Dao of Cooking

Tip and tap dripped the water down onto the ground. Tip and tap. That was the rhythm. Above, the roof of the cave was a monstrous thing, a jagged face peering down at the pair of them, further along giving way to a gaping mouth of an opening beyond which lumbered shadows of unclear shapes.

Tip and tap.

Snake stretched his neck back, turned it round, and heard it click. Some relief. But his whole side was on fire, legs burning from the tip of his toes up to his waist, robe ripped open and smeared with blood. Seemed like a broken branch caught him bad by the calf, and got stuck there, stinging still. Somehow the pain only got worse when he stared at the wound.

Stone lay stiff near beside him, the edge of his chin dripped down on his chest, fingers soiled with dried blood and mud from the way back. He was breathing steadily. The fool of a rock never did feel much pain anyway, and he had a mountain of a body instead of Snake’s fragile skin.

He was glad the man had gone out. It’d given him a chance to open his eyes, to think of what had happened when they were just about to vanish into the crowds. The alley had been narrow and cold, but it wasn’t too long, so they should’ve made it to safety without getting caught by those two.

They should’ve made it, but somehow they were here, in a gloomy cave, with monsters and shadowy creatures lurking out a few paces from them. Snake couldn’t remember much of it. It was all blurry and distant. He sure felt the pain round his head, though, as if he was caught by the neck like a little chick, and got dragged to a slaughterhouse, waiting for the butcher to be done with him.

He winced when he tried to work his legs to stand. Something pulled him from the back. He glanced down. There. A thin black rope was wrapped around his torso, slithering through his back and down his legs. Hard to see in the dark of the cave.

Didn’t look much to his eyes, but at each pull the rope seemed to get tighter and tighter around him, pressing deeper into his skin. Snake let out a breath as he eased his back to the wall, and felt it cold against his neck.

Tip and tap. The ceiling was leaking.

Footsteps splashed from beyond the mouth of the cave, creatures growling their way out and vanishing into the dark. Bleak dots in the distance. Snake could still feel their rotten stench in his nose. Smelled just like the day he’d seen the state of his Father’s corpse.

“Uh,” a voice grunted as a man stooped inside the cave. A big man, with hair spilling close to his bushy brows, slanted eyes cocked deep into their sockets, and a dark robe — old and torn, a sheath hanging from the same colored belt around his waist.

Snake closed his eyes and slowed down his breaths, hoping the man wouldn’t notice. That was the best plan he could think of. Stay silent and wait for something to happen. Perhaps the man would unbind the strange rope keeping them locked to the wall.

“Treating me like a worm,” came the man’s voice, rasping and furious, then a clink — sounded like metal against the stone. “That worm did all your dirty work, licked your asses clean, and yet you’re giving me the same shit. Wait, and wait, and fucking wait, for what?”

Snake pried his eyes open, and caught the tall man staring down at the sheath hurtled into a corner, back facing the pair of them. Metal glinted from between the fingers of his right hand, flashing golden in the cave. That locket. There was something strange about that thing.

“Recuperating or in meditation, but never available,” he grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly. “But I’ll get what’s mine. Yes, I will.”

Snake squeezed his eyes shut when another man trudged inside the cave, an ominous, crooked silhouette writhing in the shadows. He closed them shut and waited, fingers trembling under the half-ripped robe.

“Elder Huang,” said the thug, his tone suddenly turning meek. “I’ve been waiting—“

“Patience is a lost virtue, I’m afraid,” the other man said with a hint of fatigue in his voice. “I’ve found it true especially in the cases when plans stray from their main course. But we have to adapt and find the strength to persevere through these sudden changes, don’t you think, Sun Niu?”

“You’re too wise, Elder. I’ve been blind,” Sun Niu said, and metal screeched against the stone once again.

“Good! Good!” Elder Huang said. “For a second I thought I’d heard you grumbling behind Master’s back. It’s good that you’re willing to admit your shortcomings. But just to be safe, let us keep our grievances close to our chests rather than speaking them aloud. They say the walls have eyes, eh?”

“Forgive my ignorance, Elder.”

“Mm,” Elder Huang said. “Now, what have we got here? I have to say you’ve brought rather curious company with you this time. Master will be pleased.”

“This one is just trying to be useful.”

“Useful, you’ve said?” Elder Huang’s voice sounded close now. “Let me be the judge of that, will you? You know Master doesn’t fancy meaningless things. He has a certain taste.”

A wave of rotten stench washed over Snake, making him clench his jaw tight. His heart skipped a beat when he felt Stone stirring awake from his sleep, mumbling himself. He wanted to lunge forward and take the man by the legs, crash him down, and bolt for the exit with Stone, but the rope held him tight like iron.

“I can hear that heart of yours, little one,” came Elder Huang’s voice, rasping with delight. “Open those eyes for me. Life’s been lonely around here for some weeks, and I must say those rotten beasts aren’t too much of a company. Brainless creatures walking back and forth, empty shells still lingering around the mountain. Don’t you think so, Sun Niu?”

“Makes my skin crawl, those creatures,” said Sun Niu. “But they serve as a good deterrence to the Master’s chambers. Making us—“

“Redundant? Unneeded? Pointless?” Elder Huang said. “I’ve got a rather interesting message from my Junior Brother back in Jiangzhen this morning. He’d told me a bunch of cooks handled your little team with ease. Is this your way of redeeming yourself, Sun Niu? Not a bad effort, I must say, but we’ll see if it’s good enough.”

A calloused finger pulled the lids of Snake’s eyes open, forcing him to see the wrinkled face staring him down a few inches from his face. His breath smelled of death and rot, a pair of eyes green and spotless like round emeralds, cocked into a head hardly different from a skull. When he smiled, the old skin round his mouth twisted strangely, riddled with yellow marks.

“Hello there,” he said, showing his cave of a mouth. “Would you two be kind enough to introduce yourselves, or shall we start right away?”

Snake spat in his face, floundering against the rope as his feet kicked the stone ground. Tip and tap the water dripped down his face. He remained rooted in his spot.

“Clear and straight to the point.” Elder Huang wiped the spit on his face with a wrinkled finger, turned, and nodded toward Sun Niu. “Bring me my tools. We shall see if these two are clean enough for Master.”

“What is—“ Stone mumbled awake, then sputtered once he saw the sight before him. “Where are we?”

“You’re in good company, little one,” said Elder Huang with a beaming smile. “Now, be good, and let me check your bodies. We may lack the means of your glorious Empire, but our tools are just as credible. Don’t worry, it won’t take long.”

The thug brought a leather pack from beyond the cave, placed it gently onto the ground, and stepped back. He tried to keep his face cold, but Snake could see the promise of a smile on his lips. He was enjoying this.

Elder Huang pulled out a strange metal tube from the pack and raised it high as if to check it. When he pushed a finger onto the narrow end of the tube, a thin, sharp needle poked out from inside of it.

Snake flinched back, eyes peering round him. He tried to find something, anything he could use to cut the rope nailing him and Stone to the wall, but the cave was bare and empty of tools. Just an old man and his aide, and that needle glinting sharply inside the dark.

“Take a deep breath,” Elder Huang said, and Snake shut his eyes when the man drove the needle toward his arm. A slight sting. Hardly the pain he was expecting, but it only made him more anxious.

“What are you doing?” Stone’s voice came from his side, full of fear. “Let us go! We didn’t do anything!”

“Shush now, child,” Elder Huang said in the manner of a patient father. “Soon, it’ll be your turn.”

Snake opened his eyes. That needle was sucking his blood, piling it inside the tube while the old man hummed cheerily before him. It was then that Snake decided to change his approach. It was clear that they wouldn’t let them walk out from here, so at least he could try to learn something.

“Who are you?” he asked, biting his lower lip. “Why are you doing this?”

When the tube got full, the old man twisted it loose and pulled another tube, replacing the first one as he gave him a little smile. “I’ve always appreciated curiosity in the younger generation, especially in a place as novel as this one. But you’ll have to bear with me a bit longer, little one.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Stone muttered with a frown. “We’ve done nothing to you!”

Elder Huang glanced back at Sun Niu and sighed tiredly. “Strange thing, fate is. I’ve found It works in mysterious ways, such as bringing you two to our doorstep. One has to learn how to accept and deal with sudden twists. There’s no other way.”

“Learn what?” Stone said, struggling against the rope.

“That you’re just two little frogs, swimming in a tiny little well,” Elder Huang said, glancing back at Sun Niu. “Did I say that correctly? The frog in the well, isn’t it?”

“It was very well put, Elder,” the thug nodded sheepishly.

“Good, then.” Elder Huang pulled out the needle when the second tube got full, leaned sideways, and squeezed Stone’s arm. He placed two fingers right around his elbow, then scowled. “Hard skin. You’re not as simple as you look, eh?”

As Snake watched, heart beating in his chest, the man pulled a bigger needle from the pack, twisted round the tube, and replaced the old one with it. Stone near screamed when the needle sunk deep into his arm.

“Stop it!” Snake roared, but the rope pulled him back before he got a chance to touch the man. “We’ve done nothing to you!”

“Always the same question,” Elder Huang said with a shake of his head and waved a hand toward them. “This isn’t about you and me, little one. This is about circumstances. You make do with what you’ve got. Your people call it fate around here, and we call it destiny. Be good now.”

Snake felt his lids turn heavy. He tried to keep them closed, but it was like lifting that big rock, only this time the weight was more crushing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Stone’s face. His Little Brother had passed out.

“Tainted blood,” he heard Elder Huang say, his rasping voice mixed with a hint of disappointment. “All that trouble, and struggle, yet you’ve picked two boys who happen to be cultivators from that little town, did you?”

“Elder, I didn’t know—“

“Locals,” said Elder Huang. “I would have to see if I can cleanse these samples. At least they are mere Body Tempering cultivators, so there’s hope. You make sure the boys are well-fed and cared for. We have to show that we know how to take care of our guests.”

“This one understands, Elder.”

“We’ll see about that,” Elder Huang said and turned toward the mouth of the cave. He was barely a blur in Snake’s vision, a writhing shadow seemingly blending in with the dark. Only his eyes glistened, and they glistened ominously.

The ground beneath his feet shook. Stones started raining from the roof of the cave, which made the two men share a surprised glance. A high-pitched squeak echoed from far beyond the walls, dinning inside Snake’s ears. He crawled back from the stupor, but everything was twisted and turned before him.

Creatures growled. A roar shook the cave yet again, this one almost indignant and furious. Elder Huang’s blurry face was heavy with a frown as he clenched the pack in his right hand.

“A beast died,” he said, eyes slightly widened as he beckoned the thug to come closer. “Looks like we have some guests in the forest. Tell others to make sure we’ve greeted them with open arms.”

“But Elder, who could’ve dared to step into the Darkloom Forest? This is—“

“I’m not sure, but do as I’ve said. Nobody is allowed to disturb Master’s rest. He needs more time.”

“Understood.”

Then darkness claimed Snake’s mind.

……