Author's note: Short chapter, I know. It was meant to be short. There
are two very LOOOOONG chapters coming up. . . Hope y'all don't get bored
lol
Enjoy!
Part 4
Fall of the Flaming God
Chapter 49
Silhouette of a Scarecrow
Zhang He couldn't figure it out. He'd turned the pages over and over, studied every last detail of every picture of the book of drawings they'd found in Wu Sheng's room, and it still made no sense. He was revising it yet again in the sitting room in his home. He traced the lines of the blood river on the first page, still feeling that sensation tugging at his memory. He puzzled over it as Zhou Yu walked in and sat down beside him.
"Still looking at that thing?" Zhou Yu asked, peering at it over Zhang He's shoulder.
"I know it means something." Zhang He expressed, frustrated. "It's very important that we find out what that is. Wu Sheng needed us to stop something and this is the key to knowing what that is.
"Let me see." Zhou Yu asked holding his hand out. Zhang He put the parchment into his fingers, sighed, and rubbed his temple. Zhou Yu's eye's darted up and down the page, his lips pursed. "This looks a bit like a map . . ." He said slowly. "I think if you followed this river . . ." He pulled his finger along the lines. "Then you'd reach this doll." He flipped the page over to the one with the doll of the Lady in Black. He turned back to the first page. He squinted a bit and opened his mouth slightly.
"What is it?" Zhang He asked, looking to see if he'd noticed something different on the map page. Zhou Yu tapped the paper.
"This looks like the place Sun Ce and I used to live, a long, long time ago." He plucked out every syllable. "And this . . . this is that river . . ." He looked at Zhang He, a bit wide eyed. "This might be that very place . . . My mother could've drawn this and given it to Wu Sheng so we could find out."
"You really think so?" Zhang He sounded excited. "We should go find out for sure! Do you remember the way back?" Zhou Yu nodded.
"It's in the Jiang Dong province, about a mile or two east of here." Zhou Yu explained.
"Let's go tell Sima Yi and Sun Ce."
The sun was shining directly in Zhang He's eyes. It was just along the horizon, turning the sky a stunning red. Zhang He thought it was quite lovely, but he wished it would glare so. They were on the way to the house Zhou Yu, his father, and the two Sun family children used to occupy. Not to mention Rai Lin, who was now dead. The land was tinted red and seemed as if the land they were crossing was sacred and unsullied. Virgin fields of sweeping grass, quiet brooks that were undisturbed for so long.
"It's right down there . . ." Said Sun Ce, halting his horse. He pointed onto a sloping hill. Halfway down was a little home, beaten down by weather and the years.
"Look, Sun Ce. Remember?" Zhou Yu said. They both rode down and tied their horses down. Zhou Yu slide open the front door, sending a shower of bits of rotten wood from the ceiling. It was musty and damp inside and the floor creaked dubiously.
After Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had their fill of nostalgia, they continued down the slope to the river. The rode along the right side of it, their steeds galloping at full speed. The sun's descent made them drag the long, distorted and ebony shadows along with them on their journey. In the distance they saw some black shapes ahead; something like stalks of corn on the farm. As they got closer and closer, a form began to shape. Zhang he saw that it was the doll of the Lady in Black, sticking out of the tall grass.
"It's-" Zhou Yu began "It's a scarecrow." They all looked at it for a moment, staring straight into the painted eyes. If you looked into the minds of all of them, they were feeling eerie. The towering doll along with the silhouettes against the red sky made for a creepy combination.
"Let's go . . . I don't feel safe being around here. Let's go home . . ." Sima Yi whined, starting to turn his horse around.
"No, let's keep going. I want to find out what's going on." Zhang He directed. Sima Yi moaned uncomfortably. Zhang He went to ride into the grass, but his horse would pass into that area. It buck and whinny and did everything thing in it's power to stay off the land. When it reared back and dumped Zhang He off, the other three horses followed. Sun Ce jumped off his and Zhou Yu rolled the best he could. Sima Yi was too scared to let go and ended up flying off and landing on his head. He was in bad pain, but there was no serious injury.
"See? This is a bad place! We don't want to go here!" He complained, as they wanted to go on themselves. "Bad things are there! Death is waiting for us there!" But they dragged him onward. Zhang He felt strange as he stepped into the tall grass. The only animals that would stray onto this land were Ravens and Zhang He noticed quite a lot of them. When he actually put his foot onto the land, an odd sort of wave enveloped him, pushing him to go forward. Pushing their way through the tall grass Zhang He found it hard to stop, even to catch his breath. It was like his legs were under some control. All at once, they popped out of the brush and came face to face with a small, dark village. All the buildings were made of black wood and the villagers wore black robes. They all turned and glared in an unfriendly way when the four brothers came through.
"What do you want, strangers?" One man growled while wielding his hoe. Zhang He backed up, closing in with Zhou Yu, Sun Ce and Sima Yi. Sima Yi was making feeble squeaking noises. Zhang He wished they'd brought weapons . . .
"W-we just wanted to know about some things. We followed this map here . . ." He showed the papers to the villager. He snatched it out of Zhang He's hands and looked it over. As the man was looking at the paper Zhang He looked around at the villagers. They were all wearing identical black robes and their hair was all a deep, ebony black and looked as if it had never been cut. He saw a small girl standing in the front.
She was wearing a Lady mask and her hair was down to her back. In her hand she clutched a well-used doll by its arm.
Just like in the picture. Zhang He thought. It's leading us somewhere. The old villager looked back up at them.
"Why do you come here? What is it you seek and what are you name?"
"We came here because we think this place holds answers for us. We seek knowledge and my name is Zhang He and this is Si-" But Zhang He couldn't introduce the rest of his brothers because gasps were running through the crowd. The man looked back at him, his eyes like saucers.
"You are truly Zhang He?" He asked, his face bloodless.
"Um . . . yes . . ." He said, ignoring the stares and whispers around him.
"Come with me." Said the old man shortly, piercing his way through the crowd. Zhang He and the rest followed, feeling very uncomfortable. Zhang he noticed the small girl with the mask was trailing them. He wondered numbly if she could see through the mask or if the eyes were painted on.
The man slid open the door to one of the biggest buildings in the village and pushed everyone inside. The girl shut the door behind them. In the back of dark room their sat a man in another mask. It was completely blank; no paint, no shape, just a white shield covering his face. He wore enormous black robe that trailed all of the ground and covered his entire body. His hair was so long it draped all over the floor and behind him.
"Master . . . He has come, finally. This is him . . . reincarnated, of course. He searches for answers." The peasant said softly to the mask man. The master made response and the man scurried out, shutting them in. The little girl went and sat beside the man. The only light in the room was a tiny candle and the tiny glow of a stick of incense. The room smelled smoky and fragrant and made Zhang He feel sleepy. None of Zhang He's party dare sit down, or move at all for that matter.
"Sit down before me." Came a harsh, raspy voice from the darkness. The sound of it made Zhang He's skin crawl. He sat down on his knees in front of the man, feeling vulnerable. For sunset, this room seemed awfully dark. For a moment nothing was said. Zhang He wondered if the man had fallen asleep. Then he spoke again with his horrible, strange, raspy voice. Perhaps it was the strange fumes or Zhang he getting sleepy, but he thought he heard some strange song being sung in the distance. Like some man with an extremely damaged voice singing under water. It was faint, but Zhang He was sure he wasn't imagining it.
"Are you truly Zhang He?" He asked.
"Y-yes . . . I mean, that's my name. But I don't know if I'm someone special you're looking for or something like that. I mean-"
"Silence." Rasped the man. "I see now that you don't even know who you are. You have forgotten all but shattered memories. You do not know what this village is, or your past or destiny. But I will tell you. Let me warn you that this very knowledge will be with you for the rest of you life and will haunt you, even in dreams." Zhang He swallowed. Was this some kind of weird cult? Was 'Zhang He' supposed to be the name of their savior and they'd made a terrible mistake? He was a Black Messenger though, and they seemed to love the Lady in Black around here. He'd have to listen.
"Since you know nothing, let me start at the beginning . . ."
lol
Enjoy!
Part 4
Fall of the Flaming God
Chapter 49
Silhouette of a Scarecrow
Zhang He couldn't figure it out. He'd turned the pages over and over, studied every last detail of every picture of the book of drawings they'd found in Wu Sheng's room, and it still made no sense. He was revising it yet again in the sitting room in his home. He traced the lines of the blood river on the first page, still feeling that sensation tugging at his memory. He puzzled over it as Zhou Yu walked in and sat down beside him.
"Still looking at that thing?" Zhou Yu asked, peering at it over Zhang He's shoulder.
"I know it means something." Zhang He expressed, frustrated. "It's very important that we find out what that is. Wu Sheng needed us to stop something and this is the key to knowing what that is.
"Let me see." Zhou Yu asked holding his hand out. Zhang He put the parchment into his fingers, sighed, and rubbed his temple. Zhou Yu's eye's darted up and down the page, his lips pursed. "This looks a bit like a map . . ." He said slowly. "I think if you followed this river . . ." He pulled his finger along the lines. "Then you'd reach this doll." He flipped the page over to the one with the doll of the Lady in Black. He turned back to the first page. He squinted a bit and opened his mouth slightly.
"What is it?" Zhang He asked, looking to see if he'd noticed something different on the map page. Zhou Yu tapped the paper.
"This looks like the place Sun Ce and I used to live, a long, long time ago." He plucked out every syllable. "And this . . . this is that river . . ." He looked at Zhang He, a bit wide eyed. "This might be that very place . . . My mother could've drawn this and given it to Wu Sheng so we could find out."
"You really think so?" Zhang He sounded excited. "We should go find out for sure! Do you remember the way back?" Zhou Yu nodded.
"It's in the Jiang Dong province, about a mile or two east of here." Zhou Yu explained.
"Let's go tell Sima Yi and Sun Ce."
The sun was shining directly in Zhang He's eyes. It was just along the horizon, turning the sky a stunning red. Zhang He thought it was quite lovely, but he wished it would glare so. They were on the way to the house Zhou Yu, his father, and the two Sun family children used to occupy. Not to mention Rai Lin, who was now dead. The land was tinted red and seemed as if the land they were crossing was sacred and unsullied. Virgin fields of sweeping grass, quiet brooks that were undisturbed for so long.
"It's right down there . . ." Said Sun Ce, halting his horse. He pointed onto a sloping hill. Halfway down was a little home, beaten down by weather and the years.
"Look, Sun Ce. Remember?" Zhou Yu said. They both rode down and tied their horses down. Zhou Yu slide open the front door, sending a shower of bits of rotten wood from the ceiling. It was musty and damp inside and the floor creaked dubiously.
After Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had their fill of nostalgia, they continued down the slope to the river. The rode along the right side of it, their steeds galloping at full speed. The sun's descent made them drag the long, distorted and ebony shadows along with them on their journey. In the distance they saw some black shapes ahead; something like stalks of corn on the farm. As they got closer and closer, a form began to shape. Zhang he saw that it was the doll of the Lady in Black, sticking out of the tall grass.
"It's-" Zhou Yu began "It's a scarecrow." They all looked at it for a moment, staring straight into the painted eyes. If you looked into the minds of all of them, they were feeling eerie. The towering doll along with the silhouettes against the red sky made for a creepy combination.
"Let's go . . . I don't feel safe being around here. Let's go home . . ." Sima Yi whined, starting to turn his horse around.
"No, let's keep going. I want to find out what's going on." Zhang He directed. Sima Yi moaned uncomfortably. Zhang He went to ride into the grass, but his horse would pass into that area. It buck and whinny and did everything thing in it's power to stay off the land. When it reared back and dumped Zhang He off, the other three horses followed. Sun Ce jumped off his and Zhou Yu rolled the best he could. Sima Yi was too scared to let go and ended up flying off and landing on his head. He was in bad pain, but there was no serious injury.
"See? This is a bad place! We don't want to go here!" He complained, as they wanted to go on themselves. "Bad things are there! Death is waiting for us there!" But they dragged him onward. Zhang He felt strange as he stepped into the tall grass. The only animals that would stray onto this land were Ravens and Zhang He noticed quite a lot of them. When he actually put his foot onto the land, an odd sort of wave enveloped him, pushing him to go forward. Pushing their way through the tall grass Zhang He found it hard to stop, even to catch his breath. It was like his legs were under some control. All at once, they popped out of the brush and came face to face with a small, dark village. All the buildings were made of black wood and the villagers wore black robes. They all turned and glared in an unfriendly way when the four brothers came through.
"What do you want, strangers?" One man growled while wielding his hoe. Zhang He backed up, closing in with Zhou Yu, Sun Ce and Sima Yi. Sima Yi was making feeble squeaking noises. Zhang He wished they'd brought weapons . . .
"W-we just wanted to know about some things. We followed this map here . . ." He showed the papers to the villager. He snatched it out of Zhang He's hands and looked it over. As the man was looking at the paper Zhang He looked around at the villagers. They were all wearing identical black robes and their hair was all a deep, ebony black and looked as if it had never been cut. He saw a small girl standing in the front.
She was wearing a Lady mask and her hair was down to her back. In her hand she clutched a well-used doll by its arm.
Just like in the picture. Zhang He thought. It's leading us somewhere. The old villager looked back up at them.
"Why do you come here? What is it you seek and what are you name?"
"We came here because we think this place holds answers for us. We seek knowledge and my name is Zhang He and this is Si-" But Zhang He couldn't introduce the rest of his brothers because gasps were running through the crowd. The man looked back at him, his eyes like saucers.
"You are truly Zhang He?" He asked, his face bloodless.
"Um . . . yes . . ." He said, ignoring the stares and whispers around him.
"Come with me." Said the old man shortly, piercing his way through the crowd. Zhang He and the rest followed, feeling very uncomfortable. Zhang he noticed the small girl with the mask was trailing them. He wondered numbly if she could see through the mask or if the eyes were painted on.
The man slid open the door to one of the biggest buildings in the village and pushed everyone inside. The girl shut the door behind them. In the back of dark room their sat a man in another mask. It was completely blank; no paint, no shape, just a white shield covering his face. He wore enormous black robe that trailed all of the ground and covered his entire body. His hair was so long it draped all over the floor and behind him.
"Master . . . He has come, finally. This is him . . . reincarnated, of course. He searches for answers." The peasant said softly to the mask man. The master made response and the man scurried out, shutting them in. The little girl went and sat beside the man. The only light in the room was a tiny candle and the tiny glow of a stick of incense. The room smelled smoky and fragrant and made Zhang He feel sleepy. None of Zhang He's party dare sit down, or move at all for that matter.
"Sit down before me." Came a harsh, raspy voice from the darkness. The sound of it made Zhang He's skin crawl. He sat down on his knees in front of the man, feeling vulnerable. For sunset, this room seemed awfully dark. For a moment nothing was said. Zhang He wondered if the man had fallen asleep. Then he spoke again with his horrible, strange, raspy voice. Perhaps it was the strange fumes or Zhang he getting sleepy, but he thought he heard some strange song being sung in the distance. Like some man with an extremely damaged voice singing under water. It was faint, but Zhang He was sure he wasn't imagining it.
"Are you truly Zhang He?" He asked.
"Y-yes . . . I mean, that's my name. But I don't know if I'm someone special you're looking for or something like that. I mean-"
"Silence." Rasped the man. "I see now that you don't even know who you are. You have forgotten all but shattered memories. You do not know what this village is, or your past or destiny. But I will tell you. Let me warn you that this very knowledge will be with you for the rest of you life and will haunt you, even in dreams." Zhang He swallowed. Was this some kind of weird cult? Was 'Zhang He' supposed to be the name of their savior and they'd made a terrible mistake? He was a Black Messenger though, and they seemed to love the Lady in Black around here. He'd have to listen.
"Since you know nothing, let me start at the beginning . . ."