Interwoven Destiny by M.P. Busch (book club suggestions TXT) 📖

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His hand stopped, for a moment Wen Chou couldn't guess why, the arrow hadn't broke skin yet. That was when he realized that the outlaw's hand had shot up from its resting position and grabbed Wen Chou's wrist. The general's eyes widened in surprise.

"Uh oh." He managed to whisper.

The outlaw uttered a gutteral growl. The wildmen of the forests usually became more primal as they adapted to their untamed surroundings. In a swift motion the outlaw threw away Wen Chou's hand and twirled backwards, slashing with the cleaver as he did. Wen Chou jumped backwards just in time, his bow in hand. The outlaw did not even spend a second in thinking of his next move. He lifted his cleaver high in the air and brought it down, intending to cur Wen Chou right down the middle. Instinctively, Wen Chou placed the bow between himself and the cleaver. The rusty blade of the cleaver dug in, and the outlaw was taken by surprise, now was Wen Chou's chance. Taking the opportunity, Wen Chou lifted his right foot and kicked the outlaw in the gut with all his strength.

To Wen Chou's surprise, the outlaw was lifted off his feet and hurled away, landing hard on his back. The outlaw let out a groan filled with pain. Suddenly Bei Shu Rong did something Wen Chou did not suspect; Bei Shu Rong dropped on the downed outlaw and in his fight for survival rapidly stabbed the outlaw with an arrow.

It was a fit of fury Wen Chou did not like, Bei Shu Rong most likely never killed a man, Wen Chou rushed over and stopped Bei Shu Rong; the outlaw was obviously dead. Bei Shu Rong snapped out of his fit and stumbled backwards, "Oh my god..." He looked at his hands, his eyes pried open.

"You did the right thing, don't worry about it, you've rid the world of another sub-human." Wen Chou took the arrow from Bei Shu Rong's hand and dropped it to the ground, Wen Chou looked straight into eyes, "Understand...?"

Wen Chou expected a 'yes', instead Bei Shu Rong looked back at him, "Who are you Xhou Fan...?"

Wen Chou was taken aback by the question, and only gaped back at him. Suddenly the thought of the other outlaw sprung into his head, the one who had initially fired the arrow from the tree. Wen Chou stood and looked with a quick glance. What he saw added to the confusion.

It was the same exact man from yesterday. Full clad in black leather clothing and a black cape. His movements were as fluid as the shadows themselves. And the outlaw, was facing this man, terrified. The confrontation lasted no more than three seconds. The shrouded man parried a blow from a rusty sword with his hidden sai, and then with an uppercut motion he slit the outlaw's neck. Blood spurted from the wound as the dead body fell limp the ground. The shrouded figure looked directly at Wen Chou.

Wen Chou's mind screamed at him to act defensive, knock an arrow and shoot at the shrouded figure, grab a rock, hide, do something. But Wen Chou could only gaze in amazement. The same man that had caught the raven a day ago may have just saved his life. Funny how things culminated in such a fashion. This time, however, the shrouded figure left without a bow, and seemed to be in the utmost haste as he bolted into the darkened shadows of the forests, his footsteps becoming less audible as he disappeared into the wilderness.

Chapter Five

It was the afternoon, the Ye marketplace was buzzing with business. Where the merchant class would sell their wears to the lower classes, and everyone once in a while tax collectors from the higher classes would be around to collect their dues. That is how society worked in these large cities. Usually dissent grew as a result of these 'noble' men - who most of the time, turn up being only 'noble' in name - and people would gather and let off steam. In a way, it was the ancient Roman equivalent to a forum.

Ba Zeng grinned as he spotted an apple at one of the stalls, one of the green sour apples he thoroughly enjoyed. He called over to the stall keeper and gave him a coin or two for the apple, and took a large bite. Heaven. The warrior-turned-monk was quite pleased with his lot in life, his superior intellect, his status with the Yuan family, and looking forward to spending his golden days in humble service of Wen Chou. There could be no better way to spend his years. Ba Zeng would never father any children, or love any women, but it was the temptations he sacrificed which made him great and quite high-handed.

In his early years Ba Zeng had been a doctor, being trained in a very high class medical school in the Indus River valley. He had learned much in his youth years, Ba Zeng left the school when he was only twenty-three, absorbing all of the knowledge he could from his Indian mentors. That had been many yeras ago, but Ba Zeng still retained his medical abilities. Truly he was an engima, and he reveled in his intelligence.

Ba Zeng finished his green sour apple when he saw Bei Kai. A street urchin, no older than nine, was up the road, looking, searching intently for someone. Ba Zeng had met Bei Kai on one occasion, where Ba Zeng had persuaded the child to not shoplift. Ba Zeng told Bei Kai an anecdote about one of his medical mentors in India. Bei Kai couldn't be sure if it was a true story, but the child was delighted by the ending - where Ba Zeng proved to his mentor that dogs indeed did not sweat.

Bei Kai spotted Ba Zeng and then started to wave at him, the kid was in fact searching for Ba Zeng. Ba Zeng waved back. He realized then - when Bei Kai started to close the distance between them - that the kid's face showed a distraught emotion. Ba Zeng became more concerned, and as Bei Kai arrived at his feet, he fell to his knees - exhausted.

"Master Ba Zeng please!" He exclaimed, tugging at Ba Zeng's robes, "You must come with me, my mother is ill!"

An ill parent, unfortunate enough, Bei Kai is a good kid, Ba Zeng thought to himself, "It will be alright my child," the monk descended and grabbed Bei Kai by the shoulders, Bei Kai looked up - tears in his eyes. Ba Zeng immediately softened, he wiped the tears from the Bei Kai's cheek, "It will be alright child, take me to your mother."

Bei Kai's family were among the many average households. Three rooms to their house, they were lucky. A few tears through their linen windows showed a quite barren interior. Ba Zeng and Bei Kai arrived at the front door, where the child opened it hurriedly, he rushed through the household, expecting Ba Zeng o follow. There wasn't much to see regardless. A table, a few chairs, bowls filled with portage. Bei Kai moved into another room, Ba Zeng followed, his eyes taking in every detail, carefully calculating.

It was their bedroom, everyone slept in here. There was one woman laying on a straw mattress. She looked god awful. Her face was a pale purple, her eyes were listless and searching, her body was weak. A miracle she wasn't dead. There had been attempts to alleviate her of the pain, a wet cloth, bowls of water.

Ba Zeng knew all the symptoms too well.

"Son listen to me..." Sounding serious, he placed his hands on Bei Kai's shoulders, "You need to leave this room, now and don't come back in until I tell you to."

Bei Kai looked back at him, worried. He hesitated.

"Go on," Ba Zeng insisted.

Bei Kai tentatively stepped out into the other room. As soon as he did so Ba Zeng ripped his left sleeve, and tied to cloth around his face - a makeshift mask. There was no doubt about it anymore in Ba Zeng's mind: this woman had succumbed to typhoid fever. If Yuan Shao had known about this woman he would kill the entire family in an instant. A city the size of Ye could not bear to suffer an outbreak, not when it was flourishing as it was now.

There was only one humane thing for Ba Zeng to do.

From within his right sleeve he slid out a long, thing dagger. His hand hovered above the woman's heaving chest, aiming the dagger with surgical precision.

The woman suddenly gasped, her body jerked, her eyes opened wide. She lurched forward, spotting Ba Zeng. The monk supressed a yell, knowing all too well Bei Kai would run in. Ba Zeng quickly grabbed his right sleeve and cupped his hand over the woman's mouth, using the sleeve to shield his hand. With his left hand he thrust the dagger through the woman's blanket, deep into her abdomen.

The woman's eyes froze, Ba Zeng released his hand from her mouth. Cold eyes stared back at him, but they were not looking at him. She was delusional in her illness, hallucinating her own fantasy. The woman mouthed, with her last breath:

"I...love...you..."

She fell back onto the mattress. The red pool of blood already congealing.

Epilogue

A few minutes later Ba Zeng exited the room, closing the door behind him. The dagger had been slipped up his sleeve once more. Bei Kai sat on the floor opposite of the door, looking at him with a blank expression, "What happened to your sleeve?"

The sleeve that Ba Zeng had ripped, he made up something without thinking, "I had to use it as a mask, you're mother is deathly ill, you're safer staying with me Bei Kai, come along now."

Ba Zeng stopped at the front door, he looked back, Bei Kai hadn't move an inch. There were tears in his eyes. Ba Zeng outstretched a hand.

"Come now child, I will find your Father, and tomorrow everything will be much better." He smiled.

At that moment a crow flew into the house from the open door, and perched onto Ba Zeng's shoulder.

"It's a raven!" Bei Kai exclaimed.

"A crow actually," Ba Zeng petted the bird, covertly gathering its secret message,

"The poor cousin of the raven, both black, both hated."

Bei Kai rose from the floor, and followed Ba Zeng. In the evening, the monk rode out of Ye, in search for Bei Kai's father.

In search of a man named Bei Shu Rong.

For their destinies were interwoven.

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