"What do you think we should cook tonight?" Madam Lin looked towards Ru An and asked.
Ru An looked up, to see that above the embers of the warm fires was a pot half filled with water. With how slowly the fire was burning, it would be a long time before the water would be boiling.
Wait a minute, her job was to cook for her master, now her master wanted to cook for her? How could she possibly live with herself if a servant was to eat the food that her master cooked?
Ru An quickly seized the large ladle that Madam Lin had prepared to use.
"Madam, please let this servant do it." Ru An pleaded.
"Nonsense, why can't I cook?"Madam Lin asked as she struck Ru An on an acupoint, weakening her arm. Madam Lin immediately grabbed the ladle and looked at Ru An with an apologetic expression.
Ru An, massaged her numb arm expressionlessly before she said: "I'll go find a small animal." As she headed out the door.
With the door closing silently, Madam Lin couldn't make heads or tails of the girl's reaction.
Was she filled with grievances or not?
Ru An in truth was not angry, nor was she holding any unsaid grievances. She was merely a servant, whose job was to take care of her master.
There was a sense of coldness in the air as she wandered into the forest that was just outside. The forest was practically barren from living creatures as most of the animals had hidden away after gathering a large amount of food to fill their bellies.
Though the sun was still out and beating upon the yellowed grass, there was not much warmth that could be drawn from it. It was as though even the coldness that was bound to the ground was stronger than the penetrating rays of light.
Ru An's eyes scanned the grounds of the forest around her. There was no smell of the earth, the coldness in the air had already numbed her senses, making her feel as though she had never truly been able to make out the smell of anything at all.
As she went deeper, she felt her entire body slowly calm down. There was something about the trees that felt to her, like a home. Perhaps, that was because she had once lived in a place that was very similar to this when she was a child.
She could not clearly remember the past, as it was a time of war and turmoil between the kingdoms.
But she did not wish to remember either. The only thing she remembered was a kind woman calling her Xiao An. There was no recollection on whether that woman was her mother or aunt, her elder sister, or a stranger who she had met in the middle of nowhere.
As Ru An was silently trying to clear up her memories, there was a small rustle coming from a small bush.
Everything became silent, as the only that one could hear was a small sound of rustling, at this moment it seemed that all time had stopped altogether. Even the breeze that was blowing stopped at the moment.
A small yet fat furry creature jumped out from the bush in a powerful hop.
Ru An looked on with disappointment. Such animals had such thick coats of fur for show, merely an illusion to seem bigger to scare off predators, yet in reality, they were nothing more than a layer of fur, skin, and lear muscle.
[Better than nothing.] She thought to herself.
She kicked a rock toward the rabbit, causing it to fall down immediately.
There was no doubt that it had died, the rising and depressing from its lungs had stopped, and it lay there with no motion. In truth, perhaps this was the most merciful way to kill it. There was only one kick with the rock flying towards the heart at the correct rhythm, stopping it at the perfect moment.
Other times in the wild, perhaps it would struggle to the death after its throat had been torn by an animal with sharp teeth, being eaten before it took its last breath.
Ru An collected the rabbit, bringing it to the hut, where she saw that Madam Lin had cooked up a pot of water, and had a few chives and potatoes on the side. Ru An wondered where Madam Lin got those items before she realized that these plants were wild and could grow in the harshest of conditions.
Madam Lin heard the footsteps and looked towards the door, to find RuAn quietly standing there holding a fat rabbit that was dangling by its long fluffy ears. With the way she was holding it, it must be dead.
Looking at it some more, there did not seem to be a wound on it, and it was certainly not staining the floor with blood. Then again, Ru An was an expert when it came to hunting or killing and not leaving a trace.
When Madam Lin saw that Ru An was prepared to skin it in this hut, she quickly said: "Ru An, please do it outside."
Ru An complied, who would have thought that Madam Lin would have some things that she did not like as well.
Outside, the thick scent of animal filled the air, giving the night an eerie feeling, as though it was destined to be filled with blood. Ru An skillfully slipped the skin from the rabbit's carcass in a single piece, until what came out, as a result, was the skinned rabbit, perfectly glistening with red. The slim and strong muscles that the rabbit had in its hind legs were very defiant, with an masterpiece of arteries crawling beneath, like thin worms wiggling around.
The meat was cut, and the organs remove to be placed in a separate bucket.
Ru An's hands were covered with the stickiness of blood as she handed the meat to Madam Lin.
"Maybe you should wash your hands." Madam Lin said as she poured the slices into the boiling water, adding in the potatoes and chives.
Ru An walked outside to pour some water over her hands, carefully rubbing them until the sticky stains on her hands gradually dissolved, becoming nothing more than a puddle of contaminated water with a sweet yet nauseating scent that lingered in the air.