| By King Bumis Heir | Genre | Rating | Reviews | Updates |
| More from King Bumis Heir | Action/Adventure/Drama/Comedy/Romance | PG-13 | None | No update page |
Overview[]
Team Avatar makes a pit stop in the village of Huangshan in southern Omashu province, on the border of Omashu-Shiwei. While Rong Yan, Aloi and Unaraq have errands to make Jushi ventures alone to Shun's tavern. There he meets someone that triggers flashbacks to when he was a boy, bad memories lead to sadness and in the end the hunter himself strives to quench the thirst of his vendetta.
Chapter 4: Hunter's Vendetta[]
Book 3: Earth
Chapter 4: Hunter's Vendetta
The skies over the Oma Kingdom were filled with clouds drowned in gloomy colored hues. From dark to light gray, the clouds were full and expanded as if soon they would crack to bleed their waters on the earth below. The weather not only brought in an upcoming storm either the winds in the mountainous area flowed through the air with a tempestuous force. Alongside this were thunderous echoes in the dark clouds that covered the skies of the mountainous border between Omashu and Shiwei province.
As if the gods themselves played instruments and the sounds produced by their musical instruments transitioned from beautifully performed music to thunderous booms that echoed across the skies. A slithering scaly red serpent soared in the skies above the mountain region. Its scales were darkened by the dark wide yonder. The scales of the dragon were the color of blood, but not the vivid red of the freshly spilled, but more the browning red of old blood.
The speeds of the wind annoyed the riders who lounged in the saddle of the red dragon, Unaraq, who was the most dissatisfied about the whole event. He hated snowstorms back home too, they always covered things, and even sometimes villages were buried in blankets of white. He was glad waterbending existed because when the palace caved in for one reason or another, the guards were bending the snow out the way. Out of the three or four years that he's been gone from home he hasn't missed the weather or the region. He realized eventually he has to return and take the responsibility that is his birthright but for now, while he's young he wanted to travel the world.
Unaraq tossed and turned so he could find a position where the wind blew over him and not around him. The winds picked up more and stripped him of his blanket, the blanket propelled through the air and disappeared so quickly. He held a scowl again like the one he carried the morning they spent at Governor Diaoyu's estate in Han Tui. He crossed his arms in annoyance, Jushi noticed Unaraq was annoyed and added to it he mentioned, "Aren't you glad we have two airbenders in this group to calm the storm?"
"We're not enough airbenders to change the weather," Aloi declined she faced Jushi and pointed at herself and Rong Yan.
"Well Rong Yan can do it alone if he activates the Avatar State," said Unaraq.
"I can't just enter Avatar State at will. You know this," Rong Yan commented.
"Because you refuse to learn," Unaraq retorted, Rong Yan shook his head, "There's a specific way to do things, I need to master earthbending before I can bother mastering the Avatar State."
"He's right or so the theory goes, according to history books and accounts of other Avatars. One must master the elements by the rules of the cycle or weird things happen," Jushi affirmed.
"That's boar ox excrement and everyone knows that," Unaraq disagreed he flung his wrist forward at Jushi.
"It's true, my ancestor Avatar Bhudev, actually mastered the elements in his way and it later came to bite him in the rump. He mostly dealt with cataclysmic weather, maybe Tiandi was infuriated with him or something. His hometown Lian was threatened by a tsunami as was Huang He, he used the Avatar State to create the Great Divide," revealed Jushi.
The Great Divide.
"You keep mentioning the Great Divide, what is that?" Rong Yan inquired he was curious to learn more about the landmark created by his past life.
"It's the largest canyon in the world and it's located in the Si Wong province within the Hami territory," answered Jushi.
"No, it's not, it's located in Huangpu province," Unaraq shook his head.
"Are you going to tell the story or are you going to let me finish?" Jushi asked Unaraq he was a bit irritated now.
"What's the capital of Yunan?" Jushi questioned Unaraq, he wanted to test Unaraq's geography skills.
"Er...Yu-" Unaraq uttered the sound of a word before Jushi cut him off and interrupted him, "Wrong answer."
"You didn't even let me answer the question," argued Unaraq.
"You were wrong, it's Jinan," Jushi corrected him.
"No, it's not, it's Yumen," Unaraq disagreed he refused to believe Jushi.
"Unaraq..hun, Yumen is the capital of the Yu province. Where your dad is at," explained Aloi, she held an annoyed look on her face and then tittered as she tried to hold her vexation in. A loud crash of thunder rung through the air as it crackled a mile in the distance.
"AHHH!" they all screamed, Shen, roared in disapproval at the sound. Rong Yan pulled the reins on his dragon's horns. This signaled the flying beast to descend below, Unaraq peered down below he could barely make out a village through the thick fog that settled on the land.
This village was bigger than Nuo Ju now that he remembered but it wasn't bordered by walls. A remote village in Omashu province which probably wasn't aware of the war in the Qiangda Kingdom. To the south of this village was the border with the Shiwei province. The old beaten down path was through the mountains that bordered both provinces.
Through this path, one can find the Whispering Boulders on the peak of the Huangshan mountain range. Not that the Avatar was interested in the landmark at the moment, Rong Yan spotted a village below them. The townspeople peered to the sky where the darkened clouds rumbled and lightning crackled from time to time. Yet the skies do not cry, many knew this to be a storm whether it was a rainstorm they could not say.
What scared them the most however is they heard the deafening cries of what they thought was a spirit or mythical beast from folklore. The roar itself could have scared the mightest of brutal warriors the world had to offer. The villagers themselves trembled in fear from what was hidden by the thickened fog that blanketed their settlement.
A red-bellied serpent-like beast came into view a few yards above the tallest building in the town. It rode past before it curved to the left and vanished back into the dense mist. Unaraq peered below again, "Why are we landing here?" he asked.
"Because we're running low supplies and thought we could pick a meal or two here before we head toward Omashu city," Rong Yan replied.
"I've never been Omashu honestly, I'm glad I chose to go with you, Avatar," Jushi commented.
Shen lowered toward ground-level as he prepared for landing. A great force was met with the ground when the dragon halted. Shen flapped his wings a tad bit after they landed before he retracted his wings for rest. He lowered his head to allow his master to easily slide off his neck, his passengers as well. The dragon raised his head playfully and whimpered for food.
"Jushi hand me the sack!" Rong Yan called out, Jushi tossed the sack with the few portions of salted meats left inside. Unaraq attempted to catch the sack but failed he slouched his back and frowned he was a bit hungry. Rong Yan opened the sack and shook the sack it dropped what was left onto the ground for Shen to enjoy as a snack for the time being. Rong Yan petted his dragon's nose it released a puff of fire. Rong Yan ducked under the puff of fire but the flames ignited a nearby tree.
Rong Yan sighed and stood into a crouched pu bu stance and extracted moisture from the fog around him as he pivoted in a full circle and transitioned into a standing pu bu stance. He used the water he streamed out of the haze to extinguish the tree that burst into flames.
Huangshan, Omashu covered by a dense fog.
The fog faded a small amount when he extracted water out of the fog to turn the tree off. While the mist continued to be thick he was able to make out the road that led toward the village. He swaggered north on the dirt path as his companions followed right behind him. Aloi rolled her eyes as a response to Rong Yan's sudden walking pattern.
Jushi stopped in the denseness of the mist and then questioned the Avatar, "Wait you're going to leave your dragon out here?"
"I didn't spot a stable for him in the village besides he'll be fine. Anything that wants to attack him becomes his meal," Rong Yan answered, they continued to pad through the path as they got ever closer to a mass of buildings sporadically placed around the small land. A villager squinted his eyes when he finally made out people that wandered through the fog. He shook in fear because the crimson red beast flew above their heads. Surely he believed the end was here.
He approached them still shook from ten minutes ago, "You where did you come from? And why are you roaming around in the fog blindly? Didn't you hear the ear-piercing roar of some kind of ungodly monstrosity?" he questioned the four strangers that wandered into town.
"We're the ungodly monstrosity's spawn we've come to raze your town to the ground and eat the flesh of your unborn," Unaraq jested, he held a wide smirk. The villager felt terrified that he froze in fear, he hesitated on giving a wild screech from a flight or fight response. Unaraq felt a pinch of pain after Aloi elbowed him, "I apologize don't listen to him," she apologized to the villager.
"That monstrosity was the Avatar's dragon, we're making a pit stop here before we head on off to Omashu. What can you tell us about the area? Where can we buy a hot meal and supplies?" Aloi explained that the creature that flew above the village was Shen. She inquired about the services the village offered.
"A dragon? I thought those were monsters from folklore passed by generations. Something you tell your children if they misbehave," he tilted his head slightly to the left as he wondered curiously. Then he said that dragons were folktales.
"No they're real, they're just more common in the Fire Nation," stated Rong Yan.
The man nodded his head he learned something new then he replied to Aloi's inquiry, "There's a small market to the west of this street if you take the second left down this road. Although you have to go fast before Bao closes her stall. What with the storm coming, as for a hot meal and a cold drink you can get them at Shun's tavern just down the road."
Aloi bowed to the villager in respect as a form of thanks, she glared at Unaraq who still rubbed the left side of his ribs. The group continued down the road when they reached the second left Jushi split from the clique and padded off down the road. Rong Yan noticed this and asked, "Wait where are you going?"
"I'm going to grab a meal from the tavern just meet me there," Jushi said, Rong Yan nodded while Unaraq and Aloi held hands and weren't held back by the distraction. Rong Yan jogged behind them. Jushi arrived at the tavern that was built on a big patch of dirt, it was surrounded by a wooden split railed fence that surrounded the tavern. There were a few drunks outside who were recently kicked out of the tavern for being too rambunctious.
He extended his arm toward the handle of the door but the bouncer burst out of the door as he shoved a guy out. The tavern's door was wide open Jushi slid inside the already crowded tavern filled with many different folks. Some were villagers the others who populated the watering hole were travelers, bounty hunters, guards, soldiers, and possibly a few daofei.
Just as any old tavern it was filled with drunks and patrons, stunk of alcoholic beverages and sweaty, burly men. A crowd spectated two men who competed in an arm-wrestling competition, others surrounded another table were two old men played Pai Sho. Music echoed through the interior of the building while the exterior remained silent. Some reacted to the beat and bobbed their heads to the rhythm of the drums or even dance with the opposite sex, others chattered away as they laughed and cried with one another.
Jushi squeezed his way toward the counter he pulled out a silver piece and placed on the counter. He was hungry and thirsty they've been flying for a couple of hours now. He appreciated that the Avatar wanted to make a pit stop. Behind the counter were shelves of different kinds of drinks while to the right of these shelves was an archway that led t the kitchens in the back of the tavern where the cooks prepared meals for the patrons who ordered.
"What can I get ya?" asked the tavern keep he slid a parchment with dried ink, this was the menu that carried different kinds of meals. Jushi skimmed through the menu quickly until his eyes laid upon what he desired.
The tavern keep Shun taking orders and making drinks.
"I'll take the crab puffs and your most exotic alcoholic drink," Jushi said, the tavernkeeper slightly nodded to the order, "Coming right up," he answered. The innkeeper took the silver coin before he returned to the kitchen. Jushi's eyes gazed upon the shelves that carried bottles of different shapes and sizes, with different colors of drinks inside them. The barkeep returned and grabbed a glass bottle from under the counter.
The bottle had a cube shape to it, it would have fit in a person's hands, a cork blocked the hooch from having to spill. The strange liquid inside the exotic cubed-shaped bottle was colored bronze, it was firewater as well. Anything that came out of the Fire Nation was considered strong liquor, however, for some reason, Nationalists had a strong affinity to spice.
The wooden cup, the barkeep placed on the counter was filled three-quarters full of firewater before he slid it slowly over to the patron. Jushi tossed the drink into his mouth, it had a sour and vile taste to it. The spice tickled his tastebuds as he swallowed it he scrunched his face and shook his head, he felt a hot sensation his throat as the liquid traveled from his throat to his belly.
Finally, a small clay bowl which contained freshly cooked crab puffs, balls of crab meat that were deep-fried in batter. The center of the bowl was filled with rose-red watery like sauce that tasted both sweet and sour. Jushi dipped a crab puff into the sauce and threw one into his mouth. His tongue spoiled today as the sweet and sour flavors collided into each other and gave him a smile of satisfaction.
The door swung open again the once loud and busy tavern was now silent, dead, and cold. A banana-shaped individual stepped into the quiet tavern just the way he wanted it. All eyes were on him as pupils went along and observed every movement he made.
His skin was sun-kissed and he had patches of dirt around his body as if he worked somewhere like mines, or if he was the farmhand of a farmer. The man was dirty, he wore a merlot-colored red tunic fastened by a small rope and torn just below the knee, his clothes were worn and moth-eaten. It looked like that was the only pair of clothing he owned.
He carried tattered slippers with a hole near the toe area on one of them, he was middle-aged with a few adequate wrinkles, instead of laugh lines he carried frown lines. His eyes were a brown color, he had scruffy dark brown hair with streaks of gray with dried flakes here and there and a shaggy-haired mustache. His other features were a small buccula and few thin hairs on the side of his jaws. He carried a menacing aura around him and all the patrons who knew this man acknowledged it.
Fuchou, the local thug.
He stood behind the swordsman and another patron, he stared down at the swordsman who uninterrupted resumed to eat his food. This man was a nuisance to the village of Huangshan, he was the town bully here. He was known to rob others, or fought strangers because they glanced at him. Surprisingly, he wasn't in jail or even killed although there was also a rumor where he killed two people when he was younger.
Some say by accident, others say because they opened their mouth without the man having a say whether they could speak or not. Everyone who lived in the village near the Huangshan mountain range was terrified of the local bully. He was wealthier than most because he stole from strangers or preyed upon the weak, the guards did nothing because they didn't care as long as he filled their pockets with bribes.
The last fight he was in he almost killed the man according to Shun the tavernkeeper. The guards had done nothing they looked the other way after he greased their palms. Strangers made guesses that he was a noble but throughout years he never improved on his situation. His clothing never changed to more extravagant materials, it's like he preferred ragged clothing.
The patron that sat to the right of the swordsman was yanked out of his seat by the town ruffian. The patron squealed after he became a victim, the tavernkeeper kept to himself and didn't react negatively. He too was shaken at the sudden appearance of the man, he instead wiped the counter with a rag. Jushi finally noticed the tormentor of Huangshan from the corner of his eye but pretended like he hadn't seen the man. He swished the cup of grog that was recently poured into his cup while he chewed on another crab puff.
The scene around Jushi was similar to a graveyard, it was dead silent and all the ghosts were unmoved and quiet. Jushi was unsatisfied after he drank the exotic Fire Nation firewater, and two cups of grog he couldn't feel the buzz from the alcoholic beverages.
The bartender felt he'd be rude if he didn't tend his favorite customer he greeted the thug, "Fuchou, what a pleasant surprise. Didn't think I'd see you in here twice in one day what can I get you?" the barkeep implored his voice quavered with fear.
"You know me Shun, every time outsiders stumble upon Huangshan I have to introduce myself. I noticed our dear friend here, with a Fire Nation citizen, a snow savage, and one of those tree huggers from the mountains," insinuated Fuchou, Jushi could hear the mocking tone in the man's voice. As if he searched for trouble.
Jushi took a gander at the bartender with a concerned expression on his face. The tavernkeeper was visibly shaken he thought nothing of it and returned his eyes to his grog. Jushi lifted the cup again and took another gulp of his drink.
Fuchou sat beside Jushi's right he rested his right arm on the counter and then rested his head on his knuckles. He carried a scowl he seemed bothered by the fact that the stranger didn't give an elephant rat's rear of Fuchou's presence. Jushi rudely resumed ignoring the middle-aged patron that entered the bar. The crowd froze in time not a single cough or sound uttered out of a soul.
"You know it's dangerous for an outsider to enter Huangshun, what with the constant crime and all," chimed in Fuchou. He made another attempt to catch Jushi's attention.
Jushi continued to gaze at his drink or what was left of it, he said nothing, and Fuchou's response was left unanswered. Fuchou grew a bit more irritated now, he attempted to catch the stranger's attention once more so he spoke louder and drawled out his words, "That's rude! I simply wanted to be your friend, outsider. You're going to ignore me?"
Jushi's head darted to face Fuchou he bored his eyes into the soul of thug then Jushi replied, "I'm not afraid of you, go on and try intimidating someone else, bub."
"Intimidating? Oh no," Fuchou questioned the stranger he declined that he came off as intimidating.
The bully added, "I was just trying to warn you about what's been going on here, that's all."
"I'm going to guess you're the cause of the problems around here?" guessed Jushi he returned to look at his grog. "Why won't you turn and look at me in the eye and say that, boy?" Fuchou taunted with a threatening tone.
"Sorry my eyes aren't interested in looking at a hog monkey," Jushi commented, the crowd echoed "Oooo," they too felt the insult and winced after the words escaped Jushi's lips. Calling someone a hog monkey insinuated they were an ugly dirty animal. Fuchou frowned he got out of his seat and spat in Jushi's drink.
As he left he warned the stranger, "I'll let you off with a warning, outsider. Best you get out of town soon, because I'll keep my eye on you, and if you're still here when soon is up...well your friends will be sad that you've disappeared."
Jushi smacked his contaminated mug off the counter, what was left in the cup spilled onto the wooden floorboards. Fuchou cackled as he glanced back at the now angered swordsman, for another few seconds their eyes met. That's when a sudden amount of flashbacks triggered within Jushi's mind, so many at one time that he fell to his knees with a headache.
The crowd cheered and then he stared at the stranger confused, one patron ran from out of his seat to check the man. He crouched and placed his hand on Jushi's shoulder concerned as to why the stranger who angered the town bully because he didn't kowtow before him, had fallen onto his knees. Jushi felt the rush of flashbacks affect him a tear slowly ran down his cheek before it dropped from the edge of his jaw.
"Hey are you alright?" asked the patron with concern for the stranger. Jushi wiped the second tear from his eye and rose to his feet with the help of the patron.
He choked, "Yeah I'm fine..thanks." Jushi left the tavern he searched up and down the streets for Rong Yan, Unaraq, and Aloi. But he failed to find them instead in his spasm of emotions mixed with a terrible memory.
He ran out of Huangshan, the fog had begun to dissipate he ventured near the bottom of the mountain range. A mile or two eastward of the village he found himself near a pond with a large jagged rock he could sit on while he reflected on introspection of a memory.
Jushi climbed up the jagged rock and sat on the edge of the rock while it overlooked the pond. The once-forgotten memory like a sieve, he remembered fire, destruction, and death. Jushi stared at his hands they were smaller than normal. He reached for his dadao swords but nothing was strapped to his back, not even his harness. He saw smoke in the distance he remembered it was a hot summer afternoon in Tuxi Cun.
Tuxi Cun was his hometown a village located in the Hami tribe territory of the Si Wong desert. It was a town located on the border of northern Si Wong province and Gansu province. His parents tasked him to seek cheese from a farmer in Gansu province that resided about five miles from the border where Tuxi Cun was situated.
Jushi has flashbacks and relives the vivid end of his village. Which resulted in the deaths of his parents at the hands of Fuchou.
When he returned to his village he noticed one of the buildings was on fire Jushi rubbed his eyes but the building continued to burn. A sudden rush of dread filled young Jushi that he bolted toward the shack he shared with his parents. The wooden shack was left untouched by the fires that incinerated the homes around him.
He remembered when he approached his home in the front he encountered his father who held a pitchfork as his only weapon. He held his ground and defended his beaten wife who rested against the wall of the home. Against a young leather armored thug, however, the pitchfork was no match for the earthbending bandit. A hand-formed of earth emerged from the ground and trapped Jushi's dad within its fingers. The earthbender grinned wickedly as Jushi's mother shrieked when her husband was crushed by the hand of earth.
The woman slightly turned her head to meet the eyes of her son who was a mere nine-years-old. She reached out to the boy who was several yards away she cried out, "Jushi RUN!"
The bandit who stepped toward the injured woman turned his attention to the small boy. Instead of giving chase to the child, he forced himself upon the woman but when she spat in his face he shoved her back to the ground. The bandit gave a good hard stomp to her face. She didn't respond after that Jushi's eyes drowned in tears as he fled the pillaged village. He ran out of the Si Wong province north into Gansu and passed Farmer Nailao's farm.
Jushi found himself back on the jagged rock that overlooked the pond, he buried his head between his knees and wept over the loss of his parents. The face of the bandit haunted him right now after years of having blocked that memory from his head. He believed he encountered the man who murdered his parents twenty years ago.
Meanwhile, Rong Yan, Unaraq, and Aloi set foot into the same tavern their friend Jushi ran out of. The crowd returned to the cheerful atmosphere it normally had when Fuchou wasn't present. Patrons sang along with a traveling minstrel who strummed his pipa.
Interestingly enough the song he played was popular in the Oma Kingdom, it was about Avatar Anana who defeated Hundun and Dinggou and rescued Earth King Peng Zu. Many swung their cups filled to the brim with spirits as others hummed to the song. Back in the left corner was another Pai Sho game with a large crowd around the two players.
The tavern was crowded as usual and it went wild inside as if a pack of wild hog monkeys was inside a small cage being rowdy and loud. When Rong Yan and Unaraq approached the counter, Aloi eavesdropped with sonic sense within a few feet that surrounded where she stood. The man who knelt by Jushi after Fuchou left mentioned the story to new customers how the swordsman stood up to the bully.
She turned her attention to the men while she listened to their conversation. The barkeep stood jaw agape as he scanned the shelf behind and searched for the bottle the patron next to Unaraq ordered. Once he found the bottle he grabbed it and turned around, he took a step back startled because he saw the three individuals that Fuchou mentioned. The Fire Nationalist, a Tribesman, and a nomad nun, he uncorked the bottle and poured a drink for the patron before he slid the bottle toward Unaraq while he still held onto it.
"Sorry to interrupt your conversation but you mentioned a swordsman, what did he look like?" she questioned the man as she neared him and two others.
"About this height," paused the man as he hovered his hand to the level of the tip of his ear, "Light tan complexion, green eyes, dadao swords on his back, and long black hair," he described the swordsman. "What about him?" she asked, "Oh he stood up to Fuchou the town thug, the guards never do anything to him. Because either they're afraid of him or he bribes them," he answered.
"You two look like the strangers one of my regulars mentioned about thirty minutes ago," began the barkeep.
"Wow I didn't think people would recognize him out here, being that this town seems pretty remote from the capital and the rest of the province," Unaraq said.
"Recognize who?" wondered the barkeep.
"Oh I'm the Avatar," interrupted Rong Yan, the tavern keep scoffed Rong Yan's claim as a joke, "Yeah and I'm the Queen of Omashu," he jested.
"But isn't Omashu ruled by an old king?" guessed Rong Yan.
"You can't be the Avatar, the Avatar is Ku Tei a short Qiangdian from Ba Sing Se province," disagreed Shun. Rong Yan and Unaraq exchanged looks and let out a boisterous guffaw. A real knee slapper the innkeeper was confused as to why the men laughed.
"Do you know where he went?" asked the tall nun.
"Not sure where, but he fled the tavern soon after the confrontation with Fuchou," replied the man.
Aloi thanked the man for the information she spun around and returned to her friends who cackled about something. The still confused barkeep met eyes with her and inquired, "Is he the Avatar?"
She gave a simple nod and he gasped, then he offered Rong Yan, "You are him! You get one free drink on the house, Avatar. It's an honor to have you here!"
"This is more like it! I like him, I'll take some of your cheapest beer!" ordered Unaraq.
"That'll be fifteen copper pieces, Tribesman," said Shun.
Unaraq frowned and argued, "You just said it was free."
"It's FREE to the Avatar," he exclaimed as he pointed to Rong Yan, Rong Yan glanced at Unaraq and gave a cheeky smile.
Unaraq crossed his arms as his lower lip protruded in a sulky pout he reached into his pocket and dropped fifteen copper onto the counter while he poured a drink to Unaraq he looked over to Rong Yan. Rong Yan pointed to the yellow decanter with the design of a komodo rhino's head as the logo upon it. He recognized this as cinnamon-flavored kuusu, its a drink from the Fire Nation that originated in the Bhanti tribe city. It had a rich flavor and a mellow taste with a tinge of cinnamon hidden in there. It was popular on the Bhanti island and exported to places like Tang village and other remote villages in the heart of the Fire Nation.
Unaraq's cup overflowed a bit, the barkeep corked the bottle and clutched the yellow decanter and poured the drink into Rong Yan's wooden cup. Rong Yan wanted to taste a small slice of home once again and he got these little treats from around the Kingdoms.
After they left the tavern they ran into Jushi who returned from the pond in the distance outside of the village. Aloi went toward the swordsman and placed her hand on one of his shoulders and asked him, "What's wrong, Jushi?"
He mumbled to her, "That man in the tavern.." he spoke so low she repeated herself. She looked at him with a concerned expression on her face and wondered, "What man?"
"Fu-Fuchou, I...I recognize his face he was the bandit who raided Tuxi Cun when I was a small boy twenty years ago. It might not be him but he does share a resemblance with my parents' murderer," Jushi stammered his words.
Aloi gasped when Jushi shared a part of his life from long ago, she hugged Jushi in an attempt to comfort her new friend. Jushi sniffled and wiped a tear from his eye. Rong Yan commented, "So you mean that all these years he's never been caught and he's been living here freely in Huangshan?" he guessed.
"We need to do something, Jushi's parents deserve justice," Unaraq said.
"How? We can't convince the guards he killed Jushi's parents, that was so long ago, we have no evidence," questioned Rong Yan.
"And if we do, he'll just bribe the guards to release him," mentioned Rong Yan, he stroked his small thin goatee he focused on his thoughts.
"We can sleep on it, I'd say, we get the king's guards to arrest him. He can't bribe them," Unaraq suggested. He carried a sack with him from the market stall from earlier where they bought new supplies for their trip to Omashu. He grabbed peach from the sack and took a big chomp on the fruit he recently had begun to eat more fruits and vegetables. His girlfriend's diet and values continued to consume him positively.
He headed off to the rooms they rented at the local hotel. Jushi followed behind them while he made an effort to change his thoughts from his haunting recollection that took forever to stuff in the back of his head. Unaraq and Aloi rented a room as they were a room while Rong Yan did Jushi a favor and rented a room for the two of them.
After several minutes of travel through the town, they wandered to their respective hotel rooms. Next to Rong Yan's and Jushi's room was Unaraq and Aloi's room, Jushi headed off to the main office to rent out a room.
"Where are you going?" Rong Yan called out to Jushi.
"To rent a room," answered Jushi, "I already did that for you!" he shouted and then pointed at the small two-bed cabin. Jushi returned and opened the door to the cabin Rong Yan removed his boots and sat on the bed. A waning crescent moon glowed the environment just outside of the window sill where the bed closest to it was. Jushi took that bed himself and dropped the satchel of his scrolls and other belongings on the ground. He rested his arms on the window sill as he scanned the area outside.
The hotel within Huangshan.
For over thirty minutes he carried on with his eye on the outside, Rong Yan was fast asleep. Jushi made out a tall, banana-shaped figure in the distance. He looked back on what happened earlier today when he believed he encountered the man who murdered his parents. A rush of aggressive emotions filled him, a flashback of what Unaraq said earlier entered his mind.
Unaraq was right, they—or rather Jushi alone needed to do something. His parents needed to be avenged and this was his moment. Lord Qin has blessed Jushi with righteous retribution and he wasn't one to hesitate on such an opportunity. His twin dadao swords still harnessed his back he wasn't aware of the Avatar's sensitivity in slumber. Instead of having snuck around to the door, he jumped out the window.
He was but a few yards from his prey Fuchou wandered off home to wherever he lived. He scratched his head and removed more dry scalp flakes and yawned. There were a few times where he thought he was being watched that he turned around to scan his surroundings but found nothing. Fuchou continued just outside past a few houses was a small patch of land and a home on the opposite side that was closer to the mountains itself.
A rickety old shack if you will, the windows were boarded up but in the mornings' sunlight slithered its way inside the home anyways. Jushi skulked about in the darkness while he followed Fuchou to his home. The direct moonlight obscured the Avatar's closed eyes he found himself awake to an empty hotel room and moonlight that invaded the room because the window was left wide open.
Rong Yan searched around the room but only found the satchel left behind, he scanned the nearby around from the window and noticed footprints in the dirt. He gasped he knew Jushi snuck out of the room for something but it didn't cross his mind why. He frantically banged on the door of Unaraq and Aloi's room. Unaraq angered he screamed, "WHAT?!"
"Jushi's gone!" answered Rong Yan in a frantic tone.
"He must've gone for a walk!" shouted Unaraq, "Ow!" he cried out in pain, Aloi smacked him. She quickly dressed and he carried a scowl once more.
She opened the door and asked, "Why is he gone?"
"I don't know but if he went out for a walk why would he make the hassle of going out through the window?" he wondered his eyes looked over at Unaraq who glared back at Rong Yan while he was shirtless. Unaraq sighed and got dressed soon after Aloi exited the hotel room. Rong Yan and Aloi investigated around their hotel rooms and found the tracks that led them and Unaraq who was a few paces back to where Jushi would be later found.
At the same time, Fuchou entered his home a small little girl about the age of eight-years-old approached him and held tight to his waistline. Her eyes glistened in the minimal moonlight that entered their boarded windows, she carried a wide smile from ear to ear. Her father was home from what she knew as work, while Fuchou raised his daughter and society's rights and wrongs she knew he did what they needed to survive on. As far as details went she was unaware that her daddy hurt people for fun and took their money after he tormented them.
The house Fuchou lived in.
"Daddy you're finally home!" she smiled excitedly. Fuchou carried a small sack of vegetables that he stole from merchant stalls on the way home. He handed his daughter the spark rocks, she walked over to the fire pit where she had a pot ready. The little girl collided the rocks together until the sparks that flew from them ignited the logs below.
Fuchou chopped up the vegetables and dropped them into the stew he relaxed on the floor and gestured with his hand for his daughter to join him while they watched the stew to finish. Another night where they had vegetable stew again, despite being skilled at bending for fighting. He hasn't attempted to use it for hunting even though if he used his skills for such things he'd be a fantastic hunter.
Jushi crept on the large, thick branches of a big tree in wait from a distance he was nothing but a shadow. From his spot, he remained unseen to his victim the clouds rumbled above his head he knew it was time. The dark clouds broke open like eggs and fed the plants it's lifeblood, first, the rain started slowly as it sprinkled to the earth below. Then as minutes when on the intensity of the rain progressed as bigger droplets plummeted from the skies to the ground. Thunder crackled far off in the distance near the peak of the Huangshan mountain range.
Inside the little girl buried her face into her father's chest she squealed at the roar of thunder overhead. She was frightened her father calmed her down, "Don't you worry the thunder can't get you in here and certainly while I'm around. I'll show that big bully in the sky who's boss!" She gave him a slight smile in response while she cuddled up with her father in the dark home only lit by the fire pit that cooked their stew.
Fuchou then recalled, "I almost forgot the missing ingredient to your mother's stew."
"You can't forget the cumin, daddy. There's some outside in the garden I've been growing," commented the little girl.
She reminded her father that she has cumin in the small makeshift garden she's maintained on her own. He glanced at his daughter and gave a smirk before he got up to grab cumin from her little garden, she repeated herself a bit louder, "Now!"
"I'm going, I'm going!" he chuckled, she watched him from the small holes in the windows. He knew his daughter watched him he spun around to face the windows and crouched a bit to gesture a goodbye by moving his hand like a catgator's mouth. He paced around the back Jushi jumped from the branches onto the wet ground as he made light splashes from the puddles.
The little girl noticed a wraith near the trees she stared at the shadow from the safety of inside her home. While she peered in darkness for the phantom she saw, she identified the gleam of the blades on the specter's back and gasped. She threw the door open and screamed so loud to alert her father of an intruder.
Fuchou chopped the cumin from the garden when he heard the scream of his child he rushed to the front of his shack. In front of him, a cloaked figure stood as it gave Fuchou the evil eye. The cloaked figure brandished its dadao swords. One in each hand tightened around the handles of the blades, Jushi shook in a rage. He held in his tears his hands trembled Fuchou wasn't afraid he was more concerned about the safety of his child.
Fuchou glanced back to his daughter was horrified about the encounter, a bad man came to harm them she thought. Fuchou yelled, "Who are you?"
He switched into a Yao Kiu stance he was ready for the swordsman to make a move so that he had a reason to end the non-bender's life. Jushi stabbed a dadao sword into the ground and removed the hood that covered his head and hid his face. The droplets of rain drenched his once dry hair wet, he held a death stare at the dusty man.
He grabbed his sword from the ground again and tightened his grip around it, he was flustered with a range of aggressive emotions. His body was filled with a fire that raged like an inferno that engulfed a forest, something that he didn't have as a child.
"Look at me and tell me do you know who I am?" Jushi screamed at Fuchou.
The little girl screamed so loud, she cried out, "Daddy! Who's this horrible man?!" At the same time, Aloi and Rong Yan heard the shriek of a child in the distance.
"Did you hear that?" asked Aloi. Rong Yan pointed northeast and responded, "This way!" Unaraq jogged behind them soon he caught up with them.
"I..I.." he stammered his reply as he strived to remember this person.
"ANSWER ME, YOU SKUNK WEASEL!" barked Jushi.
"I don't know! Please take what you want from me but don't hurt my little girl!" pleaded the desperate man. Jushi cackled at the man he continued, "Think! THINK! You have two minutes or I take what you love the most in this world!" he threatened Fuchou.
"Please! I don't know..." cried out Fuchou he tore his coin purse full of silver pieces from the loop of his pants and tossed the sack over to Jushi.
"Do you think I want money?! No, your blood will quench my vendetta. Think back twenty years, Hami territory, the village of Tuxi Cun. You and those daofei you followed, you pillaged my home, you killed my father in front of me. And Lord Qin knows what you did to my mother after I fled," screamed Jushi.
"You took my parents from me..." Jushi paused he did his best to hold back his tears.
"...You took them from me and I was forced to live a life without parents. Without a childhood," Jushi's voice quavered with anger and sadness. Fuchou's life flashed before him he remembered, he found himself in front of a corpse of a man trapped between the fingers of a large hand constructed of earth. A young woman shrieked, "Jushi RUN!"
His head darted to meet eyes with the child and he cackled, instead of giving chase to the boy he stepped toward the woman and ripped her tunic, then he pulled her pantaloons down a bit as the woman gave an ear-splitting scream she fought with the man who forced himself onto her. She spat in his face and used all her strength to do her best against him. He overpowered her with natural strength and then finished the woman off with a stomp to the center of her face.
Fuchou returned to his senses he lowered his head in regret and remorse for what he did as a young man. He recalled having lived in a troubling situation but he knew his actions weren't justified. He aimed to apologize to the swordsman.
He gave a long sigh and remembered, "Yes...I re-remember you...you're the little boy about my daughter's age, who escaped Tuxi Cun. I recall telling my boss that we should track you down.."
"I-I...I'm sorry I was wrong for what I did to you, I see that now," he apologized, finally he gave an apology to the orphan. But his half-assed apology wasn't enough, his expression of regret didn't bring back Jushi's parents. Not now, not ever, they were gone.
"Sorry? SORRY?!" shouted Jushi.
"NO! YOU DON'T DESERVE A SORRY!" roared Jushi he charged at Fuchou with both of his dadao swords. Fuchou's daughter shrieked, only for one of Jushi's blades to connect with a wall of earth. His hand shook as did the blade the dull pain caused him to remove his hand from the blade. He glanced back Rong Yan still held his ground in a Jai Kiu stance with his palms faced down but risen above his head.
Fuchou's savior allowed the man to retreat under his porch to comfort his daughter who happened to be having a panic attack. He concentrated on his daughter while the man who came to his aid defended him from death. Rong Yan called out to Jushi, "What are you doing?"
"Unaraq was right! I'm doing what I should've done a long time ago, my parents deserve justice!" yelled Jushi in response.
"Don't you see what you're doing? You're being the monster this man once was! You're stooping to his level blindly because you want revenge," reasoned Rong Yan.
"You don't understand, Rong Yan. Your parents were never torn from your life!" bellowed Jushi. "I understand!" related Unaraq.
Jushi as he bore his eyes into Fuchou's soul.
"My mother was killed by a Fifth Nation pirate, I'm not lashing out in revenge. My mother was a loving, caring woman who lived her life to the fullest. She was very special to my father, myself, and my sister," disclosed Unaraq to Jushi. He ran over to the swordsman and continued, "She was torn from us during the raid on Iqaluit. I feel your pain," intimated Unaraq.
"Jushi, this isn't the way. Forgiving him for his misdeeds is all you can do, it might not bring back your parents. But it will help you move on," assured Unaraq, he gave it his best shot to convince Jushi.
"You honored your parents and avenged them by standing up to him at the tavern, now they would've wanted you to move on and grow up to be your own man. So far that's what you've done, but you need to put this past you," reasoned Unaraq, Jushi stood there with his dadao swords still in his grip while he pictured the faces of his parents. He let out a few tears.
"This man has a daughter, you shouldn't stoop to his level. If you kill him you only leave that little girl an orphan," concluded Unaraq as he pointed to the little girl who continued to hyperventilate as her father calmed her down.
Jushi dropped his dadao swords and dropped to his knees he wept away, Unaraq sat next to him and permitted Jushi to cry on his shoulder while Unaraq patted him on the back. Unaraq rose to his feet and extended his arm to help his new friend to his feet. He extended his hand out to shake Jushi's, then he told Unaraq, "I never thought I would share something like this with someone.." he paused and wiped his tears.
"Thank you, you're right I need to move on," he thanked Unaraq, picked up his dadao swords, and strapped them back onto his harness. Aloi gathered the sack of coins and approached the little girl she bent down to hand them to her.
She shared a peaceful smile with her, "I believe these are yours." Fuchou returned a humble smile as well and bowed his head to the Nomadic woman.
The group returned to their hotel rooms soaked wet from the rain that poured outside. Jushi meditated in the corner of the room he shared with the Avatar. While Unaraq dove on the bed in the room next door and gestured to Aloi that he wanted cuddles.
The very next morning, after everyone awoke and prayed to their gods they packed their things and paid off the hotel owner. Rong Yan grabbed his belongings and told Jushi, "I had this strange dream last night. I was in the middle of a battle between Water Tribe soldiers and Qiangdian troops, I entered the Avatar State and blew all these men away. Together, they tried to hold on to each other so that the powerful winds I produced didn't knock them away."
Rong Yan looks at the reflection off the shield to see Ku Tei in his dream.
"Once all the men were either dead, unconscious, or swept away from around my radius. I looked at myself on a reflective shield of someone from the Qiangda Kingdom. Except it wasn't me, it was my past Ku Tei and I was still visibly angered. Then I heard a whisper that said to me, 'It's time you learned about how this all started between Senlin and I. How the Qiangda Kingdom plunged into a war with the Northern Water Tribe'."
"That's an interesting dream I think you're past life is trying to communicate with you. I know this place on the peak of the Huangshan mountains, its called the Whispering Boulders. Supposedly if the boulders whisper to you it's a spirit attempting to contact you," commented Jushi.
"If we head up there you can use the peaceful calm in the area to enter into the Spirit World," Jushi suggested.
They soon packed their belongings on Shen, once the climbed onboard Unaraq inquired, "We're heading to Omashu now?"
"Not yet, one more stop. We're heading up to the Whispering Boulders up on the peak. I think Ku Tei wants to tell me everything I should know about Senlin. He came to me in a dream and told me it's time," answered Rong Yan.
Unaraq nodded, "Your call."
Rong Yan snapped the reins on Shen and they ascended into the sky. Soon in several minutes, they'll reach the Whispering Boulders on the peak of the mountain range. Soon Rong Yan will finally get the answers he so desperately needed.
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