The journey back to Muya was tense, marred by a disquieting silence among the entire party as they listened intently for any signs of enemies rustling in the bushes. The narrow mud path they were on was flanked by dark, shadowy forest on both sides, and a dense canopy blocked out most of the sun's light from reaching the forest floor.
After Baixun had recovered sufficiently to travel, they had bade farewell to the king of Feng, who had looked decidedly uncomfortable and torn about the decision to return the crown prince to his kingdom instead of executing him instead. Eventually, it had once again been the chief astrologer who had swayed his decision, reminding Yuehwa of the strong hold that Sheng Yun had over the Feng court.
Was it much different from the influence of the dark arts over the then-Wudi empire and the king of Dahai? She wasn't so certain about that.
They had once again donned their travelling merchant disguises and were moving cautiously northwards. After a long discussion, they had concluded that the quickest way to reunite Baixun with his troops was back through the Jilin range, with Ru Fei providing an obscure path through the mountains that would help him evade any of the main border crossings that could be heavily watched by the king of Dahai's men.
This time though, Baixun had insisted on riding on horseback despite his recovering health, which would allow them to use smaller roads and move faster.
"Are you alright? Do you need us to take a break?" Yuehwa asked when she heard the prince cough several times in quick succession.
Baixun shook his head. "No," he said, "we should try to reach the next inn before sundown."
Already the light filtering through the leaves was waning, warning of impending nightfall. If they did not make it to their pit stop in time, it would mean a night out in the cold, subject to potential attacks from wild animals living in these woods.
"How long more before we reach the inn?" Maroo asked, shuddering as he looked around the vicinity. The prince's gangly adviser, who was not much good on horseback, was riding together with one of Shoya's Feng guards, and looked quite green in the face. "I keep feeling as if we're being watched. Like there are eyes glued to my back. It's giving me the creeps."
Maroo was hyper-sensitive and had a penchant for over exaggerating doom and gloom, but this time, Yuehwa didn't think he was wrong. She had noticed it herself, the sensation of eyes prickling the back of her neck, but when she studied their surroundings, there was nothing detectable but the light breeze rustling the leaves.
Invisible eyes, cloaked in the shadows. They had encountered dark magic so many times that she was no longer surprised if it were following behind them right now, waiting for its opportunity to strike.
"Not long," Shoya answered. He glanced down at the map in his hands, doing a quick estimation of their distance from the inn. "If we continue at this pace, we should reach within a stick of incense."
"A stick of incense... That's not too bad," Maroo remarked with a bit of relief.
"Stop," Yuehwa suddenly said, raising her sword up in the air. The entire contingent immediately came to a halt.
"Is something wrong?" Baixun asked. He brought his hand to his hilt warily.
Yuehwa raised a finger to her lips, carefully surveying the thick bush to her left, and then her right. There was something off about this stretch of wood. It was too quiet. Deadly quiet and devoid of all signs of animal life. No birds, no crickets, not even a beetle scurrying through the leaf litter. That could only mean one thing–that there was something else around, something that had frightened all these creatures away.
A thin fog crept out from between the branches, curling its tendrils dangerously around the group.
Everyone immediately unsheathed their weapons, readying themselves for what was to come.
"Your Highness!" Maroo shrieked.
Yuehwa held out her blade just in time to block a tiny silver needle from embedding itself in Baixun's neck. The tiny projectile fell to the ground, then disappeared in a wisp of smoke.
The silence from before was replaced by a chaotic battle against enemies they could not see, enemies who might not even be there. Swords flashed in the air, knocking down several more of these innocuous needles, all of which vanished before they could even figure out what they were. Their horses, spooked by the sudden attack and the thickening fog, whinnied loudly and reared on their hind legs, almost throwing some of their riders to the ground. The stallion that Maroo was riding was struck in the side, and his companion had just enough time to leap them both off the horse's back before their steed's knees buckled and it collapsed to the ground.
To their horror, a corruption began to spread across the coat of the injured horse, like an ugly web of cracks that turned its dark brown fur into dirty grey–turning it into stone. A gasp caught in Yuehwa's throat when she saw the stallion crumble into ash before her eyes.
"We need to get out of here," she shouted.
She grabbed the terrified Maroo by the collar and pulled him up her horse, while Shoya did the same for his guard. Pulling at their reins and nudging their heels into the sides of their mounts, they sent the horses galloping down the path as fast as they could, while still fending off the deadly projectiles that continued to fly towards them.
"It isn't working. They're still chasing us," Baixun said, a thin film of sweat lining his tired brow as he hung tightly onto his reins. The exhaustion was visible on his face, quickly wearing him down.
"Veer left," Shoya commanded. With one swift motion, he yanked at his steed and re-directed it off the trodden path, carving a new route through the dense bush. "There should be a small lake not far from here."
A lake.
Yuehwa immediately understood what Shoya had in mind. She didn't know if it would work against these unnatural enemies, but it was worth a try. At the rate they were going, eventually someone would fall to the onslaught, and it would likely be Baixun given his weakened condition.
It wasn't long before the forest gave way to the shimmering surface of a lake, reflecting the dying rays of the sun. No one had time to appreciate its beauty. The moment they reached the bank, all of them leapt off the backs of their mounts and dove into the water.
The coldness of the lake pierced through her skin and down to her bones, enveloping her in its iciness. She held her breath, still gripping her sword in her hand to deflect any needles that would break through the water surface. Thankfully, there were none. Shoya's gamble seemed to have paid off.
She could see her companions around her, all treading water to stay suspended, eyes carefully looking up.
After a few moments, she thought to emerge, seeing as there was no further movement coming from the surface. But Shoya reached out and pulled her back, shaking his head.
"Wait," he mouthed.
Right on cue, a dark shadow moved overhead, hovering above them like an ominous cloud.
A strangled cry emerged from Maroo's lips, leaving as a string of bubbles that escaped upwards. The shadow immediately latched on to it, darting towards Maroo's position. The water's surface rippled dangerously, as if the thing was trying to reach for them but could not breach the lake's barrier.
"We have to swim," Baixun said, pointing to the opposite end of the lake.
Yuehwa nodded. She could feel the air in her lungs slowly being expended. If they didn't surface soon, then all of them would be dead without their enemies lifting a finger. She kicked her legs and swam as quickly as she could, as did the others. The freezing water left pins and needles in her arms and legs, but she pushed on, keeping a wary eye on the movements above.
But before they could reach the opposite end of the lake, terror struck.
The calm waters shuddered then began to swirl, forming a maelstrom around Yuehwa. Strong currents appeared out of nowhere, whipping through the water and dragging them apart from one another.
Yuehwa struggled to stay close to the surface, kicking at the invisible fingers gripping on to her ankles, threatening to keep her under. When she looked down, she thought she saw faces in the depths, gaping mouths and vacant eyes calling out to her with sorrow and longing. Drowned souls, she thought, who had lived their last in these waters.
A strong tug at her left leg made her swallow a mouthful of water, and the last bit of air she had been holding in her lungs was abruptly stolen away.
The ghosts of the lake gurgled in delight, sensing that their prey was within grasp.
Yuehwa's vision blurred as suffocation set in. Her limbs slowly began to lose their fight against the devils and she felt her body sink further into the deep. She couldn't see any one else around her—nothing but eddying water and infinite darkness.
Then a piercing light sliced through her field of vision.
Shoya, her mind called out, as his face appeared before her, the blade of his sword and its crystal hilt gleaming in his hand. Whatever dark magic was causing this mayhem seemed to shy away immediately, and shrill banshee-like screams rippled through the water in frustration.
She felt the warmth of his arm around her waist, pulling her back towards the surface. His lips touched her own, and a breath of air brought life back to her lungs. Her vision cleared a little, bringing his warm, concerned gaze into focus.
Along with a hazy memory that did not belong to her.
"Jue-er, don't do it!"
She turned to look at him, and a sad smile stretched across her lips. If only she had more time—time to wipe away those tears from his face and tell him that everything would be okay, that he would be okay even if she wasn't by his side. He was a warrior. A leader. A king. There were thousands whose lives depended upon this victory, who waited for him to lead them out of the darkness.
"I have to," she whispered. She steeled her aching heart and lifted the wooden staff into the air, then she brought its sharpened tip down in one decisive motion—straight towards her.
Yuehwa gasped.
They broke through the water's surface.
"They're gone? Are they gone?" Maroo squeaked. He clambered onto the bank pulling Baixun up along with him. There was no longer any sign of the shadows anywhere. The surface of the lake had regained its stillness, as if none of the earlier disturbance had ever taken place.
Shoya helped Yuehwa out of the water and they both fell to the ground, dripping. Her maroon robes clung to her skin and wet hair draped messily across her shoulders, but she paid no attention to her disheveled state. Instead, she stared ahead in a daze, trying to recall those images that were already fading into the recesses of her mind.
"Yuehwa, are you alright?" Shoya asked, patting her back gently.
She snapped out of her trance and the last vestiges of those strange voices vanished without a trace.
She nodded hesitantly. "I... I think so," she said. Could it have been a side effect from the dark magic that had been chasing after them? It must have been. There was no other explanation for it.
Maroo was collapsed on his back, limbs spreadeagle and breathing heavily. "Thank the gods," he exclaimed. "What in hell's name was that? And all those ghastly faces in the lake..." He shuddered, muttering a prayer under his breath.
"The spell must have worn off. It's likely that the effects of dark magic are limited by the abilities of its wielder, or the distance over which the spell has to act," Baixun ventured. Since they were still on Feng soil, it was unlikely that the dark magic practitioner aiding the king of Dahai was anywhere close. "But the only ones who knew of the route we were taking were..." He looked towards Shoya.
They had intentionally chosen a winding, obscure route back to Muya so as to minimise the likelihood of encountering such an ambush, but still someone had managed to get wind of their whereabouts.
Besides Sheng Yun, the only others that Baixun was referring to were the king of Feng and his closest confidantes.
Yuehwa noticed the slight stiffening of Shoya's shoulders, but then the latter straightened himself up and began surveying their surroundings, choosing not to respond to Baixun. A twinge of sympathy struck her as she watched him carry on with nonchalance, pretending not to care that his own father had sent killers after his life—yet again.
"It's safe. They shouldn't be coming back anytime soon," Shoya declared. He glanced up at the direction of the sun, then pointed northwards. "I don't think we can stop at the inn anymore, but if we continue in this direction, we should be able to reach an old temple where we can spend the night."
With the harrowing interlude behind them, the group picked up their weary bodies and trudged on with their journey, which now had to be completed on foot. Still, it was far better to be exhausted than dead.
Yuehwa turned her head and took one final look at the glassy surface of the lake, remembering the hungry, disconsolate faces that haunted its waters. Souls that were lost and could never find their way home. She wondered if they remembered who they were, if they still carried the memories of their previous existence, of what they did and who they loved.
She hoped they did, if only so that they wouldn't be so lonely. And if one day she should join their ranks, she would at least have her memories to keep her company.