3 The Forest |Part 1| (1/2)

XieRong head to the cave her mother had mapped for her. FeiHong was already sleepy but kept moving under her sister's guidance.

”Just a little longer FeiHong. Then, you can sleep okay?” XieRong encouraged her sister.

FeiHong bobbed her little head determined to make things easier for her sister.

”Jie, did I kill mother?”

XieRong felt a stab in her heart. She was so caught up in her thoughts of revenge that she'd forgotten to tend to her sister's well being. She couldn't let her sister's small shoulder's carry the guilt of killing their mother. It wasn't her fault anyway.

”FeiHong, never think like that ever again! Mother loved you, so she protected you. It was the bad men and Fa LiHua who killed mother!” XieRong said as she narrowed her eyes. Something felt amiss.

”Say, FeiHong, why did you take the food from the kitchen in the first place? And where was Auntie Li?”

”Oh, I took the food because Head maid Ying said that she was going to throw the food away and Auntie Li was sent away by Auntie Ying.”

XieRong was glad her suspicion about Auntie Li wasn't true, but this meant that the Furen had planned this from the beginning. XieRong clenched the hand holding her bag tighter. They were all going to pay.

The cave was damp and dark. XieRong had already put blankets, medicine and firewood in the cave during her ventures earlier.

She lit a small fire and laid two blankets side by side.

”FeiHong, sit here and show me your right hand.”

XieRong grimaced when she saw her sister's crooked fingers. Tears began to well inside her eyes. She hadn't been there for FeiHong. XieRong took out the medicine stash from the cave and started grinding them with a stone.

”FeiHong, this will hurt. I will try my best to get your fingers to the way they were but I don't know if I can. I'm sorry, Jie is useless,” XieRong said as her tears began to fall. She couldn't save their mother and now she couldn't save FeiHong.

”Jie, don't cry. Mother said my fingers couldn't be cured completely by any other person but me. Even if I can't make my fingers proper again, I still have my other fingers. Mother said that I will become amazing and so will you. So don't cry. I will be strong and not cry either!”

XieRong looked at her four year old sister and smiled. Her sister was already growing up.

”Give me your hand.”

XieRong stuffed a cloth in her sister's mouth and began to set her sister's bones as quickly and painlessly as possible. She could hear her sisters muffled screams of pain.

When XieRong was done there was a sheen of sweat on both their foreheads.

Sheused some of the remaining firewood as splints for FeiHong's fingers and as soon she was done feeding pain medicine to her sister, Fei Hong passed out.

XieRong pulled FeiHong close and fell asleep.

XieRong woke up as soon as strands of golden rays fell on her face. She put out out the fire and let FeiHong sleep as she went through everything their mother had packed for them.

There was dried fruit, stale bread and dried meat enough for a day. She'd have to check her traps on the way. There were two skins full of water, few herbs, about five hundred silver taels, lots of silver jewellery with few gold ones which could get them more than enough to make it to the west province. Few of Mother's best medicine books and two sets of clothes each for her and FeiHong. What had caught her eye, though, were two embroidered pouches, one with a blue dragon and the other with a red phoenix.

XieRong opened the blue dragon one. In it was a ring, few other things she didn't recognise and a letter. She closed the pouch and packed the other things in the two bags according to their needs. The small one held the money, jewellery and books and the large one food, herbs and clothes. No one would expect a five year old to be carrying valuables, XieRong thought as she hid the money and jewellery under the books.

She then woke FeiHong up.

”FeiHong, get up!” She shook FeiHong.

”Jie, it's morning already?”

”Yes, and before we leave I found something mother left for us,” she said as she handed FeiHong the phoenix bag.

”How do you know this one's mine?”

”Well, you like red and it was in the bag I gave you. How are your fingers?”

FeiHong poked her right hand's fingers. It wasn't painful or completely numb and throbbing like yesterday.

”They don't hurt anymore.” FeiHong smiled.

”That's good. Now let's open the letters Mom left us.”