From hunter to hunted

[Hidden Dimension, Realm of Mo]

Kanghui glided in the air as quickly as she could above the thick canopy of the primeval trees on the picturesque dragon-like ridges of mountain range.

Bubbling brown rivers of mud and their tributaries snaked around the base of the mountain range, separating it from the lush green primeval forests in the valley.

She turned back to glance, unsure if her assailant was in pursuit.

A familiar sight came into view as she noticed the trees with their distinctive yellow and red leaves demarcating part of her old territory — the Mountain of Uncertainty. The mountain is her safe ground to enable her to escape the grasp of Taowu before he dealt a fatal blow.

She clutched her abdomen to stop the leakage of greenish miasma from her abdomen, searching for the landmark in her mind while her thoughts sprinted through the possibilities of Taowu laying traps for her on the mountain.

Amidst the trees, a large clearing came into sight with crumbling vine covered ruins around a large half collapsed structure, the size of the Roman Colosseum, in a flattened plain of the great mountain.

Kanghui swerved past the outstretched Jiaguo tree, and in a swoop, landed on the stone pavement, where the scattered yet brownish rotting peach-like fruits laid perfuming the entrance with a sickly sweet scent and fell on her knees.

Gingerly, her hands pushed up her body up, leaving traces of the greenish gas wisps smeared on pavement. Her eyes surveyed the area, a necropolis now standing in a ghostly silence as a monument to her people when she was first assigned to the area after her evolution as one of the earliest primeval beings.

The small foundational stones stuck across the now cracking ground were all that remained of bustling public buildings and homes, now deserted and devoid of life.

Noisy sounds of grunting and chirping creatures gave her a momentary mild relief, for Taowu's presence would have made them flee the vicinity.

A slight hope shone as she deduced his path towards the other side of the mountain where her old ruling seat was several millennia ago.

Still, she took caution, wary that he may turn up unexpectedly.

Gingerly walking over the roots of plants erupting through the cracks of the stone ground, she made her way to the wall of the entrance and carefully picked away the vines to look at the now rusted metal plaque, slightly bent from the thick and tough roots of the plants forcing their way through.

The words inscribed on the plaque referred to "the Grand Library of Uncertainty".

She never had the time to read the scrolls and books in the Grand Library, but the past inhabitants enjoyed the use of the facility. Many used to come from afar to visit or perform research.

Kanghui knew every nook and cranny of the desolate space, like she did other buildings under her rule, even if the place was now a skeleton of rocks and stones.

A pat on the metal plaque stuck the rust on the skin of her hand, coating it in a burnt orange color.

Kanghui wiped her hand on her clothes as she limped forward towards the shrub covered rocks which were once the great pillar. Nothing remained of the scrolls. What had happened Kanghui wondered.

Taowu's poison affected energy waves, and she needed a quiet place to hide to attempt the stem the flow of the poison unravelling her energy waves into a chaotic flow through the channels of her soul core.

If Taowu could turn on her, so could the other three, despite their inaction, or rather indecisiveness. They stood by watching Taowu attack her, as though trying to make up their minds.

If the other three turned on her, fighting them in her condition would result likely in her own soul core shearing in different directions.

"This has to happen some time," she muttered, cursing herself for letting her guard down while her legs faltered a little, weakening each step of the way.

Every action has a price to pay, and this debt has to be repaid. Zhuyin, the elder sage of her kind, had warned her ages ago about exerting influence via a contract over the four worst beast kings.

Changing into her true form will hasten the disruptive effects of the poison through her energy meridians as she staggered around the obstacles of vines, broken pavement stones and rocks and finally fell into a kneeling position, her stubbornness refusing to go the easy way of lying on the ground.

"If they become stronger than you, the only way for them to break out of your control is to finish you," his voice echoed in her memory while she entered a corridor attached to the side of the mountain as her vision doubled and tripled the swaying images into an unrecognizable blur.

Kanghui blinked a few times in a concerted effort to stave off the effects. Silence fell swiftly as she heard a crunch of the rocks through the ruins coming from behind.

Did Taowu and the rest find her already? Her hand moved swiftly to the side of her waistband and grasp at her dagger's hilt, ready to draw at any moment.

If Taowu wanted to take her down, she will inflict as much damage as she could, even the result is losing and ending her existence.

"Kanghui!"

She could barely hold her head up, but she recognized the worried voice of Fuxi, her older brother.

How did he find her in this state? Why was he even here? She kept her mouth shut. Fuxi has hidden himself after she entered the Void.

Trust no one, not even family, her instincts screamed. Still, beggars can't be choosers. In the dire state, it made no difference to Kanghui if Fuxi or Taowu attacked her right now at her most vulnerable.

Some help was better than no help, even if she loathed asking others.

"Shit, Taowu's blight."

"His poison can affect you if you come up too close to me," she mumbled as her eyes made out the greenish miasma flowing out of her mouth.

"Stop acting tough," Fuxi chided as his hand held out something shiny in front of her.

Kanghui shook her head to refuse with the knowledge of the objects held in his hand.

She could sense the medicinal aura the objects gave out - the nine legendary needles, the only antidote to Taowu's poisonous blight.

During its use, the nine needles will render Fuxi defenceless to attacks from Taowu, a high risk she was not willing to take. One erased out of existence was fine. Not two of them.

"Bah, stubborn as always," he grumbled as he fumbled through his sleeve. "Luckily, I brought the vial containing the essence of nine gourds, too."

Kanghui heard the clink on the ground, but her eyes could see only a mangled mess of colors, now mostly green from the leaking miasma.

"Swallow the essence," he instructed, tapping the vial on the ground the second time to guide her. "It can stop the poisonous blight from running further through your system and from infecting me."

Her ears pricked up at the direction of the tapping as her hand reached out steadily, feeling the ground, until she felt the cool sensation of the vial.

She swiped it and emptied the contents into her mouth.

As soon as the essence entered her mouth flowing through her body, her vision sharpened while the energy waves through the channels stabilized.

However, the essence of nine gourds' effect on staving off the vicious poison was temporary.

Kanghui glanced at Fuxi in front of her, in his half human half snake form with his elongated tail curled defensively around his clothed human half.

With white hair and a moustache, her elder brother looked far older than she remembered.

"What's with the old look?"

"What's with your youthful look?" Fuxi snapped.

She rolled her eyes and pushed herself up from the ground, then gestured with her head in the mountain side's direction. "There's a safe place inside."

He looked in hesitation at the cavernous opening in uncertainty, as though it was a mouth ready to swallow him whole.

"You may get cornered inside," he said.

"They can't cross the devices I laid inside. There's a formation, in case they revolt," she replied.

"So you knew of the risks taking them under your control," he muttered. "Why the heck did you even…"

"My reasons are my own, and you don't know the area."

Pointless to argue with Kanghui over any poor decisions made, Fuxi knew his sibling's character too well.

He gazed at the darkening skies, with the strange deafening silence around. The insects and creatures have gone into hiding out of fear.

Fuxi grabbed her hand and bade her to sit on his back. "We better go."

"Like old days when we were kids, huh?"

"Don't argue. Listen to me for once, you stubborn piece of serpent poop," he retorted. "You were the hunter who is now being hunted."

Unwilling but left with little choice given that one of the beast kings was closing in, she clambered onto his snakelike body and he took off, slithering quickly towards a dark cavernous opening covered by vines.