Chapter 5 - Sanctuary

Lu Na ran. She ran as fast as she could in the dim streets, holding a small fluff of fur, and going wherever her feet took her. It didn’t take her long to recognize the streets. When she did, her feet carried her to a more familiar place.

She was headed to Uncle Chen’s store. He wasn’t her actual uncle, but he’d been there to help her with her inventions ever since her mother left them. He was the closest thing to an actual uncle Lu Na ever had any interaction with. And for her mother, he would take her in.

At least that’s what Lu Na hoped.

The only problem was the two invaders still chasing after her.

“What do I do spirit? I don’t think I can get away from those two,” Lu Na said.

“You’re going to have to trust me. Turn right at the end of the street.”

“But that’s a dead end.”

“Trust me.”

Lu Na turned right. The darkness suddenly swallowed her. Moonlight couldn’t reach here as it hadn’t reached high yet. The buildings were also very tall, putting the place in darker shadows. She held the small fox pup close to her chest.

“Can’t see.”

“Hold on.”

After a moment, the alleyway lit up like the morning.

“What’s going on?”

“Don’t worry about it now. Just run forward until you reach the end of the alley.”

Lu Na heard the invaders coming closer so she ran ahead as she was told. When she got to the inevitable end of the alley, she stopped and looked around. There was only a wall in the way that she wouldn’t be able to climb and no entrances to any of the buildings.

“See? Dead end.”

“Quiet. There’s a small hole on the bottom right of the wall. Go there.”

Lu Na peered down and saw the hole.

“That’s too tiny. I can’t fit in through there.”

“Put Sun Ren through the hole first.”

Lu Na peered down at the fox pup. She was breathing rapidly, but looked like she was just sleeping. There was light coming from the alley’s entrance. The invaders caught up.

She stooped and pushed Sun Ren through the hole as far as she could.

“Now reach out and hold on to Sun Ren for a second. You’re about to feel small.”

Lu Na reached into the hole and touched Sun Ren’s fur. After a moment, she felt herself shrink.

“What’s going on?” Lu Na asked.

“Don’t ask questions. Run through the same hole you put Sun Ren through. This will not last that long.”

Lu Na tried to walk with her legs only to realize that she now had paws instead of feet. She didn’t know how to move herself for a moment before she got down on all fours. This was very weird, but she didn’t have time. The invaders were a few steps away.

Lu Na shot forward into the hole and made it to the other side. Once she passed through, she grew in size back to herself.

“Don’t move for a while and stay as quiet as you can.”

Lu Na’s vision turned dark again. She picked up the small fox pop and laid it on her lap. Her heart was pounding.

Lu Na huddled in the alley’s corner with no idea where she was. At least she wasn’t cold, as it was still summer, but she wasn’t sure what was going on. Who were those people after her? Why were they after her this morning? Why was this happening?

As she thought about these questions, she quietly fell asleep.

A few hours later, she awoke to someone shaking her.

“Lu Na, get up,” Sun Ren said.

Lu Na opened her eyes and felt sore all over. Her neck hurt, her arms hurt, and her legs felt like pins and needles going through them as she tried to move. She hadn’t felt this sore since her brother made her train with her. Of course that didn’t last long, so it’d been a while.

It was still dark and the moon was high overhead, illuminating everything in the moonlight.

Sun Ren sat next to Lu Na, leaning on her shoulder. She still held onto her chest where there was a large scorch mark.

“Are you okay?” Lu Na asked.

“No. But thanks to Baihu, I will survive,” Sun Ren said. “She’s telling me we have to find shelter and a doctor or I can get worse.”

“I’m not sure where to go. We can’t go back to my home. Can we go to yours?” The thought of going to Sun Ren’s home, protected by many more family guards and trained summoners would be heaven compared to her own.

“I don’t think we would make it that far. Whoever attacked your home was still patrolling the streets. I only woke you up because I think they finally stopped.”

“You can still make it to Uncle Chen’s. He’s right around the corner,” her spirit said.

“I know of a place we can go to. Can you walk?” Lu Na asked.

Sun Ren nodded. With Lu Na’s help, she got up. She could walk, but she leaned heavily onto Lu Na with every step.

“Thank you for saving my life, by the way,” Lu Na said. She couldn’t think about how such an attack would have hurt her or maybe probably killed her. She had no summoner training and her own spirit wouldn’t be able to protect her even if it tried.

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“It is my duty to protect the citizens of this city, even in the absence of my father.”

“That is probably true, but just admit it, you love me and can’t live without me. That’s why you did it.”

Sun Ren chuckled.

“Yes, that’s exactly why I did it. Let’s elope.”

Slowly, they made their way to Uncle Chen’s store. The front was boarded up for the night, but Lu Na knew he slept just inside of the store. His store was robbed one night as he slept in his own bed. He lost a lot so now he guarded the store, alongside three hired summoners that would attack first, ask questions later.

Lu Na knocked on the wooden boards. They were decorated with red lanterns for the festival.

“Uncle Chen? It’s me, Lu Na. I need your help.”

One board came flying off the storefront, crashing into the ground. A large spider spirit popped out and clung to the other boards. Its maw was open, revealing serrated teeth as it raised its six claws toward Lu Na and Sun Ren.

Sun Ren already had her sword out, but she held it across her chest, prepared to defend herself. That’s when she really leaned on Lu Na, causing her to almost topple over. For a petite woman, Sun Ren was heavier than she looked like her brother, except her brother was full of muscle and quite taller.

Coming out beside the spider was an older man with a mostly bald head. He had some hair on the side, but they were sparse. Normally, he’d be wearing a hat of some kind to cover it, but no one wears a hat to bed. He also wore a large jade ring on his right thumb that he never took off, not even for baths.

“I’m warning you. You better be Lu Na or else I’m going to make sure the spider eats you slowly,” Uncle Chen said.

“And if I am? Are you going to make the spider eat me quickly?” Lu Na asked.

“It is you. What are you doing here so late?” Uncle Chen looked over at Sun Ren. “Whatever the case is, come in first.”

“Thank you Uncle Chen. Sun Ren is really hurt and she needs a doctor.”

The giant spider spirit disappeared. Uncle Chen walked through the door and the ladies followed him. The three summoners on the other side nodded their heads toward them.

“One of you find a doctor for me. It doesn’t matter how much he wants, tell him I will pay it.” Uncle Chen walked through his shop. It was lit with lanterns all around, creating soft warm glows throughout the shop. He sold summoner products that helped many of them practice from incense burners to pre-made offerings for spirits. Anything that any summoner could want for their spirit to increase their spirit essence, he had. “Be careful around here. I didn’t have time to light any lanterns when I heard you pounding on the door.”

Lu Na carefully navigated the piles of preserved fruit and fish. Not too far, there was Uncle Chen’s cot. He had a light blanket on it and not much else.

“Lay her down here,” Uncle Chen said.

Lu Na gently laid Sun Ren onto the cot. The moment she did, Sun Ren dropped her sword and closed her eyes. Moments later, she was fast asleep.

“What happened?”

“I’m not sure, Uncle Chen,” Lu Na said. She stroked Sun Ren’s hair, trying to get some of the dirt out. “I’m sure you’ve been hearing about people kidnapping girls in the city and one tried to kidnap me this morning, but I never thought they would have attacked my home.”

“Was your brother with you?”

Lu Na sat down on the floor, her body aching again. She was too tired to stand.

“Yes. He saved me this morning. And before you ask, last I saw he was fighting those invaders that came into my home. They were powerful, too. One of them had a large rooster that could slice through walls. And there were so many of them.”

“What about your father and second mother?” Uncle Chen walked over to a table.

Lu Na grimaced.

“They left with my two younger brothers the moment they heard the alarms. They didn’t wait for me and Fengxian before they barred the exit to their secret tunnel.”

“Hmph.” Uncle Chen poured some tea and gave the cup to Lu Na. “He wouldn’t have done that if your mother was still around. She would beat him half to death for abandoning you two if she knew.”

“Yeah, but she’s not here now is she? Sometimes I think our father keeps us around only because he’s scared that our mother would come back one day. And if we were to be killed by these invaders, he wouldn’t lose any sleep. He’d blame our deaths on them.” Lu Na drank the cup of lukewarm tea. It was oolong, Uncle Chen’s favorite.

“Who is she?”

“That’s the daughter of the Marquis. Apparently, her father and mine are sworn brothers. I’m not sure. Do you have any food Uncle Chen?”

Uncle Chen looked around and thought for a moment.

“Of course. I have some buns. But they’re cold.”

Lu Na’s stomach rumbled at the thought.

“It’s okay. I’ll eat anything. I haven’t eaten since early afternoon when Sun Ren came.”

Uncle Chen walked over to another table further into his store before coming back with three very large, white, fluffy buns.

“I was going to eat this tomorrow, but here.”

Lu Na reached up and dug into the buns with large bites. The fluffy outer bread gave way to salty meat inside. The mix of tastes was better than anything she’d ever eaten before. This was better than those meals she had when their father had important guests over. After going through one, she started the second as quickly only after drinking another cup of tea. It was only by the third one did she slow down.

“Thank you so much, Uncle Chen.”

“Don’t mention it. Your mother has helped me more than you would ever know. I could never repay her in my next ten lives.” Uncle Chen yawned, his mouth opening wide.

A knock came at the door. The two other summoners tensed up as they each summoned their spirits. The large spider was joined by an equally large rat.

“I’ve got the doctor,” a man called out.

“Let him in, but be wary. These two ladies are still being hunted.” Uncle Chen sat down beside Lu Na as he peered over his products toward the entrance of his store.

A doctor was led into the back where they all sat. He dressed in all black and held a wooden chest of medicine that he placed beside the floor by the cot.

“I’m going to need more lights than this.”

Uncle Chen quickly fetched a match and lit three lanterns by the cot, illuminating the back of the store. More odds and ends showed up that couldn’t be put out in front. A few of them seemed illegal, like small canisters of what looked like salt.

The doctor looked Sun Ren over from head to toe and examined the wound on her chest closely while holding a lantern very close to her. Luckily, only her clothes were singed on the outside, not revealing any skin so Sun Ren’s modesty was protected. The doctor lifted his free hand over her chest and a slight blue glow came off it.

“What happened?”

“She was hit by a summoner’s attack. It looked like fire of some sort,” Lu Na said. She was fascinated by what was going on as the spirit essences that the doctor was gathering differed from the usual ones she’s seen. Most people use spirit essences through their spirits to create something. The doctor was using it almost like a mold, trying to take shape of what happened to Sun Ren.

The doctor stopped and looked up at Uncle Chen.

“This is going to cost you fifty taels of silver to heal her. Do you have that money?”

Uncle Chen bit his lip.

“How important is this girl to you, Lu Na?”

“Not only did she save my life, but she’s the daughter of the Marquis.”

“Who is out on campaign,” Uncle Chen said. “He might not make it back alive himself while I will be out of fifty taels of silver.”

“I’ll get my father to give me that money. He told us to make sure that Sun Ren is fine.”

“And you don’t know where he is at the moment. He might already be dead.”

“Oh, just tell him you’ll pay for it yourself. Your hairpin is worth more than that alone,” her spirit said.

“I’ll give you my hairpin.” Lu Na reached up to unhook it from her hair.

“No.” Uncle Chen stopped her. He turned to the doctor. “Heal her. I’ll pay.” He reached into his chest pocket and pulled out five silver sycees, and handed it over to the doctor.

“Fine then. Step back, but the girl has to help me with the patient’s clothing.”

Uncle Chen went to the front with his guards and sat down with them.

“Okay, girl, you’re going to have to help me remove her outer tunic. I need to see if there is any physical damage underneath.”

Lu Na followed the instructions and gently removed it. As she suspected, the attack didn’t go through the tunic. How did the doctor not see that already?

The doctor waved his hand over it again with the blue glowing lights. The spirit essences coalesced onto Sun Ren’s chest, but didn’t go anywhere.

“Good, no physical damage. The next part is going to be difficult as her spirit realm within her body has been damaged by the attack. I’m going to need you to bring me a few things from time to time such as water. Do you think you can do that?”

“Yes,” Lu Na said. She would have agreed to go down to the underworld if it would help Sun Ren.

“Then let’s begin.”