A pact with the devil
The clans cried for justice, for vengeance. Cultivators rallied under their banners of allegiance, demanding for blood.
The pigs didn't care.
Lady Chao Feng didn't care.
Bodies began to pile up. Cultivators drained of chi and blood littered forests, plains and fields. The clans experienced crushing losses. Families wailed and howled. Tian Guo was in turmoil as the landscape became a battlefield between the orthodox clans and the pigs.
*
Jade Rain and Autumn Moon rushed through the darkened forest, the wind hissing as they flew. Their pursuers were closing.
The situation had grown increasingly precarious. The rabbits found themselves routed by the hunting Earth Borers, the elite assassins of the pig clan. The pigs had mastery of the land, especially the soil and the layers of earth. They had laid traps everywhere. Nowhere was safe. The group Jade Rain and Autumn Moon was with fell straight into an ambush. With their tunneling abilities, the Earth Borers had hid well and sprang the ambush. In the frenzy which followed, Old Bing was captured, the initiates cut off from vital reinforcements and Jade Rain and Autumn Moon having to flee. Torn between terror and loyalty to the clan, they were forced to make the painful decision to escape.
And now, they ran, like fugitives.
"They are closing on us!" Autumn Moon gasped, looking as if she was about to burst into tears. They both felt the horror and shame of running away. Sorrow burned in their hearts. They failed to protect the group, failed to protect Old Bing who was a cherished elder in the clan. What would the clan leader say?
Now they were all scattered across Tian Guo. Autumn Moon wasn't sure where her father was, or the rest of the rabbits. They had left a skeleton term to protect their clan home, Serenity Hall. But with the rising power of the pigs, nothing was certain.
"Run, just run," Jade Rain cried, resisting the urge to just scurry into the bushes. The call to become a rabbit was strong, visceral. Their skin crawled as if fur was growing beneath it. They knew that Autumn Moon was fighting the same thing too.
The idea of being a Fallen terrified them.
So, they ran.
And they hid. The bushes formed a small cave or tunnel. They squeezed into the small space, panting.
Suddenly, there was a howl, like a wolf's. It reverberated in the still air. Sounds of clashing blades broke the stillness.
"Fighting?" Jade Rain whispered. They held Windsong tightly. The jian was singing now. Someone was close. Something was close.
Another howl, followed by a final frenzied clashing of metal.
... And a figure tore through the shrubs. It was holding a sword. With their heightened senses, Jade Rain and Autumn Moon knew via smell that the figure was male... and a dog. A cultivator from the dog clan! Something familiar pinged in Jade Rain's memory. They knew this scent...
Sky Grace!
He staggered a few steps forward before collapsing onto the earth.
"It's Sky Grace," Jade Rain said. The sounds of pursuit and fighting seemed to have stopped. "He's injured!"
Jade Rain and Autumn Moon dragged him to their little bower. Sky Grace was bleeding. Fresh blood had soaked through his clothing in dark piquant spots, centering mostly on his chest. He was unconscious, his handsome face bruised and bloodied.
"I will stop the bleeding," Jade Rain tore strips from their sleeves and bound the wounds with them. "I don't think they are that serious. His meridians are still flowing."
"One minor blockage," Autumn Moon examined him critically. She carefully placed her finger tip on the troubled spot, close to his sternum. She jabbed the finger in, unblocking the damaged meridian. Stale dark blood spilled from his thin lips.
"He's surprisingly strong," she continued.
He stirred, his brows furrowing as if in pain. "Brother," he whispered. "Brother, where are you?" Then he lapsed into delirium.
*
Sky Grace had a fever the next day, quickly brought down by cloth soaked in cold stream water. They had managed to find shelter in an abandoned hut. With their training in herbs, the two rabbits managed to find the essential plants for poultices. They dared not raise a fire for fear of rousing any suspicion.
They found food too, wild greens that grew close to the running stream. Used to nibbling vegetables raw, Jade Rain and Autumn Moon managed to sustain themselves in this way. The clear water was sweet and clean. They sat on small boulders, huddled down.
"We still need to find Old Bing," Autumn Moon said, her voice firmer now. The fear seemed to have gone away. Something within her was changing. "Find a way to look for him."
"We shall... But what about Sky Grace? What about him?" Jade Rain glanced at the hut where the young man lay unconscious. His fever had broken. "He needs medical treatment."
"I think he lost his pack... The dogs suffered the worst wrath from the pigs," Autumn Moon shook her head.
"Did he lose his brother? Sky Peace?"
Jade Rain experienced an ice-cold blast of dread. Sky Peace was the one who accompanied them during the Wish Lantern Festival. Autumn Moon had teased them about him. He was the oldest son of the clan. "I don't... know," Jade Rain shuddered. "I don't want to know."
"Why am I doing here?" a male voice said.
Jade Rain and Autumn Moon jumped up in their seats. They looked up, only to find Sky Grace, disheveled and pallid, standing unsteadily at the doorway of the hut.
Then he collapsed again.
*
"They routed us," Sky Grace said softly. They had him sat against the mud wall of the hut. He cradled a small mud bowl filled with water, sipping at it eagerly as if it contained the most delicious soup. "They routed us, the Earth Borers and the Stone Breakers... and I was cut off from the fighting. Sky Peace... my older brother... he fought and fought. The last thing I heard was his howl. He wanted me to run."
Autumn Moon nodded slowly. "We ran too."
Sky Grace's shoulders slumped. He was visibly weakening. "Then... I tracked your scents. You were in the same forest too. I followed you... Then they ambushed me. A hunter!"
"You tracked us?" Jade Rain said incredulously.
"Been doing so for a while now. When the Earth Borers started chasing the clans. I ... wandered into rabbit land once. I could track your scents."
"You have been following us?" Jade Rain asked angrily.
"Jade Rain, this is not the time to interrogate him!" Autumn Moon hissed.
"But he's - "
"Yes, not the time now, Rain, for Buddha's sake!"
"Sky Grace, wake up, Sky Grace... no, he's burning up!"
*
They fought the fever and managed to bring it down. Sky Grace murmured and cried out in his fever dreams. Mostly about his brother, his family, his clan.
It was close to dawn when the fever finally broke. Jade Rain and Autumn Rain were exhausted. They hardly slept. Fear of being discovered by the pigs kept them awake too.
Jade Rain stepped out for a breather, glad for the fresh air. They were now edging into early summer. The air still bore a hint of chill.
Windsong screamed.
"Ah, little rabbit, I finally found you!"
A woman's voice laughed triumphantly. Jade Rain looked up to see a muscular figure descend from the sky.
*
She wore flowing crimson robes, like the darkest of blood. Haughty, with a vicious glint in her glowing eyes, the woman hung in mid-air. She did so effortlessly. Queasiness hit Jade Rain in the gut. Unholy yin energy surrounded the woman like a negative aura. She was filled with it too, a being infused with that same energy.
Jade Rain noticed the shimmering bracelet on the woman's wrist. It pulsated and seemed to laugh.
Defeat her and you will wear me with pride.
The voice in Jade Rain's mind was smug and sibilant. Genderless, it hissed like a snake.
You can be more powerful than she is. Kill her. Kill her.
"NO!" Jade Rain shouted. This woman must be Lady Chao Feng, the murderer and killer from the Pig clan. The bracelet must be...
... the Elixir of Immortality.
Defeat her and you can win this fight. You will become leader of [Tian Guo].
"No, I won't do that!" Jade Rain gritted their teeth. "NO!"
"Then perish, child," the woman purred.
A flash of light - Windsong screaming - and suddenly, a man stood beside Jade Rain. He was old, older than when Jade Rain last saw him.
Father.
FATHER.
He is not dead!
HE IS NOT DEAD!
Father did not die.
"Rain, my daughter," he whispered, love and sadness in his voice. He glared up at Lady Chao Feng. "Foul creature, you will be defeated!"
"Foolish Rabbit lord. Pity, the weakling that is your brother isn't here to witness your death!" Lady Chao Feng cackled. The bracelet shimmered brighter.
"Rain, for a long time, I have tracked the Elixir... now it's in the hands of a corrupt individual. Listen to me carefully. I am going to give you a gift..." Father sounded sadder now, his eyes were bright with tears.
"Give my love to your mother," he said, placing his palm on Jade Rain's back. Jade Rain began to sob. Mother had been in seclusion in the Serenity Caves ever since Father left on his quest. Heart-broken, she had never left the caves. Oh, Mother, you should have seen Father. So brave. So so brave.
"Master the Fire Rabbit."
"NO!" Jade Rain screamed. "FATHER. NO!"
He transferred all his chi to them.
*