The world around her had certainly changed. The trees, and grass still retained the artistic vibrance of life and chaotic vitality, but there seemed to be a factor that was lacking from her vision. The horizon that once appeared just below her fingertips now seemed locked away in a gloom of mist and fog, unassailable by the human eye.
The world before her was shrouded by a thin veil of grey, and An Fei couldn’t see for much else than different shades of black and white.
The blistering afternoon sun had been reduced to a miserable, pitiful star hovering in a great backdrop of stenciled paper. The trees, towering grass, and calm pond appeared no more than inky blots across the blistered canvas, removed from the world and any resemblance of reason.
She had once seen such a scene before, but that was through an artistic filter placed onto a photographic image. She hadn’t regarded it much then.
Experiencing it with her own naked eyes, however, was a different matter. Her fingertips carefully transmitted the delicate brushes and trims of the individual strands of grass nestled below her body, and her ears fixated onto the faintest trembling of insects’ wings and the mild, rustling whisper of the spring breeze. The world around her was vibrant and filled with motion and viscous life, but before her was a graveyard of bones and ashes.
“This place… feels rather lonely.”
An Fei allowed her body to sprawl onto the ground and gazed at the pasty skies. A forlorn glance began to emerge on her countenance as the young girl spread her arms to feel the trembling vibrations of the grass and their miniscule groans of labor. The damp cold of the earth threatened to seep into her bones through the flimsy layer of silk, and the surface of her skin crawled with a tender panic.
She felt lost and confused.
Her memories of what happened after the night of the fire were a complete blank, and she had risen a week ago to find that the dying winter had gave rise halfway into a blossoming spring. The twin butterfly swords had vanished from her side along with the leather bag that once contained the majority of her items, and all that remained on her person was a pitiful qama without its sheath, and two satchels – one blue, and the other a dullish grey.
The young girl raised her fingertips to nestle them gently on her chest, and found them meted by the brisk resistance of dense gauze. There, just a few centimeters below the whimsical barrier was a grievous wound that stretched halfway down her torso, and a pungent, restrained medicinal odor stung her nose if she inhaled close to her body.
The metallic yet herbal scent served a grim reminder that she was so close to dying again, but the perpetrator was none other than… herself.
An Fei desperately wanted the truth to reveal a gloomy prankster waving around a human skin mask or another wielding a divine… technique that closely resembled her appearance, but time and time again, the pair of scarlet irises, the fragrance emanating from the body, and the unhesitant, ruthless manner in which the butterfly sword was shoved into a person’s chest – all resembled traits that belonged to her and her alone. The young girl set her teeth and rolled her body onto her side, and found herself reflected in the tranquil surface of the pool.
The young girl’s countenance was stretched taut in despair and pain, and her eyes lacked determination. But most importantly, An Fei noticed that the cracks in the pair of scarlet irises had extended their writhing tentacles once more.
The interwoven black cracks stretched across the expanse of her irises and threatened to invade into her sclera. Amidst the grey shadows of the distorting yet still surface, the thin black threads swallowed up all semblance of reason, and devoured all as they thrashed against the borders of her iris.
An Fei stretched her lips into a grim smile at the worrisome development of her eyes, and the reflected countenance distorted into a gruesome expression. The eyes crinkled and blistered with tears of despair, and yet, the lips were fixed into the triumphant sneer of a conqueror. The wrinkles on the water’s surface bulged as the young girl opened her lips and threatened to swallow An Fei whole –
“Enough. Prancing around like that, do you think it’ll help?”
An Fei groaned and slapped the surface of the palm with her left hand, and smashed the reflection apart with great strength. The young girl sighed and rose to her feet with shaky movements, and began the slow and arduous journey back to the wooden cottage.
He Xin had finished boiling a rather delectable meat and vegetable broth that completely won over Xu Lingxin’s heart and stomach, and the celestial maiden lay on the ground with limbs sprawled, her countenance glistening with the afterglow of gluttony. An Fei received the bowl and spoon from He Xin, and brought the steaming broth to her lips in silence.
The texture was smooth but not overwhelmingly oily, and the flavor was enriched with salt mixed with a healthy blend of the herbs picked near the pond. The broth was swiftly consumed, and all that soon remained of the three maidens’ pillage was a ravaged cauldron pitifully clinging to the dregs of a cooled, congealed soup base.
He Xin grudgingly dragged the iron cauldron, bowls, and spoons towards the bubbling creek a few breaths down the winding path, and Xu Lingxin gracefully dragged the young girl into the depths of the forest. The celestial maiden maintained an iron grip onto An Fei’s hand, and the latter winced as the wound on her chest wrathfully swore to split open with great fanfare.
Each step had to be placed carefully, and her breath could neither be hurried nor slow. Otherwise, An Fei vividly imagined her body transforming into a fountain spout of great love and pain, scattering scarlet vitality over the earth to water the greedy earth.
The two pairs of bare feet gracefully pressed against the warm soil of the earth. An Fei was guided by Xu Lingxin as they waded deep into the mystical sea of trees and leaves, and her breath hastened by the sight.
Encircling her on every side was an ancient tree that pierced directly into the heavens. The trunk of the smallest tree was several times larger than the wooden cottage itself, and the branches soared overhead to weave into an impenetrable net of branches, leaves, flowers, and birds. The thin glimpses of sunlight that managed to seep through cast frail, elegant rays that slumbered into an intimate embrace with the earth.
In this forest, there existed neither herb nor grass that dared to dwell on the grass. The trees maintained their position of absolute dominance across the numerous mountains that formed the Morning Star Sect, and eagerly devoured all that dared present the slimmest of a threat to their rule.
As a result, the soil was soft to the touch, and An Fei could easily walk without any need for shoes. The sensation was cool and soothing, and the vibrant shade provided a relaxing contrast to the glaring sunlight prowling just outside the kingdom of trees.
The celestial maiden continued to pull An Fei forward through the indistinguishable sea of trees, without stopping even as the latter began to pant with labored breath and pain. The young girl’s steps soon began to falter, and after forcing herself to move another three steps forwards, An Fei was forced onto both knees.
Her body screamed with the laborious song of exhaustion, and sticky threads of red seeped from the thick binding of gauze.
“This will be enough for today. Little Sister, you have done well.”
Xu Lingxin allowed An Fei to slump onto the ground, and nodded in satisfaction. The celestial maiden bolted into the skies with a series of graceful leaps as she jumped from aloft branch to branch, until her flowing sleeves had wrapped around the bottommost fringe of the overworld of leaves. With a clean swipe, a thin branch was severed from its root, and Xu Lingxin leapt from her perch to slowly float down until she stood before the half-conscious young girl.
An Fei grit her teeth at her blurred sight of the branch, and raised her hand to grip onto the withering twig with all of her strength. The young girl struggled to her knees, and stabbed the twig into the soft earth.
“Well done.”
Xu Lingxin nodded, and appraised the forest ground behind An Fei. Trailing behind the young girl’s loosened, silky threads of blood, were an indomitable line formed by severed branches planted into the earth.
