Ren did not slow until the ridge disappeared behind him.Only then did the air feel lighter.
The pressure beneath his ribs which had been building made him feel like he was closer to breakthrough to the second layer.
Westbrook Hamlet came into view before noon. As he passed through the familiar stretch of road, grass shifted somewhere off the path.
Ren paused for a fraction of a heartbeat.
Then continued.
Another hour brought him to the town beyond.
Smoke rose from cookfires. The river curved beside the settlement like dull silver dragged through mud.
His uncle’s courtyard gate stood open, An
old man stood near the trough, arms folded.
“You’re late.”
“I came as fast as I could.” Ren replied.
His uncle looked at the sky for a moment.
“My best donkey, My Momu, is missing " he said.
Ren’s brows drew together. “Momu is missing?”
“Yes, it ran away when I was reading your letter, it kicked me on my legs and rushed towards the river."
"Help me to get it back" uncle said.
Ren didn’t ask more, he was already turning.
The river was shallow this season. Stones surfaced through thin water. Mud had cracked into scales along the bank.
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He saw Momu first.
It was chewing on the grass on the coast of the river and it looked at Ren
But it was not alone.
There was a boy just five steps away from it that looked to be sixteen perhaps. He stood straight and his sleeves were rolled.
Ren slowed.
“Excuse me, Could you handover that donkey?”
“That's ours, it ran away"
The boy looked at Ren and answered "Sure"
"Please take it"
Ren stepped closer to the donkey.
Then suddenly the boy moved first.
Fast.
Ren responded
Their hands collided mid-strike.
He is not a mortal Ren thought.
The boy drove forward with a palm aimed at Ren’s chest. Ren pivoted, deflecting with his forearm and countering with a short knee to the thigh. The impact staggered the boy but didn’t drop him.
He adapted quickly.
A lower kick at his legs forced Ren back a step. The boy surged in, elbow cutting upward toward Ren’s jaw.
Ren slipped in instead of backing away, the elbow hit his Jaw simultaneously Ren drove his shoulder into the boy’s chest.
Then immediately, Ren seized his collar and twisted, forearm locking across his throat.
“Why did you attack me?” Ren repeated.
The boy did not say anything, but now only Ren saw expression in the boy's face it was a smile.
Something in Ren’s chest tightened.He had seen that smile before.
Ren loosened some grip, the boy twisted free with sudden fluid precision and retreated three steps with uneven breathing.
For a moment, the smile disappeared and a desperate face appeared.
“That was not me”
The boy took out the green vial from his pockets.
For a moment, Ren thought he would drink it.
Instead, he pressed it tightly and broke it into pieces"
The pieces of glass pierced his skin dying his palm red.
“It claimed my brother in the West brook.”
“I won’t let it claim me.”
The boy’s voice did not shake but his hand did.
Then the boy stepped backward toward the river.
He turned and walked along the bank until the trees swallowed him.
Ren stood still and did not follow.
"HEE-HAW! HEE-HAW" The donkey broke the silence, it stood next to Ren.
Ren patted the donkey, and said "Momu, let's go home"
Back in the Sect
Lin entered the storehouse, but she did not bring liquid, Yan stood beside the stacked grain sacks with hands behind his back.
He had already heard her steps.
“You told Ma that you wished to see me?” Lin asked.
Yan turned slowly.
“I want to meet Elder Chao.”