First rough draft

[Only the Goddess above would have seen Yu, Yu hoped. He truly hoped. 

Changing out of the Fù uniform would have made Yu’s return to the city much easier. But what of his escape? Did anybody see Yu leave Dryfox House? Did any Twũn loyalist or servers see him? Sure, Twũn Tem and those two strangers saw him in the Fù gear, but they wouldn’t make a fuss of such detail. The problem would be if any bystanders saw his disguise. 

The assassination was supposed to be a complete wipe of everybody in the vicinity. Yu, Qinsu koh, and their squads, were all supposed to successfully enter, then successfully leave once the task was complete. Loose ends were to be at the absolute minimum. But everything had gone out of hand. What if someone saw Yu? 

Was that even the true problem? 

What in all the worlds happened to Qinsu koh? 

Yu had to tell Bah. He knew that was a must. No matter how badly Yu wished not to explain the situation, he knew he was obliged to tell Bah. Sweet Goddess, that was a frightening thought. 

Bah would have their heads once he discovered what his sons had tried to do. And then to discover that Qinsu koh had been ‘abducted’? Was that what even happened? What a horrible mess.] 

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Second draft (Proper)

Where had she gone? Yu scanned the skies above. He was sure he saw Eluna overhead not long ago. But now the sky was undimming its dark. He’d been out for that long? Not good. He had to return as soon as possible. He didn’t want Bah to start brewing questions, not while Yu had all this explaining to do. 

Wait! 

Could he even tell Bah about what happened? The thought of that jolted panic in Yu’s heart. But what had happened was already driving more panic within Yu, so much that he was begging to let Bah know. 

Bah would help. Bah was the head of the Zyur Family. He always took care of everything, especially when things weren’t going right. But deep inside, Yu knew that this might not have been something he could tell Bah. Qinsu koh and Yu planned the whole shade operation behind Bah’s back, after all. It was against his authority. 

Up ahead, Yu noticed some stones he was hoping to find. Trekking offroad and finding a specific location was never easy with little light. But dawn was near and Yu found a small stela and a crude sculpture of a juli hidden amongst the low bushes – indicators that the small hidden shrine was nearby. That’s where they left the hooves. 

The beasts were all there. All 10 of them. 

Yu undid his pack he left with his hoove. A regular officer’s hoove whom he had no true relationship with. He could not bring Lancer along for this operation. His personal mount taken out of the stables would have sparked too many questions. 

Inside the pack was his Zyur gear – yellow as a freshly hatched chick. He had to get the Fù uniform off. Too many people would talk if they say him in Fù’s autumn shade, no matter how similar it was to the Zyur colour. 

As soon as Yu loosened the armour, the pain of his shoulder shot back through. The gear had happened to hold most of his torso in place. The wound was still fresh. Yu didn’t have anything clean to use as a bandage. The only thing that would work would be his Zyur trousers. Surely no one  would notice him wearing the grey Fù trousers. They were almost indistinguishable to the Zyur black trousers. So long as he had the yellow gown, things would seem normal enough. 

“You’ve lost something,” A voice! “What will you do?” 

Someone was there! Yu peered and saw somebody seated on their knees. They were facing the juli shrine. With simple blue robes and wrists wrapped firmly at the sleeves, he must have been a wayist monk. The bald head was the biggest giveaway. But what would a wayist monk be doing at a Guardian’s shrine? Thos of the Way didn’t pray to the Guardians or Ancestors.  

“What was that?” Yu asked the monk. 

“You look like you just lost something important.” The monk still knelt before the little shrine, not turning to face Yu. “You bring a feeling that something is missing. And that it’s out of your control.” 

Who was this stranger? Had he been watching Yu and the squad the whole time? But then again, Yu knew that these pious types always kept their minds on the strange and mystical. It wasn’t uncommon for them to start rambling about nonsense. Maybe he was just making conversation. 

“You can say that.” Yu quickly secured his shoulder bandage. There wasn’t time to be chatting with no strange monk. 

“What are you going to do?” the monk continued. “Are you going to ask people for help, or are you going to do things yourself?” 

“Who says he has to do anything?” Another voice spoke from the side. Yu straightened up to find a young yan in fine violet robes seated on a boulder to the side. The yan’s top knot was prepared very cleanly, and his clothes were too clean and stylish for him to be a common villager, especially out here in the woods at a tiny shrine. He seemed out of place. That was a worry. 

“Are you following me again?” the monk stood up to face the fashionable young yan. The monk was actually quite young himself now that Yu could see his face. Both these strangers seem the same age as Yu. This may have been a concern. 

“Following you?” the other straightened his violet robes and made his way to the shrine monuments. “It is polite to offer greetings to the residents of where you visit. Are you denying me the courtesy?” 

“No,” the monk assured. “But do you always have to…” 

“Excuse me” the fashionable one stopped before the monk standing in his way. He could have just stepped around the monk, but he made it a point to get the monk to step aside. These two clearly knew each other, as contrasting as they were. 

The fashionable one pat a hand above the juli statue on the monument. That seemed to bother the monk who made a shooing away gesture to the fashionable one to get away. 

“This yan is under no obligation to do anything if he does not wish so,” the fashionable one told. “We’re all free to do whatever makes life easier.” 

“But ignoring responsibilities, and living with secrets? That is not becoming of this young yan” the monk argued. 

Young yan? Were they talking about Yu? 

“It is not a relinquishment of responsibility” the violet robes one replied. “It is merely an effective strategy.” 

“To not tell others who can help?” 

“Sometimes you can protect a village by not letting the villagers know that the granaries are empty.” 

“But a great yan lets the people know about the situation,” the monk aruged. “He giives a chance for them to prepare. A great yan is honest.” 

“The young don’t need to hear the ramblings of some forgotten antiques.” A female voice spoke from behind the hooves. 

Out walked a middle-aged yin in simple villager robes. She looked a lot like an elder from Yu’s hometown. The two arguing yans turned to acknowledge her. They made way as she approached the shrine to give her bows. 

“The young won’t grow until they make decisions for themselves” the yin spoke up. 

“But, daichi,” the monk answered her,” they also won’t grow if not give the proper guidance.” 

“Or if someone comes to save them at every corner” the fashionable one added. 

Why was it so busy at this hidden little shrine? Why was it so busy this early before dawn? Who were the strangers? And were they talking about Yu and about what happened at Dryfox House? They couldn’t have known about all that, could they? It was surely just the rambling of commoners. 

The villager lady walked towards Yu. She gave a polite bow, then gestured her head to the side. A sign to leave? 

Right. Yu had to go. 

“And what of all the hooves?” the fashionable one asked aloud. 

Yu saw and realized that he still had all 10 of the mounts to worry about. What should he have done about that? 

“He’ll bring them all with him and return them, for that would be the responsible thing to do” the monk contested. 

“But why bear such a burden when he could turn them for a nice profit?” the fashionable one suggested. 

“He’ll leave them by the roadside” the village yin suggested. “So that the villagers in need can use them as they see fit.” She smiled and gestured her eyes aside for Yu to leave. 

The monk tried to explain, “Wouldn’t it be better for him if he…” 

“Better for him or better for you?” the fashionable yan interrupted. “Shouldn’t you be more clear on your meaning? I thought you were all about honesty.” 

“I am about honesty. That’s why I was saying that…” 

“I don’t think you completely grasp…” the fashionable yan interrupted again. 

Another person appeared by the shrine. Yu almost found it interesting how busy such a tiny hidden shrine could be until he recognized the new arrival. Was new arrival the right word? Their long, untied hair and simple gown… Yu had seen this arrival not long ago. And her sudden arrival made the other company more suspicious. 

Yu felt that sensation stir within him once again. He felt it inside that he was obliged to show respect to this yin. It seemed the other three strangers must have felt the same, for they all fell silent, then turned to face her. Placing one hand atop the other before them, they each gave a reverent bow. Yu followed suit to bow the same. It was the spirit of Dryfox House. 

Why was she out here and not at Dryfox House? But then again, it made sense that she’d be connected to the juli shrine in this area too. That’s if she was the spirit of the house. 

The other three did not utter a word. They kept their glances low. They clearly all felt it. Everybody in Centre knew the tradition – in the presence of a grand spirit, show utmost respect. 

“Syan Yu” the voice spoke in Yu’s mind again, as if from no particular direction. “You can leave now.” 

Yu gave another reverent bow. Upon straightening back up, Yu carefully peeked another look at the spirit. She was looking up past the trees at the sky. Yu wondered what she was seeing until he noticed the sky himself. Bright. Much brighter now. He had to get a move on. 

Before Yu left, he overheard the others speak. 

“Chiyi,” the monk’s voice seemed to sound in Yu’s mind. “How can we help you?” 

“Why are you two here?” the spirit asked. From what Yu could tell, it felt like she was exactly welcoming. 

Yu didn’t hear anymore talking after that. Best not worry about happenings he couldn’t understand, especially because Yu began to speculate about who the other company could have been. Or rather, what the other company could have been.