As night descends onto the city, Lia and Sun work to tidy up the store. Yuyu, seeing them cleaning, closes her books before making her way towards the broom. She holds the broom under one arm while using her other arm to stabilize it. As the little girl drags the broom around in a zigzag motion, her mind wanders off to the events from earlier in the afternoon.
“Psst!” Lia tries to draw Sun’s attention to the visibly troubled little girl. “What’s wrong with Yuyu? She’s been like that since she got here.”
“I don’t know.” Sun replies as he sets a stack of bamboo trays onto the rack. “She didn’t tell me about her day like she always does… but I’m sure she’ll tell me when she’s ready.”
Seeing the complicated expressions on both of their faces, Lia sighs before deciding to let it go for now. The three continue on with their nightly routine of sweeping the floor, wiping off the counters, and cleaning the cooking equipment. Upon finishing his task, Sun helps Yuyu finish sweeping before kneeling by the table to pack her books. As he stacks the books on top of a long piece of fabric, he feels a light tug on his sleeve.
“Mister…” Yuyu’s deflated voice calls to him from behind. “Yuyu is confused.”
Hearing the little girl’s defeated tone, Sun sets the last book in place before turning around to pick her up into his arms.
“Mister is confused too.” He says as he hugs the little girl. “Yuyu didn’t jump into Mister’s arms today. Did something happen at school?”
“Sorry Mister… It’s just D- Yuyu shouldn’t have ta- it hurts.” Yuyu’s deflated voice begins to tremble, causing her words to stumble. “Yuyu’s head hurts. And- and Yuyu’s chest too.”
Sun remains silent as the little girl struggles to finish her sentences. He doesn’t know what could’ve happened to make his cheerful little girl act this way, but he feels that it was best to just let her talk through her thoughts.
“Because of Yuyu… Dan got hurt. Because Yuyu didn’t listen t- Yuyu ta- ta- Yuyu t-talked and Dan got h-hu- Dan got hurt. It’s Yuyu’s f-f- fault.”
After struggling to finish her sentence, Yuyu tears begin to stream down her face. The little girl bites her lips in an attempt to force herself from crying audibly. Feeling her trembling body against his chest, Sun stands up before stepping out onto the street. He turns around to meet Lia’s eyes. She mouths a single word to him before smiling. Sun smiles back before turning towards the sky.
“Don’t let go.”
Yuyu squeezes her hands tightly, nudging her chin against Sun’s shoulder to let him know that she heard him. Lia watches as the two disappear from sight, leaving behind a gust of wind. She looks towards the night sky and smiles.
You’ve become quite the dependable dummy.
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Elsewhere on the grand continent, two dark and blurry figures fly through the night sky. Upon arriving between two small mountains, the figures pause before descending into the valley. Upon reaching the ground, they scan around to ensure that they had not been followed. One of the figures signals for the other one to stand guard before walking towards a normal looking pile of stones.
The figure carefully touches the stones in a seemingly random pattern. After touching the last stone, the figure takes a deep breath before releasing their aura. The ten stones begin to glow, one by one, in the same order that they were touched. Once all of the stones were lit up, the large stone in the middle begins to fade out of existence. The two figures make their way into the narrow opening where the large stone used to be. Upon entering, the stone phases back into existence, sealing the entryway shut. They walk through the corridor in complete darkness, weaving and turning through the winding path. The two figures take one last turn before arriving in a massive cave.
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Hundreds of gates and corridors line the cave walls. A small ring protrudes from the sides of the gates, each holding a torch that fills the cave with a golden glow. A large platform rests in the center of the cave. Four sets of stairs, one in each direction, connect the cave floor with the top of the platform. At the stop of the stairs, nine fire pits encircle and light up the center of the platform to reveal a crimson red pool. A slender figure bathes within the pool, occasionally cupping up the liquid with their hands to lather their neck and shoulders.
The figures in black make their way to the bottom of the stairs. They both kneel, pressing their foreheads to the ground.
“Lady Blood Rain, your humble servants bear a message from the Order.”
“Speak.” The slender figure commands as she continues to lather her neck with the crimson liquid.
“When the tigers leave the den, the vulnerable cubs will be unguarded.” One of the figures in black recites the message word for word. “When the pack learns to hunt, the inexperienced pups will fumble.”
“Anyone of note?”
“The second grandson of Zhou and the first granddaughter of Song.”
“And the deserters?”
“Lady Blood Rain…” The other figure in black hesitates to answer the question. “The deserters… Their trails disappeared.”
Upon hearing the servant’s words, the slender figure stands up before making her way out of the pool and towards the edge of the platform. Bone chilling splashing fills the cave each time she takes a step. A deafening silence falls upon the cave as her figure steps out of the pool and onto the edge of the platform.
The servant who spoke instinctively raises their head to gaze upon the silhouette of the slender figure. The silhouette’s crimson sharp eyes gaze back at the servant with displeasure. Before the servant could register the mistake they had just made, the crimson silhouette disappears into a mist of red.
*Thud!*
The other servant trembles as a head falls onto the ground. Shortly after, a headless body collapses beside the servant.
“Disgusting.” The slender figure comments as she look at the hand used to decapitate the servant. She flicks her arm to rid her hand of the servant’s blood. “I’ve given you many days to hunt down the rats. This is your last chance. Find the traitorous filth and bring me their heads.”
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Lia leans against the shop as she gazes at the starless sky above. A gust of wind brushes her hair aside, causing her eyes to break away from the sky. She looks at the figures that had suddenly appeared in front of her and smiles.
“Aunty Lia!” The little girl jumps out of Sun’s arms before running to hug Lia. “Are you coming over tonight?”
“Tonight?” Lia pretends to be surprised by the question. “It’s getting late, Yuyu. And besides, we wouldn’t want to trouble your Mister after his long day at work.”
“You’re right, aunty Lia.” Yuyu, upon hearing Lia’s tone, puts on an exaggerated disappointed voice. “Mister must be exhausted after his long day at work. Yuyu can just enjoy leftover buns tonight…”
“Sorry Yuyu…” Lia hugs the little girl, using Yuyu’s tiny frame to hide her face from Sun. “There’s always tomor- oh no… Mister will probably have a long day of work tomorrow too. It must be so tiring being an instructor by day and a deliverman by night…”
“Poor Mister… Yuyu feels bad that Mister has to work so much.” Yuyu pretends to sniffle as she talks. “Mister doesn’t even have time for aunty Lia anymore…”
The two girls struggle as they try to disguise their giggling as sniffling, occasionally peeking at Sun to see his reaction. Sun chuckles lightly at the girls trying to tease him. He makes his way towards them, pulling Yuyu off the ground and into his arms before turning around. He bends his knees slightly. Lia, understanding the gesture, wraps her arms around his shoulders and neck.
“Mister has been so busy lately.” Sun plays along with his terrible, monotone, acting. “Why doesn’t aunty Lia just come live with us? That wa-”
“SUN!” Lia cuts him off. Her heart starts to pound faster and faster as her mind races to find appropriate words.
YOU DUMMY! YOU CAN’T JUST INVITE A LADY TO COME LIVE WITH YOU! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU’RE SAYING?!
She takes a deep breath and holds it for a moment before exhaling.
“Sun, dummy dumb dumb.” Having successfully suppressed her panic attack, Lia continues. “You can’t just invite a lady to come live with you!”
“You can’t?” Yuyu asks.