No Longer Spring - Writings of Yesterday

October 31

The wound on my chest stung even several days later.
It might have been the pain, but every time I woke up from my sleep I could have seen the people of the Jiang Sect. I could see my friends from the past and see the Jiang lake shine under the sunrise as I trained with my sword; the faces of Jia Hao and Yi Ming on the ground as my father came, yelling at me.
When I'd open my eyes, I'd think that I had to do something to prevent Jiang Fei from getting controlled, and every single time I continued the dream, I'd take the same exact choices as I did back then.

The cold nights we had spent there had been nothing but a pleasure, to be exact.

"So, how are we going to get out of here?" Asked Li Hua, "their food is hideous. I can't accept to be stepped on by these dogs one more day."

She spoke, breaking me out of my wall staring session. These two were not boring to have around, prison or not.
Mei Yang chuckled as she looked at Li Hua, not really bothered by the life she'd been living. Perhaps she also found someone to spend her time with just as the two of us did, so it wasn't hard for her to smile knowing that, regardless of what was happening, they'd find a way.
It was a beautiful feeling, but not quite realistic. I, too, was guilty for experiencing it.

"We can wait to collect seeds again or we can all try to flee as they take us out of this cell," I answered.

"But what if they catch us? They'd punish us ten times worse than they did to you," Mei Yang jumped in.

"There's little to no choice. Jiang Fei doesn't seem to come."

She looked down, sighing.

"I wish I learnt the arts of fighting sooner."

"It's fine," said Li Hua, giving her no time of feeling like a burden, "I'm here for a reason, after all".

I listened, but I wasn't really paying attention. The smell of mold and humidity hurt my nostrils, the only comforting thing being the darkness. Quiet and deathly.
I clasped my hands together in an attempt to come back to reality.

I didn't have poison on me. I didn't have my sword either, and our Qi had been blocked.
It was as if we didn't even have a golden core* anymore.
I took a deep breath in.

"Fighting them head on would actually be useless, and I doubt that any of us have a death wish yet."

"If only we'd have our swords we could cut them all in half," said Li Hua, a wild look shining in her dark eyes.

Fighting them off as they tried to take me down here wouldn't have been so bad, if only I didn't decide to protect my brother's honor.
I was really curious to see why he didn't get to be a leader, so I had hoped that he'd rescue me. That way, I could find out more than I initially planned to.

"Only when everyone contribues wood will the fire burn brightly*," Li Hua said, looking towards the roof.

"The swing of a sword cannot cut the midst of the sky*," I answered, facing her, raising a brow. She smiled seeing that I had joined in for the game.

"He who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out*."

"Perhaps, but large chickens don't eat small rice*," I said, as the conversation seemed to be getting kind of personal.

"Beware a dagger hidden in a smile," Mei Yang said, "If you don't stop this proverb battle of yours they're going to hear us."

Steps resounded just as she spoke, shutting us up. Instinctively, I got on my feet and waited to see with whom we had the pleasure.
At first, I only saw a set of light colored robes closing in, expecting some other prisoner. Then, the golden robes of Jiang Fei became visible and shined in the dark as he looked me up and down.