Book 1: War
Chapter 6: The Shipment
Baoshou suggested, "I'll stay here with the men; you should go and seek the magistrate of the town. Let them know we're here."
Shuaige agreed with him, "Good idea."
"Avani," called Shuaige; her irises and pupils rolled to the corners of her eyes as she glanced at the Captain of the company. She heard Qishi from a distance say, "I need you to come with me to meet the magistrate. It'd be convincing to let him know the shipment is in good hands."
"Why not take Airen? He's a noble from a well-known family," mentioned Avani. She made an excuse because she refused to be stuck with Shuaige.
"Because Airen's not the Avatar, you are. You give people...hope," commented Shuaige.
She sighed; she knew the entire way she'd have to listen to him yap about unimportant things. She only wanted a quiet and peaceful trip. She finished, "Fine."
Shuaige smiled and told Baoshou, "We'll return shortly."
Shuaige and Avani rode beside one another; it was perhaps the early evening when they entered the town—surrounded by farm fields with flood irrigated vegetation on all sides of the town itself. The military camp nestled about a quarter li from the nearest area. Farmers tended these lands, and this is how this town grew its food.
Meanwhile, back at the camp, the men had already finished setting up camp. Tonight they circled a large bonfire and ate their millet. After about two hours, there were several who gathered closer and wanted to tell campfire stories. Zuqiu volunteered to be the first to share a story.
A Bitter Rivalry
He sat down and relaxed a bit before he began; he thought about it for a minute. Then he started, "This is a story that my father told me when I was a little boy. It's about two men. One of them is named Xianmu, and the other is Shouge."
"Shouge was a beloved member of the community, rich in crops while Xianmu had trouble with his farm. Xianmu was jealous of Shouge; in a fit of rage, he wished harm on Shouge through Yama," said Zuqiu.
Shouge was a short, jolly, tan-skinned septuagenarian with brown eyes and not a single hair on his head. The stern elder was kind, and his work ethic reflected onto his fields. His vegetation was bountiful and beautacious. He fed those who starved and the homeless without an expectation of anything in return.
His rival Xianmu was a slender, tall, light-skinned individual with green eyes and unkempt black hair. A patchy beard adorned his face; his fields, however, were empty. Often he grew food, but his lack of care killed the plants. He blamed Shouge for stealing necessary resources, Xianmu was jealous of his esteemed neighbor. Xianmu tilled his soil; the middle-aged man continued to try his best even when he knew the outcome resulted in nothing—exhausted after long days of work out in the scorching sun. Xianmu wiped his forehead, and he knew it was time; he had enough.
"After a month of incantations, Yama finally communed with the man. He told him that he had trouble, and Yama told him he must craft an effigy of Shouge and repeat another month of offerings for the curse to work," Zuqiu recounted to the men.
One evening, he prayed to the shrine of Yama in his home, after a month of daily incantations; the God of Death finally revealed himself with Xianmu. The thin farmer fell on his hind in fear when the candles exploded. Black smoke emerged from the shrine; he first assumed it caught on fire; he must've done something wrong.
A toned, beautiful, and deathly pale-skinned man conjured out of the smoke. Surprisingly, Xianmu was not terrified of the man's features. Although he also carried a sense of dread with him, perhaps because he was the aspect of death itself. The aspect of death was slender and colossal. Tattered and torn black robes covered his entire body. His features were peculiar. On his back were four large feathered wings; he had six arms too. The two that protruded from his shoulder blades carried items. His far-right he held onto a chrysanthemum, his far-left clenched onto an hourglass. Yama's center-arms clasped together, and they signified he was always in orison. His bottom right arm held onto a quill that never ran out of ink. Finally, his bottom left hand had a sizeable ancient tome, perhaps the Book of the Dead.
"Yama told Xianmu to craft an arrow from the bark of Shouge's trees, then he was to shoot the effigy in the heart," continued Zuqiu, his face glistened in the firelight. His tone gradually lowered to a more serious tone as the story got darker.
Yama's booming voice shook the foundations of the shrine within Xianmu's farm. Meanwhile, outside of the shed, not a sound echoed. Yama questioned Xianmu, "What is it that you want, mortal? I've heard your desperate calls all month long."
The envious farmer scrambled to the ground and kowtowed before the God of Death himself. He exclaimed Yama, "I want what Shouge has, but I'm struggling. I want the adoration of the town, a rich harvest, the smiles of the homeless to make me feel joy!"
"You must make a straw effigy of your neighbor Shouge after another month of offerings to me; you must steal bark from the trees of his fields. Craft an arrow from it, then shoot it directly in the center of the straw effigy. From there, you will continue life as normal while the life of your rival deteriorates," instructed Yama.
The aspect of the death dispersed into a cauldron of bats, the smoke disappeared, and so did the awful sense of dread. For the next few days, Xianmu went into the night to steal bark from an apple tree on Shouge's farm. He crafted the arrow and made a straw effigy of his rival Shouge. One evening he shot it dead-center of the doll's chest. Xianmu slept rather soundly that evening.
"Shouge no longer made the trip from his farm into the nearby town. As he grew ill, so did his crops, as his crops wilted; Xianmu's grew healthier and bountiful. Xianmu laughed as he saw that the chat with Yama was no dream," Zuqiu said.
Weeks later, Xianmu exited his cabin to see that his fields were full of crops. He chuckled with joy and frolicked and jumped through the crops like a young boy at a toy shop. He peered toward the west and saw that his rival's crops seemed withered, almost like they suffered from a disease.
Zuqiu resumed, "The townspeople became worried for the old man, some of them confused when they saw that Xianmu's fields were rich in crops. Along with a healer, one of the men ventured to Shouge's farm, where they found his dead. His body was fresh, no struggle found, and there were no wounds to his corpse. He passed of old age, they thought."
As a local merchant caravan traveled passed by the two farms, a merchant faced the right to see that Xianmu's fields were complete. He rubbed his eyes and blinked; when he turned to the left, it was dead and empty. He believed his eyes were playing tricks on him again. But his eyes told him no lies. Shouge no longer attended public events or the weekly farmer's market. One day, his disappearance concerned the townspeople; a healer was curious enough to find out what happened. Another tagged alongside her, and their task was to give a wellness check on ol' Shouge.
They felt perturbed when they found nothing alive on his land, a knock on his door and no answer. The man broke the door off its hinges, and they entered the cabin. There on the bed, they found the body of the old farmer. The healer quickly ran over to the bed, where she checked for a pulse. The man inquired, "What are you going to do?"
"I was thinking of reading what little energies he may have left," answered the healer.
"Will it work? He's likely been dead for three days," he asked further.
"He looks like he's been here for about a few hours. I reckon I can get something out of him," the healer responded.
The healer and the man moved his body from the bed onto the ground. She then slammed her foot into the dirt. She was able to sense what little energies remained on his corpse; her subconsciousness painted her a picture of an adorned man cursed by an unknown illness that befell him. She mentioned, "His energies are mostly departed to tell what caused this. But it doesn't feel physical."
"What do you mean?" the man was curious.
"Meaning his ailment wasn't caused physically, but rather spiritually. This is out of my field; unfortunately, I may have to visit an old friend in Jun Lao," responded the healer.
"They buried the body, his death angered Ts'ai Shen, Shouge was a devotee of the God of the Craftsmen and Agriculture. Five years later, Xianmu's fields were beginning to wither, and after observing his fields in the evenings, he saw a shadow in the crops. The being stalked him from within the fields. The next morning, he investigated and saw that whatever was in his plants killed them with a touch. Xianmu hired men to protect his vegetation from whatever destroyed them last night," Zuqiu added, his voice monotoned.
Years went by, Xianmu lounged outside his home when he saw something. Whatever it prowled within his crops. He grabbed a weapon and waited because he expected it to be a wild animal. However, what he saw frightened him; he bolted into his cabin and barricaded the door. The following day he investigated the area to find that the crops there dried and collapsed. Xianmu didn't have time for jokes or even weird supernatural occurrences; he went into town and bought mercenaries for the evening.
"Oh, I know this story...," interrupted one of the soldiers.
"Shhhh," shushed Zuqiu; he glared at the soldier, annoyed.
"The men ran away when they came to face-to-face with ol' Shouge, who passed five years ago. When Xianmu saw them flee from the fields, he investigated, a sword in hand, he searched through his fields. The reanimated corpse of Shouge suddenly ambushed Xianmu. The next morning over, the men returned with guardsmen to find the dried and decomposed corpse of Xianmu. They were confused to discover the dried and decomposed remains of Xianmu. How could this happen overnight?" Zuqiu whispered in an eerie tone.
That evening the mercenaries were armed to the teeth; they watched the fields of Xianmu. The crops rustled a brief moment. The men turned their attention to the areas, with their weapons out, they approached the crops. What they encountered horrified them, which caused the men to flee the scene. Xianmu, angry, grabbed his sword and charged into the fields alone. As he looked through the vegetation, the reanimated corpse of Shouge ambushed Xianmu.
The following day, the mercenaries returned with guardsmen, and they examined the fields. They found Xianmu's body; the strange thing was that Xianmu's body was a dried husk when noticed. They were all bewildered to find his corpse rapidly decayed overnight. A guardsman knelt before the body then questioned the hired men, "Can you repeat what you saw last night?"
"I know this is going to sound crazy, but we saw Shouge, the old man who died five years ago. Which is why we ran for our lives," replied one of the mercenaries.
"It's a far-fetched idea, but why not look to see if his grave is disturbed," suggested another mercenary. The men grabbed their things and headed for the other farm.
"They searched the abandoned land of Shouge, where they buried his body. Except instead of expecting skeletal remains, they found a new body in the grave. On his face was a smile; they burned Shouge's and Xianmu's bodies and closed down their farms. Legend said when they burned Xianmu's body, it shrieked as it shriveled up and turned to ash," finished Zuqiu.
The townspeople checked the barren and dried lands that once belonged to ol' Shouge as suggested. They found his grave had been dug open already by someone else. Inside they expected to find his dried bones; instead, they discovered a fresh body with a smile. That same morning the men burned the bodies of the two farmers; when it was Xianmu's turn, they watched as the body shriveled up and shrieked in agony as it curled up in the fire and turned black. The soldier who knew the story screamed into Biehe's ear. The young recruit leaped off the log he sat on and cried out in horror. The soldiers around him burst out in a boisterous guffaw.
The Coin Hoarder
Airen exhaled his breath and then scanned the faces of the others; it was pretty obvious no one wanted to go next. Airen began, "This story is told to us nobles; something the Earth Sages and the local temple share to convince us to donate. There once was a man named Yingbi, he came from the Nie family back in during the Zhou Dynasty."
"Yingbi was a greedy member of this family; often, he spat at any beggar in the Middle or Lower Rings of the city. He laughed when the local temple handed him the offering plate during a service," said Airen.
A slender quadragenarian man waltzed the streets of the Middle Ring. He was in his lavish clothing and expensive jewelry, which identified him as someone of more incredible wealth. The pale-skinned gentleman sought business in the Middle Ring. A recently homeless family curled next to one another in a corner on a cold winter morning. The father of the family held up a sign and sought assistance from passersby. Yingbi strutted by them and chuckled at their misfortune when the homeless man begged for a coin to feed his family.
Yingbi grew annoyed and hissed at the man, "Get away from me, you impoverished wretch!"
Yingbi spat on the man's face, the saliva slid from his dark brown cheeks down to his chin. The man reacted with disgust and disrespect. He was deeply saddened to be treated like some kind of animal while his family watched in fright. Yingbi cackled with laughter after what he did.
"One day, Qin decided to punish him when Yingbi traveled outside of Ba Sing Se. He passed through the Taihua mountain range to get to his destination in the Duryaja province," Airen continued.
The noble independently trekked the Taihua mountain pass that led directly to Duryaja province. Along the way, the skies transitioned to gray shades with clouds. But no lousy weather ever swayed Yingbi from his journey. However, he knew that soon he'd have to find shelter somewhere and rest for the day. Yingbi hiked further up the pass, suddenly he heard the faint cries of an infant.
For one miao, he felt startled by something from within him however was enthralled to follow the sound of the baby. Perhaps human instinct? Despite being the greedy man he was, he felt the need to rescue the child from its fate. As he turned the corner and climbed another hill, he saw a cave nearby. The small cave wasn't too deep, perhaps only a few yuanzi of distance inside.
"Yingbi heard the cries of a newborn child, now while he was rapacious as he could be. His heart still ached for an infant in need. When he followed the cries instead of finding a child, he encountered a monster," Airen told the men.
The nobleman found himself inside a cave, the faint cries grew louder, but as he got closer, the mewls became crunching noises. Airen resumed, "The Tao Tie monster is a hideously obese monster covered in wool, with two horns, and with the face of a man. There are stories where they say the Tao Tie is the punisher of the gluttonous, but this version is the demon of greed. When Yingbi took one look at the beast, he turned pale white as a ghost. The demon devoured him whole."
As he furthered into the cave, the beast turned to face him; he found himself face-to-face with the horned heavyset wooly monster. Yingbi didn't scream; the beast overtook him and swallowed him whole. After it consumed Yingbi, it went back to its position and continued to weep like a small child lost in the mountains. Where it awaited its next victim.
"It is said that if you see his apparition in the Taihua mountains and then hear the cries of an infant, the Tao Tie is nearby lurking. At that moment, you don't walk. You run out of there with your life!" finished Airen.
The same soldier made a devilish shriek; Airen smirked as Zuqiu was scared out of his skin. Zuqiu hissed at the man, "Will you stop that?!"
Fangzhu rested his hands on his knees; he took an entire log himself. He sat across from Zuqiu and Airen.
The Wrath of Rati
"This is a tale as old as the temples themselves, something that Air Nomadic teenagers are told. As Air Nomads, we are sworn to our life-long goals of reaching enlightenment. Severing ourselves from our earthly tethers. One of those tethers is self-pleasure, and carnal desires as the pair go hand-in-hand. We must remain celibate except the Festival of the Four Winds," said Fangzhu.
"What's the Festival of the Four Winds?" inquired Wei.
"It's a festival of fertility; Air Nomad babies don't just appear out of thin air," answered Fangzhu.
"Well..." Wei paused as he looked up into the skies above for falling babies.
"Young Kami ignored his Guardian's teachings; as he got older, he would travel the world to quench his carnal desires. With every woman he met, sometimes men too, this eventually angered Rati," began Fangzhu.
A middle-aged guardian sat his novice down and advised him, "I understand how you're feeling, Kami. We all go through these carnal temptations. It's a part of your life. But as Air Nomads, we are sworn to celibacy, including quelling our desire for self-pleasure. This is an earthly tether that will burden your soul and never allow you to reach enlightenment."
"I understand, Guardian," lied Kami as he nodded.
After Kami's Guardian left, the teenager waited for several fen before he began to relieve himself. Years later, Kami, now a grown man, traveled on his bison Dongdong around the Fire Nation. While there, he made a stop in the city of Qa Xan, located in the northern region of the Nagoya province.
Qa Xan was known as the city of immorality; here, the city never slept.
Drunkards stumbled about as they drank themselves to death. Prostitution and sex trafficking were at an all-time high, and visitors came here to commit crimes of a higher category. It was less likely to occur in the day, but in the evening, the party went off the rocks.
"Kami the Lustful, gambled all night, in mid-twilight after drinking himself into a drunken stupor. He found himself inside a brothel. Where he met an exotic worker, an Air Nomadic woman from the Sum Pa Air Temple. Or so that's what she told him. The nun, however, was the Wrath of Rati disguised as a woman," Fangzhu continued.
The short slender monk found himself in front of a table surrounded by a worker and other gamblers. Everyone here tried their luck at the game to win a fortune. After several dian of playing, drinking, and losing a ton of his money, he careened and stumbled into a cathouse. There he was attended by the procurer, she presented him with a line of all the workers. Out of all the women and men, he chose an Air Nomadic woman. She was beautiful and petite; she grabbed his hand and led him into a room where they could have coitus.
"It was too late for Kami, she offered him oral stimulation, and he agreed..." Fangzhu said before he was interrupted by Wei.
"I'm sorry, but how is this a horror story? That guy is lucky!" grinned Wei.
Fangzhu furrowed his brows, annoyed by the interruption; Fangzhu commented, "Well if you think this a kinky story, the least you can do is let me finish."
"Kami let out an ear-splitting screech, the worker revealed who she was. The Rumi Xinyu or the Wrath of Rati severed Kami of his groin and stole his sensation of sexual climax. He was left there to bleed when the guards arrived to thwart the threat. Rumi Xinyu was gone; she left no trace behind. Kami survived the attack but lived the rest of his days without being able to relieve himself," finished Fangzhu.
Kami was lightly pushed onto the ta in the room he was led into, the Air Nomadic woman danced in her sheer costume. Then she offered, "Let me start you off with a session you'll never forget."
Her soft, feminine, and sensual voice turned him on; Kami rapidly nodded his head excitedly. The woman dropped to her knees when Kami gazed down at grabbed her by her hair. When she began, he tilted his head back with satisfaction. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain; when he looked down again, he saw no woman but a pale and gaunt corpse between his legs. Her eyes had polycoria, the scleras of her eyes were black, and the irises were bright yellow. Her mouth opened agape revealing serpentine-like fangs. She gnawed on his genitalia, he froze in shock. Blood sprayed and spattered on the floors of the room.
Kami finally shrieked so loud that the bouncers kicked the door down with firebending. Only to find Kami, but the woman was nowhere in sight. One of them cringed at the presence of the wound as it gushed blood. The other ran out of the room to puke in the hallway, his stomach queasy after what he witnessed.
Decades later, Kami hobbled around on temple grounds where the Festival of Four Winds was being held. Every year, at the festival, he told his story and warned teenagers to remain on the path of celibacy. Several young men and women sat around the elderly man as he finished up his story, "...and from years of failing to remain celibate, I encountered the Rumi Xinyu. She enticed me with an Air Nomadic woman, who showed me her true nature. A disgusting creature that gobbled on my bits, leaving me with a huge scar. Since then, I haven't been able to enjoy myself. Take my experience as an example."
The young teens and adults parted ways to enjoy the festivities of the holiday, two men walked off, and one of them scoffed at the story, "Can you believe that guy? It's all mumbo-jumbo to get us to remain abstinent."
"And so, the Rumi Xinyu continued to hunt for those who ignored their paths of celibacy," added Fangzhu.
Biehe and Zuqiu closed their legs, a sense of malaise hit both teen boys; they felt paranoid. Their heads darted in different directions while the Air Nomad chuckled, "You'll be fine; she only goes after Air Nomads."
Biehe trembled in fear, "Why can't we share happy stories?"
"Grow a pair; no one likes pretty, pansy stories," mocked one of the men in the back.
Baoshou silenced the man then he looked to see that the others hadn't begun chatting yet. Baoshou mentioned, "I have a good tale; this one is real. It happened seven hundred years ago."
The King of Stone
"Back in the Era of Avatar Salai lived a young Earth King named Shitou. He was the second monarch of the Han Dynasty of the United Earth Kingdom. Since Shitou's coronation, he hadn't done much but sit around on his throne all day. His servants fed him food, gave him wine, and all the finest women in the Earth Kingdom," began Baoshou.
A lanky, thin, young pale-skinned man in his mid-twenties laid on his throne as he napped. His long black hair was loose and even touched the ground. Something that wasn't very customary, as the king's hair was seen as a gift from the gods themselves. His light green eyes opened up when he felt a light tap on his shoulder by a servant. The servant brought him fine wine, food, and a lovely concubine to feed him.
Shitou's eyes lit up, and he beamed excitedly as his voice cracked, "Wow, it's about time! Ever since ol' Heping kicked the bucket, it's been nothing but partying!"
His servant contained himself and cleared his throat, then gave an uncomfortable chuckle, "Yes, sire."
"Avatar Salai ignored the young king as he had more important things to take care of. But young Shitou was the laziest of all the kings in the Kingdom's history. So lazy that he ignored Ba Sing Se's problems beyond the Palace Ring. Many of his citizens cursed him as he refused to assist them in creating a solution," said Baoshou.
Baoshou continued, "Then one day, Shitou was visited by a spirit only he could see. When he first saw the spirit, he believed it to be a stranger visiting the palace. As the individual got closer, Shitou was able to distinguish the stranger's features. The visitor had only a singular eye on the center of his face. Shitou gave him one good look and turned away. Not of fright but of pure disinterest."
The spirit was a bit taller than the average Kingsmen man who emerged into existence. When Shitou heard footsteps, he turned to face whoever his guest seemed to be. He rested on his throne as usual; when the stranger got closer, their features were much more noticeable. The freakish guest looked similar to any person, except they had one eye on the center of their face. The guest had lanky limbs and a slight belly. It wore robes and a hood that covered its head.
Shitou eyed it for a moment, then turned away in disinterest for his visitor. He gestured for the guest to be taken away. The spirit introduced himself anyway, "Ahh, quite the slothful you are, I am Duyan Ling."
"Not interested," yawned Shitou.
"But you will be, dear king. As you see, your subjects have cursed your very soul. So I will offer you a deal, you will have three days to change your good-for-nothing inactive ways. Or I will turn you into the stone where you will remain frozen solid for the rest of your days," offered Duyan Ling; he warned the young negligent monarch that if he remained unchanged, he'd be turned to stone.
"Duyan Ling came and offered the young king to change his life around. And warned him that if he failed to comply, he'd be turned into stone. King Shitou was so uninterested that he didn't see the one-eyed spirit as a threat. In fact, he ignored him," said Baoshou.
Baoshou asserted further, "Three days later, and the monocular spirit returned, he saw that the king hadn't changed a bit about his routine. Duyan Ling was angered; he was more than happy to approach Shitou once again."
The Duyan Ling returned; this time, he removed his robes and hood and revealed his monstrous-like appearance. He was bald with strands of hair that grew on the sides of his head. King Shitou had a beautiful concubine who rested in his lap. This time Shitou was upset, the stranger approached him again; he blurted out, "You again?!"
"I told you I wasn't interested," repeated the young king.
The concubine on his lap turned to face Shitou, concerned as she saw that he grew irritable at nothing; she implored with concern, "Your Majesty, are you okay? There's no one there."
"Do you not see him?" Shitou turned his attention to the girl and pointed toward Duyan Ling.
"N-no," she declined.
"I gave you an offer that you shouldn't have refused; you declined and failed. I have no other choice," surmised Duyan Ling.
"Wait! No! No! Nooo-" Shitou's screamed as he begged for the Duyan Ling to halt. The royal guards watched as the young king lost his sanity. The young woman shrieked when she noticed the once fleshly man was now a solid inanimate statue. The royal guards rushed to the throne to investigate the alien event that transpired before their eyes.
"Earth King Shitou's last days were of napping all day, sexual pleasantries, wining and dining. After he was turned to stone, the government made attempts to reanimate him but to no avail. Instead, days later, they coronated his kid brother Houdai as the twenty-first Earth King," finished Baoshou.
"Wow, people back in those days were bold enough to do that to their sovereign?" inquired Fangzhu.
"Certainly, there was much time where incompetent rulers were dethroned and new dynasties established," answered Baoshou.
"The story of Shitou is all a tall tale though," argued Taobing.
Baoshou disagreed, "Shitou was a real Earth King, he's mentioned in the records of Avatar Salai."
Wei returned from relieving himself, "Sorry, I had to go to the outhouse for a break; what did I miss?"
"Baoshou shared the story of Earth King Shitou," Zuqiu answered.
"The King of Stone? That Duyan Ling fellow creeps me out," commented Wei.
"Do you have a story to share, Wei?" Airen asked him.
"Me? Sure, hmm... let's see," replied Wei; he tapped his fingers on one another as he thought about a tale.
"This one happened to a cousin of mine," said Wei.
"Where is your cousin now?" inquired Taobing.
"He's dead," answered Wei.
"Oh...," Taobing uttered, then he lingered in silence.
Gourmand's Omen
"Since the beginning of my cousin Chanzui's life, he was known to eat enough to feed a family of four. Chanzui lived a sedentary lifestyle, always overeating; it became a career for him. He was a competitive eater in the center Lower Ring, winning medals at annual festivals. Eventually, Chanzui got married to a nice woman named Pan Wei," said Wei.
"Are you sure this is a real story?" asked one of the men in the back.
"She has the same name as you; I'd imagine it was just you in a wig," he added.
"Wei is a common surname," hissed Wei.
"You in a wig and having fantasies of your cousin would've been a lot funnier," he commented.
"Are you going to tell the story? Or are you going to let me finish?!" shouted Wei in anger; everyone remained silent after his outburst.
"Anyways, my cousin Chanzui is a pro-eater. After he retired, he did nothing else. Just laid around and ate, somehow he gained the energy to reproduce with Pan Wei," summarized Wei.
A gelatinous man gorged himself with food at a table with other heavyset individuals. The others slumped onto the table, stuffed or out of exhaustion. However, as the gong was hit, the bald fat man continued. He bit into a cow hippo's leg while the judge lifted his left arm.
"We have a winner!" the judge announced to the crowd; the audience went wild as Chanzui bowed his head to receive his medal. Chanzui used all his strength to get out of his seat. He rose his arms in the air and gave a prideful roar. Smaller men who looked up to the eating machine ran forward with their parchment and brushes already dipped in ink.
The towering jolly man was dark-tanned skinned and bald. He possibly weighed over three-hundred-and-sixty-two jin. When he saw his beloved girlfriend, he picked her up and gently squeezed her. Who would've ever thought someone would love a competitive eater. Years later, with enough money to live off his winnings, Chanzui bought himself a home. More significant than before, this time his wife Pan was pregnant. She seemed to be closer to childbirth as the months went by.
Pan had trouble moving around as she often grew when she needed to walk. She held onto a wall to maintain her balance. Wei resumed, "One evening about a week or two before Pan Wei gave birth to her first child. She heard Chanzui having a struggle with something. At first, her fears overcame her. She thought Chanzui had a heart attack. She hobbled over to him, opening the door to the kitchen to see it in a mess. She witnessed as Chanzui wrestled what she described to be a shaggy green ox hound. Pan screamed; the beast turned to face her instead."
The pregnant woman hobbled over to the kitchen, where she overheard unsettling sounds coming from the kitchen. She tried her best to rush to Chanzui; she thought he suffered a heart attack. But when Pan arrived, she witnessed her kitchen was destroyed by Chanzui and what looked like a shaggy green ox hound to her. Pan shrieked in terror at what she saw; the beast turned its attention to the expecting mother. Just as it was about to charge her, her husband overpowered the monster and placed his weight on it.
Chanzui panted, "Go! Get out of here! It's the Xiannu Gou. Lock yourself somewhere and protect my baby!"
At that moment, the animal struggled with the massive man to break free to eat the expecting mother. She used all her strength to fight the pain and hurried across their yard over to a shed where she locked herself tight. Chanzui battled the ethereal creature; he stabbed its hind leg all to protect his wife and child.
"My cousin eventually passed due to exhaustion; he sacrificed himself to protect his wife and child. My family wasn't sure if the Xiannu Gou came to devour Chanzui for his gluttonous lifestyle or if it came looking for a pregnant woman to feast on. Either way, it got the meal it needed to live another day. My cousin is honored by both Pan's family and my own," finished Wei.
"That wasn't scary at all; that man died a hero," commented Fangzhu.
"It'll come after you too, tubby," joked Taobing.
Fangzhu blew a small gust of wind in the former champion's direction; he frowned at the joke made at his weight. Taobing frowned as well. He fixed his hair after the airbender ruined it. Then it was Taobing's turned, "This story is one I resonated with as a teen; it motivated me to become the best fighter the Lei Tai world has ever known. This is the tale of Daoshou, a swordsman during the First Earth Kingdom."
Curse of the Daoshou
Taobing summarized a bit about Daoshou's backstory before continuing, "Daoshou was from the Fazang province, he left his home during his late teens to travel the world. Where he challenged other swordsmen to deadly duels. Where he acquired many victories throughout his life, eventually he became known as one of the Ten Great Swordsmen."
A light, tanned-skinned tricenarian man with brown eyes, long brown hair, and inadequate dirt clothing on his back strolled through a road. Taobing said, "Daoshou met traveling swordsmen who fought to claim his head as a victory, although each failing to win."
Two men dropped from the trees; they stood behind Daoshou and pulled out their blades from the hilts on their waist. Daoshou took a gander at the men for a brief moment. Their weapons taunted the famous fight to a duel. He unsheathed his sword as well and accepted the two-on-one duel, a slight grin on his face as he knew exactly how this would end.
Daoshou danced with his blade in hand as if he moved around the men like a professional dancer. Their steel clashed and slashed, parried, and blocked. When his hand trembled, and the dust settled, both men were on the ground dying. He took two more triumphs under his belt. He placed his blade back into its sheath until he heard the growl of a beast behind him. Daoshou sighed, then turned around with his sword drawn again to fight a beast.
"Another challenger faced Daoshou; when he turned around, he came face-to-face with what was thought to be a mythological creature. He lowered his head at the beast. This is the spirit he was nicknamed after; it was a giant feline-like monster with a human's face. The face resembled that of an old man with bushy eyebrows and blue-colored eyes. The beast stood on its hind legs and growled as it morphed into an old man with a hunchback. The elder wielded an obsidian sword, stoic as can be Daoshou spoke to this being," continued Taobing.
Daoshou questioned the old man, "Who are you?"
"I am the foe you'll face before you come to confront the immortal himself," answered the being.
"Very well then, you will die by my hand," grinned Daoshou.
"They fought for hours on end in a duel to the death, one never overpowering the other. The Daoshou never met an opponent like Daoshou the Swordsman. The only reason he was sought after by the spirit beast and not the other nine was that they weren't as great skilled as the swordsman. Daoshou slew the beast-man," revealed Taobing.
The beast made a purposeful slip-up; it allowed the swordsman to impale his blade into its chest. Just before dying, the beast bit him enough to break the skin and caused him to bleed. Which was all that was needed. After Daoshou slew the beast, he bandaged himself up and left.
"Daoshou traveled to the city of Wudang in Xu province; when he got there, he grew ill. At night he heard whispers, even had nightmares about dueling to feed. When defeating the spirit beast, they are known to allow you to kill them so that you can take the curse," Taobing said.
The ill swordsman rested inside an inn; at night, he shapeshifted into the same best he encountered on the road. He found himself hunting swordsmen in some animalistic rampage to feed his hunger. With each defeat, he grew stronger in power.
Taobing added, "A daoshou can live longer than any man, but when it comes to its end, it seeks the most skilled of swordfighters. A worthy opponent to pass on the curse, although there are likely no more Daoshou."
"Wait, why do you say that?" inquired Zuqiu.
"An Avatar five-hundred to six-hundred years ago killed the last one," recalled Taobing.
"Woah," responded Zuqiu; the young man marveled at the answer.
"Wait, so why didn't that Avatar turn into one?" asked Baoshou.
"I reckon he did his research," chuckled Taobing.
The men heard voices from behind; they glimpsed back to see that Avani and Shuaige had returned from their trip into Zi Guangi. Shuaige pieced together about what was in front of him. The men shared stories around the bonfire.
He wondered, "Is it too late?"
Avani dismounted from her ostrich horse; once she neared the bonfire, she raised a stone out of the ground to sit on. Baoshou replied, "Well...no, not yet, Taobing finished his story. Do you have one to share?"
Shuaige thought about it for a moment, "Sure, I've got one."
Skip Deep Beauty
"This one's a pretty common story that is told to every child. Children are taught to love themselves instead of being self-absorbed. They are told to empathize with people, but some people grow up to be egotistical self-loving adults. Being too prideful will eventually lead to your own doom," began Shuaige.
"Once upon a time in the Upper Ring lived a noblewoman named Meinu, she was prideful, abusive, self-obsessed chang fu. Her ex-boyfriend ended things with her because of her horrible qualities. She was jealous of her former partner's new girlfriend, Qian Nanyou, who moved on to a much happier life with a better woman. While Meinu spent her days cursing the new girl, in fact, that's all she could think of, always compared herself to her Nanyou's new partner," said Shuaige.
Meinu was an average height woman with pale skin, and emerald-colored eyes gleamed in the moonlight like prized jewels. Her black hair was styled into a big bun, she wore head jewelry around her head, a diamond sat in the center of the circlet, with pearls wrapped around her hair.
Her face was caked in white paint, her high cheekbones were outlined with tiny flower petals. Meinu's glabella was adorned with a small stamp of a flower as well. The center of her lips was painted red; only the corners remained as her natural lip color. Her eyebrows were painted over with paint made of soot. The cosmetics gave the illusion that her face was perfectly crafted by Yun herself.
Meinu's hourglass body shape fit into any clothing her father's money could buy. Men, including the guards, stared at her when she'd walk past them in public. She sat in front of her bronze mirror as she did every morning and every night and recited the same pep talk she's used for over ten years.
Meinu gazed at her reflection and berated her ex-boyfriend's partner, "Who does she think she is? Nanyou is a handsome idiot, my handsome idiot. He's easily someone that can't take care of himself."
A voice behind her said, "He left you because you were taking advantage of him."
Meinu gasped, startled, and glared behind her to see that her caretaker stood in the doorway. She scolded her servant, "Chen! I do not pay you to judge me for my actions! I pay you to be my servant!"
"You're right, milady. My apologies, but...you need to move on," advised Chen.
"...and you need to leave," finished Meinu as she crossed her arms; she returned to face the mirror.
"The very next day, Meinu's father scheduled her to meet with a business owner in the Middle Ring. She was often used to persuade people to sell their jewelry stores over to him. The men were seduced, the women were intimidated. Usually, there was some kind of contract with loopholes involved that permitted her father to take dominance over them; she traveled by carriage over to the Middle Ring, but by mistake, her carriage driver accidentally dropped her off in the Lower Ring," mentioned Shuaige.
Meinu, at the age of sixteen, began to be used by her father for his personal gain. She was sent to entice jewel crafters to contracts that would place their businesses under her father. This method was used on dealers that were doing well. Her father hired forgers to change ledgers; eventually, this would catch the Ministry of Revenue. To avoid tax evasion or being thrown in prison, shopkeeps signed and agreed to these contracts. She usually offered the men something in return, while she made the lives of the women inconvenient.
"Meinu was angry that her driver abandoned her in the Lower Ring immediately after she stepped off. Perhaps it was revenge or maybe a human error, either way, he was going to end up in prison or worse. She wandered the streets of the area to locate the gates that led back into the Middle Ring. But to no avail, she realized she was lost, a sense of dread was set in, and Meinu felt anxious and terrified. Onlookers gave her dirty and menacing looks," Shuaige told the men.
Meinu arrived, and when she exited the cart, the carriage zoomed off without a word. She scanned her environment and noticed that this place was more impoverished than it usually is. She only caught the tail of the wagon from the corner of her eyes; she tried to catch up and screamed, "Wait! Wait!"
"Cao! When I get out of here, you're so fired, si pi yan!" she shouted toward the direction she saw the carriage driver depart.
Meinu meandered around the Lower Ring without directions to find a way out of this disgusting region of the city-state. After one dian, she found herself lost on an empty street. At this moment, she felt her chest constrict. She began to feel uneased and worried.
"Meinu encountered an elderly man who hobbled behind her. He then tripped. He cried out for her assistance and reached out to grab her hand if she offered it. Instead, she shrieked, frightened at the poor elder. She was abhorred at his appearance. Meinu left the old man, suddenly feeling energetic enough to flee the scene," resumed Shuaige.
An old man lumbered down the street behind the noblewoman, he stumbled and fell and then sought for her help; he cried out, "Agh! Please help me, young lady!"
Meinu screamed; she turned away from the old man and lifted her leg closest to the senior. She minced away and abandoned the elder; she left the old man to die of his injuries.
Shuaige concluded, "This was, however, was a test. The old man who fell was actually the Choulou, a spirit who punished the self-centered folk of the world. She didn't emit a single sound. She stared at the spirit frozen in fear; the old man was nowhere to be found. At that moment, she knew she made a mistake, but it was too late. The Choulou possessed Meinu for nearly a fen. Meinu wrestled with the Choulou inside her body. He warped her appearance; she transformed into a hideous human hybrid. When she finally gained control of herself, she felt that her features were no longer familiar. She took one look into a mirror and emitted an ear-splitting scream as she ran in deeper into the Lower Ring. Never to be seen again."
While Meinu avoided the scene, she attempted to find her way out of the Lower Ring again. From behind, she heard the voice of the old man again. The elder was much closer; with each word, his voice changed between octaves as they got lower and lower.
The old man hissed at the noblewoman, "How dare you have the audacity to not help the elderly?!"
When she turned around, she gasped and froze; the old man was nowhere in sight. Instead, she found herself face-to-face with the Choulou, a primate-like spirit with lavender-colored fur. His face had three large eyes, a jutted jaw with fangs of varying sizes, and one small horn protruded from the center of his head.
Her eyes were bugged-eyed as can be as the Choulou bore into her soul. Not a sound escaped her mouth when she registered into her mind who or what she encountered. It was too late. The spirit jumped into Meinu's body. She tried to fight against it as the primate-like heart stretched inside her. He changed minor flaws into his own likenesses.
When it came time to remove himself without killing her, he disappeared. When Meinu regained consciousness again, tears welled in her eyes as she stared at her hands. They were dirty and much more prominent than before. She felt her face and noticed unrecognizable features. She peered down to see a tail, one leg shredded a part of her robes. Then she witnessed her new appearance when her eyes met with the reflection of a mirror.
Meinu screeched so loud that her screams could be heard almost two blocks from where she was located. She ran further into the Lower Ring, never to be seen again. As for her father? His schemes landed him in prison years later.
The younger soldiers were horrified. Biehe stammered his words, "C-can...can they ac-actually...do that to y-you?"
"It is said that spirits can; I've never witnessed it myself. But there is a children's tale of a character who's half man, half tree. Although there's not a ton of information on this occurrence, the victims are changed forever. I'm not even sure there's a ritual to reverse the damage," responded Shuaige.
"So...it is r-real," said Biehe, a new thing he can be paranoid about all his life.
Shuaige lifted his head and examined the skies above, "It's getting late; we should all be in bed now. We have an important mission tomorrow."
Avani bent water from a bucket onto the bonfire and extinguished it. Taobing sat in the dark with the others, who began to get up from their seats. He nudged Wei, "D-did you see that?"
"Uh, no?" Wei turned to face him, confused.
"She didn't argue with him; she silently agreed and turned off the bonfire," Taobing observed.
"Well...it is late," reasoned Wei.
He sighed the pushed his weight onto his knees to get up and left Taobing. Everyone else headed to their tents for the evening. The bell rang the following day across the camp. It woke everyone up, including Avani, who arose from her slumber with nappy bed hair. Avani was groggy from the evening before. Her eyes squinted as she crawled on the ground of her tent to get out.
Instead, she bumped into two feet; she slowly gazed up to see her past life Hansuke. Avani sighed, "What do you want?"
"Wow! Your first big assignment, how exciting! Are we ruffing up some bad guys? Escorting a damsel in distress?" wondered her past life with excitement.
"Nothing too thrilling," answered Avani.
"Welp let me know when you need me," smiled Hansuke.
"That's likely not going to happen," Avani replied; she rubbed her eyes to awaken herself further.
Shuaige was groomed and ready while the men headed for the line. Avani bumped into Shuaige. He saw that she looked really unkempt this morning. He mentioned, "You should prepare yourself for the mission; we're heading up to meet with Magistrate Minsheng soon."
"But I look like a mess; I'm going to take my time," said Avani; she turned around and returned to her tent and took her time to get ready. Shuaige returned after ten fen; with his hands on his hips, he turned to face another direction then called her, "Avani, are you ready?"
"What part of taking my time did you not understand?" she blurted out from the inside.
"You're meeting Magistrate Minsheng again. You're not getting ready for your wedding. Hurry up, we have to be punctual," responded Shuaige.
Avani exited her tent again. Both of them walked toward the ostrich horses to depart while some men remained behind to gather her things. Once they left, they headed straight toward the vault in the town. She clutched onto her stomach when it growled.
"I should've eaten," she commented.
"No time, you can eat on the road," Shuaige shook his head.
Half a dian later, they reach the town's vault. Several guards stood to watch as Minsheng and other troops arrived at the scene. The storage was made of stone, large in size, inside an iron door that protected what it stored inside from intruders. The men used their might to open the safe door. Inside were crates, the soldiers from both the town at Qishi's company loaded them onto the wagons. While Avani and Shuaige exchanged words with Minsheng.
"I'm glad you're on time; where are the rest of the men?" inquired Minsheng.
"They're on their way here," answered Shuaige.
Qishi's men showed up miao later while Shuaige and Avani discussed the mission with the magistrate. Minsheng recalled, "Those carts are being filled with the shipments we need to deliver. Remember when I mentioned there would be explosives on board?"
"Yes, Fumu Guan," nodded Shuaige.
"We will make sure the shipments make it on time," he added.
Avani bowed and assured the county leader, "You have my word that these shipments will be escorted to Taiyuan without any damage to them. Any wandering foe is a fool to fight me."
Fangzhu assisted the men and loaded the wagons with explosives. They fastened tarps over some of the weapons, so they remained hidden in plain sight. An earth sage showed up; he bowed before the magistrate and walked amongst Qishi's soldiers along with a swinging thurible. He nipped between all of the men as he whispered prayers and blessed each man.
Avani mounted her ostrich horse along with Qishi and Er. As they led the carts full of war shipment to the capital of Pingyao. Along with camp items as a decoy for any bandits or enemy soldiers, they were out of sight of the town's watchtowers, and they marched on after some fen.
Out of the blue, Zuqiu questioned his superiors, "So, enemy soldiers, will we see any?"
Baoshou sighed, "No, we're not sure yet. They're mostly avoiding this area for now but have been seen near the borders of Ru-Pingyao. But be on the lookout anyway."
"You've trained enough to be able to defend yourselves from the enemy, even if your training isn't complete," Baoshou mentioned.
"Don't feel worried, kid. After all, we have Airen. They don't," chimed in Wei.
Airen stayed silent and vigilant as he moved forward behind a cart of weapons. Not a single word escaped his lips. Biehe, however, groaned, "How far are we from the capital?"
"Will you quit your whining?!" Airen scolded the young man.
"Airen!" called out First-Lieutenant Er; he glared toward the dwarf. Airen's eyes changed direction and looked forward; he kept his mouth shut again and continued his watch. Baoshou offered to Biehe, "We just began marching; we're likely a several dian away if you need to rest switch with someone else who's mounted."
Meanwhile, inside of an outpost somewhere in Pingyao, men rushed toward a tower. A barbarian burst through a door with earthbending. He charged after a more miniature Haijunese soldier and tackled the man to the ground. With his fists, he bashed in the enemy's skull as another ran after the other who darted off. The soldier accepted his death, but his final mission was to get to the tower. He sprinted up the stairs to reach the tower door. He slammed the door shut behind him; he clenched tightly onto spark rocks he found on the counter. Then he lit the fuse of a rocket flare, the door behind him was knocked down, the two Omas cornered the soldier.
From the outside, Gan saw the tower while mounted on his badgermole. He commanded a random bender, "Use your bending to collapse the tower's supports."
"Sir, there could be one of our own in there," argued the man.
"I said to collapse the tower's supports," repeated the Meng champion.
The earthbender slightly nodded; he jumped off his mount and stepped forward. He tore flat wedges out of the ground and flung them at the tower. While inside the building, it shook and trembled. The fire on the wick burned out. The soldier backed up against the wall as the tower's balance slowly teetered underneath all three men. The rocket flare fired off, not horizontally or vertically but at an angle.
A rider, merely half a li away, saw the flare. He snapped the reins of his mount and raced toward the fort in the distance. At the same time, Gan saw the flare fire off diagonally. He saw this as a problem, "Hunzhang! Someone might have seen that!" Gan angrily muttered under his breath.
The tower's collapse killed all three men inside.
The fort that was off in the distance was known as Fort Li Jun. It was named after the Earth King, where the civil war first began under; the last monarch of the northern Han Dynasty. It took the rider twenty fen get to the fort, the watchtowers saw an ally soldier and the gates opened with earthbending. Once inside, he dropped off his ostrich horse and headed into the buildings within the structure.
The soldier demanded, "I demand I speak to the commander of the fort immediately!"
"I have something to report," he added.
Fen later, he anxiously waited inside a room he was led into. A short septuagenarian man entered the room. He was estimated to be at least five chi, five cun tall. He was pale-skinned. His wrinkled face was scarred from a life of war. His bony hands trembled; eventually, he developed a neurological disorder in his senior years.
The old general failed to hold still. His dark green eyes glowed in the candlelight. His hair was tied into a top knot and wrapped around by a golden cloth. Fastened and held together by a golden guan in the shape of the Golden Haijunese Sun. His face had facial hair, long Ganjinese whiskers, and a beard that was at clavicle-length.
His armor was of lamellar; over it was a golden shawl, his belt made of plate imported from Dao province. A brigandine held together, the lower parts ended at knee-length, leather black boots began underneath the knee. The rider saluted his superior, the general gestured the rider to sit.
Both of them sat down, and the old man inquired, "Tell me what you saw?"
"General Da, thank you for seeing me on such short notice," he thanked the general.
"I saw a flare coming from a nearby outpost; I was on my way to Taiyuan. The flare, however, was aimed diagonally. I'm not sure if that's a sign of something. I dared not to observe further as the flare was red," described the rider.
"A red flare? Thank you for the report; I will send the men to the location immediately. It is likely there may be survivors. I will also notify all outposts, camps, and forts of this event. They will prepare diligently," explained General Da.
General Da offered the rider, "You may bunk here for the day; the roads aren't safe for a lone soldier."
"Thank you," he bowed to Taifeng.
The old general exited the room and headed back into his office. He commanded one of the soldiers watching to guard in his office, "Send word to Taiyuan, and all positions of an Oma sighting near Fort Li Jun. While you're at it, alert Captain Qishi, who's on his way to Taiyuan from Zi Guangi by flying mount. He needs to be prepared for enemy soldier movements near Zi Guangi."
The guard saluted the general and ran off toward the scribe's office. Two dian have passed, and the men still marched; it was now mid-morning. Shuaige examined the map while on ostrich horseback; Baoshou neared him on his mount and questioned him, "Where are we?"
"Not close enough; we're still about forty-five li away, I'd say another fifteen dian, and we should reach the city," answered Qishi.
"Didn't we have to deliver the shipment in under six dian?" wondered Baoshou; he attempted to recall what Shuaige mentioned this morning.
"No, he said a day-and-a-half, it's only been four dian, so far we're ahead of time," Shuaige declined.
At the same time, Gan and his men traveled from the outpost they took and avoided the sight of Fort Li Jun. Lin Xi inquired, "What do we do if we gained sight of the enemy fort?"
"Highly unlikely, unless they have some kind of spectacles' device that allows them to see from a distance," Gan replied.
"Spectacles only allow a person to see up close, not things that are distant, we should be fine, but it was quite a scare," added Gan.
"Where are we heading next?" Lin Xi questioned Gan.
"There's a village at a day's distance. We can take it and use it as a base of operations while we remain patient on orders from Yun," responded Gan.
"And if we run into enemy forces?" Pi Dao wondered.
"They'll likely run. We've only lost three hundred men at Guandi. Even if they run, kill them all. We cannot permit Taiyuan to know we're further into the region," informed Gan.
Several Hours Later
Shuaige peered to his left, where he saw a hill. He pointed toward it and said, "There, we should make camp on that big hill."
The skies began to darken if they continued to protect the shipment during the evening; it would've been perilous as seen in the darkness was harder. After a dian, the camp had been set up. The men lined up for a meal as only a few hadn't eaten all day. Those that hungered, including Avani, were the first in line. Her meals hadn't changed after the prank that was pulled on Baoshou a month ago. Each time she was presented with the slop that is millet. She frowned a bit more. The assigned cook handed her a wooden bowl, and she was moved along.
Avani sat alongside her friends, Fangzhu, Airen, and Zuqiu. Zuqiu frowned; his feet ached so much; he whined, "I don't think I can walk anymore."
"Airen, will you massage my feet?" Zuqiu asked the earthbender.
The young man plopped his foot onto the table; his foot twitched slightly from being too long on the road. The bottom of his foot was sore, and he even had two calluses between the soles of his feet and the phalanges. The soles and balls of his feet were red and tender to the touch. Airen scolded Zuqiu, "Get your feet off the table, squawker!"
"Gee Airen, I'm sorry," apologized Zuqiu.
"What's gotten into him?" Zuqiu whispered to Fangzhu; the Air Nomad shrugged.
Airen remained silent and resumed with his meal. Zuqiu wondered as he turned his attention to Avani, "So, how'd it go with Captain Qishi?"
"Decent, we spoke a bit and then to the county leader. The ride back last night was quiet," Avani responded.
"About?" asked Fangzhu as his smile curled at one end.
"I know what this is about, and no, we only spoke about the mission. I need you two to stop whatever you're thinking," stated Avani.
"What do you know that we don't, kid?" Airen looked into Avani's eyes and questioned her.
All three men gazed at her. She felt the pressure to reveal what the magistrate told her and Shuaige. She sighed, "Fine."
"Magistrate Minsheng told us there was enemy movement in the area. The barbarians broke border security," Avani said.
"We already know that part; what else?" Fangzhu questioned Avani.
"They've been avoiding Taiyuan for now, likely amassing a force big enough to assault the capital," divulged Avani.
Shuaige and Baoshou sat behind Shuaige's tent as they ate millet and a small portion of meat. Baoshou chuckled because he remembered something from his youth, "I used to envy our superiors as a private because they would eat meat while I had to force millet down my throat."
Both men laughed, "And look at us now, enjoying a slab of salted beef," commented Shuaige.
Shuaige raised his fist, and Baoshou fist-bumped him. Shuaige beamed, "The life."
Baoshou took another nibble of his beef. He babbled on with his mouth full, "So, how'd it go with the Avatar?"
"Was she, you know...still angry at you?" he inquired further.
"She seemed hesitant at first, but I'm glad she came through. It is necessary to establish a connection with her because she's part of this team. Plus, it makes it easier for her to follow my command," answered Qishi.
"Good point, just don't further that relationship. You're her commander, not her friend," Baoshou reminded him.
"She apologized for dyeing your undergarments," grinned Shuaige; he mentioned an unfortunate event.
Baoshou shook his head, "I'd rather not remember that again. I'll buy more when we reach Taiyuan."
Shuaige smirked.
"What's so funny? I'll order one of the weird kids here to do the same to you," jested the First-Lieutenant.
"Don't you dare," said Shuaige.
Simultaneously, Fangzhu finished his meal and headed for his tent, where he brought out a small container. He opened it, and inside was an instrument tucked inside. He put together his wooden instrument while Avani walked by and asked, "You play?"
The Air Nomad smiled and nodded. Zuqiu was going to head to bed when he bumped into both of them and then inquired, "What is that?"
"It's an Air Nomadic instrument known as a flageolet," responded Fangzhu.
The Air Nomad headed for the bonfire in the center of the military camp. Avani finisher her millet and followed behind the Air Nomad. Zuqiu and Airen finished theirs and also followed their friends toward the bonfire.
Fangzhu being the world-traveler that he is, knew how to play Haijunese songs from this time period. Besides Air Nomadic favorites, at the same time, while Baoshou and Shuaige enjoyed themselves. Captain Qishi heard an instrument in the distance.
"Do you hear that?" Shuaige asked Baoshou.
"Sounds like music coming from the men," answered Baoshou.
Shuaige rushed off his seat and headed into his personal tent with a box of his own. It was bigger than the one Fangzhu owned. Qishi then said, "It's time."
Baoshou chuckled and shook his head at his friend. When Shuaige and Baoshou arrived, everyone ceased their dancing and singing. Fangzhu gazed at the Captain and thought maybe it was over. He blurted out, "Ar-are we not allowed?"
"That was never implied; keep playing," responded Baoshou.
Fangzhu smiled from ear to ear and resumed his music. Shuaige sat down on a log and opened his crate; inside rested an erhu along with its bow. The strings were made from the hairs of an ostrich horse's tail. He gently placed the instrument down and then inquired to the Air Nomad who played his flageolet, "Do you know, 'Shrouded Aroma'?"
"I think it goes a little like this, right?" Fangzhu guessed as he played a few notes to Shuaige.
Shuaige nodded, "Yep, that's it."
Fangzhu began the song as Shuaige waited for the right moment to move the bow left to right. Airen and Avani bowed to each other and commenced a partnered dance. Airen led the dance and held onto the Avatar's hand as he spun her around. Airen swung her from side to side. The men simply clapped to the rhythm. They synchronized their claps every five seconds to a note that Fangzhu repeated.
Some of them initiated a partnered dance between men; usually, these were performed between father and son. After this song, Shuaige and Fangzhu carried on with different songs. Avani watched as Shuaige passionately played his erhu. From that moment on, she saw Shuaige as more than just her Captain but as a person with interests. Some of the men brought out a bottle or two that were snuck in. Alcohol was purchased in Zi Guangi when two men snuck out of camp the night before to buy at a local tavern.
Captain Qishi and First-Lieutenant Er were too busy with other things to notice. The first bottle was known as Baijiu. It was common in the Haijun Kingdom and as a custom. Young men were given a tipple of it as their first sip of alcoholic spirits. Zuqiu was given some as he's never tried it back home. When he took the gulp of it, he shook with disgust.
Zuqiu coughed, "Nope, hate it."
The aftertaste and feels he received gave him a short burst of chills that went away after five miao. Biehe was handed a nightcap of it as well. After he observed the reaction of Zuqiu, he was hesitant at first. His response was similar to Zuqiu's; Taobing commented, "This'll make you grow facial hair, kid."
Biehe swiped the bottle from another soldier's hand and took a swill of the beverage. The men shared a boisterous guffaw when they realized they created another alcoholic like themselves. The following day blew over, Biehe groaned from a nasty headache he awoke from. He, along with four others, downed the entire bottle by themselves. He felt queasy and threw up behind a rock. His stomach grumbled in pain as he careened from side to side.
Shuaige concerned, grabbed Taobing by the collar of his shirt and accused him, "What did you do?!"
"What are you gaisi de talking about?" blurted out Taobing angrily.
"Why is he like that?!" yelled Shuaige.
"Maybe he ate that gaisi de millet you've been feeding us for two months!" shouted Taobing.
Shuaige rose his two fingers, tapped his upper cheek with them, and then pointed those fingers at Taobing. He gestured to the criminal that he was watching him at all times.
"Hey, stop it, you two! We have to get a move on; we only have a few dian to deliver this shipment to Taiyuan!" The First-Lieutenant er interjected to both men.
Baoshou was right Shuaige lost interest in a shouting match with Taobing. Shuaige barked, "Let's eat breakfast and then break camp; we have several li to cover today."
The men rushed for the cook's lines. In a matter of two dian later, the men's bellies were full, and the camp was disassembled. Things were loaded onto wagons, and the shipment was once again under the move and protection of Qishi's company.
Meanwhile, Pi Dao placed a conical hat on his head to prevent the sun from bearing down on him. As he sweated, he wiped his forehead then inquired, "Where is this village anyway?"
"We're close; we just need to resume our path southeast," Mo Fu responded as he folded the map he read.
"Edzen Gan, Pi Dao, and I are willing to scout toward the village if need be," offered Lin Xi.
Gan slightly nodded to the offer, "Go on then, when you come back, let me know how guarded the place is."
Both men nodded to their leader and smacked the back of their ostrich horses. They galloped farther than the rest of the brigade. Several dian later, several men were on ostrich horseback while others nipped briskly to catch up. These men heard chatter off in the distance. Mo Fu placed his hand on Gan's chest and gestured him to shush.
Fen Mo Fu whispered, "You hear that?"
Gan halted and listened; the troops ceased to move forward. In the distance, possibly about three-tenths of a li. They heard chattering men; at the same time, one of the men on ostrich horseback laughed about what another told him. Then suddenly, an arrow lodged into his head, and blood sprayed everywhere. His body dropped off his mount, the ostrich horse charged off in fear; this horrified everyone and their mounts, who squawked at danger.
Soldiers unsheathed their blades went into battle as they felt alerted to the arrow that killed their friend. Another projectile came, but Fangzhu redirected it back at the unseen attacker. It killed the archer who shot it. Shuaige focused on the event when he saw Oma Kingsmen soldiers appeared from the road ahead.
He announced, "Enemy soldiers!"
Avani moved forward; the savanna landscape was riddled with trees. Her brothers-in-arms followed behind as they charged forward. She extracted water out of two trees. They shriveled up as every drop of water was removed from them. Avani formed a ring of water around her. More water was pulled out from more trees in the area. The circle grew wider in size, the speeds of it increased, and then tentacles formed around the Avatar.
Some of the enemies gasped at the sheer power of the woman that confronted them alone. The bravest went forward but was quickly met with a lashing of the water tentacles. Arrows were sent off and targeted the men behind her, but the airbender continued to deflect the arrows. Airen rushed forward and leaped into the air. He stomped down and ripped a large chunk of earth out of the ground and front flipped with it, then pushed it with his legs. The big piece crashed into two men, the short-fused man flung more projectiles at his enemies with kicks.
The tentacles retracted, and the ring pushed forward as it flushed out men in the front line. Gan appeared from behind his men to see only a tiny amount of foes. Then he ordered, "Kill them all!"
More rushed forward, Avani twirled around along with Fangzhu and used both of their hands to blast a gust of wind toward their foes. The blow knocked several men to the ground; Zuqiu flinched when he launched an arrow. He saw that his arrow killed a soldier that rushed toward Avani; he cried out, "I'm so sorry!"
"Why are you apologizing?!" Wei blurted out.
Both Avani and Gan shared a gaze for a brief moment. At that moment, he knew who she was. A large wall countered the move, another arrow struck Taobing's left shoulder. He snapped the arrow in half, then clenched his teeth in pain and anger—the might of a thousand men charged for the eight soldiers.
Baoshou gasped when he saw the strength in numbers of the enemy. He screamed, "Avani do something!"
She broke her stare with what she believed to be the leader and scanned her surroundings. She charged toward the men and jumped into the air. While in mid-air, her eyes flashed white once, Avani enhanced her bending for a brief moment. She smashed her knees into the ground, which caused a large wave of the earth to form. It hit a ton of enemies at once. The ground trembled, ice blades that flew forward sliced and diced those unfortunate enough to fall victim to them. Gan barked, "Flee!"
Only about one hundred men stayed behind while the others made a run for it toward the east. She once again spun around and forced the winds to pick up at speeds like a tornado. Men on mounts were easily pushed away. Those who rooted their feet to the ground watched as the earth crumbled, and they too were sent flying. Some crashed into trees and breaking bones, and the unfortunate few likely died on impact.
Avani halved the number of men in a matter of fen, the stragglers fled for the hills. Avani slammed her fist into the ground, a long line of pillars burst out of the earth and split into five tremors that chased the cowards who escaped.
Shuaige commanded her to halt, "Avani! Stop! There are too many of them; Governor Xingren in Taiyuan needs to know about this!"
The Avatar turned her attention to her commanding officer and argued, "What do you mean? The threat is still out there!"
"And the threat will be taken care of, but I forbid you from doing this alone!" countered Shuaige.
"Can you two stop arguing for once and help me get Taobing on ostrich horseback?! He's injured!" Baoshou interjected.
"We've got a casualty too!" Fangzhu added.
The former Lei Tai champion's left shoulder bled, the blood trickled down, Airen handed him a stick to bite on. While he removed the arrowhead from between Taobing's pectoral major and deltoid muscles. Avani ran over to him and then said, "Let me see!"
She uncorked her water gourd, removed a portion of its contents, and hovered it over his left shoulder. With her hands above, she inhaled and concentrated on the area. The water glowed brightly as she healed the area. Taobing grunted in pain as the woman healed him. Shuaige beamed; he was impressed, "Amazing, I didn't know you could heal."
"Save it, let's get him to Taiyuan after we bury that guy over there," Avani raised her hand at the Captain. She was uninterested in conversation but pointed out that there was a dead soldier nearby. To which Fangzhu had tended to.