Chương 6: "Safe. The Word Sounded Strange"

Ch 6 "Safe. The Word Sounded Strange" Amber Fang pulled her exhausted and empty body towards the cluster of buildings, her clothes still wet and clinging to her with blood and river water. True to the namesake, the landscape got mistier as she approached Misty Hollow Village. The mist curled around her ankles like ghostly fingers as she trudged forward, each step labored and uncertain.

Amber Fang paused at the village's edge, and shakily arranged her cloak to hide as much of the unsightly red and brown stains underneath as possible.

The buildings that appeared around her were modest wooden structures with thatched roofs. Smoke drifted lazily from chimneys, carrying the comforting aroma of cooking food. Her stomach growled loudly, reminding her that it had been far too long since her last meal. She was surprised her stomach could do anything after taking a knife to the gut. Perhaps the hunger was a positive sign that the cut was not too deep.

A black and grey haired woman stood in her doorway sweeping as the girl approached her, making sure her cloak had not slipped to unveil any unbecoming details.

"Ma'am," the younger woman approached with a small bow to show respect.

"Could you please show me towards the inn? I need to rest from my travels." She tried with all her might to keep her voice from shaking. Her face was pointed slightly down so that her wide bamboo hat covered most of her haggard expression. She needed a place to recover and cultivate expeditiously. The woman raised an eyebrow as she surveilled the girl up and down.

"By the ancestors. Who let a child wander alone? Where are you from?" Amber's fingers curled around the edge of her cloak and pulled it tighter as to hide from the older woman's concerned gaze.

"Green Wood Village, ma'am," she replied, with great effort to keep her voice steady. The older woman clicked her tongue.

"Green Wood, you say? That wretched place that got run over by demons? You poor thing." The woman's brow furrowed as she studied the girl more closely. Her eyes widened slightly as she noticed the dark stains peeking out from beneath the girl's midnight green cloak.

"Child, are you hurt?" Without waiting for a response, the woman set her broom against the doorframe and stepped closer. She tilted the girl's face up and gasped at the ghastly pale face underneath.

"Dear Heavens, you're as pale as a ghost and trembling like a leaf!" Young Fang stepped back instinctively, dipping her head down and gripping the edge of her cloak to pull it tighter against her.

"I just need directions to the inn, ma'am. I wouldn't dare to trouble you." The older woman shook her head disapprovingly.

"Nonsense. A child your age has no business staying alone at an inn." She reached out, her weathered hands gentle but firm as they took hold of the younger girl's shoulders.

"They call me Old Daisy around here, and you'll be coming inside with me. I've got warm soup on the fire and clean clothes that might fit you."

"I….."

"I won't hear another word about it," the woman interrupted, her tone heeding no argument.

"My own daughter was about your age now, when the fever took her. I know a child in need when I see one." The mention of the woman's lost daughter made young Fang falter. The scent of vegetable soup wafting from inside the modest abode made her dizzy with hunger. Her limbs felt unbearably heavy, the exhaustion of pushing her body to the limit crashing over her like a wave.

"I really shouldn't..." little Fang's voice sounded distant to her own ears as black spots began to dance at the edges of her vision. The cold river crossing, the wounds, lack of sleep, the days of little food… it was all catching up to her at once. Old Daisy's face creased with concern as she watched the girl sway.

"Child? Are you - " but little Fang could no longer hear her. The world began to tilt sideways. The exhausted girl felt her knees buckle beneath her, her cloak slipping open to reveal the entirely blood soaked clothes underneath. The last thing she heard was Old Daisy's alarmed gasp and muffled words before she saw the sky, then darkness claimed her completely. When consciousness returned to the young girl, it came in fragments. The softness of a straw mattress beneath her. The scent of herbal medicine.

The crackle of a small fire. The sounds of a rainstorm pummeling the outside of the humble home cracked over and over. The girl's eyelids fluttered open to find herself lying in a small but tidy room. With a jolt of panic she sat up, immediately regretting the sudden movement. She groaned as pain spread like white hot lightning through her midsection. She immediately fell back to the straw bed. Amber pulled back the sheet and looked down to examine herself. She was wearing nothing but a short hemp gown.

She could feel her wound wrapped tightly with the wafting scent of fragrant herbs and white bandages. Her wet, bloodstained clothes were nowhere to be seen. She dropped the sheet back down, still exhausted but feeling safe for the moment as she remembered the kind Old Daisy who must have saved her. Laying in bed felt ridiculously good. She was still gaining her senses back, but immediately shut her eyes and began circulating her Burning Sun breath technique.

The girl would feel more secure with her Qi full, and it would help her body heal. She always did this when she was sick as a child, as directed by her mother, and it had always sped up her healing by magnitudes. Of course, she had never been worried about her insides leaking out before. As the girl continued this practice she became aware of muffled voices outside of the room. A male voice was there, "She didn't even wake up as we stitched her back together! This is serious, Daisy."

"Oh hush," She heard the voice of her savior scolding the man, "She's jus' a child and she needs help."

"Those aren't the kind of wounds you get from fallin' out of a tree or tumblin' down a hill. Those are..." There was a pause.

"Those looked like knife cuts." The girl tensed, her circulation faltering slightly before she steadied her breath again. She strained to hear Old Daisy's response.

"That's exactly why she needs our help, love," Old Daisy replied firmly.

"Whatever happened to this child, whatever she's running from… she's still just a child!" This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"You always had a soft heart, Daisy," the man sighed.

"But we have helped her. As soon as she's walking she should be on her way." The girl felt a pang of guilt as she realized she was putting these kind people in danger. Despite the pain she sat up and looked around for her things. The action was too much for the girl and she couldn't stifle a surge of blood coming up her throat as she spat it up with a loud coughing fit, ceasing the conversation from the other room as the two came through the door.

"Dear ancestors! What do you think you're doing sitting up already?" Old Daisy hurried into the room, kneeling quickly at the girl's side.

"You'll tear your stitches!" Young Fang swayed slightly, suddenly lightheaded.

"I... I should go. I don't wan't to cause you any trouble…" Old Daisy's weathered face softened.

"Nonsense. You're not going anywhere in this condition." She gently but firmly guided the girl back to a laying position.

"You done lost a lot of blood, child. Your body needs rest and food to heal." As if on cue, the girl's stomach growled loudly at the wafting scent of warm soup she could suddenly smell through the open door. Old Daisy smiled knowingly.

"See? Your body knows what it needs, even if your stubborn mind doesn't."

"Old Coi! Fetch a bowl!" she hollered to the man. When he brought it Old Daisy took a spoon to feed the pale girl.

"Eat. Then we can talk about who you are and what brought you to my doorstep half-dead."

"Where are my… things?" the girl barely groaned out.

"Don't you worry about those. I've cleaned your cloak and your bag is in the corner there, drying out with your things." Old Daisy said reassuringly, "Your clothes now, they were bloody rags. They're no good." Young Fang bit her lip, the prospect of losing her clothes adding a sting of loss to her already dire situation. She tilted to look in the corner, confirming that her knapsack was indeed there. That at least was a relief.

"Thank you," she whispered, accepting a spoonful of the steaming soup. It was simple, root vegetables and wild herbs, but to Amber it tasted like the finest cuisine she'd ever had. The warmth spread through her body, seeming to reach even her fingertips. She decided to stay until the storm passed. Surely the men who might come looking for here wouldn't go looking in the heavy storm? Amber hoped she would be in traveling condition by then.

"Now get some sleep child, you need all the rest you can get." The girl would have fallen asleep anyway without these words. The next few days were uneventful as the storm raged on and Old Daisy doted on Amber and told the young girl stories about her deceased daughter and Misty Hollow Village. Old man Coi remained worried about the girl's origins but was tamed into submission by his wife. Young Fang spent some of her new free time to review the paper books left to her by her mother.

Astonishingly, the river didn't seem to impact them in the slightest. She had always thought the material seemed a bit special, although she didn't have the slightest clue what they were made of. Flipping through the pages she came to Tiger Claws. It was the technique she had comprehended in the cave. She stared at it wide-eyed. All pain from her wound seemed to leave her for a moment as she sat up. Despite her mother's secrecy around their family affairs, Amber had always been allowed to look at these books.

There wasn't much that she could understand from them anyway. This page was blank before though! In fact, the large swaths of blank pages in the books she carried had always bothered her. She had suspected there was some secret in the blank pages, and now here it was. What had changed to make it appear? She flipped the page. There was even more writing that wasn't there before! What in the heavens was going on? Perhaps it had something to do with the blood baptism.

Her eyes started hungrily scanning the next page, it contained a technique called Predator. The words were vague and the diagrams were complicated, but she studied them over and over. After some time, she realized there was a similarity between the technique and her footwork during her Blazing Tiger stances. It must be some kind of movement technique hidden in the stances, she realized!

Tiger Claws was also something she comprehended from the combination of the blood baptism and her stances guiding the Tiger Saint Qi. Just how many techniques were hidden in Blazing Tiger? The girl wondered. She continued reading without much actual progress, but she was even more excited to assimilate another drop of blood once she was healed up. By the morning of the fifth day, Amber could feel her strength returning.

She sat up in bed, noticing the tight pull of the stitches across her abdomen, but finding the pain far more manageable than before. Her daily practice of Burning Sun was working, her body was healing at an astonishing rate putting her flesh back together, though she still wasn't going anywhere. The storm seemed as if it was coming to a close after these several days. She sighed. Her mind kept returning to the little tiger. Where had he gone? Was he alright?

She wondered if the drop of blood she had shared with him was enough to heal his injuries. Perhaps she should have not been so stingy and given him two drops. For a tiger, he might have been able to handle more than one. Somehow she couldn't shake the feeling that he was nearby. She didn't understand why she felt that way though.

"Ah, you're awake," Old Daisy said, entering the room with a steaming bowl.

"And sitting up properly too! That's good progress." The girl accepted the bowl gratefully with a bow, her black hair falling over her face. It contained a hearty porridge with bits of wild herbs and mushrooms. As she ate, she studied the older woman's face. There was something soothing about Old Daisy's presence, something that reminded the girl of her own mother in ways that made her chest ache with longing.

"Thank you for everything," the girl said softly.

"I don't know how to repay your kindness." Old Daisy waved a hand dismissively.

"There's nothing to repay. We look after each other in Misty Hollow." The words hit Amber oddly, in a way that brought stange emotions to her chest. The only village she had really known was Green Wood, and she hadn't felt looked after by anybody other than her mother.

"Mister Coi... he doesn't seem to agree," Amber said carefully, remembering the man's protesting words from earlier conversations. Old Daisy gave a soft chuckle, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Oh, don't mind Old Coi. He's a worrier by nature."

"Now," Old Daisy continued, her tone shifting, "I've respected your privacy these past days, child. But I think it's time you told me a little more about yourself. Where are your parents? How did you come to be wanderin' alone with such terrible injuries?" The young Fang girl lowered her golden gaze to the half-empty bowl in her lap. Her mind raced, trying to decide how much to reveal.

"My name is Amber. My parents are..." she swallowed hard, "gone." Old Daisy frowned but said nothing.

"I'm traveling to Tiger Gate City. I… ran into trouble on the road. Bandits, or poachers maybe..." Amber Fang's fingers unconsciously traced the outline of her bandaged wound. She hoped the little black tiger was healing well from his injuries, wherever he was. Old Daisy's eyes widened slightly.

"By the Heavens," she whispered.

"You mean you made it all this way on your own? Even after bein' attacked?" Amber nodded, still not meeting the older woman's gaze.

"I had to cross the river to get away from them... That's when I ended up here." Old Daisy gasped at the young girl's perilous journey, and how she had not died cold and injured in the river. A moment of silence passed between them, broken only by the muted sound of rain against the thatched roof.

"You're safe here," Old Daisy finally said, her voice firm with conviction.

"Poor child, to have gone through so much." Safe. The word sounded strange. No one but her mother had ever tried to make her feel safe. Yet, she was potentially bringing danger to this kind woman's door. At least it seemed that the men had still not come looking for her. Did that mean they found traces of the cub? Maybe they were chasing him instead, then. Either outcome made her stomach feel uneasy.

"The storm's easing up, I should head out to avoid any trouble following me…"

"Now Child-" The sound of the front door opening and closing interrupted their conversation.

"Daisy," Old Coi said, his voice tense.

"A word, please." The older woman frowned at her husband's tone but nodded.

"Finish your soup, child. You need your nutrients. I'll be back shortly." As soon as they left the room, Amber set aside her bowl and carefully swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Moving slowly to avoid aggravating her wounds, she crept closer to the door and strained to hear their hushed conversation.

"... in the village," Old Coi was speaking, his voice low but urgent.

"a bunch of 'em, askin' questions about a young girl." Amber's blood ran cold.

"What are they up to?" Old Daisy's voice was barely audible.

"They're at the tavern now. They done beat up a few men already." Old Coi's voice went from worried to stern.

"Daisy, If they're lookin' for her..."

"We don't know that," Old Daisy interrupted.

"And even if they are, we don't know why. She's just a child."

"A child with knife wounds," Old Coi reminded her.

"Whatever trouble she's in…"

"I won't turn her out. Not in her condition. Not to some out-of-town rascals!." Amber backed away from the door, her heart hammering in her chest. Was it the same people who had attacked her? Here? People were already being hurt. She needed to leave, now, before she brought danger to these kind people who had saved her life. Then, she would be exactly the demon the people of Green Wood Village said she was.