Fresh Embers of Love

Chapter 62

QingWa Sheng-Da trudged to his old room in the palace that the Princess had been using, cursing himself. He should have stopped her! He should have called the army! He should have blocked the staircase!

He lay back on the bed with a sigh of regret, inhaling the fragrance that Nuwa had left behind on his blanket, on his pillow. The smell of gold attracted his attention. He reached under the pillow and pulled out a small lump of gold molded into the shape of a frog, holding a coin in it's mouth.

He stared at it morosely. Nuwa didn't have her Lucky Frog with her. The pain in his chest sharpened, making it hard to breath. He tamped it down. He wasn't ready to grieve just yet. There was still hope.

He wondered whether he might be able to sneak out and go search for her. Mother would probably skin him alive if he got caught, but he wasn't afraid of that. He was afraid of screwing up again.

If he did manage to find her by striking off alone, what then? He knew he would be outnumbered. Tangyue was known to be powerful in Fire magic. The red string user, what did Mother say his name was? Danzhu? He was a titled Immortal as well. His power level is unknown, but can be assumed to be high, based on that rank. Sheng would lose.

Maybe if he got Fuzangloong to go with him, they might stand a chance. He was a Dragon Spirit. But taking Fuzangloong would be risky. He might be delivering the enemy a gift, both children of the Emperor in their hands.

Sheng clenched his fist around the golden frog, feeling frustrated. He had promised Nuwa that he would protect her, and her child. He had let her down. He had to find her!

The army would search all of the surrounding area, but Sheng was not optimistic. If the enemy was clever enough to infiltrate their base, they wouldn't be caught on land. He tried to think about other ways to track.

If you place an object on someone, then you can do a locator spell. He looked at the frog in his hand, sighing again. Nuwa had taken nothing with her.

A memory popped into his head. A story of a demon who had crossed Lord Yama. Lord Yama had tracked him down to the ends of the earth, and cut off his feet and hands to make an example of him. How had he done that? Or was it just a story? Made up to frighten his subjects?

Even if the story were true, what good would that do him? Lord Yama was King of Yan City. It was not likely that he would fulfill requests from young Princes like himself. He had nothing to offer.

Or did he? He waved his hand, summoning forth his most treasured possession. The letter was old and creased, having been read many times. It contained a secret, that only he could unlock. It might be a secret powerful enough to trade for a Princely favor.

But it was costly. The Soul Destroying Arrow could only be formed with his bone marrow. His blood ran cold, thinking about extracting part of his body to use as a weapon. A part that could not be replaced. The damage would be permanent.

Based on his Grandfather's description, the arrows were very big! It would take a lot of bone marrow, just to make one. A fully grown adult could only make three arrows in their lifetime, before facing death.

Why make arrows? Bows and arrows were obsolete projectile weapons. They took a lot of physical strength to use, a lot of training to prepare your soldiers, and required good eyesight to use as well. Canons, on the other hand, were much more effective. A small hand cannon came into use during the reign of the Khans.

"What about a Soul Destroying Bullet?" Sheng wondered.

If he could master the technique of withdrawing his bone marrow, he could form it into smaller pieces, getting more weapons for the same price. If he brought that to Lord Yama, along with a hand canon, and instructed him how to use it, THEN he would have bargaining power.

Sheng folded his legs underneath him, adopting a contemplative Lotus pose. He concentrated on the instructions Grandfather had left him. Feeling his blood flowing through his veins, mapping them out in his mind, finding the pathways that led inside his bones.

Far above him, the surface of Dongting Lake rippled and surged, violent waves forming in the path of the oncoming storm.