Mogu Forest, it appeared, was immune to the touch of winter. No snowflakes penetrated its shadowing canopy, nor were there any signs of frost over the patches of slimy mire and fungi. Quite contrary to the world outside, the acrid air of spores and stench was unnervingly warm, fed by a morbid heat siphoned from whatever festered beneath the forest floor. It wasn’t long before both Ravi and Ai had removed their sage coats in favour of their formal white shirts they wore underneath.
“Where did all of this come from? There were hardly any spare clothes at the shrine, let alone horses,” he had asked. The explanation he received about a wandering trader had no doubt been an excuse, there was little chance of caravan visits in such unruly weather, but he held his tongue regardless. Their saddlebags were half-filled with dried foods and empty water pouches in addition to a handful of medical ointments, culinary oils and spices, it was obvious at least that whoever had rode the horses before them had been prepared to travel a significant distance. His fingers stumbled upon a small sphere as they probed his saddlebag. A brief inspection in the dim light of the forest revealed it to be a pearl with a band of intricate engravings that had been etched into its delicate surface. He couldn’t make out the full pattern, but the clashing serpents of Sen and Han were unmistakable beneath Won’s watcher in the sky.
Ravi held the pearl out to Ai, “What's this?”
She brought her horse to a halt, peering at the object within his palm. “That woman put it in there. The green one.”
“Sio?” he replied.
Ai shrugged, “There’s only one green woman. She left a note in there too.”
Rooting through the saddlebag once more, he fished out a crumpled piece of paper and squinted his eyes to read it.
For you, Jishun Ravi Jie, a gift of opportunity. Assuming you manage to wake from the soporose state I now find you in, the greatest path awaiting you will be the long road home. Your adoration of your father and desire to reach him is no secret to me, and so it seems inevitable in your sister's absence that you will return to the city where you must face your convictions.
The pearl accompanying this letter offers a chance for resolution. When the time arrives to face the past you left behind, set alight the gift given to you and shatter the bonds of fate once forged by your mistakes. Understand that the limits of your future lie entirely within the power of your own choice, and that this gift is a promise of prosperity. I leave you with my regards.
“Your adoration of your father,” Ai read aloud with a smirk. “How cute. Does he mean that much to you? He must have been exceptionally kind.”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never spoken to him.”
“Never?”
Ravi folded the dishevelled piece of paper in half, and then in half again. He fed it with energy, but rather than bursting into flames, a bright patch spluttered from beneath his thumb, spitting ashen cinders onto the forest floor. Is this what it’s come to? I’m too weak now to even set paper alight. How… restricting that feels.
“I’ve told you before that my name was once Ravi Chen, but the name was adopted by my mother to live among the people of Hanshi, and never truly belonged to me. Yunri Shukla left behind the last of her old life when she fled Jinha across the Continental Sea. She forsook her name in favour of a falsehood. I chose to take the name of my father. It was my right to do so. I wore the name Jie like a medal and inevitably caught people’s attention. Without getting into a needlessly long story, I wound up in the care of the Royal Harem along with the countless other children of the Daishun, and from there, I spent two years in my father’s court making myself known, hoping I would finally meet the man that made me.” Glancing over at his companion, Ravi once again found himself under Ai’s striking gaze.
“Do you mean to tell me you lived in a palace?” she asked in wonderment.
“I did. I lived among a slumbering nest of vermin awaiting their chance at greatness, but the only greatness they can hope to reach is shallow and fleeting. After all I built, all that I endured, my life in Hanshi was ended by a single rage-addled action.”
“What about your mother?” Ai asked suddenly.
“My mother?” Ravi echoed.
“You mentioned you left her care. Forgive me for asking, but... did something happen to her?”
“She’s… alive. Or at least she was when last I saw her,” he replied. “My mother was a strong person. She gave everything to provide for me, everything, and she never lost her love for my father. Somewhere along the way, though, she stopped being my mother and became intoxicated with the perverted, degenerate life she’d lived for so many years. Yunri Shukla was blinded by the brilliant radiance of the regal city, so much so that she couldn’t notice the filth-ridden rats devouring her from beneath. I haven’t seen her since I left for the Royal Harem.”
Ai dropped her gaze. “I’m sorry.”
“No more than I,” Ravi replied, placing a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “None of that matters now, though. It’s done.”
“So, should it be forgotten?” she asked softly.
“Remember things for what they were, not for what they might have been. Anything more than that, recklessly spending your days reminiscing… you’ll start to forget what’s actually around you.”
Ai leaned in closer, “And what if that is the point?”
“If my company is so terrible that you’d rather live in dreams of the past, I can only apologise for forcing such a present upon you.”
“I’ve heard enough of your apologies, Ravi Jie, and I shall not hear another. It’s all you went on about before that night on the mountain, it’s not something you need to continue now that you’re in this state. There’s nothing left for you to say. If anything, I want-”
“All that I can do is say that I am sorr-”
“Listen to me, Ravi!” Ai interrupted forcefully, taking his head in her hands. “You saved your sister. Are you going to sit there and tell me you’re sorry about that? Do you expect me to hate you for defending your loved ones against those who wished to devour them? Well I don’t. You matter to me, not the things you’ve done to survive.”
Taken aback, Ravi tried pulling away from the woman’s grip, but she did not relent. Her face was so close to his that he could feel the warmth of her breath upon his skin.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Making you listen,” she replied, then pressed her lips against his. They felt soft and supple, like a blanket of comfort that melted the tightness from his body. Though stunned for a moment, Ravi allowed himself to relax in her grasp, at least until he noticed the woman’s eyes that stared unblinking into his own. She smirked when he finally broke away, as if she had just won a game she had secretly been playing.
Ravi had been set against the idea of returning through Mogu, and their mounts seemed to be of the same opinion. Their hooves were thick with mud clumps and sank more often than not into the black watery rot. His beast’s tail swishing side to side and ears pinned firmly back, Ravi wasn’t certain he would ever make it through the forest without being thrown to the ground. Ai insisted on continuing with her plan regardless. Even if he hadn’t agreed, Ravi allowed his mount to silently follow along. Ai knew well enough that he no longer had the energy to argue. True to her word, they cut through the forest far more quickly and a fair measure cleaner than he had on his disastrous trek with Fuu, and they reached the first recognisable landmark within an hour of entering the dying forest. Ravi couldn’t help but wonder if the young woman had meant to wind her way back to the blackened grave of her beloved dead, or whether something juvenile within her had guided her home.
Small clouds of ash swirled underhoof as they proceeded into the charred clearing. What had once seemed a beacon of hope was now reduced to an uneven mound of charcoal and dust that the forest had already begun to reclaim. Thin fungal stalks poked through the layer of ash that carpeted the rot and mud of the ground and toffee-coloured growths like rubbery ears sprouted from the sooty remains of timber. Ravi didn’t bid his horse to slow her pace. Whether it was a sense of accomplishment and regret, he couldn’t feel either. The debris laying before them was no longer a teahouse with a family to mourn its destruction. Their daughter Ai was all that remained now, and only when he glanced in her direction did he begin to feel a stab of guilt in his stomach. He wondered if she carried scars from that night of fire and thorns. Her eyes glistened in the dull shafts of light that pierced the canopy above, even still she did not cry. Ai had endured a loss far greater than whatever Ravi had known and arisen stronger from it, she could be granted that much. Knowing that whatever he might say now could very well upset her already strained emotions, he lowered his head and held his tongue until they had ridden clear of the demised Mitsuki Teahouse.
Left with nothing but time, Ravi’s mind wandered to a great number of things during the ride. His concerns were dire when thinking upon their mission, and each time he allowed himself to think back to Hanshi, he could imagine only his mutilated corpse bound to a stake. Ravi knew his charge. Even if his father hadn’t been present, a death of many cuts had been ordered with his authority. The Daishun’s court would allow no margin of mercy; Ravi’s enemies would reap their rightful execution. He wondered if there were any left in the capital that saw him as a son of Wunei Jie, or if his name was now merely a synonym of treason. Nothing good could arise from returning to the city without a Mandate of his own. What scheme does Sio hold in that cunning mind of hers? he thought to himself, And in what world can a condemned traitor return as an aristocrat?
“We’re upon Old Yizhou. We shall be rid of the forest before long,” Ai noted as they passed through a particularly sparse stretch of trees. They stumbled upon a crowded cluster of dilapidated buildings, all derelict and forgotten by civilization. The houses were sunken considerably into the ground, some so deeply that only their curved tiled roofs were visible above the stinking filth. While the abandoned homes were unsettling enough, there was something far more grotesque lying in wait as they cut through the centre of the lost village.
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The bodies were countless. Whomever they might have been, their corpses had become a shapeless mesh of decaying, barely human appendages. All were frozen in place but still displayed the terror from the time of their demise; contorted hands clawed for a lifeline to hold on to; bruised, gangrenous feet kicked and struggled to fight off a deadly foe. The desperation of the dead had long persisted.
A loud clatter sounded from within the closest building that prompted an alarmed yelp from Ai. Startled from his floating daze, Ravi shot upright, seizing the reins of his horse. The mare reared, and for a moment he was weightless before gravity brought him crashing back down, instantly dressing his coat with a layer of dubious mud. He curled his body inward, gasping fruitlessly for a breath that wouldn’t come. It was a pathetic display. He could think of nothing else as he lay in the arms of his reluctant companion and waited for the paralysing shock to fade away. Ravi knew that this wouldn’t do. His body had become far weaker than he could have imagined and his mental fortitude had already begun to follow, it was a dangerous slope that would lead him into the power-hungry gullets of the court’s viperous officials. He couldn’t allow them to see him like this, so fearful and wretched.
Physical recovery had come within minutes, but the time to resolve himself would be longer. Climbing to his feet, Ravi extended his index finger toward the door of the nearest house and unleashed a blast of compressed air, shattering the wood into shards and splinters. Or so he had intended. In reality, the door stood firm against his wan strike as if weathering a mild breeze. He followed up with a heavy punch, ignoring the intense pain that jolted along his hand as it collided with the solid wood. He knew it was a pointless attack, but that didn't stop him from striking again, nor again, nor again. He battered a bony fist against the unyielding door even as the skin of his knuckles was stripped away and the thump that sounded with each hit became accompanied by a piercing crack of bone. By the time Ai stepped in to stop him, his knuckles were mangled and the door spattered with red. She wordlessly took his hand and wrapped it with a linen bandage retrieved from her saddlebag. Once done, she took to demonstrating the strength of the living meigui- a single hit shattered the door as if it were made of flimsy plywood. What remained was torn from its hinge and discarded aside.
Embers glowed brightly in a metal tray upon the floor of the main room, accompanied by a soup-stained cooking pot that had fallen onto its side. Steam rose from its spilled contents as if they were still cooking, but what exactly the grey-brown sludge consisted of was a mystery that Ravi needed not unravel. He followed closely behind Ai, casting a cautious eye across the room to wherever danger might have laid in wait. She dropped to one knee and gripped the cast iron rim of the fallen pot, only to gasp sharply and snatch her hand back in reflex. The colour of her palm flared to a fiery red within seconds.
“We need to leave,” Ravi warned. “Come on, get up. I’ll find something for your hand from the saddlebags.
“There’s someone still here,” Ai whispered.
“That would be the point,” replied Ravi, scanning the room once again. There was a dangerous number of closed cabinets and sliding doors that could easily have concealed an enemy. “Tell me Ai, what kind of person lives in a place like this? Do you think it's someone you’d like to meet?”
Ai shook her head. Taking her healthy hand with his own, Ravi helped her back to her feet and led the way back outside. A call from behind halted him in his place. He knew the voice. It shouldn’t have been possible for anyone to hear it again.
“Ai?” she called. The white-haired woman froze at his side. Ravi glanced back, noticing a newly-opened door at the other end of the room. The narrow gap was illuminated only by a muted sliver of light that fell upon pale skin and a single leering eyeball.
“You should be dead. Dust and ash,” Ravi accused, edging further away.
“I will not go. No, no. I have fought to live, blinded of the starry night by a sudden swathe of firelight. I shall live,” babbled the voice.
Ai took a step toward the voice, her wide eyes fixed upon the obscured face.
“I do not believe a mirage could be so pointedly cruel. It is truly you, is it not?” Ai asked, reaching out with a hopeful hand. “My mother.”
Both women stiffened as soon as the words had left her mouth. It was a truth that neither wanted to hastily accept, unsure of trusting their own senses, too sceptical of a history already written.
“Why have you come back to me, Ai?” Mistress Mei rasped. “Why, after all this time?”
“I did not know- I thought that you and the others were gone.”
“The others? My daughters are gone, my son is gone, my home. Not me. Not yet.” Slipping a frail, bony hand through the gap in the doorway, she inched out from behind the door. The Mistress looked broken, her white flowing locks were an unkempt bed of matted hair, her eyes appeared terribly sunken and the tired marks beneath were as grey as fresh bruises. The ghostly dress she had once worn had been burned away to cinder, and upon her naked body were extensive, horrific burns had marred her delicate skin from her bare feet to her the tips of her fingers like a rippling, scaly tattoo.
Ai stifled a sob. “Mistress,” was all she could manage.
“Why have you come?” Mei repeated. “You were not there when I finally broke free of the vortex of heat and flame, shielded by the lifeless bodies of my selfless daughters. The impudent child abandoned her mother. What purpose is there in returning now? Have you brought that killer with you to finish me off?” she scoffed, her lips curling into a sneer. “I am afraid it would be a wasted effort, the end of my time is closing in.”
Ai swallowed hard, unable to talk. Ravi replied in her place, “And why is that?”
“We living meigui are descendants of Xia’an. In good health, we can withstand the essence of decay like you would the common cold, but you took even that from me. Everything in this forest is being consumed. I will follow soon enough.”
“But why is everything rotting away in the first place? Just what is decay essence?”
“It is Xia’an’s First, and the last of all life, for all that lives, decays. Decay surrounds death, feeds upon it, and below this forest is the greatest prey that exists. With every day that it grows weaker, the decay grows stronger.”
“Really? And what lies below the forest?” Ravi asked with a smirk.
Mei stumbled forward. “Heaven. The Fourth of Ten.”
The Jishun laughed harshly, “Should’ve expected as much. You were insane on the night we met, and you’re simply deranged. There are no gods here.” He shook his head and turned to leave. Ai didn’t react when he placed a hand on her shoulder.
“No gods indeed,” agreed Mei. “Now leave. I do not wish to be tormented any longer by the likes of a cold-hearted killer.”
“You had planned to poison us all. My actions were taken in defence.”
“Yet by the time you set that fire, your escape was already guaranteed. Do not delude yourself, Jie, the deaths of my children were not done in justice,” the Mistress spat, her words laced with venom. “Go, both of you. I am not so weak that I cannot still tear you limb from feeble limb. This is my kindness, and I expect you to never show your face again.”
Ravi didn’t need to be told, he was already outside before she had finished, but Ai was not so quick to move. Still silent, she stared desperately at her mother without the words she so wanted to say. Narrowing her eyes, Mei closed in on her daughter.
“Have these last few months left you an invalid?” she asked.
“No, it’s just… how could I ever leave you now that I finally have you back?”
“That decision was made long ago, on the night you stood idly by as our home burned to the ground. Now leave me, or join me in death,” Mei snarled.
“Mother!” Ai pleaded. “You can come with us, and we can be together again. Things need not end this way.”
The Mistress regarded Ai as if she had been replaced by a stranger. “Would you have me parley with the boy that murdered my children? This... interloper, that left my home in ruins?”
“It was my home, too. They were my siblings,” Ai replied, her eyes welling with tears.
“No!” Mei exploded. Wrapping her hand around her daughter’s throat, she began to squeeze without hesitation. “You gave them up when you left us to die.”
Energy surged through Ravi’s body like a jolt of lighting. He hadn’t even the time to consider a plan of attack before he moved, dashing as fast as his trembling legs would allow. Pulling back his arm, he drove a fist into Mei’s unprotected face and followed through with all the weight at his disposal. The living meigui roared in anger, sending him hurtling across the room with nothing but the back of her hand. Ravi hit the boarded floor heavily. He took a moment to regain his bearings before staggering back to his feet. And then he froze. Just as his body had propulsed him forward moments before, he was now paralysed, held in the inescapable palm of fear. Mei ruthlessly forced Ai to the ground, her hands straining with power as she continued to tighten her fingers around the girl’s neck. Ai’s face was swollen like a plum with the colour to match, her eyes bulged as if ready to pop. Still, Ravi did not move. He could feel the dread lurking in the back of his mind holding him back with a fear of what had already been proven. His attempt at a rescue had been effortlessly shut down by Mei, and if she had truly paid him any attention, his death would have been certain. With no more than the strength of an ailing child, what path of action remained? To try at another rescue would be nothing short of suicidal, or so argued his dread. There was something else within him, a reckless, rising rage that sang a song of a different tune. He sank his teeth deep into the frail flesh of his thumb, concentrating everything on that sharp burst of pain. It was his body, and its movement belonged solely to him. There was no option for refusal.
The next few seconds passed as a blur. He remembered hurling himself against the Mistress with enough momentum to knock her clear of Ai, but had been caught amid flailing limbs and a barrage of aggravated blows. He heard the horrible click his bones had made when his injured hand softened his fall and cringed at the sickening sensation. Ai choked as she tried to regain her breath; her mother was upon her before she had the chance. This time however, the younger Mitsuki offered no such opportunity. Ravi wondered if the Mistress had even known the attack was coming, or if she had become blind to all except her own misplaced hatred. Like sprouting bulbs, thin, honed claws ruptured through the tips of Ai’s fingers. She swung fast and straight, a strike more efficient than most. The keen-edged crescents tore their way through the sinew and musculature of her mother’s unprotected throat, severing carotids and jugulars alike. A gushing river of blood poured from the wound, painting all in a dark sea of red. Upon Ai’s face had been a flash of firelike fury, now it had died down and been replaced with one of regretful despair that matched that of the Mistress. Ravi couldn’t believe that either had meant to truly attack the other. Mei had not seen her last living daughter when she had walked through that door, but rather the likeness of those dearest she had lost. Ai had only the choice to defend herself against the riled beast that remained of her mother. Neither had raised a hand against their family, yet both shared in the sorrow of the aftermath. There was but one target of the Mistress’ fury, one that had brought about only dire misfortune to a life that might once have been comfortable. Ravi Jie closed his eyes.
Persistent was the musk of death. No respite from its touches could be found by escaping the neglected home, only a monument to the depravity of that lost forest, the consumed congregation of the once-living. Through empty streets and over sunken corpses they stalked until the labyrinth of fungi and bark and mildew was well behind them. The ruinous Yizhou had been deserted by all but its infested dead. No apparent cause could be found for their passing, only festering craters that had eaten deep into the fatty flesh and muscle of their remains. They had swiftly moved on, following the low foothills of the Hangu mountains south, but not before Ravi had taken a grim souvenir from one of the late villagers. He snapped the middle finger from the hand of one of the least decomposed, a young, plain-faced girl. The last thing he wanted was to lend credence to the words of Mistress Mei, but the stark evidence of the accelerating decay she spoke of could no longer be ignored. He wrapped the severed finger in a bandage. There had to be someone that could examine the sample in the hundreds of miles between the Hangu and the capital city.
Ai hadn’t seen Ravi remove the girl’s finger, though it was unlikely she would have registered the sight even if she had. All dressed in her mother’s blood, it seemed too great an effort to even blink. The southern road was devoid of company and words.