A week later, Zan Ching and Ren returned to the Tao castle to visit. Ren usually hated the castle, as it reeked of death and the dying, but he was quite surprised to find himself longing to stay there, rather than go back to the miserable hole he now lived in with Zan Ching.

"So, my son, how is your life in your new home? I'm curious to hear," En addressed his son.

"It's not bad," Ren muttered while looking down at his shoes. He hated lying, but he knew if he didn't he would pay dearly. Life with Zan Ching, in short, sucked. From morning to night, he would be cleaning, working his butt off, and cooking while his fat gluttonous husbund would sit around and sleep and eat. At night, the old man would leave, and he'd come back late, usually drunk, and proceed to then treat Ren like his personal punching bag.

"That sounds exciting," Jun said, trying to smile and pretend she didn't notice the fresh bruises and cuts on her younger brother's arms and neck.

"Yeah. I guess it is," Ren replied, though his lack of enthusiasm didn't quite seem to go with his statement. He was dying to know the answer to just one question. "Er, Father? About Horohoro...is he...is he still here?"

"Yes. He is in the dungeons," En answered.

"May I see him? Just one more time before...you know, he dies?"

"That's a fair request," his father decided. "Yes, you may. I will allow you fifteen minutes. Be quick."

"Thank you." The Chinese boy rose to his feet, gave a quick bow, and was on his way walking quickly down the hallways. He descended several flights of stairs, walking past kyonshii and rotting corpses until he reached the dungeons.

A kyonshii guard was at the door, and it turned to look at Ren.

"Get ot of my way," he snapped, shoving past the corpse and stepping through the door. A horrible, sharp scent of rotting flesh instantly met his senses. He was used to it, since he had been locked down in these very dungeons himself on numerous occasions.

Ignoring the hideous stench, he strode briskly through the rows of cells, searching for any signs of a blue-haired Ainu.

It wasn't too long before he saw him, huddled in the corner of a grimy cell. His hair was messy and rumpled, and his face had numerous scratches decorating it. Other than that, he didn't seem to be in too bad of a condition.

"Horohoro?" Ren called to him hopefully.

The Ainu looked up. "Oh, it's you, Ren." A grin split his face. "Glad you came to see me one last time before your folks killed me." He laughed, causing Ren's heart to flutter the slightest. Even though he was sentenced to death by the Tao, he had still managed to maintain his sense of humor.

"Wait here," Ren instructed. "I...I'll get you out of here."

"Are you kidding me!?" Horohoro squeaked. "Your old man'll kill you!"

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Ren answered, smiling slightly at Horohoro. He hurried off to the small row of drawers in which the keys to each cell were kept. His golden eyes quickly scanned the labels, until he found the number of the cell Horohoro was held in. He opened the drawer and removed the key, snapping it shut and hurrying back.

He knelt down on the cold damp dungeon floor and inserted the key into the lock, giving it a twist. With a click, the lock fell to the floor, and Ren was able to swing the door open.

He rushed to Horohoro, flinging his arms around him and resting his head on the Ainu's shoulder. Horohoro hugged him tightly in return, thanking him for helping him with the escape.

"There's not much time," Ren said quickly, breaking the embrace. "You've got to leave, now."

"But, Ren-"

"Come on, follow me." He walked as fast as he could down the dungeon and down another flight of stairs. He opened a trapdoor in the floor. "Go in here," he said quickly. "After you reach the end of the underground passage, there should be some steps. Walk up them, and you'll be about a mile away from Tao castle. Keep moving to the east, you'll come to a road within an hour. From there, it's a direct path north to the city. I think you'll have no trouble getting a plane back to Japan."

"Ren...I'm sorry. Can't you come with me?"

"I'm afraid not. They'd know it was me who sprang you out and they'd find us again. Please, Horohoro, please get out of here quickly."

Footsteps echoed from just a few feet outside the dungeon's entrance. "Ren?" called his father. "Ren, where are you?"

"Hurry," Ren urged, eyes darting frantically towards the direction of the sound.

"I love you, Ren." Horohoro placed a kiss on the Chinese boy's forehead, giving him a final hug before slipping through the trapdoor and into the darkness. "Don't you worry. I'll come back for you soon, and we'll leave China together."