The previously dull village had become lively. The streets were bustling, crowded with hopeful youngsters and their families. It seemed like this had been an expected day for quite a while.
Zero had made his decision. Before his next quest, he had to find something. Anything he could to understand how bad of a situation he was in. For that to happen, he had to somehow stay unnoticeable and try his luck out at the evaluations.
But before that, something had to be done about his appearance. The only way to minimize the attention was to chop his hair off. Dyeing would have been an option had it not been expensive. Nothing could be done about his eyes, however.
He could only pretend it was a mutation effect. He would still be scrutinized, but it was better than nothing.
The lane he was walking through was brimming with activity. Even in the cold, village traders and their customers could be seen. There were merry exclaims here and there; the snow and dormant dark Qi was not a hindrance for the villagers' happiness.
With the appearance of these strange soldiers, the winter solstice in this once quiet village had begun.
Zero didn't stay to appreciate any of the festival sights. He was in search of a groomer's place. All the while he walked through the busy lanes of the smelly fisherman village, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched.
He was extremely observant. How could he not? There were imperials searching for him.
He didn't know who these soldiers in the village were but they certainly were not from the capital.
They had to be posers. The weird part was that, the villagers had no idea. Or maybe they did?
Zero looked behind him slightly. Asides from the busy crowd of people hustling about, there were no familiar faces. He walked on.
In a bit, he came across a groomer's place. It was an old woman who groomed young ladies mostly but told him it was no hassle to trim his hair.
He was invited into her odd shop which was built like a hut. Just like the Bao inn, it was a lot smaller on the outside than it was on the inside.
Everything in here smelt of fish oil and old wood.
"Take a seat, child. Take a seat."
Zero looked about, not finding any chairs or benches. There were many cushions, however. The entire space was full of cushions, candles and demarcating curtains.
For a place that smelt of wood, there seemed to be so little.
The young man sat on a cushion quietly. His fists were clenched as he wondered what the lady would do once she spotted his strange hair. Perhaps she wouldn't mind.
The woman hummed a low tune, walking from here to there, carrying trays of oils, powders and miscellaneous grooming items. Her hair was tied in a low, full bun that jiggled with every step she took.
As she lit a candle in a corner that already had ten of them, she asked.
"And what is your name child?"
At first Zero did not say anything. Infact, he wanted to limit speaking to people unnecessarily. With every passing day, the more wary he became.
"My name is uh...Shen."
It was a clear lie. The groomer did not seem to pick up that fact. "Ahh. I know a Shen. Nice, nice boy. It's been years since I've seen him. "
She lit another candle, rose and proceeded to another corner to do the same. This time, she lit an orange colored wax.
She did not turn to look at Zero who sat close to the entrance of the shop.
"Do you live around, dear?" Her voice was like a whisper, yet he could hear her so clearly. It was like she was right next to him.
Zero found this woman very strange.
Outside the hut, passersby deliberately kept away from this cursed place, chosing to follow streets that moved around it.
"I do not live here. I'm travelling."
The woman rose, smiling. "Everyone is on a journey, child. Do you have a destination?"
This time, she turned, eyes sunken deep, cracked lips stretched in a taunting grin. Zero was surprised he was not unsettled. He sat there calmly, offering a smile of his own.
There was a pressure growing on his head, and a ringing filling his ears. However, he did not look away from her hollowed eyes. "I have no destination, miss." How could he have a goal when he could not even begin to understand what his conflict was?
"Your soul is divided, poor thing. Why are you fighting yourself?"
The candles flickered. The woman raised a hair razor.
"Many call me a witch in these parts," she laughed looking away. Instantly, the pressure was gone.
"Are you a witch then?" Zero asked. His head hurt heavily. He had the urge to sleep. The old lady prepared a tray adding oils, dyes and a bowl of water. It was hot, the steam danced in the air. She set this tray aside.
"Maybe I am. Maybe I am not. Ha. I am merely an interpreter of the movements of the fates."
A pause.
"I have had a recurring dream, child. Do you dream?"
Zero didn't answer. He hadn't dreamed since he died.
"Your dreams were stolen, weren't they?"
Another pause.
"My dreams started a little over two decades ago. In all my years, I had never seen such a revelation. It was hard to understand and I have forgotten so much that I had seen. Perhaps it will sound familiar to you..."
"There was a great black gate against the sky. Beyond the gates, I could not see, but it seemed to be full of blood and terror. The blood leaked out these gates and coloured the sky red."
Zero stared at the form of this groomer. He knew what she saw. He knew it but could not understand why he did. Xiá. A complex notion; a defiance of the heavenly laws.
" This sky warped and in the manner of dreams, broke into fragments that resembled little spirit people. They appeared hungry and devoured everything in their sight. For as far as the eye could see, there was only hunger. "
"In the middle of it all was a boy. A fellow with a head of silver and the eyes of stunning diamonds. A beautiful angel. But he was much vicious than any of the malicious spirits, for he had no heart. Where his heart was supposed to have lain, was a pulsing sinister object. I could not see it, for it was too horrific to look upon...I—"
There were tears shedding from the woman's eyes. Her hands shook as she spoke. Zero watched her calmly. He could not understand everything she was saying, but he was not dumb.
"I will not be that boy, miss. I will not be leading any malicious spirits or anything of that sort."
The woman threw her head back at an odd angle, laughing. Her cries blended into the laughter, making her resemble a foul creature.
"Your mistake here is thinking you have a choice. You are cursed. Fate herself is not powerful enough to save you. You have offended the laws of the sky. The dharma, the very Dao guiding the entirety of samsara."
"A little boy. "
Zero inhaled sharply. The woman rose, taking another prepared tray into her hands. She came up to him and untied the rag around his head. For a moment, all she did was run her fingers through his lustrous hair, a smile on her face.
"Even ghouls do not have hair this silver. So pure. Your heart, so incredibly clean. You have done no wrong but exist. "
She bent low, grazing his ear with a wet tongue.
Zero was frozen.
"In this dream, I saw the silver angel fall from the sky. I saw what laid in place of his heart ripped out. He fell and shattered to a thousand pieces. "
Zero could feel her hot, acidic smelling breath over his ear. She rose, hollowed eyes sinking even deeper. The razor slipped into his hair cutting them at the roots.
"And when I thought the dream was over, the angel rose to the skies, swearing vengeance. If he had been heartless before. Who's to say what he became then? The millions of spirits multiplied by another million. The earth broke. The realms were dismantled. Samsara bled. "
"And all because an angel fell."
"Now tell me, young Zero. Do you understand why you mustn't exist?"
The last lock of hair fell to the ground and suddenly, the old lady had turned to a divine young woman with foxlike features staring meaningfuly at him. Zero looked at her in confusion for a while. Then he blinked slowly.
"Who are you?" The lady giggled but said nothing.
"What does any of this mean? What is this? A sick fate of mine?"
"Oh no, my dear. You have no fate. The day you died, your destiny was erased. Ha!" The woman laughed. There was a thrill in her voice.
"You are now only a piece in this game of Go. They watch you child. Within this hut, however, they cannot see you. Out there, events are being planned out to set you up for a greater destruction. You are their pawn. Their perfect piece."
"And there is absolutely nothing you can do to evade this game but play. However, Mother fate says, 'surely rules can be bent?'"
Suddenly, Zero felt an overwhelming pressure and his eyes swiveled backwards. Whatever composure he had was totally gone.
The world went black and silent.