Jin Lu looked at the woman sitting behind the desk closely, squinting her eyes in concentration. She looked familiar, but…
"I'm sorry… but who are you?" Jin Lu watched the woman's smile fall and her face darken. Jin Lu's head was flung forward from being slapped by the student standing behind her.
"Don't!" the woman snapped, her gaze as sharp as a knife. She turned her eyes to Jin Lu, watching Jin Lu rub his head and glare over his shoulder.
"I suppose it can't be helped. You've only seen me after you were hurt, after all. You can call me Lady Ren." Lady Ren leaned back in her chair, placing her feet on the desk with a loud thunk.
"You are an impressive young man, breaking through my wards, and you clean up very nicely." Lady Ren smirked, running her eyes over the womanly attire Jin Lu was still wearing.
"Wards?" Jin Lu asked, confused.
"I wanted to study you longer after your display in Martial Field, so I placed wards over your meridians. Even after hearing how you disintegrated your practice blade and feeling your aura, I never expected you would be strong enough to break my wards and jump two levels! You are truly fascinating," Lady Ren sighed longingly, before straightening up, her feet crashing into the floor. Jin Lu jumped in surprise at how swiftly she moved.
"Unfortunately, you are already spoken for." Lady Ren waved her hand just as a stifling pressure pushed against Jin Lu. It wasn't as strong as Long Yin's, but it was enough to make her grit her teeth in annoyance. The boy behind her pulled Jin Lu up by the back of her collar and roughly secured a glowing, red rope around her wrists. She felt something inside her being suppressed and her vision blurred.
"Take him back to the cells. He will be here later to collect," Lady Ren instructed dismissively, her emphasis on 'he' making anxiety form in Jin Lu's stomach. As Jin Lu was pushed and shoved back the way they had come, she reached out to Long Yin.
"Long Yin, it's the nurse. The nurse is Boss. They call her Lady Ren? Someone's coming for me. Hurry!"
Long Yin didn't respond, but Jin Lu felt that he had gotten her message.
At the top of the stairs leading down to the cells, Jin Lu was surprised when the boy behind her suddenly stopped. Jin Lu turned, looking over her shoulder, and almost fell down the stairs. The boy's eyes were blank and a necklace of red was slowly forming around his throat. As Jin Lu turned all the way around, his body fell in at her feet.
"Wha-!" Jin Lu felt a hand slap lightly across her mouth to silence her. Jin Lu looked into Liu Jing's eyes over his mask and nodded. Liu Jing moved his hand from her mouth to her arm and tugged, wanting her to follow him. Praying her assumption was right, Jin Lu let Liu Jing guide her through the twists and turns of the underground maze.
Jin Lu ignored the bodies laying along the way as they ran, finally stopping at a dead end. Jin Lu watched Liu Jing's fingers make multiple hand signs she had only seen in anime. The wall in front of them fell inward with a resounding crash and stairs took its place, the sweet smell of fresh air pushing Jin Lu forward.
The outside was quiet, everything asleep under the crescent moon hanging over their heads. Jin Lu couldn't tell where they were in proportion to Kuru City. The dense forest that surrounded them looked like any other in the dark, and there were no landmarks that she recognized.
Liu Jing tugged on Jin Lu's sleeve to get her attention. Liu Jing pointed into the forest before starting to walk away. Jin Lu rolled her stiff shoulders, her wrists still tied behind her back.
"Can you untie me?" Jin Lu asked as she followed Liu Jing's shadow. Liu Jing shook his head and shrugged his shoulders apologetically. Jin Lu frowned, but let it be. There was a chance that the rope binding her wrists needed something special to remove it.
"Long Yin. Liu Jing rescued me. We're in some woods somewhere."
"Liu Jing? The mute?"
"Yes. Where are you?"
"I'm coming. Don't trust Liu Jing too much."
Jin Lu understood Long Yin's warning, watching Liu Jing closely as they made their way through the forest. Even if Liu Jing didn't give Jin Lu any indication of being a bad guy, her experience with the nurse made her realize that her radar was probably not working properly.
They walked for a few hours before Liu Jing stopped in a small cleared area. Jin Lu sat on a protruding root and looked around. They were still in the woods, but Jin Lu was thankful for the break. Her legs were sore from walking for so long and she was tired.
"Thank you for coming to get me but, how did you know where I was?" Jin Lu asked as she watched Liu Jing set up a small camp. Liu Jing paused as he was clearing debris to look at Jin Lu and shrug, unable or unwilling to answer her. Jin Lu let the matter go, determining that what would happen, would happen.
When Liu Jing finished laying out two bedrolls, he walked over to Jin Lu and tugged on her sleeve again. Jin Lu obediently laid down on her side, the night warm enough that she didn't feel the need to cover herself. Liu Jing sat on his bedding next to her, indicating that he would keep watch. Jin Lu thought of Long Yin's warning and closed her eyes, making sure to even out her breathing.
Time passed slowly, and Jin Lu was starting to feel ridiculous for thinking that Liu Jing had ulterior motives. She had almost rationalized falling asleep when she heard Liu Jing move. Without hinting that she was awake, Jin Lu listened to him get up and walk a few meters away. A rhythmic tapping sound came from his direction, almost like Morse code.
"Long Yin, Liu Jing is contacting someone."
"I'm close, Yang, don't worry."
Jin Lu hated that Long Yin was right about Liu Jing, until a small suspicion started growing.
"Long Yin, just how close are you?"
"….."
"You're not using me as bait, are you?"
"...."
"Long Yin?"
"...…"
"LONG YIN?!"
"...….."
"Long Yin! You had better answer me right this fuckin' second, or I swear by the Gods that I will leave right now!"
Liu Jing wasn't prepared for Jin Lu to suddenly stand up and stalk away from the camp. He gathered the bedrolls quickly, throwing them into the storage pouch in his sleeve. Sensing the furious aura surrounding Jin Lu, Liu Jing followed him cautiously.
"Insufferable… mumble… arrogant… mumble…"
Liu Jing slowed his steps as tiny blades, no bigger than his pinky finger, sliced the vegetation around Jin Lu every time he slammed his foot down. Liu Jing was stuck between contacting his client to tell them what was going on, and not wanting to attract Jin Lu's attention. As he debated, the rope around Jin Lu's wrist was no longer a brightly glowing red. Instead, it was slowly losing its shine to Jin Lu's dark aura.
Jin Lu stopped mid-rant as her arms swung forward. She had been so furious that she had forgotten that her wrists had been bound. Looking over her shoulder at the forest floor, she saw a thick pile of ashes lying behind her heels. Liu Jing's astonished gaze met Jin Lu's, and she snickered, thinking he was so far back because of her display of temper.
"Liu Jing, be honest. Are you working with Long Yin?"
Liu Jing's eyes widened, and he looked up into the canopy above them. Jin Lu frowned, not knowing what to make of Liu Jing's behavior.
"Whatever. Thank you for getting me out of there, but I'm leaving." Jin Lu turned back the way she had been going, leaving Liu Jing behind.
Liu Jing waited for Jin Lu to disappear from sight before tapping out a rhythm on the blue crystal on his wrist. Done with his message, he slipped into the shadows to follow Jin Lu deeper into Huan Forrest.
Being lost in a forest at night was not something Jin Lu would put on her favorite things to happen list, but there was no getting out of it now. Without knowing who to trust or what was going on, ditching her so-called bodyguard felt like the right choice to make. Jin Lu was hurt by Long Yin's unwillingness to tell her what was really happening, which she acknowledged made her act like a petulant child.
Jin Lu let out a weary sigh and looked around for a tree to climb as she trudged along. She found one with a thick enough top that she hoped would hold her weight and grabbed the trunk. The manual labor was relaxing as she focused on where to place her limbs instead of the riot of emotions stewing in her gut.
At the top of the tree, Jin Lu made herself comfortable in the branch's fork, admiring the tranquil view in front of her. The air above the treetops glittered with dew from the first rays of the false dawn. A gentle wind blew over Jin Lu, bringing with it the sound of the forest waking. Birds sang a few sleepy notes, while other, larger beasts let out grumpy yawns and roars that echoed in the distance.
Jin Lu took notice of what direction the larger sounds were coming from, so she could avoid them if possible. Looking in all directions made Jin Lu feel like she was adrift in a sea of green, with no signs of civilization anywhere. Tears threatened as her emotions hit her again, but she pushed them back. Jin Lu's priority right now was leaving the forest, she could deal with her confused thoughts afterward.
With no promising landmarks in sight, Jin Lu decided to head towards the rising sun. She carefully climbed back down the tree, landing silently on the forest floor. After years of hiking in her old life, she knew that predators were sneaky bastards. Just because she didn't see or hear them, didn't mean they weren't close.
Jin Lu kept her mind clear and her ears open as she walked as straight as she could to the east. The experience brought back memories of her youth that she would rather forget. The dark places Jin Lu had buried in her soul started to flash across her mind, her steps becoming slow and heavy with the weight of her thoughts.