"Hu Dan?" Wen Tu's face soured at the sound of that fox's name. "What is he up to?"
"H-He's going after that mortal woman!" A-Kuai heaved as he held onto the doorframe for support. A bloody handprint remained as he gripped into the door.
"What!" Wen Tu got up to go and find her wife when she noticed her brother's injury. "You're bleeding! Who bullied you," Wen Tu demanded as she fretted over her little brother. Forgetting about her pain, she limped over to him and helped bring him over to where she was sitting.
"It's the evil fox. I managed to escape him, but he got a scratch out of me," A-Kuai gritted as he showed his sister the wound. A long scratch of three claws marked the pale shoulder of A-Kaui.
Wen Tu sucked in a breath through her teeth as she examined her brother's wound. Luckily it wasn't too deep, a surface scratch at most. However, it was substantial and would need adequate treatment.
"Wait here. Big Sister will go a find sister-in-law," Wen Tu ordered and dashed out the door. She knew that Ren Dong was able to beat off Hu Dan before. However, she wasn't sure if Hu Dan had set up any tricks as revenge.
'Wait for me, wife. I'll save you!'
---
"Hmm, mhmm, hmm," Ren Dong hummed as she walked along the beaten path towards the village well.
She had an exciting day. At the beginning of the day, her schedule played out in its usual routine.
First, she would wake up and freshen up. Then she would get dressed to start making breakfast. After she had eaten, she would take inventory of her herbs and go out to collect the ones that would need. After that, she would go into the village and check on her patients and buy any goods that she needed. Once she finished, she would go home and make medicine for the next day.
Every day, this cycle would play out the same without a single variation in change.
However, today it was different.
While walking back home, she heard someone cry out in the forest, which irked her since she knew that there were no harmful beasts in this forest, aside from a few foxes here and there.
"...Woe is me! My ankle, oh my ankle! How it hurts so much!" A theatrical voice cried out.
"Pfft!" Ren Dong let out a small laugh as she came closer to the crying. 'Who is this person trying to fool?'
Coming closer, she sees someone draped dramatically against a rock. 'So it's a young man,' she thought to herself. The gentleman had long white hair that was neatly pined up in a plain silver crown and wearing white and blue robes. His overall appearance was that of a young scholar due to his effeminate features and skinny frame. 'If he were a maiden, he would be an unrivaled beauty,' Ren Dong thought as she came closer.
"Aiyah, what happened to you?" Ren Dong rushed over. On closer inspection, she could see that the young man was a lot more beautiful than she had expected. With pale white skin, large watery eyes, and small pink lips, they resembled a fairy.
"Oh, fair maiden, my ankle! Oh, my ankle! Along the trail, I had tripped and fallen," the young man continued to cry. Usually, Ren Dong would be annoyed by men moaning and groaning in pain; however, this time, she couldn't help but feel amused by the young man's melodrama.
"Aiyah, let me see your ankle," she said as she gently reached out to grab the other's ankle. Feeling the other's ankle, Ren Dong noticed how thin they were and how fragile they were. 'Hmm, there isn't any swelling. Not to mention they're not in pain when I'm feeling around their ankle. Just what are they trying to do?' Ren Dong wondered as her eyes traveled up the young man's face. 'Just what are they thinking?' She thought as she looked at their dazed face.
"I didn't notice any injuries on your ankle, can you walk?"
"Hmm?" The young man hummed with a pleasant voice. It was a lot softer than the deep voice they used earlier.
Ren Dong smiled as she watched them realize their tone and correct themselves. "Uh, I mean, hmmm?"
She quickly dropped her smile to avoid any suspicion and looked back down on the 'injured ankle.' "I asked, can you still walk?"
"Um, yeah," the young man said. 'Are they flustered?' Ren Dong mentally smiled that thought. She stood up and watched as the young man attempted to get up and walk. However, they seemed to have tripped for real this time as they crashed into her chest, hissing in pain.
"Ahh! That hurts," they hissed while squeezing their eyes shut.
"Wooh, okay, it looks like you are not going to be okay to walk," Ren Dong said as she looked down at the shorter person. 'How can they be this small and delicate?' She laughed in amusement at that thought, 'They're like a small animal. Like a bunny.'
However, it seems the smaller individual did not have the same as tears began to well into their large eyes. Making their already watery eyes look like deep pools of water. They almost made her want to bully this bunny a little bit more.
"Okay, okay, don't cry!" Ren Dong consoled the little rabbit as she patted their head. "I'll carry you to my place, okay? Don't cry." She patted their head once more, before hunching over and gesturing for them to climb on.
The young man sniffed a bit before reaching out to grab Ren Dong's shoulders. Once they climbed into her back with the best of their abilities, she stood up. "Wow, you are little for a guy. Not to mention very light," she remarked with a joking tone. "Are you sure you are not a girl in drag?"
Ren Dong felt the young man stiffen for a bit before relaxing. "Er, no! I'm just tiny for my age," they defended. "B-but, I'll grow!"
Ren Dong laughed at their defense but decided to humor them. "Hmm, is that so," she mused.
"Yeah," they mumbled, and they buried their face into her shoulder.
So cute.
"Are you alright? Does your ankle hurt right now?"
"No," they mumbled. "It's just nice to be carried."
'Hmm, is that so,' Ren Dong smiled as the pair walked to back to her home in comfortable silence.
"I'm back," she called out as she pushed the door open and walked through the doorway. Setting the young man, she noticed him looking around her home with awe. "Sorry, it's a little small," she apologized.
"It's fine, it looks very homely," the young man beamed as their eyes continued to scan the one-room home.
"I'll be back, just going to get some water to clean you up," and turned to leave.
"Thank you for everything, miss…" the young man called out.
Turning back, she smiled. "It's Ren Dong," and left her home. "Hah, what an interesting young man," she mumbled.
Walking along the path towards the well, she hummed a simple tune, when suddenly she caught a slight movement from the corner of her eye. Pausing in her walk, she stood still to wait for their next move.
"Take this!"
Sidestepping out the way, Ren Dong dodged a claw aiming at her face. What she saw was a furious red-haired youth glaring at her with fierce amber eyes.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Ren Dong questioned calmly.
"Hah, you're pretty sharp for a human," the youth smirked. He had blazing red hair and an overall wild look to him. Though he would be considered handsome, he wasn't her type. She much preferred the man she picked up earlier.
"I said who are you and what do you want," Ren Dong demanded once more.
"The name's Hu Dan, and I want many things," he smiled. "Money, power, women," he listed off. "Revenge."
"Vengence?" Ren Dong quirked a brow. "I don't recall having any animosity with you."
"You don't remember? Last week, you 'saved' and rabbit from a fox by chasing it away," Hu Dan growled out. "Because of you, Wen Tu ran away before I could propose to her."
"Rabbit and fox…" Ren Dong mumbled as she attempted to recall last week's events. She remembers when she was out collecting herbs, she noticed a rabbit getting harassed by a fox. Though she knew it was natural selection, something within her ached at the thought of the fox eating the cute rabbit, so she chased the fox away. "So, I'm assuming you're that bastard fox, then."
"Who are you calling a bastard," the fiery youth yelled as he lunged once more towards Ren Dong.
"Hu Dan! Stay away from her!"
"Wen Tu?" Hu Dan froze in shock at the white-haired youth that suddenly appeared.
Hu Dan looking away, was all the distraction. Ren Dong needed to grab Hu Dan and beat him up. For Hu Dan to beaten again by the same mortal woman and in front of the girl he liked, it only brought more humiliation and rage within him.
After Ren Dong finished venting her frustrations on the fox, she released the battered and bruised Hu Dan. "Just you wait," he raged as he lifted a shaky finger towards an indifferent Ren Dong. "I'll be back!" And he disappeared into the woods.
"Are you alright!" The white-haired youth asked.
Ren Dong smiled and patted the head of the younger person, "I'm fine; thank you for worrying about me."
The younger fidgeted in place as they seemed like they wanted to ask something.
"Is something wrong?" Ren Dong smiled.
"Eh? N-no, I'm just curious as to why that red-haired man would attack you."
"Hmm, it seems like I've angered a fox spirit," Ren Dong answered back. She looked down at the nervous youth as he continued to look down at his feet and fidgeting hands. "Shouldn't you be resting? I thought you hurt your ankle?"
"Oh!" The youth perked up. "I did, but I was worried about you, so I came after you. I-It's not always safe for a woman to go out on her own, you know? You never know when a demon would attack young maidens like yourself," they mumbled.
"Hmm," Ren Dong smiled. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I can handle myself, you know."
"I know," they mumbled. 'Seems like he's embarrassed,' Ren Dong thought as she noticed the young man's pink-tipped ears.
"Come on, let's head back, it's getting late," Ren Dong said and beckoned for the youth to follow.
"Mkay!" The youth cheerfully ran up to her side and followed her back to the small shack in the woods.