The Dragon Prince's Warrior

The Yumai Village's Assassin

The Yumai village people had gone into shock. Wu Siu, the cheerful and lively young girl who defended the weaker and protected the village, had brutally murdered her parents. This had left everyone in disbelief.

The four neighboring families of the Wu, who were busy with their cooking before noon, heard shouts from the young girl and arguments from her parents. No one could understand exactly what had happened, as generally, delinquent or malicious people came from outside the village, not from within.

Suddenly, those shouts turned into a real fight that nobody could believe, and nobody wanted to get involved. What was strange, though, was that there seemed to be other voices, as if someone else was involved in that house. But when everything ceased, they only found Siu inside the house, and she was the only one alive.

She remained motionless, gripping the strap that held her quiver full of arrows and her bow on her shoulder. The young girl's breathing was uneven, and what was most visible was that she was covered in blood from head to toe, sobbing heavily.

Exposed before the people she knew, who tried in every way to talk to her and understand the events that had just unfolded, she simply remained silent, stepped a few paces away from them, and ran off into the depths of Yumai's mountainous forest.

When the authorities from a neighboring village arrived, they noticed something very peculiar that sent shivers down their spines: the bodies of the Wu couple were made of dry scales. In the center of each cluster of scales was an embedded arrow. They couldn't even discern who was Mrs. Wen and who was Mr. Fong; there was no conventional way to analyze those bodies.

Siu was terrified, feeling like her heart was too big for her chest. Breathing heavily after crying so much made her throat burn when she tried to breathe properly. She never thought panic would make her flee like a fugitive from the law. She didn't even know why she started running toward the forest; she just followed what her heart told her.

Devastating images continued to flash through her mind, cutting through her tranquility like sharp sabers. How her mother had grown furious with her when she refused to take a bite and her father rose to strike her. He would never do something so terrible; his personality was all gentleness.

Her body still carried the sensation of her father's form pressing her against the ground and his hands gripping her neck, while her mother took a sharp knife to begin hurting her arms, threatening that if she didn't eat, they would keep punishing her.

Siu awoke in tears, not wanting to remember that anymore, at least not in that moment. She soon ran past without stopping in front of the house Mei had mentioned. Being familiar with the area, she realized she was still far from where she had parted ways with Yun and the young mother. She could feel the breath being sucked out of her from running so much, but she didn't plan on stopping. She needed to reach her companions wherever they were.

The image of Siu kicking her father off and snatching the knife from her mother was far from pleasant, especially since she had to use that same weapon to defend herself when the figures of her two parents transformed into the horrifying creatures she had dreamed of.

"For heaven's sake! I can't believe this is happening, but those weren't my parents, I can swear it. The question is whether they're alive and kidnapped or if those creatures... A heart-wrenching sob escaped her chest.

"I want to believe they're still alive, now convincing people of that is a whole different matter; I've practically been labeled as the murderer of my parents. I just hope I don't run into more enemies in the forest. Everything was so similar to the attack of that man and the tiger. Buddha, guide me and protect me. Help me find Yun," Siu thought as she sprinted through the undergrowth. She then leapt onto the nearest tree.

She was trying with all her might to run as fast as she could, but she didn't know if due to her inner conflicts, her body wasn't obeying optimally. She attempted to grab onto a vine, but it snapped and Siu fell heavily onto some bushes.

"Ouch..." the girl managed to utter as she tried to get up. Truly, nature wasn't on her side that day.

She struggled to rise, and when she moved her hands to shake off the remains of dried leaves and dirt, a stab of pain shot through her right arm. Soon, Siu noticed it beginning to swell slowly. She was sure it was broken. Now, she was at a disadvantage against all dangers, and with that injury, she didn't even feel capable of using her bow.

Siu decided to walk; it was worse to stay waiting for death within the dense forest. She needed to find the path leading up the mountain. She had no idea of the passage of time. Had it been a long time or a short one? Confusion was starting to settle in her heart, and the emotional pain wouldn't leave her in peace.

She passed a row of trees that marked a zigzagging path, and that was the signal she was looking for. Siu hoped to find Yun and Mei alive; they were the only hope she had left in life. She walked past the small river where she had found them the day before and knew she was following the footsteps of the young people.

Suddenly, as she passed by the cave where they had taken shelter, the girl's heart filled with anxiety, though that didn't make her stop. Her skin sensed immediate danger, her heart raced intensely, and that fear made her grasp the Fenghuang pendant her mother had given her with her healthy hand. She clutched it as if her life depended on it and began to pray that there wouldn't be anything bad waiting around the corner.

"Please, celestial stars, protect me from all evil," Siu repeated in her mind to calm herself a bit, not letting go of the pendant that provided her with extra strength to continue forward.

She walked a dusty stretch, and in the distance, she heard the sound of crunching leaves. It was most likely them; she hoped and longed for it to be them. The girl quickened her pace, paying no attention to the sweat trying to seep from her lashes into her eyes. She just wished to reach the source of that sound.

"It's this way, guys... Travel carefully," a deep voice indicated, sending shivers down Siu's spine at the mere sound.

Upon listening more closely to the sound, Siu tiptoed to avoid making any loud noise in case it wasn't her companions. She stealthily took cover behind an old log and peeked with her light brown eye to see who it was. Her eyes widened in surprise as she recognized what she saw.

There were Yun and Mei, but they were accompanied by someone unfamiliar, at least to her. It was a young man, as far as the girl's vision could discern. He was tall, with a broad back, and seemed to have quite well-developed muscles for someone who might be just a villager or a fisherman.

The most important thing was that Siu had never seen him in her life, and the most eerie part was that the big guy had let Yun and Mei pass ahead with a friendly gesture, but in the next instant, he looked up directly at where she was.

The girl quickly turned and involuntarily squeezed her eyes shut, scared to hide behind the log. She began breathing rapidly in an attempt to quell her fears. When she opened her eyes, the man was leaning right beside her, and Siu suppressed a scream of horror, only to feel him grabbing her quiver and lifting her up to shoulder level to examine her closely.

"I've got you, little vermin," the man said, starting to laugh maliciously.

A terrified squeak escaped Siu's throat, and she squeezed her eyes shut again, waiting for the blow that would surely come. She only hoped Yun could hear it and prevent the violent actions this man might take against her at that moment.