A dog created from the very essence of flames. A fire so vicious it could engulf an entire town whole if it so pleased. That was the Huodou, a creature rumoured to have originated from the deepest depths of Diyu — hell. When the Huodou is seen, people will die. There was never any matter of question about it.
"Stay behind me." Although not a usual guest, the young prince was under Master Yin's protection.
Song Mengyao, however, had no intention of allowing Yin Jianguo to face such a ferocious beast alone. He stepped forwards so that they were side by side for the fight. His sword arm had been wounded but that did not mean it was going to stop him from putting up a fight.
Yin Jianguo glanced at the boy, meeting his golden eyes for but a moment, and understood that there was nothing he could do to change the prince's mind. His eyes then flickered back to the beast, watching as it prowled closer. It was eyeing up its prey, being cautious enough to weigh them up before diving into a fight.
The Huodou was a vicious creature, but it was also a smart one; and upon noticing the singed fabric around the prince's arm, it knew exactly who its first target would be. With such an obvious wound, Song Mengyao was the easy target; one that would not be able to put up much of a fight. At the very least, he would not be fighting to his usual standard.
When the creature pounced towards the prince, it was Master Yin who swung his sword to ward it away. The large ebony dog jumped back, away from the blade that threatened to puncture its tough skin. The flames surrounding its body only burned fiercer in defence.
Aiming for the beast, Yin Jianguo lunged forwards but missed once again as the fast creature jumped away again. The Huodou was swift and much larger than any normal dog; it would be hard to strike it, especially with the hellfire that encased it.
"A talisman, now," Song Mengyao demanded, forcing Master Yin to draw his attention away from the beast for only a second.
Within that second, however, the creature pounced again. As the burning hot fire drew near, the beast's teeth were caught on either side of Master Yin's blade. It bit down with such a force that it would easily snap any normal sword like a twig. Thankfully, this sword was not any ordinary sword. It was Zhuī, sword of Yin Jianguo; forged in the magical fires of Luanyi. Such a sword would not break even if a mountain were dropped upon it.
"Now!" the prince yelled again, rushing toward the beast with his own sword drawn.
As the beast lept away once again, Yin Jianguo threw a blank talisman to Song Mengyao and rolled back to his feet. He stood the beast down, unwavering as he readied his weapon for the beast's next strike. Intimidating such a creature would not be an easy feat but if he could hold off the next attack for even a moment, it would help.
During their brawl, the beast had set fire to their surroundings, and it had begun to close in. The flickering of flames so hot that the heat was reaching out in a desperate attempt to drag them in, threatening to consume them where they stood. The Huodou would not burn, for it was the very essence of fire itself, but it's prey would.
The prince prepared the talisman and threw it up into the air. In an instant, there was a thunderous boom in the sky and a dark cloud formed. Rain poured down around them, wetting the blazing fire, calming it. It was not enough to put out the Huodou completely, but it had been enough to dampen it somewhat. The fire around them was gone and the dog – the beast – was now nothing but a warm campfire.
It snarled ruthlessly, angered that its power had been weakened. It was in that moment, when the crackling fires had been washed away, that two men had a chance. A chance to defeat the beast and the hellish creature knew it.
The next time the Huodou rushed forward in a desperate attempt to turn the tide of the battle, Master Yin swiftly delivered a blow to the creature's abdomen. It had not been sufficient enough to kill the beast but had sliced through its skin, wounding it slightly. This only further angered the creature. It snarled at them, seemingly unfazed by the blood that was trickling down beneath it.
All in all, the prince was ready when it lunged at him next. His previously wounded arm, however, was not. His burn forced his arm downwards, leaving him open to the attack as he grimaced in pain. Yin Jianguo managed only to throw himself in front of the prince, raising his left arm up to block the incoming attack. Pointed teeth sunk into his flesh, tearing through it to the bone.
The vicious dog bit down harder, refusing to let go, and the young master cried out in pain.
It seemed in that moment that the creature had forgotten about the prince or had mistakenly deemed the boy weak after he failed to defend himself. Before it could think to dodge the attack, a sword had plunged its way through the heart of the Huodou.
It released Yin Jianguo's arm, relishing in the final taste of the cultivator's blood before lifelessly falling to the side. The fire that had once surrounded the Huodou burned up, engulfing it once again. Only this time, it consumed the body until there was nothing left but remnants of charred bone.
***
Master Yin sat by the small, warming fire Song Mengyao had made as he undid the bandage around his wound. The bleeding was not stopping, and they still had quite a way to go before they would reach Ningyi again.
It was too dangerous to travel through the forest alone at night, even with the Huodou defeated; and so, they had found refuge in a small clearing between a few trees. It had not been difficult to ward all evil away with what talismans were left. The fury that once plagued the forest had begun to settle now, after all.
The sun wraiths still remained but they were less vengeful than before, no longer seeking out a victim to pass on their pain. They would be safe until morning. That is, if Master Yin managed not to bleed out before sunrise.
"Let me see it," the prince demanded, feeling somewhat at fault for Master Yin's wound.
The master hissed when the boy pressed a thick, green paste against the tears in his skin. He rubbed it in as gently as he could, wiping up the excess blood with rags he tore from the bottom of his own robes, the expensive gold and white silks now stained a crimson shade of red.
"How did you learn to make that?" Master Yin inquired, curious as to how the prince had known to make such an ointment.
"My mother taught me. I used to go hunting with my older brothers when I was younger," the prince paused for the briefest of moments before admitting, "I was not good at it."
Master Yin chuckled, "Your mother was worried about you because you could not hunt! A prince – the Magnolia Prince of Shiyanyi – could not hunt. What happened? Did you get run down by a boar? No, did you get bitten by a bunny?"
Unamused by the playful ridicule, the prince sighed. "I fell out of a tree and broke my leg. The bone went right through, and my brothers could not stop the bleeding. I was lucky we had not gone too far from home, they managed to carry me back just before I lost consciousness. Mother showed us all how to make this afterwards. It will help stop the bleeding."
It was still a funny story, and the master was much too amused by it, but he was glad for the prince's mother. If it had not been for her, he likely would not have had a chance at making it back to Ningyi on his own.
"Is there a scar? Such a serious wound from your time of youth must have left a scar, let me see." Master Yin did not pass up on the chance to tease the prince some more and even reached out to lift his robes.
Song Mengyao swatted his arms away with a scowl. "Whether there is or is not a scar is none of your business."
Yin Jianguo frowned and leaned back against the tree behind him. He would have liked to have seen even the smallest mark on such perfect skin. Even the burn on Song Mengyao's arm would likely leave no trace at all once it healed now that he was of an age to have properly cultivated the power within him. Healing was always faster and more efficient once one learned to control the power inside them. Although even then it would still need to be accompanied by proper healing and medicine.
"How is your arm?"
The prince glanced at his own wound, which he had not bothered to check since first wrapping the cloth around it, and quickly went back to helping Master Yin re-bandage his wound. "Fine."
"Is it?" the master persisted.
The prince hummed, "Just a minor burn. It was just the weight of my sword."
"You almost got eaten by the Huodou because of the weight of your sword? Do not make me pin you down to have a look."
With those very words, heat rose in Song Mengyao's cheeks; a heat he did not know the meaning of. Master Yin even noticed the slight dust of pink that rose atop the young prince's fair skin but was more concerned with his burn than asking about it.
Feeling defeated, the young prince sat down beside Master Yin and began to unwrap the cloth. Where the wound had become sticky, the fabric stung as it was pulled away and the prince winced.
Yin Jianguo was shocked that the prince had left it so long. In that moment, it became painfully obvious just how bad the wound had gotten in the hours since they were attacked. The colour of the burn had turned from red to a deep purple and the surrounding skin had swelled up a considerable amount too.
"Why did you not say anything?" the master scolded.
Rather than reply, the prince simply used what was left of the paste against his burn.
"I thought you said it helped stop bleeding?"
"It also helps fight infection. Although I doubt it will be of much use now."
Once the paste had been applied, Master Yin bandaged the burn up again, this time much tighter than before so that it was as safe from the outside environment as it could be. It clearly hurt as the prince gritted his teeth, but it would be better to endure the pain than to allow the infection to grow even worse.
"You should get some sleep. The talismans should keep us safe, but I will stay up to make sure."
Song Mengyao had no reason to argue with him but still felt a slight pang of guilt as he lied down, resting his head on his good arm to get some sleep. It was true that Master Yin's injury was not to his sword arm, but it did not mean he should be the one to stay up on watch throughout the night. Despite that, the prince was thankful that the master was willing to sacrifice his own rest to make sure they stayed safe until morning.
***
At dawn, the two men continued their walk back. They were hungry, tired, and in severe need of a bath.
They were back at the village before midday, being greeted by the villagers as they were led to the healer. With their wounds properly bandaged and bellies full, they were ready to disclose what they had discovered to Wan Yang.
"So, it was the Huodou?"
"Yes. The beast has likely been living in the heart of the forest, killing any who come past for years. As those people died in the fires of the Huodou, their spirits were more vengeful than usual. They were likely attacking to gain your attention, hoping that your village would find the Huodou and kill it. They wanted you to avenge them and were angry when all you did was attack them in return," Yin Jianguo concluded.
The village leader was ever so grateful that such capable young cultivators were able to deal with their problem, saving their village from further turmoil. "So, we will no longer have problems with the sun wraiths?"
"I am afraid they are not all gone, but you will be able to go back to warding them away with talismans again. They should not be of much bother to you anymore," Song Mengyao explained.
"Thank you! Thank you, my Lord, my Prince," Wan Yang bowed with gratitude, "The village of Ningyi is forever in your debt."
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