Chapter Two: Tao Chin's Apartment
The child sprinted through the smaragdine grasses across the small brick roads toward the apartment of two levels. Shortly, the bunny entered the front bamboo door with wailing and crying within the girl's throat, Lin and Wolf Boss peered no more on her, as if the young wolf perched on the outskirts sand, flattening his left paw behind the alpha's head. What if the girl warned her parents, and they shall inform Masters of Gongmen by turning many criminal wolves in at Gongmen Jail, or worst Chorh-Gom Prison? Will these wolves be pardoned and work with Ox and Croc to cleanse many collateral damages across many districts, especially the Sacred Flame Tower where peafowls originated and built in centuries earlier?
The warm breeze whispered, like the shining sun of pale orange blessed from the horizon of the blue sea, and the echoes of firework across the Gongmen Harbor began after the ship exploded. Lin flicked his ears, watching the beautiful colors of fireworks at the Harbor. Such as the brilliant color of white, combined with a form of a peacock, then the next yin-yang with rainbow colors.
Three pigs rushed through the open grass onto the outskirts and even a pig doctor in a pale blue robe who carried the green medical stretcher, and a brown bag of equipment that have many remedy equipment, including medics. Two adult rabbits in peach robes united with pigs and brought their brooms from the front door. Their child stood behind her parents as if her mother palmed the gesture, and her father grasped his brush and peered two struggled wolves on the outskirt sand.
"Are you one of Lord Shen's guards?" the female rabbit insisted Lin.
Wolf Boss couldn't glimpse the farmers, that his head collapsed and his neck stunned and only contemplated them. His soldier shook his head with ears dropped. "No," Lin answered. "We're no longer be part of Shen's forces."
"You both are here to steal our money?" the male rabbit demanded.
"No," Lin shook. "Boss and I are not here to steal your privacy things and even your money..." Lin scanned down to Wolf Boss as the leader shut his orbs, and gasped weakly. "These blades on his chest. It belongs to Shen. The Lord of Gongmen tried to kill him for disobeying the direct order."
Rabit farmers met their eyes; pig doctors murmured and sighted blades on Wolf Boss's chest. Both of the child's parents lowered their brooms; the young rabbit stood behind her mother, grasping and collapsed her ears. "He doesn't care about my pack..." Lin added, peering directly to Wolf Boss, "our pack."
"Your buddy doesn't look okay to me," the male rabbit observed, trotting slowly ahead of them and continuously wielding his broom. "You two wolves were having a hard time last night, right?"
Lin nodded to the rabbit farmer. "There were loud noises everywhere when my wife, my daughter and I sought the battle going on," the child's father added. "My colleagues just arrived here in time that they do not want to be part of that situation."
The rabbit's wife glimmered her blue orbs as if her fur rose and stomach drowned. "Honey," the female rabbit called her husband, murmuring next to his long left ear. "I am not sure that these wolves can be trusted."
The male rabbit revolved his head to her. "Don't worry, Mei," he whispered his wife calmly. "I'll keep an eye on these wolves. If anything happens, report the Masters of Gongmen City." His wife nodded.
The male rabbit returned his head to Wolf Boss and Lin. He crouched ahead of two wolves. This farmer peered four blades that struck into the alpha's armored chest, detecting the wheeze of Wolf Boss's lungs. "Internal bleeding and severe wounds. Your companion is in critical condition," voiced male rabbit, palming his two fingers on Boss's neck. The soft pressure thumped, and the rabbit met his eyes to Lin's. "You both will stay here in my apartment until your friend there will finish healing. You will travel somewhere else after your friend heals."
"Thank you," Lin cracked his throat dearly.
"If you both try to trick, or one reckless mistake and even stealing any at my apartment," the rabbit warned them both. "Then I shall send a letter to the Masters and put a place on bounties on you both. Is that clear to you?"
"I understand," Lin comprehended.
The child's father gestured pig doctors; farmers rushed and carefully grasped Wolf Boss on the stretcher, delivering him to the front door of the two-story apartment where two wolves will be safe in there for now. The primary doctor carried his medical supplies behind the stretcher, softly pressuring his hoof on Wolf Boss's pulse, and the male rabbit informed the doctor inside the surgery room, as four pigs brought medicines and morphine on counters and drawers.
Lin stood next to the patient's brown door where pig doctors entered there to do whatever they can by carefully remove the blades from Wolf Boss's chest after the morphine. Lin pressed his arms together; he sensed plenty of bruises over his shoulders and wrists. Please, Commander. Don't die on me. He thought.
The child's father opened the patient's door. "Tao," Mei called her husband's name, carrying a brown scroll from the back door to Lin's right near the corridor. "I have received a letter from the goose at the clothing store."
Tao retrieved his friend's letter and read the message. Lin leaned his head downward and perched his back on the gray structure behind him. Tao rose his eyes. "What is it, Tao?" Mei asked him.
Lin glimpsed Tao's brown eyes that thrived than his wife's. The alpha farmer stared at Mei. "Lord Shen's artillery crushed down to peacock," he answered to her.
Lin sparked his eyes toward Tao. "What?" Lin shocked.
"My friend of mine has overseen Shen, and the Dragon Warrior fought against each other," Tao explained. "As that happened, your former leader must have used his guandao and tried killing the panda. And after he did, my companion saw the cannon collapsed toward Shen."
"He's dead," Lin surprised. Then Tao nodded and handed the letter to his wife ahead of him. A twin wolf Lin flattened his back and rose his head. Why would that divisive peacock stand still while his cannon collapsed? That doesn't make any sense, at least he died for a reason. Curse that peacock. Lin complexed with his flustered mind. Not many of the wolves liked Shen; plenty of those who met and raised could have felt their heads went cold within them. Neither of wolves could ever adore the albino when every mistake went caused by Shen's ambitious orders.
Tao strolled hurriedly into the living room of fire camp. Tao grabbed a wooden chair from the kitchen, dragging it through the hallway as the innocent rabbit handed the chair over. "Here. I wouldn't mind you can stand here for a long time." Tao offered him, giving a small grin.
"Thank you, sir," Lin smirked. The young wolf perched on the chair. Shortly, Tao headed back to the kitchen and brought another chair as he interested the young wolf in front. Mei walked over from the kitchen next to the living room.
"I'm going to tell our daughter that the city is now safe," she informed Tao. She strolled to the right side of the wooden hallway, as the stairs lied ahead next to the back door, and above the second floor where their daughter is above her room.
"Seems you have a good family you got there," Lin complimented the farmer.
"Yeah," Tao nodded after his wife went up the stairs. The rabbit farmer palmed his legs forward. "Just only four of us were taking care ourselves for now. My daughter, Mei, my friend of mine, and just me only. My family lives near the Musicians Village in the far east to the Valley of Peace."
"Seems kinda far over there," Lin noticed. He recalled him and his twin brother Lee sprinting over high ridges and entered the wooden houses. "My pack and I were there around a week ago that we had stolen any that contains metal to build cannons for Shen."
The rabbit looked up at the twin wolf who sighed. "I have heard that from my brother," Tao remembered.
"My pack and I had ordered from the peacock," Lin added truthfully, "that priority one was important for my former leader to search more metals to find. My pack and I didn't harm any more civilians but just only what to stick to the plan."
"And my brother wrote to me about a couple of his metals was probably stolen by one of your pack of wolves," Tao said to Lin.
Yes, indeed. I wish none of that could have happened to grab villagers' belongings. Lin thought. "That's what I remember was my twin brother got into some nice house and stole the irons and metal plates," Lin spoke as if the rabbit Tao clasped his small paws. "I was there outside and just guard up to him to watch the skies and mountains for making sure we wouldn't be spotted, until the Furious Five, and the Dragon Warrior arrived there in time."
"Then you were beaten and escaped the Musicians Village," Tao perceived.
Lin glimpsed at the rabbit farmer; he admitted Tao's recall from farmer's brother that Lin including Lee felt many quick strikes over their heads and bodies like a compelling hammer. The twin wolf grinned. "Yes," Lin agreed. "The Gorillas were able to support themselves carried all metal things to grab and moved out."
"Sounds like you wouldn't compromise your order," Tao determined Lao, "So for all of that part of the order comes from Shen. Hmm?" He turned as Tao glimpsed the stairs. "My daughter feared from him going to slay everyone who stands in his way."
"Shen's no longer in presence, mister," Lin convinced to Tao. "He was the one who caused everything too vulnerable. Making that peacock grown insane to claim in China to make sure we all must bow to him. But not anymore."
"Seems you were with wolf pack working with Shen for all these years, my friend," Tao said sarcastically. "That was horrible."
"In my dark ages," Lin explained, pressing his left shoulder that within his flesh muscles sored, "the time went shorter since I have confronted him before." He remembers the time since at the Wolves Village in his younger age about ten years ago, Shen recruited more wolves and even Lee and Lin began to gain Shen's trust for accomplished orders. "My brother and I met this mean peacock long time ago. Life gets complicated when my pack and I were able to create this deadly weapon to rule China."
"Life gets harder for everyone, you know," Tao speaks.
"Yeah," Lin nodded. "My past is my unforgettable. But I do not know how I am going to change myself. Every face I met through people's eyes, my heart cringed, and my head drifted where all voices from farmers and villagers grimaced. My brother, my pack and I destroyed their homes and made them miserable. To be honest, my twin brother Lee and I drew out paws away from their belongings except for metals we followed orders, even their money.
"Whether we damaged, stole or tormented all innocents, somehow there is no way to deserve clemency that wolves and I worked and shattered every person's future. I just do not know where do I begin to start after this tragedy."
The bunny bent his body forward. He sought Lin palming his whole head with both paws. "At least you can forgive yourself and your pack as well," Tao added. "Your forgiveness will have time, and decide what will you have to do in the future."
"How?" Lin asked, raising his head and removed his paws away from his head.
"To fulfill your destiny, if I'm not mistaken," Tao explained with his smooth voice.
The rabbit's words are right. By making the wolves to fulfill their destiny will change a course to the future. Lin bent his head once.
"Your right," Lin understood.
The door opened, and a pig doctor craned his head. "Tao," the pig called the rabbit farmer. "Can I see you in a moment? We have to explain about your patient's injury."
"Sure," Tao bounded out of the chair and strolled through inside the room.
"How is he, doctor?" Lin asked the doctor as if the pig glimpsed an anxious wolf who dazzled his reflective eyes at him.
"Your friend is currently in a critical damage on his chest," the Doctor clarified Lin. "The morphine will kill the pain quickly as we will have surgery to fix him. Right now, he is sleeping, and possibly your friend will be okay when I can close his wounds after the surgery."
"Thank you, doctor," Lin nodded when the doctor nodded and shut the door gently. Lin breathed in on his nose that his dried fur body relaxed; his armor and rope belt around his waist still absorbed with sand and water from the beach. He closed his eyes and flattened his head back toward the stable structure.