10 The Treatmen (1/2)

XieRong made sure to check all her traps for rabbits and pheasants.

She knew the old lady wouldn't be impressed with more people to take care of.

”Young miss, why are we going into this forest?” Hui Nuo asked, as she huddled her sister closer to her.

”You'll see,” XieRong replied, killing another rabbit and storing it in her space. She had found four rabbits and one pheasant.

She found it odd that she'd caught so less, usually she found three times the pheasants and one or two rabbits more on a bad day.

She was the only one hunting other than poisonous snakes and scorpions.

XieRong put the extra cloak in her space on Hui Nuo and hid her inside a tree with Hui Zhen.

Something wasn't right.

The forest was too silent and there were fresh tracks everywhere of around five to six people.

XieRong went around the clearing in which her master's hut was situated.

She went to the small window and peeped in to see if everything was alright. She was relieved to see that there was no one inside, but she noticed that someone had gone through the things in the hut.

The shelves and pots had been ransacked and clothes and baskets of herbs lay as heaps and messes on the floor.

XieRong went inside the hut to look around for things they would require if they were to stay at her master's cave and started to store them in her spatial ring. She made sure to leave most of the things untouched so that if the intruders returned they wouldn't know that someone besides themselves were in the forest.

XieRong was about to leave when something caught her eye. She went near the cupboard where they stored the herbs and picked up a small, white, jade tablet with a roaring dragon carved at the borders.

'Interesting,' XieRong thought, as she put it in her spatial ring and quickly left the hut.

XieRong then got Hui Nuo and Hui Zhen to follow her to her master's study.

”Young miss, where are we going?” Hui Nuo asked again, startling at the littlest of noises.

She couldn't blame her. She had been the same when she had first started coming to the forest, jumping ten feet high at the slightest of rustling from the bushes, until she had started to learn that the only places poisonous snakes and insects would hide themselves were in the areas where the trees shed leaves, small burrows and on the trees.

The trees in the forest hardly ever shed leaves, so those areas were easy to avoid.

”Hui Nuo, trust in me. I won't let anything happen to you or your sister.”

XieRong was following the stream to the East.

Her master had selected this forest as her home for two reasons; one, for it's variety of poisonous plants and animals, and two for it's very convenient location. The Fa Estate was up North, to the Northeast was the capital, the South gave way to outside the capital and finally to the East was the Shen mountain range known to house the most potent poisons in the entire of the five continents.

XieRong kept to trees rather than the banks of the stream. She could tell that the people who had intruded the forest were no ordinary men if they'd made it so far.

It took half a Shi Chen for XieRong and her two new maids to make it to the main river from where the stream originated and another half to make it to the water fall. XieRong helped Hui Nuo and Hui Zhen up the rocks.

”Young miss, where is the house?” Hui Zhen, asked, looking around for another hut or a shack.

XieRong smiled as she carefully stepped on the ledge.

”There's no hut, Hui Zhen, we are going behind the waterfall, come.”

She pulled Hui Zhen and helped her to the entrance of the cave. After helping Hui Nuo, she herself entered the cave.

The Old lady looked at XieRong.

”I see you've brought me more mouths to feed.”

”I brought four rabbits, a pheasant, some fruits and vegetables too.”

”We will have to be more careful, XieRong, the forest is not safe.”

XieRong was surprised. Her master only called her by name when it was something very serious.

”I noticed the intruders. They've not been very careful with their tracks.”

”Hm. Give me what you've brought. I'll see what I can do.”

XieRong handed her catch to the old lady.

FeiHong leaped into her sister's arms.

”Jie, you've returned! I missed you.”

”Silly, it's not even been a day!”

XieRong hugged her sister as FeiHong threw her arms around her waist.

”Hong Hong, I want you to meet Hui Nuo and Hui Zhen. They'll be staying with us from now on.”

”More friends?”