Bab 1: Betrayal
"Xuan'er, listen to me!"
Madam Yu tried to force her unwilling son off the carriage as the echoes of desperate battle neared. A familiar shout not far from the carriage sounded with fear and agony, and she turned away from the face of her tear-stricken son to look out the window.
"A' Zhe!"
A gasp escaped her lips as she watched her husband slice his sword viciously against the enemy before running towards the wounded boy, fallen by the sword of a grinning crook.
"A' Zhe!" he cried again. He gathered the boy in his arms and shook him, begging for him to awake. "Please! A' Zhe! Don't do this to your master!" - his voice cracked - "Wake up!"
Madam Yu bit down hard on her lip, holding back tears. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't. A' Zhe cannot have died, he cannot have, he must be okay... He was her husband's third disciple, a gentle and loving young man she watched grow up since he was a toddler. He was like her own son.
She smiled waveringly and let out an anxious laugh. Surely the heavens would not be as cruel as to rip him away from their arms...? Right? ...Right?
But, her face fell, her hopes and wishes stamped to nothingness when her husband threw back his head, a howl of grief and rage filling the early night sky.
"Master, watch out!"
The handful of disciples and guards that tirelessly fought beside Lord Yu panicked as they noticed his unguarded and vulnerable flank being closed in by the foe. Fortunately, he heard. He heard, and stood to face his advancing opponent, fury in his bloodshot eyes.
And he charged forth with a deafening roar, nothing but the drive for revenge in his eyes.
"What do we do, Madam?"
"M- Madam, I'm scared!"
Madam Yu retracted from the window, turning to her two young maidservants with helplessness. Both were only fifteen years of age, yet were met with tragedy after just one week of entering their residence for service. They were pale with fear, fingers trembling as they looked up to her for any glimpse of hope.
Her son, held to her robes in a death grip, as if he'd die if he lets go.
"All of you, out! Now! I'll be right behind you!"
Again, she could not do anything but order them away. They were all sitting ducks if they remained in the carriage. It was fine if it was fate that she lost her life tonight, but she couldn't bear to watch anyone else, her own son especially, to end up like-
She lurched, stifling back a sob as the image of A' Zhe's lifeless form flashed before her eyes. It imprinted into her mind, the dread, the horror, the possibilities...
No. She will not let that happen. Whatever the possibilities, she had to keep them safe. She had no choice but to have the three children brave the dangers outside and run.
The two maids whimpered as their feet touched the earth, clinging to each other's arms and never letting go.
The cool night breeze blew against cold sweat, whistling eerily through the night sky. The thick forest trees towered over them in darkness, swaying and swaying. Long shadows followed their hurried steps, and the metallic stench of fresh blood, the bone-rattling clang of swords, the chilling screams... none of it all provided reassurance to any emergence of some positive outcome.
"Come, quickly!" Madam Yu frantically ushered them towards the quiet end of the trail, away from the battle. In both arms she gathered her heavy skirts, cursing societal norms for causing her such disadvantage in such a dire time. Still, she encouraged the young ones to run faster, telling them - her son - this.
"Don't be scared, and just keep forward! Your Uncle Bai is expecting us. Everything will be alright when we arrive, do you hear me?"
"Y- yes!"
They ran and ran and ran, chests heaving up and down as they gasped for breath. Soon enough, Madam Yu found herself lagging behind, the dead weight of her skirts dragging her down. "Damned dresses," she muttered with inner agitation.
Upon noticing the lack of his mother's presence at his side, Madam Yu's son quickly turned back to help when all of a sudden, a cloaked figure came down crashing down on the Madam's shoulders, and both fell harshly onto the dirt floor.
It all happened too fast for the son to react, and the next thing he knew, his mother was wrestling with her attacker, and she came out on top with a brutal and savage crush of the man's balls from her knee to the ground, ending him on the spot.
Madam Yu staggered to her feet, dazed. Her robes were a ruffled mess, her long hair came partially undone, golden pins slipping out of her locks and falling onto the ground.
What...what the hell was that?
Slowly, she came back to her senses. She stared down at her stained palms, tremoring uncontrollably as she hyperventilated.
It hurt. It hurt so bad. But she couldn't figure out why. It wasn't like she was the one who just had their genitals mangled... why? Why did it hurt so much?
"M- mother! Mother, you're wounded!" came her son's frightened voice through her ringing ears.
"Xuan'er?" she called for him weakly and look down at her arms and legs. "...where?"
A searing pain suddenly ripped through her body as if tearing her apart. Her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground beside the sprawled body of her unconscious victim.
A knife was stuck to her waist. The huge blotch of red had begun to spread down her clothes.
Her son came running to her side, desperately pulling at her arms, but Madam Yu only planted herself back on the ground finding that she couldn't put weight on her legs. In dismay, her son pleaded, "Come on, get up! You said so yourself, mother, we're almost there! You can't stop now!"
But it was too late. Madam knew it herself, she would not last long if she continued like this, and she would only slow the rest of them down. The only problem was...her son.
"...Yu Kai Xuan," she said.
Yu Kai Xuan, her fourteen-year-old son, froze at his name being called. He clenched his teeth in anguish as Madam Yu reached up with gentle hands and held his tenderly in hers. His mother never called him by his full name in the past, she'd only ever called him Xuan'er.
His name, his mother's loving voice that called just for him, it was his sole wish that he could hear it again and again for the rest of his life. But why isn't she getting up? How could he leave her here when danger was close behind? He knew his mother wasn't dumb. Why would she want to stay in darkness when the light is just ahead?
But he could not bring himself to utter a single word of complaint when Madam Yu's brown eyes looked up into his, filled with kindness, affection...sadness. Dread began to crawl up his chest, and he could only return Madam Yu's kind expression with horror.
W- What is she doing?
"Xuan'er..." Madam Yu let go of his hands and reached to unhook the golden necklace she always wore around her neck, a white jade pendant hanging loosely on the string. "Come."
Yu Kai Xuan took a step back in refusal. "No!" Why is she doing this now, of all times? Whatever the heck it was, he didn't want it. What he wanted was to get to safety, together, with his mother. Why couldn't she understand? Why was she being so stubborn? Why-?
"Come. Here."
He stiffened, startled by his mother's sharp tone of voice, and found no choice but to obey. He clenched his fists, holding in his impatience as Madam Yu clasped the lock at the back of his neck. She then tucked the pendant in the inner layers of his robes.
"Now listen carefully. You must keep this safe at all costs. No matter what, you must not treat it carelessly, and you must not show it to others. I'm sorry, my son, to cause you to wear this, but there is no one else that I can entrust this to."
His face twisted in confusion. "Wha-? What do you mean? Mother, why are you doing this? What are you-"
Yu Kai Xuan found his words cut short when Madam Yu suddenly reached out and pulled him into a tight embrace. It was so warm, so precious; he immediately hugged back, wrapping his arms around firmly, wishing that they could stay like this forever.
But something terrible tore at his heart. He didn't know what it was, but something told him that this would be the last time.
"Su Rong! Xiao Qin!"
"Yes, Madam!"
All of a sudden, Kai Xuan felt the warmth he so desired taken from him as he was thrown back, and he looked up in despair to find that his mother had heartlessly pushed him away. Before he could protest, the two maids, Su Rong and Xiao Qin, appeared at his sides, each seizing one of his arms before forcefully dragging him off.
He kicked and flailed, thrashed and yelled, but they were too strong for him to break free. "Mother!" he shouted. "Mother! What about my mother?! You can't just leave her there! Mom! MOM- mmph!"
Xiao Qin winced as the Young Master painfully dug his teeth into her hand, but she didn't pull away. If she did, he would only start screaming again, and the Madam's efforts would go into vain. They must survive. The Young Master may not have noticed since his back was facing the trail, but they had pursuers, which was why the Madam was adamant to stay, and for them to leave.
Xiao Qin spared one last glance behind her shoulder at the Madam's lonely figure before squeezing her eyes shut and pressing forward. A tear rolled down her cheek, stinging.
No matter how heartbreaking it was to have to separate a child from his mother, she had no choice. The Madam's words were final.
Once she was sure they were gone, Madam Yu took in a deep breath and slowly pushed herself to stand. Yes, it was quite excruciating, but she managed to yank the knife out of her torso, wobbling back and forth on her feet as she withstood against the new wave of torment brought by the open wound.
With raspy breaths, she grasped the knife and sliced off the heavy and floppy ends of her robes, leaving her legs to move freely. She felt her feet hit something as she took a step, and remembered the man that had injured her before knocking out. She scowled and cursed aloud, bringing her foot down so hard that this time, she made sure he was unable to have children in this life and the next, and perhaps even the one after.
Exhausted, Madam Yu kicked him over when she was done carrying out his punishment of three lifetimes, and noticed a sword hanging at his belt. She knelt down and took it, examining the sharp blade with satisfaction.
She exhaled and brandished the weapon. She was a woman and she was injured, but it didn't mean that she was useless. In this world, beauty, weakness, and submissiveness was the norm for all women, especially those of higher class. She had always hated it and envied the few who had broken out of the norm and gained respect the way a man could. Of course, she still did.
At least, in the end, she was given a chance.
She closed her eyes, resolute. "Oh, may the heavens lend me strength for the last time, and allow me to prove that this mother can save her son with a sword, just as a man can."
Then, she set her gaze forth, glaring steadily at the approaching band of shadows that appeared at the max of her vision.
][][][][][][][][
It was a long way before Yu Kai Xuan calmed down, and he handed the maid, Xiao Qin, a handkerchief along with a half-hearted apology for wounding her hand.
Xiao Qin gave him a pitiful smile but accepted gratefully. "Thank you, Young Master."
The three then walked in silence, hearing occasional sniffs from the boy's direction. It was only long moments later, that Kai Xuan restlessly realized he wasn't sure which way was which in the night. It was the horrible truth that he wasn't sure how to get to Uncle Bai's place, the Mystic Mountain Villa. He didn't even know, how far along the journey they were.
Embarrassingly, he confessed, hanging his head in his own frustration. He expected to be mocked, even condemned. It would be his fault if they all died tonight.
He bit down on his quivering lip as guilt came surging up his chest. His mother placed her trust in him, how can he not prove himself to be worthy of that trust?
"It's alright, Young Master," Xiao Qin said determinedly. "We'll figure this out. All we have to do is keep moving forward, right? The Mystic Mountain Villa is grand, surely we will not miss it. But what's important is that we stick together."
Xiao Qin was doing her best to be optimistic, Kai Xuan could tell, but he knew that under that light expression, she masked her uneasiness. She was scared of the dark, he learned that much since he got to know her a week ago. Even so, he wanted to believe her, that everything was going to be alright. Su Rong's bravery in taking the lead almost fooled him completely, until the straight path they had been traveling suddenly split into three ways.
They all shared a look. Before them, the three trails seemed to lead to different fates. The one on the far right led into darkness, packed tightly with thick trees on each side as it inclined upward. The path in the center continued straight, its surroundings appeared the same as the road they've been traveling. On the left, however, the path winded down, the slope too steep for them to see what was below.
None of the paths looked promising, one looking only more unpromising than the other.
"W- We should split up," Xiao Qin stammered.
"Great idea," Su Rong mentioned. She then pointed up the path on the right. "You go that way."
Xiao Qin's wide brown eyes followed Su Rong's finger up the difficult path, and for a brief moment, they flickered with sheer terror. But when she shifted her gaze back to the Young Master, it was gone. "Alright. I'll... I'll go that way."
She wrapped her arms around herself and scrunched her shoulders up to her neck. With one last look in his direction, she began towards the path, her steps uncertain.
Kai Xuan set his gaze on her shrinking figure as she ventured further and further away, all of a sudden feeling the urge to follow. He didn't want to be alone. He didn't want anything to happen to her either. What if...he lost her too?
Before he knew it, his feet swiftly followed in her tracks. He opened his mouth, ready to shout for her to wait for him when a firm hand on his shoulder brought him to an abrupt stop. He turned his head in surprise to find Su Rong staring back at him, the abnormal look in her sharp eyes menacing.
"...S- Su Rong jie-jie?"
"Where do you think you're going?"
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
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