Marking the twentieth year of his reign, the King of Moutan, Xiao Jing Feng, declared that the fifth era would be known as ‘Yingyong’ meaning ‘Valiance’.

Northern Forest of Moutan

Present: 1^st Year of Yingyong, Late Spring 1472

***

When she left the palace, Feiyan had been surprised to find herself in a carriage rather than the sealed prisoner cart holding the other tributes. Although she was sure that Furusawa had done this deliberately to show the people of Moutan the demoralizing scene of their Crown Prince being taken away to slaughter, she was actually relieved to have the privacy of her own thoughts. 

Feiyan was leaving the capital with mixed feelings. Although she had escaped the confines of the palace, she was still not free of her brother’s identity. The memory of the farewells that she had exchanged with her father, the King, and her brother tossed about in her heart.  

With a sigh, she bit her lip as she turned one last gaze on the familiar city wall, watching until it faded from her sight. She let the sight burn into her memory. It was the second time that she’d left home as a result of dire circumstances, and this time she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to return.

My dear brother…my dear Bi…please guard yourself well.

She supposed that she worried for nothing, since Xia would be by his side. Given their current relationship, he would defend Xiao Feiyu to his last breath. However, for her brother’s sake, she hoped that such a thing would never come to pass. After all the hardships he’d endured, he deserved to be loved and he deserved to be happy. 

For now, there was a more pressing matter and that was the problem of the tributes. Except for the four nobles, the rest of the tributes were either Shadows or commoners who had undergone the mandatory academy training. As Feiyan was the highest ranking person amongst them, the commoners would likely follow her lead, but the object of this year’s tribute was not to escape Shobu, but to find a way to destroy the Migong and assassinate Hinode Seigen. This mission was her chance to finally have revenge upon Shobu’s king for the deaths of Haruka and Xing.

Unfortunately, not everyone was in agreement with staying put or following the plan. Not ten days out of the capital, Zhu Yunfeng and Su Qian Qian decided to take matters into their own hands, causing her a rude awakening in the middle of the night.

Although Feiyan had been sleeping poorly, she woke the instant she sensed movement just outside her carriage. A moment later, the curtain was yanked back, and two soldiers dragged her out into the strange half-light of a morning not yet touched by dawn. 

Squinting against the torch light, she was brought to a circle of soldiers, and saw that Zhu Yunfeng and Su Qian Qian were already there, kneeling with their hands and feet bound. The other Moutan prisoners had been lined up behind them, and they looked on with somber expressions. 

Li Molan was particularly sour-faced, and Feiyan wondered if he had instigated the two people who were now squirming against their bonds on the ground.

Releasing Feiyan’s arms, the soldiers shoved her unceremoniously, causing her to stumble. Legs cramped from the carriage, she had not recovered her normal Shadow’s grace. Seeing her chagrin, Furusawa strolled up with a smile. With a bad feeling in her gut, she straightened.

“Good morning, my Lord Furusawa,” she said, not bothering to keep the irony out of her voice since it was closer to the middle of the night.

“Your Highness, I must say this year’s tribute candidates are quite…interesting...”

Feiyan regarded Furusawa coldly, and then turned her gaze to the two on their knees. Zhu Yunfeng only glared back insolently, while Su Qian Qian at least had the presence of mind to look ashamed. 

These idiots. As defined by the conditions of the tribute, we aren’t supposed to try to escape before we reach Shobu. This year all of us must make it to Shobu alive. What the hell were they thinking?

Feiyan’s heart rippled with anger, but she held it in. Sounding amused, she said:

“This is indeed unfortunate, my Lord. However, since they have been recaptured, I’d say that there’s been no deviation from the agreement thus far...”

Furusawa laughed at her boldness and tossed a dagger at her feet.

“That’s an audacious statement, your Highness. While that’s technically true, they also injured one of my men. Regardless of the agreement, I can’t overlook it. So, your Highness can either slit their throats yourself or we’ll cut them open and hang them in a tree for the birds.”

“You Shoban dog! You can’t do that! Anyone would try to escape this situation!” shouted Zhu Yunfeng, spitting on the ground.

“Your Highness! Please have mercy and save us!” cried Su Qian Qian, eyes bulging. “Please!”

“Shut up,” snapped Feiyan, glaring down at them. She closed her eyes briefly and sucked in a slow breath. So noisy!

If I kill Zhu Yunfeng and Su Qian Qian, it will destabilize my ability to establish a relationship with the rest of the group. Li Molan and Song Juqing are already hostile and may sway the commoners away from me. The Shadows are loyal, but will they still think it expedient if I kill my own people regardless of the situation? Furusawa could have just killed them, but he’s using this opportunity to weaken my leadership and mess with me…and security will be much tighter now that this has happened…why couldn’t they have waited like we’d agreed?

“Your Highness…? I never took you for an indecisive person…” Furusawa prodded.

Feiyan sighed and picked up the dagger, slowly approaching Zhu Yunfeng and Su Qian Qian. He gulped, looking pale, and her eyes became wide like saucers.

“Xiao Feiyu! The Zhu family will never forgive you if you do this!” Zhu Yunfeng shouted hoarsely.

Feiyan’s eyes glowed murderously.

“You haven’t changed since you were a child. Do you think your family will ever know whether you die in Shobu or here under my blade in the dark of a moonless night?” she asked coldly. 

At that moment, Zhu Yunfeng and Su Qian Qian flinched from the ice in her tone. Years ago they had only regarded the Prince as a sickly weakling, but the person in front of them exuded a completely different atmosphere from back then. They both shivered involuntarily, realizing that they’d made a mistake…perhaps a deadly one.

Taking a gamble, Feiyan calmly slit them out of their bonds.

From what she could see Furusawa was grasping at straws. There was no way a decision to ignore the treaty conditions would ride on whether or not a few prisoners tried to escape. She sensed that the pompous ass was just using the moment to look good in front of his people while trying to divide hers.

“Stop playing these tiresome games, my Lord. No matter how you provoke me, I won’t kill for your amusement,” she said, throwing the dagger so that it thudded into the ground two feet away from Furusawa’s boot. “Shall we get moving? The sun is about to rise.”

Instead of becoming angry, Furusawa roared with high pitched laughter. His face distorted, like a shadow had passed over it.

What an amusing toy this milky brat will make for my King! It seems a shame to leave him to the beast in the maze. 

“Very well…I have something else in mind anyway…” he said cheerfully, stalking away.

Feiyan blinked as the shadow passed behind the man, leaving a hazy after-image.

There it is again. I wasn’t mistaken.

Feiyan flicked her eyes meaningfully at Hajoon, tilting her head in Furusawa’s direction. He nodded back. 

Although she’d had very little contact with Furusawa on his first visit to Moutan, she remembered him as a decent and mannerly person who did not get along well with the more politically savvy retainers in Seiren’s group. These early impressions were not simply the vague observations of a nine year old child, but the impressions of a Shadow trained by Grand Chancellor Mu Shan. Looking at things now, Furusawa’s personality had changed drastically.

At first she had attributed her uneasiness to his gloating arrogance, but his temperament had seemed peculiar to her even during the selection process. It had been bothering her since she had first seen him again in the great audience hall two months ago. 

Although she wasn’t as talented as her Father, she could sense unusual energy if she tried hard enough. Hoping she was wrong about it, she turned her head and concentrated her gaze on Furusawa, and then just as abruptly retracted it. 

Mmmph!

She grimaced. Blocking her from truly ‘seeing’, a dark ripple had settled around the edges of Furusawa’s body. Unless they’d been trained, no one else would have noticed. Other than Hajoon, only she had been able to attain a high enough level to see what she was seeing now. As soon as she’d touched the darkness with her internal power, she’d felt nauseous and pulled back.

Dammit…Someone or something evil is hovering over him. I don’t think he’s even aware of it himself…I will have to confirm with Hajoon. That’s definitely not a normal person’s energy. It’s like his soul has been polluted.

However, she didn’t have time to do any further investigation as Feiyan soon discovered what had caused Furusawa such mirth.

As the convoy drew up to the foot of the Ushitora mountain range, Feiyan could only describe it as ominous. Unlike mountains in Moutan that sloped up gently, the mountains of Ushitora soared almost straight up, the sides forming sheer cliffs before coming to jagged snow-capped peaks. Mountains were normally associated with divine spirits, but the energy of this mountain range felt oppressive, as if it contained the resentment of a thousand demons.

Perhaps that’s true...thought Feiyan with a snort.

Moutan once had an old legend that said that a kimon* had been opened in Shobu during the thousand year war between demons and gods of ancient times. To win the war, the guardian gods of their world had finally slammed a mountain range down on the ravaged land, trapping all the demons inside. 

Although others might doubt the old stories, based on what had been seen during the last war, it was clear that Shobu’s sorcerers had bred at least one if not several non-human type creatures. Answering to their commands, the most dangerous of them was the war demon who was imprisoned in the ancient maze hidden under the lake next to the royal palace in Shobu’s capital of Shuto.  

The great demon of the Migong…

Unlike Moutan, Shobu’s lands had never been occupied by others. The Ushitora formed a natural barrier from outside attacks, and the other reason was that the country could only be entered through six gates that had been magically carved into the mountain ranges at the order of the first Grand Sorcerer of Shobu whose name had been lost.

While Moutan prioritized inner cultivation, Shobu had turned to darker arts and here before her was evidence of its existence.

The famous magical gates of Ushitora…each guarded by its own yokai guardian…

The protective enchantments on the mountain only recognized six pass tokens, and the passes were only given to the kingdom’s higher sorcerers or trusted officials. Carrying one tied at his waist, Furusawa raised the ornate bronze pass token and a corresponding bronze door immediately materialized in front of him in the cliff face where no door had been before. The mountain, recognizing the token, would only open a single gate for entry. Intruders who tried to enter the mountain would immediately be thrown into an illusion to be dealt with by each of the six guardians in turn, if they even survived the first. Without a pass token, one could only enter Shobu alive by defeating the gate guardians.

At the moment, Feiyan did not like the look of anticipation on Furusawa’s face.

“Well your Highness. We’re here,” he said. At that very moment, his one eye gleamed a deep and malicious red.