The Destiny of Mingjun

Prologue

In the darkness of the early morning haze, a slender figure strolled through the knee-high weeds. The figure's fingertips grazed the thin tufts, creating broken lines of red. After 15 paces, she shifted the bundle in her arms and peered behind at the small straw hut before pursing her lips.

Not bad...

She turned around again, continuing to walk until she reached the bank of the river. She glanced up at the low moon and then up the river, sighing in agitation. Would it kill her to be on time for once?

Quickly turning from the river to the house again, the figure anxiously shifted the package again, tapping her foot anxiously against the rocky sand. She waited for a few heartbeats, constantly alternating her gaze between the house and the moon. Tired of waiting, the figure stalked upstream, weaving through the tangled trees before reaching the fork in the river. Ah, of course.

Seeing as the barge remained tethered to the riverbank, the figure hissed in annoyance, picking up the pace. If they missed the payment again, she would gut her sister and feed her to the fish.

Although small in size, the old wooden boat could hold 15 people. In its prime. Now, with its worn-out boards and almost battered everything, carrying four people was already a blessing. The woman stilled as the boat groaned under her weight. Holding her breath as if that was going to do anything.

"I thought I told Jie Jie to lay off those pork buns," a small voice spoke from the stern. The woman growled, pulling herself onto the boat in a fluid motion.

"You won't be getting nothin' if you can't even keep track of time," the latter spat, placing the bundle onto a crate. "I told you to be there when the moon was four fingers from the ground," she scowled, bending over to cut through the rope anchor.

Her sister giggled, narrowly avoiding the knife thrown at her. "Won't be four fingers for a while. Of course, you wouldn't be able to tell, what with your sausage fingers." Her sister cackled as she expertly evaded the blade thrown her way. "Ooh, what a pretty knife," she cooed, prying the sharp object from the wooden boards to inspect it.

The woman groaned, straightening again as the boat caught the river's currents and began to move downstream. "Mei Mei is baba's medicine not important to you?? You should've been at least 15 paces away!"

"We got the package, though, didn't we?" The younger muttered, cleaning her nails with the blade while reaching for an oar. "You get a pretty one?"

"The best one I could find."

"Should've gotten 2, would've gotten a better cut then," her sister grumbled, watching with interest as the former sat down and gingerly opened the package to reveal a bundle of linen blankets.

"Trust me," she murmured, taking in the child's wavy ebony locks and pale skin that seemed luminescent in the fading moonlight. "This one's worth at least 4."

"4? Jie Jie, how many did you kill?"

The older sighed, throwing her head back to see the last stars fade into grey. Was it 6? Or maybe 8? "I don't know. Probably less than last time."