The Illusion Realm, Ushitora

Present: Late Spring, 1472

When Hajoon and Feiyan exited from under the heavily weathered torii, they'd immediately found themselves under a darkening sky, wading in shallow blue-black water, blasted by sea-salted wind.

Who puts a torii in the water...?

Feiyan hissed in pain as the salt water stung the gashes on her back and immediately splashed towards shore while Hajoon desperately resisted the urge to lift her up into his arms.

The others, who'd already gone ahead, were delighted by this change of scene: a few of the Shoban soldiers came from the Eastern side of the kingdom where the sea was the lifeline of villages along the coast, a stark contrast to the mostly mountainous country. For them, the air was refreshingly sharp, so laden with moisture that it clung to them, imbuing their already wet clothes with the scent of driftwood and seaweed. The rocky shoreline resounded with the unceasing crash of waves and the darkening twilight was split by the spatter of white foam. Despite the loss of old man, the familiar sight lifted Shoban spirits, even though the idea of a sea within the Ushitora mountain range defied human understanding.

As a person who hated any water that wasn't in a bath, it was something that Feiyan didn't try to like or understand. Smoothing over her features, she hid her misgivings as she rounded an outcrop of rocks.

"Welcome to the Forgotten Sea," called a voice from above them. Feiyan looked up with suspicion. Normally she would have sensed a presence, human or not, but the fact that she'd not caught it, made her instantly wary.

Or my senses have been dulled by too much pain...but, he's no ordinary being...

Standing on the cliff side path just above them, stood a handsome young man who'd just looked like he'd just passed into adulthood. He was delicate and slender, and his features probably wouldn't have been prettier if he'd been female. Dressed in a loose red robe, the wind blew his tousled, dark hair away from his pale face and tilted green eyes, revealing the skin of his collarbones and whipping his robe away from graceful white legs that ended with his bare narrow feet in straw sandals that tied neatly around the ankle.

"I am Gamera, one of the keepers of this place," he said, lips lifting in a friendly invitation. "We often have visitors pass through. Food, lodging, and medicines have been prepared. You may come with me if you like. Take your time to decide," he said, still smiling gently.

Hajoon drew her aside while the Shobans split off to discuss their options as well.

"What do you think?" he whispered into her ear.

Feiyan grimaced, back throbbing. Given her wounds, she wasn't sure that there was much of a choice. She needed to dress them and rest.

"I'm not sure what to think," she responded. "If he's the gate guardian then we will have to face him sooner or later. From what I know, not all the guardians want to kill...some just want you to pass their trial before allowing you through. I don't sense anything killing aura from him...but then I don't sense anything at all, which bothers me. Right now, we can't expose the spatial ring to the Shobans, which means we can't use any of our own provisions. I don't think we have a choice, but we can't let our guard down..."

Apparently the Shobans had already decided to accept Gamera's offer as well and were already impatiently shifting their feet.

"Let's go," Hajoon said quietly to their own group.

Li Molan looked like he wanted to say something, but his eyes flicked to Zhu Yunfeng's arm, hastily splinted, and must have come to same conclusion as Feiyan - that they had no choice. He only flattened his lips into a tight line and nodded.

She nodded back, thankful that he wasn't going to argue.

"Thank you. We'll trouble you to lead the way then," Feiyan said, lifting her gaze to Gamera's.

The young man bowed politely, expression filled with pleasure.

"I'm delighted to have such polite guests!" he gushed.

Whether it was the wind or something else, a rosy blush lit the young man's cheeks, making his green eyes look misty. The unconscious sensuality of his movements as he led the way up the rocky path made her uncomfortable, and Feiyan did not like the covetous look that some of Furusawa's men had on their faces as they gazed on him.

Oblivious, the young man continued up the path and Feiyan saw that the cliff face was actually peppered with openings.

Caves...she realized.

"Here," he said. "This lower section of caves will have all that you require. You'll find everything you need inside. I'll leave you here for now. If you need something, send someone to the higher caves up above. That's where I live with my brother. He won't be back from fishing until the morning so please go ahead and settle in for the night."

Hajoon watched the young man depart with a hooded look.

As Gamera walked passed the Shoban soldiers, he dipped his head, smiling pleasantly. Again, Feiyan didn't like the sense of odd tension she was getting, feeling dread crawl up her spine as their eyes trailed after him. It was as if they'd been bewitched by the young man's beauty. She was sure that Hajoon had also noticed something off about their host.

"What now, boss?" asked Eunhae.

Feiyan's lips twitched. Thank the gods for Eunhae...I don't know how she manages to meet every challenge with such pragmatism...

"Arrange the watch with the Shobans," she instructed. "Although Gamera doesn't seem to have ill intentions, I don't want to be ambushed in the middle of the night. I'm sure they think the same, so I hope they'll cooperate regardless."

"Got it," said Enhae.

"Go tend to yourself," Hajoon nodded to Feiyan. "I help Eunhae arrange things, and then come back to help," said Hajoon.

"Mmmn," she agreed, heading into the nearest cave.

As Gamera had promised, the cave was dry and well supplied. She was surprised to find that it was well lit too. Torches were evenly spaced in brackets along the cave wall, allowing her to see the interior quite clearly. A covered brazier stood in the centre, magically letting off heat, but no smoke. Large earthen jars at the back contained clean water, and the shelf next them had a small basket of flat breads that were still fragrant with oil and spring onions. Next to it was a box of dried meat. There was also medicine containers on the lower shelves and she was able to find wound salve and bandages. To one side was even a small cot with a thin blanket.

It was probably the most comfortable place she'd been since leaving Moutan.

Feiyan brushed her fingers over the cloth covering the flat rounds of bread, reluctantly soaking in the warmth. She opened the medicine jars and sniffed them, but found nothing suspicious. She groaned. Since, she couldn't find fault with any of it, the only thing left to do was to tend to her injuries.

Carefully peeling her shirt down her shoulders, she winced when she found that the blood had dried the cloth to the wounds on her back. Biting her lip, she made to rip it off, but was stopped by Hajoon's urgent voice.

"Stop! If you do that you'll tear the wounds open!" he rushed towards her, grabbing her wrist. Realizing that he was holding her too tightly, he dropped his hand, and put his head down on her bare shoulder, leaning into the crook of her neck.

She froze. Hajoon had been very careful to respect the lines she'd drawn up until now, so she didn't know what to do with his sudden closeness.

"Fei, you're burning up," he sighed into her skin. "Let me help you."

She nodded, flinching as he sat her down next to the brazier.

Taking the wooden scoop from the water jar, he carefully soaked the cloth on her back, slowly pulling it away as carefully as he could. Some parts could not be removed without tearing the wound and Feiyan was gasping and sweating by the time it was over. Guard lowered with pain and fever, she instead became awkwardly aware that she was sitting topless with her former lover.

Hajoon touched gentle fingers to her back, diligently cleaning out the long gash that went from her left shoulder down across to the bottom of her rib cage. He said very little, and Feiyan was slowly lulled by his sure, efficient movements.

"I thought these would need stitching, but they're not as deep as I thought..." he muttered, sounding a bit puzzled. "I was sure I could see bone in some places before...but..."

As his voice trailed off, his fingers also trailed, lighting her skin on fire with his touch. He stopped, and hastily withdrew his hand.

"It's fine," said Feiyan softly, not looking him in the eye. "Help me apply the salve and arrange the bandages."

He obliged, only hesitating when it came to looping the bandage across her chest. She thought he would proceed, but then he simply handed the end of the bandage to her and then took it back when she passed it over to the side.

Once again an invisible curtain had descended between them. Feiyan knew that they'd never go back to being lovers, and this was a choice that she had consciously made, but that didn't mean she didn't feel any regret over hurting him.

She fumbled with a fresh robe that Hajoon had pulled out of his spatial ring, tying it closed only after a few tries.

"Get some rest...The others have been settled and the guard rotation has been arranged. Eat a little as soon as you wake up. I'll let you know when it's time for the guard change," said Hajoon.

"Hajoon...thank you," she whispered, eyes feeling heavy as he pulled the blanket over her.

"Between us there's never been a need to say thanks..." he said, and then he surprised her by brushing his lips over her hair with unexpected tenderness.

Before she could say anything in response, he had strode out, leaving her alone with mixed feelings.

Regarding the wounds, she couldn't tell him that the gash had actually been worse, but her body had suddenly developed the ability to heal faster than before. It was likely related to the divine fire. Not having witnessed it herself, or at least, being unable to control her actions, she would have to ask Hajoon more about what he'd seen that day when they'd been fighting the oni. Since then she'd hadn't been possessed by whatever being, but she was beginning to suspect that her dreams and all the changes she was facing were related to the woman call Hong Yi and the man called Sei.