Phoenix Rise: XieRong

XieRong head to the cave her mother had mapped for her. FeiHong was already sleepy but kept moving under her sister's guidance.

"Just a little longer FeiHong. Then, you can sleep okay?" XieRong encouraged her sister.

FeiHong bobbed her little head determined to make things easier for her sister.

"Jie, did I kill mother?"

XieRong felt a stab in her heart. She was so caught up in her thoughts of revenge that she'd forgotten to tend to her sister's well being. She couldn't let her sister's small shoulder's carry the guilt of killing their mother. It wasn't her fault anyway.

"FeiHong, never think like that ever again! Mother loved you, so she protected you. It was the bad men and Fa LiHua who killed mother!" XieRong said as she narrowed her eyes. Something felt amiss.

"Say, FeiHong, why did you take the food from the kitchen in the first place? And where was Auntie Li?"

"Oh, I took the food because Head maid Ying said that she was going to throw the food away and Auntie Li was sent away by Auntie Ying."

XieRong was glad her suspicion about Auntie Li wasn't true, but this meant that the Furen had planned this from the beginning. XieRong clenched the hand holding her bag tighter. They were all going to pay.

The cave was damp and dark. XieRong had already put blankets, medicine and firewood in the cave during her ventures earlier.

She lit a small fire and laid two blankets side by side.

"FeiHong, sit here and show me your right hand."

XieRong grimaced when she saw her sister's crooked fingers. Tears began to well inside her eyes. She hadn't been there for FeiHong. XieRong took out the medicine stash from the cave and started grinding them with a stone.

"FeiHong, this will hurt. I will try my best to get your fingers to the way they were but I don't know if I can. I'm sorry, Jie is useless," XieRong said as her tears began to fall. She couldn't save their mother and now she couldn't save FeiHong.

"Jie, don't cry. Mother said my fingers couldn't be cured completely by any other person but me. Even if I can't make my fingers proper again, I still have my other fingers. Mother said that I will become amazing and so will you. So don't cry. I will be strong and not cry either!"

XieRong looked at her four year old sister and smiled. Her sister was already growing up.

"Give me your hand."

XieRong stuffed a cloth in her sister's mouth and began to set her sister's bones as quickly and painlessly as possible. She could hear her sisters muffled screams of pain.

When XieRong was done there was a sheen of sweat on both their foreheads.

She used some of the remaining firewood as splints for FeiHong's fingers and as soon she was done feeding pain medicine to her sister, Fei Hong passed out.

XieRong pulled FeiHong close and fell asleep.

XieRong woke up as soon as strands of golden rays fell on her face. She put out out the fire and let FeiHong sleep as she went through everything their mother had packed for them.

There was dried fruit, stale bread and dried meat enough for a day. She'd have to check her traps on the way. There were two skins full of water, few herbs, about five hundred silver taels, lots of silver jewellery with few gold ones which could get them more than enough to make it to the west province. Few of Mother's best medicine books and two sets of clothes each for her and FeiHong. What had caught her eye, though, were two embroidered pouches, one with a blue dragon and the other with a red phoenix.

XieRong opened the blue dragon one. In it was a ring, few other things she didn't recognise and a letter. She closed the pouch and packed the other things in the two bags according to their needs. The small one held the money, jewellery and books and the large one food, herbs and clothes. No one would expect a five year old to be carrying valuables, XieRong thought as she hid the money and jewellery under the books.

She then woke FeiHong up.

"FeiHong, get up!" She shook FeiHong.

"Jie, it's morning already?"

"Yes, and before we leave I found something mother left for us," she said as she handed FeiHong the phoenix bag.

"How do you know this one's mine?"

"Well, you like red and it was in the bag I gave you. How are your fingers?"

FeiHong poked her right hand's fingers. It wasn't painful or completely numb and throbbing like yesterday.

"They don't hurt anymore." FeiHong smiled.

"That's good. Now let's open the letters Mom left us."

"Jie, I still can't read very well."

"I know, that's why I wanted to read yours with you. I'll read you mine too. Tell you what, from now on there will be no secrets between us. I'll tell you everything, some things a little later, but I will tell you. You have to promise to do the same. It's just the two of us now, FeiHong so I don't ever want any misunderstandings to happen between us. There will always be people who will try and take advantage of misunderstandings between us. I know you're a little too small to understand whatever I'm saying right now, but one day you will and till you do keep my words in your heart, okay?"

"I promise, Jie. I know I'm small, but I'll try to grow up soon and be useful to you."

"Thank you, FeiHong."

XieRong sat her sister on her lap.

"Open it, FeiHong."

FeiHong's tiny, slightly swollen fingers pulled the mouth of the pouch slowly.

XieRong noticed that she too had a ring, a letter and other stuff she couldn't recognise. They looked different from the ones in her pouch, though.

"My dearest Bai,

I'm writing this letter because I already know I didn't make it. I hope it finds you well.

"XieRong is reading this, isn't she? See, this is why you should start concentrating more on your studies now that I'm no longer there to guide you or hold your hand. I must've already made you promise to be happy and grow up into a wonderful woman, so I'll tell you now to always rely on no one but each other for support. The world is harsh and filled with difficult things that you must overcome to stand on top. I know you are a kind child, that you've always hated violence, but you must understand that in this world it is either to kill or be killed. I want you to learn to defend yourself, no matter how much you hate it. Your sister will not always be near you to protect you. I've left behind the weapon I used to defend myself. I was a medicine practitioner and I saved people but I knew how to save myself. I know it will suit your needs. It's a god level weapon inside the spatial ring in your bag.

"You should put a drop of your blood on the ring to bind with it. The ring is a treasure passed down in our family for generations and I believe it will serve you well. I put some grade four cultivation pills and rejuvenation pills in your bag since those are the only ones I could afford. I'm sorry, Mother was useless Bai. I've left many things in the spatial ring. As your cultivation grows you'll be able to access more of the ring. I myself hadn't discovered the depth of it.

Be well, my daughters.

Love,

Mother."

FeiHong didn't say much after XieRong was finished. She just clutched the letter close to her heart.

"FeiHong, we need to leave before noon. We don't have much time. I need you to decide if you want to bind with your ring?"

FeiHong gave a determined nod.

"I want to bind with it, Jie."

"Good, now give me your finger."

XieRong pricked her little sister's finger.

"Ready?"

FeiHong closed her eyes shut and let XieRong guide her finger to the ring.

She felt the drop of blood oozing from her finger being sucked out by the ring. She felt something like a hot river slither up her arm to the back of her spine.

"Jie, I think it's done."

"Okay, now try keeping this pouch and bag in it," XieRong said, handing her sister the small bag after taking out fifty silver taels for their journey.

"I don't know how, though."

"I overheard the master at the estate say you can touch the ring to the object with the intention of keeping the object before you learn how to use it with just the mind. Try it."

XieRong looked excitedly as her sister tried to pull the bag in. FeiHong was successful on her third try.

"You did it, FeiHong! Good girl!" XieRong praised patting her sister's head affectionately.

FeiHong giggled happily.

"Now it's your turn, Jie. Let's read your letter."