Xiang Yu's eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, he couldn't place where he was. The air smelled damp, and the walls seemed to close in on him.
His head throbbed, memories of the previous night a chaotic swirl. Scenes of the raging flames, the demon standing in at the centre of the firestorm and the splatters of blood replayed in his mind.
With a jolt, he pushed himself up only to wince as pain shot through his arm, neck and chest. He checked his clothes and there was no traces of blood. His robe had been changed into a clean new one and his wounds had been carefully tended to.
He pressed his elbow against his bent knee and rubbed his forehead in a daze. Last night had been like a fever dream but everything was real. He didn't remember doing all those things but he had memories of it.
When he recalled that his master saw him last night Xiang Yu's chest tightened. His master now knew what he was. A monster born from evil. Who would still treat a beast like him with sincerity, especially after knowing the truth? Even his own mother couldn't stand the sight of him so what of his master who had no blood relation to him?
It was only a matter of time before those righteous cultivators burst in through the door to arrest him. Before they kill him they might drag him to the imperial palace to showcase their capture for rewards. Xiang Yu's lips quirked into a self-deprecating smile. He had two choices. Fight or resign to his fate and his choice was obvious.
The door was suddenly pushed open and his gaze fell in that direction. His master hurriedly entered before shutting the door behind him. Seeing the look of obvious concern on his master's face, Xiang Yu was a little surprised. His master's reaction was unexpected.
"Little Yu," called out Yue Buqun his voice low and gravelly. "You are finally awake."
Xiang Yu nodded as he sat his feet on the ground. His eyes met Yue Buqun's cautiously observing him. He was looking for any traces of deceit but the old man seemed genuinely concerned for him. His master had already seen the truth. He already knew that there was demon blood coursing through his veins. Yet he...
"Master I...," he said but the words got stuck in his throat.
Yue Buqun's gaze softened. "The cultivators found the demon dead in the forest and brought it here. They haven't left," he said. "They don't suspect you but you can't stay here anymore. It's not safe. You can stay in here for now until they are gone."
Xiang Yu clenched his jaw trying to suppress the sour feeling rising in his chest. He had sworn that his master would gladly turn him in but instead, he was protecting him.
"But... you know what I am," he said his voice rough, the words scraping against his throat.
The old man patted the back of his hand its warmth seeping into his frozen heart. "We all carry darkness within us," he said. "It's how we choose to wield it that matters." The thick layer of ice encasing his heart cracked. For the first time, Xiang Yu felt accepted, not as a curse, but as a person.
"You must leave," Yue Buqun said, his voice gruff. "You have to go far away. It's no longer safe for you here. I don't have enough strength to protect you so this old man can only do so much."
Xiang Yu nodded. He was unwilling to leave this place but all these years he hadn't forgotten what he promised himself when he left that small town. It was time for him to find his father and sister.
***
His master came to wake him up in the middle of the night. The cultivators had left at sundown but Yue Buqun could only wait for midnight when he was certain that they had gone far enough. He handed Xiang a sling bag filled with everything he would need on the journey. "And here, take this." He handed Xiang Yu another coin purse, its weight heavy with silver coins. "It's not much, but it'll help you on your journey."
Xiang Yu wanted to refuse. If he accepted it how would ever be able repay Yue Buqun's kindness? But the old man insisted, his eyes softening. "Go," he said. "Live, little Yu and be happy."
Xiang Yu took a step back and bowed before his master his eyes watery but unyielding. "Master... thank you," he whispered.
Yue Buqun's smile was bittersweet. "Go and don't worry about your juniors. I will take great care of them," he said. With that, Xiang Yu stepped into the darkness, the silver coins jingling in his bag. That was the last time he saw his kind-hearted master.
***
The gnarled branches of the ancient oak tree cradled Xiang Yu as he lay on a bed of leaves, staring up at the sky. The moon hung low, its red hue casting an eerie glow over the landscape.
A few weeks ago when he left the imperial city he found that there were plenty of travellers on the road headed in the direction he was coming from. There were families with wide-eyed children, elderly couples, and lone wanderers rushing along the path with their possessions loaded on ox carts.
There were no festivals in the imperial city or celebrations so why were there so many of them? At that time Xiang Yu approached one of them and asked why they were fleeing. The man's eyes widened surprised that he didn't know what was happening. The man explained that the small towns and villages close to the Taihang mountains in the north were faced with vicious attacks by demons around the same time every year. It was during the period when the blood-red moon appeared in the night sky. They would burn homes and kill people. The night of the red blood moon was a night when rivers and streams turned red.