Chapter 210 - Like Brother Like Sister
As night fell upon the White Maiden’s shrine, the remaining worshipers and workers gathered in the central praying area and knelt down facing the shrine. There were only twenty two of them left, out of the original group that had been just over eighty. A number of men and women, a few children.
Standing at the front of the crowd, Tua Kong directed the worshipers in solemn prayer, his strong presence a comforting sight in the darkness of the night. His white robes fluttered gently in the evening breeze, and his tall talisman-covered staff glimmered with candlelight.
As he paced reverently at the front of the crowd, his eyes calmly scanned the horizon. A silver crescent moon hung in an endless starlit sky. Beyond the tents, the tall monolithic rocks broke up the plateau, their slate surfaces shining softly in the silver moonlight.
At the far end of the plateau, a lone silhouette stood on top of one of the monoliths, looking out at the dark forest beyond the sanctuary. Her long hair, tied into a ponytail, swayed gently in the breeze. The confident, watchful pose and the sword hilt at her waist gave off an aura of heroism that comforted the prayer leader.
He looked back at the people he was leading with a relaxed smile. These were the last ones, who remained after everyone else had left, who were given the choice to return home and had chosen to stay and worship the White Maiden. These were the Maiden’s devout worshipers, who truly were grateful for what she’d done for them from the bottom of their hearts.
Char Char, standing vigilant across the plateau was the Maiden’s Sword.
His eyes fell upon a young girl at the front of the crowd who had her eyes closed tight in sincere prayer. Her name was Rabbit, or at least, she didn’t go by any other name. When the police had tried to bring her back, she had kicked and screamed that she wouldn’t leave without Yuzu, the girl who she had arrived with. So they’d let her stay, at least until Yuzu could be found to convince her to go back.
The only problem was, Yuzu couldn’t be found. Tua Kong barely remembered her - she was the frail looking sister of Xiang Xing, one of the volunteer workers. She hadn’t been seen for several days, nor had she been evacuated by the police. With all the people on the shrine accounted for, it was clear that Yuzu was no longer on the plateau. Still, Rabbit refused to go and insisted on staying and praying to the Maiden. In the meantime, she stayed under the care of the brother Xiang Xing.
Tua Kong looked across the crowd for the large, broad-shouldered man but didn’t see him. He didn’t pay it much mind, assuming Xiang was somewhere within the camp, resting after a long day of work.
~
Standing atop one of the monoliths, Char Char looked across the shadowed sea of trees that surrounded the plateau. The rock she had chosen was not too far from the cliff edge. It gave her a good view over the entire northern side of the plateau.
Below the trees, she could feel a number of eyes watching her warily. Monsters, of course, prowling the perimeter of the plateau. Char Char couldn’t let her guard down, even though there hadn’t been any monsters that had scaled the cliffs to approach the shrine in the past few days.
The White Maiden hasn’t responded to my prayers lately… Is she busy? Or resting? Her eyes were hardened and her lips pressed together gently in a mild look of concern. The sense of protection and sanctuary that Char Char had felt at the beginning had slowly diminished as time passed. She wasn’t sure if it really was a tangible aura that she could sense, or if she was simply feeling anxious after not hearing from the White Maiden for a while.
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Her spiritual intuition notified her of an approaching person long before he came close. She let him walk up to the base of the monolith, pretending to be lost in thought and not notice him.
“You’re going to slip and hurt yourself.” Xiang called out, “Don’t you feel scared being so high up on that rock?”
Char Char resisted the urge to frown as she looked down at Xiang’s grumpy face, “I’m just fine up here, thank you.”
She maintained a neutral expression and calmly met Xiang’s eyes as he glared up at her with his arms crossed. In the past his harsh, patronizing words might have upset her. She wouldn’t have shown it - in fact, she would have acted coy and laughed it off, but inwardly she’d deliberately double down on whatever it was Xiang was telling her not to do.
But now, whether it was because of her life-changing and life-threatening experiences over the last few days, or a boon of her increased ability to read people due to the Rebel catalyst, she felt like she had a better understanding of this loud, abrasive brother of Yuzu.
Over the past few days, Xiang never let her have a moment to herself. Every time she went on a patrol or wandered off somewhere on the plateau, Xiang would inevitably appear and grouch at her.
“You never listen.” Xiang grunted with a loud sigh, turning around standing with his back to the monolith, directly below where Char Char was standing. “Shouldn’t you be praying to the Maiden with the others or something?”
“I prayed already.” Char Char said simply. Xiang’s accusation would have made it easy to respond back in kind, dragging them into an argument, but Char Char’s straightforward reply skillfully defused the tension.
In the distance the howl of a wolf pierced the night, echoing across the sea of shadows that surrounded the plateau. The long, trailing cry was haunting and lonely, rising to a peak and then slowly fading to nothing.
“Have you heard from Yuzu?” Xiang’s voice came from below with only the slightest tinge of hesitation.
“No.” Char Char answered honestly, “Sorry, I haven’t.”
Xiang didn’t reply for a long time as he stared out into the forest.
“When Yuzu comes back from whatever she’s doing for the White Maiden…” Xiang said suddenly, “I don’t want you bothering her ever again.”
Char Char’s lips curved into a small smile as she closed her eyes for a moment. These provocative, bullying words, were the only way Xiang knew how to convey his feelings. It wasn’t that he was trying to control Char Char, he just only knew how to express himself in this way. In the end, he was only looking out for those around him.
“That’s up to her to decide, isn’t it?” Char Char asked.
“That’s up to me to decide.” Xiang grumbled, “Nothing good comes from your family. Just leave us all alone, we don’t want anything to do with you.”
“If that’s the case, why do you keep looking for me when I’m out here on my own? If you really wanted nothing to do with me, wouldn’t you stay away from me?” Char Char didn’t give Xiang time to respond as she continued softly, “But you know Xiang, even though you’re always giving me a hard time out here… Thank you.”
“The people staying at the shrine expect me to protect them, to lead them. They see the sword at my waist and hear the rumours and they trust me to take care of them in the middle of all this chaos.” Char Char looked out across the forest with a sigh, “That’s why I stand up here, to comfort them and let them know they’re in good hands.”
“It’s just foolishness.” Xiang sniffed dismissively, “You’re just a teenager. Worse, you’re a rich teenager who’s never had a hard day in your life. All those people are just fooling themselves thinking you’re some sort of savior from the Gods.”
“Even so, it makes them feel better.” Char Char said with sincerity, “Just like having you here with that hammer makes me feel better.”
Xiang stiffened up in surprise as he subconsciously rested his hand on the handle of the sledgehammer that he had hidden in his coat. He coughed awkwardly, like a boy that had been caught doing something embarrassing.
“It’s just a work tool.” Xiang mumbled after a moment, shifting in his spot, “Don’t jump to conclusions.”
Char Char grinned as she nodded, “You know, you and Yuzu are really alike in some ways.”
The edge of Xiang’s lip curved up in the tiniest grin as he leaned against the rock. His posture relaxed slightly, though his arms were still crossed stiffly across his chest.
The sound of faraway yips and howls floated upon the wind as the pair let their eyes settle on the shadows in the forest below, keeping a watchful eye out as the moon made its journey across the night sky.