Bloodbound: Words Of Crystal

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PROLOGUE

Tzay Jien

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*** May 24, 1901 - Shanghai, China ***

"Quickly Juen Pao!" shouted a man running quickly up the side of a forested mountain. He paused for a moment and looked down through squinted eyes at the valley they had passed some minutes ago. "They are catching up. They're leaving the village border."

Forty-five meters below him, a younger man in his early twenties looked in the same direction. Then, looking back at the speaker, he replied in between his panting, "We--must--rest--Li Pai!" He climbed over a huge moss-covered rock and ducked under a huge tree branch. Not long after, his weary knees fell on the soft ground of the mountain. He hungrily breathed for air.

Xiao Li Pai looked down at his brother. It had been almost thirteen days since they had left their village - the hometown of their clan located atop the Huang Shan (Yellow Mountains). For thirteen days and thirteen nights the two brothers had been running and hiding from the mercenaries hired by the Imperial Magistrate Huay Gou Kwan. Gou Kwan wanted the entire Xiao clan dead for reasons he left unsaid and unknown to the public.

Just before they had become 'fugitives' of the land, Li Pai and Juen Pao had been coming home from their weekly fishing trip down the river. It was a day of such a bountiful catch for the two brothers that they planned to throw a little banquet for the family. Except, there was no family awaiting them, nor were there any neighbors and relatives to cheerfully greet them at the village. Rather, there were cries - cries of people, young and old, burned alive within the very walls of each of the Nipa houses. The mercenaries, by order of Huay Gou Kwan, had annihilated their whole clan. Outside the burning village about forty men were drinking and feasting. One of them looked at the shock-stricken brothers who had just climbed up the village bringing home their catch. Sacks of fish instantly dropped from the brothers' backs at the horrid sight. "Ai, are those fresh ones?" a drunken mercenary inquired. The brothers were still silent with shock. However, loud cries from the nearest house told the mercenaries that they were yet to feast - their mission was not yet complete.

"Papa!"

"Li Pai! Run, for the sake of the family, run!"

All the mercenaries turned their gaze to the two brothers. Li Pai, though hesitant to leave, understood what he had to do. He dragged his disoriented brother away and they broke into a run. The mercenaries, taking their cue, began to chase the two. Forty men tracked two 'outlaws' day and night. For thirteen days, with almost no food, no rest, and no shelter, the hunter and the hunted continued to run. The brothers, having been trained to be quick sprinters and climbers, were almost a kilometer ahead.

Seeing the devastated state of his brother, Li Pai swiftly slid down the mountain until he reached his brother who was now leaning at the broad trunk of an old tree.

"We can rest when we find her," Li Pai said in a mild and tired voice. "It won't be long. We're just outside Shanghai. Shiaw dih, you must get up."

Juen Pao tilted his head and stared pleadingly at his brother. "We haven't had proper food nor proper rest for thirteen days, ger ger. My knees are wobbly, my feet are swollen, and my arms are covered with scratches! I can't even--"

"DO YOU THINK I'M NOT TIRED?!" interrupted Li Pai in a deep, hoarse voice. "I, too, am aching, Juen Pao. But I cannot stop and rest when I know that each second we stop is a probability more that we won't see her again - alive! You must--"

But Li Pai, couldn't finish his sentence. An intense pain - an intense vision - came upon him. Juen Pao sat up straight and looked at his brother nervously. Li Pai was lying on the ground, clutching the left part of his chest so hard that he tore part of his camiso de chino. His gray-black eyes were wide open and the pupils in them were constricted. It was too much pain, perhaps, that no sound came out of his supposed screams.

Juen Pao regained his courage and crawled over to his brother. "Ger ger! Ger ger!" He shook the shaking body of his brother and slapped both his cheeks. After he did, Li Pai finally snapped back to his own consciousness.

"CHOU PEI!" Li Pai sat bolt upright. It was as if he was deprived of breathable air. Sweat was trickling down his dust-covered face. His body was cold and shaking.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Questions were bursting out in Juen Pao's mind so fast, that his voice could barely catch up. He looked at his brother; fear was crawling on his nerves. "Is it... Is Chou Pei--"

"No." Li Pai looked down at the wilted flower near his left knee. "It was nothing." He swallowed and absent-mindedly stood up. "We must go. They're at the foot of the mountain. We must hurry."

Juen Pao tearfully watched his brother run until he disappeared at the mountaintop. Something had happened, and his brother saw it - or even felt it. On what his brother saw, he didn't want to think - and perhaps like his brother, he didn't want to accept. He got up and ran, ignoring his aching muscles. He was beginning to understand the burdens his brother must carry along with the family gift.

The Xiao family was one of the three clans in China known as The Bearers. These Bearers were descendants of the three people who defeated an ancient evil plaguing the lands of China back in the 17^th century. As a token of gratitude the crowned emperor had given each of the warriors the Gift of Shuai Jing. The Gift of Shuai Jing enabled its possessor to enhance one of his/her senses. For Xiao Mien Fah, great ancestor of the Xiaos, the Gift of the Shuai Jing Yien was given. This gift enabled him to see events happening, not at the past nor at the future, but at the present moment. It was similar to having omniscient eyes for the possessor of Shuai Jing Yien.

Each of these gifts was passed on to the first born of every descendant generation. Thus, the Shuai Jing Yien was passed on Mien Fah's first-born child, which was then passed on to Mien Fah's firstborn grandchild, and so on until, after several generations, the gift was inherited by Juen Pao's aunt. Finally, Xiao Li Pai, firstborn of his generation by a few minutes from his twin sister Chou Pei, inherited the prized gift.

After almost an hour of gliding down the mountain slopes, running, and walking, the exhausted brothers finally reached the city border of Shanghai. Shanghai was known to be one of the trading hotspots in China. However, that late afternoon, what met the brothers' eyes was a seemingly quiet, stagnant, and almost deserted town. The doors and windows of houses and shops were closed. Trash and pieces of broken wood occupied the roads. Only a handful of people were lurking the streets. They seemed to be quite disoriented, scared, and in a bit of a hurry.

"What happened here?" Juen Pao asked as he looked around.

"An attack," Li Pai was absent-mindedly looking ahead at the road he was slowly walking on. "The rebels..."

Juen Pao looked at his brother, and in unison they cried out, "Chou Pei!"

Li Pai broke into a run; Juen Pao followed his lead. After a few minutes, they passed through the city's Central Plaza where they encountered more people, some of whom were severely injured. Finally, Li Pai halted in front of the old Traders' Inn, which he saw in his vision. He slowly approached the carriage parked in front of it. Hesitantly, he peeked in the carriage and then, quite abruptly, he backed away. His pulse increased and his breathing quickened. There, in the carriage of the local hospital, lay his twin sister's lifeless body. The cloth covering her chest was in deep shade of red as blood continued to ooze out of her wounded heart.

Juen Pao caught up with his brother and saw his elder sister. "CHOU PEI!"

Li Pai held his brother back. He struggled to keep him calm so as not to attract people's attention. They were, after all, still on the run. But it couldn't be hidden; someone noticed the emotional outrage of Juen Pao and the silent but rapid-flowing tears escaping from Li Pai's weary eyes. The man in charge of the carriage approached the brothers.

"Do you know this woman?" He pointed at the twenty-nine-year-old lifeless body.

Li Pai merely looked at the man. Admittance would mean acceptance - a decision I cannot face. He stared at his sister's corpse. Not at this state; not like this. More tears rolled down his muddied face.

The man surveyed him, his brother, the lifeless woman, and the sketches on the poster on the carriage issued by the Imperial Magistrate. He turned back to the tall man, whose gaze was now afar.

"I see." The man nodded. "Chou Pei helped many people here, including me. I owe her my life. She's a good person. She died an hour ago saving a man's life from the bullets of the rebels."

Juen Pao was still hesitantly weeping in his brother's arms. Li Pai dragged his eyes back at the stranger.

Finally catching the grieving eyes of the elder brother, the man continued, "She will have proper burial; I assure you that. But, you must go. She would want you and your brother to see the sun of tomorrow, and staying here would not fulfill that wish. The authorities are on their way. Take this." He handed them a small corked glass phial. "It was found in her hands. Now go!"

Li Pai and Juen Pao looked at the vial, then at each other. With great reverence, they looked and bowed to the man. "We are extremely grateful. Good tidings be with--"

"The troops!" exclaimed Li Pai, not finishing his well wishing.

Juen Pao straightened from his bow and looked at the direction they came from. "They're here?"

"They're at the city border," informed Li Pai. "Run!"

Juen Pao nodded at the man, and went to his sister. He held her cold hand to his cheek. "Goodbye jie jie," he murmured. Shedding a tear on her hand he turned and ran off.

Li Pai approached his twin and looked down at her pale, serene face. I will find him Chou Pei. May he be worth what you've sacrificed. He closed his eyes as he held his sister's hands. Tzay jien, my dear sister, Tzay jien. His last tears had fallen.

Looking back at the man he spoke. "I trust your words. Be true to it. Do not let the authorities know that she is a Xiao." He paused and looked down at her sister's lonely hands. "In her grave, let the words 'Xin Jing Bu Siaw Neu' be written."

The man solemnly nodded. Li Pai smiled weakly. He then turned his back on the carriage. And with a heavy heart, he followed the tracks of his brother.

* * *

The vast sky was changing from the hopeful aura of light blue to the piercing and heavy feeling brought about by the red-orange sky. Minutes later, the mourning color of deep violet devoured the fading light of the sun. Another day had passed in Shanghai. Trading was at a new low due to The Rebellion, but business ran as usual. A diner near the Shanghai Ports was still crowded. Two men in hooded gray and brown robes were sitting in one of the shadowed parts of the diner. It was 6:14 p.m.

"I can't believe you stole these robes, Juen!" the man in gray robes said after finishing his dimsum. "And you stole their money, as if the robes weren't enough!"

The man in brown robes put down his empty bowl of Beef Mami. "Nort lirke they would matter." He swallowed his mouthful of beef and noodles. "The money was a bonus; I didn't know it was in these filthy robes. The owners should be grateful we've ridden them of such ugly garments!"

"Juen!"

"Well, aren't they? Besides, we are accused by, if I may say, an insecure and foolish man of doing what Li Pai? - Something we do not even know and do not remember doing. Might as well give them a proper reason to chase us!"

"Shush!" Li Pai looked around the diner to see if anyone was paying attention to them. "That is still not good reason. Father and Mother would not approve of it. Bad karma."

"What would Pa and Ma approve? That we die by injustice? And is it not enough reason that they murdered our whole family? That because of them we couldn't even have time to pause and grieve and pray, and for crying out loud, bury our only sister?" Juen Pao whispered angrily as tears welled up in his eyes.

Li Pai could not think of any soothing advice to give his brother. He himself had asked the same questions; and like a blind man searching for the brightest star in the night, he couldn't find the answers. He sighed and looked at a table of English men dressed in elegant clothes. After finishing his tea, he pulled out all the coins in the pockets of his stolen robes. "Are there more coins there? This is not enough."

"Here." Juen Pao emptied his pockets. "That would be enough. If it isn't, it should be, 'cause that's all this robe has."

"Quite exact," Li Pai said, slightly impressed. "We have to go. People may start to recognize us. Finish up."

Juen Pao emptied his cup. He nodded at his brother and they stood up. They casually walked towards the door so no one would suspect them. Finally, they reached the door, opened it, and walked out. As Li Pai closed the door, Juen Pao took the hood off of his head and breathed a sigh of relief.

The brothers remained in front of the diner's well-lit doorway while they were deciding their next route. However, before even reaching a decision, they were frozen as a shrill shriek coming from two houses away echoed in the still night. "There! Those are the thieves, officers! Those are the thieves!"

"You were saying about karma?" Juen Pao mildly asked.

"Run before they recognize us and start calling the rest of the troops!" Li Pai ordered as he pushed his brother at the opposite direction.

Unfortunately for the Xiao brothers, the Imperial officers had perfect vision. As Li Pai had inferred they rang the bell that alarmed the rest of the troops that they had spotted the fugitives. The men ran as fast as they could to catch the two robbers.

The brothers, meanwhile, were running as they were trained: quick and silent, like a sly predator awaiting its prey. However, their speed could only bring them so far. Li Pai saw with his Gift of Shuai Jing that the Imperial soldiers were coming towards them from almost every direction. Seven were tracking them from behind. Five were coming from ahead. Six were coming from the boarding ship. Four were coming from the west, and several more were following each group. "We're trapped."

Juen Pao looked at his brother. "We're not giving up hope. In here!"

He pulled his brother into a large container filled with oriental garments. They stood still inside the container - sensing what was happening outside.

"Can you see them?" Juen Pao asked in a hushed whisper.

Li Pai was preparing himself for a fight. He knew they wouldn't last, for they were untrained fighters. Nevertheless, he was determined to fight. He looked at his brother. Raising a hand he held up his fingers to his brother while mouthing 'four.' After which, he pointed behind him. Juen Pao nodded. Next, he pointed in the direction of the boarding ship. He was about to tell Juen Pao the number of soldiers approaching when the ground suddenly shook.

The two brothers lost their balance and each fell onto the soft garments. The brothers curiously looked at each other. This was a very strong earthquake - too strong. It actually felt like they were moving. Juen Pao tried to listen and felt the sides of the container. He suspected that the soldiers had found them and that they were trying to break the container open, hopeful, perhaps, to squash them in the process. Li Pai, meanwhile, was trying to concentrate and see what was happening outside. His nervousness about the situation, however, disabled him from using his gift.

Juen Pao kept looking around the container. Li Pai kept trying to sense what was outside. They both had the unlikely thought that they were being lifted into the air.

KRRreeeennkkk.

The sound of rusted metals rubbing in friction made the uneasy brothers freeze in their current positions. There were other weird sounds from outside. After the feeling of being lifted, the brothers then felt like they were being dropped. And dropped they were, as the bottom of the container loudly clanked against, a seemingly metal, ground. The brothers, along with the garments, were shaken. Juen Pao, meanwhile, silently thanked the heavens for the soft garments in the container; otherwise, he knew he'd have had a dozen more scratches and bruises on his body.

Outside, they heard a man shout in a foreign tongue, "Careful in there! You might break something!"

"Nah," another man shouted. "Mr. Leowald says they are just garments! Nothing to be broken unless they're glass garments!"

"Nevertheless, I will still check!" The voice was getting closer as the foreigner spoke.

"I'd keep my big nose out of that bloody container if I were you, mate!" The second man's voice was grim. "The owner clearly instructed not to open any of his containers. Come what may."

The brothers breathed a sigh of relief as they heard the footsteps of the man walk away. It was getting clear to them that the two men were not part of the Imperial Troops. Furthermore, they were nowhere near the hands of their supposed killers.

"Tell me what I'm thinking is true, Li Pai," said Juen Pao in a hopeful whisper.

With his gift, Li Pai looked at the outside surroundings. There were other containers. The blonde man, whom he presumed they heard earlier, walked out of the huge area through an exit door a few feet from a red metal container. A certain machine had just moved out of the area on a rusted metal ramp. After that, the loud sound of metal grating against metal was again heard. He looked at his brother who was looking curiously back at him.

"That," Li Pai started, "was a huge metal ramp; or was it a door?" He paused and looked intently at his brother. "Either way, Juen Pao, we are free from the Imperial Soldiers! This is a ship bound for England!"

The brothers were beside themselves, rejoicing at their newfound luck. This was the first time the brothers had genuine smiles on their faces since they had arrived at their village with their bountiful catch. After making sure that no crewmembers were in the cargo deck, which, they assumed was where they were located, they left their hiding place. They peeked at a tiny window they found a few feet from the garment container. The soldiers were moving away in smaller groups, whom, they supposed, were still searching for them. They heard the loud honk of the ship signaling its departure. Suddenly the smiles on each of their faces disappeared.

"This is our goodbye, Juen Pao." The elder brother was looking at the lantern lights of the city. "Our final look at our homeland."

"What would happen to us, ger ger?" The young man looked at Li Pai.

Li Pai looked back at his brother. "You see, Juen Pao, that's one good thing with goodbye. We can always start with a new hello."

The remaining descendants of Xiao Mien Fah smiled comfortingly at each other. They looked back at the country where they learned how to read and write, how to run and how to walk, how to love, and how to cry.

We shall lead a new life. We would make you proud, Juen Pao silently thought as he remembered his parents, his niece, his sister, and his other relatives.

I shall miss you. Li Pai thought of his five-year-old daughter, his parents, his sister, and the loving wife he had lost a year ago. I shall miss you all. He closed his eyes, saving up all the memories he could. 'Til we meet again.

Tzay Jien.

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