MOONLIGHT NINJA

MOONLIGHT NINJA CHAPTER 10

Chapter 10

The wind was soft as it descended on Yan Mei Ling's face. There was no glaring heat but rather a misted air. She longed to open her eyes but her body seemed opposed to it.

She could feel someone was cradling her lovingly while its unfamiliar yet soothing voice sang to her.

She tried opening her eyes to look at the face of the person who was singing to her but the moment that she opened her eyes, there was no one. All that she could see was the bamboo beams on the ceiling and the trees outside the window of her master's hut. Surprisingly, the only voice that sang to her was nothing but the birds' endless chirping.

Yan Mei Ling began to feel that an unfathomable emptiness was swallowing her being. She sighed wearily and tried to get way from the bed when Yeng came and rushed to her.

"Oh, my lady, please do not move yet!" Yeng, her faithful maidservant said. Her voice was laced with concern.

Yan Mei Ling was confused as to why Yeng seemed overly concern when in fact, she felt wonderful. She looked at her body and gasped when she found several needles on the different parts of her body. What greatly astonished her was the absence of pain in the punctured parts of her skin.

"What are these, Yeng? What are we doing in my master's hut when we are supposed to be in the arena?" Yan Mei Ling asked in confusion. She frowned as if trying to understand her situation. "Has the fight been nothing but a dream?"

"No, my lady," Yeng answered; she went near Yan Mei Ling to serve her with a cup of tea. "The fight is real and you are injured. Here, drink this tea; it will make you feel better."

"No," Yan Mei Ling refused. "You have not answered some of my questions. What are these needles on my body for and what are we doing in my master's hut?"

"Uhm, but, my lady," Yeng tried to protest but when she looked at Yan Mei Ling's determined eyes, she surrendered. "You were unconscious when Jinzhou Lu Wang Wei defeated you at the arena. He was about to unmask you when Master Tang Jiao Quon kicked him, carried you away from the arena and brought you here in the mountain. He also brought me here and taught me about acupuncture - it was a way of piercing specific points in the body to stimulate healing process. I was the one who pierced the needles on your skin."

Yan Mei Ling blankly stared at Yeng for a moment. She released a jaded sigh and asked, "Where is Master Tang Jiao Quon?"

"He is outside, meditating, my lady," Yeng answered while holding the tea for Yan Mei Ling.

"Take these needles off my flesh, Yeng; I already feel better." Yan Mei Ling told Yeng. "I need to talk to Master."

"But, my lady, you need to let the needles seat for a few hours more so that you won't feel sore. Why won't you rest first and drink this tea? I will get the needles after and we can talk to Master Tang Jiao Quon before we go home."

"No, Yeng," Yan Mei Ling sternly shook her head, determined to have her way. "I can't wait for a few more hours. If you won't get these needles off my body, I will."

Yeng looked dejected with worry as she set the tea at the simple low wooden table beside the unadorned bed. "I will take the needles off your body, my lady, but please drink the tea after I'm done."

"Fine, I will drink the tea so hurry and take these needles off my body now."

°°°°°

The afternoon light seemed filtered as it passed through the thick forest trees. The ground was covered in soft grass with several bald patches of forest ground and, the stream looked as serene and eternal as the clear water passing through it.