Hopping Mad

The old pine tree had stood there a very long time.

The trail of her robes slithered through the tall grass as she climbed the hill up to the tree. She leaned heavily on a bamboo staff and the feathers on her sleeves glinted in the early morning light with their brightly coloured plumage.

The tree stood alone on a high, rocky hill in the centre of a valley surrounded by a stretching mountain range. It was a twisting, giant thing. Its trunk was thick, stemming out in many directions, each curving and knotting around each other. In the hazy heat of summer, it should have been green with life.

But it was a stricken, aging creature. As she approached she could smell the rot and decay encroaching on it. She stopped when she was a step away and placed a hand on the pale bark.

It was dying.

She'd expected as much.

The woman, who stood there, hand on the ancient tree, was neither young nor old. Her hair was white and silky, drawn back into an elegant bun secured by a headdress of peach blossoms and crow's feet dug around a pair of deep-set eyes, but her cheeks were smooth.

She sighed, walking around to inspect the tree and found what she was looking for. Someone had been digging beneath the roots, disturbing the artifact that had rested there for thousands of years. But the thief had been there years gone, beginning the ancient guardian's slow decay. She hadn't noticed before now.

"Having too much fun with the mortal," she scolded herself lightly and laid her hand on the tree again. It was much too late to save the poor thing now.

"You did your work well," she assured the tree, "Now lets hope her promise holds."

She pondered what to do now. A smile suddenly lit her visage, exposing a row of sharp, carnivorous teeth. There was a flutter of wings and she looked up to see a large bird with red and gold plumage land there, staring at her patiently.

"I think I shall meet him after all," she said to it, "You know what to do."

The bird spread its wings and took off, soaring towards the mountains. The woman watched it go and almost instantaneously, vanished from sight, leaving nothing but the rotting tree behind her. No sound permeated through valley, save for the echoing of a single, sharp voice.

"Here kitty, kitty."

~R1/2~

It had been a week since the incident Ranma liked to affectionately call 'the pompous prince's temper tantrum.' Relations between the two boys had only continued to deteriorate from there. Ranma, in his own stubborn way, continued to pester the young prince about his 'servitude.' And Herb, in his equally stubborn way, continued to ignore him. The true tipping point had come though when Herb commanded Ranma dispose of an intruder who had stumbled accidentally into the old city.

To be fair, it was really the Dragon King who had ordered it, but either way it had Ranma seeing red. He had argued and fought against it, but ultimately Herb had called him out on the oath he had given to the Musk upon entering into his 'servitude.'

If there was one thing Ranma hated more than anything, it was feeling trapped, but he wouldn't go back on his word either.

He debated with himself as he dragged the poor man through the village, out into the dense jungle and to the border of the Musk territory. There a river divided the land, marking the end of the Musk Dynasty. Although he knew what 'dispose' of really meant, Ranma could not make himself follow through. Instead he yelled harshly at the man, threatening him with death if he ever so much as looked in the direction of the Musk again. He lied and told him they had spies all over China and that if he ever told anyone where they were, he'd be as good as dead.

He laid it on thick, making his aura flare threateningly. He even punched the ground just beside the man's head as he bore over him, cracking a large river stone that lay there. He listened to the man, whining and begging, promising his silence and then let him go.

He watched the man wade across the river, which from this point only reached waist height, and then scramble onto the bank at the other side. He didn't look back as he tore through the trees and disappeared from sight.

Ranma sagged, feeling oddly exhausted.

He was suddenly hit with the impulse to follow the escaping man and run away entirely. Already he felt sick about returning, just waiting for what they'd order him to do next. He was surprised no one had followed to see he completed the deed, as it were, but didn't think anything of it in that moment.

Instead, as he thought of running away, he also thought of his father.

Funny enough, he knew what Pops would suggest.

The Saotome Secret Technique! He could hear his father's voice declare in his head.

But isn't that just running away? He could remember his confused reply.

Running away? What an insult! Ranma, my boy, what you have to realize is sometimes you'll be in a situation you're going to lose. A Saotome never admits defeat, thus the best thing is to get away until you can come up with something better!

He felt a laugh escape him, despite himself. That would be just like Pops, to turn running away into a strategy.

Anything goes, after all.

But Ranma was beginning to think he wasn't as true an Anything Goes martial artist as his father had been.

He'd judged Pops for his cowardice, but oddly, he didn't hate him for it. Not anymore. Instead, he was coming to realize that the old man had taught him something perhaps a little unintended.

Respect could be earned, honour could be restored, but nothing could be done if you were dead.

He took his time walking back, his head full of one uncomfortable realization. He hated feeling trapped, especially trapped by laws and traditions that said obstacles were for killing and that the sanctity of the tribe must be maintained above everything else. Where was the mercy for the man who had stumbled somewhere he shouldn't and the woman whose only crime was winning a fight?

It was the day Ranma realized that he couldn't stay in China forever.

He avoided speaking to Herb after that and it wasn't until the messenger arrived, that things started to change.

~R1/2~

"Mount Mogan?" Ranma frowned, trying to recall why that name was so familiar, "You mean like the story? The one where everyone gets their heads lopped off?"

The messenger had arrived at the palace late one night, looking ragged but determined. He and Herb were in private audience for over an hour before the prince strode out and declared Basil was on Mount Mogan. Of course, that meant the four of them would be departing immediately to investigate.

Ranma supposed the immediately part was more to do with avoiding asking the king for permission than anything else.

"Or you could say the tourist area close to Hangzhou," Mint laughed, shouldering a pack as they made their way down the mountainside, "I wonder what Basil's doing there?"

"Probably been goofing off all year, making the rest of us worried sick," Lime grumbled, "Shacked up with some girl and forgot to come home."

"Yes, like the story," was Herb's cool reply to the conversation, stilling all three, "Don't get complacent."

It took a train ride and a couple days walking to reach the mountain range. Ranma had never been anywhere near Mount Mogan and had to admit feeling oddly excited about the journey. As they came nearer, he saw the mountains, big and blue in the hazy light of late afternoon and could already see why it was such a popular holiday escape. Mount Mogan was almost completely covered by a bamboo forest and in the lower lying valleys featured shining blue lakes surrounded by grand holiday homes.

They stopped off at an inn at the base of the mountain for the night.

They huddled together in one of the rooms. Mint cracked jokes with Lime, while Herb stared determinedly out one of the windows. Ranma slumped down on a sleeping mat and tried to get comfortable.

In the morning there was a harsh knocking on the door. Herb answered before anyone really registered, still climbing up from the vestiges of sleep. There was a narrow man at the door, dressed in a very bright red outfit. He spoke quickly and quietly to Herb, who spared a glance for his companions, before stepping out into the hall and shutting the door on them.

"Whose that?" Ranma yawned, working a crick out of his neck.

"The man who saw Basil, I guess," Lime responded, already gathering his things.

"Odd looking fellow," Mint put in, "Smells kinda like chicken."

Ranma and Lime both turned incredulous stares on the wolf boy, but it seemed like he was still half asleep. One of his hands was scrounging around for his wolf cap, but his eyes were half closed and there was a trail of drool rolling down his chin.

Herb returned a few minutes later and they were ushered out into the early morning light. The manager at the inn provided them with breakfast, a mixture of dried fruits and nuts. Lime grabbed a whole bagful of jujube berries and snacked on them through out the day, spitting out the pits as they made their way up the mountain trail.

"Stop that, will ya!" Ranma hissed, when one of Lime's projectiles hit the back of his head for the third time.

Lime's tiger-eyes, with the slit pupils that always gave Ranma the creeps, seemed to smirk at him. The implied 'make me' was blatant.

So Ranma responded in kind.

It took an irritable Herb striking them both on the head to split the two up once they started rough housing. Ranma shot the tiger boy a glare behind the prince's back. Lime spat another pit at him.

"I don't even know how ya can eat those things," Ranma snarled, having never developed a taste for the Chinese fruit.

"Shows you have no taste," Lime responded.

Needless to say, Herb was not pleased he had to keep stopping to break the two up.

Herb never actually spoke about what the red man had told him. Instead, a grim look of determination set itself on his face and he took the lead right up towards one of the mountain peaks. Ranma was beginning to wonder why the prince was being so serious. Everything was so peaceful. They passed through a village and there was nothing there except smiling people trying to sell them something. Ranma even had time to buy Shampoo a souvenir and Mint was slurping on a green ice tea.

"This is the best mission we've ever been on!" he laughed, his gaze following the tread of a rather pretty girl in one of the stalls, "Hey, I'll just-"

Ranma had him by the collar before he could finish his sentence.

"We went over this, remember?" he growled, "Girls don't like it when ya try draggin' em all over the place."

"I was going to do no such thing!" Mint exclaimed, affronted.

"Sure ya weren't," Ranma snorted disbelievingly, glaring at the leering Lime, "That goes for ya too, tiger boy!"

Too late, he was off.

"Lime, ya stupid jerk! Get back here!" Ranma yelled, releasing his hold on Mint as he darted after the other boy. But of course, the moment he let go of Mint, wolf boy had disappeared into the crowd.

"Ah come on!" he groaned and sent a glare Herb's way, "Aren't ya gonna help?"

The prince looked surprised by the question and that's when Ranma realized he's been staring at some girl too. He smacked a hand to his face.

"Just stay outta trouble while I deal with 'em, will ya?" he groaned.

Not waiting for a response, Ranma charged after the two Musk boys. What followed was chaos. It resulted in a mad chase around the market place, girls screaming and angry villagers trying to catch them. Herb briefly got into the fray, but was no help at all as cleavage quickly distracted him. Ranma wished for the cool, focused prince who had come to the Amazon Tribe a year before, not this horny teenager. Feathers flew, fruit scattered over the ground, words were exchange, apologies given and then the four hightailed out of there as quickly as they could.

Mint and Lime were laughing. Even Herb had broken his serious contemplation to give a small, amused smile. Ranma shook his head, sighed, but found himself grinning along with them. Well, he couldn't claim it was a boring trip that was for certain.

Unheard by the departing boys, a pair of villagers stood, watching them leave. A young woman asked with concern;

"Shouldn't someone warn them not to go up that way?"

The older woman beside her snorted as she bent to scoop up the remains of her wares.

"That nutty priest will find them, I'm sure. Personally, I hope they're sucked dry," she announced and turned away, leaving the quartet of troublemakers to their fate in the peaks of Mount Mogan.

~R1/2~

As they followed the mountain trail, it was starting to get dark. But not just the setting of the sun, it was like the light was being sucked away, slowly but surely. The vibrant colours of the forest seemed to dull and lose their luster. Every step deeper into the forest made everything seem greyer. Before they knew what was happening, the small group found itself in an area deep, dark and filled with a strange mist.

In other words, it was like the beginning of a horror movie.

Ranma tried to laugh at that realization, but couldn't quite prevent the chill that crept its way up his spine. Like a pair of icy fingers trailing down his skin. He shivered, suddenly very cold.

Maybe it was just because they were going higher, he told himself, higher into the mountain.

Eventually, he got fed up with bamboo. The thin trunks reached high, obscuring the sky with millions of thick, green leaves. The air was fresh, but cold, very cold.

It was only when Ranma started seeing his own breath expel from his mouth in cloudy white plumes that he realized how much.

What? No! That can't be right!

Mint was the first to complain.

"Did someone turn down the heat?" he grumbled, "Seriously! Its the middle of summer!"

Lime made some comment about warriors not feeling the cold. Mint stuck his tongue out at him impetuously.

"So much for a vacation," he sighed.

"Who said anything about a vacation?" Lime snapped at his childhood friend.

"Its Mount Mogan!" Mint started to protest, but was cut off when Herb turned on them.

"Quiet!" he snarled, "I'm trying to listen!"

And that's when it happened.

There was a humming sound, like something cutting through the trees. The wind picked up, a cold wall of air slamming into them without warning. It screamed. The hairs on the back of Ranma's neck stood on end and he tensed. There was something dangerous out there and it was headed right for them.

Herb came to the conclusion first.

"Run!" he yelled and off they went, tearing through the bamboo trees and away from the oncoming danger. But they weren't fast enough.

Something came out at them from the trees, almost slamming into Lime. The tiger snapped back, leaping onto one of the bamboo branches and the figure went hurtling into the dirt. Everything stilled all at once. The figure wasn't moving.

"Who is that?" Mint asked, and Ranma looked again he realized it was definitely human shaped.

It raised itself from the ground slowly, turning as it did. Ranma gave a start.

It was female, he thought, with greenish-white skin that hung off its body like it was molting. The nails on its hands were black and long. It gave a snarl, exposing a set of razor sharp, yellowing teeth. It had long, scraggly red hair that ran to its waist.

Ranma paled. He knew that face. It was the face that grinned triumphantly in his worst dreams, holding up the severed head of a black haired woman. And sometimes, just sometimes, held Ranma's own head up as the Amazons cheered around her. But no! How could it be her? But that face…that face…

"Nuan?" he whispered.

The woman, or creature, for it hardly looked human, whipped its head in Ranma's direction. Arms stretched out before it, it turned and…

Hopped?

Ranma didn't have time to even think about the fact that there was a corpse-thing hopping towards him. No, because it wasn't just hopping, it was coming in fast. Its teeth were bared and it hissed hungrily at him.

Ranma moved into a defensive position. It was approaching him much too fast for him to get out of the way in time. It was this alone that told him this wasn't really Nuan. He had seen the older woman fight, and although she was as strong as a bull, her speed was sorely lacking. It was why she had been knocked out of her position as village champion, yet again, three years ago. After that, she had taken to traveling and Ranma hadn't seen her since.

The monster roared towards him, it's hopping not deterring its speed in the slightest.

Ranma took his shot when it got close, slamming his fist hard into its face. There was a sickening crack as its head whipped around completely.

Ranma gasped, scrambling away, not sure of what he'd done. Had he killed the thing? Just with that? He'd never punched anyone hard enough to dislodge their head before! The sight was sickening.

The skin on the monster's neck broke, but it didn't bleed. Instead, a kind of oozing, brown substance could be seen, like its blood had been turned to pudding. It swayed for a moment, raising its hands to grab its head. Slowly, everything creaking into place, it set its own head back on straight.

"Ranma! Get out of there!" Herb ordered, just as the monster began snarling again.

But no sooner had he spoke then there was another crashing through the trees and three more of the creatures appeared, hopping in like the ground was a trampoline. Soon, each of the boys found themselves facing a monster all their own. Ranma heard gasps from the others.

"Sage!" he heard Mint cry, "Sage! Is that you?"

So he wasn't the only one who recognized the face of someone they knew.

"What are these things?" Lime yelled, narrowly avoiding a strike from those long, black fingernails.

But no one seemed to know. Ranma thought there was something familiar about this, something that tugged on his memory, but he couldn't make the connection. The monster charged at him again, chomping its teeth.

Vampire? Ranma thought, but not like any I've ever heard about. They look like they're rotting corpses.

"Jiangshi," Herb said suddenly, "They're jiangshi!"

"Jiangshi?" Ranma blinked, and it clicked, "Like hop around trying to suck your ki out jiangshi?"

Jiangshi haunted fireside tales and bad kung fu horror movies. Some of the older Amazons would equate misfortunes to the presence of the supernatural creatures. Ranma though, was more familiar with their appearance in the latter medium.

There was large town, two hours away by train ride from the village. Ranma used to take it there with Shampoo sometimes. They'd usually go to see a movie or explore the sights and shopping markets. It was good for a day out. The last time they'd gone, Ranma had dragged his sister into a horror movie. It was kind of corny and had Shampoo rolling her eyes rather than quaking in her seat. There'd been these things, weird zombie-vampire crosses that hopped around because they couldn't move properly.

Back then Ranma had mocked the main characters for their inability to dodge such clumsy creatures.

He regretted judging them now.

These jianshi might be stiff, but they could move and seemed to always know where their prey was.

"Remember anything about jiangshi?" Ranma called frantically as he managed to dodge another one of the creatures. He snapped off one of the bamboo trunks, using it like a staff to fend off attacks.

"Nothing helpful!" Mint yelled back, leaping out of the way of his opponent.

"Mirrors!" Herb said quickly, "They're scared of their own reflections!"

"Well who wouldn't be?" Lime grunted, swinging a branch into a jiangshi's head, only for it to start snarling at him as the splinters fell to the ground.

"Anyone got a mirror?" Ranma asked.

Silence.

"Great," the Amazon tried to think, "Uh…wasn't there something about peach wood?"

"We're surrounded by bamboo!" Lime snarled, defending against a series of swipes, "Where are we supposed to find peach wood?"

"Then you think of something!" Ranma scowled.

Mint, who had just narrowly avoided having one of the jianshi sink its fangs into his shoulder, called out another suggestion.

"Wasn't there something about nailing seeds into their back?"

"Lime!" Ranma yelled, willing to try anything, "Ya still got those jujube berries?"

"Yeah, but they're not going to do you much good," the tiger retorted, "How do you expect to hammer them into its back?"

"Just give 'em up!"

Lime knocked the jiangshi in front of him away before tossing Ranma the bag of berries. He grabbed a hand full and thrust them into his mouth, wincing at the sour taste as he stripped the fruit from the pips. Still fighting the monster-Nuan, he nearly chocked, but managed to gain a moment's reprieve. He spat the seeds into his hand, clenching his fist around them and setting his mind to the task of getting behind Nuan.

The technique was actually one Shampoo had been learning the last time he had seen her. It focused on using a combination of herbs and pressure points to strip someone of their memory. It was supposed to work on the scalp, but things like this were adapted all the time. All Ranma could think about was how fragile the jiangshi's skin had been. He might not need to hammer them in, but if he was fast enough he could use his hand to do it instead.

"This is gonna be gross," he muttered and launched himself at Nuan's back.

His arms moved in a blur as he tried to place each of the seeds over a ki point in the body. He ignored the way it felt and the cry of rage the jiangshi made. He especially ignored the smell. This close to the creature he could smell the rot and decay. It made him want to gag!

But he did it. He leapt backward, wiping his hands off on his shirt and watched to see if there was any effect.

The jiangshi screamed and stumbled forward, twisting in on itself and reaching behind its back to try claw out the seeds. Ranma winced as the black claws dug into the rotting, molding flesh. Then, just when he thought it was going to tear itself to pieces, it straightened back up and went at him again. This time though, it was limping to one side with only its left arm raised. It wasn't hopping anymore either.

The seeds hadn't stopped the jiangshi, but it had slowed the creature down. Ranma was about to grin with triumph, but the jiangshi suddenly leapt, claws and teeth flaring. He jumped back to avoid it, but not in time to stop its nails from tearing into the front of his shirt.

The material ripped off and Ranma gasped, feeling like knives had run across his flesh. He looked down to see spots of blood pooling and staining the remains of his shirt. It was shallow, thankfully.

Everything was a blur after that. Herb was yelling commands, even as they were slowly surrounded by more of the monsters.

"I'm going to blast them," Herb said hurriedly, "When I do, we split off and run. Ranma, you're with me. Mint and Lime, stick together. Everyone ready?"

They nodded.

The air around Herb burned.

Ranma had to avert his eyes from the sheer brilliance of the ki attack Herb sent at the jiangshi. The forest exploded, flattening out the bamboo trees within the immediate area. For seconds, Ranma could only stare, dazed. He had never seen anything so powerful in his life.

He was jolted back to reality when Herb grabbed his arm and pulled.

The blast had hit the jiangshi, knocking them back, but it hadn't stopped them. Mint and Lime were already gone. Ranma ran to catch up with Herb, following the older boy's lead. They could hear the creatures screaming and yowling behind them.

"Faster!" Herb urged.

Ranma ran faster than he had ever run in his life. His limbs shook with the blood pumping through his body. He could hear the doof, doof, doof, of his heart thundering in his chest. They weaved through the bamboo, knocking and stumbling as everything was plunged into darkness and shadow.

The screaming got closer.

"Get behind me!" Herb snarled, pulling Ranma and turning to aim another ki attack as one of the creatures blasted through the bamboo. It knocked it backwards again, but in less time than before, it was back on its feet and urging towards them.

"Your attacks aren't working on them!" Ranma yelled, dragging Herb behind him.

"But that-" Herb shook himself as he ran, "That's not possible!"

"We'll figure it out later, lets just go!" he looked back as he ran, trying to see if Mint and Lime were following. They'd split off to confuse the creatures, but now Ranma wasn't so sure he liked the plan at all.

He looked over his shoulder, seeing a mass of the jiangshi approach through the darkness and realized something.

The one Herb had just hit was moving slower than before.

But why…?

Then it clicked in.

"Hit them again!" he yelled.

Herb glared.

"Its not working!"

"Just do it!" Ranma snapped.

Herb, surprisingly, didn't argue. He rounded back and sent another blast of ki, just as big as the first one. Once again, the jiangshi were knocked backwards, only to get up again. They all appeared a bit more sluggish though, almost like they were getting disinterested.

"They're feeding off the ki!" Ranma realized, "Do it again!"

"Are you crazy?" Herb cried, "If I'm just feeding them-"

"Exactly! It's slowin' them down! Look!"

Herb looked this time, really looked. His golden eyes went wide as they judged the scene. He nodded and readied another attack. This time, the jiangshi didn't get up as quickly and some turned off in a different direction altogether.

"Okay, lets go-"

Ranma was cut off when a jiangshi slammed into him from behind. He went face first in the dirt, struggling to roll over. He felt something near the back of his neck. A cold, rasping breath that shouldn't belong to a corpse. Terrified, he held his breath as instinct took over. It wasn't the same fear that came with cats, he didn't feel that mad rush to get away, but instead felt like everything in him had frozen. He didn't want to die!

He clenched his teeth, disgusted with himself, when he realized the jiangshi had stopped moving on top of him. There was a bright, white light that could only come from Herb, a sharp cracking sound followed by a grunt and the presence was gone altogether, allowing Ranma to finally breath.

"Get up!" he felt strong hands grip him, pulling him to his feet, "We have to – gah!"

Herb bent forward, clutching his left leg and wincing in pain. Ranma remembered the crack he'd heard. He immediately pulled Herb's arm over his shoulders, making the older boy lean on him.

"Lets go!" he said quickly, already moving.

Herb didn't say anything, wincing as he was forced to hobble against Ranma.

Time became meaningless to Ranma after that, all he could think about was getting away as quickly as possible. The sky continued to darken as they ran, plunging them into darkness as they scrambled through the trees. Ranma only slowed when visibility became difficult, training his ears for any sound that the jiangshi were following.

"I think – I think we lost 'em," Ranma panted, still holding the Musk prince up.

"For now," Herb agreed, still stiff, "We have to find the others. They…we have to find them."

Ranma just nodded, his stomach clenching. They'd gotten lucky. Real lucky. Herb's ki blasts had slowed down the creatures enough for them to escape, but Mint and Lime didn't have that advantage.

Slowly, the night began to light up. Ranma looked up to see the moon hanging heavily in the sky, its silvery sheen shining through the bamboo leaves.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked aloud, frowning at the night sky, "It can't be this late already."

Herb made a sound of agreement, his expression blank.

Ranma opened his mouth to say something more, then stopped himself as a sound caught his ears.

"Ya hear somethin'?" Ranma asked the prince.

"A flute," Herb frowned, "That's…unexpected."

Ranma agreed.

The melodious sound echoed ominously through the trees. The wind picked it up; sending it cascading through the mountainside so it was impossible to tell what direction the melody was coming from. It was haunting. The kind of music that reached down into your soul and made the hairs stand on the back of your neck. Like a siren's call to beckon the unwary traveler, it had a beguiling, unearthly quality.

It set Ranma's teeth on edge.

"I thought this mountain was supposed to be some tourist getaway," he said hotly, shifting to get a better grip on the prince's arm, "I can't imagine it'd be too popular with a bunch of zombies running about."

"Jiangshi," the prince corrected, sounding mildly amused, "And they were hopping."

"Oh whatever," Ranma rolled his eyes, "Lets just –"

He stopped, because another sound had joined the flute. It was the rush of wind and the faint wailing in the night. He felt Herb tense beside him and started pulling the prince along faster.

"We've gotta get outta here!" he hissed, "Lean on me a little more, we've got to move faster!"

Herb, surprisingly, didn't argue.

With a hobbling prince struggling, but somehow managing, to keep up with the pace and Ranma trying very hard to move quickly without tripping, the two darted away from the sound.

~R1/2~

They were on their scent in moments, Mint knew, as he and Lime dashed through the trees. His wolf blood knew the feel of a hunt, knew the drive of a pack, and knew what it was to scent blood in the air. What he'd never known was to feel like the prey. Like a hapless rabbit running for its life.

The feeling wasn't pleasant.

His sensitive ears picked up the wailing and the snarling of jiangshi from somewhere behind them, but he was too distracted to notice how far exactly. Real fear pumped through him and he had to focus on running to keep from letting it cripple him. He knew the story of jiangshi, the reanimated corpses of those who never found home again. By the end of the night, he might be one of them. A restless monster wandering the earth, never able to find his proper resting place.

He shuddered.

No, not the time to think like that. He wasn't going to die.

But…

In the same breath, he hoped they were following them, hunting them. As long as they weren't after Herb. Because above all else, Mint was a bodyguard and it was his sacred duty, as it had been for generations of his family, to guard the Musk royal family. Someone from his family – as with Lime's – had always remained close to the heirs.

And more than that, Herb was his childhood friend. They'd been together since before they could talk. He looked up to him more than anyone else.

He didn't like being separated like this.

Then he thought of Ranma and felt a little better. The Amazon boy was strong, surprisingly so, if he was with Herb he had every confidence he'd do everything he could to keep him safe.

This small relief didn't last very long.

Three jiangshi were on them, snarling and screaming in that unearthly manner. Mint felt a stab of fear course through him as he leapt into a defensive position, back to back with Lime. There was no way they could stop them. No way to save themselves.

Mint swallowed hard.

Well, he wasn't going down without a fight.

As he prepared an attack, a voice rang through the air.

"Hold your breath!"

He looked around, startled by the command.

"Wha –"

"They can't see you if you hold your breath!" the voice yelled.

Mint obeyed automatically, willing to try anything. Lime must have done the same, because to both boy's surprise, the jiangshi suddenly looked confused. Before Mint could wonder at where the voice had come from, a figure burst through the trees, crashing into the jiangshi with a long staff and making them hiss with anger and pain.

Mint could only watch in awe.

The man was dressed in the yellow robes of a Taoist priest and carried a thick wooden staff, which he was using to defend against the jiangshi. His hair was long and black, running straight down his back in a thick braid. It whipped about as he moved, slithering through the air. He paused once in Mint's direction, affording him a look at the man's narrow face and bright, green eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.

"Cumin?" he spluttered, recognizing his fellow tribesman.

The older man shot him a positively feline grin, before jamming the butt of his staff into a jiangshi's stomach. He pulled out a piece of paper and slapped it onto his opponent's head, making a sign with his hand and muttering something unintelligible. The jiangshi froze in place.

He spun round and managed to do the exact same thing to the other two, before all became still again in the forest. Cumin took in a deep breath, planting his staff and placing his free hand on his hip, striking a pose as he did.

"There's nothing like a fight to get the blood moving," he announcing, looking up to the sky, "Send your worst, you old hag! I'm ready for you!"

Mint sagged in relief. Even if Cumin had always been a little on the eccentric side, he'd never been happier in his life to see the mad priest again.

~R1/2~

All Ranma could see through the shadows of the bamboo trees were streams of moonlight, threading through the leaves to dance across the forest ground. It didn't take them long before the sounds of the hungry jiangshi became quieter and the flute grew louder and louder.

They'd moved in silence for a time, each concentrating on what might be hiding in the shadows.

"You recognized one of them…the jaingshi," Herb said suddenly.

"So did you," Ranma tried to deflect. When a tense silence followed, he hazarded a look to his side and found the prince staring at him, eyebrow raised.

"Nuan," he said finally, "She was village champion more times in a row than anyone else. She travels a lot. I don't think anyone back home knows – "

He cut off.

He was going to have to tell them.

"Four Musk warriors, an Amazon…" Herb shook his head, 'The rest could have come from anywhere."

"What are you on about?" Ranma snapped.

The prince gave a mirthless smile.

"I was right," he gave a bitter laugh, "I was right."

Ranma frowned.

"Right about what?" he asked, "Damn it Herb, if you know how she ended up like that –"

"I don't," Herb cut him off soberly, "Not that, but…the disappearances. Not just Musk warriors, but others too. Its all connected. Somehow, its all connected."

"What are you on about?" Ranma grunted, masking his surprise over the prince's admission. Maybe the pain in his leg is getting to him.

Herb shook his head.

"Later," he grunted, "When we've found the others."

The flute stopped suddenly, leaving a dead silence. The sound of their heavy breathing broke it somewhat, but even the wind had died down so that not even the rustle of leaves met their ears. The moon had moved behind a cloud, plunging them into darkness once more. Ranma squinted, trying to see a way forward when two things happened.

First, he could smell something. It was a sweet, meaty scent, like the smell of cooked pork. It made his stomach growl and his mouth water. When had he gotten so hungry? Even Herb perked up a little at the scent.

"Maybe someone's camping nearby," he suggested.

They wandered on through the trees, feeling their way in the darkness, when they hit something unexpected.

A solid, high structure was before them, stretching out on either side. Looking up, Ranma could see the faint glow of firelight peeking over the top and making shadows dance over them. It must be a fence! Which meant there was a house on the other side and that light must be from a fire. Feeling an insurgence of hope, Ranma and Herb started making their way round to find an entrance.

It was still too dark to see, so Ranma kept his free hand out to follow the fence.

Ranma frowned slightly, not sure what the hard substance under his hand was. It didn't feel like stone or wood. Smooth to the touch, but different somehow and he couldn't quite place how. Whatever it was made from, each piece of it was long and rounded, trapped together securely with some type of cement. He felt along the wall, hoping to find the entrance. For several long moments, there was nothing, then he came across something that seemed promising.

He felt a different set of textures, his hand coming into contact with rope and etched metal. Hinges! The gate! It must be the gate! It was high, like the wall, so Ranma suspected the catch was somewhere near the top. He stretched a hand up to feel for it. He floundered for a moment and then found the catch.

He frowned slightly, it felt odd too.

Like the substance the fence was made from, but with unevenness at the bottom of the catch. It felt strangely familiar, but he couldn't place the sensation.

He flipped it up, opening the gate.

Almost simultaneously, a series of torches on the posts of the fence flared to life, illuminating the darkness with an orange light. Still gripping Herb, Ranma tried hard not to give a start at the sight before him. He barely heard the creak of the gate as it swung open onto a small yard.

He was too busy staring.

The fence was made from human bones. Skulls decorated the posts, staring at him through eyeless sockets. And the catch on the gate he had been feeling, it was a human jawbone. The unevenness he had felt had come from a set of teeth.

Bile rose in his throat.

He hazarded a look into the yard, but all he could see was a small hut in the centre. Outside shone a cook fire, the embers of the flame burning low. Above them rested a very large cook pot.

Large enough to fit a person.

This time, he really did vomit, realizing what the sweet, meaty smell he and Herb had been picking up must be. The prince stood beside him, face drawn pale and eyes fixed on the murder house before them.

Maybe they had wandered into a horror movie after all.

~R1/2~

A/N: Another late chapter, sorry this should have been up last month. This one turned out a little tougher to write than I thought.

So, technically speaking a jiangshi is a vampire. But more of a zombie-vampire blend, so I didn't mislead you completely. I'd strongly recommend typing jiangshi into YouTube and seeing what comes up, because there's a lot to explain. There's a good overview, some clips from horror movies they've appeared and a how to on defeating jiangshi.

Mount Mogan is an actual place that was named after a famous sword smith and his wife from the Warring States era in China. (And yes, the story about them contains a lot of decapitation.) In the early twentieth century many foreigners moved in and built their holiday homes there, and though these were taken over during the communist revolution, it remains a popular tourist destination today.

Thanks again for the amazing response, until next time!