WangXian Forever 7

Chapter 49 Wupo

Rumi woke up. At first, he was unsure why, or what could have woken him up, and he felt the soft breeze and pattering of feet running away, leaves scrunching under their feet. Then, the sound of muffled cursing and another set of feet, lighter this time, and definitely faster.

He opened one eye to see what was going on, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. His fathers were still on either side of him, and sister's arm was around his torso.

Rumi liked this fierce little girl. She was beautiful, brave, and exciting to be around, and she loved him as much as his fathers did. Rumi could tell, maybe not what a person was thinking, but definitely their intent.

That was why he had been attracted to his parents, because he could sense not only a lack of indifference, but its total opposite: love. His instincts had driven him into their arms and now they were his family along with his sister.

Now he was sniffing the air...there was something strange, a cloying, too-sweet smell, and he resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose. It was heavy as though laced with something ...but he didn't understand what it could be.

All of a sudden, he was picked up. Through his lashes, he could see a wrinkly old lady, and she was licking her lips. Her teeth were dark and stained, her nails long and dirty, and she definitely smelled bad. Wrinkles like the rings inside tree trunks marked her face, going all the way down her throat, and she stifled a cackle. Her dark, dark eyes held humour and violence.

He watched as she picked up Li XiWang, who strangely did not stir, and now Rumi was frightened. He looked down at his parents too, who still lay sleeping, in fact, the whole camp was asleep. And there was no sign of the boisterous Hongse, who was supposed to be guarding them.

This old lady was remarkably strong, taking a child in each of her arms, and she strode across the forest floor without a care in the world.

Rumi watched his family fade away as the forest closed behind them, the trees making way for her, and then coming together in a tighter weave. Soon, Rumi could not tell where one tree began and another ended.

On and on she walked, and then she began singing a song.

Rattle 'em bones, rattle 'em bones,
On my merry way,

A feast to be ate,
When we gets home,

A taste so sweet,
Their little hands,

And faces so dear,
Even their tiny feet,

Rattle 'em bones, Rattle 'em bones,
After the soft,

Comes the crunch,
And settles the cries,

Of an empty hole,
A feast I'll surely have.

Rumi did not understand too well, but he knew he hated this smell, the stink of stale blood and rotten flesh...of musty old clothes and malicious intent.

She stopped just as suddenly as she had walked, and pulled out a funny shaped key. The head was just an eye, and it closed in time for her thumb to grasp it and thrust inside the lock. The door creaked open and came inside a cottage, if it could be called that.

A fire was burning merrily under a chimney and the witch waved a hand; candles were lit all around the room. It was a small, cluttered space, with bottles and empty jars littered all around. Dead lizards and rats were scattered here and there, and whatever she stank of, this cottage was a concentrated example. The air was thick and heavy with it.

There was a stone table and the witch used her arm to knock everything off onto the ground. There was an almighty crash as fragile things shattered, but she did not seem to care.

In the dim light, with only the orange glow to light up her face, she looked even scarier.

She put both children down on the table, smiling at Rumi when she saw he was awake. With a single, pointed and dirty nail, she traced the side of his face with glee, licking her lips.

"I've never tasted demon baby before." She said, coming closer. And then, almost as if she was powerless to resist, she sniffed him, her eyes closed in bliss.

Her stomach rumbled and she moaned, rubbing her belly.

"Tonight, we feast like Kings!" She announced.

Rumi watched her go to a drawer and pull out a long carving knife. She glanced back at them, and seemed to think of something else, because she tipped out the contents from a porcelain bowl and filled it with clean water from a bucket.

When he saw the clear liquid, Rumi began to tremble.

She walked towards him and Li XiWang, who wasn't waking up, no matter how hard he was shaking her.

She settled the bowl right next to him and laid the knife on the table. She went to retrieve a grinding stone, and then she pulled up a stool and began to sharpen her knife.

********

Wei Ying felt himself being shaken, rather roughly, he thought and was reminded of his day back in this body. He had thought then, who would dare to wake up the Yiling Patriarch so rudely? But now, he wondered why Lan Zhan was so aggressive. His morning waking was usually filled with warm kisses...not this persistent and frankly annoying shaking.

"Please! You've got to wake up!" The urgency in Hongse's voice awakened something inside him, but his eyes still would not obey.

"Drink this. You'll feel better." She held something cold to his lips and made him swallow the bitter liquid.

Slowly, he blinked awake, his body lethargic and heavy.

"What...what's going on?" He slurred, his tongue weighty in his mouth.

"So much." She told him, shaking Lan Zhan awake and making him drink the same potion.

Wei Ying looked around and saw her three sisters in a similar state...and then he saw the empty space between him and Lan Zhan.

"The kids..." He tried to get up...but fell heavily on the ground again. Wei Ying looked at Hongse, confused. "Where?"

"So, a lot of things happened this morning. Right now, just wait until your body gets used to the antidote. I'll explain, okay?"

Wei Ying nodded. His head was feeling a little bit better. He reached out to grab Lan Zhan's hand, squeezing it to let him know he was alright.

"Early this morning, Master woke up. I swear I was watching him, and one minute he was there, and then the next thing I know, he's up and running. So I chased after him, but Heavens, he was so fast, he got quite the distance away before I could catch him."

Wei Ying nodded again, his neck much looser now. He tested his other joints, feeling returning slowly to his whole body.

"When we got back, there was a green fog all over the camp, and I had to first diffuse it, without becoming infected myself, and stopping Master Dashi from entering too." She sighed heavily. "That's when I saw that the children were missing."

"It must be the person the villager warned us about. Where do you think she took them?" His voice was hard now. He tried standing up and found it easier to do.

"There are tracks leading away from here, I'll show you." Hongse turned to her sisters, who were keeping their eyes on their erratic Master. Master Dashi was sitting cross-legged on the ground, his eyes closed as he clapped softly to a song he was singing in a low voice. "Look after him and Dunshi, we will be back soon."

Wei Ying helped Lan Zhan stand up too.

"Look, the tracks coming in are lighter, heavier when she left." Hongse pointed out, on the disturbed ground. "And...I'm sorry I left my post."

Wei Ying didn't trust himself to speak, so he nodded only once. But in his head, he was already panicking, wondering where Rumi and Li XiWang were, if they were scared, and what he was going to do to whoever took them in the first place.