The boy tightened the rope that held the basket on his back. With sheer determination, he reached for the stone above him and climbed onto the next ledge. When the whole of his body was fully onto the landing of the cliff, he laid back and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mom! I made it!" he yelled down to the woman below, who was watching him like a hawk.
"Do not go any higher than that! If you find something, then great! If not, just come down. But do not climb any higher!" Yin called to her son, worry laced in her voice.
"I won't!" he responded. Turning on his heels, he walked further into the cave. Each step he took was with extreme care, as there could be loose stones that can cause him to fall.
His father passed away a few short months ago, from a bear attack. Since then, he had stepped up to help his mother with foraging wild pearl mushrooms from the nearby caves. They would take the mushrooms to the village on the edge of the forest and sell them at the market to help with money. The best mushrooms were found far within the cave systems.
As he was younger and was in better health, he usually volunteered to climb into the deep caverns to pick the mushrooms.
"Feng, don't go further than you have to. Just come back. Every time you climb up there, it gives me a heart attack!" his mother called from below.
He grinned and yelled back, "I'm fine, Mom! Just let me grab a few more and we can be on our way!"
He threw a fresh bunch of mushrooms into the basket on his back. He was reaching for another handful above him, when his fingertips felt the soft brush of fabric. Feeling a combination of surprise and confusion, he pulled himself up a few feet and looked over a large stone.
His breath caught in his throat. There in the clearing, laid the most beautiful lady he had ever set his blue eyes on. Her clothes were torn and her body was caked in dried blood and mud. But her soft face looked at peace. If it wasn't for the slow rise and fall of her chest from her breathing, he would've thought she was dead.
Feng reached out his hand, brushing some dried dirt away from her cheek. Her skin felt warm to the touch. She was very much alive.
"Hey…" he said softly. "Are you okay…?" When she did not wake up, he nudged her shoulders lightly.
Still, she did not move an inch. The pretty lady was in deep slumber.
Why would such a beautiful young lady be asleep here of all places? The circumstances were a bit suspicious. Feng grew worried for a moment. What if she was a demon? He had heard stories about mischievous fox spirits who can take the form of beautiful women, to lure men to their deaths. They are known as hulijing.
He shuddered, sincerely hoping she was not a hulijing.
Feng shook her lightly again. Her skin felt warm under his hands. Surely, a hulijing could not be warm blooded?
"My lady…" he started. "Please wake up."
But there was no response from her to indicate that she had heard his words.
Well, he certainly was not going to leave her here. Wild beasts roam these mountains and it would be dire if one came upon her here. He would know, as his father was mauled to death by a rabid bear, leaving behind Yin and Feng to mourn his death deeply.
It must be fate that led him to find her in this remote location, he thought with resolution. There was no way he would leave her. For reasons he couldn't explain, he felt incredibly protective of her.
"Mom!" he called out into the cavern behind him, his voice echoing in the distance.
"What is it, Feng! Are you okay?" she yelled back with concern.
"Yes, I'm fine," he responded. "You aren't going to believe this…"
It took some convincing on Feng's part, to get his mom to help him carry the young woman home. The circumstances in which she was found were too suspicious. A beautiful young lady, alive and healthy, was found unconscious deep into the forest caves? His mother thought she was a fox demon, or worse: That an even bigger monster brought her there as a midnight snack. And they would be in huge trouble if they were caught stealing the young woman away.
But Feng would not relent. He knew in his heart that it was the right thing to do. Afterall, they were Budhists, were they not? Did they not believe in compassion?
Finally, Yin gave into her son's pleas. Although she was afraid, she did not want to set a bad example for Feng. Compassion was important, as they themselves live at the mercy of others for their survival, now that her husband is gone.
With lots of effort and some time, Feng and his mother were able to work together and carry the young woman out of the cave and down the mountain. It was not a smooth trip.
Feng was a young teenager and his body was only slightly bigger than the young lady's. He removed his mushroom basket, and instead, tied her to his back. His mother was helping to support him from behind. They clung onto the side of the mountain as they descended, almost slipping from loose rocks a few times.
By nightfall, they finally managed to reach their home: A small cabin in the woods, not too far from the village on the forest's edge.
His mother started a small fire that burned beneath the shared kang bed, while Feng laid the young woman above, so that she may be kept warm.
"Feng," Yin started, "Go outside and start dinner. Make some porridge and cook the dried fish. I will clean her up. She is filthy."
The boy, who was enthralled by the young lady laying on the bed, did not want to leave her side. But he also knew that his mother was right. If he hurried, he could be back here by her side in little time. So he left the cabin to prepare their meal.
Yin began to peel the muddy and blood stained clothes off of their unconscious guest. To her surprise, there were no injuries on the young woman's body. She did not understand where the dried blood came from, which further paranoid her that the lady might be a fox spirit.
She began to pray to the young woman, as she wet a cloth and started to wash her body. "My lady," she said. "Please do not be a fox spirit. I am cleaning you up and helping you regain your strength. And if you are indeed a hulijing, please do not harm us. We mean you well."
Satisfied that she said all she felt was necessary, Yin dressed the young woman in one of her older garbs. They were poor and the garment had been patched several times in a few places. But it fit the young woman well, as the mother hoped the lady would be comfortable in them.
"Are you finished?" Feng called from outside.
"I am," his mother responded, gathering up the dirty clothes she had stripped from their guest.
The boy re-entered the room, carrying a small iron pot filled with porridge, and a plate of dried fish. He placed the food on the table, and looked over at his mother, who was examining the dirty clothes.
"What is it?" Feng asked, curious at his mother's interest in the filthy garbs.
"This is very good fabric," Yin responded. "The embroidery underneath this dirt is top notched. She may have come from a very wealthy family."
He looked over at the young woman, who was now cleaned and sleeping peacefully on top of their bed. He hadn't considered that she may have a family somewhere out there, possibly looking for her.
"Do you think that she may be related to someone in the Village?" he asked quietly, feeling slightly selfish that he did not want to part with her so soon. But he would do anything to help her reunite with her family.
"I do not know," his mother answered. "No one there looks like her. She's really a beautiful young woman. I would remember her if I had met her before."
The boy's face was blushing, as he nodded in agreement with her assessment of their guest.
Must be the teenage hormones, she thought, shaking her head in amusement. Ah… They grow up so quickly.
"Well, I will wash this to see if we can get the blood and mud out. If we can salvage this, she may want to wear it again when she wakes up," she said, shaking some of the dirt off of the clothes.
"I hope she wakes up soon," the boy said wistfully with a gentle smile, while he looked at her sleeping form. He made a vow then, silently to himself, that he would protect her for however long she needed him to.
The peaceful atmosphere in the cabin was suddenly interrupted by the sound of hard objects falling onto the floor.
"Oh!" Yin let out a startled gasp.
Feng was alerted immediately and on his feet. "Are you okay, Mom? What is it?"
Some items had fallen out of the guest's muddy clothes. She bent down to pick them up and examined them curiously in her hands.
"Sea shells?"
The shells were a pair of small, golden orbs, each attached to a thin gold chain. She had never seen anything like them before. Jade pendants and wood carved ornaments were popular in their culture, but golden shells were a new and fascinating discovery. The light from the small fire in the room, shimmering off of them, made them look like they were glowing.
"Necklaces?" the boy asked, reaching out to touch one.
"They're beautiful. She has a pair of them." His mother nodded. "Perhaps they belonged to her lover."
Feng looked at the pair of shells dangling in his mother's hands, and glanced over to the bed where the young woman was sleeping. Was that why she was in the cave? Was she waiting for her lover to return?
The teenage boy felt a twinge of jealousy, but he quickly suppressed it.
"I doubt it," he said firmly. "What man would be crazy enough to leave her in that cave by herself?" Feng scowled, trying not to let on how annoyed he was by the idea that she might belong to someone else.
His mother grinned, intrigued by her son's reaction. She took his hand and placed the shells in it.
"Don't make that face. You can clean these up and safe-keep them for her."
He rubbed the shells gently in his hands before tucking them into his pocket. He would protect them like he would protect her. He felt a sense of fulfillment that he had never felt before. In one day, Feng felt like he had found his purpose in life.