Phoenix Rise: XieRong

The weather was relatively pleasant.

As the group journeyed to the west province, the weather had grown colder.

XieRong now knew why the north was home only to cultivation sects. Without cultivation, they’d freeze to death.

More than three fourth of the journey had been completed. In the morning XieRong would accompany Bai Shen or the young prince, who had grown more fond of XieRong and her sister after learning that they had helped his brother and offered him an alliance, in the morning learning things from them about the state of affairs, weapons and even horseback riding. If she were spending time learning with Bai Shen, then FeiHong would spend time with the young prince and the other way round. During the night she would enter into her spatial ring, some days alone, some days with FeiHong. She spent most of her time reading books about cultivation and medicine when she wasn’t learning from grand father. She had also explored everything that the spatial ring had to offer. On a weekly basis XieRong would contact Hui Nuo and Hui Zhen to check on their progress and on how their master was doing.

It was a week before they had to arrive that there was a disturbance in XieRong’s routine.

XieRong had been reading a book in a carriage she shared with a kind lady when she heard shouting outside.

She put her book in her spatial ring and hopped off the carriage which had come to a stop.

"What’s going on?"

She asked the cultivator standing next to the carriage.

"Young miss, it’s not safe. There seems to be movement in the surrounding forest. Young miss should stay in the carriage with the Duchess Chin until it is safe."

XieRong looked around for FeiHong.

"Miss, I’ll come back after I have found my younger sister."

XieRong knew her sister would be safest with the young prince but she couldn’t help but worry. Their small group included her, FeiHong, Bai Shen, Eighth prince, Duchess Chin, Merchant Liang and his daughter. The rest were all seasoned cultivators in the Earth and Sky Cultivation realms.

It wasn’t hard to find FeiHong who was in front the group practicing her riding.

As soon as she reached the front of the group, men started to appear from around the forest. There were around seven men all with murderous intent oozing out of them.

"Jie, you told that the bandits wouldn’t attack us."

"No, this isn’t an attack, they’re trying to stall us."

XieRong noted that the bandits remained at the edge of the forest and didn’t come near.

"Bai Shen, when did the fourth Prince’s party leave?"

"Three Shi Chen after ours. Why?"

"I’ll tell you but first tell me, which route has the fourth prince taken?"

"The same as ours."

"Then we have to keep moving. The bandits won’t attack, because these are the only ones here. The rest are tailing the fourth prince, I can sense their presence. They are trying to group us with the Fourth Prince’s party and loot us together."

Bai Shen wasn’t so sure if what XieRong telling was true. He could only expand his mind to the surrounding area. How could a girl younger than him, with no cultivation expand her mind so far with self training?

"But-"

"Trust me. These bandits are the only ones here. We need to move or it won’t be long before the rest of them arrive."

XieRong could see the hungry gleam in the Bandits’ eyes. She knew something was wrong.

"Bai Shen, they have laid traps."

XieRong looked at the wide road. It didn’t look like anything was wrong at first glance but as a person who had been laying traps for years, XieRong could make out the soil had been dug up in the middle.

"We’ll have to split up and move close to the bandits on either sides of the road. Take the duchess and merchant with you with half the cultivators, leave the other half to me. Be careful, I feel some of their presences in the trees."

Bai Shen felt to sense the bandits’ presence. XieRong was right some of them were in the trees. He cross checked this with some other cultivators and all of them sensed it. Bai Shen looked at XieRong strangely. How was she able to expand her mind for so long. He could only keep sensing presences for two to three Shi Chen.

XieRong put FeiHong with the young prince and assured them.

"Don’t worry, I’ve been taught military strategies by mother and I’ve read all the books she had. I know we’ll make it through, okay?"

"Hmph, I wasn’t scared in the first place!"

XieRong climbed the horse and began to lead her half of the party.

"I want two cultivators up front, two at the back, one water and earth cultivator facing the road and the rest facing the forest."

"Why should we listen to you, a seven year old girl?" One of the male cultivators replied back.

"It’s either me or you come and lead the party."

XieRong had a deadly look on her face that shut the cultivator up. They did as she told and began to move at a faster pace.

"Earth cultivators keep feeling for any thing hidden in the ground, especially talismans and the sort, the water cultivator will destroy it without triggering it, understood?"

XieRong could feel her palms sweat and heart race. Reading and learning war tactics with mother was one thing, but using them and leading people was a whole other.

’Mother, watch over me,’ she prayed as she lead the group forward.

XieRong tried not to flinch every time she heard a cultivator kill a bandit. She knew most of the bandits would come to attack her group. There was a seven year old girl leading the group. How could the bandits resist such a tempting opportunity to kidnap the prince?

XieRong kept sensing presences in the entire area up until the bandits who were chasing the fourth prince’s party.

"Jie!" FeiHong screamed.

XieRong turned to see that a bandit had jumped onto the carriage from the trees.

"Keep the formation! I’ll take care of this one!"

XieRong steered her horse to the carriage that had stopped. She quickly climbed to reach the roof of the carriage. The bandit was so busy tearing the cloth and reaching for the prince that he didn’t notice XieRong come up behind him and slice his neck.

XieRong felt the bandit’s blood pour over her fingers.

XieRong tried hard not to think about the lifeless body as she pulled the bandit out of the hole in the roof and rolled him over the carriage. After seeing that both FeiHong and the prince were fine, XieRong climbed down and jumped over her horse.

"Young prince tell your spirit beast to keep going, we’re almost out of the area they’ve laid traps in."

"I-I’m too scared!"

"TengFei, we’re almost out of the area they’ve laid traps in. Tell your spirit beast to keep going!"

XieRong looked around as a few more bandits jumped down from the trees. The cultivators were doing a good job of eliminating the bandits. XieRong saw that the stray bandits on the other side had been defeated and their party was moving smoothly.

Now the only problem was the fast approaching fourth prince’s group.

She went to the tiger.

"Please, I know you can understand me. For your master’s sake, keep moving."

The tiger didn’t respond.

XieRong begged.

"Please!"

Hesitantly it started to move.

XieRong quickly led the group out of the area.

After they were out she inwardly let a huge sigh of relief.

XieRong could see her hands were quivering. She clenched them tightly around the reins.

The two groups met in the middle of the road on the other side.

"BaiHua, you were amazing!" Bai Shen praised.

If it hadn’t been for her they would all have fallen into the bandits’ trap.

XieRong only gave a small smile in return. She could still feel the blood on her hand as it slowly dried. She quickly got off her horse.

"I’m going to sit in Duchess Chin’s carriage. Look after FeiHong and the prince and call me if anything is wrong."

Bai Shen looked at the retreating girl’s back. He didn’t understand what he’d said wrong.

XieRong quickly washed all the blood off of her hands and entered Duchess Chin’s carriage.

Duchess Chin was quietly reading a book.

XieRong sat huddled in a corner.

A teacup’s time passed.

"Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you? I don’t know if I can help but it will get a burden off your chest," the duchess said, without looking up from her book.

XieRong hesitated. It felt like something was eating her up inside, so she told the duchess.

"I killed someone for the first time. The reason I’m going to Qianhe is because I wanted to become stronger so that I could take revenge on someone and protect the people I love. I always thought killing would be easy, like a rabbit or a pheasant but it feels strange. I still want to become stronger, but I’m not so sure I can take the revenge I promised my mother."

Duchess Chin sighed. The girl curled up in a foetal position in the corner was so young but was burdened with such grown up worries.

Their world was a dog eat dog world, a cruel place.