⚠️ WARNING:- CONTAINS A BLOODY SCENE. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

A sweet, smooth, mellifluous music flowed gently.

Relief flooded his existence.

The dulcet golden melody washed over everything, leaving a sort of glow in its wake.
Honeyed, rich, euphonious.
Slowly, he emerged from under the shady tree and started walking.

The sky was blue, the birds sang merrily and there was a bee on the clover nearby. The streams ran clear and there were fish in the river.

' "You know pearls come from deep within the ocean, from oysters..." '

"Pearls!!" He rushed towards the luminescence.

There were lights, too many to count, dancing on an ocean too vast to envisage. Each one was brilliant, each one was unique. He wanted to look at each one of them for no matter how many there were, no two colours were the same.
The light that came from within seemed to be purer than gold, each one a small piece of heaven. He tried to reach out to them; who wouldn't want to touch something so pure? But the lights seemed to recoil in fright. He didn't understand until he looked at the water, it looked fine but smelled like something he wouldn't want to drink.

A while later, as he gazed at his reflection in the rippling waves, the water didn't look good anymore either.

Unexpectedly, inky tendrils burst out from beneath the foam. His eyes widened, and he sucked in a breath, as, within split seconds, the sheer thread-like structures morphed into grimy hands.

The very next instant he found himself being plunged into the swirling waters with a force that knocked the air out of his lungs, leaving him wheezing in the spray.

"AAHHH!! MMMMH!! MMMMH!! HAH!! HAH!! MMMHH!!"

Just before he was pulled deeper beneath the surface, the mirrored edge of the world shattered into a million pieces.

"LET ME GO!! HAH!! LEAVE ME!!"

He couldn't tell up from down.

*"Little boy??"*

He wasn't sure if he was breathing anymore.

*"Little Prince??"*

"No, let me go, please..."

He could only weep as the lovely lights on the surface of the water taunted him, and swiftly faded away into the blackness.

*"Little boy is scared... He is shouting at us, hahahahaha!"*

"Let me go!! I want Ma!!"

*"Don't worry, little boy, we'll take really really good care of you..."*

A moment of silence, as he continued to struggle.

"Let me go!! Please!! Someone, please take me home!!" He wailed at the top of his lungs. "I don't want to stay here..."

The innumerable grimy hands began to grope at him and make their way inside his robes. One of them proceeded to clamp his mouth shut.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!!"

The world was aquiver.
Shaking. Blurring at the edges.

"Ren??"

He choked as he was pulled apart, as he slowly exploded from inside out.

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS??!! LET ME GO!!"

A scream was torn out from his chest.

"IT HURTS!! PLEASE, SOMEONE, HELP!!"

The pain was unbearable, it kept building, building, and building.

'How is it that you see my suffering and choose to make it all the worse?'

Claustrophobic darkness ensnared him from all sides, leaving no room for escape.

"Ren, wake up!!"

"Ma, Baba, please take them away... Please take me home.."

A dark shadow of a monstrous being hovered over him, washing away the blinding sharpness of the sky.

"Please let me go... Please.."

"Ren!!" A voice seemed to call him from afar.

The red, gleaming eyes of the monster beheld him with contempt.

*"Little boy... I'm so scared of you!"* the gruesome, bloody mouth derided him, making him struggle and howl with despair.
"A- HONG!!!"

"Renshu, wake up, love!! Wake up!!"

"A- HONG!!"

******

Li Liang was shaken awake from his slumber, by a series of violent tremors that seemed to emanate from the side of the bed next to him.

"It hurts...." A voice floated over to him.

Feeling a little irritated at his peaceful sleep being spoiled by something that felt like a mini earthquake, he inched his eyelids open and turned his head to the side.

He shot up, wide awake at the sight that greeted his coal eyes.

His beloved grandson was on the bed beside him.

As he placed his hand on his little shoulder, Renshu trembled like he was having seizures and wept, burying his face further into the pillows.

"Mmm, Baba... Mmm...mmmm...mmm.. Take mm home..."

He was alarmed. "Ren??"

Renshu just kept shivering violently. He mumbled deliriously and clawed at the sheets.

"Ren!! Please wake up!" Liang shook him. "Wake up, darling!"

Seeing that the boy would surely asphyxiate himself with the pillow, he quickly set to work by prying his fingers open.

"Ren, what happened?? Wake up!! Please wake up!!"

"Don't touch me... Let me go... Please..." Renshu sobbed, scalding tears rolling down from the corners of his tightly closed eyes.

"Renshu, wake up, love!! Wake up!!" Liang cried, tears burning his eyes. He swiftly lifted his grandson into his arms and held him tight to stop him from thrashing around.

"Ma... Baba... Yéye... It hurts... Please..."

His groans were accompanied by agonising whimpers and hiccups.

Li Liang helplessly looked for something, for anything to revive his darling Renshu, to bring him back from the morbid world of dystopian nightmares in which the boy was drowning.

******

"I'M NOT A BABY!!" Caihong roared, as she bent backwards to escape the slashing motion of the Liuyeqiang. She quickly raised her own Aiyeqiang to evade the next attack.

"Yeah, of course, you're not a baby. Who said? You just fall asleep to your mommy's lullaby. You're not a baby," Zhang chuckled, using the shaft to defend the blade from piercing him.

"AARGH!!" Caihong thrust her spear towards him.

-----------------------

(Liuyeqiang/ Willow Leaf Spear)

(Aiyeqiang/ Short Leaf Spear)

--------------------------

A swift manoeuvre of his arm was enough to push her a couple of steps back. The metal of the spearheads glinted in the last rays of the setting sun, as the two weapons struck each other at full tilt.

With a peculiar swing of her arm, Zhang's spear had flown up into the air.

Caihong huffed triumphantly and pointed the glittering head towards him, "Surrender or die."

A sly smirk played on his lips. His sterling grey eyes twinkled, as he panted, "I choose to surrender," he paused to catch his breath, "But not yet."

Suddenly the spear was back in his hands, and with a chopping motion which was as swift as lightning, he swung his spear down on her weapon with all his strength.

The metal spearhead was severed from the wooden shaft with a crack.

******

"A- Hong..." Renshu groaned, shivering like his bones were rattling inside him. Tears fell incessantly like a heavy summer downpour, except that this shower of brine only brought the frigid sensation of distress to Li Liang's heart.

"Ren, wake up, baby," Li Liang shook him in vain. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his racing heart and mind.

After a few breaths, he focussed on the twitching boy in his arms.

"A- Hong..."

Li Liang spotted a jug right beside him on the bedside table. He grabbed it and pouring the water into the cupped palm of his hand, he sprinkled the cool liquid onto his face.

"Nooo...."

"Ren? Renshu?" He patted his cheeks. "RenRen, wake up. Wake up, love."

A whimpering Renshu rolled onto his side. His fingers gripped his Yéye's robes and the sheets in a vice-like grip.

"Please..."

All of a sudden, his whole body went taut, and his eyes flew open, as a petrified scream escaped his lips.

"AAAAHHHH!!!"

"Renshu!!"

******

"Surrender or die, Mèimei," Zhang said, his Liuyeqiang pointing at her throat.

Caihong stared at the existing wooden stick in her hand and the metal spearhead lying uselessly on the ground. Suddenly she lashed out, obviously not willing to give up that easily.

Zhang's eyes widened at the force of her strike and quickly composed himself before dealing with a second hit.

"So be it then," he gritted out. "Die!"

It didn't take him too long to slice the shaft into two again. But by the time, he could finally do it, he was gasping for air.

Children were much lighter on their feet than adults. Thus, trying to bring a leaping Caihong, who was already too agile, to a vulnerable spot to disarm her was an ordeal in its own self.

"Surrender now," he panted.

Little did he know that his student had been waiting for this very moment.

Her hands glowed, as she jumped away from him. A golden chain materialised out of thin air and linked the two wooden pieces together, transforming it into a Nunchaku.

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(Nunchaku/ Nunchuck

*A/N* Just assume that the wooden handles are longer and of a darker shade and the chain is golden. I couldn't find any better pictures.)

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She swung it a fierce outward motion, successfully whacking him on the arm. Zhang bit back a groan and drove his spear in a killing stab, while the fearsome weapon began to rotate in a formidable circle in her grip, blocking his blows.

A few soldiers stopped to watch the show, emitting "oohs" and "aahs", their exclamations of encouragement egging both of them on.

As soon as Zhang seemed to be getting an upper hand, Caihong struck him on the bare, unprotected parts of his arms, making him wince in pain.

******

" Oh my, that's a pretty target I've been paid for," a fully cloaked and masked figure in black chuckled, as he hid on a watchtower that gave him a clear view of the training ground.

He snorted at the spectacle which he had created on the floor.
The floor was sullied with twin pools of blood, which were slowly flowing towards each other to become one. The walls were splattered with deep crimson fluids and brain matter that were slowly trickling down the concrete. The pungent metallic scent hung heavily in the air.

On the floor lay two rapidly cooling corpses, for the two hapless guards of the watchtower lay dead on the ground, with their grey matter flowing out due to the blades embedded deep into their skulls. Reddish foam dribbled from their open mouths.

"What will happen to your families now, idiots? Will the Second Mistress take care of them?" The figure laughed.

He turned his attention back to his 'pretty target'. "Aish, she's so restless," he shook his head.

He sighed as he watched the girl leap aside to dodge a blow. "Doesn't matter, I have lots of time," he smirked as he pulled out a long-distance crossbow. He waited patiently for his target to slow down. His bullseye was her skull.

---------------------------

(Crossbow)
-----------------------------

******

*"You rascal..."*

"PLEASE GO AWAY!!"

The black shadow didn't leave. Instead, it enveloped him in a bone-crushing grip, making him go blue in the face.

A foul stench made his flesh crawl. He gagged.

"RenRen, wake up, darling!"

'Yéye!!'

The ghastly mouth of the beast approached him, its scarlet eyes glinting at his agony.

He screeched.

"Renshu!!"

Renshu wailed, flailing his arms about, trying to get past the monster looming over him. He suddenly found himself in a pair of arms and thrashed out, in a desperate attempt to free himself.

"Ren, stop! It's me, Yéye! Stop, child. Calm down," Li Liang coaxed him.

"Take them away!! Tell them to leave me alone!!" Renshu cried, pointing a trembling finger at the bedpost, at the devils who had pained him in his sleep. He hid his face in Liang's chest.

"Alright, whatever my Ren wants," Li Liang said loudly and unsheathed his sword. "How dare you make my Ren cry?!" He slashed out with the sword. A strong wave was emitted. It sliced neatly through a flower vase, cracking it in two.

'Aiya, I need to apologise to Sect Leader Ruan for breaking this. I'll have to find a replacement.' He made a mental note.

"Shush, it's alright now," he began to rock the frightened boy in his arms. "See, I've sent them away. They won't come back anymore. It was just a bad dream, Ren. It's okay now. They won't return."

Both of them sat there in each other's arms for a while, and Liang cooed sweet nothings into Renshu's ears to soothe him.

Big hazel eyes, reddened at the corners, gazed at his coal ones. Li Liang smiled at the darling boy and his heart danced when he was greeted with a small smile in return.

Caihong's words returned to him.

' "I'm not sure how much I can do. I don't know what to do. But I promise you, I'll never leave his side. You will not find any lackadaisical attitude from my end. Even if he gets angry and scolds me, I'll never leave him. I promise." '

He bundled his grandson into his arms again and kissed him lovingly on the top of his head.

All of a sudden his scalp prickled, making him hiss.

"Ow... What?... OUCH!"

Liang looked down at the boy sitting in front of him. Renshu must have felt his eyes on him, for he looked up and held out a needle in his little hand.

Li Liang nodded, as understanding dawned on him. The drug of the needle in his skull had worn off.

Renshu sniffled and coughed.

"Ah, I'm so sorry, come here, Ren," he took a handkerchief and wiped the watery snot and tears off his face. He then handed him a tumbler of water. "Drink it up, dear."

After having the cool water, Renshu looked better and a bit refreshed.
He cleared his throat and inquired, "A- Hong?"

"A- Hong? Who is A- Hong, Ren?"
A puzzled Li Liang asked.

Renshu blinked in reply, making him rack his brains in thought.

"Who is A- Hong, dear? Tell me, or else how will I know?"

When the boy finally realised what he had just blurted out, his eyes widened to the extent that you could see the whites all around. His skin soon sported an intense blush and he pursed his lips.

Li Liang was baffled.

"Who is A- Hong, dear? Is this person a friend of yours?"

A furiously blushing Renshu lowered his gaze and nodded.

"A friend... I haven't heard of anyone whom you know with that name. Who is this?"
Li Liang wondered.

'A- Hong? A- Hong... A- Hong...'

Suddenly, it clicked.

"Ren?" He lifted the boy's chin to make him look at him. "By any chance, are you looking for..." He paused to take a good look, "Caihong?"

The flush on Renshu's already pink cheeks seemed to deepen further if that was even possible.

Having got his answer, Li Liang cleared his throat to stifle his chuckle, "Umm, I think she is outside. Here, take this shawl. Go and meet her."

Renshu scrambled off the bed to avoid any further questions. After grabbing the shawl he rushed out of the room.

Li Liang's teasing chuckles saw him on his way out.

"A- Hong, huh?"

******

Tiring Zhang out was no easy feat. Though he looked like he needed a breather, Caihong knew very well that he still had a substantial amount of stamina left. On the other hand, she was running out of breath.

Zhang wielded the spear to block the Nunchaku and lowered it to swing at her knees. She jumped high to escape the blade.

She realised that she wouldn't be able to hold up for long. Her throat was so parched that it hurt. She could barely pause for air. Her insides were burning up with hunger. She needed to do something quickly.

After dodging yet another jab, she swung her Nunchaku in an arc. It hit the shaft of the spear, momentarily displacing it. By the time, he secured it in a proper hold again, she swung her weapon in the reverse arc. At the same time, she stepped closer to him.

A reckless move, without any doubt.

Zhang, who wasn't prepared for such a careless approach, frowned. But right then, sharp pain surged up his arm, and he simultaneously felt himself falling backwards.

"Surrender or die."
A voice came from above him.

Caihong was holding his Liuyeqiang at his throat with her left hand, and swinging her makeshift Nunchaku in the other.

"Hehehe," she giggled.

Leaning on the ground where he had fallen with a thud, Zhang couldn't help but smile back. "Now that was unexpected."

Caihong put forth her hand to help him up. The entire training court erupted with applause.

Amid their little celebration with water and meat buns, no one noticed a dark figure on the balcony of the nearby watchtower hoist a loaded crossbow onto his shoulder and take aim.

All of a sudden, Caihong found herself shoved to the ground. The meat bun fell out of her hand. She clenched her teeth and pushed her famished self up to yell in indignation.

"WHO ON EARTH-"

She froze. All the words she was about to spit out died on the tip of her tongue.

It was Ren. Blood trickled from between his quivering fingers on to the dusty floor. The shaft of an arrow was jutting out from the flesh of his palm.

†******†

*sits down and glares at Caihong*

Me:- "You know I promised my Shijie that I wouldn't put you two in danger."

Caihong:- *gives me a cheeky grin*

Me:- "Hhmph! Why the hell did you have to make my brain act like this?! Are you sure you aren't possessing me or something?" *takes Ren into her arms and hugs him tight* my baby boy...

Caihong:- *gives me the squint eye*

Me:- "Hey, how dare you glare back at me?!"

Caihong:- *deadly pout that can make anyone melt* "I did that because I want a hug too!" *scrunches up her face as if she is about to burst into tears* "I am innocent..." *dramatic lip wobble*

Me:- *melts in no time* "Aiyaa, don't cry, come here." *takes both her babies into her arms*

Me ( to my readers):- "Can someone please check whether Caihong winked behind my back or not?"

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Hi there, back after a long time. Well, things at home aren't exactly pleasant, and instead of being strong, I broke down and did something that hurt three people who are very close to my heart. I'm gonna carry this to my crematorium.

On a better note, I qualified in the pre-qualification round of Adept Pen awards.

This is the sticker. I've filled the forms for the semi-final round. Hoping for the best. Thank you so much sora2903 Mèimei for helping me with it.

And on an angry note, is it just me, or are all Chemistry professors such bitches? My professor announced a few minutes back that she is going to take an exam tomorrow. Like WTF?!! You're taking an exam on a one day notice?!?!! I'm so screwed. Ughh... Can I please strangle her?