The tournament had been held in the central region of the Qin province, the Ming family residence was located in a small town near the sea on the eastern edge of the province, it took several days to reach by carriage. In that time Ming Fang was able to ease Ming Jia Ying's mind regarding Shan Yang's current situation and their impending move to Gaia.
As the carriage was cresting the final hill overlooking their home town it came to a stop. A light knock came at the door and Ming Fang opened it. The coachman had a raven perched on his hand as he said, “Messenger bird for the young miss ma'am.”
Taking the bird, Ming Fang teased, “A love letter already? The young master must be quite taken with you to be so impatient,” as she handed the letter to Ming Jia Ying.
Smiling at her daughters beet red face, Ming Fang laid out some snacks for the raven as a reward for a successful delivery. Seeing that the coachman was still standing at the door she asked, “Was there something else Da?”
“There's a strong smell of smoke in the air. I fear there may have been a fire in town during our absence.”
Now that the door to the carriage had been open for a bit Ming Fang could detect the smoke as well. The smile vanished from her face, replaced with a look of concern. She commanded, “Wait here with Jia Ying while I go ahead,” before using her abilities as an earth cultivator to quickly make her way down the hill and into town.
Da gave Ming Jia Ying a small nod before closing the door and returning to his seat at the head of the carriage. Alone in the carriage, Ming Jia Ying quickly opened the letter, but the look of excitement on her face quickly turned to horror as she read.
Dearest Jia Ying,
I hope this letter reaches you before it is too late. When I returned home my mother was meeting with General Gui. He accused your mother of helping you cheat in the tournament. I refuted these claims, but he said my realm was too low to detect your mother's actions. He is going to publicly strip you of your title as champion and plans to arrest you and your mother when you return home. The generals only answer to Emperor Ku Pa and Imperial Prince Ku Fu, my mother as governor has no control over him. Announcing his intentions was merely a formality. However, I have explained our connection to my mother and she has given her blessing. We can't move directly against the general, but if you and your mother can make it to the Qin Palace we can make our engagement official. As honorary members of the Ku clan, the general would have to get permission from the Imperial Prince before he could arrest you or your mother.
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Please return to me safely,
- Ku Qin Zemin
Throwing open the door Ming Jia Ying yelled, “My mother is in danger! We need to reach her before it's too late. Go! NOW!”
Da immediately snapped the reins and drove the carriage horses down the hill at break neck speeds. Ming Jia Ying braced herself inside the cabin as the startled raven managed to fly out the wildly swinging door.
*** *** *** ***
Before Ming Fang stood the burned out husk of a building, behind her an angry mob endlessly spat insults. In a daze she made her way through the charred ruins until she arrived at what was once her bedroom. Sifting through the rubble she found a box that had been badly burned. This box housed the few mementos she had of her late husband. As she carefully tried to open the box to check its contents a ripe tomato slammed into it, causing the box to collapse in on itself in a puff of ash.
Covered in ash and tomato juice, Ming Fang turned to face the crowd. Her rage was palpable and seemed to come off her in waves. The crowd started to quiet down as the earth began to rise and fall rhythmically, like the breathing of some great beast. She didn't know why the townsfolk, her friends and neighbors, had turned against her, but she was beyond caring.
The burly man that had thrown the tomato smiled mockingly at her, “You used to walk around town acting all high and mighty, but you're just a fraud and a cheat. You would look down on us! Ha! Look at you n...”
Stomping her foot, a column of earth in the shape of a spear rose from the ground directly beneath the man's chin, cutting his words short. Launching herself at him, she grabbed the spear for support as she planted both feet squarely on his chest. Ming Fang sent the man's body tumbling backwards while his smiling face remained on the tip of the spear.
This brutal display caught the townsfolk by surprise. As the shock wore off they all turned to run, but they found the ground had suddenly become uneven. Large rocks kept rising to obstruct their feet and those that tripped were caught by spears that would lift their impaled bodies into the air. The grove of corpse trees continued to expand with Ming Fang at its center, breathing heavily in time with the pulsing earth.
Seeing her carriage rapidly approaching, Ming Fang quickly suppressed her swelling blood-lust. She decided to let the few survivors go as she raced to meet the carriage, hoping to prevent Ming Jia Ying from seeing the carnage up close. As they got closer she could tell something was wrong from Da's expression. He barely slowed the carriage down as it looped around her. Ming Jia Ying flung the door open and screamed, “Get on!”
Jumping through the door and taking the seat across from the anxious Ming Jia Ying, Ming Fang asked, “What happened?”
Ming Jia Ying passed her Ku Qin Zemin's letter, but before Ming Fang could read it a low raspy voice echoed from all around the carriage, “First you help your daughter cheat at Siege, then you attack unarmed civilians, and now you want to flee my justice. Too arrogant!”
This was an earth technique called echo stones. It causes near by rocks to resonate with the user's voice, making it sound as if their voice was coming from multiple directions. Even without reading the letter Ming Fang knew who was pursuing them from that voice alone. “Gui,” she spat out the name as if it was a terrible curse.