"Aiya, look at her," Quinyang shook her head, as she looked at the side of the bed on which she was sitting, with a sleeping Renshu on her lap.
Coincidentally, Caihong too had fallen asleep halfway through the lullaby she had been singing along, and now she was sleeping peacefully beside her, hugging Renshu's leg like a pillow.

"This girl," Quinyang facepalmed herself, as she gently unfastened her arm from his leg. "Oi, Caihong. Caihong?" She gently shook her.

"I love you, Ren," the girl mumbled and swung her leg over her mother's knees.

"Caihong, you-" Quinyang was left at a loss of words.

*****

"I think we should wait for Sect Leader Li to arrive," Ruan Fai suggested. "As Young Master Li's father and Sect Leader, he should be present at the interrogation, along with Elder Lord Li."

"You're right, son," Elder Lady Ruan nodded in agreement.
'I wonder how Lady Li must be faring. How unfortunate.'

' Please forgive me, Renshu...'
Li Liang was sitting bleary-eyed, sipping slowly at a cup of tea. He heard all the words being spoken in the courtroom, but he wasn't listening.

' I'm worthless, irresponsible... I couldn't take care of you...'

Every night for him was a sleepless, futile tussle of conflicting thoughts and tears of rage and guilt.

' I couldn't protect you...'

He could feel the weariness inside him like a worm, slowly but deliberately draining his life.

".....Lord Li? Elder Lord? Can you hear me?"

He was alive, but not living.

"Elder Lord??"

Everything seemed to move in a dragged pace, all submerged into a hazy fuzz that was his vision.

' I know you are safe, out of danger...'

Both Ruan Fai and Elder Lady Ruan rose from their thrones. Li Liang was sitting still as if he was made of stone. The teacup had long since gone empty, but he was still holding it in his hand.

"Elder Lord Li, can you hear me?" Ruan Fai took a cautious step forward. That was the first time he noticed the bowed shoulders, the clumsiness in the way he was holding the cup, the pin struggling to hold the messed up mahogany tresses in place.
The eyes which shone but the twinkle was lost.
The emaciated expression on his now washed out face.

' Ren, I... this wouldn't have ever happened if I were a little more...'

His head throbbed and swirled at once. His whole body started going numb and a tingling sensation replaced it. His heart raced and lights flashed before his eyes.

"....Elder Lord Li!! ....wrong?!!"

His eyes glazed over blankly and his head nodded forward. The cup slipped from his now unsteady, sweaty hand.

' Please forgive me, Ren...'

A horrified Ruan Fai quickly caught hold of the now unconscious Li Liang, before he hit his head on the wooden armrest of the seat. A warm wet sensation made its presence known on his lapels. As he carefully lifted Li Liang's face, he saw the cause. Blood was dripping steadily from his nose.

"Elder Lord!!"

The Elder Lady Ruan promptly clapped her hands and called, "Guards!"

******

"Sect Leader, my intuition tells me that we're a little more than half of our journey," a guard answered the people in the carriage. He squinted his eyes and held up the flaming torch. "But it's already late and dark, so I can't be sure. Please forgive my incapability, Sect Leader."

"It's absolutely fine," a manly voice replied. "Is there any inn nearby?"

"There's a small inn near the outskirts of this town. I'll take a few men with me to check whether there are any accommodations."

"Please do so."

The guard bowed and called a few of his comrades and set off on horseback.

"Ehuang, Jia, I think we should stop here for the night. It's not safe to travel further."

"You're right, Gege, I think so too," Jia replied, looking warily out of the window. There was a still, eerie silence that hung heavily in the air. The occasional bark of faraway dogs broke the deathly stillness. She involuntarily shivered and draped the shawl closely around her shoulders. The only sounds she could hear we're the rustling bushes and the howl of the wind.

Ehuang sat quietly, looking down at her fingers, leaning against Shing's warm, solid frame. "I want my Ren," she mumbled absent-mindedly.

******

"The ailment isn't that serious. Yet. But if this continues, then I think it will pose a really serious problem," the Royal Physician, Doctor Cheng examined, while checking Li Liang's vitals.

"Is he injured, Doctor?" An anxious Ruan Fai inquired.

The doctor began to tap at various acupuncture points on his body and head. As Li Liang lurched, he carefully turned him on to his side. Blood was soon barfed into a trough which he had been holding.

"Yes, you can say that, Sect Leader."
He gently dabbed at the blood that was smeared on his pale lips and chin, and then at the beads of sweat.

"Guilt and regrets can be poisonous to the soul, Sect Leader. They're ugly, indelible scars, killing the insides slowly by their toxicity, needing no more than a spark to set them ablaze," he sighed. "I suppose, I don't need to explain the reasons for his agony, stress and insomnolence, do I?"

******

"Please come in, please come in," the innkeeper was repeatedly bowing before them and saluting as he brought the visitors to the rooms. "It's such a heaven-sent fortune for this low human to be able to serve such godlike guests like you. Please, please come in. We have plenty of room!"

All of a sudden, an unearthly shriek echoed through the corridors, bouncing off the trembling walls. The maid squeaked and dropped the tray she was holding with a loud clatter. Her exclamation was accompanied by a few frightened screams that seemed to come from the dining hall.

The innkeeper was the first to recover. "Please, take a look at your rooms," he began.

Li Shing looked like he wanted to ask something, but then he brushed it aside. He exchanged a grim, meaningful glance with Jia, and holding Ehuang by her shoulders, he led both of them into the room. The innkeeper enthusiastically followed them in, "Wise Master, this room of yours is attached to the adjacent room. Young Mistress can reside there, in case of any emergency." He bowed to Jia.

"This servant will see to it that the tubs of warm water reach all your rooms right away. Here are the scented oils and the incense," he set the trays on a table. He turned to leave but suddenly turned back. He looked restless.

"Is there anything wrong?" Jia asked, her stern gaze pinning him down like a fly on a card, forcing him to lower his eyes.

"No, no-nothing," he mumbled, before running off as fast as his legs could carry him.

******

"He should sleep for a few hours now," the Physician spoke, feeling for a spot on Li Liang's head. He pierced a needle into his scalp.

"Elder Lord," Ruan Fai began. "He... has been worrying about his grandson...."

'All this while... He has been blaming himself for all of it. He has been brooding over this, regretting and questioning his abilities..' 

Doctor Cheng shook his head. He rose from his seat, gathering his goods.
"His core has been malfunctioning lately, possibly due to...what has transpired. He has lost a lot of spiritual energy, and his mana must be replenished as early as possible. Elder Lord Li needs complete rest now."

'I never even bothered to notice this change in him... It's all my fault, every bit of it... I couldn't even ensure the basic security of my kingdom... How many more families bear such suffering, and I don't even get to know?'

"Ren...." Li Liang murmured. "Please... forgive... Yéye..." A tear rolled down his face and disappeared into his hairline.

"Please forgive me, Elder Lord Li," Ruan Fai clenched his eyes shut before anyone could notice the rapidly forming watery redness in the whites of his corneas.

******

Night fell fast upon the land. All colour faded away, leaving only a matte black canvas with no stars to be looked upon. The icy wind tugged at her clothing and whipped loose hair about her face. Her newly wet skin from the bath offered her body heat to the frigid air, only to find that its appetite was insatiable.

Jia stood erect on the balcony, caressing her pregnant bump, feeling the baby lovingly nudge her from within.

She just couldn't get rid of the fearful apprehension. Everything about this wayside inn, the sudden lull, heralded trouble. Her fingers wrapped around the sheath of her sword purely out of instinct, as she turned to don her outer robes to keep out the chill. The wind rustled through the trees, the leaves whispered dark, dreary secrets to each other. The sky seemed to have put on a lugubrious cloak; fog embraced every tree. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

A sound of a metallic screech came to her ears, and her sword unsheathed itself completely. It hovered in the air and began to emit an ominous glow. Exactly then, her eyes caught the movement of a very familiar figure gliding towards the looming darkness.

"Sǎozi? Where is she going now at this unearthly hour?"

******

The whole room seemed claustrophobic to her. Ehuang sat, all curled up on the bed. She was holding one of Renshu's garments tightly to her bosom. She couldn't sit still. The room seemed to be trying to engulf her very being. She felt bloated and breathless at the same time.

Seeing that Shing was still bathing, Ehuang stood up on her shaky legs. Still holding her beloved son's clothing to her breast, she soundlessly slipped out.

The cold fog enveloped her, as she sat on a short flight of steps, which connected their rooms to the backyard of the inn. Her chest began to hurt due to a load of emotions weighing her down like concrete, but she was too weary to cry.

"Ma!"

Her azure eyes shot open; tears of elation welled up.

"RenRen!" She cried and began to frantically look for the source of that beloved voice amidst the thick grey fog, her ragged breaths stirring up little puffy clouds of white.

"Ma!"

Ehuang turned, and sure enough, her child was standing right behind her.

"Ren... My Ren... My child..." She burst into tears, and at the same time, her knees gave way beneath her.
She pulled the little figure to her chest, sobbing her heart out. "Ren... Ren... My son... My darling boy... I was so scared, thank goodness you're alright. RenRen..."

"I missed you, Ma," the boy pouted.

"I missed you too, Ren," a weeping Ehuang replied, her smile looking more like a grimace.

Renshu wrapped his arms around her neck and kissed her cheeks.

In the distance, she thought she heard a yell, but now nothing mattered to her. She had found her son. Her world, no, scratch that, her universe. She leaned into his touch, enjoying the soft kisses she was being showered with.

"I love you so much, Ren."

All of a sudden, she heard a snarl, and a brilliant flash blinded her eyes for the rest of the night.

******

"Sǎozi, don't go into the fog! It's an ill omen!" Jia screamed in vain after Ehuang's running figure.

"Dammit!" She cursed, and seizing her sword, she chased her.

"Sǎozi! Sǎozi! Where are you?! Where did you go?! Ugh, damn, OUCH!" Her stomach began to hurt. Her baby too seemed to have gotten a whiff of the baleful atmosphere.

Grimacing, she looked around for Ehuang's short frame. The snowy hue of her clothes made it even more difficult to spot her in the mist.

"Ren!" Her voice floated over to her.

Jia held up her gleaming sword, its glare partially lighting up the way.
It began to glow in a minacious hue yet again, and she wisely followed the way it lit up for her.

"Sǎozi..." Her eyebrows knitted with worry, as her eyes fell on Ehuang's petite frame, kneeling on the ground. The very next second, she yelped at a violent kick at her uterine walls, and simultaneously, she caught sight of a dark, rippling mass of waves in Ehuang's arms.

Striking jet black lines began to crawl up the sides of Ehuang's face, as the foul breath of the creature came in contact with her fair skin.

Jia tossed her sword up into the air; her palm began to shimmer in a bluish-white glow.

"BE DAMNED, YOU MALEVOLENT CREATURE!!" She snarled with rage, as her hand struck the black, wavy form.

With a loud caterwaul, the creature was flung away. Ehuang instantly tumbled to the ground in a dead faint.

The creature pulled itself up, and as its threadlike, viscous tentacles came at her, she swung her palm towards it. Instantly, her sword whizzed through the air, slicing through the appendages and ripping the smoky body apart, and with a dying shriek, the evil being was reduced to black, gooey blood. The waves of resentful energy disappeared taking most of the fog along with it.

Sounds of footsteps echoed from behind her. She swivelled around to face the visitor and slashed with her sword.

"Woah, stop! It's me!" A panting Shing blocked the blow with the flat of his blade.

"Where were you two?" He yelled. "I went pillar to post looking for you! Ehuang?! What happened here?! Jia?! Is that demon blood?!!" He almost gagged at the stench.

"Gege, let's go back to our rooms. We need to talk with the innkeeper. We will need talismans for the night."

Shing lifted his unconscious wife into his arms and they started heading back to their rooms. Taking in the gloomy, sinistrous sky overhead and the branches hovering over their heads like bony monsters, he sighed. The darkness pressed in on him from all sides. Back at home, this stillness would have been welcomed as tranquil, but here it was more like the quiet of the graveyard.

"This place is cursed. Wicked beings are rearing their ugly heads again."