"Master Suiren! We found Utsushi and Kairo! They're badly injured! We need to heal them quickly!"
"They're deeply traumatized!"
The desperate cries of the returning Lan disciples echoed through the tranquil halls of the Yin Lan Clan as they finally crossed the boundary into their territory. Relief mixed with dread clouded the expressions of those who rushed to the scene. Master Suiren emerged swiftly from his chambers, his heart thudding with fear and urgency. As his eyes landed on the two boys cradled in the arms of Lan Suji and another disciple, a sharp pang hit his chest.
Utsushi's eyes were half-lidded, rolled back in delirium, and his dry, colorless lips parted faintly. His white robe was stained red with crusted blood. Kairo's face was buried into the crook of a Lan's neck, his breath ragged, shallow, and frightened.
"Lay them down inside my room. I must examine them alone. Everyone else, return to your duties. Only Lan Suji and Lan Kansai stay behind," Master Suiren ordered.
The others obeyed, bowing low before they laid the boys gently onto the soft futons inside Suiren's private room. Their messy hair spilled over the white pillows. The tension lingered even after the doors closed. Lan Suji and Lan Kansai stood in silence, watching as their master approached the boys with quiet dread.
Master Suiren knelt beside them, a complicated swirl of worry, regret, and guilt twisting his features. His hands hesitated before brushing Utsushi's cheek and Kairo's tangled dark-blue hair. He clenched his jaw, anger building silently within.
His mind drifted to ten years ago, when they first arrived. Utsushi was ten, Kairo thirteen. Utsushi came with his gentle mother; Kairo, alone with his father's name and absence. Two children...one missing a father, the other a mother. Yet both had carried determination in their small eyes, glistening like flames against the darkness of the world.
He remembered petting Kairo for the first time. The boy had looked up at him with hesitant awe. Utsushi, even softer in nature, had shown an astonishing resilience, talking and smiling like nothing in the world was wrong.
"Let's be friends. I'll always take care of you," Utsushi had said, his voice full of warmth.
Kairo had blinked, surprised by the sudden affection. A faint pink had crept to his cheeks. He nodded after a moment, silent and shy.
Master Suiren had smiled, laying a gentle hand on both their heads. "Let's go, you two. Your Yin Lan life begins today."
"I'll be a great Lan!" Utsushi had announced proudly.
Kairo, caught off guard by Utsushi's radiance, had managed, "Y-yeah, me too. I'll... I'll be a great Lan too."
Suiren exhaled slowly, dragging himself back from the memory. He shook his head gently and turned his focus back to the present. Without a word, he reached for Utsushi's wrist. The pulse was weak...feverish and fast. A flicker of concern sharpened in his gaze. He pressed the back of his hand to the boy's neck and forehead.
"He's burning up," he muttered.
Then he checked Kairo. His pulse was steadier but still faint. The boy was burning as well.
Master Suiren closed his eyes, calling upon his spiritual energy. Soft, silver-blue light glowed from his palms as he hovered them above their foreheads and chests, slowly drawing out the fever with practiced precision.
"Where did you find them? Did anything seem unusual in Fukaki Forest? What of Bayakuya Village?" Suiren asked without looking up.
Lan Kansai stepped forward first, voice calm but edged with urgency. "Master, the entire forest and village were covered by Yin Yan Jei Jei...a rare censoring shield. It must've weakened recently; otherwise, we wouldn't have noticed anything. That's why Utsushi and Kairo's butterfly messages never reached us."
Suiren's brow furrowed. His hands didn't stop moving.
"What of the village?" he asked.
Kansai swallowed hard. "We discovered a horrific murder. An entire noble household wiped out. Servants...dead but untouched. The main family..." His voice faltered. "Their remains were mutilated. We don't know who did it. But we found these."
Kansai handed over a folded white cloth. Inside was a dried spider lily and a note stained in blood.
Suiren unfolded the note slowly. His lips moved as he read the words aloud:
"Torturing is more painful than death."
A long silence fell. Suji's eyes narrowed, studying the note. The message wasn't chaotic; it was poetic, like something etched with intent. There was thought behind this horror.
Suji spoke next. "We found them deep in the forest. The area was too quiet...no yokai attacks, no creatures stirring. Just... them. Holding each other tightly. Kairo clung to Utsushi like his life depended on it. They were paralyzed . We brought them back as quickly as possible. I did notice the shield to , faintly, while we carried them, but I didn't investigate further."
Suiren nodded as he finished drawing out the boys' fever. He checked their pulses again...steadier now. The tension in his face eased ever so slightly. He reached over, gently wiping the dried blood and dirt from their cheeks, tucking their hair away from their eyes.
"So we were deceived," he murmured darkly. "But by whom? We have no leads... Not even the killer's identity."
Kansai and Suji lowered their heads in silence.
Suiren gripped the note and flower tighter, as if willing them to speak. He stared hard at the petals of the spider lily, searching for a sign that wasn't there.
"Everything is happening under our very noses, and yet we remain blind. It's as if fate is mocking us."
He chuckled bitterly, his voice heavy with suppressed rage and helplessness.
"Return to your duties. I'll tend to them myself."
They both bowed deeply in the traditional Chinese manner.
"As you wish, Master."
Once they were gone, Suiren let out a long breath, his eyes fixed on the still bodies of his two beloved disciples. His fingers trembled as he brushed a hand through Utsushi's hair again.
Meanwhile, in Bayakuya Village, the graves were nearly complete. Mourners wept or sat in stunned silence. Some merely worked...expressionless, broken.
The mutilated bodies had been cleaned, stitched together as best as possible, and buried. After brief rites, the villagers slowly scattered.
When the clearing was silent, a lone figure stepped from the shadows...Xio.
His expression was unreadable. He approached the graves slowly and knelt.
"Right or wrong," he murmured, voice barely above a whisper, "I don't know who you are... but maybe... you are the door. The line. The space between justice and madness."
He touched the cold earth. A soft gust of wind stirred the leaves.
He did not linger.
He vanished once more into silence.
[ End of Chapter 13 ]