The Sword in the Wind

The north wind howled in their ears.

A group of three teenagers hiked through the thick snow. They wore martial arts robes and fur coats, and all three were armed with swords at their hips.

Their leader was an eighteen-year-old girl named Weng Yuzhi. Behind her, was another girl and a boy.

The boy complained, “How much longer do we have to walk to find that man? I’ve never liked him.”

Weng Yuzhi tightened her jaw. “I don’t like him, either. But what choice do we have? He’s the only one who might have a clue where our shifu is.” Shifu means teacher — of the martial arts, in this case.

Their shifu was Mei Yueling, a middle-aged woman who had mysteriously disappeared a few days ago.

The man who likely knew her whereabouts, was Yi Lang, the thirty-year-old son of Yi Fei.

The grumbling boy walking behind Weng Yuzhi, muttered to the other girl, “Xingxue, say something! Shijie always listens to you.” Shijie means senior female apprentice. Weng Yuzhi was like an older sister to them. Su Xingxue was sixteen and the boy was seventeen.

Su Xingxue shook her head with a small smile. “She doesn’t listen to everything I say. And Yi Lang isn’t a completely horrible person. Maybe he’ll listen to reason.”

“It’s annoying how nice you always are,” replied the boy. His name was Zhuo Tianyue. He was also a prince. His father, the emperor, had spoiled him too much.

Su Xingxue shrugged her petite shoulders, and she lowered her eyes.

Before long, the white snow gave way to muddy slush. They arrived at a meandering stone path. This was the headquarters of the Wolf Fang Tribe, where Yi Fei and Yi Lang reigned.

Weng Yuzhi marched straight to the entrance. The younger teens followed closely behind her.

The eighteen-year-old girl rapped on the door with a determined look on her face.

Instantly, someone opened it. Right at the threshold was a tall, muscular man with parchment-colored robes. His face broke into a smile when he beheld them, or more precisely, when he beheld Weng Yuzhi.

But she was oblivious to this. Weng Yuzhi arched her eyebrows with fury. “Where is my shifu? I know you’re hiding her somewhere.”

The man at the door was Yi Lang. He chuckled with amusement. “Weng Gu Niang, it’s such a pleasure to see you again. Why don’t you three come in and then we’ll talk?” Gu Niang means young girl or woman.

Before Weng Yuzhi could protest, Su Xingxue answered, “Yes, please.”

The older girl gaped, but she closed her lips and nodded.

Zhuo Tianyue muttered, “I told you shjie would listen to anything you say.”

Su Xingxue pretended not to hear him. She just bowed her head politely and entered the building behind her shijie.

The teen boy didn’t like the idea of entering enemy territory like that, especially when Yi Lang looked so cocksure.

But at the same time, Zhuo Tianyue was sick and tired of trudging out in the snow. As a prince, he didn’t have much experience travelling out in rough conditions.

***

The three teens were quickly seated at a round table. Yi Lang ordered the servants to serve them pastries and tea.

Zhuo Tianyue knew that these refreshments could be poisoned, but the three of them had been trekking for too long and had nothing but stale, dry food. So, with some caution, he started tasting the delicacies. Su Xingxue cast him a worried glance.

Weng Yuzhi ignored the food and demanded, “So where is our shifu? Stop wasting our time!”

Yi Lang laughed again, and showed his teeth. They were very nice teeth, not that the eighteen-year-old girl would notice. “What’s the hurry? She’s resting quite comfortably in bed right now, accompanied by my father.”

At this, Weng Yuzhi slapped the table and yelled, “Let go of her! If you have any respect left for my shifu, you need to let her go.”

Zhuo Tianyue couldn’t help but interject, “Why would any of them respect our shifu?”

Yi Lang shot him a cold look, quite a contrast to the warm gaze he had for Weng Yuzhi. “Don’t be so rude about matters you don’t know, boy.”

Su Xingxue asked in a gentle voice, “Can we at least visit her, please?” She was an adorable girl, enough to melt the hearts of most people.

The man darted another glance at Weng Yuzhi, who was still glaring at him, before saying, “Fine, but be quiet. Your shifu needs her rest.”

The eldest girl got up first, her food and drink still untouched. “You better not try anything funny, Yi Lang.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” the man replied with a composed, smug smile.

It turned out that Yi Lang had not been lying. The teenagers’ shifu, Mei Yueling, slept soundly on a lush bed. An older man with features similar to Yi Lang’s sat on a chair beside her. He stared at Mei Yueling with eyes full of sorrow and regret.

“Father,” Yi Lang bowed with reverence when he reached the man, who was indeed Yi Fei.

The older man hardly even budged. He murmured, “Why were you so stubborn, my love?”

Weng Yuzhi had no patience for any of this. She strutted up to the bed and shook Mei Yueling’s arm. “Shifu, what’s up with you? Get up! Let’s leave this filthy place.”

Yi Lang frowned but Yi Fei just sighed and gave the teen girl a tight smile. “We’re not the villains you think we are, Weng Gu Niang. Your shifu was fighting a horde of enemies, but she lost and fainted. My son and I rushed in to save her, or else she would’ve died. We took her in to recover, but unfortunately, she has slipped into a coma.”

The eighteen-year-old girl glowered at Yi Fei. “Do you expect me to believe that? How do I know that you didn’t kidnap and drug her?”

Yi Fei laughed. “You can believe what you want. I’m only telling you the truth. Right now, all we can do is wait for your shifu to wake up.” The man looked out the window. “It’s getting late. Why don’t you kids rest in the guest rooms tonight?”

The oldest girl pursed her lips, obviously reluctant. She leaned forward until her face was close to the sleeping woman’s ear. “Shifu, don’t worry. Whoever did this to you, whether it’s Yi Fei, Yi Lang, or anyone else, they will pay!”

Su Xingxue tugged her arm. “Shijie, come on. We can’t help shifu like this. Might as well get some rest.”

Yi Lang grinned at Su Xingxue. “If only Weng Gu Niang had your sense.”

“She would be a lot nicer to you if you could prove that you’re sincere,” Su Xingxue answered in a mild voice.

Zhuo Tianyue snorted at this.

Weng Yuzhi butted in, “Too bad he’s the opposite of sincere. I even like Zhuo Tianyue better, and that’s saying a lot.”

The teenage boy laughed at that. He wasn’t too fond of his shijie, either, but he too preferred her to Yi Lang and his father.

***

That night, each of the teenagers got a separate guest room to stay in. But Zhuo Tianyue couldn’t sleep.

After a while, he gave up and rose from the bed. When he exited the room to take a walk, he was pleased to see that Su Xingxue was up as well. She was sitting on the steps to the porch, wrapped up in a thick fur coat. The sixteen-year-old girl gazed off into the distance with a dreamy expression.

She was startled when Zhuo Tianyue plopped down next to her. In a soft voice, he asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Su Xingxue avoided his eyes. “Nothing much…” She shuffled her boots in the snow.

“You know what?” Zhuo Tianyue began, “I think — we should watch out for shijie. She’s always angry so she doesn’t realize what’s happening around her.”

Su Xingxue smiled. “She’s not always angry. You keep focusing on the bad moments. She’s happy a lot of the time, too.”

“Well, maybe she’s just mad when I’m around,” Zhuo Tianyue insisted. Before his companion could reply, he went on, “In any case, have you seen the way Yi Lang looks at her?”

“How could I not?” Su Xingxue furrowed her brows. “But I don’t think he would dare do anything. I don’t like him very much. But he still seems to be an honorable gentleman, for the most part. I can tell that he at least — likes our shijie.”

The teenage boy shook his head with a derisive smile. “You’re really innocent, you know? It’s not that kind of like, not the harmless sort. And I’m not sure that he will stick to his principles, if he has any.”

Su Xingxue folded her arms over her chest. “I really don’t think he would cross any lines, but if you feel that — ”

Her speech was cut off by a loud clang. “Take that, you scum!” It was Weng Yuzhi’s voice. Her yell broke through the silence of the snowy landscape.

Stay tuned for Chapter 2!

Glossary of terms

Shifu （師父） = Teacher or master, especially of the martial arts.

Shijie （師姊） = The senior female apprentice

Gu Niang （姑娘） = Young girl or woman

The Chinese names of characters and places

Weng Yuzhi
翁羽芝

Su Xingxue
蘇星雪

Zhuo Tianyue
卓天越

Mei Yueling
梅月玲

Yi Lang
易浪

Yi Fei
易飛

Wolf Fang Tribe
狼牙幫

Originally published in The Mayhem on Oct 16, 2022