Xiao Meng's Animus Quest

"You're a pretty brave lad aren't you?"

I must have been concentrating on the story so intently that I'd neglected to hear her approach. I looked up to see a sight that would haunt my dreams for years to come. A woman, tall with long brown hair and green eyes that shone like jewels. She was dressed in rags, but there was something about the way she carried herself that hinted at nobility.

I'd never seen a noblewoman before, but I knew from my father's tales of the warring states era that this was what they looked like. And not just any noblewoman, but one who was beautiful enough to raise a man into strange thoughts. I stood up from the floor and bowed deeply. "My apologies for not hearing you approach! Yes, I am braver than most people I know."

She laughed and sat down next to me on the floor. "You're very polite too! Where are your parents?"

"At home, cooking dinner."

"And why did you sneak out?"

"Well...I wasn't sneaking out...I just forgot that my mother told me not to leave the house today."

"What makes today different?" The innkeeper asked curiously.

I smiled proudly at her question. "It's a special day! Today I will be putting my school training to use in real life!"

The innkeeper looked surprised at this proclamation and leaned forward in curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"My father taught me how to fight...and he gave me a letter for an old friend of his named Ba-Ling! He said to take it to him and he'd let me train with him!"

The woman's eyes widened further as she heard this revelation. Her face had gone white as milk and she opened her mouth like she wanted to say something...but no words came out. Finally she managed to gasp out, "Ba-Ling is dead..."

"He is?!" My heart sank as I thought about all the time I'd wasted walking here only to find out he couldn't help me after all. "How do you know?!"

The woman gulped loudly and answered slowly, "He's my brother actually."

"Your brother? How did he die?!"

The woman opened her mouth again to speak but instead of words, a deafening roar filled the air around us.