Warning: This chapter is pretty graphic.
In the deep slumber of darkness, within the heart of a secluded valley lay a never-ending bamboo forest. In the heart of this serene forest lay a small compound, the House of a Thousand Leaves. A tranquil yet brutal training ground that took orphans and turned them into brutal, ruthless assassins. Yet this calm night was torn apart by a heart-wrenching scream.
In a small corner of the man courtyard, lay the dormitory, a tiny room housing five children of different ages, from the youngest girl of barely 12 to the oldest boy of around 16. The scream tore through the night, wrenching the oldest boy out of his respite. Immediately alerted, he jumped up grabbing hold of the cold dagger under his pillow.
"Oi, wake up! We're under attack!"
The oldest woke up the others as soon as possible. Even though panic had set in, one could not see a trace of fear in his eyes. The second oldest girl groggily got up, looking at the oldest boy in disdain,
"Calm down One. This is the third time this month, Master has it under control. Just go back to sleep – you need the rest."
"I agree Two, but that scream was not the attackers, it was the Master."
Having never doubted 'One's' words, 'Two' was visibly shaken. Reeling from the revelation she ran to the door and pulled a small wooden spear that was tied to the top of the door frame. The other three also silently armed themselves, while One silently opened the door and peeked outside to assess the situation. However, all he could see was hell. The whole compound was on fire, swarming with people clad in black outfits, while the 'Master' was in the middle of the courtyard fighting against a young girl in a bright red robe.
"I waited so long for this, you old sadistic coot!" shouted the girl in red while attacking the Master with a speed that was barely perceptible.
"I have also been looking forward to when you would reveal yourself, my greatest student, the crimson queen! Ever since you ran away from the sect, I have been waiting for your move, and it really has been expected."
"The amount of time I spent planning this is impossible for you to understand. I hate what you did to me, and I am personally going to put a stop to it. "
Getting some much-needed context, One ducked inside amid the sounds of battle washing over the small shack.
"We need to leave. Now! The Master is at a disadvantage – it seems to be a past disciple of the compound."
"Shit. We need to run!" Two whispered with a tinge of desperation.
Opening the door, the five children prepared to run away from the assailants. However, luck was not on their side, as right at that moment 'The Crimson Queen' stabbed her sword through the throat of the 'Master'. Looking up with satisfaction, she looked in the direction of the small dormitory only to be greeted with the shocked faces of five kids.
"Oh, he still had students. Kill them all! I want no survivors!"
Immediately getting over the shock of their greatest fear being murdered in front of them they quickly ran towards the courtyard wall. Quickly helping each other vault over the high perimeter wall they ran into the dark bamboo forest. To the backdrop of fire devouring everything, a chilling voice sounded out of the shadows.
"Fine my queen, I will play with these five brats for a while."
Running into the night, the five children felt a cold sweat douse their clothes as they ran as fast as possible.
However, how could a group of children run away from a Grandmaster level warrior? They were quickly cornered in a spacious glade, with the full moon illuminating the battlefield they finally saw just who they were up against.
"Stay behind me," urged 'One'. He sized up the man approaching from the other side of the glade. He was a tall middle-aged man, with long black hair wearing a white robe with plum blossoms embroidered on the sleeve. Wielding a long thing sword that gleamed with a cold light, he approached the children with an excited look in his eyes.
"Don't come closer, I will kill you!" shouted 'One', in an attempt to give himself confidence he didn't have.
"I hope you do; I want to see just what the House of a Thousand Leaves has produced this time. Let's hope you last more than a second!"
Brandishing his dagger 'One' ran at the enemy with a surprising agility. His steps had a lilt to them, as thought something was wrong but you couldn't place your finger on what. Getting within striking range, the child viciously stabbed towards the man's throat.
Shing! A sword appeared right in the blades path, stopping its advance.
"The Falling Leaves Movement Art is truly unpredictable, but I suggest you bring out the best you have otherwise you will die, and you won't even know how."
As in response to the man's words a thin cut appeared on the kid's cheek. Feeling the shadow of death for the first time in their life the kids broke down and fell to their knees. Even though they went through brutal training every day, with even the youngest being scarred in more places than not. They had never truly faced death staring them in the eyes. Through training their tolerance to pain was immense, however the psychological pressure brought by the unknown man was like a mountain baring down on them. Their still young and narrow worldview could not take it and they broke down.
Even 'One' was so terrified that he was glued to the spot, unable to move. The man sidestepped him, and slowly advanced towards the huddled group of terrified children.
Pointing at 'Two' he stated, "I will keep you alive a little longer to have some fun with you, but the others can die now."
"Leave them alone!" screamed 'One' as he got the courage to attack again, lunging with great precision towards the man's back. A look of horror appeared on his face as he suddenly felt a pain in his legs and stopped moving. The other children screamed as his torso carried on his momentum and separated cleanly from his legs.
"You should have just looked on; you would have been able to stay intact at least." Working his way through the group of kids, he stabbed each of them in the spine, paralysing them so that they could only look towards the centre of the glade. The children did not even get a chance to use their weapons before their crude handiwork was cut apart.
He dragged out 'Two' who was screaming, and using his sword cut away her robes so that in the light of the full moon her naked body was revealed.
"He really was keeping a treasure hidden away in this godforsaken forest, but now I will be the one and only person who tastes it before it dies a tragic death at such a young age too."
"Stop, I beg you. Who are you? What did we do to you? Why do we deserve this? They are just children, let them go, just take me in their stead." A stream of begging, pleading words came from 'One's' mouth in an attempt to still protect the other four children.
"While you did nothing, you are disciples of that god forsaken piece of garbage and therefore deserve death. Even if you had no choice in the matter of coming to the House of a Thousand Leaves, you must still die. You must all still die, and therefore I will not spare them." Having finished his explanation, he started on 'Two'.
Amid the dying screams of the other kids, the man revelled in the pleasure of tasting a new beauty under the full moon. She could not resist his Grandmaster level strength as she was still only a Warrior level fighter.
After a while as the first rays of sun tentatively burst into the glade, they illuminated the five horrified kids. Having grown numb after the first few minutes, they couldn't move as the man used the rest of the night to have his way with 'Two'.
"Alright, I should get going now. The queen expects me back."
"Just kill us quickly" uttered a hoarse 'Two'. Her voice almost silent as she resigned herself to her death.
"When you get to the scales of fate let them know that Dong Sheng, the Virtuous Sword, of the Plum Blossom Sect, belonging to the Righteous faction, performed a heroic feat, slaying five heartless murderous demons, and earning vast merits. With this action, he single-handedly destroyed the House of a Thousand Leaves, a breeding place for devils and demons."
"Fuck you, you hypocritical bastard" uttered 'One' with the last of his strength.
Dong Sheng made his way through the paralysed kids beheading them one by one until only 'One' was left.
With the last of his breath 'One' prayed, "Should you hear my prayer, Nyx, Goddess of the Night, I beseech you to use my soul as a sacrifice to skew the scales of fate and allow my four compatriots to have a second life befit of their noble virtue. They did not deserve this end…" Before he could finish his head separated from his body.
After the man left the glade, leaving behind the bodies to be eaten by the wolves and crows, an ethereal voice echoed through the glade.
"I heard you my child, you shall have another chance to see what you can do."
As if just a silent breeze shook the leaves, the glade went back to its tranquillity with no evidence of the voice to be seen again.