It was dark.
The air was lifeless and thick. Gong Lau Yan felt as though she were pushing through something tangible as she slipped into the demon realm in her humanoid form. Tsaam Lei went to follow, but she flicked his nose and he tumbled backwards.
“What does the guardian spirit of Tsaam Lam think he's doing?” Gong Lau Yan whispered loudly. “Stay there and keep watch.”
The little red fox made a face and curled his nine long tails around himself as he lay down. “Hurry back. I don't like how it feels over there.”
“Of course, of course.”
There was not a single cloud in the dark grey sky, nor a star. A dull red glow pulsed on the horizon line in all directions. Gong Lau Yan focused on her immediate surroundings. She appeared to be standing in the remains of a building, broken rubble scattering with her steps.
There was no sign of anything living. Nothing moved, or made a noise. No plants grew between the broken walls. Her skin prickled.
There appeared to be a trail worn through the rubble, presumably where demons travelled to use the portal. She zipped along it without once touching the ground, staying low so that she might drop out of sight at a moment's notice.
It was lucky she did. A group of demons appeared suddenly up ahead, and she immediately hid behind some more rubble before they could see her.
There were four of them, relatively small creatures that humans had taken to calling 'lesser demons'. They were all wearing cloths to cover their heads and lower faces, but they removed these now, and Gong Lau Yan could see them clearly.
They were bipedal, like humans, but their appearances were hunched and scrawny. Two of them only had a single eye, located off-centre on their faces. One lacked teeth, the others had sharp fangs that awkwardly stuck out of their mouths. They had no external ears, and their skin was red and raw-looking. They looked about with milky eyes and spoke in hisses to each other.
They sat down on some rubble, drawing rough pouches from their waists.
Empty.
Empty.
Empty.
Empty.
The demons hissed to each other again. There seemed to be words, by they were so broken by the sharp fangs and flattened by the empty gums that Gong Lau Yan couldn't make anything out. Then they shuffled until they were sitting in a circle, and thrust their hands in the centre.
Some of the demons had claws like a chicken's. One had a human-like hand, but with more finger joints than a human would have. Another appendages that looked almost like crab claws, except they were fleshy, not hard.
One of the demons began to point. Gong Lau Yan slowly came to the conclusion that it must be counting digits. Around and around it went, once, twice, thrice, she lost count herself, but at last, the demon stopped. The count had ended at one of the one-eyed demons, one who had claws like a chicken's. There was silence.
And then, one by one, the other three demons moved close, and hugged the fourth demon.
There was no other way to describe it.
And then, with efficient skill, the demon embracing them drove a long, narrow blade through their back.
They laid the body down. The remaining demons pressed their various appendages to their foreheads, and then began to cut the body apart.
The meat of the demon was dark and smelt rancid, even from the distance at which Gong Lau Yan hid. The demons worked methodically, slicing the meat expertly from the bones. They put a few pieces in their grotesque mouths and began to chew.
Gong Lau Yan had seen enough. Besides, the thick air and lack of vegetation made her feel sick. She slipped quietly away from her hiding spot and drifted back the way she had come, grey-brown eyes taking in everything.
Bare rock, skeletal earth. Not even a scrap of wood, blade of dead grass, puddle of muddy water.
Red glow in the sky.
She fell through the portal, almost on top of Tsaam Lei, with a grateful gasp. She lay on the cool grass of the forest, fresh air filling her lungs with the scent of pines. Tsaam Lei fussed around her, begging her to stand because there were demons coming, but she lay almost comatose with the sounds of the forest filling her ears.
The little fox ran in an anxious circle and quickly fled as three demons moved cautiously through the undergrowth towards the portal. They came to a rapid halt as their eyes fell on the huge loong lying directly before it.
Her green-brown scales shone in the afternoon light as they stared at each other. She rose to her feet, towering over the demons, who raised their weapons - broken spears, a dull sword – then launched herself into the air.
They dwindled into nothing within the blink of an eye, swallowed up by the canopy of the pines. Gong Lau Yan floated on an air current, letting it carry her away.
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Only Gaam Yuk Ying was still eating. The others had long put down their chopsticks. Chan Bik looked ill. Cheng Baak-hap was frowning at the food. Gou Dzing downed a cup of baak-dzau and filled it again.
“Has this information been provided to anyone else?” Cheng Baak-hap asked quietly.
“Of course,” Maan Dzi King said bluntly, as if insulted that her new charge would even suggest they would hide such information. “We met with the Regent of Dzue, the human one, that is, and informed them immediately. In turn, they contacted the King of Cheon and the Queen of Sek'syun. Both of them responded the same: 'That's all very well, but it does not change the fact that they have treated our citizens with lethal force. We will not negotiate.'”
“Well, it's not like we can't understand their position.” Gong Lau Yan shrugged. “It's like the story of the farmer and the snake, you know?” She toyed with her cup morosely.
“I... I don't know,” Chan Bik admitted nervously.
“Ah, well, a farmer finds a snake freezing to death in winter. She put it in her sleeve to warm it up, and it saved the snake's life, but it bit her and she died of the venom. So you can help someone, but if they have proven themselves to be dangerous in the past, they'll be likely to harm you in the future.”
“What I was going to add is that they then attacked the Regent of Dzue, claiming that they have therefore been too soft on the demons and that it is Dzue's fault that the citizens of Sek'syun and Ceon are dying,” Maan Dzi King said bitterly. “So not only is there fighting happening between humans and demons, but it looks as though a war may break out between humans themselves.”
“I think... we need to find some way of communicating with the demons properly,” Cheng Baak-hap suggested. “If we can communicate, we can negotiate. Maybe if we can find out the scope of their problems-”
“It's not our job to solve their problems, Cheng Baak-hap,” Maan Dzi King interrupted.
“But if we can, why not?” Gong Lau Yan countered with a cheerful smile.
“Enough. We will be looking to free Ling Gwong first.” Wong Tang growled at the two loong. They settled back and looked away from each other. “Other things will come later. Let us focus on the task at hand. All of you, I will give you a week to prepare yourselves. Lau Yan, Maan Dzi King, get those two girls as ready as possible. Little Gou?”
“Yes, Master...?”
“We're going to train. I will have you at Third Daan-tin apprentice in a day. We'll solidify your understanding over the rest of the week.”
“... Yes, Master.”
“Gaam Yuk Ying?”
“Grandmaster.”
“Go and find that Teem Djeung Baak and bring her here. She's too much trouble to have wandering around in this situation. We need to keep an eye on her.”
“Yes, Grandmaster.”
“Good. There are rooms for all of you at this teahouse. You're all dismissed. Except you, Little Gou.”
“Um... Can I just-”
“No. Follow me. There are some large caverns further down that we can use.”
She swept out, and the others slowly followed. Gong Lau Yan patted Gou Dzing sympathetically on the shoulder as she passed. Gaam Yuk Ying was the last to go.
“Yuk Ying... in case I don't make it back alive...” Gou Dzing gently pulled the other man towards him and kissed him.
When they pulled back, Gaam Yuk Ying blinked at him. “You won't die.”
“Don't you have any sympathy for your boyfriend?”
“My what?”
Gou Dzing's brain stopped working for a moment, then he narrowed his eyes. “Gaam Yuk Ying.”
“... Yes?”
“I am asking to be your boyfriend. Do you accept?”
“... Sure.”
“... You jerk.”
He pulled Gaam Yuk Ying in again, almost crushing him against his body, and kissed him deeply, his tongue stroking the top of the other man's mouth. Gaam Yuk Ying wriggled at the ticklish sensation.
“Gou Dzing!”
Gou Dzing's head shot back at the shout that echoed down the hall. “Ugh... I'll see you later, Yuk Ying...” He trailed miserably from the room. Gaam Yuk Ying watched him go, his hand clutching the front of his robes as his chest hitched a little. His eyebrows drew together, then he released his fist and the expression disappeared.
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And so, for a week, Gou Dzing vanished into the depths of the caverns to be tortured... tutored by Wong Tang, Cheng Baak-hap and Maan Dzi King spent mornings together training in Water arts and afternoons planning the trip to the demon realm, and Chan Bik and Gong Lau Yan travelled in and out of Tsaam Lam.
Chan Bik was introduced to Tsaam Lei, who promptly decided the best way to improve hing-gong was to be chased, and to a series of small unnamed fire spirits who lived in the marshland at the edge of the forest. She held them in her hands without fear, savouring their warmth and their tiny, crackly voices that no one else seemed to hear.
Still, she looks sad, Gong Lau Yan thought, as she watched the young woman seated at the edge of the marsh, her arms filled with tiny fire sprites. A fiery red aura surrounded her; she was already on the point of breaking through into the realm of the Second Dan-tin. “Little Bik?”
“Yes, Master?”
“Come on, call me Gong Dze-dze. I'm not really your Master. Anyway, why don't you take a break for a moment and go see Cheng Baak-hap? I'm sure she'd like that too.”
“Oh... no, she's very busy. Besides, I have so much to catch up on.” She lifted a flame spirit into the air and it danced and wiggled on her palm happily. “I'm so very close to opening my Second Dan-tin.”
“... I see. Let's go over to Wong then!”
“The Country of Wong? But it's so far!”
“Far?” There was a shiver of green and brown scales. “What is far to a loong?”
Chan Bik gazed up in wonder at the huge creature before her. The long, sinuous body, the four clawed feet, the long whiskered head and bronze antlers... Gong Lau Yan's grey-brown eyes seemed to laugh at her. “Come up, Little Bik. Oh, put those children down first. I don't want to get burnt.”
Her voice was not loud, but it resonated through Chan Bik's very bones. She carefully put the fire spirits down in the marsh, and sprang eagerly onto Gong Lau Yan's back.
“Hmm, those games with Tsaam Lei have done you good. Hold on tight, okay?” She sprang into the air.
Chan Bik shut her eyes against the rush of wind, only opening them once more when Gong Lau Yan seemed to hang motionless above the forest. Everything had shrunk down; she felt she could hold a whole tree in her palm. The River Ming Dzue meandered gracefully through the landscape, and Chan Bik thought that Gong Lau Yan's must look like that too, in her loong form. After all, at this height Gong Lau Yan's river looked just like her, sparkling in the sun.
The loong turned her head towards the north-west and shot away across the sky, Chan Bik clinging tight and almost whooping with excitement.
Gong Lau Yan's chuckles shook her body. “When you come back, you'll impress everyone. They may not be on the level of Ling Gwong, but the teachings of the fungwong with increase your cultivation incredibly.”
Chan Bik shivered. “Thank you, Gong Dze-dze!”
“No worries. Are you cold?”
“No! I'm excited!”
“Good. I won't go too fast otherwise you'll be blown off, so it will take us another few hours. Maybe take a nap.”
At first, Chan Bik was too excited to follow this advice. She peered past the loong's at the ground below, and up at the clouds racing above them. At last, however, she closed her eyes. The past few days had been tiring, after all.
Gong Lau Yan flew on steadily. She was thinking about what she would say to Maan Dzi King when she returned.