

The gentle sound of the door sliding open had awoken the young boy from his pondering and caught the attention of Lan Sizhui's dad. His other father appeared before them with his gray bluish robes and limped towards them while holding his walking stick.

"Sizhui you should be heading to the village." his father's deep and calm voice said.

Even with out adding the extra context Lan Sizhui already knew what he had meant. 'Don't worry about me' was he silent plea.

Grabbing the bamboo basket filled with the goods, Lan Sizhui prepared to set off towards the small village below the mountain they live on. The snow had pilled up into small hills making it even more difficult for Lan Sizhui to reach the village.

'The village'  that Lan Sizhui called it was a small community with old huts build beside one another and with only a well to sustain them. The villagers had smiles hanging on their faces when Lan Sizhui passed them by.

" Lan gege!  Did you bring new toys for us to play?" exclaimed a child with snot dripping down their nose.

" I'm sorry but I have to sell all of my baba's vegetables before I can play with you." Lan Sizhui said while lowering his eye level to the child.

" Your selling the vegetables?" "Oh is your father's leg still broken, Sizhui?" the child's mother asked Lan Sizhui.

Lan Sizhui only nodded in respond towards the old mother's question.

"Well I'll defenitely buy anything that dad of yours plant!" boomed an old man. While his friends behind laugh at his enthusiasm.

"I could use some of those in my soup too!" shouted another villager.

Soon Lan Sizhui had sold all of his vegetables before the sky had darken but the journey back would probably elongate his time. Without a second to spare, Lan Sizhui had forced his feet to hike up the snowy mountain that separates him from his home. 

Not long after he had reached midway through the mountain is when a hand reached out to stop him. When he turned around he faced the wrinkled face of an old woman.

" The sun is soon to set. You should stay at my home for the night, Sizhui." the old woman suggested.

The old woman was an old friend of his parents. She would often care for him when his parents were busy as she lived near his home.

So Lan Sizhui only needed one look at the darken sky and entered the old woman's home without complain.

The smell of wisteria hit Lan Sizhui's nostrils when he stepped into the old house. While setting his shoes onto the shoe rack, Lan Sizhui eyed the old woman setting up various talismans around the windows and the four corners of the house.

"Are you setting those up to block the demons from entering, granny?" Lan Sizhui asked.

His parents used to tell Lan Sizhui tales of human eating demons to scare his child self when he was too adventurous for his own good. It definitely stopped the poor boy from skipping his bedtime and sneaking away from his parents. He was terrified of breaking curfew and meeting that supposed demon. Although he has never seen one in real life.

The old woman responded with a nod towards Lan Sizhui and handed a blanket for him. She ushered the boy to the handmade bed while lighting the wisteria scented incense. The familiar scent brought comfort to Lan Sizhui as it filled the room.

The next morning, Lan Sizhui left the old woman's home with silent farewell. When the outline of his home reached his silver eyes, his steps hasten and quickly turned running towards his home. The beating of his heart soon became erratic when his eyes landed on the blood stained snow outside his home.

"Baba! A-Die!" he shouted at the top of lungs to call for his parents.

Peaking through the broken slidding doors, the colour red could be seen sprayed on the walls just like his dad's favourite ridiculously spicy dishes. Holding onto the sides of the sliding door to support his weight, bile threated to spill out from his throat at the sight of his dad's bloody corpse laid out on the floor.