Chokehold

Qingqing kicked angrily at a rock and watched it hurtle rattling down the slope.

"Suit yourself," she said loudly and rudely, even though only her own voice echoed back at her. "What do I care if you don't want to eat for days? Does it make any difference to me? Of course not. Here am I just trying to be nice to you. What do I get for my pains?"

She snorted fiercely. "If I'd know you'd just reject my kind offer without even a glance I wouldn't have bothered to bring any frogs back for you."

It had started out as a good morning with her finding a whole bunch of frogs; spring was finally on the way. In high spirits, Qingqing had eaten them rapidly, but the last three she decided suddenly to bring back for Suzhen, remembering that she hadn't eaten for five days.

All she had done was stay inside her grotto. Sometimes she would be in her snake form. Sometimes she would be in her human form. Sometimes with her eyes closed, seemingly cultivating, other times staring unseeingly at the wall, huddled in a corner. But she had barely spoken, even when Qingqing spent the whole first day scolding her and ranting about how foolish she had been to trust the humans. Qingqing had talked herself hoarse without getting much response, and she gave up. Even the vainest person in the world eventually would get tired of hearing their own voice bouncing back at them inside that damp cave.

The next two days Qingqing had left Suzhen alone, reasoning that after some time on her own she would recover. QingQing had gone back to her old life on the mountains now.There was no more going to town now. Fahai was there. And no more visits to the village--Xuxian knew who she was now. He might have let Suzhen off, but there was no guarantee that he would be as merciful to Qingqing.

So it was back to her life in the mountains. Goodbye to the House of Falling Petals and stealing food from drunk businessmen, to Yuanzheng's noodles, to roaming the streets to look for snacks to share with Xiaohu.

For the time being only, she promised herself. That ruthless monk had to move on eventually, didn't he? It was a pity Sister hadn't killed him when she had the chance. If only she had they would have been spared all this trouble. It was all his fault, that cursed monk. Qingqing ended her train of thought with this lament. She had formed a habit of doing this recently. Depending on her mood, it was either Fahai's fault or Xuxian's.

By the fourth day, she was starting to get a bit worried. She tried talking to Suzhen, as if nothing had happened, asking her if she wanted to go hunt rats now that winter was over and the animals were starting to appear on the mountain again. Qingqing ate some rats in front of her, putting in a good deal of effort to emphasize how delicious they were. No use. Sulky, she flounced out of the grotto and tried to distract herself by seeing if the lake was warm enough to go swimming in.

Today was the fifth day. Qingqing had plopped the frogs down in front of her, sure Suzhen would not be able to resist such juicy ones. When Suzhen only moved to shake off the one that crawled onto her hand, Qingqing had flown into a temper and ate all three frogs in a hurry out of spite before storming out of the grotto once more.

Too quickly, she realized too late. She was having hiccups. Qingqing massaged her stomach uncomfortably as another bubble of air came up her throat.

"Curses on those frogs," she muttered angrily. "I think I forgot to chew. Perhaps they're still hopping around inside, that's why."

She gave a shriek of fright as a hand shot out from behind her and caught her throat in a chokehold.

There had been no warning. She had not heard any footsteps. Not a rustle. Perhaps the hiccups and her own stormy thoughts and underlying anxiety--yes, she was worried for Suzhen, that was the truth!--had distracted her.

Who could it be? She lashed out wildly but the hand's grasp was like iron. Qingqing writhed desperately. If she could only turn and catch sight of the face--

The fingers of a second hand met around her throat and she felt her eyes popping slightly as they throttled her relentlessly. There was no help for it. Human or not, she had to save herself. She couldn't bother who saw her in her snake form now. Any longer and her windpipe would be crushed in.

Her vision was blurring. The viciousness of the chokehold was more than she was prepared for. This was no common bandit attack or random hooligan, who would have searched her for a purse, or tried to grope her. Who would have had so much strength, and be so determined to kill her?

With a last violent wrench she transformed into her snake form and slipped easily through the hands like lightning before they could seize her. The moment she hit the ground she twisted round, even though her head was swimming from the impact and the air rushing into her lungs made her feel sick. With the first gust of oxygen her brain seemed to clear among the fear and confusion overwhelming her.

It was not possible. But who else could it be?

She transformed back into her human form, if only for the sake of being able to speak.

"You damned terrapin spirit," Qingqing gasped. "You ought to be dead. I killed you."